Latest / Rusty's Garage / The Motorsport Brief | Brad Johnson - from AFL to Motorsport

Transcript

The Motorsport Brief | Brad Johnson - from AFL to Motorsport · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief, trading the footy boots for a race suit.
• 0:09
  A legend from the AFL joins us for this edition as his son pursues a career behind the wheel.
• 0:15
  G'day everyone, Rusty here.
• 0:16
  Shortly to Brad Johnson, who's with us in the Garage Studios, how his son Jack chose motorsport and the vivid memory that Brad has of that exact moment.
• 0:25
  How he balances guiding Jack along the path while also stepping back at times, as parents do, to let them make their own mark.
• 0:32
  the business of sport and how his experience with sponsors and the commercial side assists in an expensive game motor racing plus the indy car star helping with little bits of sage advice along the way and how the family has come to truly love motorsport
• 0:48
  A quick plug for last week's EP2 with Tabitha Ambrose.
• 0:51
  Very similar subject matter in many ways.
• 0:53
  How her famous father, Marcus, has helped guide her career so far and the hands-on grasp that she has of the administrative and business side of the sport.
• 1:03
  The day that Marcus brought the NASCAR to school.
• 1:06
  That must have won, show and tell, surely.
• 1:08
  Testing a Trans Am or TA2 car, her Formula Ford ambitions, back for another crack at the Bathurst Six Hour, and seeing her dad's battle with cancer, what his approach taught her about life, and how proud she was when Marcus opened up about it at a charity event last October.
• 1:25
  Let's get to today's ep.
• 1:26
  I need to thank a colleague, Tim Hodges, here too.
• 1:29
  You may remember that Hodgie helped us with James McFadden.
• 1:32
  He's been on the show a few times.
• 1:33
  You'll enjoy those.
• 1:35
  Tim does a phenomenal job producing the very successful AFL 360 show and facilitated this introduction.
• 1:42
  Brad Johnson is an AFL Hall of Famer, Bulldogs Games record holder, superb in his media roles these days as an expert for Fox Footy and so on.
• 1:52
  But as I discovered here, Brad is just superb.
• 1:55
  a ripper bloke, and a very proud family man too.
• 1:58
  Hope you enjoy the conversation.
• 2:03
  Welcome.
• 2:04
  I would be lying if I didn't open the batting with this by saying I'm nervous, because over time, I've dabbled in other sports, but not greatly, and motor racing has kind of been my domain.
• 2:16
  But there is a nice synergy in that in how we're starting this conversation, because now you're playing in a bit of a different space.
• 2:21
  I'm nervous.
• 2:23
  I'm in your space, Greg, so... How are you finding that?
• 2:26
  I mean, how are you...
• 2:27
  I mean...
• 2:28
  you've come from professional sport.
• 2:30
  You're climbing this pathway with your son, which I think is just fantastic, but it is a different domain, mate.
• 2:35
  It's completely, it's completely different.
• 2:37
  It's been a big and exciting sort of journey so far.
• 2:40
  Like we're still learning, you know, along the way, still trying to navigate what is, um,
• 2:45
  sometimes a complex world too, you know what I mean?
• 2:47
  So it started, you know, obviously starting with the go-kart world and doing that for a number of years and then stepping up into sort of Excel racing, into Formula 4 racing and now where we are now.
• 2:58
  But it's – footy is –
• 3:01
  it has a genuine sort of pathway.
• 3:03
  Yes.
• 3:03
  Yeah.
• 3:03
  And once you're sort of in the footy pathway, you get looked after by the next level and the next level, and you just keep navigating that and working through until you sort of reach that under 18 level.
• 3:13
  And if you perform well in that, then you're on the way to being drafted into the AFL world.
• 3:18
  But there's no draft system as such.
• 3:19
  So it took us a little while to sort of understand that you've got to work
• 3:24
  individually in some ways and be connected with the right people that can help guide you more than anything in what steps to take as you progress.
• 3:33
  But it's all on Jack and the young drivers that are out there to show that they've got a little bit of will to want to succeed.
• 3:38
  And if they do that, then we're lucky that some good people are sort of helping us take those next steps.
• 3:44
  You have formed some good connections.
• 3:45
  You've already opened up a whole raft of things I want to dive into here, mate.
• 3:48
  Yeah.
• 3:49
  Firstly, we are talking a day after the GT round at Phillip Island, which I know we were both at.
• 3:55
  It's fair to say a lot of people in the paddock knew a little bit about him, obviously from Excels, from karting, from Formula 4, as you talked about.
• 4:02
  I know there's been penalties and stuff in GT4, what have it.
• 4:06
  Mate, he did, without pumping your tyres, he did a cracking job.
• 4:09
  And he's now, I think, made a lot of people start to realise, A, how committed he is to this, and B, the potential that he had.
• 4:17
  I mean, that
• 4:18
  regardless of the result, must make you feel pretty damn proud.
• 4:21
  Oh, he's done all the work.
• 4:22
  And that's the good part, Rusty.
• 4:23
  You know, like at the end of the day, we are trying to assist his development in the sport, but he's shown a full commitment to it.
• 4:31
  And that's all we want as parents.
• 4:34
  You know what I mean?
• 4:35
  He's fully passionate about it.
• 4:36
  He trains really hard and, you know, he works hard on his craft.
