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Tony Stewart | Kenny Conversation #1 · Kenny Wallace Media

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Hello everyone and welcome to the Kenny Waller show brought to
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Aftermarket car parts. Remember to go to jegs.com for
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anything and everything you need.
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Wow, take a deep breath. This is a big deal for me.
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The very first Kenny conversation and probably the
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number one driver in my generation.
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Tony Stewart, Tony, thank you for doing this man for you.
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I wouldn't have missed this for the world, but you know that
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well, I really appreciate. So we were going to call this
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the Kenny conversation because I feel like if I have to make an
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audible, you know it's it shouldn't be back and forth like
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a tennis game if you To interrupt, you know, same here,
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we'll have a good time. So what started out like this,
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that's smoke that nickname smoke.
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It is. So badass the logo on your on
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your belt on all your fire suits.
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I don't know if we've ever got to the bottom of that.
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We know it's smoked when and where and when did you realize
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they were naming you that? Well if it's evolved, let's say
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over the years but it started at And then in app was Raceway Park
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and I was driving. I used to have Sprint car for
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Steve Chrisman and him and his family live about 30 minutes
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from here in Southern Indiana. And I don't remember exactly
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what happened. That started it but came off of
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turn four and two of us banged wheels and I got sideways and
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it. Slid right.
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Past the end of the pit wall going into turn one and slid in
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the grass. Well, you've been by RP.
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You remember what's down there? Light poles?
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Yeah. When sliding by the light poles,
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probably about 10 15 feet away from which would have been a
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disaster if we hit those and got back in and the brother, the
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older brother and he's strictly 100% farmer goes man you about
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smoke those poles bud but he started calling me smoker all
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the time and that car that I was driving.
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Had a tunnel ram, injections injections.
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So it literally had two intakes about this big around me.
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I mean when you open it it was like flushing a toilet but stead
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of eight little small Stacks it had two big butterflies that
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opened up and and it was it would go lean very easy there so
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it made it a little hard to drive on the exit of the corner.
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So I I was always hazing the tire a little bit I was still
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learning throttle control and how to manage at that time about
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750 horsepower. So so get away from the USAC
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side and I went IndyCar racing with Team Menard and we blue
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Motors up left and right. Right.
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And the IndyCar guys knew my nickname was smoke, but they
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then they kind of changed the meaning of it to what we had
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smoke coming out of the back of this thing.
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It was there go smoke again, you have blown another motor up so
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it's changed over the years. The the definitions as we went
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to different series and teams but it started at RP in a Sprint
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car. Wow, that's pretty incredible.
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You know, I have all these questions lined up, but this is
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the perfect segue. I feel like a great race car.
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Drivers, like yourself god-given talents, you know, I was always
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taught that there's a string from your brain to your ass, to
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your foot, your hands, you're really good at throttle control.
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So you're saying that those early days is what taught that
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ankle of yours. Is there a thousand different
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spots in that throttle it you better have it.
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And that's exactly what I tell everybody you Better have a
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thousand spots on that throttle and every race car, you drive.
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Other than a drag car. We'll get to that later but you
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gotta have a thousand spots and you better know where they're at
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all the time. So when I broke my leg in 2013,
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that was the biggest thing we focused on because obviously,
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was my lower right leg broke both of the bones had to go
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through a lot of physical therapy.
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When I started my foot, literally went three positions.
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It was here here, here and then wide open.
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Mmm. So we We actually mocked up a
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steering wheel and a pedal system and had the same amount
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of pressure on the throttle pedal.
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And it was just like, it was like a simulator that you would
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see for iRacing now, but there was no video with us.
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So it literally was a steering wheel steering shaft.
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I had to shock absorbers on the end of the steering shaft and
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that's I just sit there while I was watching TV and just turn it
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back and forth and back and forth and was working my foot
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the entire time and it went from three different positions to
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back to that thousand eventually.
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I remember a story. You told me you've been banged
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up a couple times. Did you get injured real early?
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And you told me that to bring yourself back to 100% like you
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thought you needed to be, you went to a really nice local
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go-kart track your onto it. We would say this was the end of
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96 and it was the end of the first IRL season.
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The season finale was at Las Vegas Motor.
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Speedway first event on the racetrack and it was in In July
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and it was 102 degrees out and myself.
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And my teammate Mark, dismore, both blue right rear tires and
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hit the wall and it hit flat left side.
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Shoulder blade. My collarbone back in my left,
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hip and pelvis on the left side and I was living in an apartment
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with one of the crew guys, on my team who was, who also came from
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the midget ranks and I started at my mother's house and because
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we were on third floor. Hartman.
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So getting up and down steps. 1996.
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Yeah. It was not a good deal.
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No elevator to get up and down, and but I went to Stefan
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Johansson is go-kart. Yeah, on the west side of
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Indianapolis and a guy named. Sean Britt, was the general
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manager there and he literally would come pick me up at 7:30
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every morning. Almost, no, can get up early.
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Yeah. And I it's not, I'm not a fan of
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it. I'm starting to get up early
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earlier and it pisses me off. But he would carry literally
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carry me down two flights of stairs every day load Mandy's
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car. Take me to the carding Center.
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They had one car that had timing and that had lap times on if
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they had a lap counter on it and he would put me in that cart
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with a full tank of fuel. The very first day, I made it
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five minutes and had to get out, then ran five more minutes and
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that's all I could do by the end of 20 days.
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I got to where I could sit there and ride I'd through a full tank
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of gas like, literally would start at eight in the morning
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and by the time 11:00 came it would run out of fuel and I'd
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ran a whole tank of fuel out in an indoor, go-kart track, which
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takes a lot to do, but but I was that the reason I'm bringing
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this up is no, I like it. What I was super impressed about
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was Sean was he would sit there and grab a stack of paperwork
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and he would go into the control Booth which was out in the
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carting area where the computer was and he would do paperwork
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and he would look at the lap times.
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And as soon as he you know, indoor karting track a really
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slick. So the longer you run, the more
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heat you're building the tires faster, you go faster, go
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faster. You go as soon as he would see
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those lap times start slowing down and going the other way.
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He knew I was getting tired and he had let me run about four or
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five more laps like that and if it didn't come back down he'd
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stop me and make me get out for a couple minutes.
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Get a drink of water. Put me back in.
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Get me packed in with foam. Send me back out by the end of
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that. Like I said, didn't didn't.
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Stop at all. So lap times of just literally,
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get get faster to a certain point then they just stay level
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and stay consistent. So, he was a very big factor in
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me getting healed up and back in a race car quicker and reminds
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me of I want to ask Dale, senior.
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I don't know if you remember that bud.
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Shootout. Back in the day Busch Clash,
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whatever they called. He kept starting last and going
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to the front startled asking and he dominated.
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And I said my gosh, you were fast and he says, when you have
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a good horse ride it. Yeah.
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Your conversation, you know, I mean, you kind of mix that in
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with her as good as you are, you still work really hard at your
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craft and I want the young kids to understand what you're
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saying. So that leads me to this
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question. I think that you're a god-given
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talent. I think, you know, some, there's
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times I looked up and said, Lord, why didn't you give me
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some Tony Stewart's Talent? Have you ever in your career
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after everything? You've accomplished, just for a
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moment, driving down the road by yourself going.
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I'm a little different than everybody else now, I know
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you're humble, but if you're ever thought that I am very
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grateful to the man upstairs, to get forgiven me the talent that
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I have for sure, because, you know, I got a text from a buddy
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of mine that was the very first go-kart ever drove at a
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racetrack. And he were still good friends.
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I mean, we were, we raced since we were eight years old and go
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karts till I got out and I go well till he got out and go
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karts in our in our early mid teens.
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But yeah, I think about that, a lot to be honest because and I
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know you've always heard me joke around there like man, you're
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really good and I'm like well I had to be because I'm too lazy
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to work real job and but then years go on and you in You
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realize it's there's not a lot of Truth to that in all reality
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because yeah, I didn't like working real jobs.
