Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Classic NASCAR Stories With Elliott Sadler!

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Classic NASCAR Stories With Elliott Sadler! · Kenny Wallace Media

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Hello everyone and welcome to Kenny Conversation, brought to
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you by Jags, the leader in high performance aftermarket car
0:08
parts. Remember to go to jags.com for
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anything and everything you need to make your car truck better
0:16
than what it is right now. I am super excited to have a
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long time friend, a fan favorite.
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Everybody loves the great Elliot Sadler.
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Elliott, how you doing? Dude, I am doing great.
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How are you doing? Well, I'm doing really good.
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I'm learning to be 60 years old now.
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It just flew by and I'm like, man, I'm 60, so I'm running my
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dirt car and having a good time. Well it's it's funny when you
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say you know Kenny conversation presented by Jigs.
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It's just you got to have Jigs and Kenny in the same sentence.
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It's just not, you know, we always watch you run your dirt
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car and I love the clips that you put on.
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Social media. But you and the Jags name and
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paint scheme have been going hand in hand for a long time.
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So I'm glad to hear you say that they're part of your Kenny
1:08
conversation as well. Thank you, Elliott.
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That's really nice. Well I, I remember, you know you
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were the Eminem's guy and you know ultra popular winning, most
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popular driver a lot. Let's so let let's kind of
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before we get going. What the hell are you up to?
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You the fans, the, the reason I asked you to be on Kenny
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conversation and this is me saying this, you are very famous
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in NASCAR. You had a great fan base and man
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you just turned it off and you went home I guess.
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What are you doing? So that's a great question to
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start with. So I am retired from racing.
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I do watch it from time to time. But it hit me like a turn of
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bricks to kind of go back to that day because you you won't
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understand this and and you can relate this to your fans.
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I was sitting in my camper in mid Ohio with my best friend in
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the world who was there spotting because you know we have
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multiple spotters for Rd. courses.
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He's been my best friend since kindergarten and both of my kids
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were in a All Star. One was in an All Star baseball
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game. One was in an All Star softball
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game in the state of Virginia at the same time.
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And I was trying to find it on social media.
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We were trying to find it on radio stations, all these
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things, and we couldn't find it. And I had been to every one of
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my kids games and I had watched them and I was actually coaching
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both of their teams. But when you're playing the All
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Stars, you play on the weekends, which is of course when we race.
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So it hit me, Kenny, like that. I looked at my friend.
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I said, dude, I'm done. I miss my kids.
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I want to watch them grow up. I want to be a part of their
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life. You know my heart and my love is
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not here at the racetrack anymore.
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It it's at home. So it it just hit me all of a
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sudden like that. So when I retired I wanted to
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retire, to come home to be a part of my kids lives.
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You know, one of my best friends in racing and yours too, Dale
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Jarrett, When when we were team mates.
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Listen to him talk on their phone every night getting
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updates from his wife Kelly at the time about all the stuff
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that his kids were doing. But man you could see it on his
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face he he wasn't there to to be a part of it and and I learned
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from that and Kenny went when it hit me that man I needed to be
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home and I wanted you know I had lived my at at that time when it
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hit me. I had lived my dream long
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enough. I had chased my dream to try to
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be a NASCAR champion long enough.
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It it was time for me to put my dream aside.
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I had tried. Now it's it's my turn to help my
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kids go after their dreams. So I retired.
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I do a lot of coaching now, Kenny.
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I run a travel ball organization.
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We have about 350 kids in it. We do the after school programs,
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you know, for kids that have a tough home life, struggling in
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school. We're staying very, very busy.
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I'm trying to help give kids the opportunity to go play.
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College ball at the next level or or make it to a college to
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kind of break that, you know, one parent home has can't,
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can't, don't have the right or don't have the opportunity to go
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to college. So that's what I'm doing.
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I'm also helping. I'm also coaching my heart high
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school, my local high school as well.
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So doing all that, I'm a part of my kids dreams and watching them
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succeed, but also a lot of other kids in our area.
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And I'm going to tell you what it's very.
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Rewarding and satisfying. And I I am.
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I heard you say this the other day.
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Sometimes you feel like you're living your best life.
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I I feel like I'm living my best life right now.
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Two things. I always remind everybody that
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this is a conversation so you know we can go back and forth.
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Number one, I'm, I'm with you 110%.
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A little embarrassed to say I was in the shower and and I'll
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never forget saying I'm done. It hit me like a ton of bricks,
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just like you're saying. So I gathered my family up #1
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Yes, I agree with you. The only thing I do want to
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comment on is not just are you a good family man, but this to me
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seems like it all matches up. Because when I was in NASCAR, I
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remember the two Sportsters, The guys that could hit the hell out
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of a golf ball were you and Dale Jarrett and so, so you were
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always a real Sportster. I mean it was even talked about
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you know Elliot Savard could have gone on and and played in
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real sports were. Right.
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Were you like that from day one in your life?
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I I was, I was, I was really fortunate to be athletic and I
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think Kenny, that helped me in my racing you know stamina and
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and being built and athletic and all I I went to play college
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basketball. And got hurt.
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Actually went to had a college scholarship to play basketball
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and had some opportunities to play college baseball.
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So I was always around the sports thing.
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So when I retired it, it was good that I came back and being
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a part of it and now creating opportunities.
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I'm I'm on the phone with college coaches on a weekly
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basis now, trying to give kids opportunities to give them a
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chance to to make it to the next level.
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That cannot not only change their lives, but their family
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also as well. So it's just stuff that I love
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to do. Now the the secret to this is
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you know that competition competitive book we all, we all
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got. It and I couldn't turn that off
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and nobody can you you can you know straight all these guys
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have a hard time if they ever get to the you know to that
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retirement age turning that off. When I went straight into travel
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ball and coaching high school sports, that competitive bug, I
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got it through that Kenny got it.
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Preparing for the weekend. Who we planned?
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Who am I pitching? Who are you pitching strategy?
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What do we have to do to win? You know, all these things just
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like we did for racing, trying to break a race down, pit stops.
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Short pinning, long pinning, too tired.
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You know who who we going to draft with this weekend?
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Who's that? All those things.
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I turned that into coaching so I I could still scratch that
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competitive that competitive itch.
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And that honestly helped me get through the the, the retirement
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part. But I will tell you the coolest
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thing because I know you're really good friends with Dale
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Junior. So am I.
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We. When we lived together in
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Charlotte and neighbors and all that and Kelly are they are some
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of the best people in the world. When I made-up my mind, I'm
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done. I came home from Mid Ohio.
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I met with my wife the next day and I'm like, look, you know,
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I'm done this, this and we went through the whole thing.
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I drove to Charlotte and I met with Kelly and Dale Junior and I
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told them and they were just so supportive.
