Latest / Bussin' With The Boys / Jimmie Johnson On His Rivalry With Jeff Gordon + The Feeling Of Winning 7 Championships | Racin'

Transcript

Jimmie Johnson On His Rivalry With Jeff Gordon + The Feeling Of Winning 7 Championships | Racin' · Bussin' With The Boys

• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Hey, I feel like that went good. Ladies and gentlemen,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: we have an icon, an icon in the NASCAR world
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: joining us for a conversation today with myself and Delaney Walker.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: We were out in Charlotte. We got to sit down
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: with Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, he's gonna be coming very soon.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: But an absolute legend. And if you're new to the show,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and if you might be a casual like the boy
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: tuning in and wanting to learn a lot about these racers.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: This is a seven time NASCAR Cup Series champion, tied
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, the only driver in
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: NASCAR history to win five consecutive championships, eighty three Cup
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Series victories, two time Daytona five hundred winner, four time
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Brickyard winner, four time Coca Cola six hundred winner, name
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in two
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: thousand and nine, which is the only the only race
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: car driver to ever win that award, and also the
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: co owner of Legacy Motor Club. Ladies and gentlemen, this
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: interview is with Jimmy fucking Johnson, and as always, before
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: we get into the interview, we are brought to you
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: by the number one sportsbook in America, and that is
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: the FanDuel Sportsbook Boys this weekend, NASCAR has one of
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the most iconic venues in all of motorsports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: The Brickyard four hundred is one of those races every
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: driver wants on their resume. It's a place where history
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: has been made, and FanDuel has an offer you don't
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: want to miss. They're giving new customers up to one
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: thousand dollars in bet resets. Here's how it works. You
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: bet five dollars daily to unlock two hundred dollars in
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: bet resets. Every day. New customers can place a five
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: dollars bet each day and receive up to two hundred
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: dollars back in bonus bets daily, up to one thousand
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: dollars total. One of the oldest opera reading racetracks in
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the United States, one of the largest sports seating facilities
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: in the world with more than two hundred thousand, two
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand seats known. Is one of the
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: greatest racecourses in the world. This place in this race
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: are iconic and you can meet the moment with FanDuel.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Whether you're back in your favorite tailing a long shot
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: finishing somewhere in between. FANDOL has plenty of ways to
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: get in on the action this season. Just head to
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: fandol dot com slash busting placed that first five dollars
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: bet and let's go racing. Enjoy this interview with Jimmy Johnson.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Now, Yeah, it grew up wearing vans, being from California,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: and that's like, that's like our staple.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Hell yeah, we're in California.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I grew up in south central La, Los Angeles.
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we had awesome little bicycle shop and a couple
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: of skate shops near it, and then a van store
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: popped up across the street. I'm not sure it was
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: the first one. That was certainly one of the early
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: ones in your area. Yeah, yeah, And so I mean
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: we'd just like loiter between those three or four shops
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: whenever we had a little window a time and dreaming
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: about a new bicycle or new skateboard, new pair of shoes.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: I assume. I mean you started in dirt biking, so like,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: I'm sure that was like riding bicycles. Box is what
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: what you have with BMX and Mongos?
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: What was your diamond back, diamond back, and then I'm
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: trying to think of my skateboard combo. I think I
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: had a Cavallero because Steve was from San Diego.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Were you nice on the skateboard? Now?
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: Looking back? I mean I thought I was great. You
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: know I had the cool mullet going. Oh you rocked
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: the mullet of course, man, especially like East County is
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: what they called the area where I grew up in from,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: you know, San Diego geography in East County. Man, you
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: had to have a mullet, standard operating procedure.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Man, I didn't.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: I'm a little older.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: I had in California, I had Jared Carle, I had
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: the full halt that was later, you know, because you
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: was from al caoholm right correct?
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Yea? How far is that?
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: Because he's in the San Diego area. Yeah, a few
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: hours away from each other, but he like in a
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: cooler a cooler area. Oh, I don't know that area
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: too well.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: No, mine was pretty rough. It was fifteen minute drive
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: to San Diego. You know, you'd be in the Joya,
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: del Mar all the good spots, but Olkohola was very rural,
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: which was incredible from my interests. Just endless trails to
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: ride dirt bikes on, like none of it was developed,
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: and the culture in that kind of time frame in Alkoholone,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: all the supercross champions and motorcross champions in general were
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: born and raised there, so they had all these tracks.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: You know, I could ride my dirt bike and go
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: watch the current champion on his practice track. So there's
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: just deep culture around dirt and two wheels. So mountain
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: biking BMX, you know, all that was was really.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: What events did you do? Sorry, what events did you
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: do in dirt biking? Like, what did you do motocross?
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: Or was he just yeah, motocross with the jumps. Granted
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: I look at motocross tracks today and we didn't ride
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: on stuff like that. The moto scene was all my
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: heroes run two wheels and raced on the dirt. So
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: to end up where I have took some kind of
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: reinvention steps along the way, but the dirt bike scene
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: was so prevalent and popular. I had my kind of
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: local track and then would ride in our state qualifiers
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: and then from there, if you qualified, you'd go to
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: the nationals in the summer, so we traveled to Oklahoma
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: and Tennessee for the Amateur Nationals and then make our
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: way back to Sandia go back to school.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: Dude, I'm sitting here listening to you. You're rocking some
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: sick vans. Listen to them talk about two wheels, dirt bikes,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: everything else. I'm like, man, the boy Taylor is would
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: be sick did not be here right? He was a
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: dirt bike yeah, Taylor, Yeah, he loved dirt bikes. Strow.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: We actually had Travis Pastrana on not too long ago,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and that's like one of his goats, and you just
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: tell he's like a kid in a candy store just
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: talking about dirt bikes, growing up, loving it, heroes all
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: that stuff, and just listening to you talk about I'm like, oh,
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Taylor would be loving singing with Jimmy Johnson right now.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: What switches you from two wheels to four wheels? If
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: your interest is it sounds like you just loved dirt
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: bikes and everything everything that you were just talking about.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: What takes your interest from like I want to be
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: a supercross guy to now getting into racing.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: Largely my dad's passion for motorsports. And to back up
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: one quick step, my grandparents owned one of the three
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: motorcycle shops in Alkoholm, it's called Kannar, Kawasaki, Ken, and
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: Ruth or their names, and that was the kind of
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: starting point for racing. My dad raced a little drafted
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: to the Vietnam War and thankfully wasn't a deployed. The
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: war ended before he was called into service. He comes back,
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: thinks he's going to get his racing career, going back
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: up and going. My grandfather's like, nope, you're coming to work.
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: You got to run the service department. So my dad's
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: extremely savvy with wrenches and working on stuff. And as
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: I was doing my dirt bike racing, he transitioned from
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: being a heavy equipment operator to a mechanic and then
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: actually leading a off road buggy or a team that
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: raced an off road buggy. And for me, that was
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: that next progression and certainly a safer way to go
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: about racing. You're still in that three dimensional world of
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: leaving the ground, but now I had four tires in
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: rollcage only.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: And you just dive in. Like when you're doing all
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: the dirt biking everything else, you're thinking, this is going
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: to be my next step.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Now there was a bit of a pause every time
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: I hit the ground and broke something. And so I
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: had a bunch of injuries. And my last injury was
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: at a state final race that we had and I
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: broke both my feet and toes and you know, had
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: some good injuries from that. My parents were like, we
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: can't do it anymore. And you know, I was growing
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: a little fatigued of being so busted up. And it
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: was at a point where the physical training became such
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: an important part. I was fourteen, fifteen years old, and
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: that next step on bike size, you know, you needed
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: some strength on you and riding my bicycle, riding my skateboard,
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: playing with my friends, there was that next step and
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: almost becoming a professional that looked a little daunting. I
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: was banged up. My dad gave me some hope around.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: You know, maybe maybe we can find a way for
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: you to end up in one of these cars. We
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: didn't have the means to do it our own on
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: our own, but through my dad's persistence in networking within
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: the industry, I get a shot here, get a shot there,
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: snowball starts rolling and off it goes.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: When did When was the turning point to where you
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: knew this was going to be a career of yours
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: or something that you could at least pursue to be
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: a career of years.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: I'd say late nineties. So there was a lot of
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: racing before then and a lot of dreaming, but when
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: the elements really came together was probably late nineties.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Okay, So was you moving up the charts and off
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: road trucking driving for you to even be seen as
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: a stock car driver? How how does that work?
