Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Shannon Spake Will Inspire You!

Transcript

Shannon Spake Will Inspire You! · Kenny Wallace Media

0:00
I think like in the 90s, Kenny, I don't know how your parents
0:02
were, but I was raised by a single mom who worked three jobs
0:05
just to kind of make ends meet. And so there was a lot of alone
0:09
time for my sister and I and not a lot of guidance.
0:11
And so I think you tend to attract to other people who are
0:15
in similar situations. And sometimes that's not the
0:17
best crowd to be hanging out with.
0:19
And so that was very much and I mean, we didn't have a dryer.
0:22
We line dried all of our clothes when I was growing up, like my
0:25
mom didn't make a lot of money. We, I mean, it was, I mean it
0:28
was interesting growing up in South Florida at that time, you
0:30
know, 1990 to 1994 was when I was in high school.
0:34
It's the Kenny Wallace conversation brought to you by
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Jags. Hello everyone and welcome back
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to Kenny Conversation brought to you by Jags, the leader in high
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Remember to go to jags.com for everything you need to fix your
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vehicles up and remember this year they are pushing cheap
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parts and truck parts. I am smiling from ear to ear.
1:03
Probably one of my favorite people in TV.
1:06
There she is, the great Shannon Spake.
1:09
How you doing, Shannon? If I'm so great and you're so
1:12
excited to see me, why did it take you so long to ask me to be
1:15
on this? Kenny, you knew I was going to
1:16
call you out like this, right? And you know, I don't know why
1:21
sometimes I read between the lines, like, does that person
1:26
like me or not like me? Yours will go by and I'll go to
1:28
that person and I'll say, do you not like me?
1:32
Did you think I didn't like you? No, I'm thinking you're thinking
1:36
that maybe. No, my God, I adore you.
1:39
And like, I mean, I feel like every since we first met and
1:43
obviously we've been in the garage together for so long.
1:46
When we were both working for Fox, I think we had a chance to
1:48
kind of hang out a little bit more.
1:49
And I think ever since then, like, I mean, when you had COVID
1:53
and when you were dealing with all that stuff, and I mean, you
1:56
were the first to reach out to me when I've gone through, you
1:59
know, interesting times and and vice versa or vice versa.
2:02
However, it's properly said. I just like you because you're a
2:05
badass. You're really easy to get along
2:08
with. We'd be in, we'd be in that
2:10
makeup room and you would just be, you're just, you're just no
2:14
bull crap. And you're just fun to be around
2:17
easygoing. And yeah, well, OK, this is it.
2:22
And, and thank you so much for coming on.
2:25
Let's start like this, Shannon. There's a lot to talk about.
2:29
So we'll go everywhere. But you have a new show and it
2:33
is exciting looking. I love the logo.
2:36
It's your show. I love it.
2:41
NASCAR daily on true TV. Tell me a little bit about it.
2:47
Well, inside the playoffs is the one that's on TRU TV that's with
2:50
Steve Letarte and Mamba and Kyle Busch has been on the 1st 2
2:54
episodes. He's going to be on this third
2:56
episode as well. And then we're actually going to
2:57
have some other drivers that are on it.
2:59
So that's the Thursday night show.
3:00
And then The Daily Show, which is on NASCAR YouTube is my own
3:03
show. It's just me for 8:00 to 12:00
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minutes. And I mean Kenny, you, I mean, I
3:08
know you can talk and, and you know, just jam and AD Lib and
3:12
all that stuff for a really long time.
3:13
I see you on your, your posts all the time.
3:15
It's a completely different world for me.
3:16
I mean, I, I knew that I could like hold a conversation with a,
3:20
you know, with a coffee mug and, and be fine.
3:23
But it's a, it was a when NASCAR came to me and said, Hey, do you
3:27
want to do a Daily Show? I mean, it was very intimidating
3:31
to start with a blank piece of paper.
3:33
It was just me and the producer Austin, and, and we started, I
3:37
would say back in, I would say back in July, we started kind of
3:40
brainstorming and figuring out what we wanted Monday to look
3:42
like, what we wanted Tuesday to look like.
