Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Get To Know NASCAR & Racing Reporter Jamie Little!

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Get To Know NASCAR & Racing Reporter Jamie Little! · Kenny Wallace Media

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation, brought
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to you by Jags, the leader in high performance aftermarket car
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everything you need to fix your vehicle up.
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I have worked with this lovely lady.
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She is the first Lady of Motorsports TV.
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I've done my notes. The great Jamie little Jamie.
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How are you? Hi Kenny.
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I'm doing great. You know, down here in Daytona,
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getting ready to kick everything off today, but it's a perfect
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way to kick it off. Being on your show, this is
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awesome. Well, thank you so much.
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And it is Valentine's Day. Yes, it's always fun to time
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stamp. Yes.
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Are those Is that from your husband?
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Yes, my husband sent flowers. When I checked into the hotel
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room yesterday, they were waiting for me.
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So nice little touch. There is so much to say about
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you. Obviously, we just touched on
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it. As you said, he made a nice
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touch for you. Get your day started.
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Great. On Valentine's Day.
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Boy, I tell you what, you got it going on.
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You're married. You got a boy, a girl.
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But I want to kind of get right to it with you, you know?
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I'm a I'm a girl, Dad. I'm married with three
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daughters. And I admire you because you're
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a sportster, you're a wife, a mother.
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You work, you're hardcore, in my opinion.
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I've been around hunting a lot. So that's my disclaimer for
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everybody watching. I know Jamie.
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I've worked with her. Let's start like this.
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OK, Let's start like this. Jamie Little from South Lake
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Tahoe, CA. Married son and daughter, First
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lady of Motorsports TV. That's what we nicknamed you
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because you, you have done it all been in American Motorsports
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for what I can count now. Feel free to correct me.
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Been in American Motorsports for 27 years on major network TV
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work for ESPNADC. Then you went on to work for Fox
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in 2015 and that's where you're at right now.
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And now a drum roll stuff that that only you have done.
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The First lady on air for the Indianapolis 500.
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First Lady to be a pit reporter for the Indy 500 and Daytona
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500. First lady to do play by play
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for major American Motorsports race.
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It was the 2021 ARCA Menards race.
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You were you were the lead. You were the lead.
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You were the head of honcho. And then I I put in something
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right here. Pit reporter for the Cup series
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and you just report on every damn thing Fox TV ask you to do.
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Now feel free to add, but as you listen to everything I just said
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and I do this with all of our great athletes, when I say all
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that about you, what goes through your mind?
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Well, first and foremost that I've been around a long time,
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Kenny. Yeah, but he's so young.
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Well, thank you. Another thought is that, you
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know, I'm humbled. You know, to hear anytime you
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can be the first at something is pretty awesome and it's not
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something I set out to do. It's just the way that my life
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has taken me and my love and passion has driven all of that.
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You know, it makes me smile when you go through those moments
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that I've had in my career, the 1st or, you know, covering a
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different sport because I've always loved what I do so much
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and I think that's why I've been able to stay around for so long.
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Because it's genuine and people connect with that.
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They like watching somebody who loves doing what they do and
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understands it, and the fact that I still get to push those
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limits and still such a huge part of Motorsports is pretty
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awesome. This is my 25th year covering
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Motorsports on television, but yes, I've been around for an
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extra couple of years. Like you said Kenny, when I was
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in college, you know I was I was going to all the race tracks for
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Supercross the motocross and interviewing whoever I could
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writing for websites whatever I could to get ingrained in the
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sport and learn the athletes and share their stories with whoever
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would listen. And and it seems like, you know
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in my mind it seems like all the steps that I took happened
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quickly. You know, I was you know 2000 I
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started covering the X Games and I signed on with ESPN and then
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suddenly, you know I went from live announcing Supercross to
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doing the TV for it. And then I I jumped into IndyCar
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four wheels all of a sudden in 2004 and then 2007 I jumped up
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to NASCAR. So there's been I mean all these
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steps were the perfect timing for me.
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You know, it's you don't just jump from from zero to 100 in
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Motorsports and expect it to last.
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So, you know, in my mind it felt like it happened quickly.
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It was like I was covering supercross, doing everything I
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loved and then boom, I got a new opportunity.
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What what do you think about IndyCar?
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I'm like, well, it's racing mentality.
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I don't know much about it, but I'll figure it out.
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And I was covering my first race, my first ever pit stop,
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two months later. So things like that are are kind
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of special and fun to look back on.
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I would say that you and I and everybody in Motorsports were
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wired a little differently and and part of Kenny conversation
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is it's fun. You know it's not an interview.
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We call it a conversation because you know when you guys,
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when you have guys like Tony Stewart, John Forson, we call
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audibles, we go everywhere. I want to kind of do that at the
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start right here. I have followed you on all
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social, medium. I I watch you.
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You're everywhere. You do it all.
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And we're going to get to that. I have all that in my notes.
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And I asked John, force this, and it just seems appropriate
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with you and I. And I don't mean to, this is not
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a belittle to any other lady, but it seems like you have
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something that others don't, And I don't know if it came from
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your mother, your father. And here's what I mean by this.
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You're a Sportster. You're a gamer.
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I see your workout. You are intense as all get out.
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So before your journey even started, you had to have that in
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you. Where did that come from?
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Yeah, that's interesting, Kenny. And.
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And I think first and foremost is that I never looked at a job
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that was something a woman couldn't do.
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And I think that comes from my mom.
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I was an only child raised by a single mom.
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I grew up in Lake Tahoe, so Lake Tahoe, you're outdoors.
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It's tough. You grow up being tough there.
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You know, Things I did, I rode horses.
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I worked out as stables to earn money so I could have my own
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horse and and get things and toys that I wanted.
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It was asking the boys down the street if I could ride their
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quads and their dirt bikes like that's what you did for fun.
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I knew it. I knew.
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It started in the smell of gas, like I was addicted, literally.
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From the time I was six, I actually remember the first time
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I ever rode a motorcycle. I was five years old.
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My dad was a drummer. It's when my parents were still
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married. My dad was a drummer and he kind
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of was big time. He signed with RCA recording and
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and my mom was a showgirl so they both were in entertainment,
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yes. But I remember my dad that he
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worked late, came home with his buddies and he had a dirt bike
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and I asked him to take me for a ride on it.
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So I sat in front. We went off these trails up in
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Tahoe and I literally can he can remember the feeling that I had
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the freedom and the smell. Everything that was about riding
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that motorcycle I remember, and it never left me.
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And it was something that it's hard to understand because I
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didn't have brothers around. My dad wasn't around from the
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time I was 7 on up. He didn't raise me.
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And my mom was a girly girl. You know, she was kind of into
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sports, but she didn't understand why.
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At 12 years old, I came home one day and all my horse posters
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were down and all my Jimmy McGrath and Supercross posters
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were up. It was like, who The Who the
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hell is this girl that I have? So it's something that was just
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in me when I was young, Kenny. And to go back to your question,
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you know, my mom just, she taught me that if you're asked
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to do something, you say yes and you figure it out later.
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It's not a matter of, oh, well, no woman's done this before or
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that's all. Guys, how am I going to fit in?
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I just never had that mentality. And I've also had a mentality
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about working the next person. I'm not afraid of working hard,
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doing what it takes to jump in. I mean, Can you imagine?
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I was 29 years old, I came into the Cup garage, hey, Jamie
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Little here, going to cover the Cup series and I had to learn
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everybody. I mean, and you can't be afraid
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to work. You can't be afraid to go up and
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introduce yourself and make friends and learn these people
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and make those relationships. So I think that's something
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that's really powered me through all these years and and it's
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been part of my staying power. You talk about growing up with
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horses and motorcycles, both scary.