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I didn't like you know, I worked at McDonald's two different
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times. While I was in school and right
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after I graduated and until I got settled in somewhere, I've
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worked some really crappy jobs along the way to get where we're
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at but it was all so I could race and I've realized in
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Motorsports people don't realize how much Works involved in it
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from from a driver's standpoint. Now You talk about car, owners
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and crew, guys ton of work involved, but it's equally
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equally taxing for us as drivers because we constantly have to
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think about what we're doing. I mean, you take guys, nowadays
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this day and age, most guys are very single Lane on what they
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want to run when they're young. They're parents the soccer mom
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and dads are in full swing and Motorsports now too, and they
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have their kids path planned for them and their kids by right
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into it. It's a single dimensional plan,
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they're either going an IndyCar out there.
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Going to NASCAR out there going to sprint car route, one of the
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other. That's what I see opt-in weed.
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Yeah and I did it. I did it all of it at some point
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so but it's what you don't see. Is kids jumping back and forth
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from different cars and I think that is honestly what has helped
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build me to who I am. It wasn't so much.
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All the hard work and it was all the hard work, but every car you
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drove was different and The thing that that car wanted you
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to do with your hands and feet was different.
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So, you have to be smart enough and sharp enough to sit there
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and say, okay, the cars telling me what it wants.
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I just got to figure out how to manipulate it to so it will do
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what I wanted to do, but you have to do what the car is
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asking. So I always felt like that was
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an advantage for me. Going a new race tracks going
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and driving. New cars.
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Is that I never got stuck with one feel.
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I got used to To a lot of different fields and then it
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made it a lot easier to learn something new every time we make
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a new step. I so badly want to get to the
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start of the show which is your drag racing but you know these
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conversations are lead me in different directions.
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Mark, Martin was interviewed and they set up.
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They said Mark Martin, tell us about Tony Stewart.
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You know, it's true, you're a badass.
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You're a tough guy, you're your chip off the old a.j. foyt
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block, but Mark said You're a lover.
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You're a philanthropist, you do such good deeds.
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So we know you're a tough guy but at heart, your lover.
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I mean you're talking about the man carrying you up and down the
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steps we hear that, you go back at the Dairy.
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Queen of the original owner. I know what you do.
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Are you are you both? Are you a lover?
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And a tough guy? How would you assess yourself?
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Yeah, hate for you to say that because then you're going to
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ruin my bad reputation. Well, you're a badass, we
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already know that but it is. Okay, let's get this.
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Are you a lover? Yeah, there's there's a softer
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side to me to, you know, and I'm my eyes are wandering around,
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because I'll be honest. This is the first time in first
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day, and four months, that I've been back to my Ranch and
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Indiana checking your place out while you're talking to me.
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The windows because it's turkey season, and I'm watching a
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turkey, cruising along the back again, anchor.
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I'm like, man, we count there and hide one of you would have a
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bad day. That's right.
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Now II do I, you know, you mentioned the Dairy Queen, I
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mean, they they sponsor me when I was nine years old in a
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go-kart and one of my best friends in town.
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Now works for me here at the ranch.
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And and I literally texting before I sat down in the chair
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to talk to you. I said, hey, as soon as we get
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done, let's go see Bob at Dairy Queen because I know he'll give
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me Free Shake which shakes about a dollar 75 now, so, but he is
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same guy same store. I raised a three quarter midget
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in Indiana here. When I have spare time and my
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dad's 85 years old, he races one, that's why I still race.
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But if we, when we run the Columbus fair and the
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fairgrounds here, if we win the race, I always do just like I
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did every Saturday night when I raced go-karts, if we win the
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next day I take the trophy into him.
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He said, sit on the counter for the Entire year and then I get
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it at the end of the season. Okay, this is perfect, this is
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perfect. Now let me let me start, we've
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done 20 minutes and didn't start the conversation.
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So we know everybody knows that you've done it all.
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I mean if you know in this new era if I Google Tony Stewart I
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mean, NASCAR champ and you know, IndyCar Champion, you know,
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don't make me go down the list but you've done it all.
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There's nothing else to do except what Tony Wants to do.
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We all know that? So you go to race NHRA, and but
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now you end up in Vegas last week and now you've already done
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it all but You win, you win your first NHRA drag race.
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You send the whole United States and not the states, the world in
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a tizzy because now it's like, holy crap, he's now he's winning
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at track racing. So are you taking that Wally to
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the Dairy Queen? I don't know about the Wally.
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It's a little different from the fairgrounds trophy at @eq race.
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But I was, that was one thing when I got home last night.
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Night and I was grabbing everything out of the truck and
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bring it inside. You know, when we win and SRX
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racer, we win sprint car race, or whatever it is.
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You know, if we win something we always bring it to the kitchen
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first and you know the my housekeeper here, we call
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herberto like Berta from Two and a Half Men, she's just got as
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much spunk and she doesn't care. If it's Johnny Morris, it's
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staying at the house or you or anybody else.
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She's going to give me the same crap and the same grief.
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Like I haven't even seen her yet this morning.
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And I guarantee when I go around there, she's gonna look Mingo,
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you're here. Yeah.
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How long, till you leave again? Something mean I just guarantee
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us which is going to say but I love putting it out there
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because she likes to see it. My buddy Mark that works for us
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loves to see it when they get here and you know, then then
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it's a topic of, you know, talking about the race weekend
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and talking about how it went. So you went to Vegas and I want
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to get, I want to get to that but you do something that comes
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out. A little bit later, came out
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immediately in your interview but we all didn't hear about it.
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You've gone to Vegas a lot in your life.
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You want on the cup track you want on the Bullring you've won
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on the dirt track and now you're just you've done historical
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things. Now you've won in everything on
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the Vegas complex once you realized what you've done.
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I think you realize that in Victory Lane from the videos I
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saw That's pretty big feather in your cap, possibly nobody could
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ever do that. We we honestly thought about it
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last fall when we ran second at the NHRA, erase the very first
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race, I ran, I lost by to ten thousandth of a second, which
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literally is one inch. It is that big and there are
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fifteen thousand eight hundred and forty inches in a quarter
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mile. That's the you can imagine
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driving a quarter-mile 15,800 40 inches and you lose by one.
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Are You Smarter math now because of drag racing No, it just the
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good thing is we get we all got phones and they got for us.
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But yeah, it's I sat there last year and after we won the
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semifinals I'm like, holy crap. If we won I got thinking about
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like I want the Bullring in a non-winged Sprint car and a
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midget that I want an as at ASCS national race 360 race at the
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dirt track. I won my first so you sex over
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Crown race in the dirt track 1 cup win.
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In had the big track and then we were one inch away from
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completing it and but who would have known that, you know, four
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aces later. And in the spring we're going to
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come back to Vegas and we're going to win by three ten
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thousands of a second which is inch and a half and end up
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completeness. So I that was probably a side
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from think. There were three things that I
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was so grateful of at the top end.
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When we got out of the car I was I was just so excited that we
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won because you and I are Racers, it doesn't care tilt Day
18:00
we die. We're going to be writing
18:02
something, if it means we got a race to the toilet to see who
18:05
gets to the toilet first or it to the buffet, or to get to down
18:09
the hall to see her girlfriend at the nursing home, whatever.
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It's going to be, we're going to always be racing something.
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So, the wind was exciting to begin with and then I thought,
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man, this is so great for this team that I'm with McPhillips
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family, its Rich, senior Rich Junior, we call Rich senior pop.
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So I'll refer to as pops but him and Eric and Bill.
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Bill and Renee those are the five people that really work on
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my car and the car that I drove last weekend was not the car
18:39
that I ran at Vegas. Last fall, we had success with,
18:42
they built a bridge, they were building a brand new car already
18:45
for Richie, the Sun and after the Vegas race, then they
18:49
decided they want to put wanted to put a deal together for me to
18:52
drive the new car this year. So we started the year.
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Very, very slow and rough. And pre-season testing.
19:00
Ran a couple days could not get could not get any speed out of
19:03
the car, ran the baby gatornationals which is the
19:07
weekend before the gator National event slow went to the
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gatornationals slow went to Pomona slow.
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Like literally couldn't get this car to get out of its own way
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and it's literally it was literally the biggest part of.
19:20
It was the first 60 feet of the run.
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Just couldn't get the car to take off and launch and but he
19:26
was they were pulling their hair out pops.
19:28
I'm don't know him that well, but I mean, I could see every
19:32
run that we would come back, just the stress and tormenting
19:36
his eyes, he just was so frustrated.
19:39
But after the Pomona race before Vegas, we won't.