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Not Oh my God, don't leave or don't sponsorship.
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But it was they were so supportive of the whole thing
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and understood it. It just it all felt right and
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and they made my last times and those race cars and and being a
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part of their organization Kenny I could not have asked for a
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better situation to be in. You know I've done my study.
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I always show everybody my notes because I I take I take it
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serious. So we're going to stay on
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subject matter here, but this question I was going to ask you
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down the road here, but this is the perfect time.
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It it seems like, you know, we we had the great Harry Gantt,
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you know, we lost Dale Senior. My brother Rusty seemed like
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there was this, this group that we loved that was racing at 5051
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years old. Then come along your group and
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all of you, you know, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Tony
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Stewart, everybody started retiring at at 42.
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Now my notes say you're 48 right now, is that right?
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That's exactly. Right, 48.
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So you got your film and you were out at what I say, an early
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age. Maybe just give me your opinion,
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maybe not so much about you, but this new era that we're in now,
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we're all these drivers are done at 42.
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What's your thought on that? You know, it seems like you're
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taking 10 years off on retiring at 4244.
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You know, I I that's a great question.
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I think it's stress has a lot to do with it.
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I agree. Is is is so bad and it it's
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tough and some of us know how to cope with it, with with with
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different ways and and things like that.
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I think your time is you're getting pulled in so many
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different directions all the time.
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And I just think some of these people now can retire to early
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age and there's so many different opportunities they can
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do TV. Some of them I think Harvick and
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some of these guys are going to go back and race Saturday night
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racing. We see Bobby Labonte and Ryan
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Newman. They actually run the modified
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with my brother. You know the fun stuff, show up
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race. I've seen you, you know you did
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it South Boston this year and all your direct car.
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It's so much stress at the cup level and the NASCAR level that
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I think people don't understand that.
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I I think people get tired of it your your brother and Harry Gann
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and Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott.
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I just think they were a different breed of tough guys.
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They could race to 50 or 51. I just don't know if we have
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anybody wired that way. That can go to that age anymore.
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Harvick was to me. It was the last of the tough,
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gritty guy, you know, and he and he went a long ways.
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To think he's 48 as well. Yeah, well, I feel like you were
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part of a group, whether you thought you were or not when I
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was, you know, I've always been a fan of yours.
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You've always been pretty cool. I feel like, you know, you had
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the Rat Pack going on there for a while, You know, you and
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country music superstar Blake Shelton and Clint, and I want to
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talk about that later. But you always seem to have it
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going on. And and now I realize after
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talking to you that and it kind of dawns on me.
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You know, we have like 3 or 4 chapters to our life, Elliott,
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where you just explained it. OK, I've raced hell.
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I'm in my 40s now. I'm going to go do this.
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Yeah. And I'm going to tell you some
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of this, it's, it's Nietzsche brought up too.
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I love that you, Dale Junior, Jamie, Mary, you know, when you
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see some of these podcasts and stuff that you guys are doing, I
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love listening to them because I can relate to them.
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And I tried to explain this to my wife the other night after
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the Jamie McMurray Story podcast.
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I don't. I don't see a race car driver
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every day to talk to that has the same feelings and thoughts.
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Then maybe I went through the Rat Pack.
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All of my good friends. I don't see them all the time.
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So when I see a lot of you guys doing these podcasts in
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different drivers and they start saying things and I'm thinking,
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hey man, I'm thinking the same thing, or I was thinking the
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same thing or I didn't know he was going through that.
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But you're telling me, a popular guy.
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I got to tell you quick the reason I'm leaving up to this.
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Being a popular guy, being a part of a certain group.
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My last four years in the Xfinity Series, the last
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three-year I won Most Popular Driver, which gave me the record
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for voting Most Popular Driver in Xfinity Series.
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This year, I think me and maybe Brad Keselowski both won it four
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times. So the funniest part about that
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being a part of that age in my group, NASCAR hated it.
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NASCAR and Xfinity hated it because they had the old I was
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too old. I was too freaking old to win
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it. And they had this names made
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here, right? Names made here you was already
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made. I was screwed the whole thing
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up, Kenny. So look, we go to the first
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banquet the first year I want it and they let me talk during the
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banquet the second year I want it.
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I don't think we got time for you this year at the banquet,
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Elliot. We might let you talk after the
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banquet, but you won't be on TV. And I'm saying they're going
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with this, the fan, I thought. And that reason you went, I want
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to. Reason we went, damn it, I
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didn't have the championship trophy.
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At least let me talk, right The last year I won it.
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They're like, no, we're not even going to bring it up this year
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at the, you know, at the award ceremony.
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So I'm going here. I I mean.
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If I've ever felt like being pushed out or something, not by
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my team and I get to NASCAR and the Xfinity and they're trying
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to do all these promotions and they want all these young kids
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coming up, but the freaking fans voted for, right?
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They love me and maybe my Rat Pack age group that we were all
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a part of, starting with your brother and kind of trickling
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all down. They like that.
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Maybe they like the blue collar. God, I can't help it that these
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young kids are coming in and all they know how to do is play on
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the freaking phone. They're boring.
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They don't have a person I They're going here.
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They. Pushed me out pretty good.
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I got to tell you, I want to make you feel better.
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I you already feel good. I'm just joking.
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But I I called Mike Hilton. This was a rough this is where
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the Rusty Wallace comes out. And me, I called Mike Hilton and
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I said, Mike, I said I don't see you using me anymore to
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advertise. You know the Xfinity Series, I
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think at that time it was a nationwide.
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You know we went from Bush series and nationwide to Xfinity
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and there there was this long pause And our our boss at that
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time, Mike Hilton, he says well basically you're getting you've
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been there and you've done that. And I thought to myself they're
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done with me and that to me that's what you're telling me
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that they were. They were, they were done with
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you, they were done with me. You you could keep racing, but
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we're done advertising you. We're looking for the 22 year
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old kid. That's right, it was.
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I was pissed at the time, Ken. Absolutely I was.
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I was upset at the time and now I look back on.
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I was like the van the fan still voted me.
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I got most popular trophies in my house.
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I love you. You know, I related with the
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fans, so the fans have spoken. It's kind of the way I looked at
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it. OK?
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In a strange way, you accidentally told me exactly
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what happened to me. So I'm.
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I'm much older than you. You're 48.
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I'm 60. That happened to me.
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You were a more popular driver four times.
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I was 3. The last one, they didn't let me
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talk. I was all not on TV, not on
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stage. They just let me go up there and
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Mike told me. Mike Kelton told me they're not
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going to advertise me anymore. So I learned something from you
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just now. So I want to go to just 5
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minutes ago. You talking about you and I both
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learning. I watched Dale Junior's podcast.