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Seems to me horses are huge. You know, I I'm scared of horses
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because they bucked me and my mom off, and I don't want
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nothing to do with horses, but just horsepower, right?
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Oh, see, that's that's why. That's why you're so good at
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what you do. So are you.
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Are you a tomboy? I am.
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I I think that you know as I've gotten older now and got married
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and I have kids I I think that they're more feminine side comes
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out but I still at the core am am a tomboy you know I I do
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everything fast I push people over to get to the front like
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that's I don't do what mean and you should see me driving.
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I piss a lot of people off. Wait.
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And. You know every every curve is
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like, how can I get through this faster or better?
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Like I I just there's there's part of me that I'm like, I'm a
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boy, I think like a guy in some ways.
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And I'm like, who am I? And it's very funny, Kenny,
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because my my husband Cody, he runs bakeries nothing bundt
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cakes. We have three of them.
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That's his baby. But he is in charge of all women
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and here I am working with all men for the most part.
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So it's kind of funny. We always have a lot to laugh
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about and talk about. You make me laugh right now
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because you said who am I? And there was a time I was, I
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was in my bathroom and I was in front of the mirror and I was
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practicing something and it was just me and Oh my God, I was so
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embarrassed. My wife came by, she came by and
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she caught me practicing it. And I went, Oh no, I and I
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looked at Kim and I said sometimes I don't know who I am.
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And she said I know. And she just kept on digging,
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man. So we we do some things to get
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through what we have to do. And it just seems to me that you
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you don't mean to, but you have separated yourself from the
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rest. And I did not write this down
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because I knew you and I would get into a good conversation.
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You know, I deem you and everybody else deems you the
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first lady of Motorsports. So you work around Shannon
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Spake, Caitlin Vincey. I know you all are equal.
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I know you all really care about each other.
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But do you find yourself and the and the ladies, you know ever at
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all, comparing anything? Do you ever say, hey, did you
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ever run into this? You know, racers will talk
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chassis setups and things like that.
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What is it like for the ladies on TV?
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Yeah, I I think that there is that camaraderie with women,
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that there are things that you ask you can talk about that you
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just can't talk to a guy about. You know, we can complain to
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each other as women, but as a woman dominated sport, I'm not
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going to go bitch and complain to the guys in the garage, you
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know what I mean? So it is nice.
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Like Shannon and I, we came into NASCAR together in 2007.
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We were on the ESPN team together and right away, you
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know, we had that bond because we could talk about things that
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we wouldn't talk about with anybody else.
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We can understand each other and what what we were going through.
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And it's nice to have that 'cause there's not a lot of it
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in the garage it's gotten much better.
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There's a lot more women than there used to be.
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But still it's it's not the same.
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There's a lot of guys. So it is nice and and Shannon
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and I now both working at Fox together, it's we still talk all
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the time. We see each other all the time.
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And I'm so proud of her and and you know the women in our sport
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and Kim Koon is another one that does a great job on NBC and and
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there's so many women out there, Kenny, that are in the wings
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waiting for their chance to get into this sport and do what I do
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and and that motivates me every day.
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You know, I I want to be here as long as they'll have me and I
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just, I'm so excited to see the number of women that are out
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there that want to do what I do. I mean, it's fun.
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It this is a great job, Kenny. You and I don't have jobs.
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This is fun, and we happen to get paid a good amount of money
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to do it. So I feel comfortable talking to
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you like this. One more thing about the ladies
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in Motorsports and then we're going to move on and I got so
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much to ask ladies in Motorsports, especially for you
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where you're at. You work for the biggest
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network. I think in in TV you're on
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national TVI mean you're big time, you're everywhere.
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Well, I mean I really feel that way.
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How how can you get any bigger? I mean we all have bigger goals.
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You're in a position right now where you're big time and this
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is me talking. Do you feel like there's more
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work to do for the ladies? Because, I mean, it seems to me
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like, you know, besides taking Mike Joy's job, which probably
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would be next, you know, he's getting of age, what work is
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there to do left for the ladies in TV?
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Well, you mentioned it. There's that one job that we've
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never seen a woman in. I've been just so excited with
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the opportunities. You mentioned the Arkham Menards
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series that I I started covering as play by play lead announcer
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in 2001. I still do that.
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Last year I got to do the Truck Series, split it basically with
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Adam Alexander and that was incredible.
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Got to call the championship race in Phoenix.
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And. Yeah, I mean that.
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That was crazy. But you know, to still get to do
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these new things and things that excite you and make you nervous,
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make you lose sleep. I mean, at my age and how long
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I've been doing this to still get those emotions, sometimes I
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ask myself if I'm damn crazy. I'm like, why do I keep getting
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myself in these positions out of my comfort zone?
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Life is good as a pet reporter. Call it, call it that.
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But no, it's not good enough for me because I'm very competitive,
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Kenny and this goes back to your question earlier.
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You know what drives you and what set you apart?
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I think just being competitive in all ways and always wanting
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to be the best and and push those boundaries and pushing
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myself, I that's just how I live.
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So yeah I think that there's only one spot really that women
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haven't haven't done and and that is the lead play by play
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role for the Cup series. I don't know if I'm going to be
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broadcasting long enough to ever get that opportunity.
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There's people before me that have been here longer been doing
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the job longer. Adam Alexander, perfect example.
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He would be the next guy in my mind, but I'm happy where I'm at
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right now. Who knows what'll happen with
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the Xfinity Series? We know that that's moving to
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The CW next year. So who are they going to pick?
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Maybe they'll pick another woman to do play by play.
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That would be great. But Kenny, I'm also a believer
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of the right person for the job. I'm not a believer in put this
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person here because we need this face, we need this gender or we
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need, you know, we need a female here.
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I I believe wholeheartedly in the person that deserves it.
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Who has worked so hard to get to this point?
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Who gets the next opportunity? That is something I believe in.
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I don't want to be given a role just because I'm a female and I
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I fit the bill. I want to be there because hell,
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this chick's been in the sport for 25 years.
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Let's give her a chance and and I kind of feel like that's what
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happened when I took over the play by play role.
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Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
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You know, I I don't feel like I was roughing you up, but we have
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to ask these questions, you know, ask you the.
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Tough stuff, Kenny. I'm here for.
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It yeah. And and you know, like I said,
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I'm a dad. I have three daughters.
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I got grandbabies coming up and you know it's always been about,
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you know the the ladies have not got the chances that the guys
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have got. I've I've watched some ladies
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come along. Right now I got my eye on this
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Jade Avedesian, who's a great open wheel, Midget racer,
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Toyotas, you know, really supporting her and you know,
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we've had her on Kenny conversation, so, So thank you
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for that now. Kenny, that to your point,
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that's a really good example right there of females coming
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up. Yes, it's the ones that put in
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the hard work, the ones that are making statements and getting
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the job done in a great way. And you talk about female race
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car drivers. Well, you we can all only get to
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a point until somebody else has to help us.
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They have to give us the yes, they have to write the check.
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If you're a race car driver, Toyota backing these women that
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they believe in can be the next, you know, big thing, the next
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Truck Series driver, ARCA driver, whatever it is.
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But for somebody like me, I could be great at my job.
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But unless my producer says, hey, we're going to give you a
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shot in the booth, I never get that shot.
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Danica Patrick is not Danica Patrick without Bobby Ray Hall
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saying we're going to put you in an IndyCar and you're going to
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run at this top level. It's just the way it is.