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We took the car to Bakersfield, California and did a test there
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and it didn't show any promise either.
19:48
I went there, Richie drove the car.
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I said, hey, this was going to be your car.
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You need to do the test session and drive it and didn't see
19:55
anything out of the day that we tested.
19:57
But In between the test and going to Vegas.
20:00
They found two things that were very big and very important that
20:04
they had missed on and had found a couple other areas that we
20:09
made improvements on. So I literally on Friday Vegas.
20:14
When I stepped on the gas to do the brown.
20:15
I'm like, whoa, this thing's woke up.
20:17
Now I can tell it's a different race car and he told me the
20:21
whole laundry list. I mean, intake camshafts did
20:25
some stuff in the rear, end free in the rear end up.
20:28
Had an alignment issue with the motor in the drivelines, just
20:31
little things that add it up, but it literally was a way
20:35
different race car and we Friday, the two qualifying
20:38
rounds we had, we didn't even make it down the track, and make
20:40
it a second half into the run, and literally shake the tires
20:44
too bad you had to lift. So we knew we were we were way
20:49
on the other side of the needle at that point and that's a good
20:51
feeling. I mean, it's it's like a
20:52
racehorse, it's way easier to slow that horse down.
20:55
It is to sit there and get the whip out and try to get more
20:57
speed out of it. So, We had power, we just had to
21:01
kind of pull it back and figure out where it needed to be.
21:03
So for the most part, when we started on Friday, it was like,
21:06
starting all over with a new car.
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I love it because this is racer, talk and Racers.
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Love to hear how you go from. Not good to testing, overcoming
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prevailing. So we're in Victory Lane and You
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know, the great Dick Trickle taught me about snapshots, you
21:24
know, just, you know, whether you're in their race car and
21:27
you're coming off the corner, you look at the mirror.
21:29
That's a snapshot or life. Life is full of snapshots, what
21:33
I really like about your Victory Lane and at tuned into that was
21:38
your wife, Liam came and gave you a kiss.
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And you said to her, I don't have to borrow your Wally
21:45
anymore. I have my own and she looked you
21:49
square in the face like a Energy says you earned it.
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Do you remember that moment? Yeah I do it's badass I won't
21:57
forget that moment. Are you kidding me?
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I mean I could not wait for her to get down there.
22:02
The first person to me and the lady that you saw me hug
22:04
immediately while I still had. My helmet on was Kelly Antonelli
22:08
and Kelly runs TSR for us. Used to run John Force Racing
22:12
and she was looking for a change and we said, hey what a
22:15
coincidence. We're looking for somebody, but
22:17
she's the spine and the backbone of the whole program.
22:20
So Kelly the first one I hug but I kept looking around for Liam
22:23
like she'll be here any second and but it's a long time, I mean
22:26
to get on, you know, to celebrate on the the part that
22:29
you miss. As a driver in NHRA, is when you
22:31
win the race, normally get to celebrate with the team right
22:34
away. I heard part in NHRA is your a
22:36
half mile down the track? Yeah.
22:38
Do they celebrate on the line? And then they all get them, tow
22:41
vehicle and scooters and golf, carts and haul ass down the
22:44
return road to get up there to you, but I remember that.
22:48
I will never forget that moment. I was So excited to see her up
22:51
there and you know she's she's really the reason that I'm
22:55
there. I mean, I for multiple reasons,
22:58
I mean I will dive deeper obviously but you know, she's my
23:02
coach. I mean she's my driver coach.
23:04
There's so many things like etiquette of just I don't even
23:08
know and I still don't know every 15 races now and I'm still
23:10
confused on the flags at the top end of the track on who's
23:13
supposed to turn off first and this and that, and it can be a
23:16
dangerous situation if not few attention.
23:18
So they always say when in doubt just Stop.
23:21
So but I'm figuring all those things out.
23:23
But Lea has been the most amazing teacher, you could
23:27
possibly imagine. I mean, we from the day we met,
23:30
I asked started asking a lot of questions about sport because
23:33
like you mentioned earlier, I'm a student of Motorsports.
23:35
I want to understand it, I want to know it, I want to wrap my
23:38
head around it and my hands around it and understand it.
23:41
So we've talked about a lot of things and then I've been to the
23:44
track of last couple years and been able to watch and learn
23:48
from that, but then, You get the call that you're going to drive
23:52
a car for the first time at an event I'm like oh crap.
23:55
There's all these things that I don't know about and etiquette I
23:58
mean, you know how I am as a person and Motorsports talked
24:02
about the loving side and the aggressive and frustrating side.
24:06
A lot of times when I got mad people thought I just enjoyed
24:09
being mad. I hated being mad.
24:11
I don't like being mad. I'm I'm like you, you and I are
24:14
two peas in a pod. We love having fun.
24:16
We love laugh and love being around people.
24:18
I hate getting mad and I hate Getting mad at other
24:21
competitors. But when I get mad at him, it's
24:23
always about etiquette. It's about the stuff that Dale,
24:26
senior and Rusty Wallace and Dale, Jarrett Mark, Martin,
24:30
Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte.
24:33
All these greats that I raced with, they taught us and they
24:36
taught you to, when you came up, they taught us the etiquette of
24:39
how to do it the right way and if you didn't do it the right
24:41
way, there was an easy fix for those guys in the bust your ass.
24:45
Yeah, they turned you around back in the fence and when you
24:47
were sitting there sliding down the racetrack or stopped, or
24:49
trying to get it, Up to drive the bits, you have that time to
24:53
go. I think I made a mistake and you
24:55
had to figure it out, but that's how you learn and they really
24:58
don't. It's sad in our sport now.
25:00
How vanilla and wimpy all these drivers are they want it, they
25:05
literally won't confront each other at the track.
25:07
They'll just sit there and wait, till they get home and beat on
25:10
each other on Twitter where nobody has to face anybody.
25:13
So, we grew up in a different era and a different age.
25:16
I don't know how I got off on this tangent.
25:18
It's a good subject. Don't don't worry about, I do
25:20
it. All the time.
25:21
But let me, let me say this. When we had a gentlemen's
25:24
agreement in the Nascar Cup series, that when there was a
25:27
big wreck, we all slowed down because at the time, we didn't
25:30
have the lines underneath the asphalt to freeze the field.
25:35
So we froze the field. Ourself well, early in my
25:38
career, I raced Terry the Bonnie, you know, I passed even
25:41
if they're all getting him and getting him he took maybe he
25:45
Terry Labonte took me between the trailers and to me, that's
25:49
what you did. Rusty did with that.
25:51
Hey, come here. And you know, shit and we went
25:55
between the trailers and it was that little private hallway.
25:59
People like you or you know, Dale, senior.
26:03
We would address people those days are gone.
26:07
Yeah. Yeah.
26:08
You're right. It's a, I mean, I remember
26:10
drivers coming up in the lounge and it wasn't always bad.
26:14
Sometimes, they come in there and tell you when you did
26:16
something good too, and that you did something, right, they would
26:18
come in and praise you for it. But if you did something wrong,
26:20
Wrong. Exactly.
26:21
There were meetings in between trailers.
26:23
They would literally come in your trailer and talk to you in
26:25
your own Lounge at talking. Each other's motorhomes.
26:28
After practice was over after the race was over.
26:31
You handled it, and you did it. I die.
26:33
You did it face-to-face. You did it as men and, and
26:37
exactly what you said. I mean, we didn't have timelines
26:39
in the race track. When the, when the caution came
26:41
out, you literally were allowed to race to the, to the
26:44
start/finish line, and you could pick up 10, 15, 20 spots if you
26:48
wanted if, if the caution came out in turns one and two, You,
26:51
but everybody it was, it was handled respectfully and we did
26:56
it because when cars wrecked then we didn't have soft walls.
26:59
We didn't have containment seats the safety.
27:03
At that time was as good as it could be at that time, but it
27:06
had a lot of room for improvement, but we all took
27:09
care of each other. And there was a, there was a
27:11
proper etiquette and as time went on, and I tell people, I
27:14
honestly say when we lost Dale senior, that was the beginning
27:18
of the end of the etiquette, there is no Way to get with
27:21
these guys anymore, and that's okay.
27:22
As long as we don't care you and I don't care what the rules are.
27:25
We just want it to be the same for everybody?
27:27
We want everybody to race the same you so never B.