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I think it's by far one of the best in America.
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I don't care what sport yard Dale Junior and his Dirty MO
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Media are #1, but did you like me when when Jamie McMurray was
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asked by Dale Junior would you change anything?
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And it was incredible to me. It shocked me.
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Did it surprise you when Jamie McMurray agreed with his wife?
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His Jamie Murray's wife said we were not happy when we raced in
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NASCAR. I agreed with him because there
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was a time I was happy, but most of the time I was miserable.
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What about you? So that you know, Jamie was my
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next door neighbor in Charlotte. So we we knew a lot about each
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other and there were times in the sport in my career that I
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didn't appreciate the ride and the support in the team that I
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had enough. Example, the 38 car with Robert
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Yates. Then there was times that
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situations I was in and I'm going man this this just can't
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get any worse. I I am miserable.
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We're miserable at home it it's just tough sport and I'm going
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to give you a couple examples. One of the worst days of my life
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in racing. One of the worst in racing.
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Robert Yates calls me and I love Robert Yates.
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Robert and Doug Yates, to me, are some of the finest human
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beings there are. Robert Calls and says, look, I
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need you to come meet me this morning at the shop.
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So I drive to the shop and come in and says, look, I'm going to
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have to stay on my race team. I'm thinking about selling it to
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Jack Roush wants to buy it. You know, Dale Jarrett was
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leaving, taking UPS, going to Michael Walters with the Toyota
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deal, which is a great deal for Dale Jarrett.
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But that left us with one team with just me.
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Eminem's was the sponsor and that was a tough meeting to
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have. But when he said he's going to
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sell it to Jack Roush? Jack and I did not get along at
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that time and I hate to bag up on and get really long winded
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with this story because it's it's it's it's going to show
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kind of how it all happened. You're fine, be be long winded.
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OK, Robert said. Look, I know your situation with
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Robert Smith and Jack Roush. I will let you go look and do
19:20
something else. So you don't have to stay here.
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If I do sell it, Jack Rouse, just do me a favor.
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Do not take my sponsor. Please don't take M and Ms.
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because UPS leaving. If if you take M and Ms. with
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you, I'm not going to have anything.
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I'm going to have to shut down. I said Robert, I'll.
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I'll give you my word. I'll give you my promise.
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I will go meet with M and Ms. and tell them not to go with me
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wherever I go. So the reason I didn't do the I
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didn't want to go be a part of the Rouse deal.
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When I drove for The Wood Brothers and I love Eddie and
19:49
Lynn to death, the Ralphs actually did their contracts.
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My contract wasn't done with Eddie and Lynn, it was done with
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Jeff Smith at at Ralph. She was the head guy.
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So sign a contract where they came to me and said look we need
20:05
you to sign another four year deal.
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If you don't sign, Motorcraft is not going to sign.
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We had Ford Motorcraft at the time, my car with the red and
20:14
white 21. He said Eddie, I can't sign a
20:17
four year deal. Something was coming.
20:20
I kind of knew it was coming down the pipeline.
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I was going to get another opportunity and Eddie said
20:24
listen, please sign if if you sign, if something comes up and
20:28
you want to leave, I will let you leave.
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No problem. I said but we need you to sign
20:34
to keep the sponsor. So I said Eddie, yes Sir, I
20:37
will. So anyway, I signed the deal in
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the middle of 2002. Robert Yates and M&M's come
20:44
calling. We want you to drive the 28 car,
20:47
which they changed the number to the 38.
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So I went to Eddie Wood. I said Eddie, listen, I'm sorry,
20:52
but look, look at this. This is a great opportunity.
20:54
But he goes, I understand me and you have a deal.
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No problem. Well, he when he went to Ralph's
21:01
to Get Me Out of my car, they wouldn't let me out of the
21:03
contract. Man, they were bad at that.
21:05
Roush was mean back then. Mean.
21:07
So they were mean as hell. And I'm like, Eddie, we had a
21:10
deal and they were like with the contracts with us and we're
21:13
scared. You're taking DeWalt from Matt
21:15
Kenseth and going there. I'm not taking DeWalt.
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I'll sign a contract that says I'm not taking DeWalt.
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But I couldn't tell them who I was taking because M&M's was was
21:25
on a different car at the time. So anyway, I had to forfeit my
21:30
winnings for the rest of the year.
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In 2002 it was over $1,000,000 to get them to let you know how
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racing is. There's a small window, sponsors
21:41
team. Kenny, you know you only got a
21:43
month. We can't wait around.
21:45
We're going to move to the next guy.
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So I had to do all this stuff, pretty much forfeit my winnings
21:50
for the rest of the year to have an opportunity to go drive a 38
21:53
car. So that was my beef with
21:55
rappers. So when Robert brought me in and
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we had the conversation about him probably having to sell his
22:03
team and what was going on, he knew I did not want to go back
22:06
and get in the middle of what I was just in the middle of.
22:09
So that's when I ended up at the the 19 car for Ray Abraham.
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He and Jeremy had had some stuff going on or what have you, and I
22:17
don't know a lot about that, but I got in the 19 car.
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I went and met with Eminem's and told him, look, love y'all to
22:23
death. I love me and the Candyman and
22:26
the Eminem's guy, but if y'all go with me then Robert will have
22:32
to shut down. They were upset with me and I
22:34
have a great relationship with them.
22:35
Different day one. Victoria and Pamela Mars are two
22:37
of the nicest people in the world.
22:39
But entertainment, please don't come with me, Stay.
22:42
And ended up, you know, sponsoring David Gilliland.
22:44
And I think they actually added a second car that Eminem stayed
22:47
for, but it kept Robert Yates going.
22:50
They gave him something to sail to Roush and and keep the doors
22:53
open to keep those guys employed.
22:55
And then ultimately, they found Kyle Busch.
22:58
Championships later, wins later. It all worked out great.
23:01
We're still good friends at this point.
23:04
But Kenny, when I ended up in that 19 car, I had no idea what
23:07
I was getting in the middle of. I didn't realize what was going
23:10
on with Ray and his personal life.
23:13
And then he was selling his team to the Gillette's.
23:15
And Gillette's never paid anybody.
23:19
And it was just it was a mess all the time and that one year I
23:24
was running used cars, show cars used parts a lot of and Doug
23:31
Yates has the patience of job. We would never could pay our
23:35
motor bill. So we wouldn't know on Mondays
23:39
and Tuesdays and Wednesdays whether we were racing that
23:41
weekend because we hadn't paid our motor bill yet.
23:43
They were actually they were actually blocking us in the the
23:49
trucks in until we paid our motor bill for us to leave.
23:52
That's how we had to try to race well.