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You need somebody to give you the yes and somebody who
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believes in you. Yeah, same with me.
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You know, there there's first of all, this is not about me, but
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we can talk and compare like like everybody else does.
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I definitely didn't deserve 905 NASCAR starts.
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However, I had to. I had to go get my own sponsors,
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stay in the game and that leads me to this, OK, we know the
18:31
executives that run our sport and sometimes, you know, you and
18:36
I, we have to push that button and tell our producers what we
18:40
want to do, what we want to see. You know, they need help.
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Our directors, producers, you know, our bosses, they need our
18:49
help. They don't run the show.
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They they might tell you yes or no.
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But so leads me to this point. You went to Jacob Bowman and you
18:57
said, hey, I want to do more. Jacob Bowman is what I would
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call the boss of talent. That's that's what this old
19:05
redneck calls him, the boss of Fox Sports talent.
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He's the one that hired, you know, Joe Buck and and you know
19:13
Troy Aikman and you and I. So when when you want things, we
19:19
have to go get these things, we don't sit back and wait them
19:22
because we have to install that idea in their brain.
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Yes. You went to Jacob and you said,
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damn it, I want to do more. That's right.
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Tell me about that phone call. Well, it was interesting, Kenny,
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because, you know, I've been a pit reporter forever.
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So have I thought about doing play by play.
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Sure, the the ideas crossed my mind over the years, but I'm
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like that's a guy's job. Like that's just you need to
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have that male voice, that powerful voice up there.
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That's just not something that I could see myself doing.
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Plus I love being in the middle of the action.
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You know, I'm being up in the booth.
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You're away from the action, you're seeing overall event and
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you're calling it just so much different than as a pit
20:02
reporter, so. You know when one day it was
20:06
during the offseason in gosh, it was the end of 2020 Lee Diffie,
20:11
who to me is one of the best play by play guys of all time,
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I. Mean with that Australian
20:16
accent, right? Yes, track and field he.
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Goes. Cross Indy.
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I can listen to his voice all day.
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Yeah, but you know we're we've been friends but not somebody
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that we pick up the phone and call.
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Well, he calls me out of the blue one day and I'm like, hey,
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Lee, he's like Jamie, you know, you're like, I'm not even going
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to try to to. Go ahead.
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He's like Jamie, you're going to think I'm crazy, but listen,
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they're putting women in play by play roles in football and NBA.
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It's time they do it in NASCAR and you need to be the one to do
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it. And I'm like, well, I'll be
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damned. That's interesting, he said.
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Yeah, I I think you're the one to do it, so you should probably
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look into it if that's something that you want to pursue.
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I hung up the phone. Kenny called.
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My husband went home. I'm like, he's damn right, why
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not? Let's just give it a chance.
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I mean, maybe it won't go anywhere.
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I emailed Jacob Bowman right then and I said, hey Jacob, if
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there's ever an opening, a practice, qualifying, if there's
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any anytime there's an opening for play by play, I'd like to
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give it a try. So he said let's get on a phone
21:18
call. And I want to know more about
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it. So we chatted.
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He called me a week later and he said, would you want to do play
21:24
by play for the Arkham Menards series?
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And I was like, shit, the Arkham and art series.
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I've never covered that series. I don't know their names yet.
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I'll figure it out. I'll figure it out.
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So that's that's how it was hatched and and Kenny this goes
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back to and I don't want to keep going on and on but something I
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learned from your brother Rusty. I worked with him at ESPN for
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many years and ABC, so it's 2006 if if you remember they put they
21:51
put Rusty on the IndyCar Series broadcast with us to get ready
21:56
to go Cup racing in 2007 when ESPN was coming back with the
22:00
NASCAR contract. So he worked with us in IndyCar.
22:03
Your brother had to figure out IndyCar and all these names and
22:06
just this whole new world, right.
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So we're at like our season wrap party and and he's like, so
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Jamie so you're coming with us to NASCAR next year, right?
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And I was like, no, I don't. I don't know, Rusty.
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I said Everybody and their mother is calling our boss and
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telling them they want to be in there.
22:22
They want to be part of NASCAR. I just don't want to be another
22:24
one of those people. And he goes, Jamie, let me tell
22:28
you something, and I'm trying to be your brother right now.
22:32
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
22:34
If you want to do it, you need to let him know that you want to
22:37
do it. And that never left me, Kenny.
22:40
I I went out and I did the X Games, I think was coming up
22:43
right after that event. I finished up the X Games,
22:46
walked straight up to my boss's office at the stadium, and I
22:49
said, hey guys, you know, I just want you to know you probably
22:52
already have your team filled for NASCAR.
22:54
But I just want you to know that if I'm being considered that I
22:56
really want to do it. I want to do NASCAR before I'm
22:59
30. And I just, I I didn't say it
23:02
before. They said OK, thanks for letting
23:04
us know. And they called me two months
23:06
later and and they said you're part of the Super team and you
23:09
already were before you told us. So I learned that from your
23:12
brother. And it is so true, Kenny, that
23:14
if you want something in life, if you want something in this
23:17
sport or in your career, you need to let people know that
23:21
that's your intention. It might not not always work
23:23
out, but you have to let people know your intention.
23:26
I want to say that my brother Rusty, my brother Mike, they are
23:32
truly the love of my lives. I've been using that phrase a
23:35
lot lately. But my brother, along with the
23:38
great Dick Trickle and some other people, but more so Rusty,
23:42
has taught me so much. I once said to Rusty, I said,
23:45
brother, you're like a rock, you're like a boulder.
23:49
Nobody gets you. And I was the third child, you
23:53
know, I was always wanting to. I was the mediator.
23:56
But Rusty taught me, you know, get them before they get you.
24:02
That's why Rusty Wallace and the late, great Dale Senior #3, the
24:06
Man in black, you are not going to get those guys.
24:09
Even Jimmy Spencer said to me one time, He said I was never as
24:13
mentally tough as your brother Rusty and and and senior.
24:17
So I want to compliment you on that because this is something
24:22
that I've never talked to anybody about and and just
24:24
because you brought it up and you can see how serious my face
24:27
is. Rusty always taught me.
24:30
He said it's sad to say but you got to remind people because
24:34
they will remember what they want to.
24:36
I have people that ask me the stupidest stuff.
24:39
I'm like I've already I've already ran like 6.
24:42
You know I've already you got to remind people every once in a
24:44
while and it's not that you're bragging on yourself you know
24:48
the story goes, Jacob Bowman, that fox said Troy Aikman where
24:53
where your your Super Bowl ring. So when you hold the mic, you
24:56
remind the people, because kids in their 20s, like who the hell
24:59
is Troy Aikman, right? So good point, good point and a
25:04
great reminder. So let's call that audible.
25:09
When I read or watch you on social media, it seems to me
25:17
that you remember where you came from.
25:21
You love motocross. You are an X Games girl and if
25:26
I'm wrong, straighten me out right now.
25:28
But it just seems to me that that that is your child.
25:32
And tell me about when you started.
25:37
And you you already told me about horses and motorcycles you
25:40
grew up with. But but these, you know you were
25:43
a pit reporter for ESPNABC. You covered the summer and
25:47
winter X Games. Tell me about that time in your
25:50
life. It was pretty awesome, Kenny,
25:53
especially, you know, the older I get, the cooler it sounds that
25:56
I was a part of X Games for like that was really.
26:03
It was an amazing time in my life and I worked my butt off to
26:06
get to that point. I graduated high school in 96 in
26:09
Las Vegas. I moved to Vegas at 13.