27:30
Gentleman's Agreement? Yes.
27:32
Yeah, and we all did great with it and we have great races,
27:36
great racing, everybody respected each other.
27:38
And sure there's times that guys made mistakes or went over the
27:41
line and we all kept each other in check but it's definitely a
27:45
different day in age in NASCAR and that's that's what I was, I
27:49
guess. Where I was going with that is
27:51
that's what I'm trying to make. Sure I learn in the sport of
27:53
NHRA is I want to be respectful coming in, doesn't matter.
27:58
I don't get does not matter anything that I've done in my
28:00
past. Before I got there I'm a rookie
28:02
just like everybody else but I have the way I am as a person
28:07
away as I am as a driver's, a I want to respect the sport, I
28:11
want to respect the people in the sport, and I want to learn
28:13
the etiquette. I want to do it the right way
28:15
and Leah will tell you. I focus on making sure that I'm
28:18
doing it the right way. I can do that.
28:20
Things. And then at the end of the day,
28:21
we'll go to the hotel. And Mike hey I did this was this
28:24
writer was this the right way to do it or not ice and literally
28:28
some of the guys that I line up with for qualifying runs, you
28:32
know you're not racing each other but you're paired up
28:34
against each other for qualifying.
28:36
And you know when in our class we have injected cars and then
28:39
we have some cars that have blowers on them and the way they
28:42
stage is different than what the alcohol cars that just they're
28:46
injected that how they stage and everything.
28:48
So I would literally talk to every day.
28:50
Driver that I was going to and say, Hey you know, help me
28:53
understand how you need to Stage so I don't mess you up because I
28:56
don't miss your run up. You know, I messed my run up
28:59
that's on me but I don't want to measure run up because I don't
29:01
know what I'm doing and I think those guys really respect the
29:04
fact that I don't sit there and go.
29:06
I don't care about any of these guys.
29:07
All I care about myself, I care about the guys and racing with
29:11
and because of that I've built a good record in a short amount of
29:15
time with the teams and the drivers that are in my class in
29:18
the pit area. Yeah I want to That you didn't
29:21
work in a move on from drag racing up.
29:23
Number one, you're the ultimate racer, I'm saying that the other
29:27
thing that I know about you is that grown men in racing.
29:32
They try to be tough guys and they'll the leap over things,
29:37
they should have focused on. But when I'm around you, one
29:40
thing I've noticed about you is you take the most simplest thing
29:45
in your very serious about it. And I noticed that about you
29:48
years ago, I'm like Tony's focused On what I thought was
29:53
just the simplest thing. I want to thank you Johnny,
29:55
because you made me be more mature in that area.
29:58
So like as you just enter your richer no don't no.
30:02
Don't right now you're gaining on it.
30:06
Yeah you got a long way to go. I want everybody to know that
30:12
about you that at the start of a manual of, you know instructions
30:19
whether its life Or racing, You're Dead series from the
30:22
start, about just the most simplest thing.
30:25
So I just wanted to compliment you on that and tell you that
30:29
you taught me that you don't got to be a tough guy.
30:31
Let's get this right. Let's start out right and that's
30:34
why when I saw you going to drag racing school you know.
30:39
I thought that was so badass. You know you're learning from
30:43
the very bottom and honestly when I did that I had no
30:47
intention of of racing. I literally went The end of 2020
30:51
because Lea and I met in March and then at the end of the
30:54
toward the end of the season, I had built enough of a rapport
30:57
with her team to where I was allowed and was asked to sit in
31:01
the debriefs with the turn, the lingo and the yeah, and I was
31:04
sitting there and I mean, I would sit with my folders like
31:06
this and I would try not to breathe too loud, and I got to
31:10
listen to all the debrief. And and I would listen to Leah
31:13
talk about the run and what she had to do driving wise, anybody
31:17
thinks a drag race, use go straight you end.
31:20
Up. You can go a straight line to
31:22
get there, but none of those cars go exactly straight the
31:25
entire time. So, you have to drive, but I, I
31:28
sat and listened to all those things and I sat there and you,
31:31
and I have both done it. We've all, you know, you know, I
31:33
visit different racetracks and watch different cars race.
31:37
And when you hear people talk about, you go, well, with think
31:40
we understand and know what it would feel like to do that.
31:44
But when she would talk about some, I'm like, why in my head?
31:46
I understand it, but I don't really know what that feels like
31:49
you wanted to feel So I wanted to go to the drag racing school
31:52
and just get a better perspective on it.
31:56
Just so when I sat in those meetings then I don't have to
31:59
ask all those questions of and at the end of the school, you
32:02
feel about a tenth of the things, you need to learn but it
32:05
gives you a good base and understanding of how how it all
32:08
works. And you know, I started in a
32:10
super cop car there at Holly school and halfway through the
32:14
day, he brought his alcohol car for me to drive as well.
32:17
And that cars at 220 miles an hour car in a quarter mile, So
32:20
my Lord get your undivided attention, not because of the
32:23
speed, but because of the acceleration to get there, I
32:25
mean our cup cars, cannot get to 200 mile an hour and a quarter
32:28
mile. It's just physically is
32:30
impossible. So that's how it really started,
32:33
but I didn't have any intentions at that time of doing anything
32:37
more than just going to that school, you know, God, I can't,
32:40
I gotta wrap this this part up, but when we were bike week, I
32:45
told you Tony, I did a whole shot and the Jags Pro Stock, and
32:48
I said something to you that I thought Was kind of funny but
32:52
you took it serious. I said you know when I did that
32:54
whole shot, my brain was here. Yeah.
32:56
And the g-force was so unbelievable because I was
32:59
already in my 50s and the car was up here and you said that
33:03
that is a big deal. Yeah, it really is.
33:06
It's That's the hardest thing to explain to people because
33:09
they're like, man, you drive anything?
33:11
I feel like yeah, I can drive anything.
33:13
But the thing that happens is in the easiest way to describe it
33:17
as if you wanted to bench, press 400 pounds.
33:20
You don't just start with 400 pounds.
33:22
You start with a lighter weight and as you get used to it and
33:25
you build up to it, then you keep adding the weight.
33:27
And you just keep building and working up our brains have to
33:31
learn to process information. So you think of fighter pilots
33:35
and you think of right now, Drag racers.
33:38
And you think about all these people that drive things and fly
33:42
things that move very quickly and change direction, very
33:45
quickly, their brain has to learn and it doesn't just
33:48
automatically do it, your brain has to train itself.
33:51
If it doesn't have an application to grow and be
33:54
better. It won't no different than
33:56
lifting weights and build muscles.
33:58
So I had to drive slower cars that didn't have as much
34:02
acceleration as the top fuel card just to get my brain to
34:05
start wrapping itself around it because I told you the first
34:08
time I drove, Leah's, Top Fuel car.
34:10
They said, go to the 330 ft cone because all the cars you and
34:14
I've ever driven, if we want to ease up to it, we just run part
34:17
throttle and then we want to go faster a little more throttle.
34:19
It doesn't work that way and drag racing, because there's
34:21
timers, there's all these sensors that have to go off.
34:24
But you have to stab the gas when the light changes and then
34:28
it has to go through and do its work.
34:30
So, to work up to it, you just go shorter distances, you
34:33
started the 330 comb and you go to the 660 cone.
34:36
Then you go to the The foot then you go to the end of the
34:39
quarter, mile in the alcohol car.
34:40
So But I hit the gas. Got to the 330 cone and saw the
34:45
330 cone, shut it off. And my brain was probably 150
34:51
feet. And like, I tell everybody, I've
34:53
driven, Lea's car, 16 runs. I went 322 miles an hour to 3.76
34:59
elapsed time. And that's all and ass.
35:02
Yeah, they're running into three 30s when they're hauling ass,
35:05
but 322 was fast for me, but Trying to get your brain to
35:11
understand and, you know, you and I we could go to Bristol and
35:14
happy hour and Run 100 laps in happy hour.
35:16
For, it was over in a, one-hour session, in a eight hour, day at
35:20
an HRA track. If you have a good day, you can
35:22
get for four runs. And with the outcome Lon, you
35:25
get five maybe. So to try to get your brain to
35:28
understand and learn all these things.
35:29
It takes time to do it. And that's really how I ended up
35:33
in the alcohol car with the mixed of McPhillips family is I
35:37
drove her car Vegas a year ago. Go and spun the tires.