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Like?
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: How do you move from one driving off road trucks
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: to stock car racing?
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Timing and meeting the right people. I eventually after bouncing
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: around this little stadium buggy that I was in was
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: bouncing around on the stadium floor at the Los Angeles
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: Coliseum and the head of Chevrolet Motorsports was there, and
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: he watched me have a great night, did a decent
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: interview on the jombotron or putting the car back in
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: the trailer. After the race is over, and a guy
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: in khakis and a sport coat walks out, and you
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: don't see sport codes at dirt races, right, So I'm like,
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: who is this guy? Them shook hands, He wanted to
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: take a picture. He had a polaroid gammer of all things,
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: took a picture of me, and little did I know
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: who he was, but he took that polaroid picture back
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: to Detroit, sat down in one of the planning meetings
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: and said, you know, let's put this kid under contract.
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: And so at that point, Chevrolet brought me into their
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: pro truck racing program in the stadium and then eventually
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: into the So that's kind of a winter SERI or
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: was a winter series. They have a summer desert racing
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: series with these long distance races and you know, very
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: cool trucks that can get over the train, and they
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: brought me into that and all along this guy he
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: official had a vision or hopes that I could make
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: it to asphalt racing in one of the Chevy offerings
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: that was out there, and you know, the doors kept opening,
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: kept getting in front of the right people. Eventually it
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: was paired up with a team that had similar ambitions
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: to get the NASCAR. And so with their resources and commitment,
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: with Chevrolet's help, that that got me in the stock
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: cars and got me in an ASCAR.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: How much of it? How much of it is luck?
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: In your guys, industry, I feel like we hear man,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: my brain is fleeting. Everybody knows that listens the bust
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: with the boys, Nos, my brain can be fleeting. Who's
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: the cat we had on that moved out to Charlotte
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: and spent three years there? You know, sweeping shops?
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, Jessey Yeah, Jesse Love.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and he's he's telling his story. I'm in love
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: with history because he talked about sweeping shops or picking
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: up any work he could, hoping, basically betting that's Chase
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: brisco say. When you said Jesse Love, I was kind
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: of like, oh, that doesn't sound yeah, Chase Briscoe and
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: just waiting, waiting on an opportunity to the point to
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: where after three years, he's driving home thinking and that
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: it's over and he's kind of emotional on the on
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: the phone with his mom, and then he gets a
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: call from an investor or somebody that says, I want
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: to take a shot at you after waiting for three years,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: and it sounds like your situation too. I feel like
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: every driver has like someonement where it seems like there's
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: so much more luck and yeah that people.
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: Realize, yeah, they're without question is that element thankfully and
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: mold enough now and can share some advice, and have
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: you know Chase Brisco and Jesse Love that was mentioned
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: seeking advice. And when I kind of distill it down
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: in the beginning, every opportunity came from who I knew,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: not necessarily what I knew or what I could do,
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: but getting your foot in the door. There's such a
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: corporate piece to this, and well maybe not corporate, but
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: someone's got to spend someone. There's a team owner that
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: has to trust and believe in you to give you
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: that chance, and you know, maybe take a loss for
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: a or two before it pays them back, or a
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: sponsor or whatever investor, whatever it might be. So every
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: door opened for me based on who I knew, and
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: then they were a little patient, and then I had
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: to perform. And I watched so many young people, which
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: is important as well, but to be focused on the
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: craft and ignore the networking component, ignore showing up on time,
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: showing up dress for the job you want of the
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: one you have, going to these events that are monotonous,
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: but you know, showing up to these auto shows. So
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: when Chevrolet first hired me and put me on the
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: under their wing, taking me around, I went to every
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: auto show throughout the country for like five years straight.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: I would sit down at a table and try to
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: sign autogas for people, and they thought I was there
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: selling a car. They had no idea I raced. So,
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're just taking it on the chin and
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: like it's never going to come. But eventually all those
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: touch points in the momentum behind who you know, built
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: up to the right moment and then it was time
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: to do my job.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Since we on this topic, do you think simulating the
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: silm world now, because you see a lot of drivers
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: getting into this world by dissimulation the sam driving, do
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: you think that is changing the way things are now?
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: Because when you was coming in, it was a little different.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: You didn't have the sim you didn't have the social media,
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: you didn't have guys like saying what you can do?
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: You had to go to every Yeah, you got to
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: go there, you got to watch them. Those guys got
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: to be in the seats, you know, the television obviously contracts.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: Do you think it's changing a little bit?
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: Without question? I think we're maybe in our second or
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: third evolution of the impact sim has. In the beginning,
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: we knew there was a tool out there that we
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: as a team needed to use. So that kind of
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: be Gen one. So we're dabbling with it during the
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: kind of end of my career and it was tough
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: to trust it, but we still had access to use
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: racetracks to validate and try to, you know, create this
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: this loop that we could use and use that tool.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: Then William Byron shows up on the scene and ends
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: up in the Fame twenty four car and had all
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: this skill and talent and exposure to fast cars and
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: these big tracks and knew the line that you had
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: to go earn the hard way before you need years
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: of experience to get it. And then William kind of
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: surprise everybody, and that was that chapter. And now we're
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: at a point in time where all the on track
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: opportunities to develop your product have been shut down for
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: cost savings. So now you have to live in this
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: sim world. And if you take a Gen one person
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: like myself to today's world, every all of my skills
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: were developed on feel of a car. You cannot model
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: that identically in today. Today's F one has some you know,
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: thirty forty million dollars simulators that that are getting closer,
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: but the physical aspects you can't. You can't get those
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: sensors dialed in. It's all visual. And so through these
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: three generations of sim having its impact, you now have
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: drivers that have the vision for the simulator and also
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: the fuel from the car and can marry the two together,
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: and it's it's out of my skill set. You know.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: The one that really stands out to me is Alex
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: Palow in Indy Car. We were rookies to get other
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: at chip Ganassi Racing in twenty twenty one, and he
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: is a sim kid, but he flies on the track
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: and I watched him single handedly restore the Honda simulation
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: program because he would go and spend the time. There
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: were a lot of older guys like myself that that
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: couldn't get the correlation right, but he had the eyes
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: and the fuel for it on and off the track
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: dial it in.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: What goes through your mind when this generation of sim
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: racers is coming through, Like when this twenty something year
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: old is just blowing by you and he's got all
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: this simulation experience and you're thinking, yo, jen one, I've
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: done this our way. You know, five straight titles, seven
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: championships in NASCAR, and this dude's blown by me because
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: he's phenomenal in a simulator. What's like the the resentment,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: What's like the initial resentment that's building up in your mind?