23:56
That was that was tough for us to kind of go through that
23:59
those, that couple of years and I felt like Kenny, I was
24:03
standing on the edge of a Cliff waiting for somebody to push me
24:07
over the side. I mean it.
24:09
It was absolutely miserable. And and when we listened to
24:14
Jamie McMurray, Tildell Junior, that the way my career ended
24:19
was, you know. Chip Ganassi.
24:24
He's he's broke. He needs money.
24:25
And George Bush is going to come with Monster Energy Drink.
24:29
Take my ride. Yeah, you're fine.
24:35
I'm listening now. You're good.
24:37
You're good. Now that that was.
24:38
Hey, don't take it, dog. Hey, Charlie, don't edit that
24:43
out. So.
24:44
So, yeah. And.
24:47
And the reason you brought that story up is because what you're
24:50
saying is when you were listening to Jamie McMurray, it
24:54
was like, you know what, what ended your career?
24:58
What really happened there? And Jamie tells the story here,
25:01
Jamie McMurray, Daytona 500 winner, I know you almost won
25:06
the Daytona 500, he's won the Brickyard, he won Charlotte.
25:12
And here Chip Ganassi says hey. Sorry.
25:15
Next guy on the other line here. His name's Kurt Busch.
25:18
He's bringing Monster Energy drinks.
25:20
So I think later in life, what you're saying is that we're
25:24
giving the fans a look at the way it really is.
25:29
Yeah, I'm. I'm going to tell you, Kenny, it
25:31
was, it was so miserable, so bad.
25:34
I remember laying in bed crying half the time because you're so
25:37
frustrated as a driver and you want to just like you.
25:40
You want to compete. You want to show up knowing you
25:43
have a chance and it was just a bad deal.
25:45
We won't get paid. And we was all suing each other.
25:48
And you know, Menard was my teammate, me.
25:51
And then Casey and Casey finally got out to go to the Red Bull
25:53
car. And I'm going to tell you the
25:58
day that changed Elliott salad to give me a second chance at
26:02
race and I'm driving a 19 car. We suck.
26:05
I suck. I'm.
26:06
I'm not doing a good job either as a driver because I got all
26:08
this other stuff, you know, going on in your mind in your
26:10
head. And I'm running a show card
26:12
freaking Bristol on my one of my favorite tracks.
26:16
But Kevin and Delana Harvick given me an opportunity to drive
26:21
their truck at Pocono. It was the inaugural truck race
26:25
at Pocono and Harvick was going to leave.
26:29
That's back when they used to fly to Iowa.
26:31
Remember that, That we were at Pocono with the Cup cars, but
26:33
then he'd go to Iowa to run his Xfinity car.
26:36
Did a lot. Of that in the day.
26:38
They did a lot of that in the day.
26:39
So he needed somebody to drive his truck.
26:42
Well, a couple weeks before at a driver's intros, I said, hey,
26:46
look, man, if you ever need somebody drive your truck or
26:48
something or car, test it. I think he was having back
26:52
issues at the time. Dude, I'll be glad to.
26:55
I don't want any money or anything like that, dude.
26:57
I just, I just want to race. So they let me get in that
27:01
Pocono truck and I sat on the pole and won the race, which
27:05
puts me a part of a very elite group that has a pole and a win
27:11
in all three of the top series in NASCAR and that win in that
27:17
winning that inaugural race at Pocono.
27:20
Create a relationship. When I knew the 19 was going to
27:24
end bad and that was my probably my time in Cup racing, that
27:28
Harvick let me come over there and drive his Xfinity car the
27:32
following year and that was to 2011.
27:35
So winning that truck race, which was weird.
27:38
That Saturday I won the inaugural truck race that
27:41
Sunday. My own teammates spun me out on
27:44
the long pond straight away and that's when I hit the inside
27:47
wall and it threw my engine out when I was driving.
27:50
Catastrophic wreck, catastrophic wreck, man.
27:54
I was bruised from, I was bruised from head to toe.
27:56
That was a hard hit, but that gave me life being around Kevin
28:01
and and Delana and they gave me an opportunity.
28:04
Then that fall, a couple weeks later, they let me drive their
28:08
car at the Bristol night race and I sat on the pole with his
28:12
Xfinity car and I finished third.
28:14
I lost the Kyle Busch and Joey Lacano, 2 guys that can fly.
28:18
Not a bad third place, right? I finished 3rd.
28:21
Reem was my sponsor. It was a great night, the cup
28:25
car. So I sat on the pole in Xfinity
28:27
car. The cup car called by dead last
28:31
and ran dead last the whole night.
28:34
That's when we had one of the show cars we had pulled out of
28:36
the showroom floor for me to race.
28:39
So you talk about being miserable and just just
28:44
everything could go bad and it really made it where man, I
28:47
didn't appreciate The Wood Brothers enough or I didn't
28:49
appreciate my time with you know Robert Yates enough.
28:53
Now I'm in this situation. But then getting the opportunity
28:58
to go drive for Harvick and stuff the following year back in
29:00
the Xfinity Series, man that was a blessing at at at the right
29:04
time. I really feel like this is
29:08
jaw-dropping. Because we assume, you know, we
29:12
always for, for me, you know, when fans come up, sometimes
29:17
they say the wrong things. They're like, hey, man, I
29:19
remember when you flipped it poking on like, hold on, whoa,
29:22
whoa. You're supposed to say, I
29:24
remember when you won the night race at Bristol.
29:27
To me, sometimes people, you know, you got the positive
29:30
people. We're going, man.
29:32
Elliott, I remember when you won your first Cup race, which we're
29:35
going to get to. But then you got the fans that
29:38
go, man, I remember when you flipped a Poconos.
29:40
So when we talk about, you know, one's career and how was it to
29:47
be big time, these are the things that is is must, must
29:52
listen to and sometimes it ruins the good times.
29:57
But Elliott, I want to. I want to do an audible here
30:00
because this seems like the best time to do this.
30:05
It's my time that I want to brag on you and I do this with every
30:10
driver on Kenny conversation. I want to tell you your stats
30:16
and I want you to interrupt me anytime you want because I just
30:21
did my best. Elliott Sadler 19831984.
30:29
Virginia State Karting Champion, North Carolina Gold Cup. 9192,
30:38
this is where it gets fun for me, 'cause I was just there.
30:42
1995 S Boston Speedway track champion.
30:46
And buddy, that was not easy. There's some badasses at that
30:49
track right now. Here we get up to the big time.
30:54
855 NASCAR starts, 855, That's a lot.
31:01
That's a lot 3. 100 or No, not 303 wins in the Cup Series 3.
31:09
I'd cut that bad finger off to have 1/8 poles in the Cup
31:15
Series. Now let's go to the Xfinity.