• 4:42
  So that for us is all we sort of want.
• 4:44
  It's been a great passion because he's at the racetrack every second weekend and he's with good people at the racetrack and he's following sort of his dream.
• 4:52
  And it's about turning that dream into a bit of a reality.
• 4:54
  So it gets real now with the racing he's doing.
• 4:57
  Oh, my goodness.
• 4:58
  So that's why it was so good that, you know, he's jumped in with Zach Suter and Team Suter Motorsport and they're based in Geelong.
• 5:04
  They're five minutes from our house, which is even better.
• 5:07
  So Jack spends a little bit of time with those guys in the garage.
• 5:11
  And your workshop is good too.
• 5:12
  Yeah, it's a really nice workshop.
• 5:13
  They've done a great job to run four cars now and to go well in their first race meeting as a collective team was really exciting.
• 5:20
  And to get Willie Exton as Jack's co-driver, he's got good experience in this car, driving the McLarens as well, a New Zealand kid.
• 5:28
  So it all sort of, they worked hard to make that happen.
• 5:31
  So it was good for the two of them to get a really strong result in their experience.
• 5:35
  in their first race together.
• 5:37
  They still learn a lot.
• 5:37
  They made some errors and, um, which they'll fix up as the, as the year goes on.
• 5:41
  But ultimately it was just good to sort of sit back, Donna and I, and, uh, and now let Jack go and be part of that sort of, you know, team environment, which is pretty exciting.
• 5:49
  It's better than green shoots, mate.
• 5:50
  There's some really good stuff there.
• 5:52
  At what point, maybe how, how old was he when you perhaps realize that maybe he mightn't pull on the footy boots or, um, you know, where did he get this love for motor racing?
• 6:00
  How did that all kind of start?
• 6:02
  Well, it was kind of funny.
• 6:04
  Through footy, we got an opportunity at the F1 many, many years ago.
• 6:06
  Jack was about five, I think it was.
• 6:08
  And he got to go down the main straight in a Ferrari, a little motorized Ferrari, just before the race started.
• 6:14
  Excellent.
• 6:14
  So he's crossing the start-finish line.
• 6:16
  Yeah.
• 6:17
  in this little Ferrari just before the teams come out.
• 6:19
  With a massive crowd.
• 6:20
  With a massive crowd.
• 6:21
  So as you can imagine, he's thinking, how good is this?
• 6:24
  You know, the adrenaline and that's where it all started.
• 6:27
  Very lasting impact, clearly.
• 6:28
  Big time.
• 6:29
  Big time.
• 6:29
  So it started there.
• 6:31
  And then he started playing footy under nines, under tens, under elevens.
• 6:35
  And we were...
• 6:36
  Wasn't really into footy at all.
• 6:38
  He was just sort of there playing with some friends and all that sort of stuff.
• 6:42
  And we moved a couple of times from Williamstown to Torquay and then back into Geelong.
• 6:46
  So he's moving primary schools and all that.
• 6:48
  But his passion was always, and all he was watching was racing.
• 6:51
  And he asked me when he was about nine if he could go-kart.
• 6:54
  And I'm like, mate, I've got no idea what you're talking about.
• 6:57
  You know, and I said, come back and see me when you're 12.
• 7:00
  You know, basically just pushed it to one side.
• 7:02
  The day he turned 12, we rocked up to a training session and he didn't get out of the car and he looked at me and he goes, I don't want to do this anymore.
• 7:09
  Really?
• 7:09
  Yeah.
• 7:09
  I want to go car.
• 7:10
  And I said, okay.
• 7:11
  And I was actually wrapped.
• 7:13
  Because he was playing and not really enjoying it.
• 7:15
  So it was good that he sort of had the confidence to sort of say that to us as parents and we explored it.
• 7:21
  We went to the Geelong go-karting track and knocked on their door and found out the lay of the land and off we went.
• 7:27
  Excellent.
• 7:27
  I have commentated there when I was much younger.
• 7:29
  That's a long time ago.
• 7:31
  It's a long time ago.
• 7:31
  It's a good track, the Geelong Karting track.
• 7:33
  It's wonderful that you have harnessed.
• 7:36
  When kids are like that, when they are ultra passionate about something and to, you know, as parents, we only want them to do their best to follow.
• 7:43
  I mean, that sounds cliche to follow your dreams, right?
• 7:46
  If I can share a little personal yarn with you, my little nephew,
• 7:50
  He is, he'll be 17, I think, in June.
• 7:53
  He's playing for GWS Giants in the academy for them.
• 7:57
  How good is that?
• 7:59
  But we don't know.
• 8:00
  We're very realistic.
• 8:01
  Just see where it goes and what have you.
• 8:03
  But he's in the right system.
• 8:04
  He's in the right system, which is what you were talking about before.
• 8:06
  But the key thing is he lives and breathes it, mate.
• 8:10
  Every time we see him, he, you know, like I've told him today, I'm sitting down with you and he's like, holy hell, you know, like so –
• 8:16
  Um, the fact that you were able to kind of do that with Jack as well, like if he's clearly into it and I gather he isn't like, you have a little bit of a connection with Scotty McLaughlin and all sorts, mate, don't you?
• 8:25
  Yeah.
• 8:25
  It's like, and that's been pretty cool as well along the way.