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: Some resentment, but then some annoyance it myself. You know,
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: I was like, this isn't going to play out. You
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: know what I've developed in the car that'll never be replaced.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: There are some arrogance around that that I wish I
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: would have not had near the end of my career
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: because I think it would have helped my final few years.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's wild, man. What even entices you take the
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: restart button going into Indy after you were so accomplished
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: in NASCAR and to be a rookie in your forties.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, now having some time to look back on it,
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: the grind of the season, the age of our children,
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: just kind of life where it was the commitment it
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: takes to run a thirty eight race schedule, and we
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: still had testing going on and the sim thing coming
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: to life. Plus I had one hundred and fifty sponsor
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: appearance and obligations to make throughout the course of the year.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: I was just cooked the bottom line, but I knew.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: I think it was like forty seven or something. Took
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: good care of myself. Many champions and heroes ahead of
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: me had their best years in the fifties. You know,
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: you had all this experience you could carry over. And
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: so I didn't feel like I was done, but I
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: knew I needed a fresh start, and I knew I
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: wanted less races. IndyCar was really my childhood four will dream.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: As a kid, there were a lot of motorcycle and
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: dirt racers in the southern California area that made it
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: to IndyCar, and so as a kid, that was kind
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: of a dream of mine. And I'm like, I'm just
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: going to give it a shot. Man, this is for me,
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: Like I was. Over all the outside pressure and noise
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: of competing, I'm like, I don't care if I run last.
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: You know, it's something I want to do and it's
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: for me. And found the right team and right sponsor
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: and put it together.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: That's nuts, man, Yeah, that's crazy. And get on the
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: NASCAR Solly, now you saw it. You got chat. You
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: got one of the greatest, argably one of the greatest
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: crew chiefs in the game. Like, how does that dynamic work? Man?
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: We we had so much in common that you know,
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: it was really easy out of the options that Hendrick
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: presented to be, you know, for me to choose from
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: to be the crew chief. Closest in age. We're both single,
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: we both loved two Wheels, we both subscribed to work hard,
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: play hard, and I mean we just hit it off
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: and it was really a gut feeling at that point.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: But as time went on, the thing that surprised me
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: the most was the engineering mind he has, which is
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: self taught and he doesn't have an engineering degree. That
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: mind could understand what I was describing in the car,
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: like vividly understand what my sensations were not being in
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: the car. I didn't raise it's so, you know, the
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: big unlock that we had, I could feel what the
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: car was doing. I didn't necessarily know how to fix it,
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: but with my dirt background, I think it opened up
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: my window of understanding vehicle dynamics and car sensitivity. And
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: I could describe what was bothering me. And he could
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: see the wheels moving in his mind and how downforce worked,
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: and we could just put the puzzle pieces together. It's wild.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: What is one thing y'all may have, but it has
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: though that no one knows about. But y'all two butt
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: heads over the car.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: The NASCAR world is you know, tier one or pillar
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: one in the priorities that hold up the whole show
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: is entertainment. And so with that being said, the all
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: of our radio transmissions between the driver and the team
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: are public consumption. So everybody heard the spats that we
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: would have, and he loved coaching me from the car,
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: and so we I mean, I would ask, do you
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: want me to pull down pit lane and you take
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: this thing?
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Do you want to drive? No?
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: No, man, I'm not saying that like leave me alone,
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: let me do my job. I'm telling you what to
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: fix them there. So we had plenty of riffs around that,
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: but at the end of the day, he truly wanted
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: what was best and that's what made it work so
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: well for so long as it was never personal. And
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: he and I would have a beer after the race.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: And he also had a rule that come Monday morning,
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: you know that's in the rear view and we got
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: to look forward, pash some things out over a beer,
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: and then heads down and get to work.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: Was there ever a specific moment to where the clock
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: didn't reset on Monday or maybe you guys were close
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: to splitting up that people might not know about.
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the clock resetting was easier said than done. Yeah,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: And towards the end of our career and the pressure
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: around everything, you know, it changed our dynamics some and
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: it did become a bit more personal at times, or
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: at least perceived that way. Yeah, And you know there
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: were some moments where we almost broke up before you know,
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: Rick eventually separated us. So I finished my last two
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: years with different leadership on my team and Chad went
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: over to the twenty four car and ran William Byron.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: But looking back, I wish we could have been adults
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: at that point in time and closed out. He only
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: went two more years as well. I mean, we're so
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: close to get a full pooll on nineteen years.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: He goes a bastard, man, it is he goes a
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: bastard for all of us going you you were talking
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: about as you guys are growing together and the celebrity status,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: the fame, the expectation pushing past, like all the trophies,
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: everything that you've accomplished, Like again, like the greatest dynasty
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: in NASCAR. What was it like going from underdog to
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: you're the expected champion and you're obviously you had five straight,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: but the moment sword there is a mental pressure that
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: takes place. Can you put us in your mind on
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: how you and or your team dealt with that pressure.
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: I think for Chad myself, we were the underdogs that
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: were given a shot at Hendrick, and I don't think
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: we ever let go of that until maybe at the end,
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: and that's where the expectation around trying to win. You know,
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: a seventh and then an eighth got the best of us.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: But for the bulk of our tenure, I mean, like
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: it's weird. I didn't feel like I deserved the praise
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: as a champion until I won my third. Like it's
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: just these weird monumental marks inside of me that I like,
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: I wasn't free in the garage area until I won
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: three championships. So my my junior category years, I did
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: just enough to stay alive, and opportunities all came together
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: for me in two thousand and two at Hendrick. But
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: I had at least two generations of talent passed me up.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: They showed more speed, they more flashy, whatever it was,
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: opportunities happened and they went on and I thought it
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: was over many times, like it wasn't gonna work out.
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: Chad had a similar journey as a crew chief on
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: his side, and when we got together, I mean we're
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: just head down, focused on on, you know, proving ourselves.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: And then when success came, we both were fearful, We're
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: going to wake up from a dream and like, you know,
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: it wasn't real, and so that that was something we
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: had in common that helped us so much.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: But when it is? When is it enough? When you
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: went even championships, like is it enough?
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Are you always when he says the three part I
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: won too, and you're thinking you're not free of nothing
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: until you get a third. But then you get a third,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: and again you won a five straight, so so you
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: get to a third. Then there's almost like even the
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: three don't matter until I get a four to validate
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: the first three. Then you get four and.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: I need I know. But when is it enough? Though,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: Like at the end of the day, we just chasing
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: these championships, even though we have so many in the bag.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: When is it enough?
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: It's funny, I don't know if I ever thought of
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: it that way. They're racing a car and leaving the track,
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: you know, personally satisfied, was my motivator, wasn't about trophies
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: and championships, because my dream was to make it the Cup,
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: and like the highest watermark I could set was to
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: win a race and then ten races into my rookie season, like,
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: well shit, that just happened. So I don't know, man,
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: I just was never motivated by and I really think
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: and I'm proud of how long it took me to
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: be in the spotlight because the I think the reasons
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: were all very pure, like I just wanted to compete
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: and I love to grind, and I was just caught
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: up in that space and it wasn't about accumulating things.
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: I think towards the end, when we had six in,
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: knowing that the legends sit there at seven, it started
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: to shift a bit. But I would tell myself, and
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: you're playing with house money. You were trying to win
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: one race and look where you are, So play some
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: mind games with myself.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: When you're full grind, obsessed with the process, loved the process.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Is there a moment throughout this run to where you're
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: able to pick your head up above water and appreciate
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: the things that you're doing and accomplishing.
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: Not to the level I should have, but I guess
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: subconsciously it was useful when the door finally opened. Excuse me,
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: when the door finally opened to appreciate the success was
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: when I got my nomination for the Hall of Fame,
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: and not that it was a surprise, of course, because
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: you know what happened, felt like I was going in,
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: but I finally had the awareness that I'm not chasing
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: another championship, I'm not chasing another race, when like, stop,
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: you know, hey, dumb ass, Stop and enjoy it and
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: let it in. And then that whole year until the
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: induction ceremony, it just kept getting better and better, And
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: that was really the starting point.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Thinking about thinking about I'm fascinated with you're somebody who
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: also pushes yourself off the track as well, Like you're
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: somebody who you're a fitness freak, somebody who brought not
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: maybe not brought fitness into NASCAR, but somebody who was
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: at the forefront where you're cycling, you're swimming, you're doing
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: all these things. So I'm also assuming that you're probably
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: big into mental psychology and sports psychology, all that performance
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: that goes on from the neck up. When did it
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: get to a point with all your success and everything
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: that you're wanting to do. Where it's grind grind, grind,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: pros says process process, does the family element and the
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: dad element also start to kick in to where you're
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: having to Okay, maybe I shouldn't be doing this much,
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: or maybe I'm doing too much for myself. How does
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: that work life balance? If you want to say, take
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: place for you as you're maturing and growing in the sport.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: It's now looking back in comparison to maybe other drivers
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: in our industry and the little world that I know,
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: I stood out in a good way.