26:12
That's when I left Tahoe and and I I didn't.
26:16
Know what I was? When did you leave Tahoe?
26:19
When I. When I was 13.
26:21
How did you do that? So, well, my mom and I moved to
26:25
Vegas. She took a job, so we moved to
26:27
Vegas. So I go from this small little
26:28
town to this huge city, right at that time in your life, for a
26:32
girl, that's probably the worst time to move to a place like
26:35
Vegas. I was just an independent child
26:38
and and I I I figured life out. But at the point when I
26:42
graduated Kenny, I wasn't going to college, I wasn't sure what I
26:45
wanted to do. I knew that I love dirt bikes
26:48
and I brought my dirt rider magazines to school, 'cause I
26:50
didn't care about school. And I moved to LA all by myself,
26:54
went there and I very quickly realized that I loved motocross
26:58
and there was something there, something attracted me to it and
27:01
I watched the races and I'm like, I can do that.
27:04
I can be that person. I want to be that person talking
27:07
to them. And in 98, when I was living in
27:11
California, I went up to a guy with a microphone, an ESPN
27:14
microphone at one of the races. And I was like, hey, I want to
27:17
do this for a living. And he's like, you can you can
27:22
hang around kind of like an intern if you want to go to
27:24
local races and do interviews and all this stuff.
27:26
So I did that for a couple of years.
27:28
I'd get up early on the weekends, go do that.
27:30
So in 2000, I called up felt now Felt entertainment that runs
27:34
Supercross. I called up the boss there and I
27:36
said, hey, I really want to try out for being a live announcer
27:40
and they're like, all right, well, we'll give you a chance.
27:42
We know you've been around, so we'll give you a chance.
27:44
But it's race by race, you know, you screw up on the first race,
27:47
you're done. So no contract.
27:49
So I go out there at Anaheim one the opening round of Supercross
27:53
in 2000. Yep, Yep, still the opening
27:56
round all these years later. And I guess I did a good job,
27:59
Kenny, because they kept me there for four years and and in
28:01
that time I picked up the phone and called the boss at ESPNI.
28:05
Think this was 2001 and and he knew who I was and I said hear
28:12
me out and I basically sold myself and said give me a
28:15
chance. Let me do X Games.
28:17
I won't let you down. He's like, all right I'll, I'll
28:19
give you a chance see how it goes.
28:21
And that boss, Rich Feinberg, was my boss at ESPN from 2001
28:26
until our contract was up with with NASCAR in 20. 4.
28:31
Right, exactly. And Motorsports he was.
28:33
So I guess the moral of the story is find out who the boss
28:36
is and call and tell them to give you a chance.
28:39
That's basically what I did every step of the way.
28:42
So, so this leads me to, when I watch some of your great, you
28:48
know, Instagram videos, you're you're a Sportster.
28:52
I mean, you work out immensely. You're you're chiseled.
28:56
I watch you golf. I watch you golf.
28:59
I watch you ski and your videos are inspiring to the ladies.
29:04
It's not bragging. It's like, look, ladies, this is
29:07
what I'm doing. We're grinding.
29:08
We're in the airports. We got to keep our immune system
29:11
strong. We can't be sick.
29:13
We got to be on the air. So, you know, tell me about this
29:18
workout. You know that you do, which
29:22
enables you to golf and and to ski with your family.
29:26
Tell me about this workout. Well, I think that the main
29:30
thing is just keeping your energy up.
29:32
You know it. It's about being healthy and and
29:35
it's good for your mindset. I think working out for anybody,
29:38
no matter what level, If you're intense or you're just a Walker,
29:41
you're a runner. Whatever it is, there's
29:43
something that happens. It's called happy endorphins
29:46
that get released and it's it gives you more energy.
29:50
It makes you your outlook on life better.
29:53
Things aren't as hard as they seem and and that's just been a
29:57
part of me and working out gives me that energy and that drive,
30:00
boost your immune system, all those things.
30:03
But I've been you're talking about the sandbag workouts that
30:05
I do. I've done it for years and.
30:07
Years. You know, I'll go through
30:09
periods of time where I'll post videos and then I go in the
30:12
garage and there's guys in there.
30:13
They're like buying sandbags. They want to know it's so cool
30:18
because it is something you could take on the road.
30:20
You know, you could go buy your sand at Home Depot or whatever,
30:23
dump it in your bag and and you got your workout.
30:26
And I get daily updates, you know, on the workouts.
30:29
I still, I do like Orange Theory workouts now, too.
30:32
I love, 'cause I can do that in all the towns we go to, and it's
30:35
a big part of my life. But I'd say I work out maybe
30:37
three to four times a week. I'm not obsessive about it, but
30:40
when I can do it and get my heart rate up and and release
30:43
those endorphins, that's what it's all about.
30:45
But you know, it's there's just so many great benefits to it.
30:50
And being on the air, Yes, you need to care about how you look
30:53
and how you present yourself. That's all part of being on TV.
30:56
And if I don't want to do it, I shouldn't be.
30:58
You know, if you don't want to do that for television, you
31:01
shouldn't be on it because it is.
31:03
You know, people are looking at you.
31:05
You have to be aware of what you look like and how you're coming
31:07
across. And I want to be that positive
31:09
person. For people to say, hey, working
31:11
out is important, eating healthy is important.
31:14
Having a positive outlook on life and looking at the good and
31:17
not the bad is important. Yeah.
31:19
And first of all, I agree with you 110% and and I call that
31:23
don't give up a lot. A lot of people, Jamie, give up
31:27
on their bodies and you know I get made fun of all the time
31:31
because I'm eating grilled chicken, salmon, a good salad
31:35
with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
31:37
I quit Coke. Pepsi, sweetie.
31:39
And my friends, my, my my friends that we, you know, I've
31:43
always been the runt of the litter.
31:45
But I, you know, it's it's all about my cardiovascular.
31:48
You know my my family, they all my dad had a heart attack or
31:52
arteries get clogged up. So I just want to tell you that
31:56
I agree with you and and I'm with you and I just wanted to
32:01
add a little bit more on that is that we have to take care of
32:04
ourselves because we do love life.
32:06
I mean, you love life, right? I love life and I, you know,
32:11
energy is everything to me. I'm a high energy person no
32:15
matter what I'm doing, chasing my kids around, you know,
32:18
traveling all over the country, whatever.
32:21
It is so important and it's a decision that we make when we
32:24
wake up, right, Kenny? I mean, you have to have
32:26
something in life that gets you excited to get out of bed in the
32:29
morning and I have a lot of things that I'm excited about.
32:31
But when you feel good and you look good, I mean it goes, it
32:34
goes such a long way and you know, if I can inspire one
32:38
person, then that's awesome, that's, you know, that's part of
32:42
my job and part of my responsibility as somebody in
32:45
the media. So we might go back and forth,
32:49
and the viewers are learning this now.
32:52
Yes, I want to go back to X Games too, so go ahead.
32:55
OK, well, yeah, you're right. I got you.
32:58
But OK, let's let's talk about this for a minute.
33:00
You do you do such good for society and it seems like you
33:06
love animals. Whether it's animal rescue or
33:10
I'll be flipping through the TV channel and you are on the
33:12
biggest dog show there is in America.
33:15
And I see how hard you work. How much you prepare.
33:20
That dog show is a big deal. Just tell me and and I know
33:25
that. Tell me and hold on.