• 8:28
  So Tim Hodges, you know, he's a massive motorsport man and he's had, he's had Scotty McLaughlin on AFL 360 a lot, uh, which has been, which has been great.
• 8:35
  And Scotty's a bulldog lover as well, which is even better.
• 8:38
  So I got to meet Scotty a long time ago in regards to that.
• 8:42
  And he's been brilliant.
• 8:43
  Like when Jack was younger, he'd sort of flip him a video here and there and just say, keep going, mate, you know, and Jack would share some stuff with him on his carding.
• 8:50
  So he's always been there just in the background helping sort of, you know, motivate Jack to keep following his dreams.
• 8:55
  So Scotty's been amazing with that.
• 8:57
  And look what he's achieved now going from the V8 Supercars to Indy.
• 9:01
  And that's become our – well, that's certainly become my favourite
• 9:04
  of the categories in motorsport.
• 9:06
  I really enjoy watching that.
• 9:07
  I love the racing.
• 9:08
  It's pretty even and competitive and they, they have a fair dinkum crack and, you know, he had a big crash on the weekend, Scotty as well, you know, so it was good to see that he was able to get out of that and, uh, and get going again.
• 9:18
  So, so Scotty's been good.
• 9:19
  And then, yeah, we just meet sort of really good people along the way that the footy racing connection is really strong, really strong.
• 9:26
  There's a lot of people that, um, that are in footy that know a lot of people in racing and, and vice versa.
• 9:31
  So that's been, that's been pretty cool to sort of open up,
• 9:34
  sort of that part of our lives as well, to meet some really cool people in the sport that are honestly willing to give their time to help and answer any questions that you might have.
• 9:44
  He wants to kind of do the now, I guess.
• 9:47
  But is there a want maybe to go and take some American stuff one day?
• 9:50
  Scotty might be able to say, hey, chat to this person or go to that, you know, whatever.
• 9:54
  Well, that's sort of what we're sort of trying to uncover now, I suppose, is the next steps in the sport and what that looks like.
• 10:00
  You've always got to sort of stay 12 months in front of where you need to get to.
• 10:04
  because you're constantly talking to people.
• 10:06
  And with us as a family, that financial support is critical.
• 10:11
  He's got some cool sponsors now.
• 10:13
  And we certainly know that's got to increase over the next sort of six to 12 months as well.
• 10:17
  And that's just the reality of where we sit.
• 10:20
  So we couldn't be here without the support that is necessary.
• 10:24
  And you see every car is lit up with,
• 10:26
  with sponsors everywhere and it's so important it really is for you know the the young the future of the young drivers that are that are in the sport so the support we get is um is really strong and um but we know that it's going to have to sort of increase it's expensive it's expensive it's expensive yeah of course it is that opened your
• 10:43
  eyes a bit?
• 10:44
  Oh, big time.
• 10:44
  I didn't realise, honestly.
• 10:46
  Go-karting was expensive and then you sort of jump into Excel and Formula Ford, which are sort of equivalent to go-karting in a way from a cost perspective, but jumping up into this world is a completely different ballgame.
• 10:58
  I started looking at this last sort of April-May
• 11:01
  just to get to the start line on the weekend.
• 11:04
  So it does take a lot.
• 11:06
  It's a full commitment from the entire family, but we all love it.
• 11:09
  And, you know, I don't mind sort of going out and playing my role for him at this stage.
• 11:13
  And hopefully in the future, he gets some opportunities.
• 11:15
  So the US is certainly something he wants to do.
• 11:18
  This is where his passion for endurance racing has always been.
• 11:21
  He's number one.
• 11:23
  So that's cool.
• 11:23
  Like, you know, he loves V8s and he loves Trans Ams and watching everything around the world.
• 11:29
  But ultimately, endurance racing has always been
• 11:31
  his main goal.
• 11:33
  So now he sort of has taken the first step into it, you know, and in two or three years time, we'll see where that lands.
• 11:38
  The many facets you can bring to the table here from your professional career.
• 11:43
  Firstly, you've touched on the commercial side, right?
• 11:46
  So there are learnings for a young man, you know, around dealing with sponsors and so on.
• 11:52
  What's that process been like as you navigate that, the pair of you together?
• 11:55
  Yeah.
• 11:55
  Yeah, it's been pretty cool, to be honest.
• 11:58
  He's getting more and more confident in this space.
• 12:01
  That's good.
• 12:02
  He's obviously through, I think the Formula Ford team did it really well.
• 12:08
  And I'm talking about Formula Ford Australia and that sort of stuff.
• 12:11
  The exposure they provided for the young kids coming through was really cool.
• 12:15
  They'd be interviewing them all the time and putting them in scenarios.
• 12:18
  Exposing them to that, yeah, yeah.
• 12:19
  And exposing him to it, which I thought was really cool.
• 12:21
  So that's sort of a set up, that side of things.
• 12:24
  Like Stubbs, he grabbed him on the weekend and he was able to answer the questions well.
• 12:28
  He was on 360 during the week, pumping up the Speed Series and the start of the racing for the year.
• 12:35
  And that was a good part.
• 12:36
  We're having a chat around because I got caught when I was younger that you do some media and play poorly on the weekend.
• 12:42
  And the reflection wasn't sort of great from a footy perspective.
• 12:44
  The coaches would be all over you if you didn't do that.