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: I was an example of somebody that was making time
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: and available and such. But if I didn't have my wife,
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: and if she wasn't so authentically and deeply committed to
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: this journey for us, and it could have been so different.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: Now having time away and reflecting back the pressure of
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: knowing that next race is out there, that next season
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: is out there. I was more physically present maybe than
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: some others you know in the industry, but I wasn't
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: emotionally as available, and that that's kind of the journey
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: I'm on now. And I've tried to retire three times now.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: I have a race team, and physically I'm as busy
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: as I've ever been, and I do feel like I'm
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: doing a better job emotionally in being there and being
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: available and joining the moments. I still got to get
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: this balance right because the scale is tilted pretty far.
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: You know, we've a startup essentially, but it's wild the
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: awareness looking back now.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, man, Sorr, Yeah, to go to somewhere else.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: You know, I remember you racing that Coronado and being
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: so close to that area. I think both of your
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: grandfathers was in a military. One was actually a Navy
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: captain correct, correct, and then your father was in the military.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: So how was that being able to race on a live,
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: active naval base and so close to your hometown. I'm
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: sure you probably had a lot of family memn was
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: going there, So how was that.
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, my mom's father was a safety captain on an
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: aircraft carrier that was docked in Coronado. He's resting at
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: fort Rosecrans kind of overlooking the base. And then my
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: dad's father was in the Army and was in a
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: tank and so all four of my grandparents are up
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: there resting, and just to have them there be so
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: close to home. That was that was really really cool?
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, which one. What's the difference between being the
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: race car driver and now being an owner of a team.
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: The selfishness required as a driver in all forms and
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: more specifically just about like the show and the product
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: on track. Drivers have such unique experience in what they
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: think makes good racing. And I was I was pounding
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: that drum for years, and I think there were generations
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: of cars that my class of influencers led to a
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: better driver experience that didn't create a better fan experience.
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: And now that I've got my owner's hat on, I've
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: recognized that every time the driver's bitch and complained about
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: the track was no fun and it was too rough
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: or to this or to that. TV loves it, fans
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: love it. I as a fan watching, I'm like, that's chaos,
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: that's awesome. So that there's definitely a different lens that
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: that are drivers looking through versus an owner.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Dude, I feel what he's saying. You remember times just
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: as a player, you'd be bitching them on about saying stuff,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: and you think your own unique experience as the player
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: knows more than people on the other side. Then now
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: that even being in the media space. Being on this
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: other side of it, I completely get a lot more
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: of the media stuff and the front office stuff and
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: things like, dude, it is crazy. It was there. It
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: was it hard for you to uh transition and compartmentalize
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: and remove yourself from the drivers that you you understand
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: where they're coming from. But now you're having to be
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: in a seat across the table at times.
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I've been fortunate to really take since twenty one
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: to now to grow and I still have so much
• 31:13
  Speaker 3: more to learn. But I got a taste of kind
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: of managing a team in twenty one when I went
• 31:20
  Speaker 3: IndyCar Racing. My office managed the partnership with Carvana and
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: the relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing, And it wasn't a
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: huge lift, but a bit more exposure in understanding two
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: years there, and then became an owner in Legacy on
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: a minority level in twenty three and again surrounded by
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: great people and mentorship and you know, weighing in but
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: not like dropping the hammer or having final say to
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: where I am now is control a controller of the
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: entity and you know, doing the best I can to
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: being that leadership leadership group and running. So it's been
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: a slow evolution. I've also been slow and cautious about
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: the various councils on the team ownership side and on
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: NASCAR side to steer the sport. I've been involved, but
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: kind of fly on the wall. And here in the
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: last you know, six months or so, since new committees
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: have been formed post lawsuit, post settlement. You know, I'm
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: one that has to live it and understand it before
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: I weigh in and really give an opinion. And you know,
• 32:29
  Speaker 3: I'm becoming more confident in my opinion, and I think
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: I've put in enough time that the collective space realizes
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: I'm not just popping off, you know, out of nowhere
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: with ideas.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Is there a driver from legacy that kind of reminds
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: you of yourself?
• 32:47
  Speaker 3: I would say Eric Jones in his racecraft, Eric Eric
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: on Sunday, Eric deep in the race, what he finds
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: on the track in Northfolksboro over the weekend, his creativity
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: behind the wheel, and how to work traffic, how to defend.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: There's just a little different dimension in there that it's
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: such a small track. And I was doing the T
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: and T broadcast, so our booth was outside of the
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: track overlooking turns, three and four. So it's closest I've
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: ever honestly been to cars going by and being able
• 33:24
  Speaker 3: to see that racecraft. And that would be the moment
• 33:28
  Speaker 3: I've had recently.
• 33:30
  Speaker 4: Ladies and gentlemen, when inter up this episode, I know
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: I'm not in this episode, so I'll be tuning in
• 33:33
  Speaker 4: just like, Yeah, I just wanted to show it a
• 33:36
  Speaker 4: little bit.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: And happy belated birthday. Yesterday was your.
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: Birthday, yesterday was my birthday. I appreciate that. We're brought
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: to you by Form Energy Former, your deliver's best in class,
• 33:44
  Speaker 4: hatest with natural flavors and zero sugar. Form Enerury has
• 33:46
  Speaker 4: natural caffeine derived from green tea. Form comes in a
• 33:49
  Speaker 4: variety of flavors Screaming Freedom, Rocket Pop inspired, grape Smash,
• 33:52
  Speaker 4: blue Blitz, Orange Free. Perfect for those who put in
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: the work Form Energy, we do the work. Get back
• 33:58
  Speaker 4: to this iconic episode right now.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: Now, how do you defend in race car driving? I
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: mean use that word defending. I'm still in my head,
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: my mind, I'm like, how do you defend?
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: He like defending? Like how what what does that consist of?
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: Like you defending in your car? Like you defending for
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: your teammate, your team driver. What does that mean.
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: Really for yourself? We call it aero blocking now just
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: is technology comes into the sport, you just you cannot
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: let's see downforce. You know, the air coming over and
• 34:32
  Speaker 3: under the car is the primary source of traction. That's
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: what Chad Canals exposed a couple decades ago before anyone
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: else really caught onto it, and where we had such
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: an advantage. And now it's so refined that cars are
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: very equal and that sensitivity is higher and literally in
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: the mirror you don't have to physically block the person
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: and you know, upset them. But if you're just smart
• 34:56
  Speaker 3: and kind of shade down and put them into a
• 34:58
  Speaker 3: dirtier air situation because cars are so big and massive.
• 35:02
  Speaker 3: If you think of a boat going through the water,
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: you know that wake. This is like a big bull
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: nosed vehicle punching a huge hole in the air. And
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: then there's also the over the vehicle dimension that spins
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: the air around. So all you have to do is
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: like put the car behind you in a third to
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: half dirty air and it crushes them. They can't go anywhere.
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: And you said dirty air is the closer We get
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: down to the bottom because it's gravel here, right and as.