3:44
I started writing the show, submitting them so that folks
3:47
could kind of see where I thought we were going.
3:50
Then we started rehearsing them. And at first I was just
3:52
rehearsing them off my, my computer here.
3:55
And like with, with everything that's going on in the last
3:57
couple months, it was like I almost forgot how to do TV.
3:59
You know, it's like sometimes you just like, you know, you
4:02
kind of forget what you do and, and, and those things.
4:04
And so then we got the camera in and it was like, as soon as the
4:06
camera was in here in my house, it was like, boom, OK, this is
4:10
this is this is my jam. This is what I this is what I
4:12
do. And so that's been a process.
4:15
The other show, I just think it's and everything, right,
4:18
NASCAR fans are just so hungry for, for any kind of content
4:20
right now with Race Hub no longer being around.
4:23
And so that the weekly show has been a lot of fun.
4:25
And listen, I've covered Kyle Busch for, I mean, since he was
4:29
at Hendrick, since he made his very first start, and I've never
4:33
had the opportunity to get to know him the way that I am in
4:36
this setting. And he hangs out after the show
4:39
and we all talk and it's been and he's sending messages in
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terms of notes and what he thinks we should do.
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And I just think it's been really great.
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He is obviously one of right, if not the best in the garage and
4:54
obviously not like the time he's going through right now is very
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different. But he has a voice, you know,
5:00
he's not afraid to use that voice and he's been a lot of fun
5:02
to work with on Thursdays. So that's that's been cool.
5:05
So this is about you, but I want to stay right there for a
5:08
minute. When I was your teammate at Fox
5:11
and they put me out on the road, they would say, Kenny, you're
5:15
going to go interview Kyle Busch and I'm like, oh God, you know,
5:19
Oh, I. Know because he would.
5:22
He would come out of that motorhome.
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I know. See, Kyle, it's Kenny.
5:27
I don't mean any harm. But to that point, when you get
5:31
these athletes away from the racetrack, some are different.
5:38
I find Kyle and his brother Kurt quite pleasant to be around in
5:43
the outer world. Do you find him that way when
5:47
you're working with him? Yes.
5:49
And it's so it's interesting kind of, you know, I started
5:51
covering racing in 2007 and I knew very little about TV or
5:56
racing back then. I started with ESPN when ESPN
6:00
got the got the coverage back. And and so we kind of came into
6:05
the garage like a bowl in a China shop, right?
6:07
Like we were asking questions, wanting this.
6:10
It was 24 hour television that was now covering NASCAR.
6:13
And I was very young. And so dealing with the Kyles
6:16
and the Kurtz and the Tonys and the Kevin's, that time in my
6:20
career was so intimidating because they because, yeah,
6:25
quite friendly. They do, they do not care.
6:27
Like they, they don't think they would tell you how they really
6:30
felt live on air. And as a young reporter, you
6:33
didn't want to become part of the story.
6:35
So you would just kind of like go on to the next question.
6:38
And now, like in my career, I feel like there's an opportunity
6:41
for me to kind of jab them back or, or kind of not obviously in
6:45
a mean way, but I, I feel like we've been doing this for a
6:47
really long time. We know them, we have
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relationships with them. But back then it was really
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scary. There were times where I swear
6:54
to God, God, the microphone was going to pick up my heartbeat
6:56
because I would just be boom, boom, boom, boom, getting ready
6:59
to interview Tony. But let me tell you, when people
7:02
ask me like, is it scary to interview Bill Belichick at
7:06
halftime in a games? And I'm like, are you kidding
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me? Do you know who I've interviewed
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live on air before, like out of the infield care center or just
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rec like, and I told Kyle this and I've told Kurt this and I've
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told Tony this. Like, and Kevin, you made me
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better by being hard on me, by by holding me to a stand up
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standard, even when I didn't know where that standard was by
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by not allowing me to mail it in.