31:18
Thirteen wins in the Xfinity Series. 18 poles in Xfinity four
31:26
time. You're telling me four time most
31:28
popular driver? And now we're not done yet.
31:31
Let's go to the trucks and you just talked about it.
31:33
One went in the trucks and two poles.
31:38
Now I say the same thing to every driver.
31:41
We've already talked a lot about the good and the bad and the
31:45
other, when you hear all that and I started in 1983 with you
31:50
just now, what goes through your mind?
31:53
What kind of stands out? So a lot of do you you're you're
31:58
you're talking the same language I talk as drivers.
32:00
There's so many good and positive things and it's all
32:04
that you just all they just got, you know got by one cool stat.
32:10
I'm the only driver in NASCAR that was a part of the first
32:15
Chase in the Cup Series and the first Chase in the Xfinity
32:20
Series. The first year they have.
32:21
I'm the only driver that was a part of both of them.
32:24
So that's a cool little tidbit. One race that stands out of my
32:27
mind that I'm screwed up was the Daytona 500.
32:33
Matt Kenseth passed me going into Turn One I.
32:36
Know it starts freaking raining off of turn 212 seconds.
32:41
If I just held the lead for 12 more seconds, I'd be a Daytona
32:45
500 champ. But I'll tell you the other part
32:48
of it. Didn't know.
32:50
Probably nobody knows about you right now, Kenny.
32:52
Conversation My son Wyatt, who is 13 right now, had an Atresia
33:00
when before he was born. We didn't know if he was going
33:03
to make it OK, right? So he was being close to being
33:07
born during the time of that Daytona 500.
33:10
I lost the race. I'm devastated.
33:14
I'm heartbroken. If you win the Daytona 500, you
33:17
have to stay overnight because you got to do all this stuff and
33:21
they fly you to New York and LA and you do all this TV.
33:25
You know, all of that. I flew home as disappointed as I
33:28
can be, heartbroken I had screwed up and I let Matt Kinson
33:32
get under me with 10 seconds to go in the race.
33:36
My wife went into labor the next morning at 4:30 in the morning.
33:41
So I got to be with my wife who had to have AC section for my
33:46
son who hadn't have two emergency surgeries the day he
33:49
was born to live. So if I had one to Daytona 500,
33:54
Kenny, which had been great right this every race car
33:57
driver's dream, I would not have been home to be with my wife
34:02
through the tough times that we knew it was going to be with
34:05
Wyatt when he was born, with the emergency surgeries that he had
34:08
to have. So.
34:10
In a in a. So if.
34:12
We're going to have a phrase. It's like I lost the Daytona 500
34:16
but gained a son one 100% and I was there to support it and be a
34:20
part of it in in in a major player, in supporting my wife
34:24
through that. So that one race that I feel
34:27
like, you know, in my Cup career was OK, I can.
34:33
I'm OK with it now because I was here where my wife and my son
34:37
needed me. I want to say something and I'm
34:40
going to comment on that. I didn't forget.
34:44
I just had it out of order. Good number here because I'm
34:48
#36. You are one of only 36 drivers
34:53
you've won in every series. You won in Cup, you won in
34:57
Xfinity and you won in Trucks. I want to add that in there, but
35:01
I also want to say this your your wisdom now I believe.
35:06
And I want you to comment. Does our our wisdom comes when
35:10
we get older and when we can go? Oh, I was too blind because it
35:15
was all about me at the time. How long did it take you to put
35:20
that together? That you lost the 500 but you
35:23
gained a son? Yeah, I I think once I got
35:25
married and and when I had my two kids, I started realizing
35:30
that it was not always about me. Yeah.
35:33
Me too, you know it. It was about my family and my
35:37
wife did such a great job, just like your wife who's been with
35:40
you and stood side by side through the door and the bad.
35:43
And they fans have no idea what our wives go through and we vent
35:47
to them and they see all of the ugly behind the behind the
35:51
tarps, so to speak. But it got to the point where me
35:56
leaving every weekend and leaving them here, just my
36:00
priorities changed and my wife did a great job with it.
36:02
She never complained, never fussed.
36:04
She understood this was in my blood.
36:06
This is what I wanted to do. But what I would do when the the
36:10
last four years of my career. Kenny on Thursday nights I would
36:16
put my kids to bed for school or or put them to bed.
36:20
I would drive from Emporia to Statesville, NC.
36:24
It's a little bit over a four hour drive.
36:27
I would sleep in my car. I had a mattress that I put in
36:31
the back of the Tahoe. In your.
36:33
Prime This is what I'm driving Ford Junior Motorsports, So I'd
36:38
sleep in my car. They would, I would have my
36:41
alarm set because, like, the planes will leave early Friday
36:44
mornings, right to go to the track five, 6:00 depending where
36:47
we're flying to. And then I would get up, get on
36:50
the plane, and then sleep the rest of the way to whatever
36:53
track we're going to. So I did that all the time to
36:55
spend more time at home. And then when we landed back in
36:58
Statesville on Saturday nights or Saturday evenings, I would
37:01
drive all the way home through the night so I could be here,
37:03
you know, Sunday morning. And after doing it for a while,
37:07
my priorities, you know, changed.
37:10
Starting to change. But I but I will say this, I
37:15
could never ever thank Kelly and Dale Junior enough for how they
37:19
treated me at Junior Motorsports.
37:22
And and what I mean by that is this where some of the
37:26
situations I was in in Cup was just so miserable and it was
37:30
tough. I don't tell you, driving for
37:32
junior Motorsports, they freaking have fun.
37:35
Yeah, they have fun, 'cause they're just racers at the top,
37:38
right? They're not business, really
37:40
people. They're racers and it trickles
37:42
down and you, you're having beer toast and you, they just got
37:46
stuff going on all the time. They're just real racers.
37:49
It was so much fun finishing. I couldn't ask for a better
37:53
place to finish my career at than junior Motorsports I was
37:56
going to. Say that.
37:57
Listening to you so intently here, do you feel like Dale and
38:02
Kelly helped you end what was what was ugly early?
38:07
They helped you end your career the way it should have been?
38:10
Ended 100 percent and and the the biggest thing that it does
38:15
still hurt or affect me some today was, you know Kelly and
38:20
Dale Junior they gave me a great opportunity to drive their race
38:23
car. Just it was so many people in
38:25
line that want to drive for junior Motorsports, right.
38:27
They they're ties to Hindrick. They're fast every year.
38:31
The public loves you because who you're driving for.
38:34
They gave me a great opportunity.
38:36
What, what hurts? I couldn't get him that
38:39
championship. You know they're meant to.
38:43
Be He never got a Cup championship, but I It really
38:46
hurt. And I'm going to tell you what,
38:48
I don't know if I've ever gotten 100% over it.