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: Kicking No, No, it's the trailing car. So the first
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: car on the road, the air is stable, and then
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: as you go through it it creates turbulent air, which
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: we call dirty air. Yes, And so the further through
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: the pack you go, the more turbulent dirty it is
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: in the less grip the car has. And so you
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: can just look in your mirror and you know, if
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: they come into the corner a little before you do,
• 35:52
  Speaker 3: you just just move down a little, put them in
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: enough they're moving up, you just shade up and you
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: can just stop their progress. But there's an art to
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: do it where the guy in front of the guy
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: behind you is like he's he's doing it right or
• 36:05
  Speaker 3: being smart about it. There are other other ways you
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: can do it where you just upset the guy. And
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: we have bumpers on these cars and we'll just send
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: you those ram in.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: God, I love that we're talking ball right now.
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: I got I got one more question with that. So
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: because now when I'm thinking of that, and I always
• 36:20
  Speaker 2: heard of drifting, like, so is that not a thing?
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: Like if I stay close on you and then so
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: I can get a pass, does that give me a
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: sling shot momentum. Is that such a thing, because we
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: always hear about that, I know and take.
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: With the boys. Drivers do not like how they get.
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: A sense of so I always thought like, is that
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: a real thing or it's just movies? They just making
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: it up?
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: It is.
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: It depends on the track. You know, if the corner
• 36:52
  Speaker 3: radius is is the tighter the corner radius is, the
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: more you need that grip in the car. If the
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: corner radius is wide and forgiving and you have a
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: nice long straightaway, you know you can use that to
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: your advantage. So I'd say Indianapolis, Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta. You know,
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: there are some tracks where absolutely the sling shot works,
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: but the bulk of our season, you know, we're on
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: tracks where the corner radius is the priority, and what
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: you lose in the corner you don't get back on
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: the stroke.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Who's been your who's been your biggest rival or maybe
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: somebody that you've rivaled that maybe they didn't even know
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: that you were rivaling though.
• 37:37
  Speaker 3: I would say Jeff Gordon, and here's why he opened
• 37:46
  Speaker 3: the door for myself and Tony Stewart and all these
• 37:49
  Speaker 3: other drivers that didn't grow up in stock cars, and
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: so I was the biggest Jeff Gordon fan growing up.
• 37:56
  Speaker 3: That's the one die cast car like collectible thing I
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: bought was his. And the fact that one day he
• 38:03
  Speaker 3: knew who I was, Wow, this is awesome. And then
• 38:07
  Speaker 3: I get hand picked by him to drive, you know,
• 38:10
  Speaker 3: under the roof of a team that he co owned,
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: and he introduced me to my wife. He mentored me
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: along the way, and first indirectly and then directly you know,
• 38:21
  Speaker 3: as I got up to speed, I was more concerned
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: about where he was on track, what he was doing,
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: and all for good reason. I mean freaking man, right,
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: So that one maybe for the in a certain window
• 38:36
  Speaker 3: of time when we're competing for championships and race wins,
• 38:40
  Speaker 3: there was an official rivalry, but through a large part
• 38:43
  Speaker 3: of my journey, he was the benchmark and I had
• 38:47
  Speaker 3: the inside look at all of his data, and he
• 38:49
  Speaker 3: was so kind to share with me all all of
• 38:52
  Speaker 3: his lessons, not necessarily not only on the track, but
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: off the track. And that's one thing he really exposed
• 38:57
  Speaker 3: to me. He's like, you've been racing your whole life,
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: Like that part's going to make sense. But when you
• 39:02
  Speaker 3: come to the cup level and drive for this company.
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: The spotlight's going to hit you, and here's how we
• 39:07
  Speaker 3: need to build your schedule, here's where you need to focus.
• 39:10
  Speaker 3: So I'd say the longest rivalry was was Jeff. Some
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: of the other shorter and spicier ones would be like
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: Kurt Busch. Who else is there? Ryan Newman, a couple
• 39:22
  Speaker 3: in there, you know, just little hot spots during during
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: my time.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just getting after it verbally, you put hands on anybody.
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: No, I'm not a fighter. I think I've been in
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: two high school fights, and my dad always said if
• 39:36
  Speaker 3: you're the first punch, you're in big trouble. So I
• 39:39
  Speaker 3: got punched twice and then fought back. And I did
• 39:42
  Speaker 3: beg Kurt Busch one time to punch me or you know,
• 39:46
  Speaker 3: throw a punch, and he didn't do it. So that
• 39:49
  Speaker 3: was as close as I can do.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: A lot of chirping go on when y'all get into
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: pits and stuff. How does that?
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: Very rarely? I'm mixed on it, But helmet on, we're all,
• 40:02
  Speaker 3: we're all weigh the same, we're all that thirty six
• 40:04
  Speaker 3: hundred pound car drivers hit the radio button and say
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: all these awful things are gonna do and then they get
• 40:10
  Speaker 3: out of the car and they just like shoot mean
• 40:12
  Speaker 3: eyes at someone.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: It's like the internet on the radio.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: It's like football. It's like football. We do the same thing.
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: We churt talk. Yeah, I see you in the streets
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: and get you and then you see, hey, what's up,
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: big dog. It was just a gag.
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: Line.
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: It's just a game, man. You know I was talking.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: I would I didn't mean none of that. It's good
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: to see it happens all the time.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: I love how you're playing the long game though. With
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: Jeff Gordon. He's got you in the house. He's showing
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: you all the stuff. Here's all the tricks of the trade,
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: maybe forcing some tricks of the trade on you, and
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: then you're thinking in the back of your mind, I'm
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: gonna get you one day. Man.
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: We're competitors, competitors, you know. Timing is another big part
• 40:57
  Speaker 3: of of I think opportunity that happens in and Jeff
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: just won his fourth championship Sports Thriving. They want to
• 41:04
  Speaker 3: expand to a fourth car. He wants to put his
• 41:07
  Speaker 3: own money into starting this team, and you know he
• 41:12
  Speaker 3: was I've heard him joke about it, and he even
• 41:13
  Speaker 3: has to be a few times around. Man, I shouldn't
• 41:16
  Speaker 3: have showed you so much. I was too relaxed about
• 41:21
  Speaker 3: And then I of course said, we owner of the car.
• 41:23
  Speaker 3: We were both making money, put the sport for the sport.
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: Do you feel like it's more stressful being an owner
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: or a driver?
• 41:33
  Speaker 3: Different reasons, but driver, you know, when I look at
• 41:36
  Speaker 3: the course of a year, that driver pressure is the most.
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: What really stands out to me as an owner is
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: the decisions you know, I make. We make is a
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: is a group. Right now we're one hundred and fifty
• 41:49
  Speaker 3: people and on our way to one hundred ninety ish
• 41:51
  Speaker 3: for our third car that's coming in. They all have families,
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: This is their livelihood, you know. So there there is
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: that pressure. But I do feel where we sit today
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: and our commercial value and the health of the sport,
• 42:04
  Speaker 3: where things are going to be able to provide for
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: our employees and make sure they have health insurance and
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: are fairly paid, and all those elements in our stamina, longevity,
• 42:14
  Speaker 3: our existence. You know, we're going to be around, and
• 42:16
  Speaker 3: so I feel good about that. And that pressure is lifting,
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: but kind of two different ways. And how it hits
• 42:22
  Speaker 3: me from you know, the competitor and now the owner.
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: I got one for you. Who is Jimmy Jam.
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: We have any bourbon around here, we'll find out. Dale
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: Junior has been championing this for a while.
