Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Kasey Kahne Talks Return To NASCAR & Rockingham | Press Conference

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Kasey Kahne Talks Return To NASCAR & Rockingham | Press Conference · Kenny Wallace Media

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  Jordan Bianchi, Athletic If you have experience, you're
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  obviously on, you know, 2000, what, 2004, you know, that kind
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  of thing, looking at the track then versus now.
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  So how is it the same? How is it different?
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  Yeah, I think much different. You know, it's I was here O2O3O
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  four and then 2012 and all of those, yeah, very different.
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  Those were much more similar, especially the first three
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  years. 12 was a little different.
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  I remember the track that, you know, sealed it and done some
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  different things then. But yeah, this repave is
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  completely different. I was watching some of Chuck
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  practice and the lines are, you know, pretty connected to the
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  bottom still. And you know, you move up some,
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  but it looks you probably lose a bit of speed.
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  So it's it'll be interesting with the weather though, and you
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  know, 8788° tomorrow, I think that'll change kind of how the
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  track feels and some of that stuff a lot.
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  So yeah, hopefully it turns into a really good, you know, really
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  good repave track. You're joining a Richard
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  Childers Racing team, had a lot of speed in its race cars this
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  year with Austin or Jesse. What are your expectations and
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  kind of? Managing that well, it's yeah,
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  it's really, you know, it's great to see those guys running
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  well this year. They were last year as well.
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  But yeah, to start the season really strong and they've been
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  up there each race. Yeah.
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  So I think for myself just to, to be away from this for, for a
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  while and come back with an opportunity and with a really
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  good team, a solid team that races, you know, not every
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  weekend, but they do race a lot. The 33 team does.
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  So it's, it's a team that's put together, you know, not just for
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  myself, it's for others throughout the whole year.
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  So it's, yeah, just a good opportunity to get back in a
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  really good car, good organization, strong team and
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  get to go out there and and see what we can do.
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  We're going to go to the back, the right hand side.
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  Scotty. Sprinkle Race face digital
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  outside of the test we had here in January.
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  I'm curious, what have you been doing personally to kind of get
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  ready and prepare for this weekend?
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  I've been able to do some of the simulator stuff, whether it's at
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  GM or at RCR with the different ones, which which has been
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  really nice. I didn't do a whole lot of that,
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  you know, years back, but I've I've been able to this this time
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  around and I feel like it's all much closer.
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  It was nice to do it after we tested and just to kind of see
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  the similarities, how close it all was.
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  And I feel like it, it's been pretty good.
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  So hopefully that can, you know, can translate and help a good
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  bit here. And then other than that, just
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  trying to really think about, you know, how the races play
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  out, how the pit Rd. stuff restarts, practice, all the
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  little things that go into a race weekend at in a NASCAR
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  level that gets so when when you're doing it all the time, it
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  just gets it just happens. You know, you don't necessarily
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  have to think about that stuff a lot.
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  And for me, I'll have to think about every one of those, you
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  know, little things that happen quickly throughout a race or, or
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  the race weekend. And so just trying to be as
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  prepared as I can, you know, to, to not screw any of that, you
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  know, that little stuff up that'll cost you a lot, Bob.
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  Piper's Fox Sports have a couple.
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  The 1st is is that the Cup Series has gone back to tracks
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  that you've raced at, such as Nashville that were they had
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  gone to for a while, as well as like North Wilkesboro and
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  obviously race. Bowman Gray.
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  Was there any part of you that was jealous that that they're
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  getting to do that and you, you weren't?
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  No, I mean, I've, I've watched it and, you know, like that side
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  of it. I've, I only watched Wilkesboro
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  and Bowman Gray and and those places in the past.
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  I was, it was over by the time I, you know, came into the
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  sport. But yeah, they've been, they've
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  been really good to watch. Cool to go back to some of the
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  venues that may not be as big of places, but the history I think
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  of NASCAR and and great racing is, is at some of those tracks.
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  So Rockingham being one of those as well.
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  So it's, yeah, this I like, you know, where some of that stuff
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  seems to be headed and the the races, the shows that the teams
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  and drivers have put on. And do you feel does this place,
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  would you like to see Cup race back here?
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  Or. I know it's AI mean you race at
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  places all over the country that you know that probably aren't as
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  you know you you race a lot of grassroots places throughout.
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  Yeah, I mean, I, I think a Cup race could probably be really
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  good here, you know, like it used to be.
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  I used to, you know, I used to enjoy watching it or being part
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  of it the the one year I was. And yeah, so it might, it might
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  could be a great race here. I I just was thinking on the way
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  down this morning and there's just so many race tracks and I'm
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  pretty sure this might have been why it kind of went away.
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  There's there's so many race tracks within a pretty, you
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  know, pretty close span, like maybe six or seven.