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You made me better and prepared me for anything in my career.
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And so I'm very grateful for how difficult those guys were to
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work with and to to cover when I was very young and, and just
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getting into the sport because it made me better.
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OK, so we are going to remind everybody how great you are in
7:50
just a little bit because that's what I do.
7:52
That's what Kenny conversation is about.
7:55
We celebrate everybody's career before we get there.
7:59
I feel like we've kind of laid the start of the movie.
8:02
Let's go back a little bit now. You were from Florida and you
8:08
grew up in Florida. I love your Instagram and I
8:12
learned a lot about you. One thing I noticed is that you
8:18
are nostalgic and I love that. I love your Instagram.
8:21
You love the 90s, but I want to start at Piper High School.
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Oh wait, hold on, I actually have my Piper High School shirt.
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I'm getting ready to go running after this and I just happen to
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have it on. Yes.
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I love it and I always, you know, when I when I do like
8:38
Larry Mac Reynolds and I studied I do I got a couple things that
8:42
I do that really help me. But you just had your 1994
8:47
reunion. So take me, this is where, how
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in the hell did you get to where you're at now?
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Oh, and let's back up you also, you're working for Valley Sports
9:01
right now. You're with the Charlotte
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Hornets. So we'll get there.
9:07
But you got your TV, you're digging, you are busy right now.
9:11
So let's start up Florida Hyper High School.
9:16
You went to Florida Atlantic University for college.
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Tell me how you got to where you're at.
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Oh my God. So I also, if you look at my
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Instagram, it also says JUCO transfer, which is really to me
9:27
because yeah, I did go to a Community College my first two
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years. I got my associate's degree at
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Broward Community College. So grew up in Fort Lauderdale,
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went to Piper High School, a really rough place to grow up, a
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lot of distractions. I was not, I was definitely with
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the wrong crowd growing up. Didn't.
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Yeah. I didn't really know where my
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direction was going to head. Very little.
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Time. What kind of distractions?
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But I think I think like in the 90s, Kenny, I don't know how
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your parents were, but I was raised by a single mom who
9:54
worked three jobs just to kind of make ends meet.
9:57
And so there was a lot of alone time for my sister and I and not
10:01
a lot of guidance. And so I think you tend to
10:04
attract to other people who are in similar situations and
10:07
sometimes that's not the best crowd to be hanging out with.
10:10
And so that was very much and I mean, we didn't have a dryer.
10:13
We line dried all of our clothes when I was growing up, like my
10:15
mom didn't make a lot of money. We, I mean, it was, I mean, it
10:18
was interesting growing up in South Florida at that time, you
10:21
know, 1990 to 1994 was when I was in high school.
10:24
And so when I graduated from FAU, I left and moved to New
10:29
York City. I just, I knew I needed to get
10:31
out because I knew that that was the place that I, I, I just, I
10:34
needed to find myself and I needed to find something outside
10:37
of Fort Lauderdale. And I didn't have a job.
10:40
I didn't, I didn't know anybody in New York.
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I moved up there with a friend and I had been to New York one
10:46
time before that and I went to Times Square and it was in the
10:50
90s when there was a show called Total Request Live.
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That was like huge in the 90s right there, 1515 Broadway,
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every day, the entire Times Square would just be just
11:00
engulfed with kids screaming up at *NSYNC or screaming up at
11:04
Britney Spears and Carson Daly. And I was like, this is this is
11:09
where I need to be. Like this right here is where I
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need to be. So it was 2000 when I moved up
11:15
to to New York City and I snuck into 1515 Broadway.
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I rode the elevator, I handed out resumes.
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I found out that there was a job posting that went out once every
11:25
two weeks. So in that building, the Viacom
11:27
building was Nickelodeon, VH1, MTV, Comedy Central and a couple
11:32
of other places. And so I, I handed in my resume
11:35
and I got a job at Nickelodeon within like a month of being
11:38
there. Was very fortunate.
11:41
Went from Nickelodeon to CBS News, was there during September
11:44
11th. So I was, yeah.