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 42:43
  Speaker 3: That's the guy that when I mentioned earlier work hard,
• 42:45
  Speaker 3: play hard, somehow I kept the play hard bit under
• 42:50
  Speaker 3: wraps forever and ever outside of the sport. But man,
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: we had a lot of fun on the road and
• 42:58
  Speaker 3: on the journey. And there's a big lake just up
• 43:01
  Speaker 3: the street, you know. Wednesday nights were a big night
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: for us all to go tie up boats and have
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: some fun. And then when I was racing on Saturday
• 43:09
  Speaker 3: before I had my Cup start, Saturday is a big
• 43:13
  Speaker 3: day on the lake all I'm sorry, Sunday would be
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: a big day on Like we'd race on Saturday and
• 43:17
  Speaker 3: maybe had a little name recognition tie up you know
• 43:19
  Speaker 3: the Sam bar and like, hey, how's it going. So
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: I don't know that there we all have the alter
• 43:26
  Speaker 3: ego in Dale's mind it's Jimmy Jam and Jimmy Jam
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: did an interview at the twenty four Hours of La
• 43:32
  Speaker 3: Law this year and I just got these in Visilne.
• 43:35
  Speaker 3: Things mixed out with a good marathon of enjoying a
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: race and a festival. I thought I was speaking clear
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: and you know, legible English, but it was not the case.
• 43:47
  Speaker 3: That came to light and Dale ran with it. But
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: others I tend to do stupid things, you know, when
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: that alter ego shows up. So stu or stupid's been
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: another alter ego.
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: Who's when when you're when you're throwing him back with
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: o'dale junior, who's the last man standing?
• 44:05
  Speaker 3: That's that's a duel. He has some stamina and the
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: Johnson side has stamina. I think we've had to wave
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: the white flag collectively in years past together the last
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: one standing between the two of us. I'm trying to
• 44:19
  Speaker 3: think of someone's Kenseth. Kensith usually fatigues, although he'll he'll
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: keep trying, he loses a little form. I'm trying to
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: think through.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Who falls off early.
• 44:33
  Speaker 3: You mentioned Travis Pastrana earlier, the lightest drinker I've ever.
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: No I can see that though he you know, he
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: was the good boy and the moto cross back in
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: the day, so I kind of.
• 44:48
  Speaker 3: He had this event out at his place in Maryland
• 44:51
  Speaker 3: a long long time ago, Nitro Olympics. So he brought
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: two athletes from all walks of life. So we had
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: two monster trucks guys to NASCAR guys, two Indy car,
• 45:03
  Speaker 3: two BMX, two skaters, like the whole barrage of people
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: in three days of just doing stupid things. And the
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: last night was college night. So we had to play
• 45:12
  Speaker 3: beer pong, ro Shambeau and Buck Hunter, and Travis was
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: convinced because he's pretty good at buck Hunter. So it
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: comes to the finals and it's the freestyle motocross guy.
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: So it's Travis and I didn't have with him anyhow,
• 45:29
  Speaker 3: I forget me and Brian Vickers have the NASCAR side.
• 45:33
  Speaker 3: We win. Travis could not comprehend why he lost to
• 45:37
  Speaker 3: Buck Hunter. Well, it was after the two drinking games,
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: and he was so out of form playing buck Hunter.
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: He couldn't hit a damn thing. He sneaks off and
• 45:45
  Speaker 3: goes to sleep, and we conspire and we're like, he
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: can't be asleep, there's no way. All right, let's go
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: mess with him. So we go down to his warehouse
• 45:52
  Speaker 3: play shed thing that has half pipes and foam pits
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: and all this stuff in it, and his friend Andy
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: Bell that was his teammate, was Andy Andy's I know
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: he's got the door locks. I'm taking a sledgehammer. Victors
• 46:03
  Speaker 3: grabs a leaf blower and then there's a boxing ring,
• 46:06
  Speaker 3: so I grab a right handed glove. Bell blows the
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: door off, the hinges, Victor starts, the leaf blower, hits
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: the bed, and the comforter blows off, and Travis sits
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: up in his boxer's wondering what the hell's going on?
• 46:20
  Speaker 3: I drill him the story right from that point on.
• 46:28
  Speaker 3: He's like tried to break into my room, and I
• 46:31
  Speaker 3: literally when I go to races and I know he's there,
• 46:34
  Speaker 3: I put one room in my name and then have
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: a different name, and he's broken in both times and
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: sends me a text where are you? Damn it because
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: he's still trying to.
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: Get me back.
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: He had jokes here too, so.
• 46:49
  Speaker 3: He's going to get you double time.
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: You know, he's trying to get us out. Who's the driver?
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: They like hold some race at there. They have like
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: a racetrack at their spotle have you got to do
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: one of those? I don't even know how many he's had.
• 47:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that looks like so much fun. Yeah, the safety
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: I'm a little concerned with. Yeah, it's fund meter is
• 47:09
  Speaker 3: going to be high.
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: Because that's like an old racetrack he owns, right, like a.
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: I think they've been moving around. Maybe there is a
• 47:16
  Speaker 3: track that they own as well. But it's like the Freedom,
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: the Freedom something yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: It seems like a fun time.
• 47:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, characters, great group of people.
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: It seems like a good time.
• 47:31
  Speaker 2: What a superstition or ritual you still have to this day.
• 47:37
  Speaker 3: I've always been a numbers guy, and where it cemented
• 47:41
  Speaker 3: the most, well, I guess backup step Hendrick starting this
• 47:45
  Speaker 3: fourth team. They don't have a pre existing number. They
• 47:48
  Speaker 3: give me a list of numbers of that are available
• 47:52
  Speaker 3: with NASCAR, and at the time they had like the
• 47:54
  Speaker 3: twenty ford and twenty five car and they thought maybe
• 47:57
  Speaker 3: twenty three four five all right? You know, well Mjvibe,
• 48:01
  Speaker 3: you know, I get the sequential numbering system, but all
• 48:04
  Speaker 3: of my championships came from the number four or the
• 48:06
  Speaker 3: number eight. And I saw forty eight, and then I'm like,
• 48:10
  Speaker 3: why age after twenty four forty eight? I want to
• 48:12
  Speaker 3: be twice as good as you, you know, just like
• 48:15
  Speaker 3: lobbying what I could. And they're like, yeah, that works,
• 48:18
  Speaker 3: you know, we'll do it in the same font and
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: that plays. So that that was one of the elements
• 48:22
  Speaker 3: coming to life with numbers. And then prior to my
• 48:26
  Speaker 3: rookie season, the number thirteen showed up everywhere, and I'm like,
• 48:30
  Speaker 3: oh my god, I'm doomed, like bad Luck's coming, where's
• 48:33
  Speaker 3: the black cat? You know, just thinking, you know, pessimistic,
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: mindset on it all. I win my first race. I'm
• 48:39
  Speaker 3: sitting in the media center, and first question from the
• 48:42
  Speaker 3: media was, how does it feel to win in your
• 48:44
  Speaker 3: thirteenth start. I was like, son of a bitch, it was.
• 48:47
  Speaker 3: It was a good sign all along. And so numbers,
• 48:50
  Speaker 3: like I see numbers at different times. I'd set my
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: alarm clock for five forty eight instead of six o'clock
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: and instead of a minute on the microwave, be forty
• 48:58
  Speaker 3: eight seconds. So I've just had this number thing.
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: Okay, so it's still that still goes. I like that.
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know because some of the boys got us
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: from wearing their sock, wearing their sock on their driver's foot. Yeah,
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: waxing cress and I never I was just never really picking.
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: I'm just like, Okay, I guess you're talking about I
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: guess a waxing crescent moon affects the grip on the
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: track on the race track.
• 49:22
  Speaker 3: It's reaching far.
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I'm sitting there, you know, I'm green in
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: this in this, so I'm just like, oh, yeah, I know,
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: I get that. I get that.
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: But even on anybody googled it, does waxing crescent really exists?
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: No, we didn't go We just.
• 49:41
  Speaker 3: They may just be totally pulling your leg.