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  You know, that so understandable at the time.
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  I wanted to get to California or Vegas, you know, some of those
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  tracks more. But yeah, I think this would be
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  a a really good track for NASCAR and it's definitely gonna be
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  good for trucks and it's finity this weekend.
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  Matt Weaver sports not I would be remiss if we didn't have this
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  press conference and not talk about your spring car season
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  because this looks like a team that's capable of winning
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  multiple races this year. So for one, how excited are you
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  for the season and how important would winning that first 410
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  race be for you it. Would be be good.
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  It's been, you know, at a national level it hasn't
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  happened and great, I've won a lot of at other levels.
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  But yeah, I've said to do pretty much the last three years,
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  that's what I've done. I've been racing a lot of Sprint
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  car races and they've all been, 98% of them have been either
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  World of Outlaws or High Limits. And that's, you know, so you're
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  going to different tracks all over the country, different
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  surfaces, you know, it all changes.
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  And that's the hardest part about any type of racing, let
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  alone Sprint cars. So I've chose to do that because
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  it, to me that's the the toughest place to be.
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  And I feel like we just keep getting better and getting
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  closer and closer. This year.
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  We've been close so far and still have a lot of races to go.
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  We're going to race next week, next Saturday.
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  I think we'll be our next night back.
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  And then it gets very busy in May and June, July and August.
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  So, yeah, we're really, really focused on that after this
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  weekend and wanting to, yeah, start winning and running up
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  front more often for sure is is our goal.
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  And then I'm, I'm sure you're proud of your stock car career
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  and what you've been able to do. But I'm curious, when you look
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  at like what Kyle Larson is doing right now and being
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  allowed to race whatever he wants.
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  Do you ever think about how you and, and Tony Stewart and, and
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  guys of that ilk, how much of their career they left on the
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  table because they, you were not able to do what he's able to do,
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  do now? Do you envy that a little bit?
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  I mean, I do a little bit and I see it and he does a great job
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  at it and he's the best at it. You know, he's he's so good at
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  being able to just get into any type of car and and just be very
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  fast right off the bat. That's that's hard to do.
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  And and he's very good at it. So he's proved that it doesn't
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  hurt him when he comes back here or goes there, wherever it may
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  be. Yeah.
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  So it's it's good that he gets to do that.
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  When I when I did it, I did race more Sprint cars early on.
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  And then when I went to Hendrick, I did the first year
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  and then they wanted me to slow down.
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  And so I just was like, OK, I'll just focus on NASCAR.
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  And then I was like, just do NASCAR.
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  And that's just kind of how that ended there.
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  And I think it was all right. I think certain situations it's
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  fine to do that in other situations, like what Kyle's
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  doing is great too. So just kind of whatever works,
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  you know, for you and your team and your sponsors, there's a lot
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  of people involved. So yeah, just making sure it
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  works for everybody. And if that's, I think it works
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  for everybody, what Kyle has going on.
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  So I like watching it. Christineketchens.com Welcome
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  back, KC What's realistic tomorrow?
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  Yeah. I don't know.
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  I've like, for me, I want to race every lap.
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  I want to be very competitive. You know, I I feel like to be
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  out as long as I have and come back and just do everything
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  perfect and and win would be very tough.
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  These guys do it every weekend. They're very good at it and they
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  put a lot of time into it year after year.
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  So I think that'd be very tough to do.
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  But I think we can be we can be very competitive around the top
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  ten throughout the race and who knows what happens after that.
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  We also have practice today to kind of see where we stack up.
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  So yeah, I think it's it's pretty open, but I do want to
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  just really enjoy this weekend, race hard, get every single
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  thing I can out of the car and enjoy it with the team because
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  these guys have put a a big effort in for me to come back to
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  this. So I'm, you know, very lucky to
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  have a such an opportunity that I do this weekend.
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  I think we can. I think we can run really well.
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  If the opportunity allow, would you consider doing other races?
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  Yeah, I mean, I would I'm, I'm def this has been as kind of
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  excited, happy I've been this whole year, whether it's Sprint
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  car racing or pavement racing in a little while when it comes to
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  racing. So I've been really looking
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  forward to this race and I just really thought like just see how
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  it goes, see if things click, if it makes sense, if I'd, you
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  know, feel like I've been doing it for 15 years, then yeah.
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  I mean, maybe we could get another one in later in the year
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  if it's if it's difficult and I don't know, maybe 1 and done.
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  So just have to pay attention to see how it goes and go from
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  there is my thought. Zach.
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  Sterniolanascar.com Casey, when did you start allowing yourself
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  to get the kind of the the itch to go stock car racing again?
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  I know listening to your interview on Dale Show, it took
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  a minute to kind of just detach for for a bit.