• 12:48
  You talk about that stuff?
• 12:49
  Yeah, we talk about that stuff all the time.
• 12:50
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 12:51
  Because if you're going to put yourself out there, which you have to in motorsport, you have to talk and you have to support your sponsors and you have to go to events and do different things.
• 12:58
  But it can't affect, you can't get ahead of yourself and it affect what you're doing on the weekend because that's the most important aspect of everything.
• 13:06
  We can put the lights on over here and you can go and talk here.
• 13:08
  And Hodgie had us on 360 and it was awesome and it was great for everybody involved in the sport.
• 13:14
  But ultimately, you've got to perform off the back of it.
• 13:19
  You've got to have that calling card, mate, don't you?
• 13:21
  You've got to be able to go, okay, if I'm going to go to America, I've achieved this in Australia or whatever it might be, and then start the discussions from there.
• 13:28
  Do you have moments where, like any parent, I've got daughters that are 18 and 20, so I get the age thing, right?
• 13:36
  We aren't always looked upon as the most tech savvy people, et cetera, et cetera.
• 13:39
  Absolutely.
• 13:40
  Right.
• 13:40
  So you navigate that thing of
• 13:43
  wanting to put your arm around them so that they will do their, their very best, but ultimately they also have to walk their own path.
• 13:50
  So this is sort of the balancing act in all of that, mate.
• 13:53
  Yeah.
• 13:54
  And I'm really conscious of it.
• 13:55
  Donna and I both are actually, to be, to be honest.
• 13:57
  Yeah.
• 13:57
  And like, I'm, I'm sitting here talking to you today about Jack and, um, and we're comfortable doing it, but we understand what lane we need to sit in now as, as parents.
• 14:06
  And, and, and,
• 14:07
  But part of that too is also the fact that with the footy connections and with sort of my role of trying to generate some sponsorship for Jack to go forward, and I get involved completely in that as well because I can jump in with some of these sponsors and go to their events and be a presence there because they all love footy and –
• 14:24
  You know, they've all got those connections as well.
• 14:26
  So that's sort of what the role Donna and I sort of play in that side of things and, and supporting, um, and adding some value in some ways to the sponsorship that comes through.
• 14:35
  But ultimately it looks great on the car.
• 14:37
  Jack performs in the car.
• 14:38
  That's what they want to see.
• 14:39
  So, um,
• 14:40
  We're conscious that we just play this little role here now, and it's up to Jack to push it forward.
• 14:45
  That's why the team environment's really cool now for him to sort of be exposed in.
• 14:49
  It's not the individuals of us just rolling up with our car and putting it on the track.
• 14:53
  It's serious, and it's full on, and the engineering's crazy.
• 14:58
  He's got Ludo Lacroix as his engineer, which is really cool.
• 15:01
  which blows our mind, you know what I mean?
• 15:03
  But that's why now, that's on them.
• 15:07
  We don't make comment about that side of things anymore.
• 15:09
  We just sit back, watch it on the TV, watch the timing screens, and then he just does his thing from this point forward, which is great for us.
• 15:16
  We just get nervous, go upstairs.
• 15:18
  Our heart rates go up.
• 15:19
  Is mum okay about that?
• 15:20
  Donna's heart rate was 151 on the weekend as they were going down the rolling start down the straight.
• 15:26
  And she's looking at me going 151.
• 15:28
  I refuse to put the watch on.
• 15:29
  Did you?
• 15:30
  I'm pacing, so I know I'm nervous.
• 15:32
  And then once they get through and get going, you're okay.
• 15:35
  Because generally, the start's the most intense part, as we know.
• 15:38
  And then they find their spot.
• 15:40
  They start to battle with who they're around.
• 15:42
  And everyone's usually pretty cool in those scenarios.
• 15:45
  You've been in elite sport on, you know, the very best of days and no doubt some very tough days, right?
• 15:52
  So what are the things that you can perhaps, when you go through the difficult moments, what are the things you can help him with here?
• 15:59
  Well, we kind of live stuff in that way, but I'm dad, you know what I mean?
• 16:02
  So I can say stuff to Jack and he's like...
• 16:04
  But you could say the same thing to him, Rusty, because you're his coach.
• 16:07
  And all of a sudden, it hits him, you know, perfectly.
• 16:11
  So that's really important as well.
• 16:14
  So we don't get too deep, to be honest with it.
• 16:17
  Yeah, I've lived a lot of stuff where there's been a lot of disappointment, a lot of highs, and trying to stay pretty level with our emotions with that side of things in sport.
• 16:25
  But you can't sometimes.
• 16:26
  you're involved in it and the emotions are high and they're low and you know, you bring it home and then you've been, you're all good two days later.
• 16:33
  And so we've, well, Donna's lived all that with me.
• 16:36
  Um, not so much sort of Jack because he was only five or six when I retired.
• 16:40
  So yeah.
• 16:41
  Relaying those experiences that was like, dad, that's in the nineties and 2000s.
• 16:44
  You know what I mean?
• 16:45
  Like things are different.
• 16:47
  Where do I find that on YouTube?
• 16:48
  Yeah, things are different now.
• 16:50
  So that's why I'm wrapped, that he's had good coaching along the way from Ben Barguana.
• 16:55
  So that's been really, really cool.
• 16:57
  And he's set Jack up nicely.