38:51
That one year, Kevin Mindran was my crew chief.
38:56
We left too many lugs off at Phoenix so they wouldn't let him
38:59
be there for the Cup race at home, I mean for the
39:01
championship race at Homestead. So the first time racing without
39:06
a crew chief, the whole year we're trying to win a
39:08
championship. We finished second to Daniel
39:10
Suarez. He wins it.
39:12
The next year we come back, we got, we're hitting on all
39:15
cylinders, we're fast winning races.
39:18
That's the Ryan Priest incident where I run down my teammate
39:23
William Byron with five laps to go.
39:26
I am going to win the freaking championship, just like you.
39:29
We have worked our whole I have worked my whole life to to be in
39:34
this position, to win a NASCAR championship.
39:39
That would mean so much to my dad, who raced back in the 60s
39:43
and 70s and my uncles, 5 laps to go.
39:46
I passed my teammate. I'm leaving him five laps to go
39:50
to win a freaking championship. And then I get raced and wrecked
39:53
by Ryan Priest, who's not racing for anything.
39:57
It cost me the championship. And I I'll be honest with you
40:00
that next year, I couldn't get over it.
40:02
Yeah, I'm like, what is the hell is the purpose?
40:05
We race. You butt off all year long,
40:07
you're doing all the studying, you're working out, You're
40:10
putting yourself in position. And then one idiot can.
40:13
Change it all, not knowing what's going on around me and we
40:18
lose the championship and and that hurts so bad because I
40:21
couldn't give that championship to Kevin Mendering and Adam Wall
40:26
and Tower and all these guys that worked so hard for me all
40:30
year long in Dale Junior and Tell.
40:32
Even though they won it with the nine, with William Byron, I
40:35
really wanted to reward them with with me getting a
40:37
championship and that was that was really hard.
40:40
That was tough. Well, I have so much to say.
40:43
I'm going to shorten up real quick.
40:46
I am my own therapist. I did a Kenny Wallace show on my
40:56
opinion on why Carl Edwards quit the sport, 100% got got.
41:03
Almost 700,000 views and NASCAR and everybody looked at me and
41:09
and it. Come to find out I was 100%
41:12
accurate. So my friend here, here's a guy
41:18
that tied for a Cup championship with Tony Stewart, come back the
41:22
next year, hadn't won and and I'm not going to go there again.
41:28
NASCAR never said anything to me, but they gave me the eye and
41:32
and the message was delivered because I was accurate.
41:35
Yeah, that was 100% accurate on like Carl Evers, that last
41:38
caution, I mean, that last caution cost him a championship.
41:41
Cost him a champion and and however, as a driver he did
41:45
everything he could do to put himself in that situation and is
41:50
taken from him from an outside source.
41:54
How can you not be frustrated for him?
41:56
How did you not walk away? If you're Carl Edwards, yeah.
41:58
So I totally agree with you. Yeah.
42:00
And and I want to say a couple things because this is kind of
42:03
therapy for me too. You know, my job is to listen to
42:07
you, but it's me and you are racers.
42:10
You know, Listen, I was going to win the 1991 Bush Grand National
42:15
Championship over Bobby Labonte and, you know, broke a trailing
42:21
arm going into 3. At Loudon knocked myself out.
42:27
I asked God why my life was devastated.
42:32
And then years later, my good friend Kenny Irwin got killed in
42:36
that corner. Adam Petty got killed in that
42:39
corner. You and I both know how
42:41
dangerous Turn 3 is it, Loudon? When we were running all that
42:45
rebound in the left front, you'd lock your left anyway.
42:49
So my point is this. I hear you loud and clear.
42:53
I thought I'd put that on vibrate me and you all the we
43:01
got the double mark and we got this is funny perfect.
43:05
So so my point is is that every driver out there listening to
43:09
this right now we all have our demons and and but let me let me
43:15
say this you are Elliot Sadler. You've done so much.
43:21
And you know you are the man, so let let's lighten it up now.
43:28
Damn, I need a break. Hold on, let me get a drink,
43:36
because coffee. Is that coffee?
43:38
No, that's iced tea. But when I was listening to you,
43:43
I heard you. But I that's everything that
43:46
happens to me and a lot of drivers.
43:48
Think of Mark Martin. He he's the Dan Marino.
43:52
He did it all, except he never won any championship.
43:56
But he's a Hall of Famer. OK, let's have a little bit of
44:00
fun. I want to ask you a fun
44:02
question. Let's have a little break and
44:05
then I want to go to your first win at Bristol.
44:07
But I nicknamed you, you guys the Rat Pack.
44:11
There was a section in your life where every time I looked on
44:15
social media, it was the hottest country.
44:20
Music superstar of all time Blake Shelton.
44:22
Yeah, Clint. Boyer, he's like I asked Clint
44:25
one time. I said, how do you know
44:26
everybody? I the clipboard was hanging out
44:29
with Kid Rock and tell me about that time and how did you all
44:34
end up becoming a a fun group there?
44:37
So Blake was a huge race fan, OK?
44:40
I never knew. His dad was a huge Dale Jarrett
44:43
fan and they they were just big fans of the sport and they were
44:48
in Atlanta the same time we were on for spring race.
44:51
Back when we raced Atlanta like the third race of the season
44:54
used to be like Daytona, Rockingham, Atlanta.
44:56
You know somewhere in the end of March Blake was there opening
45:00
for Hank Williams Junior in a concert downtown Atlanta.
45:04
Well, his PR people sent my PR people some messages going, hey
45:07
look, we like Elliott. I was driving the 21 car at the
45:10
time. It was like 2001.
45:13
Will he come over and watch, you know, watch, watch the concert
45:17
with us? And I did.
45:18
And we just, we just hit it off and we started calling each
45:22
other, texting. And then he asked me to be in a
45:24
couple of his music videos. And I remember when he first got
45:28
started, he was making $12,500 a show, which he'd have to take
45:33
that money and pay his band, pay, travel, pay everything.
45:38
Yeah, he made a little more than that.
45:41
I was like. Racing and I remember him going,
45:46
Ellie, listen man, we man, we want to be on John Boy and
45:49
Billy, but they won't return our phone calls.
45:51
No way. Can you help us get on John Boy
45:54
and Billy, can you help us get on Claire B Lane's country show?
45:59
You know, all these people that were tired and racing.
46:02
So yes, it is funny how that started that and then I got to
46:06
be on his concert and he got to be huge and he is big and I kind
46:09
of went the other way, but we just have always just been good
46:13
friends. He's just a good, down to earth
46:16
guy. Timmy, he's kind of like you.