35:42
The last two runs out after 200 feet and didn't even know.
35:45
I was spinning the tires as it was still pulling it. 1.6.
35:49
Jeez. I mean it's still pulling hard
35:51
but I couldn't feel it. And I got very frustrated and
35:54
also at the same time the reality came in of, you know,
35:57
when the thing goes down through there and there's no problems.
36:00
It's it's okay. It's it's the 40 things that
36:04
could happen during that run of a cylinder going out or spinning
36:09
the tires and not Not quick enough.
36:11
There's just so many things that you got to be prepared for and
36:14
ready for it. That's what scared me of if I'm
36:17
behind the car and something happens, there's a good chance.
36:20
I can't catch up to it to recover it.
36:23
So that's, that's why I took a step back and came down to run
36:27
alcohol. I totally get it.
36:29
I'm going to end the drag racing segment as I flew with the Blue
36:33
Angels and I was pulling six eight G's and I was going out
36:38
and the pilot was just flying beautifully.
36:40
Because like you said, he worked up to it and you know you're
36:43
right you got to train your brain.
36:44
So Tony, let's move on. What's what?
36:48
That was loud? Listen, I take this interview,
36:51
serious. I got notes.
36:53
I have notes. Well, I want to go to mount
36:56
where you live, who made it because you didn't write those
36:58
out yourself. I did a lost art.
37:00
You know what I do? Tony, I get on my phone and and
37:04
I make others mean Kim. I guess I got a note section.
37:09
Connie from Sparkle called me but anyway, get that notes.
37:14
And helmet them. Yeah, uniforms I think that's
37:16
for the best, your SRX deal. I'm gonna be down there.
37:20
I'm going down to Charlotte, by the way, you've done a really
37:24
good job with that SRX deal and I'm honored, August 17th that
37:28
last SRX race at Wheatland, you know, you all invited me.
37:33
And that's a big honor for the third third child.
37:36
That always feels less or so. I'm Fit my seat.
37:41
You are the one I'm worried about at that event that you're
37:43
the one that I'm like you're the guy of the group that I got
37:46
circled that this is the guy that I'm gonna have to beat for
37:48
the win if I'm going to win that race.
37:50
Stop it. Well so we we gotta move on to
37:55
NASCAR you are the owner part, owner of Stewart-Haas, it's a
38:00
big responsibility and we all know.
38:02
Okay, I'm saying this, you're not Gene called you, somebody
38:06
called you you go there. I mean it's It's this is
38:09
Christmas. You say the day you immediately
38:12
when a championship you got you know, all your people in place
38:17
and now Stewart Haas has one of the top tier teams.
38:21
There's no as Ross, you would say no doubt about that.
38:24
So You're a full-fledged owner now.
38:28
And you you have all the right to say, whatever you want to
38:32
say. Because, you know everything now
38:34
about NASCAR, even though you're running in a tree, you can do
38:38
everything at the same time. I say, I say Tony can chew gum
38:42
and walk at the same time, better than anybody.
38:44
So I'm gonna ask you some questions.
38:50
About about NASCAR because I've heard you already.
38:53
So I'm already a little privy to what you think Tech inspection
38:58
with these new next-gen cars and the penalties.
39:03
What's your opinion on this? I don't want you to get in
39:07
trouble. The bad thing is, I have an
39:09
opinion about it. I have a very strong opinion
39:11
about it. You got the same as mine, but
39:15
and I said this at Bristol when, you know, we were down with
39:20
Chris Myers and Clinton, I were doing the pre-race show and it
39:23
was discussed about, you know, the Hendrick Saga of getting
39:26
penalized and losing points and crew, chief suspended, and then
39:31
they win the appeal. And then the next week, two more
39:33
cars, go back and win. Shield, screw gets cut off and
39:38
they lose all these points again for a windshield.
39:41
Screw the got cut off so yeah, I This is the part that I really
39:48
hate about the sport right now and this is what frustrates me
39:50
about, NASCAR right now is yeah, I do have an opinion.
39:54
I have a very strong opinion about how they're doing things,
39:58
but if I say something there, an owner we go there, then it's
40:03
going to cost me money. It's going to cost me points.
40:06
It's going to hurt my drivers. It's going to hurt my
40:08
organization and so as much as I have an opinion, I'm scared of
40:12
voice it because they NASCAR is shown now you Don't have an
40:17
opinion. You can have an opinion but keep
40:18
your mouth shut is basically the moral of the story.
40:20
What? Let me say it.
40:22
And I don't want you to answer, because one thing we want to
40:24
remind, everybody is that you are an ass car owner and I think
40:28
we all lose sight of that because you announce the races
40:33
you drag race, you know, I mean you're you got Donny Schatz in
40:37
the World of Outlaws you do so much good for Motor Sports
40:41
throughout the world. Tony thank you for doing that.
40:44
But I want to say this Kyle Petty said it.
40:48
Exactly. Right.
40:49
He says, when Daddy people in South called her dad's Daddy
40:53
when Dad erased when it was Lee Petty, Kyle Petty, you know,
40:58
Richard Petty all the patties he said.
41:00
When we went to the racetrack, it was us against them.
41:05
So my opinion is as well. We're coming to the racetrack.
41:09
Here's our, my car, jack it up, do whatever you want.
41:11
We're going to go through inspection as many times as you
41:13
want at this racetrack, but I Five hundred thousand dollars
41:18
for this car or 450 whatever it is.
41:20
And when I leave it's my car, I don't think it's right to
41:23
continue inspection when you leave the facility because I've
41:29
given you all the Hey listen we can find anything wrong with
41:32
your house. If I go to your house, don't him
41:35
Joyce, you know? So if you're going to take my
41:38
race car and study it, That's not right.
41:42
You inspected it at the racetrack.
41:44
When we unloaded before qualified, Before the Race, I
41:48
beat you the end. I feel comfortable with this
41:51
because I've said it before, okay?
41:53
You're saying it. And you remember this, when,
41:56
when I started and when you were, you had already been in
41:58
the sport for a little while. When I started, there were two
42:01
guys in the tower that had a stopwatch in each hand, to guy's
42:05
a total of four stopwatches to sit there in time. 43 cars on
42:09
Pit Road for petrol, Exceeding. Correct.
42:13
They're all on a percent. Right?
42:14
If you are I pissed off. Nascar or the week before we got
42:18
under their skin or ruffle their feathers.
42:19
Guess what happened? The very next week, got a Pit
42:22
Road, speeding penalty 100%, and that's how NASCAR kept the
42:27
etiquette and kept the drivers in line and kept control.
42:30
And that's we all understood that and it was like, yeah, we
42:33
get it and and you know, on top of that, if you really went
42:36
overboard, they call you to the trailer and have a talk with
42:39
you, and they would explain why they have to do things.
42:41
The way they do, and I don't want this to sound like a bash
42:43
session against NASCAR because you're not, they have the
42:46
hardest job in Motorsports to control all this.
42:50
So now we're in an era where the kind of backed themselves in a
42:54
corner, a little bit. Now you got all this gambling
42:57
and betting on the score. Well they can't they can't sit
43:01
there and give you a Pit. Road speeding penalty.
43:02
If it's not warranted, if you didn't do it, they can't charge
43:05
you for a Pit Road. Speeding penalty.
43:07
Like they used to now you change the outcome of the game.
43:10
If you did, now, you've I've changed it and you've you're
43:13
controlling the sport from that standpoint and screwing up the
43:16
bedding. So they don't do that anymore.
43:17
There's no debris, debris, cautions where somebody threw a
43:21
water bottle out and it's clear against the inside wall and they
43:24
want to caution because they want a bunch the filled up.
43:26
They literally cannot do that anymore.
43:29
Yeah, so now, if you're a NASCAR, how do you control
43:32
everything afterwards? And how do you control one draws
43:35
Kevin Harvick's, man, he's talking about the cars are
43:37
unsafe and and they're talking about this.
43:41
Dude, you're screwed up in that. How does NASCAR then keep these
43:44
guys under control? They take their cars back to the
43:47
shop and they find it down, just like you said my house, they
43:53
tear it down till they find something, they don't like and
43:56
every car is going to have something that they can find.
43:59
So that's their way of controlling it.
44:02
So, with that again, it's it's again why?