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah. And then they also got us on the
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: wearing a sock at all times, like every driver does
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: it where where driver sleeps in a sock on the
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: right foot, on the right foot their driver's foot. The
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: night before a race, it was blowing smoke up our
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: ass with that.
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: Potentially either pull. One thing I do know with the
• 50:00
  Speaker 3: generation before me is some were really sensitive about peanuts
• 50:04
  Speaker 3: being bad luck. And one of my mentors, this guy
• 50:07
  Speaker 3: named Ron Hornaday, and everybody knew that do not bring
• 50:11
  Speaker 3: a bag of peanuts around him, especially the one still
• 50:15
  Speaker 3: in the shell. And one night in his you know,
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: ascent to the top divisions at a local short track,
• 50:23
  Speaker 3: he went to get in his car and somebody threw
• 50:25
  Speaker 3: a peanut in there, the shell on it, and he
• 50:28
  Speaker 3: had a terrible accent that night, And like had Stakeholt
• 50:31
  Speaker 3: nights in the hospital. So he's absolutely adamant about peanuts,
• 50:35
  Speaker 3: and there there are a few of the old school
• 50:37
  Speaker 3: that believe in that. And then the other was green cars.
• 50:40
  Speaker 3: And when Bobby Labonni showed up with the Interstate battery
• 50:43
  Speaker 3: green car, everybody's like, oh, you're doomed. Then you want
• 50:47
  Speaker 3: a ton of races and championships, And I'm like, man,
• 50:50
  Speaker 3: we're all chasing green you know, we want green backs. Like,
• 50:53
  Speaker 3: how is that bad luck? Why is that color bad?
• 50:55
  Speaker 3: So just another one that was there previously.
• 50:58
  Speaker 2: Green I did that. Yeah, you had never thought about that,
• 51:01
  Speaker 2: The peanut one, the penut one. I can know. I
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: can see the peanut one.
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: That's funny as there's a peanut in your car. Yeah,
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: so that's that's bad news? Is there? What is what
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: is something that people get wrong about your era when
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: talking about NASCAR, or something that they might not think
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: about or appreciate that happened back in your day, back
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: in your heyday.
• 51:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say, honestly, it's been an issue for
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: a while, but just the athleticism required to do the job.
• 51:36
  Speaker 3: I think it's popped up recently with Stephen A saying
• 51:38
  Speaker 3: the drivers aren't athletes, and you know, that that's that's
• 51:43
  Speaker 3: just one that's been tough for the industry to shake
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: and certainly not true.
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: How do you prove them wrong?
• 51:51
  Speaker 3: You just you can't. I think is the sport becomes
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: more understood and people are around it and get it.
• 52:00
  Speaker 3: It's slowly shifting and changing. I don't think that are
• 52:07
  Speaker 3: Some of the athletes in the sport take their job
• 52:11
  Speaker 3: as seriously as they could and you know, from nutrition,
• 52:13
  Speaker 3: hydration and different elements, so they maybe don't appear is
• 52:16
  Speaker 3: what one would you think as an athlete. But and
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: all you got to do is go sit in one
• 52:22
  Speaker 3: for an hour, it becomes crystal clear.
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: How how much do you try to imprint on your
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: drivers when it comes to taking care of your body,
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: taking care of your health and all the things that
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: you did as a driver.
• 52:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think recoveries. If you're on a full time schedule,
• 52:39
  Speaker 3: you know you can you build your fitness in as
• 52:42
  Speaker 3: the year comes along. You know certainly you want to
• 52:44
  Speaker 3: start fitting ready and all those things. But the thing
• 52:48
  Speaker 3: that stands out to me the most is just recovery.
• 52:50
  Speaker 3: In hydration. You just get such a ratcheting down effect
• 52:55
  Speaker 3: with fatigue or recovery cycle that you just don't show
• 52:58
  Speaker 3: up as sharp as you need to be. And I
• 53:01
  Speaker 3: think a lot of that when guys aren't fitted to tours,
• 53:04
  Speaker 3: them from having a you know, some kind of light
• 53:07
  Speaker 3: cardio on Monday to flush the body, and then once
• 53:10
  Speaker 3: once you realize, you know, if you flush the body,
• 53:12
  Speaker 3: get hydrated Tuesday, you're actually ready to train again and
• 53:15
  Speaker 3: then you kind of get ahead on the schedule and
• 53:20
  Speaker 3: come time for the race or a big impact. You know,
• 53:23
  Speaker 3: the more muscle mass you have, the better the outcome
• 53:26
  Speaker 3: in those instances. So I don't think that globally the
• 53:31
  Speaker 3: drivers maybe represent aesthetically what you know, athletic prowess is needed,
• 53:38
  Speaker 3: but in the professional areas there's there's much more of that.
• 53:41
  Speaker 3: And but but guys are always so protective about what
• 53:44
  Speaker 3: they do. You know, you don't want to tip your
• 53:45
  Speaker 3: hand to anyone else. I didn't care, and I was
• 53:48
  Speaker 3: such a knucklehead and love to suffer. I got into
• 53:51
  Speaker 3: endurance sports and I'd ride a hundred miles on Saturday
• 53:54
  Speaker 3: on my bicycle and go run a five hundred mile
• 53:56
  Speaker 3: cup race the next day.
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: Damn. Yeah, you definitely shragged me as somebody. Very detail
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: in your performance, recovery, your day to day, What did
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: a weekly routine look like for you as far as
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: recovery goes, taking things of that series, living in the
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: details of it.
• 54:10
  Speaker 3: For me, the mental aspect of being switched on and
• 54:13
  Speaker 3: how I felt gave me such an advantage on Sundays.
• 54:17
  Speaker 3: And you know, if you look back at my rookie year,
• 54:20
  Speaker 3: I didn't enter the Cup Series as an athlete should,
• 54:24
  Speaker 3: and about a quarters the way through the season, I
• 54:28
  Speaker 3: was cooked. Between all the testing, the at track, I
• 54:31
  Speaker 3: didn't have recovery and all that stuff in place, and
• 54:34
  Speaker 3: I mean I was struggling to get to the end
• 54:35
  Speaker 3: of a race. And so I found myself back in
• 54:38
  Speaker 3: the weight room and doing things that I thought I
• 54:43
  Speaker 3: needed to do, and they were hopeful, but it just
• 54:45
  Speaker 3: continued to open doors. And then I saw where I
• 54:47
  Speaker 3: needed to really apply myself and when I got into
• 54:51
  Speaker 3: the endurance side and the accountability to get up for
• 54:54
  Speaker 3: the morning master swim or to get up for the
• 54:56
  Speaker 3: morning speed workout with my training coach, to then have
• 55:01
  Speaker 3: a second workout in the afternoon for either stretching or
• 55:05
  Speaker 3: some weights, and then cycling, and how that all layered
• 55:08
  Speaker 3: together when I figured out how to manage all that
• 55:11
  Speaker 3: and the recovery that came with it, and the hydration
• 55:14
  Speaker 3: and nutrition to feed myself for that output. Man, the crispness,
• 55:18
  Speaker 3: I mean just everything felt so good. My mind was sharp,
• 55:21
  Speaker 3: and I was winning championships, so I just kept leaning
• 55:24
  Speaker 3: further and further into that that discipline.
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: We were a couple of non negotiables when it came
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: to your recovery, like things that you had to do
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: and hit during the week.
• 55:33
  Speaker 3: For me, it was fluid intake. And it took me
• 55:34
  Speaker 3: a while to realize that I had some pretty bad
• 55:37
  Speaker 3: cramping moments coming out of the car or even in
• 55:40
  Speaker 3: the car, and that was that was a big thing
• 55:43
  Speaker 3: for me to learn. And I kept adding volume and
• 55:45
  Speaker 3: it didn't get any better. And then I did some
• 55:47
  Speaker 3: sweat test stuff and found out that I just sweat
• 55:50
  Speaker 3: double standard. I sweat double the minerals then somebody typically would.