33:27
Let me back up for a minute. I know friends that are
33:32
psychologically not in the right frame of mind and basically
33:37
doctors will prescribe them a dog.
33:40
Yes. You know, two it it's better
33:43
than medication. Because sometimes dogs just give
33:46
unconditional love. So let me ask you this whole
33:50
round question. Tell me about animal rescue.
33:52
Tell me about your dog show. That's your.
33:55
I don't mean dog show. It's just a short name.
33:57
It's a big deal. Tell me about all that.
34:00
I'm obsessed with animals. I mean wild and growing up in
34:05
Tahoe, it's like I I just have had such an affinity for
34:10
animals. There was just something like
34:11
they spoke to me when I was young and trained horses started
34:16
riding at 8 years old and and like I said, I worked at a
34:19
stable, so a rental stable 365 days a year.
34:22
People would show up and ride through the snow and I'd have to
34:24
take them out on guided tours. And I was 9 and 10 years old, so
34:28
I'd get tips at the end, I'd be super nice.
34:30
I learned how to deal with people and how to manage people
34:33
in that way. And that's how my mom allowed me
34:36
to get this horse and I got a young horse that had never been
34:38
ridden before. It was like 900 bucks.
34:41
And I trained that horse and I was just in love with animals
34:45
and my mom would never let me have a dog.
34:47
So what did I do? I grew up and now I have four
34:50
dogs at home and I'd have. Yeah, Mom, come come to my
34:56
house. Yes.
34:57
Oh, and she does. And my dogs are freaking nuts
35:00
because I've just got crazy dogs that are allowed to do whatever
35:03
they want. But yeah, Kenny, you know, it's
35:06
it's one of those things in life that things cross your mind and
35:09
you're like, Dang, like, that's that's my calling.
35:11
And back in 2016, all of a sudden when I signed with or 15,
35:16
I guess it was when I signed with Fox, I had some downtime.
35:19
When this first half of the season ended, I had some
35:21
downtime and so I I found a huge animal rescue in Las Vegas.
35:26
The animal Foundation, it's one of the largest in the country.
35:28
It's it's so sad. They get 100 dogs and cats a
35:31
day, people turning in, finding whatever.
35:33
Vegas is terrible with homeless animals.
35:37
So I started going there. I started giving them my time
35:41
and and I started walking dogs and learned all about this whole
35:44
world of rescue and how heartbreaking it is and sad and
35:47
and how I can make a difference as well.
35:50
So I really got on that bandwagon of let's give back to
35:53
the shelters, let's raise awareness.
35:55
I started something called a shelter surprise.
35:57
So when we go to a town where there's NASCAR, I mean I've gone
36:00
all over this country. I'll find a rescue organization
36:04
that needs some help and I'll go on their, you know, their
36:07
website and you get like they have their needs list and I take
36:11
like all the dog food, the dog beds, whatever they need.
36:14
And then I take pictures of some of their animals and I post it
36:16
all on social media so that people following me and watching
36:20
NASCAR know that there is a great animal rescue with some
36:23
awesome dogs that need to be adopted.
36:25
So I've been doing that for a long time.
36:28
I've got a Pitbull at home, I've got a Pitbull mix, a pug mix, a
36:32
golden retriever, and I'm looking every day, always for
36:36
more dogs. So yes, bring it on, Kenny.
36:38
I want to commend you for doing that because that that's that's
36:43
the work of a Mother Teresa you're you're doing you're doing
36:46
the right things. You know there's an old saying
36:49
you're going to heaven for sure. Well you're awesome because you
36:55
do all the right things. I heard something you know all
36:59
of us sportsters were in the sports psychology and and I hear
37:02
things that people don't hear. I'm not the whisper OK.
37:07
But but you said and and I'm part of these every once in a
37:12
while I go on the cow petty charity ride and I see what goes
37:17
on out of out on the West Coast. OK, I see it.
37:20
It's it's a entertainment tipping industry and and I tip
37:25
big want to make that clear. You you said you know you worked
37:32
with the horses and the people that rode the horses and they
37:34
they tipped you afterwards. Tell me about that right there,
37:40
because it seems to me that might have made you go ho.
37:43
I do a good job and I get a big tip.
37:48
Was I hearing wrong or was that was that part of your life
37:51
learning that if you do something good, you get a
37:53
reward? Yeah, and and it also taught me
37:56
hard work leads to gifts. And.
38:00
You can work hard and make money and look, I can have a horse
38:03
here and I earned his, you know, his keep.
38:05
That's how I had a horse. I had to work.
38:07
I had to, you know, I went to school Monday through Friday and
38:10
then on the weekends I was working at this stable and and
38:13
it was long, long hours. You're drinking water out of a
38:15
hose, out of well water. And.
38:18
You're slopping crap. And I mean, it was the best
38:21
childhood I could have ever imagined, Kenny.
38:23
I wish that my my kids had that right now, that they had to get
38:27
out there and get uncomfortable. That's the key about life I
38:30
think is getting uncomfortable because all we're doing as
38:33
people right now is finding more ways to be comfortable and
38:36
that's not good for your health, it's not good for your mental
38:40
stability. So Kenny, back then, being so
38:42
young, I realized like you work hard, you make people happy, you
38:46
do things for them and you're rewarded.
38:48
And if you do a bad job, you don't get anything.
38:51
And you also realize some people are assholes and some people are
38:54
very caring. I learned a lot about human
38:56
nature as a young girl, 8 to 12 years old, in those moments of
39:00
being a a tour guide. My, you just, you just took this
39:04
kind of like therapy for me too. I'm up.
39:06
I'm up here. I'm up here at my restaurant
39:08
that I really like, Twisted Tavern and and the cook came out
39:14
of a Super Bowl Sunday just a little bit ago and he was
39:17
bitching and moaning and I looked at him and I smile and I
39:20
said, buddy, I love you. I said you don't have you.
39:23
Everything's good. And everybody around said, oh,
39:26
he's like that all the time. And you know it.
39:28
It kind of, it kind of turned them around a little bit.
39:31
And I love your Spitfire energy. I love your pmai, love your
39:36
positive mental attitude and and getting back, you know, I'm 60,
39:40
I was born in 63. I'm a lot older than you.
39:42
But how about you? You talked about drinking out of
39:45
a water hose. A friend of mine taught me that
39:47
in the summer when you're really hot, that you would, I would
39:52
take the water hose and and run the cold water over my wrist and
39:57
that was known back in those days to cool you down.
39:59
I don't know if it's because your your blood flows through
40:02
there and I don't know where the hell I'm going with this.
40:05
I just turned. I just turned into.
40:07
I just turned into John Force just now.
40:11
Kenny, it wouldn't be your show without stuff like that.
40:13
I love it. I and and I love your story.
40:18
You. I think you're my sister because
40:20
you're young, but I grew up like you did.
40:24
Kenny, you you asked me about X Games and living in that era and
40:28
I didn't really answer and I kind of explained how I got
40:31
there. But let's go go ahead the X.
40:33
Games, yes. So I would say anybody that's,
40:37
you know, 30 to 70 watch the X Games at some point in your life
40:41
and the X Games is amazing. Young athletes doing incredible
40:46
things that we never thought was possible.
40:48
Well, I got to be part of it during the heyday, the biggest
40:51
years that X Games has ever had and will ever, because you can't
40:56
do anything beyond what they've already done on a dirt bike or
40:59
snowmobile, you name it. But I was there when Travis
41:03
Pastrana, you know, actually, let's go back a little bit.
41:06
I did the Gravity Games for NBC in 2000.
41:09
Carrie Hart, who's now married to Pink, the singer.