44:05
It's like the inspection process and this now man, the the Disco
44:09
room and the Scissors and all that to scan it, the technology
44:13
involved in that and how good a job NASCAR is done to control.
44:17
That is amazing. It's phenomenal, the Hawkeye
44:20
system, they had to figure all that out and figure out how to
44:23
control all this Nascar has done an amazing job from that
44:26
standpoint, but I agree with you to sit there and be upset.
44:31
Because somebody said something, you know, the Denny, Hamlin case
44:35
is a perfect example, you know, he gets on his podcast a day or
44:38
two later and says what he says. Well, what's the statute?
44:41
Ah-choo to limitations. Yeah, you know two years ago a
44:44
year from now years ago, I wreck Denny Hamlin on purpose.
44:47
Well, what are you going to do? Take the, take the win away now
44:49
I mean what do you do, what? And that's what I asked them in
44:52
a meeting. I said, where is it stop?
44:54
It's like, you can't control. You can't, you can't babysit,
44:58
you can't monitor everything. And I think they are making
45:01
mistakes. But It's their playground stair,
45:06
their rules and we all play by him.
45:08
So let's move on that way. Keep you and me out of trouble
45:12
because I'm still constantly live in a state of trouble.
45:16
It's just how little or big is it getting my brother Ross?
45:20
He says her my watch all that stuff.
45:21
You do? He says you pushed it just far
45:23
enough. Well, let me know if I go over
45:27
to the line. So like I said, I just want
45:29
everybody to understand. I still love the sport and a
45:31
scar. They'll I still love what it's
45:34
about. It's there's just some growing
45:36
pains with the new car and there's some things that I feel
45:39
like they've kind of got out on a check on, but it's not for us
45:43
to judge that it's their game. And, you know, they always have
45:46
said, I remember Brian France, saying if you don't like it
45:49
here, you don't have to be here. You can leave at any time.
45:52
It's the sport was here before you got here and it'll be here
45:54
long after you leave. And and he's absolutely was
45:57
absolutely right. But at some point they all have
46:00
to realize too that we're all working together to make it
46:02
better. Yeah, that reminds me of when I
46:05
interviewed we talked to Jonathan Davenport at Bristol
46:08
for that, NASCAR raceday, show came back.
46:10
And I said, Jonathan, I wanted the bullshit this I see no, it's
46:14
dirt fans hate NASCAR I said you're here to run the Cup race.
46:19
Do you hate NASCAR? He says, Kenny this is a dream
46:22
come true. Alder tracers, love, NASCAR.
46:25
This is the biggest moment of my life, my career.
46:27
So you're right. You can do whatever you want to
46:30
do. You don't have to run NASCAR,
46:31
but everybody wants to. To the thing about the dirt
46:35
Community because I have a Sprint Car Series.
46:37
I have a Sprint car team. You have two series to.
46:40
I forgot about that. Yeah, I got a car that runs
46:43
World of Outlaws. The mistakes that Nascar or
46:47
making are very transparent and everybody in the industry and
46:52
it's like, NASCAR doesn't realize the lower what you they
46:56
would consider the lower levels of Motorsports.
46:58
The Grassroots level look at NASCAR different than they did
47:02
10 years ago. Ago and 20 years ago, I mean
47:05
absolutely. It's every drivers dream to be a
47:07
NASCAR driver at some point but then you'll pull on you.
47:10
And I both do this. We pull into a dirt track and
47:12
people come over and go. What the hell is NASCAR
47:14
thinking? Hey, listen to it Non-Stop and
47:18
you can't penalize me for that. Yeah, if my car is end up at
47:21
Tech next week because I said that their penalizing, the wrong
47:24
guy, you know, it's they're making the mistakes and they've
47:28
got to somewhat get himself back and check Tony I spend All the
47:33
time at the dirt tracks trying to you know help NASCAR and have
47:38
these dirt fans. Go look, I know you're upset but
47:41
NASCAR's awesome and I spend my whole dirt racing career doing
47:45
that. So let's move on, I want you to
47:48
tell me if this is a rumor or not.
47:50
So the new car it was said that Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske Jack
47:57
Roush, Richard Childress all the top car owners.
48:01
I want you to tell me if this is true or false.
48:03
So, they went to NASCAR and they said, because you're an owner,
48:07
they said, save us, because we're spending so much money
48:11
molding. These cars, just let us get a
48:15
car, so, we can get rid of, and we got so many employees.
48:18
It's killing us. Is it true?
48:21
Did. I'm not saying you, but it did
48:23
all the owners in. NASCAR ask, for this next gen
48:26
car. Absolutely.
48:28
I mean, it was, it had to happen because the spending per team
48:33
Per year was getting astronomical the resources that
48:36
you're having to put into it. And what it what it was doing
48:40
was separating lower third, middle third, and top tier
48:43
teams. The top tier teams were
48:46
well-funded had a lot of resources that the lower tier
48:50
teams. It was all they could do to just
48:52
survive and get cars to the racetrack.
48:54
So we needed for the health of the sport, we needed to find a
48:58
way to cut costs to cut back on. I mean, I think gives one point
49:02
had over 600. 100 employees for for Cup teams and running one
49:06
car. One race.
49:08
Yeah. Yeah.
49:09
Running a car One race and then stripping it of its a crazy.
49:12
Yeah. And that was the standard.
49:15
I mean, that's how far the competition is has pushed itself
49:18
and how technology has got involved in push this sport.
49:22
So, the owners realized for longevity of it from the
49:25
ownership side that we needed to ask for that.
49:28
And I think it's the new car is I do.
49:33
Do I do I have opinions about the new car?
49:35
I don't think I would have asked a sports car, manufacturer to
49:38
design a stock car. That's where I'll go with that.
49:41
Yeah. Okay, so we're going to wrap the
49:44
NASCAR up your opinion. So I asked, Austin Dillon I said
49:51
Austin, why are y'all beating the hell out of each other?
49:53
He goes Kenny, he says years ago, we'd knocked radiator out.
49:57
You couldn't do it because they got these things so strong.
49:59
They're like German tanks. And that's the reason we're beat
50:03
the hell out of each other. Now with that said, you know,
50:07
you're the best Tony. You're one of the best sports
50:09
ever seen because the front ends are strong.
50:12
Should we be beaten a lot? Each other?
50:15
Well, you're onto something there.
50:16
The front ends are strong, the toe links in the rear are not
50:20
strong. That is that's the thing that
50:22
you have to guard. I mean you and you can change
50:25
them obviously during a pit stop.
50:27
But that is the weak link. I mean, we used to be able to
50:30
bang off the wall and it didn't take us out of the A race now,
50:32
screw the sheet metal up and probably had a tire rub with it,
50:35
but that's the great thing about the composite bodies.
50:37
They don't write you don't really get as many Tire rubs
50:40
because the bodies of pushback out the hard part is the
50:43
competitive suspension components and having the toe
50:48
links and the back for independent rear suspension.
50:51
I mean, that is kind of a weak Link in the cars right now.
50:54
All right, all right, we're done with NASCAR.
50:57
I don't think you and I are in trouble.
51:00
Listen, it's going to take a couple weeks.
51:01
They won't, they may be slick about it if they're going to
51:04
penalize the job. I mean, I say that and I give
51:08
him my critique them because I really want the best for the
51:10
sport. And I appreciate the opportunity
51:12
I had in NASCAR and what it's given me to reinvest in
51:16
Motorsports, and keep going. So let's let's wrap it up like
51:20
this. What is good about, NASCAR?
51:24
If you look over the last 75 years of what where it started
51:28
and where it's at now, I mean it's it's incredible.
51:31
It's the largest form of motor sports, the United States.
51:34
So to see all the great drivers and and you know now be a part
51:38
of that 70 regulations Tony. Thank you.
51:43
You sit there and you when you get older you start looking back
51:45
at how thing, the big picture of everything and you look at what
51:50
Bill senior did and what Bill jr.
51:52
And Brian. And now, In France and been
51:55
Kennedy. I think the world have been
51:57
Kennedy. I don't always agree with him
51:59
and we don't always get along, but I really respect them
52:02
Kennedy. I think he is the future of
52:04
NASCAR. I think he will carry this sport
52:07
for the next 50 years. Easily.