46:18
The first time I met him, yeah, he was the same as the last time
46:21
I met him. No matter what he's been through
46:23
or success he's had, we we just had a good group and we love
46:27
mentoring each other. It was so much fun, yeah.
46:30
I like that he that he married Gwen Stefani because I guess I
46:34
got a little girl with me. I like, I like some of that her
46:37
music, and that's really cool because I just wanted to bring
46:41
that up because I thought that was a magical time.
46:44
In NASCAR where you know you and Clint and Blake, you really
46:49
brought a lot to NASCAR and and I don't want to go to the
46:53
negative side, but that's what I think really it's like what's
46:57
going on with NASCAR right now? I I made a video that nobody
47:00
knows any drivers faces you. And Blake and Clint, you guys
47:05
really put NASCAR out there. I I just think it's a lot of
47:10
crossover in the sport between country music and and racing and
47:15
I think Blake and maybe my relationship with him or clan
47:18
and or you know Mr. Hendrick has some good relationships with
47:22
some other country artist. You know Hootie, he's always had
47:24
a great relationship with Michael Waltrip.
47:27
You know a lot of those relationships with those guys
47:29
crossing over. Luke Combs is a huge NASCAR fan,
47:32
and I think he isn't Ryan Blaney's relationship.
47:35
You know that. That's all good for the sport.
47:37
Yeah, it. Puts everybody out there.
47:39
Brings a new genre in. Yeah So I I think it is good for
47:43
the sport. So a lot of positivity around
47:45
it. Well, we.
47:46
We're getting close if if we don't get going a little bit you
47:49
you're going to join Tony Stewart and Ricky Carmichael as
47:53
as being the longest. Sorry guys, I'm a little no.
47:57
No, it's great. It's great so.
48:00
We are coming towards the end though.
48:03
I want to talk about your first ever Cup win at Bristol because
48:07
I watched it intently and everybody pitted.
48:12
The Wood Brothers had you stay out, but the boy drove.
48:17
Beautifully. I love how you let off early.
48:20
I always, every time I see you, I say the same thing.
48:23
I'm like, you let off early. Tell me about that day.
48:26
All right, So I want to tell you something.
48:29
That was my favorite track ever raced on the old Bristol.
48:33
Yes, the old Bristol. And I'm going to tell you who I
48:36
watch more tape than anybody else at that track.
48:39
He drove the 2 Miller Genuine draft car.
48:42
He was so. Good.
48:43
He was so freaking good at that track where his left front tire
48:47
was at all times on the apron and how he used it to get his
48:50
car to rotate. He never overdrove the corner.
48:53
He was always good middle off, like I did everything I could to
48:57
emulate Rusty Style at Bristol, Yes.
49:00
So now the truth about Bristol, OK?
49:04
You know how to pit Rd. starts really early there, the
49:07
commitment line. So you got to make your mind up
49:10
early. I think I know where.
49:12
This is going, What's the mistake?
49:16
And I'm like, hey, Pat Tryson is my crew chief.
49:19
Hey, are we going to pit or not? Talking about it.
49:22
OK, All right. I'm getting closer.
49:25
Hey, guys, if you want me to pit, you need to tell me.
49:28
Commitment line. And they were talking to me at
49:30
the same time they were telling me to pit.
49:33
No. At the same time, I'm keying the
49:36
mic saying hey commitment line. So I just said I didn't hear
49:40
anything, so I stayed out. So, pastor, like, what the hell
49:43
are you doing? You need to be pitting.
49:45
I'm like, I didn't hear anything.
49:47
Well, you need to quit talking when I'm talking.
49:49
You need to stay off the mic I got yelled at.
49:53
Your ass chewed out and then won the race, Won the race.
49:58
So look, we win the race. You will appreciate this because
50:02
I know you know The Wood Brothers very well.
50:04
We win the race, we pull up into Victory Lane, right?
50:08
Eddie and Lynnwood, Glenn, Leonard, all there.
50:12
Half of them have tears in your eyes.
50:14
They had never wanted Bristol. They have a lot of wins.
50:16
They had never wanted Bristol and that that racetrack is close
50:19
to their house, So we won. So Eddie goes, look, we're
50:23
having a party at the shop tonight.
50:26
Come on back to Stuart VA. So we all leave Bristol.
50:30
We head to Stuart VA. The whole freaking town is at
50:35
the race shop. Oh my God, this is a small town.
50:39
You know that? Everything happens around the
50:41
Whit Brother shop. They had toilet paper and Lynn's
50:44
house and their sister Ken Toilet.
50:47
Paper, the shop and all the trucks.
50:50
I mean, I feel like the mayor of Stuart, VA for for that night it
50:53
it was a crazy good night. We had so much fun.
50:57
But it's a big win in my career because to win for The Wood
51:00
Brothers and I'm raised in Virginia, they had never wanted
51:04
Bristol before. It got us in the All Star race
51:07
like it was just a whole neat thing.
51:10
How it all put together with the party at Stuart, VA that night
51:13
in the toilet paper, all over the houses and cars.
51:17
That was the that that was the the climax of the whole
51:19
situation. That was great, Charlie.
51:23
Our YouTube manager, I want you to clip that whole deal right
51:25
there, 20 years later, Elliott Sadler admits.
51:30
They mistakenly were going to pit, didn't they?
51:33
Hell, it's it's like, it's like when my brother Rusty, he would
51:37
be telling a story and I'm a kid.
51:39
And I look at him, I go, that ain't what happened.
51:41
And he say, shut up, Herman. It's my story.
51:46
Oh man, what a great story. OK.
51:48
So I just want to say that I was amazed with your discipline that
51:54
day because, I mean, it was like you nailed it every single lap,
52:00
floated that baby and flew through the middle of the
52:02
corner. You just did one the hell of the
52:05
job of driving. That day, that was badass.
52:09
And congratulations on that. Let me see that trophy right
52:13
there. There it is.
52:15
It is still in my office. That's it, baby.
52:18
Sweet little. Baby girl's picture on it.
52:20
She is 12 years old today. It's her birthday.
52:23
Yeah, I I love that. Well, that I'm going.
52:25
To tell you what that is 1/2 of a trophy it is.
52:27
It is such a big trophy. I know you've won there Bristol.
52:30
It's just I love the the size of it but you know so it's it's the
52:34
office is built around that as it should be a wonderful time.
52:39
In your life, Yeah. OK.
52:41
So I'm going to do you the same. I do all the drivers.
52:45
Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, they, they've all done this.
52:49
This is where we come to the end.
52:51
And I want your opinion on NASCAR today.
52:57
Tell me what you think of our sport of NASCAR today.
53:03
I wish, right. We all have an opinion, right?
53:07
Yeah. And everybody's gave it.