41:13
That's how I got into this whole mess.
41:14
I I didn't. I left that part out.
41:16
When I was 15, Carrie and I went to school together.
41:19
He raced dirt bikes. I thought he was the coolest guy
41:21
ever. I thought his friends were cool,
41:23
Let me hang out and ride dirt bikes with you guys.
41:25
And then after that, I just went a step further and wanted to be
41:28
part of the sport. So Fast forward.
41:31
I'm covering Carrie at the Gravity Games on NBC, which was
41:34
like a competitor to X Games. Carrie Hart goes out there and
41:38
pulls the first ever back. Flip didn't ride out of it, but
41:41
he came down and landed in what a moment.
41:43
It was just an amazing moment. I just relived it recently for
41:47
some reason. I it came up and and it was just
41:50
like, wow, that's so cool. I got to be in the middle of
41:52
that. Brian Deegan was there.
41:54
Haley Deegan was there, I think in 2000 or 2001, right when she
41:57
was born. Yes, Brian.
41:58
I have his name already for you, yes.
42:02
And then Kenny Travis Pastrana pulled the first ever double
42:06
backflip and I reported I had just talked to him before he got
42:09
on his bike to go do it. Inside it was the Staples Arena
42:13
back then in LA, he told his mom, Mom, if anything happens to
42:17
me, know that I love you. And I reported that on the air
42:21
as he went out. I mean, Kenny, I saw some
42:23
things. I saw athletes die.
42:25
I saw athletes get paralyzed. I saw athletes break these
42:29
historic barriers that'll never be broken and do things that we
42:33
still talk about today. That was just an incredible
42:36
moment in my career when people come up and mention like X
42:38
Games. It's just it brings back so many
42:40
great memories, cause how much fun was that to be part of?
42:45
And I'll, I'll add, born in 1963 like I was, you know, sports in
42:52
my mind were settled. You know, you played baseball,
42:54
you played football, soccer, hockey, tennis, and that was it.
42:58
And when this X Games come along, it's like this ain't
43:01
real. What's going on?
43:03
I mean, what are they doing? And so you're right.
43:05
You Jamie, you were literally on the forefront of creating a new
43:12
sport. Would you agree with what I
43:15
said, that you were there when they created a new style sport?
43:21
I was part of it. I mean it started, you know,
43:23
mid, mid 90s. But where we were really seeing
43:26
the impact was 2000, 2001, 2-3 and four when we started seeing
43:31
just the back flips, the front flips, the three 60s on dirt
43:35
bikes and I mean the evolution of Motorsports.
43:38
I think so many people just were aware suddenly of the power of
43:42
Motorsports and these young athletes and what they're
43:45
capable of. And oh, by the way, NASCAR was
43:47
at its height at that same time as well.
43:50
Unfortunately, we lost Dale Senior in 2001.
43:53
I remember that moment. I wasn't into NASCAR and
43:57
obviously in the way that I am now, I watched it, but in
44:00
Supercross, like we all just mourned that moment.
44:03
But it was such a high point for Motorsports X Games, and
44:06
Supercross and NASCAR were all just on this high at that time.
44:11
In in your opinion, you're around all these great athletes
44:16
when you look at a Travis Pastrana and now listen, I've
44:19
been around Brian Deegan a lot, he's he's got me beat for
44:23
hyperactivity and. I'm an ass dude.
44:26
Yeah, he's a bad ass dude. I mean, you know I'm around
44:29
Brian and he's blinking and he's raised he, I'm.
44:32
I met my match when I met Brian. You know it turned turned out
44:36
this is Haley, Deegan's father. But what what do they have that
44:43
other humans don't have? A Pastrana and and a Deegan.
44:46
What do they have? Yeah, right.
44:52
What makes them? I mean, you know, I think
44:55
they're the ones that when I watch, you know the Monster Jam
44:58
trucks right now or or I watch the snowmobiling, those X Games
45:04
now have those guys doing flips, trucks and and snowmobiles and
45:10
so Brian Deegan and Pastrana, just a quick blurb from you
45:15
about them. What are they like?
45:18
Well, it's interesting because they come from two different
45:21
backgrounds. First off, I met Brian Deegan.
45:23
I think I was probably 18. He must have been 2021, maybe a
45:30
little younger, but he was racing Supercross.
45:32
But he was what you called a privateer.
45:34
You know, he was one of those guys kind of doing it on his
45:36
own, didn't have the big factory support.
45:38
He was just out there. And I remember him being kind of
45:42
like a loner, almost like he was just kind of his own guy, just
45:46
trying to make it, trying to be somebody.
45:49
And then he wins a race. I think it was at the LA
45:51
Coliseum actually where he won his first Supercross race and it
45:56
kind of unleashed this guy and we started seeing the evolution
45:59
of Brian Deacon that he had this side to him on his shoulder F
46:04
the world we're going to create this brand.
46:07
And he did. He took it to another level.
46:10
We went to the Gravity games back to that time when Carrie
46:12
did the backflip and Brian was there.
46:14
Brian, he had created something called the Metal Militia and it
46:18
was like these guys that were part of this Metal militia, use
46:21
your imagination. They were just hardcore dudes
46:24
like it. It was almost like a biker gang
46:27
for dirt bikes. Like these guys, bad boys.
46:30
As they say on the West Coast Gnarly.
46:32
They were gnarly. They were young punks and they
46:36
were doing incredible things and making good money and they were
46:39
on a national stage. But Brian and his guys got
46:43
everybody kicked out of the hotel like they were just they
46:46
were raucous, they were nuts. And Brian was such a little punk
46:49
to interview. Like he just had this like he
46:52
just you know like but he but he laughs all the time And I knew
46:56
who the real Brian was. So it's so funny all the years
46:59
later now in NASCAR that his daughter's racing in NASCAR.
47:03
He's still that Brian vegan. Obviously he's come around he he
47:06
shows his soft sweet side but he's just he's a different
47:10
unique character and he is just he's built an empire.
47:13
I mean he's done incredible as a businessman what he's done with
47:17
his kids. He has three kids, all involved
47:19
in Motorsports. And then there's Travis
47:21
Pastrana. That was like, the Golly G
47:24
straight, A freaking genius kid who was like, doing things that
47:29
like 12 years old that nobody should be doing on a dirt bike.
47:32
Like he was just so talented. And then he realized, like, he
47:37
was good at everything. You tell him to jump off a
47:39
bridge on his dirt bike. Sure, I'll do that.
47:41
He did anything. And immediately the world just
47:44
picked him up. He was in the motocross videos
47:46
doing all this crazy stuff. He was on tour around the world
47:50
and I mean how Travis Pastrana is still upright.
47:53
I, and I don't say that lightly. Like the amount of concussions,
47:57
the bones he's broken in his body.
47:59
Just go ahead and go, people watching this, go go Google.
48:02
Travis Pastrana, injuries. It's insane, insane what he's
48:06
endured and he's still racing. It's crazy.
48:10
I got to tell you, I'm so happy inside right now because I could
48:13
hear your passion just now. You're you're you're happy time
48:17
in your life really came out just now.
48:19
Thank you Jamie. That was that was really
48:20
awesome. Yeah, such a fun time.
48:23
Yeah, and you know and and Kenny, conversation is all about
48:26
you and this is what you're thinking.
48:28
This is what you're in your mind.
48:30
I want to keep bragging on you. This one blows me away about
48:36
you. And this shows the Sportster in
48:38
you. Oh boy.