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  At what point did you kind of allow yourself back into the
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  circle? Was that before or after the 75
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  greatest drivers acknowledgement?
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  Yeah, I would say definitely after, you know, I was, I was
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  really happy with what I had going on and and not being, you
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  know, too involved in the NASCAR deal and feels like once you get
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  out, you know, or you I got out on my own.
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  But as I did that, I did for my reasons.
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  And it's like you're just kind of gone.
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  Like it's not, you know, you still see people or talk to
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  people once in a while and it feels good when you do run into
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  somebody that you've seen at the track for so many years.
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  But yeah, you're just kind of out.
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  Like it keeps going and it goes just fine without you.
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  So yeah, it's kind of like, all right, well, I'll just do my
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  thing and and you find other things to do.
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  And that's been good. But yeah, over the last probably
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  year, I've been watching more and more and, yeah, wanting to
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  kind of see what it was like again and get those feelings
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  that I had for so many years. So that's why I put this
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  together. You know, I did all this on my
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  own to like get back here and, and do this race and was very
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  fortunate to get, you know, hindered cars and caravan
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  trailers, curb records behind behind me and, and then RCR
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  wanted to to do it with us. So it's, it's been a really cool
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  partnership, but we put some work in to make it happen.
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  Yes. Stephen Stump for interest.com.
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  Casey was coming so close to one of your first Cup race here and
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  not being able to have a chance to try and win it again.
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  Did Rockingham's removal No four kind of make it to where you
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  just wanted to try and race anytime you could?
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  Whatever is on the schedule here?
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  Yeah, I, I mean, I think that was one race that has kept me
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  very interested in Rockingham, you know, 'cause those cars had
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  a lot of power then and the track was so slippery that that
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  was a, you know, that was tough what was going on as the tires
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  would wear out so quickly on the at that that particular race.
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  So, yeah, I've always just enjoyed it since then.
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  But my first race was here in 2002.
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  I'm pretty sure it was my first Bush Series race at the time.
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  And that was in the Channel Lock car.
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  And from that point on, I thought this was and this and
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  this is also the first place I ever tested in a stock car.
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  And I've just yeah. So I've always really enjoyed it
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  since that very first lap that I made here.
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  And then with the repave. Did.
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  Did. Driving this track again did
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  almost feel like kind of starting over from scratch.
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  Or was there still some parts of the old track that you could
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  feel and get that hang up? Yeah, you could see it.
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  You could feel it. A lot of the same
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  characteristics as as far as the bumps and where they were and
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  how the car moved around. It was just, it just seemed like
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  the the pace was up around the entire racetrack, you know, less
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  off throttle time, a lot more wide open throttle time.
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  And but yeah, it still felt, actually, it still felt like
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  Rockingham. Jared Hos with
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  frenchstretch.com. KCB had success, like I said,
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  with the Xfinity and Truck Series.
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  Are there any other drivers in the Cup series that you think
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  would be successful in this track?
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  Who would be lens to watch if the Cup Series would run here?
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  At this track. Yes, at Rockingham.
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  Yeah, I think it would be a lot of lot of them.
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  It'd be you just, it's hard to say, but I mean, I think it, I
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  don't know, you just look kind of at who ran up front at
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  Arlington. They'd all be really strong here
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  or Bristol or really any of the tracks.
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  Like they're just those guys are very good at what they do.
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  So they would be very good here. So you know, right away,
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  straight away it'd be it'd be good.
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  And I think Cup Cars might put on a really good show here too.
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  Be interested in how that would play out.
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  But yeah, I think it this could be a pretty neat, neat place for
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  that. What type of things do you want
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  to see this weekend as far as A your health and B kind of the
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  way the car feels that would determine whether you want to do
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  this again? Yeah, I think the, to me, the
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  biggest thing is just kind of feel in the car and how it
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  works, you know, in traffic and, you know, at speed racing,
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  qualifying, just the whole process, the whole weekend, you
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  know, working with, you know, you have a spotter, you, you're
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  on the radios a lot. Like a lot of things are
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  different than than how they are with Sprint cars.
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  So yeah, just kind of see how it all goes.
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  But I feel like it's going to go pretty good.
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  I've, I've done this a lot over the years.
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  So yeah, just looking forward to that side of it.
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  And as far as my health, I, you know, I don't, I'm in a good
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  place right now, you know, because I don't do this all the
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  time. I don't do the long races, the
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  hot, you know, my, it got worse as soon as the summer months
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  came. And then every week after that
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  would just was draining me those last couple years I did it.
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  So I think going into this is, it's good.
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  I saw 88° and I'm like, oh, that's, that's nice.
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  Like I'm looking forward to that.
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  I'm fine with it. Other people called and were
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  like, can you do it? Yeah, it's not, it's not that
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  big of a deal. It'll be fun.