53:09
Yeah. I I wish they could figure out
53:11
something different with this car, to put it back more in the
53:14
driver's hands, where we can race where it's not so error
53:17
dependent. It's the races are getting.
53:22
I don't, I don't want to say boring, because racing is not
53:24
boring when you're from the inside looking at it, but it's
53:28
almost predictable. It's like almost whoever gets
53:30
off pit Rd. first has such a huge advantage.
53:33
You know, you don't have the guy restarting 10th working his way
53:37
to the front, you know, like like we did years ago because of
53:40
a setup or tire strategy, what have you.
53:43
I really wish we could figure out something with this new car
53:46
to where it raced better, where it's not so arrow.
53:50
When you and I first start racing we could beat Bang but
53:55
everything was mechanical grip. Whoever had the best mechanical
53:59
grip in it could usually do good on long runs and tire fall off.
54:03
But now it's gotten so arrow we built our car so arrow
54:07
dependent. I remember my crew chief at the
54:09
end telling me look don't knock the right side off this thing
54:12
that's two tense so when you get close to racing you got to stay
54:16
away from each other or now since it's so arrow dependent,
54:19
everybody's so arrow tight. I just wish they could figure
54:22
that out. I really wish they could figure
54:24
that part of it out. Yeah, I agree with you, Jeff.
54:27
Barton said it right years ago, he said.
54:31
Years ago when we pushed, we were we were pushing.
54:34
That was a push. I'm sliding up the track.
54:37
Then the push became like, I'm pushing, you know, everything
54:43
became too, too tight. Tolerances are too tight.
54:48
And and like you bring up a good point, you know we saw
54:51
Earnhardt, we saw Jeff Gordon come from 20th and blast through
54:56
the field. OK.
54:58
So and and on that same topic, your opinion on this new Next
55:06
Gen. car, Where are we at with it right now?
55:10
I I didn't like the safety stuff of it at first.
55:14
With drivers getting hurt from normal contact, you know, the
55:17
way they had it, too stiff. I know the teens were fussing
55:21
about that long for what happened.
55:23
I still got a bunch of friends in the sport, so I'm glad that
55:26
they made some adjustments to that.
55:29
But stuff like, you know, Kurt Busch and people like that
55:32
shouldn't have never had to sit out as long as they did.
55:34
Alex Bowman So when you anytime you make a new car, new
55:39
generation car, whatever, you know safety should be a top
55:42
priority. We we shouldn't be sacrificing
55:44
that for our drivers and that's just me having friends that
55:47
drive. I want them to be safe and feel
55:50
like they can race and go after it and not feel like something's
55:54
going to happen to them. You know if if they get in the
55:56
wreck. So hopefully they will continue
55:58
to go down that path making the cars as safe as they can.
56:02
I know they want them all on top of each other.
56:04
They want every race to be a Talladega style race.
56:08
So by doing that you got to make these cars as safe as you can
56:11
because I've had my concussions, I I know of a couple times I've
56:15
had severe concussions from it. So you you just want you guys to
56:18
be safe and and finally. The way laser inspections
56:26
$400,000 fines. Inspecting down to the
56:32
thousands, what is your opinion on inspections and fines?
56:37
My opinion is why are we making all the cars so much alike?
56:43
Why? I mean, I understand that we
56:45
won't parody in our sport, but why do we want every car to be
56:49
AI rock style race? You know, I rock series went out
56:53
of business. Yeah, they never, they never.
56:55
They couldn't race. It was side by side.
56:59
So why are we trying so hard to take the mindset and the
57:05
ingenuity out of our sport, which made our sport all?
57:09
I mean, that's what our true historians know is our sport was
57:14
built off ingenuity and people learning how to make moonshine
57:17
and running from the law and learning all these things.
57:20
Now we've completely taken it out of their hands and and I
57:23
think that's why we're all running the same speed through
57:25
the middle of the corner and you can't pass.
57:27
So I wish they would loosen it back up and I'm I'm sure that's
57:30
an opinion that's not bright with a lot of people or popular
57:35
but we've got to create some speed differences in
57:39
manufacturers of cars or what have you.
57:41
It's all a full circle. It'll all go around and and be
57:45
good for everybody in long run. But if we all running the same
57:48
speed, I don't know how we can expect a lot of passing.
57:53
I just don't see it happening. I'm going to throw an audible in
57:56
right now. Promise you last question
57:58
because it has a lot to do with what you're saying, the great
58:01
Jeff Gordon, he said. Basically we need the fans to be
58:08
more about the race teams. You know, like in Formula One
58:12
for it's all about Ferrari or all about Mercedes-Benz.
58:16
Do we want the fans? I mean, I I thought our sport
58:20
was more about drivers, but. Jeff says that he wants the fans
58:24
to be more loyal to Hendrick. That way if Chase Elliott
58:28
leaves, they don't. They don't go with Chase.
58:31
They stay with what? What is your thought on what
58:33
Jeff said? Wow, that's an interesting point
58:35
that I hadn't thought of. But that's OK, you don't got to
58:39
answer. I'm not disagreeing with Jeff,
58:44
but drivers would make the sport Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt,
58:48
Bill Elliott. Terry Labonte, Harry Gantt, Kale
58:52
Yalber, Davey, Allison, you know, the list goes on and on.
58:57
Dale Earnhardt, Junior, whether he drove for Hendrick or DEI, he
59:02
had the following. So I think there's a way to
59:06
maybe make it work from a marketing standpoint
59:09
simultaneously where they coexist.
59:12
But I I'm sorry. I really think people are going
59:16
to follow Kenny Wallace to watch.
59:18
They're going to watch Kenny Wallace in this dirt track
59:20
coming up this weekend because he's driving the JX 36 car and
59:25
that's Kenny Wallace, not the cause of what manufacturer you
59:30
have painted on the front of your bumper for that weekend.
59:33
That's just my thought. Yeah, well.
59:37
Really, really good stuff, Elliott.
59:40
I appreciate you very much for doing this.
59:43
I know it's a big deal. I want to remind all the fans
59:46
that we are in podcast form. This is on YouTube.
59:49
They get to see your face, but they can listen to you.
59:53
This is long. So they're going to listen to
59:55
you in podcast form on iTunes, Spotify, Please listen to
59:59
Elliott on your way to work. And then when you come back and
1:00:03
you're on your way home, listen to the rest of it and remember
1:00:07
to please, like and subscribe. Elliot, thank you so much.
1:00:12
Yes, Sir. Thanks for having me, buddy.
1:00:13
I've. Always.
1:00:14
I've really, really enjoyed it, as always.
1:00:16
Yeah, well, you know, this was therapy for me, too.
1:00:20
All right, see you later, Elliot.
1:00:22
All right. See you guys.