• 55:56
  Speaker 3: So once I got the you know kind assault take
• 56:00
  Speaker 3: up and magnesium tassium take up, the cramping went away
• 56:03
  Speaker 3: and just change things dramatically.
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: Damn, Hey, do you have one? I was gonna see
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: if Mitch had it?
• 56:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah for sure, No, sure, sure, yeah, the had I
• 56:38
  Speaker 3: guess we're in our seventh generation car. I think I've
• 56:41
  Speaker 3: been a part of three, if not four generations, but
• 56:45
  Speaker 3: this Gen seven car is really a standardized car. Everything
• 56:50
  Speaker 3: before that the teams could manufacture and build their own vehicles,
• 56:54
  Speaker 3: and that that's been a massive shift since. I guess
• 56:56
  Speaker 3: the twenty twenty one season and the reasons behind it
• 56:59
  Speaker 3: are all entertainment driven. NASCAR wants all of our communications
• 57:03
  Speaker 3: public because there's colorful things said and the storylines can develop.
• 57:08
  Speaker 3: They want equality on the track so that it really
• 57:11
  Speaker 3: comes down to the human dynamic and outracing someone or
• 57:14
  Speaker 3: having strategy, and so that concept has created a lot
• 57:18
  Speaker 3: of cost savings, which I wouldn't be an owner in
• 57:20
  Speaker 3: the sport if we didn't have this kind of soft
• 57:23
  Speaker 3: cap that's indirectly built in. But when this car came about,
• 57:27
  Speaker 3: there was a philosophy of trying to create the downforce
• 57:30
  Speaker 3: between the bottom of the car and the road versus overbody,
• 57:34
  Speaker 3: and so everything I raced, the downforce was built by
• 57:38
  Speaker 3: the spoiler and the shape of the sides and the
• 57:40
  Speaker 3: nose of the car. Now that's pretty basic in yes,
• 57:44
  Speaker 3: the nose and tail represent the manufacturer that you're driving
• 57:48
  Speaker 3: and some character lines on the side, but the underneath
• 57:50
  Speaker 3: of the car is equal amongst all three makes is everything.
• 57:55
  Speaker 3: And if you think of a vacuum kind of ceiling
• 57:58
  Speaker 3: the car to the ground. During my generation, we didn't
• 58:01
  Speaker 3: have a suction taking place, and you can actually slide
• 58:04
  Speaker 3: the car. So my dirt background served me very very
• 58:08
  Speaker 3: well this car. Once you get like a few degrees
• 58:11
  Speaker 3: of slip angle in the car, it breaks the suction
• 58:14
  Speaker 3: and so the driving style. Now, I used to drive
• 58:17
  Speaker 3: the car with the right foot and would always power
• 58:19
  Speaker 3: slide it around. Not possible Now. Now you need a
• 58:22
  Speaker 3: driver that really drives the car off the right front
• 58:26
  Speaker 3: and uses more of their hands than their feet. And
• 58:28
  Speaker 3: fundamentally it sounds easy, but when you grow up a
• 58:31
  Speaker 3: certain way and coming through junior categories, you just have
• 58:34
  Speaker 3: these defaults wired in you what you're looking for. And
• 58:37
  Speaker 3: it shifted. Now the car has been around a bit
• 58:41
  Speaker 3: and we're seeing guys come out of junior categories and
• 58:44
  Speaker 3: it's not as easy to say, hey, this guy runs
• 58:47
  Speaker 3: great on Saturday with the old style car where you
• 58:50
  Speaker 3: can slide, just plug me into a cup car is
• 58:52
  Speaker 3: good to go. It didn't happen anymore, and we're seeing
• 58:55
  Speaker 3: guys like Shane Van Ginsberg and come in from a
• 58:58
  Speaker 3: car that had a lot of downfall, was created in
• 59:00
  Speaker 3: a similar way over in Australia, and he shows up
• 59:04
  Speaker 3: and is doing an incredible job. So it's an interesting
• 59:07
  Speaker 3: time right now, like how do you get young drivers ready?
• 59:11
  Speaker 3: And it's really fundamentally due to the just different generation
• 59:14
  Speaker 3: of cars that are, you know, the one that's in
• 59:16
  Speaker 3: play now.
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: I know, we got to get you out of here.
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: You ever get the itch I do that?
• 59:20
  Speaker 3: So I'm still screwing around.
• 59:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, today's world.
• 59:26
  Speaker 3: And I got a good taste of this in IndyCar
• 59:27
  Speaker 3: and the sports car stuff that I did. You know,
• 59:30
  Speaker 3: if you're not in the car all the time or
• 59:33
  Speaker 3: necessarily grow up in that style of car all the time,
• 59:35
  Speaker 3: they're different and there's these subtleties that matter. So I
• 59:39
  Speaker 3: go IndyCar. I'm trying to rewire all my defaults and
• 59:42
  Speaker 3: I get to a competitive place, but still a long
• 59:44
  Speaker 3: road ahead, and I just didn't have that fire burning
• 59:47
  Speaker 3: to chase it. I thought, Man, I'll go back to Cup,
• 59:50
  Speaker 3: you know, I'll run eight, ten, fifteen races in Cup
• 59:53
  Speaker 3: and now in this team it'll help. But the car
• 59:55
  Speaker 3: is so different now, that generation thing I just spoke
• 59:58
  Speaker 3: about and the technology is moving so quickly that if
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 3: you're not in the car every week to understand these nuances,
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 3: you don't have a shot to win. And I really
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 3: don't want to be out there on a midpack. So
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 3: the a tone of five and twenty seven will be
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 3: my last Cup race. We'll make a big deal out
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 3: of it and have some fun with it. But other categories,
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 3: other forms of racing, you know, off roads what I
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 3: started in. I raced an off road truck in March
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 3: and had a great time and hope to do some
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 3: more of that in twenty seven. You know, I'll find
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 3: ways to scratch that itch. Yeah, but you know the
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 3: tip of the spear, you know, those days are behind me.
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. The immortality, man, the immortality comes for us all. Yeah, dude,
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: this has been awesome. Anybody have a question for him
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: before we let him go? Jack? Oh, there you go, Jack,
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: mount Rushmore, NASCAR drive.
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 3: There, Okay, getting confused with Trump trying to put his
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 3: face up. Uh, Mount Rushmore, Petty, earnhart Um, Gordon and
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 3: Johnson be before for me.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: Okay like that? Hell yeah, I like that. I like
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: that great question, Jack, Yeah, that was a great question.
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 2: Cool.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 3: Hey, wrong order.
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 1: Jimmy, Thanks a lot, man, This has been awesome. Good
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: luck with everything. We're massive fans are obviously an icon
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: in the sport in a legend. Everybody at home or
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: listening in your vehicle tuning in, make sure you're subscribed
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: to everything. Everybody, This was Jimmy Johnson. Big hugs, tiny kisses.
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: We will see you next week.
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 3: Appreciate you, guys, Thank you, Thank you.
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: Man twenty one plus and present in select states for
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino, or eighteen plus
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: and present in DC opt in required bonus issued as
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: expiration and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook dot
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: fan duel dot com. Gambling problem call one eight hundred
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: gambler or visit r G dash.
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 2: Help dot com call one eight eight eight seven eight
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 2: nine seven seven seven seven, or visit CCPG dot org.
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 3: Slash chat in Connecticut, Hope is here Gambling Helpline MA
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 3: dot org, or call eight hundred three two seven fifty
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 3: fifty for twenty four seven support. In Massachusetts, visit www
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 3: dot m D Gamblinghelp dot organ Maryland call one eight
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 3: seven seven eight Hope, n Y.
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: Or text Hope n. Y.
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 2: Four six seven, three sixty nine in New York