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So I was, I was working for the, for CBS News primarily on the
11:51
Early Show with Jane Clayson and Bryant Gumbel at the time.
11:54
I still remember that day like it was yesterday.
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I remember the events that unfolded following that day.
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I mean, just what the city was like, what it looked like, what
12:03
it smelled like, what it sounded like, everything.
12:05
And it was very impactful in in my life because, and I've told
12:11
this story before, but they were missing signs everywhere.
12:14
Anyone who was in New York, I don't know what it was like in
12:16
other parts of the country. It could have been the same, but
12:18
they were missing signs everywhere because everybody
12:21
thought that their loved one that was in the towers that day
12:24
were just missing. And I just remember looking at
12:26
all those missing signs, Kenny, and thinking to myself, like,
12:29
what did those people put off for the raise or for the center,
12:35
the corner office or for this? Like, did they say I'm not going
12:38
to have kids until I get this position?
12:40
I'm not going to go on this vacation until I'm making this
12:44
amount of money. And then I looked at those
12:46
people on those missing signs and realized that they they
12:48
didn't come home that day and they weren't going to have an
12:51
opportunity to do the things that they wanted to do.
12:53
And so for me personally, that was how it that affected me.
12:56
So in terms of having kids, as you know, I mean, I was pregnant
12:59
in the garage. It was one of those things that
13:01
I want to have kids. I'm not going to put it off
13:04
because I'm working or because I'm traveling 40 weeks a year.
13:07
So it was a very impactful time for me.
13:09
I got really lucky with some of the jobs, worked my ass off.
13:12
I'm allowed to say ask, but did I woke up super early Monday
13:16
through Friday and on Saturdays to fill in for people?
13:19
I mean, it was a grind, but I built my resume and then moved
13:23
to Charlotte and then kind of continued it.
13:25
OK, so I, I say this fun loving, OK, your sister Jamie little
13:33
you, you and her kind of as I listen intensely to you.
13:38
She she had a she was a single, she had a mom, that was it.
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You had a mom, that was it. Both of you could have gone the
13:46
wrong way. What do you think separates you
13:50
and her? You could have been smoking
13:52
dope, doing drugs, but you went to New York.
13:55
You could have definitely got in trouble.
13:58
Why did you turn out so good? I don't know, you know, I don't,
14:03
I don't know. I don't.
14:04
I mean, it has to been has to been something internally
14:07
because like I said, I didn't have someone like like me with
14:09
my kids. It's like sit down and do your
14:11
homework. Let's do this.
14:12
Let's take you to soccer. Let's take you to this.
14:14
Like I had swimming for a little while, but I mean at the same
14:18
time like I didn't know how I was getting to swim practice.
14:20
I would have to walk to swim practice or bum rides home.
14:22
It wasn't like it is nowadays, right?
14:24
Like I, I had to do it on my own.
14:27
I don't know, maybe just woke up one day and thought to myself,
14:32
there has to be more. And going back to South Florida,
14:36
which I didn't go back to South Florida for a really long time
14:39
when I left. I just think there had to be
14:41
more and there had to be more for me to do.
14:43
And there was just this internal drive.
14:45
I don't, I don't know. I got very lucky.
14:47
You know, my sister, not Jamie Little, but my sister, she's a
14:50
recovering addict and she openly talks about it.
14:53
She has a YouTube channel. And so, yeah, I could have, I
14:56
could have easily gone that way as well.
14:58
And so I again, I don't know, something internally pushed me
15:03
some kind of drive and, and I, I see it in my life now when it
15:06
comes to my kids and my triathlons and working and all
15:09
of that stuff. I'm, I'm not OK with just being
15:11
complacent and, and sitting back.
15:13
And I don't know where that comes from.
15:15
You, you are a great spirit, and I know that because I've been
15:19
around you. You are a philosopher.
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That's what I think. Do you think you're a
15:25
philosopher? I think I've had a lot of
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experiences and I'm not afraid to share those experiences with
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people. There are.