• 16:59
  And Jason's sort of been in the background as well, helping along the way.
• 17:02
  So that's been good to get him to now where he's just got, you know, the leadership of Ludo who will tell him straight.
• 17:07
  And it's good, you know, positive.
• 17:09
  And what areas, you know, the boys need to continue to improve in as the year goes on.
• 17:13
  What's the takeaway from the weekend for him?
• 17:15
  Like he's obviously quite committed to this.
• 17:18
  Forget the results, just what he brought to the table.
• 17:20
  How does he feel about the season opener?
• 17:22
  Oh, really?
• 17:22
  Yeah, really positive.
• 17:23
  Really positive.
• 17:24
  I think they did a test the week before, which helped in a really big way because it was a wet test.
• 17:30
  Yes.
• 17:31
  And then they had the dry day on the second day of testing.
• 17:33
  So that worked out quite well for the team.
• 17:36
  So they were able to, in qualifying, which was in the wet, they were able to do quite well.
• 17:41
  first up but um it's more just he knows he's still got a lot of work to do and building into understanding the car he's only been in it a few times so he loves it and he loves the setup of it and he loves you know what will brings to the table as well so i think the combination of the two of them's you know just going to evolve as the year goes on but first up they were they were wrapped where where everything sat how well the team worked together and it puts them in a good spot to have a positive year
• 18:06
  How good is he?
• 18:07
  I didn't need to be nervous at the beginning, did I?
• 18:10
  We will have more in a moment with Brad Johnson right here in the garage.
• 18:17
  This edition of the Motorsport Brief continues to explore a bit of a recent theme on generational athletes carrying a famous surname and the weight that tends to go with that and how the learnings from a mum or dad who've been professional sports people might help navigate things as they make their own way.
• 18:34
  Today, it's Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson.
• 18:37
  Brad recently came to appreciate just what his son Jack is capable of with the ride of his life in the Suda Motorsport McLaren Artura that Jack races quite impressively with young Kiwi William Exton in the monochrome Australia GT4 Championship.
• 18:52
  This is courtesy of the Shannon Speed Series, and you may have seen it on AFL 360 on Fox 2.
• 18:58
  Isn't there a speed, hit lane speed, isn't there?
• 19:01
  Surely you've got to warm the tyres up.
• 19:03
  Surely you've got to warm the tyres up.
• 19:25
  Is that the first time you've done something like that with him?
• 19:27
  What was that all like?
• 19:28
  At that level, it was.
• 19:30
  It was – I was really nervous for it because, you know, I taught him as a learner.
• 19:35
  I did most of the hours with him, you know, 160 hours we did, I think it was.
• 19:40
  And he was okay in that scenario.
• 19:42
  I was never really – when he was learning, you know, at the start, you're really nervous and you sort of – but within a couple of drives, you sort of –
• 19:50
  You know, I was able to sit back in the seat and just sort of help guide and all that sort of stuff.
• 19:53
  So that was fine, but nothing at this speed.
• 19:56
  And he took out a pit lane and I'm like, surely you've got to warm these tyres up.
• 20:00
  He just went.
• 20:02
  And I'm like, seriously?
• 20:04
  It was more the flying lap.
• 20:06
  And you go through turn one, two, two, and then they go.
• 20:09
  We're talking Phillip Island here.
• 20:10
  We're talking Phillip Island, which is great.
• 20:11
  Which is awesome.
• 20:12
  So you head over the top, all you can see is the water, and you've got through turn one okay, and through two, and then three to four, which is then four is the hairpin.
• 20:20
  It's Miller Corner, Jack Miller Corner.
• 20:22
  So he hits that, he's going over 200, and he just puts the brakes on, and the whole car just went basically through my chest.
• 20:30
  And it honestly, it rattled me a bit.
• 20:33
  I started sweating.
• 20:34
  Yeah.
• 20:36
  And we got through the rest of the lap and I couldn't get out of the car, which was hilarious, right?
• 20:40
  Because I've got no flexibility, so I'm on the ground.
• 20:42
  But it honestly took me about 45 minutes post that, just for my chest to calm down.
• 20:47
  Because I didn't expect to feel that force.
• 20:49
  That inertia.
• 20:50
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:51
  Yeah.
• 20:51
  So that was cool.
• 20:52
  But I got out of that.
• 20:55
  an unbelievable experience to, because I'm never going to play footy with Jack.
• 20:57
  So it was just jumping his environment was, was really cool.
• 21:01
  Um, and to, and to do that.
• 21:02
  But then my appreciation for all the drivers was just went to a whole new level.
• 21:07
  Like I've done hot laps before and you get an appreciation.
• 21:09
  I jumped in with Chaz at Sandown.
• 21:10
  It was the most amazing experience of my life as well.
• 21:13
  Top of Dandenong Road and he didn't even really put the brakes on.
• 21:16
  He just touched it.
• 21:16
  Next thing we're at the bottom of the bottom of Dandenong Road.
• 21:19
  And it's like, where were you?
• 21:20
  Where did that happen?
• 21:20
  Yeah.
• 21:20
  So things like that that I've had the luxury of being able to experience have been pretty cool.
• 21:26
  But this was different again.
• 21:28
  That's great, mate.
• 21:29
  And a wonderful thing to be able to sit beside your son as he does it.
• 21:31
  Cool.
• 21:31
  Chas, champion of the sport.