48:39
You won the 2008 Toyota car race in the Pro Celebrity race over
48:45
Mike Skinner. Yes, you drove a car.
48:48
You out running. You did it.
48:51
Tell me about that time. Kenny That was the best day of
48:54
my life until I got married and had children.
48:57
Yeah, it it's all good. We know what you mean.
49:02
Kenny, it was so cool, let me back up real quick.
49:04
So when I started covering IndyCar, what the first thing I
49:07
did when they asked me if I would do it, I went and signed
49:09
up for racing schools. I mean, I I did any kind of
49:13
racing school. I went to Skip Barber and I went
49:17
to what was it like? ESPN had this Russell Racing
49:20
School with open wheel cars at Sonoma Raceway.
49:23
I got my racing license. I wrecked a car like I loved it.
49:27
Like I thought, man, I if I could I would race.
49:30
But I should probably stick to my day job and continue on this
49:32
path of of announcing like I'm doing.
49:35
And I loved it. So when Toyota came to me in 08
49:38
and they're like, we want to put you on this celebrity roster to
49:40
do this, I had to take a weekend off.
49:42
Like I had to go to training in the middle of the desert for
49:45
like, it's Lancaster, CA for three days to drive these race
49:50
cars. You're with instructors.
49:51
You're with all the other celebrities.
49:53
And I went balls to the wall, Kenny.
49:55
Like, I was there not to just run a race and be like, look at
49:58
me, I wanted to win that race. Kevin Harvick told me I better
50:01
go out there and bring back a trophy.
50:03
Tony Stewart, like these guys were telling me like don't don't
50:07
make us look bad. Like you represent this sport.
50:09
Go out. And I freaking did Kenny, I went
50:13
out there, Oh my God. I got all up on the guy that was
50:16
leading the race. He started mirror driving.
50:18
I drove him right into the wall. Like I didn't touch him, but.
50:20
I don't mirror driving me. Yes, yes.
50:23
So he looks in the mirror, drives straight into the wall.
50:26
So I take the lead one lap to go.
50:29
Skinner had to start behind all of the celebrities.
50:31
So when you're a pro, you have to start behind the celebrities.
50:34
I see him come and I'm like, oh shit, like he's a he's a Truck
50:37
Series. He's a real race car driver.
50:39
Yeah, exactly. So we're racing Kenny.
50:42
I'm hold him up, hold him up. The last corner is a hairpin.
50:45
He tries to spin me out. I stay in the gas, kept it
50:49
straight, cross the finish line. And I won that freaking race.
50:52
And it was the second time ever in 32 years that a woman won the
50:56
overall. And I climbed that damn fence
50:59
like Elio Castroneves. I was on that podium spraying
51:02
champagne with Mike and all the interviews.
51:05
And the next morning, Kenny, I woke up in the hotel room and I
51:08
was like, did that really happen?
51:10
Was that real? Open up my door, the front page
51:13
of the Long Beach newspaper with my picture on it.
51:15
It's the day of the IndyCar race, by the way, and I'm on the
51:18
front page and I'm covering that IndyCar race.
51:21
I'm like this. It doesn't get better than this.
51:23
So from that moment on, Kenny, I understood what it was like for
51:26
you and all these drivers that I worked around.
51:29
That feeling of winning is unlike anything you can
51:32
describe. Yes, you're right.
51:34
And it psychologically, whatever hurts in your body, it doesn't
51:38
hurt anymore. As you say, the endorphins, the
51:41
exhilaration of you didn't need anybody but you.
51:44
You feel so light now you're so happy.
51:48
Whenever I have won big races, I just I say I'm just so happy
51:52
it's you know, that's the best way I can explain it.
51:54
But yes and and once again that's what separates you.
51:59
You know, I I asked John force. I said, John and I said what do
52:03
you have mentally and physically that nobody else has?
52:07
And 4th thought about it for a while.
52:09
He looked at me, said bullshit. But what you have over everybody
52:16
is you do it. You rode my motorcycles, you
52:19
ride horses, you've raced cars. And I know, by the way, you know
52:24
you do to TV and that's what pays the bills.
52:27
And that's an audible right now as I'm talking do do sometimes
52:32
you ever find out that you got to do things, you know, that pay
52:38
the bills, You know, like I did TV, but I was a race car driver
52:42
and I always reminded people of that.
52:45
I mean, I know you're going to say you love TV because that's
52:48
what you're doing and the bosses do listen to this show.
52:53
OK, let's have fun. If I was to say you could been a
52:57
Sportster in anything in made 11 or or do TV and your bosses
53:02
would understand what what would your answer be?
53:07
I think. I think my path worked out
53:09
exactly like I would. I would hope it would Kenny
53:12
because I raced downhill mountain bikes too for a while.
53:15
Trouble. Oh my God.
53:17
Talk about freaking nuts. That was my let.
53:19
Me add that, let me add that mountain bikes.
53:22
I didn't race professionally. I was definitely a novice, but I
53:25
raced downhill at multiple places and and that feeling of
53:29
winning, that feeling of competition, all of it.
53:32
I fed that, I fed that desire and I continued to when I got in
53:36
race cars and I got to do those things.
53:39
But this is really I think who I am.
53:41
I think I'm better as a voice for things of racing and
53:46
spreading. The good news about racing and
53:49
and the athletes, the drivers that we cover all the time, that
53:52
is my calling. My calling wasn't to be a race
53:54
car driver or you know a a bike race or anything.
53:58
This I found my calling, but I got to have a lot of damn fun
54:02
and a lot of good competition along the way.
54:05
I knew 90% of this about you, but you you you filled so many
54:09
holes. And I I'm just, I'm so complete
54:12
right now because I once again, I know it's my third time.
54:15
I'm repeating this, you know. I have Brooke, Brandy and
54:18
Brittany and beautiful. Family.
54:21
Kenny all. My babies.
54:22
I love it. You know my brother, my brother,
54:24
Mike's daughter, Chrissy, she race.
54:27
So man, I'm having so much fun. We're at 55 minutes already and
54:33
I I got to ask you these other questions.
54:35
I know you're in Daytona. I know I I need to let you go.
54:39
But let's let's get to the end here and and ask you some things
54:45
about not not your personal life, but you.
54:48
You. You are so you know, worldly.
54:53
You become famous a handful of years ago with starting a
54:57
company. Nothing Bunt Cakes.
55:00
Tell me about this business. You do good things Every once in
55:03
a while you go to get some free cakes away.
55:07
Nothing. Bunt Cakes in Indianapolis.
55:11
That's where you live. Tell me about this business.
55:13
You say you and your husband got going.
55:16
Yes, it's actually a national brand, Kenny.
55:18
So we're franchisees. It started in Las Vegas and I
55:23
just, I love the cake. Anybody that's heard of nothing
55:25
bun, cakes always says the same thing.
55:27
It's just, it's joyful, It's something that you share with
55:30
people and they're never going to be bummed when you give them
55:32
a cake, right? So my husband and I were in
55:35
Vegas, I was pregnant with my daughter.
55:37
I landed home from a race one day and I said, honey, I don't
55:40
want to raise our kids in Vegas. I just, I I wanted to go to
55:43
greener pastures. And what do you think about
55:46
going to Indy? He's from Indy and he was like,
55:49
let's go. Hold on.
55:51
This is a Howard Stern moment With, with, without being mean.
55:56
Because I want. I want to make sure you know I'm
55:58
not a mean person. I can't.
56:00
I probably know your answer, but tell me why not Vegas?
56:04
Vegas was tough for me as a teenager.
56:07
There's just, I mean, you can use your imagination.