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There are a lot of people out there that kind of shy away from
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the ugly, right? The tough things, the ugly
15:40
things, the things that maybe you're not so proud of in your
15:43
life. And I lean in and I know that
15:45
everybody goes through these things.
15:47
And me sharing those experiences and sharing how I went through
15:51
those, experienced them, dealt with them.
15:53
XY and ZI do think help people. And that's very important to me,
15:58
is sharing that with other people.
16:01
Along the same line as I. You know, I know you, right?
16:05
But we don't know everything and and straighten me out if I if I
16:10
read this wrong. You had corrective scoliosis at
16:13
age 12. OK, now that that's a big deal,
16:16
but you go on in your life and you're a triathlon, you do
16:23
marathons, Iron Man's you really push yourself.
16:30
Why? Is that?
16:32
Because of the scoliosis? Or is it because you don't know
16:36
why or you just you really do it?
16:39
I think so. I was having a conversation with
16:41
Colin Cowherd one time and I I'm sure you guys know him.
16:44
He has a radio show on Fox Sports and Legend.
16:46
Yeah, he and I were sitting there and we were talking about
16:48
it and he's like, are you running from something or you
16:50
running towards something? And it was a it was a question
16:54
that I was like, huh, I've never thought of it like that.
16:57
And absolutely running from something, running from all of
17:00
those things that I'm so afraid can pull me back and running
17:05
towards being better each and every day.
17:07
Yeah, I, I push myself pretty hard.
17:09
I, and it's taken me like the last couple years, I've really
17:13
been able to go easier on myself and not be so hard on myself.
17:18
I have systems in place. I and I know I sound crazy,
17:21
right, but it's the way that I operate.
17:23
I have systems in place for myself.
17:25
I like to be on a schedule, waking up at 5:15 in the morning
17:28
to do the show and get my kids ready.
17:29
I'm in my happy place because I have a schedule and I feel like
17:33
I'm accomplishing things and that that just keeps me sane.
17:37
I think the, the, the triathlon stuff was, was really, I'm going
17:43
to name drop again. So when I covered Nick Saban, I
17:45
remember he used to say that you learn more about yourself in
17:49
times of adversity than you do in times of like positive
17:52
things. And every time I would go out
17:54
for a run or ride or swim, you're, you're putting yourself
17:57
through some kind of physical adversity.
17:58
And I feel like I learned something about myself, whether
18:01
it be how far I could go or my brain would kind of go somewhere
18:04
and I would have a thought. I did a lot of my writing for my
18:07
shows and, and would listen to like podcasts and stuff.
18:10
And I just feel like I would grow during that time.
18:14
Active meditator, I guess is is what some people call it.
18:17
But yeah, I don't, I don't know, Kenny.
18:19
I mean, definitely running toward towards getting away from
18:23
everything that that you know that wants to pull you back.
18:26
Yeah, I, this is coming from me, my daughter, my daughter
18:31
Brittany, she's my youngest one. She's 34, I think, and I got
18:36
three daughters. But Brittany, if she does not
18:39
work out every day, she becomes very intense.
18:44
She looks like me. She might not act exactly like
18:48
me, but she'll she'll break out Red Welt sort of speaking.
18:53
But it seems like when she goes to was it burn boot camp?
18:59
And even her husband says it's like when she starts getting
19:02
intense, like, hey, go work out. What?
19:05
What does that do? I mean, obviously I push myself.
19:10
I feel like we're very similar, but this is about you.
19:14
So when people work out, but especially you, I see you on
19:20
Instagram, you know, when you're working with the NFL and you're
19:25
at a football game, NFLI mean you're big time, Shannon, you're
19:29
big time. I'm saying that but you but you
19:31
take on the stadiums, you run up and down those steps and like
19:34
that girl's killing herself. Is there a victorious become
19:40
victory in your brain? Is that what that's about?
19:43
I think that the stadium stairs thing is just me being really
19:46
aware and, and grateful that I get to be in that stadium alone,
19:52
You know, like it's, it's like it's more of a grateful thing.