• 21:34
  And you automatically think, you know, we'll be great at the craft.
• 21:36
  A lot calmer in that scenario because Chas has been through a lot more.
• 21:40
  But here you are.
• 21:41
  I mean, was there a little moment for dad going far out?
• 21:43
  Here is my 20-year-old and look at what he is doing.
• 21:46
  Yeah, there was.
• 21:46
  There was definitely that.
• 21:47
  I was pretty pumped afterwards.
• 21:49
  I want Donna to go and experience now.
• 21:51
  Is she not keen for that?
• 21:52
  Probably not.
• 21:53
  Okay.
• 21:54
  Maybe in the future.
• 21:55
  We need to.
• 21:56
  But yeah, so that was a great experience.
• 21:59
  And I've never been around Phillip Island before.
• 22:01
  So, you know.
• 22:01
  Oh, well done.
• 22:02
  I'd walk the track.
• 22:02
  That was about it.
• 22:03
  You know, I walked the outside of the track.
• 22:05
  but to actually get on the track and experience that was, was next level.
• 22:09
  That's good.
• 22:10
  They tell me how he and I work here at listener together.
• 22:13
  And he, he's a legend.
• 22:16
  He's the one who tipped me into this podcasting thing eight years ago.
• 22:19
  Guru, you got to do one of these car racing.
• 22:21
  That's him.
• 22:22
  That is him.
• 22:24
  Okay, mate, no problem.
• 22:26
  He tells me you've become quite a F1 fan along the way too.
• 22:30
  Is this true?
• 22:30
  Well, Howie and I and Erica, his wife gets involved a little bit with Howie, and he's always telling me that, you know, we're pretty passionate about it now, which is really cool.
• 22:41
  It's good.
• 22:41
  And our whole conversations are motorsport conversations.
• 22:44
  Are they really?
• 22:44
  Always, yeah.
• 22:45
  Okay.
• 22:46
  So that works really well.
• 22:47
  He calls Weber the barbecue.
• 22:49
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 22:50
  I was talking to the barbecue.
• 22:51
  Yeah.
• 22:52
  He is the best.
• 22:54
  He is the chillest guy that he's just a legend.
• 22:57
  And we all love the Howie and we've become sort of pretty close over probably the last few years in regards working more together and all that.
• 23:04
  When he's in Australia, that is because he travels a lot with cricket and he's always overseas.
• 23:08
  But his family's passion for motorsport is quite big as well.
• 23:12
  So we've got a great connection there and we're going to be a great guy.
• 23:15
  We have a lot of fun talking about it.
• 23:16
  The F1 world's pretty cool, but we also, as I said, love to talk whether it's NASCAR or the IndyCar, or I was into Formula E there for a little bit.
• 23:24
  It's just all over the place.
• 23:27
  But we just love it because it's literally on our TV all the time.
• 23:32
  So regardless of what's on, we're usually watching it.
• 23:35
  You have a surname to be proud of, mate.
• 23:38
  The things that you've achieved in sport are incredible.
• 23:40
  From Jack's perspective, is that...
• 23:44
  both blessing, but also spotlight, mate, that immediately comes with that.
• 23:48
  And I would imagine you've been mindful of that as he walks his own road.
• 23:52
  Oh, it's big time.
• 23:52
  Yeah, absolutely it is.
• 23:55
  It's small steps.
• 23:56
  And we understand there's bits that we, like in the buildup to this, we did and we did it and he handled it really well.
• 24:02
  So you sort of go, okay, you're ready to sort of continue things on as it goes on.
• 24:05
  But start of the season's always up and about.
• 24:07
  You
• 24:07
  You know what I mean?
• 24:08
  And you're promoting stuff and you're trying to help the series, which we were doing, and then obviously trying to help, you know, the sponsors as well and give them some really cool exposure, which is important, which we've got the sort of luxury that we can do through Fox Sports.
• 24:22
  And it was great that Fox Sports and KO are showcasing.
• 24:25
  Part of it, yes, exactly.
• 24:26
  which is even better.
• 24:27
  So, so that worked really well, but things will probably quieten down now for, for a little bit.
• 24:32
  He'll just put his head down.
• 24:33
  He wants to just put his head down and work and, and get going.
• 24:35
  So the, the full promotion of stuff has been awesome.
• 24:38
  Now that, now that he's into, into racing, it's more now just put your head down and go and that stuff will sort of just, you know, take care of itself.
• 24:45
  What's that sort of period like from school kid to now, you know, absolute focus and pursuit as he ventures into sort of early adult life, mate?
• 24:56
  And the growth that you've perhaps seen in him in that regard, what's it been like?
• 24:59
  It's been pretty cool to watch, you know what I mean?
• 25:01
  Like his domain is the racetrack because that's where...
• 25:05
  He can talk motorsport, you know what I mean?
• 25:07
  Like when he was at school, there wasn't too many that were really into it.
• 25:11
  He's got one close mate who loves sort of the engineering side of things, so they're always talking about, you know, different things about the car and all that, so that's really cool.
• 25:20
  But outside of that, it's more just at the racetrack.
• 25:22
  You know, one of his best mates is Jay Murray, who also works, runs...
• 25:26
  a GT4 car as well with his dad.
• 25:28
  So, so they've been huge, huge helps as well along the way, because they've experienced the world and they've, they've looked after Jackson Evans for, for quite some time.