56:09
There's so much out there. Yes, there it's toxic and
56:14
there's a lot of great things. There's neighborhoods,
56:15
communities. My parents are still there.
56:17
I absolutely love Vegas, but the schools weren't very good.
56:22
The public school system is is actually terrible in Nevada.
56:25
And I just wanted more and better for my kids.
56:28
And honestly, I wanted green grass.
56:30
In Vegas. You can't even have green grass.
56:32
If you build a new house, you have to get turf.
56:34
Like there's a water shortage. Like I want trees that grow
56:37
naturally and grass and those things for my kids, for my dogs.
56:42
And Indiana has that. And they have the seasons.
56:45
You get the crazy winters and and you've got beautiful springs
56:48
and falls. And I wanted all that.
56:50
And I knew the people of Indiana were amazing.
56:53
I spent so much time there and all the years I covered the
56:55
IndyCar Series, the Indy 500. I had family there.
56:59
Cody's family is there. So we moved and we needed
57:03
something else to do. Cody, he had Jimmy John's
57:06
franchises in Vegas. He's like, well, what kind of
57:08
franchise can we start there? So we said let's bring nothing
57:11
bundt cakes to Indiana. People love their sweets
57:14
everywhere. So now we have 3.
57:16
And it's a. National franchise and and they
57:19
do great, Kenny and we love to give cake.
57:21
I'm kind of known as the cake lady these days.
57:23
Forget the racing lady. I'm the cake lady.
57:25
So my wife told me to tell you. My wife, Kim Yes, says.
57:30
We want to buy some white chocolate Raspberry.
57:33
Does that make sense? Yes, that's our number one
57:35
flavor. Kim knows what's up.
57:37
OK, so do you ship? We don't ship, but for the Saint
57:43
Louis race, Kenny, I would gladly bring our cakes made from
57:46
our bakery. I will drive them to your house.
57:49
No. OK, that's awesome.
57:53
They'll be chilled. I'll deliver them to you and
57:55
Kim. OK, you're awesome.
57:57
I really appreciate that. Because I was telling Kim about
58:01
having a conversation with you and and, you know, bringing
58:05
myself up to date on things that I don't know about you.
58:09
So another thing that I don't know about you that I saw on X
58:15
and you have it pinned to the top is you have a Mountain Home
58:19
rental in Tennessee. It looks beautiful.
58:23
Tell me about that. I love Tennessee.
58:25
Yeah, Kenny. I mean, you know, TV is not
58:28
going to be around forever. You know when you get tired of
58:30
seeing this mug, they're going to be like, all right, we're not
58:32
giving you a new contract and I better have my shit in order and
58:36
and some investments lined up. So we got, we got into this
58:40
rental business and we found this amazing brand new home in
58:43
Townsend, TN. So if you've gone to Gatlinburg,
58:46
Pigeon Forge, they call it the the Peaceful side of the Smokey.
58:50
So it's right on the other side of the mountain.
58:51
It's like 25 minutes from Pigeon Forge and it's just this
58:55
beautiful community, just, you know, it's the mountains, it's
58:58
the rivers, it's everything and and it's a rental so you can get
59:02
it on BRBO or Airbnb, whatever. And it's just fun, it's it's
59:07
it's a great little place for us to visit, for other people to
59:10
enjoy. And you know, I just like having
59:13
different business ventures and especially ones that we can
59:15
enjoy as well. And I want to brag on myself for
59:19
a minute. People said, hey, you got all
59:20
that NASCAR money? I'm like, no, I had a lot of
59:24
rental property and I invested in real estate.
59:27
Most of my money was made in real estate, so I just want to
59:31
brag on you for a minute. Good job, Kenny, it is.
59:33
My mom always told me that diversify first, but that rental
59:38
properties, properties in general is the way to go.
59:41
I I nurtured my stuff, sold it all to David Reagan.
59:45
And there's more to say but and. Now there's coffee with Kenny
59:48
every day doing whatever the hell you want to do.
59:50
And Can you believe I'm totally retired and Charlie right now is
59:54
behind the camera here. He called me one day and he
59:56
goes, let me search you a YouTube channel.
59:59
I told Charlie. I said, Charlie, I'm too busy
1:00:01
running the dirt car. I don't want to do this, Jamie.
1:00:04
This is the most. This is the funnest hobby I've
1:00:06
ever had. It's perfect for you.
1:00:09
It it, I went. I went to Key Largo in December
1:00:14
and had the biggest attaboy moment of Ben Kennedy was down
1:00:18
there and he said, hey, I love your YouTube show.
1:00:21
And I said that's all I needed to hear, 'cause I'm sure I had
1:00:24
pissed them off in the past. But come to find out, you know
1:00:28
when you talk from the heart, that happens every once in a
1:00:30
while. Well, so yeah, your real estate
1:00:35
now do you have Jimmy John's still or did you?
1:00:38
We just got rid of Jimmy John's in Vegas.
1:00:40
So we're building that that bakery franchise that that
1:00:44
empire, Kenny. It's all about sweet treats and.
1:00:48
And. That's right.
1:00:50
Well, all right, so we're we're coming to the end.
1:00:53
This is it. And I do this with every athlete
1:00:57
in NASCAR. But we changed it just a little
1:01:00
bit. We don't get so technical.
1:01:03
We're going to end the show like this because you know what's up.
1:01:09
Jamie knows what's up in NASCAR. What are your thoughts on NASCAR
1:01:15
today? I think NASCAR today is is in a
1:01:20
really good place, in a healthy place.
1:01:23
We're moving, we're changing. We're doing things differently
1:01:26
than we've done in the past, yet we're holding on to those things
1:01:29
that made us great. Ben Kennedy has this vision.
1:01:34
The clash at the Coliseum racing on the streets in Chicago.
1:01:38
I mean, we're trying different things and we're taking NASCAR
1:01:41
to new fans and that's what we have to do.
1:01:44
We have to think outside the box.
1:01:45
We have to think about a new audience while also welcoming
1:01:49
and embracing those that have stood by us for so long.
1:01:52
I think we're in a great place. There's so many and amazing
1:01:55
talented young drivers coming up through the ranks, our pit crew
1:01:59
guys, these tremendous athletes that you watched in college
1:02:03
football or basketball, whatever it is, it's just the level is
1:02:06
just being raised and and the sport is so competitive, Kenny.
1:02:10
And every year, like it's media day today, we're going to hear
1:02:13
from these guys. I mean it's like the first day
1:02:15
of school. It's so exciting.
1:02:18
We're so proud to be part of this sport, the second biggest
1:02:21
sport to the NFL, which is king of all.
1:02:24
And there you are, the first lady of Motorsports TV, 13 years
1:02:29
old, moved to Vegas kind of on your own.
1:02:32
And and you really grew up with just a single parent mom.
1:02:36
And this is a message for all of you ladies out there.
1:02:40
Look at Jamie, go. Listen everybody, this is it.
1:02:45
We are in podcast form now and boy, that's growing bigger and
1:02:48
better. And this is one hour so you can
1:02:51
listen to Jamie on your way to work and then you can listen to
1:02:54
her on the way back home. Remember, we're in iTunes, we're
1:02:58
in Spotify or right here on on Kenny conversation.
1:03:02
Jamie, thank you so much. Thank you, Kenny.
1:03:06
It's always good to talk to you. I'm so glad you're doing this
1:03:09
show and I was so happy you asked me to be on.
1:03:12
Have a great Daytona 500. Thank you.
1:03:16
You have a great week too. Goodbye everybody.