19:55
It's more of like I owe it to this stadium to go in there and
19:58
to do this because I am allowed to come in there and cover this
20:02
game on Sundays. And I feel like I would be
20:04
missing out on that. I I remember covering.
20:07
Penn State, I was doing Penn State football and it was Friday
20:11
morning. It was 30°.
20:12
It was freezing out there. And I was like, damn it, I am.
20:15
I'm going. And I was the only person in
20:18
that entire stadium and in Beaver Stadium.
20:20
And I went all the way up to the top as far as I could get.
20:23
And I just sat there and I just looked around and I was like,
20:26
how many people get this opportunity?
20:29
And so that's where my brain goes, especially when it comes
20:32
to to running stairs. And I think same with Iron Man
20:35
events, right? Like I, I've kind of semi
20:38
retired, I want to do another marathon, but like how many
20:42
people, like you have to put in the work if you want to have the
20:44
experience and how many people get the experience to run
20:48
through the boroughs of New York City to start in Staten Island,
20:51
run over the bridge, see the the neighborhoods change from block
20:55
to block with people singing on doorsteps and or their doors
20:59
Stoops and you know, and, and little kids handing you candy.
21:02
Like how many people get that perspective in life?
21:05
And, and so you, you have to put in the work in order to do it.
21:09
And, and so that's the work is not a big deal to me.
21:12
The experiences are more important and and I kind of just
21:15
try to remember that. Yeah, I like that thought
21:18
because, you know, I'm getting ready to go to Italy in January
21:23
and and anytime I get ready to go on a vacation, I asked
21:27
somebody what's your advice? And they say, oh, wear good
21:30
shoes because like you just said, if you're going to
21:33
experience something, there's a little bit of work involved.
21:35
You just don't get on the bus. And you know, you, you got to do
21:38
a little bit of work. You got to walk, you got to
21:40
check it all out. OK.
21:42
Well, listen, Kenny, how many drivers had the opportunity to
21:44
race right next to Dale Earnhardt?
21:46
You know, and like, like door to door with him.
21:49
And the only way you get that experience is by putting in the
21:52
work, right? Like not everyone can get out
21:55
there and and just like, you know, and, and Dorum, you know
21:58
what I'm saying? So I mean, all of that stuff,
22:00
even with you and like some of these dirt tracks that you go to
22:03
that you get an opportunity to race at with some of the best
22:06
out there or even people that get to race with you, Kenny,
22:09
right? Like they have to put in the
22:10
work in order to have that opportunity.
22:12
So it's across all boards, right?
22:14
It's across everything, not just triathlons and marathons and and
22:18
whatever. It's just in life, you know, you
22:20
got to, you got to put in the work if you want the
22:21
experiences. Great reminder and a great
22:25
lesson. Sometimes I think we all need
22:27
that. We only do.
22:29
You know, you just don't eat. You know, you don't just get
22:32
dropped off to success. You got to put it in.
22:35
OK, so this is where I brag on you and I, I want to, I want to
22:41
say something for you. And then if I'm wrong, you
22:44
straighten it out. But when we do TV, you're only
22:50
there as long as that contract. So if NASCAR and ESPN together,
22:56
when that contract runs out, everybody splits.
23:00
So I think it's pretty incredible that, you know, you
23:04
have done a lot, you've been at the highest form and you you
23:09
started out like you said, Nickelodeon, you went to New
23:11
York, you went to Speed Channel when Speed Channel was its very
23:16
best massive. You know, it's kind of funny
23:19
because the Fox network would always look down upon speed, but
23:23
speed was where it was at. And and you know, some of the
23:26
highest ratings, you know, were there.
23:32
I worked at speed, you worked there, but you were also you
23:35
were big time. You were with the network.
23:38
So you were with Fox, you were with Speed Channel, then you
23:43
went to ESPN. I mean ESPN.
23:46
No, no, no. I mean you were there.
23:50
You were big time. OK.