• 25:36
  And so they've been able to help us sort of navigate things as, as well.
• 25:40
  And, and Jack and Jay are pretty close.
• 25:43
  So it's cool that they're sort of racing with each other at this particular point.
• 25:46
  Yeah.
• 25:46
  A couple to finish here, because it's been a fabulous chat, mate.
• 25:49
  Thank you.
• 25:50
  You can already tell he, he's sort of,
• 25:52
  I wouldn't say walking tall, that's the wrong description for it, but he is feeling comfortable in this space.
• 25:58
  I think he knows where he wants to be and what he wants to do.
• 26:02
  You help you and Donna with this understanding the business, right?
• 26:07
  Because sport is a business.
• 26:08
  Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.
• 26:09
  It's the business, right?
• 26:10
  It is a full business.
• 26:11
  And trying to ensure that he navigates any potential pitfalls in that regard.
• 26:16
  But do you find yourself gradually unwinding things and letting him go?
• 26:21
  Does that make sense?
• 26:22
  Yeah, you described that so well, Rusty.
• 26:24
  And I think we're probably not the only parents in that sort of spot understanding that it is a business.
• 26:29
  You see the big businesses of the massive trucks that are there and that sort of stuff.
• 26:32
  And then there's the business of the drivers getting out onto the track and what's required in that space.
• 26:39
  So that's a really good way of describing it.
• 26:42
  So yes, we are now in that position where we're reversing a little bit, which is really cool.
• 26:46
  And that's the way we want to-
• 26:47
  be definitely operate and to be um so we'll support jack and we'll be there if he needs us but ultimately he's now in a really cool space with a great team that will help him grow this year and we can just basically focus on that business side of things so if sponsors want to come to the race then we're there for them you know
• 27:04
  We'll take care of all that and have a laugh with them and enjoy a coffee and a couple of beers.
• 27:10
  And Jack can just focus on what he needs to do.
• 27:12
  As you wander, when you're at the track and heart rate's at 150 and the race is about to start and stuff, what's it like in your grey matter?
• 27:20
  Because when you ran out at the absolute peak of your powers with the game that you played, you are brutal, brutal.
• 27:28
  unforgiving athlete.
• 27:30
  But this is also your son doing this.
• 27:32
  So in the same breath, you want him to capture a bit of that that made you succeed because that's an inner quality that you need, an inner drive that you need.
• 27:42
  You want a bit of that from him.
• 27:43
  But in the same breath too, you're also kind of...
• 27:46
  your mindful parent who, so what's that, what's that like?
• 27:49
  Cause if things don't work out right, do you get a bit miffed and think, oh mate, really you either got that wrong or you needed to dig deeper or whatever.
• 27:57
  And then how do you navigate and encourage that in the same?
• 28:00
  I think when I look back and think about those scenarios of walking out onto the Marvel or the G or wherever it was around, around the country, you,
• 28:08
  you always fall back to your prepared, like your preparation's cool, like as nervous as you are.
• 28:12
  But it's sort of once you got up there and you hit the ground, it's sort of just all...
• 28:18
  disappeared in a way and you get in a zone that you don't even hear the crowd Rusty.
• 28:22
  So that's, and that you played your best footy when you did not hear any of that whatsoever.
• 28:27
  You were just so focused on your role, the team's role, you know, what's happening around you that that all just sort of disappears from your mind completely.
• 28:37
  So,
• 28:38
  I think that's where, you know, as young drivers, whether it's Jack or anyone else, you see them getting into that zone.
• 28:44
  So you're sort of up and about.
• 28:45
  They're nervous.
• 28:46
  You can see the natural nerves happening, which nerves are a great thing.
• 28:48
  It means you're switched on and ready to go.
• 28:50
  So I love, you know, young athletes that have that little bit of nervous or, you know, edginess about them to start because you can tell that they're getting into the zone of being switched on.
• 29:01
  And then once they put their helmets on, you can tell that, you know,
• 29:04
  you do all your good lucks before that because they're in the zone ready to rock and roll.
• 29:09
  And you can see that a little bit in not only Jack, but the other drivers that are in sort of that we've met.
• 29:14
  They all get into that sort of, you know, really strong zone and space because they have to.
• 29:19
  They're driving at 250k an hour and they've got a million things going on around them.
• 29:24
  They've got voices in their ear from the garage.
• 29:26
  It's full on what they have to experience.
• 29:30
  So that zone, I think, is really critical.
• 29:33
  I love that, mate.
• 29:33
  I love that parallel that you've just drawn there.
• 29:35
  And that's a little takeaway for other young potential races here.
• 29:39
  Preparation is key to being able to get to that point where you can let all the noise go, basically, and be confident.
• 29:45
  Absolutely.
• 29:45
  Like, they had a good weekend because of the preparation that was put into it.
• 29:50
  So it's not rocket science.
• 29:52
  It's just...
• 29:53
  you know, having the ability to put the work in, whether that's physically, mentally, on a sim, with the personal trainer.
• 30:00
  They know they've ticked every box to be in the best space, you know.
• 30:04
  All we worry about at the track is just, you know, recovery in some ways, you know what I mean?
• 30:07
  So it's you drive, you come off, you sweat, you just don't go and, you've got to, you know, go and recover and relax and hydrate and get all these things ready to go again.