52:09
Yeah, Darrell Walter Allen that like this Darrell Waltrip said,
52:12
Hey listen, just because I complain about NASCAR doesn't
52:14
mean I hate him. You know I love them, right?
52:17
It's our Sports. So moving on.
52:21
This will be our last segment. Dirt racing.
52:24
Why are you got somewhere else better to be today enough to
52:27
hang out? We've been doing this forever.
52:29
I'm having a good time to put on here for like five minutes.
52:33
Are we having a good time? We're having a great time.
52:36
I love that and I'm home. I don't have to go anywhere.
52:38
I have an off day. I keep yeah I think I keep
52:40
saying that because I'm not nervous but this is our first
52:44
one and it's a big deal to have one of the greatest drivers and
52:48
I won't tell everybody we're good friends.
52:51
Dirt racing. Very still embarrassed about me.
52:54
You remember that day? No, I just I was afraid of you
52:58
and when you confronted me about it you came out of the it was
53:00
Daytona. In the toner in the RV section.
53:03
You come you said the media says, you're afraid of me and I
53:06
said I am but we move past that I love you.
53:12
I was learning you. I was learning you and we
53:14
discussed that actually. Yeah, I was taking you wrong in
53:18
like you said, I think, you know, I would see Or
53:21
tenaciousness. And I didn't understand that you
53:23
were just, you know, going at it, you know, reminds me of
53:29
David. If he was my first crew chief he
53:30
says I was I was going at it with him.
53:33
I was arguing over a sway bar because I was kind of, I'm going
53:36
to kind of a chassis guy. He grabbed me by the collar
53:39
said, boy, when we come to this racetrack, we love each other.
53:42
We're in lore, don't don't take anything personal but we're in
53:46
war together, we're fighting on the same team.
53:48
Yes yes and and I'll be 60 and Is and sometimes I wish life was
53:53
the other way around because about a known some of that stuff
53:56
but I think that's part of the journey.
53:57
Yeah, so dirt racing I'm going to say a couple things and maybe
54:02
you comment on it. Not so much, a question of I
54:05
think in totality of all of America or maybe the world.
54:10
When I look at auto race in, it seems like the dirt.
54:14
Super late models are like the greatest thing in racing.
54:18
They're just it's just skyrocketing.
54:20
It's Things better. It's more money to win.
54:25
Am I wrong or right? Or just comment on that I think
54:27
you're right. I mean the I think I don't even
54:30
think it's just there late models I mean we did the dirt
54:33
Million last year at old or for the late models.
54:35
This genuine Eldora. Yeah forgot about that one too.
54:40
We're doing a million-dollar to win.
54:42
Winged sprint car race this year.
54:44
So dirt races they're going through the roof.
54:47
I mean Jackson Minnesota is doing a 250,000 to win, winged
54:53
sprint car race. You know the purses are getting
54:57
higher and higher and higher and short track racing which is
55:00
great but has to the technology in the dirt late models is way
55:05
out of control now. I mean Kevin Rumley is the guy
55:08
that that really started. Revolutionising modern late
55:12
models now to where they're at. Their, they have our ham up
55:15
dirt? Yes, exactly.
55:16
That's exactly. The best way.
55:18
You can say it. But, Is he is taught these guys.
55:22
You know, our world we learned about downforce, we didn't think
55:25
anything about side force and then when we learned about side
55:28
force, it was a game changer in NASCAR racing.
55:31
Well, now they brought that technology to their late model
55:34
racing and you watch Cars. I literally remember and this
55:38
might have been five years ago. Even I remember watching
55:41
Jonathan Davenport. The world 100 got the lead and
55:45
was driving off from the field. He caught the back of the pack
55:49
and Couldn't pass the last place car?
55:52
Yeah, it was. So are dependent that.
55:55
It was no different than what we complained about.
55:57
His drivers in the cup series and what you see in IndyCar and
56:00
formula one about being are dependent.
56:02
So it really shows how the technology has changed in the
56:07
dirt late model World sprint, cars are the same way always
56:10
have been because of the big wings on top but winged sprint,
56:14
cars, dirt, late models. And even the modifieds now, I
56:16
mean I sat there and looked at the car or I was The broadcast
56:21
watching Kyle Larson went in just a now.
56:23
Tires car at Eldora to me, too. And I looked at that thing in
56:27
Victory Lane and I'm like, man, 15 years ago.
56:29
That would have been the most cheated up race car you've ever
56:32
seen in your life. But it was brilliant.
56:34
I'm looking at him like that was that was done, really nice.
56:37
That was done really nice. That was done really nice and
56:39
I'm just watching it on the computer but then you watch the
56:41
car. Go around the racetrack and
56:42
you're like yeah that's why it drives nice too because of how
56:45
good a job. Justin and his crew and his team
56:47
have done a building a car. That is totally legal the right
56:53
side. Was beautiful.
56:54
Oh, it's, I mean, you can't even we know what we're looking at
56:59
when you and I look at it and we're like that's pretty damn
57:01
sexy right there. I mean, that's that's getting it
57:03
done. Yeah.
57:04
So, You talk about you and I watching the races six, ten
57:11
years ago, myself and pop stars aren't.
57:13
We're driving up Interstate 55 north, and we're trying to
57:16
figure out if flow or dirt Vision.
57:19
Streaming is good for the sport. What's your opinion on?
57:24
You know, all the new streaming sites?
57:27
Well, dirt Vision, started it with the sprint cars, and then
57:31
went to the late models, and the Big Blocks.
57:33
And then here came flow Sports, and they have revolutionized,
57:38
and it's been a game changer for short track racing, not only
57:41
just short track racing mean, they're now moving into drag
57:44
racing, you name it, they're in it and and when I first when
57:50
somebody for said flow I said okay well what is it?
57:53
And they said well you just got to kind of look I mean there's
57:55
everything from marching Band competitions, with three guys
58:01
and two of the brothers, one was a wrestler and one was in track
58:04
and field. So they, I mean, they do high
58:06
school track and field high school, wrestling college, track
58:09
and field college wrestling, and everything in between de Jutsu,
58:13
you name it. They covered.
58:15
If it's Sports, they're covering it and to bring the motor sports
58:19
aspect. I mean, Mark, and his staff.
58:22
Have totally changed the game of how fans have the opportunity to
58:26
watch races. We all, you know, you live in
58:29
St.Louis I live in Indiana or Arizona depending on what half
58:32
of the country were on racing that weekend, but we can't drive
58:35
all these racetracks, but we have the ability to go to a
58:40
track and at the same time on her phone, be watching another
58:43
race when there's downtime. So we have the ability to enjoy
58:46
more and more and more Motorsports and it's all
58:49
catalog. So you can go back and watch it.
58:52
For flow to do what they've done to give the fans, an opportunity
58:55
for $150 a year to have all of your content.
59:01
I mean, you want to watch if you're like, oh, I bought it for
59:03
the racing. But yeah, my kids into the, you
59:06
know, my five year olds in the girls softball.
59:08
Yeah, let's take you can watch it and all of it and as crazy
59:13
and and I think Flo is really been a game changer.
59:16
I love what they're doing. You know, it's kind of created a
59:22
storm and in our sport though, the the track operators and
59:26
owners are fearful that because of that people aren't going to
59:30
come to the racetrack. Well, if you live in Skagit,
59:32
Washington, you're not coming Tuesday night, they'll door
59:35
right? You still watch it, right?
59:37
Oh, I don't feel like it hurts the tracks and I hope it doesn't
59:40
hurt the tracks as bad as we as we are talking about, but it's
59:47
great for the team's, it's great for the drivers and gets them
59:49
that exposure. ER, You know what really helps
59:54
showcase their talent and stuff. So we as owners and team owners
59:58
and series owners, we get to watch these.
1:00:00
You have young and up-and-coming guys, and it's hard to sit there
1:00:03
go. Yeah, I don't know anything
1:00:04
about him. Well, yeah, I got Scene Tuesday,
1:00:06
night, or I can go back and pull up a race and watch him, run
1:00:09
that stuff. We didn't have access to years
1:00:11
ago. So I'm a big fan of it right
1:00:13
now. Yeah, I think it's good too
1:00:15
because we don't have to rely. Listen, we always say we want
1:00:21
everybody to racetrack but yes. And we still do.