• 30:15
  So the next morning when you wake up,
• 30:17
  you've got to fully commit again.
• 30:19
  So you've got to be in the right physical space to be able to do it.
• 30:21
  And I think that's changed a lot in motorsport that we've noticed over time.
• 30:26
  How we've adapted and appreciated that stuff that you're talking about.
• 30:29
  That's been a part of our life forever as an AFL athlete.
• 30:33
  But ultimately, it's now crept into –
• 30:36
  Motor racing.
• 30:36
  Motor racing.
• 30:37
  And a lot of teams, especially in the V8 paddock, have their own sort of strength, conditioning, fitness.
• 30:41
  Exactly.
• 30:42
  Nutritionalists that are looking after the drivers to make sure that they're in the right space to perform because they've got to drive for a long time.
• 30:49
  Final one for you.
• 30:50
  The parallel isn't just the...
• 30:53
  the love that we see in footy sometimes for motor racing and vice versa.
• 30:56
  I reckon I've been at maybe a grand final with, with Scafie and when I see his eyes, when he's watching the game and like he sees us into it, he's such a good man.
• 31:06
  Exactly.
• 31:06
  At the height of his, at the height of his motor racing.
• 31:08
  Have there been parallels or have there been things along the way where you've gone, Oh wow, that's, that's surprises me.
• 31:14
  That's the kind of thing we experienced in, in AFL or maybe stuff that is totally different in our, in our domain.
• 31:20
  Oh, there's, there's,
• 31:21
  There's so many, Rusty, in so many ways.
• 31:24
  The parallels, I think, are really similar now, and we just sort of, you know, touched on that a little bit.
• 31:30
  I still think there's, look, there's certain pathways that I think that could really open up in the motorsport world that would help.
• 31:38
  And I think there's some sort of footy stuff from pathway perspectives that could really help, you know, to be sort of maybe start to navigate in over the next few years in the motorsport world, especially in the karting world where young drivers are trying to sort of work out what's next for them beyond karting.
• 31:55
  Are they going to go to open wheelers?
• 31:57
  Do they want to be a V8 supercar driver?
• 31:59
  Do they want to be part of the GT world or tintops?
• 32:03
  What are they actually, what's going to be their focus when they're young?
• 32:08
  that's something that I think would be really, really cool for the young drivers, would help the parents as well to help shape, you know, the direction of these young guys and girls, which is really cool.
• 32:19
  Howie would say, look at you go, Guru, open wheelers, tin tops.
• 32:22
  That is the best way.
• 32:25
  That is so true.
• 32:27
  Mate, this has been a joy for me.
• 32:29
  Seriously.
• 32:29
  Thank you.
• 32:30
  I,
• 32:32
  I had no need to be nervous.
• 32:33
  It's been a joy for me, Russell.
• 32:34
  We know that.
• 32:35
  I knew that about you.
• 32:36
  I knew that about you.
• 32:37
  You're sitting here in your Ferrari jumper.
• 32:39
  Oh, yeah.
• 32:40
  How good is this?
• 32:41
  I wish I could drive, mate.
• 32:42
  I genuinely wish I could drive.
• 32:43
  It is – I had the joy of being in Victory Lane there on Sunday when he came in.
• 32:50
  You read his name out, mate.
• 32:51
  So that was cool.
• 32:52
  I love that.
• 32:52
  I love that.
• 32:53
  And he's clearly away with all the right ingredients.
• 32:57
  And it's just fabulous to see that you guys are –
• 32:59
  doing what any parent would do, and that is to help their son or daughter on the pathway, but in the same moment, letting them walk their own road, mate.
• 33:08
  Congratulations on everything you've achieved in your own career.
• 33:10
  And I love the fact that you're playing in motorsport now.
• 33:12
  So good on you.
• 33:12
  Great stuff, mate.
• 33:13
  Awesome, Rusty.
• 33:13
  Thanks for having me on, mate.
• 33:14
  It's been great.
• 33:16
  A great athlete, fantastic human being, and he is fabulous in the media, as you can tell there.
• 33:22
  Going through what so many parents go through as well, irrespective of how well-known the Johnsons are or how that might help start a conversation or open the door a little.
• 33:32
  At the end of the day, it's up to young Jack, and I can tell you that he really impressed at Round 1 at Phillip Island.
• 33:38
  Probably fair to say that some were like, well...
• 33:41
  Let's see how he goes or who is he.
• 33:44
  Now they're acutely aware of Jack Johnson and his ability and potential.
• 33:49
  Round two of that series is at the Bend in South Australia in early May.
• 33:53
  I'll put the Speed Series website in the description there.
• 33:55
  I'd love to see you trackside if you're from South Australia or nearby.
• 33:59
  For lovers of two-wheel racing, don't forget the recent feature ep with Kevin McGee too.
• 34:04
  An almost photographic memory for technical detail during his riding career that took him all the way to what we now know as MotoGP.
• 34:11
  What those awesome 500cc machines were like back then and how in later life he helped a vision impaired or blind rider...
• 34:20
  break a world record on Lake Gairdner.
• 34:23
  There's two parts and it's a relatively recent addition to our feed as well.
• 34:26
  You won't have to scroll too far back.
• 34:29
  Hope you had a great Easter everybody.
• 34:31
  Bye for now.