1:00:23
I mean that's that is the most important thing, but people
1:00:26
don't realize it's an ecosystem. And for all this to work, you
1:00:29
can't just sit at home and watch, watch it on on streaming
1:00:33
and this to be sustainable. You still have to go to the
1:00:36
racetrack. You gotta support your local
1:00:38
tracks because you got a copepod companies like Copart that are
1:00:43
going in and buying race tracks left and right.
1:00:45
And the reason they're doing that is because they can bring
1:00:47
all their cars there and they don't, they don't have to worry
1:00:50
about EPA because just about every race tracks.
1:00:53
Oil and stuff in the dirt and it's an EPA nightmare but they
1:00:57
can buy the property because it's already that way.
1:00:59
So they go in and they're shutting race tracks down to
1:01:02
expand their business. They don't care about
1:01:04
Motorsports, they just care about building their standard.
1:01:06
Oh yes, this is interesting. This is something Mike Joy
1:01:08
pointed out to me. Copart is a big factor in buying
1:01:11
up a lot of race tracks that are struggling right now and you
1:01:15
know, it's for these track operators and owners that are
1:01:18
struggling. It's a way out for him.
1:01:20
Unfortunately. But it's shutting down.
1:01:22
Race tracks across the country, because I coach Barry.
1:01:25
Boyd's just shut down. Yeah, Copart is buying a lot of
1:01:28
these racetracks and turning them into salvage yards.
1:01:31
Wow, I never knew that. What do you see?
1:01:33
What do you see at your window right now?
1:01:37
We got our, it's pretty it's pretty slow right now.
1:01:40
The guess grazing period is over or they've moved away from
1:01:43
eating my bushes outside. Know you're trying to do an
1:01:45
interview. Yeah, so as you look back on
1:01:51
your career, what was the happiest time?
1:01:55
What, what was it when was it - when I ran the Xfinity series,
1:02:00
the Busch Series, I was winning. It was simple time for me when I
1:02:05
got the cup. It was rough.
1:02:07
What was your happiest time? I would I'll say now is pretty
1:02:14
close to the happiest time but I would say, originally what I've
1:02:17
always told everybody was my happiest times was when I was
1:02:20
racing USAC, when I was running a midget and a Sprint car and
1:02:24
silver crown car, and you drive with your buddies to the races
1:02:27
and then you might be in a fight with each other at the
1:02:29
racetrack. When you're like shit, we got a
1:02:31
ride home together, white nine? Yeah, yeah.
1:02:34
The Louis car. And, but when I was back then
1:02:37
before I won my first championship, I mean, You would
1:02:41
sit there and literally in a four-week period in a month.
1:02:44
You if you had three rough weeks and you didn't make much money,
1:02:48
you were getting by and getting race to race, but then rent,
1:02:51
utilities, all that stuff that I'm getting nervous.
1:02:54
I'm getting nauseous thinking about those days real world,
1:02:58
it's the throne week for go, man.
1:03:00
I can't screw up because I got to pay bills next week, you
1:03:02
know, and it kind of changed how you raced on week 4, if you had
1:03:06
a rough first three weeks but that was when I had the most fun
1:03:09
I mean, For simple, you know, I was in my early mid 20s and and
1:03:16
really enjoying life as a race car driver.
1:03:18
And originally when I started as a kid, when I got in my early
1:03:22
teens, I thought, man, if I could ever just make a living
1:03:24
driving a racecar and support myself, if I could make make a
1:03:28
living Drive in midgets and sprint cars, that'd be the
1:03:30
ultimate for me and you now, we got, there we go out there.
1:03:34
We just kept Truckin though. So, but yeah, those, those were
1:03:37
the best times when I was, you know, race than you.
1:03:40
You sack back in the day. What?
1:03:42
Tony listen from the bottom of my heart.
1:03:45
Thank you so much for saying yes to do this.
1:03:47
This is a big deal. We kind of drink it up.
1:03:50
I told Charlie said Charlie one of these days.
1:03:52
We're going to interview people and he goes well we can do that
1:03:55
now. I'm like really so, welcome
1:03:58
algae Bud. Yeah, it's pretty incredible.
1:04:01
You know, I gotta say we had a great feed and it's way easier
1:04:05
than me travel and five hours to your house and thank you so
1:04:09
much. Do good, you mistakenly.
1:04:12
You have reminded me. Everything you're doing my Lord.
1:04:16
Eldora sprint cars. Drag cars, cup cars.
1:04:19
It's unbelievable. Congratulations on all your
1:04:22
success. Congratulations on.
1:04:24
Once again, being one of the greatest race car drivers to
1:04:28
ever live with NASCAR 75. But there's so much more to you
1:04:31
than that. Well, I appreciate all that.
1:04:35
Thank you so much and I would any time you call I've done your
1:04:39
brother's pod. I cast and when you, when you
1:04:41
sent me the message, I'm like apps.
1:04:43
I didn't know what my schedule was the rest of the week at the
1:04:46
initially, but I'm like, yeah, I'm 100% all in doing this with
1:04:49
you. But I'd say one of the proudest
1:04:51
moments of my life and my years in NASCAR, And I can't take all
1:04:57
the credit. Kenny Schrader gets a lot of the
1:04:58
credit as well. Kenny Schrader.
1:05:00
And I talking you into getting into dirt track racing.
1:05:03
Yeah. And getting you in dirt cars,
1:05:06
and then a whole new Kenny Wallace came out of his shell
1:05:11
and to see that. And be a part of that, that's
1:05:13
probably one. What I one of my greatest
1:05:16
accomplishments in Motorsports is introducing you to dirt track
1:05:21
racing and getting you hooked on it.
1:05:23
I know saved my life that. I'm proud of that seeing, you
1:05:29
know, I was working the track at Tulsa at the Chili Bowl and
1:05:32
seeing you in a midget. The first time you help me,
1:05:35
there was no happier moment. I was like a proud father
1:05:38
watching you every man at the wheel too much.
1:05:41
You helped me you were learning and but just the fact that here
1:05:45
your background was always pavement racing in NASCAR racing
1:05:48
and we got you into something that you've really became
1:05:52
passionate and happy with and to see that and you Truly has made
1:05:57
me happy as your friend, to see you enjoying dirt track racing
1:06:01
and other forms of motor sports. Like we do.
1:06:03
I'm smile from ear to ear, I'll never forget that.
1:06:06
We won that, we won your 2005. Prelude to the dream, and I
1:06:10
think that's off trying to catch you, and you just drove away.
1:06:14
I had Don O'Neill, as my crew, chief that night and he was, so
1:06:18
I won't say he was mad at me, but he was frustrated.
1:06:20
I'm like, Don, I tried everything I've ever learned in
1:06:23
a race car to catch him. I said all this prank better
1:06:27
than anybody in the field. I said, I did everything in my
1:06:31
power and he just ran a perfect race.
1:06:34
There was never made a mistake and you didn't, you ran every
1:06:37
lap, flawlessly. So we you looked at me in
1:06:41
Victory Lane you said, what was that all about?
1:06:43
I think I said you, maybe I should have been a dirt racer.
1:06:46
It was like an out-of-body experience for you.
1:06:49
It was crazy. Like I said though, I mean, I
1:06:52
wish the fans and the fans know you now for who you are.
1:06:55
And And how they know your personality, you've always had
1:06:59
that personality but to see a smile and how much fun you're
1:07:02
having you have broke out of the shell and the shadow of your
1:07:06
brothers. That I know you always say.
1:07:07
You're the third brother. But you're not.
1:07:09
You're your own, man, and you're your own Wallace.
1:07:13
You have built that. So, you need to embrace that and
1:07:17
start embracing it because you're not Rusty's brother.
1:07:19
You're not Mike's brother, you're my God, you're carrying
1:07:22
damn Wallace and you your you man.
1:07:25
I mean, Nyet feed a huge impact on so many people.
1:07:28
I needed that. That was great therapy.
1:07:30
Tony listen, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
1:07:33
One of mine, all the fans that listen we're doing it.
1:07:36
We are in podcast form. Now, we are on Spotify, iTunes.
1:07:41
This interview was awesome for me.
1:07:42
I hope was for all of you but until then we're just going to
1:07:46
keep on rolling. We got NASCAR's greatest
1:07:50
drivers. We got more in the pipeline so
1:07:52
until then see you later everybody.