23:51
So then ESPN they don't renew their contracts and now you I
23:55
left. Before then, though, I had moved
23:57
on to college sports. OK, go ahead, go ahead.
24:00
I had moved on to college sports.
24:01
So I actually kind of in 2000, I think it was 13 or 14, they,
24:06
they only had me doing a handful of races and I moved over to
24:09
college football and college basketball.
24:10
And I did that for a couple of years at ESPN and then had the
24:14
opportunity community to go over to Fox.
24:16
So I didn't, I didn't leave because the the NASCAR contract
24:20
was going away. I got, I got, you know, I kind
24:22
of jumped over that and and was still there.
24:26
I want to say this and then I want to comment on that.
24:28
OK. So then you go to Fox Sports,
24:31
OK, So now you've been basically at the highest form of TV
24:36
available now, right now we we talked about at the start you're
24:42
is it NASCAR digital? Is that what it's called?
24:44
NASCAR productions. Yeah, yeah.
24:46
And this is the new world. It really is.
24:49
It, it seems like you're so good.
24:53
Do do you have a you have somebody that helps you?
24:57
How do you land? Besides, you're good, you're
25:00
good, but you're always in the right spot.
25:02
Now we're everything's digital and here you are.
25:06
You're set up for another long, long tenure.
25:09
Do you have any help to get there?
25:10
You have a manager. Well, I didn't, I just hired
25:14
someone. So when this this change came
25:17
down recently, I just, I immediate like I was the one
25:21
that put out all the feelers. I just have a ton of contacts
25:24
everywhere, right. And and like, you know, you've
25:26
been in this and like just with racing, right, you could pick up
25:28
the phone and call 100 people in racing.
25:31
And so I did a lot of that on my own, but I I really thought I
25:34
just needed someone in my corner who could it was just a lot,
25:37
right. And when you're dealing with
25:39
like a lot of this and emotions and all this stuff, you just
25:42
need someone kind of in your corner to help you make
25:44
decisions. And so I did hire someone.
25:46
But just recently I had done most of it on my own for a
25:49
really long time. But yeah, I listen, I I've
25:53
covered NASCAR for 20 years. And and so even when box wasn't,
25:57
I wasn't going to be part of the Fox coverage anymore.
25:59
It was really important for me to stay in this sport.
26:02
The fans have been so amazing. I've, I've covered this.
26:06
I mean, I, I love this, I love NASCAR.
26:08
I, it's part of who I am. This sport is part of who I am
26:11
and what I do. But it's also really important
26:13
for me to stay in other sports as well.
26:15
That's been a priority in my career, whether it was doing
26:17
college football or college basketball or NFL.
26:20
And now I get the opportunity to do the NBA.
26:23
And a lot of these just kind of came from me reaching out to
26:26
people and saying, Hey, I'm a free agent.
26:30
If you got anything, I'd love to be part of it.
26:33
I'd love to do stuff. And so that's where a lot of
26:35
these opportunities have come. NASCAR's in a really interesting
26:38
place, Kenny, The amount of energy and attention that
26:42
they're putting into storytelling right now.
26:44
You know, I mean, you know, like the, the changes that we're,
26:47
that we're seeing the, the new tracks, the new things, it just
26:50
feels so fresh and so exciting and, and, and covering it.
26:54
Like, like I said, being part of the sport for 20 years, you
26:56
just, you can feel the energy surging right now and that's
27:01
really cool. Even though it's been around and
27:03
I've been covering it for a really long time, I do feel like
27:05
I'm at the ground level of something brand new.
27:09
I want to go back to a moment that I thought was pretty wild
27:15
when Fox announced they were getting rid of their, you know,
27:19
their shows at the big studio there in Charlotte, NC.
27:25
Obviously you're working there. And, and I was invited and then
27:29
it was like, it was like going back to Piper School for a
27:33
reunion. So I, I, I accept the invite.
27:37
And when I got there, I, I felt the intensity.
27:41
I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is a major loss.
27:45
And, and there was hundreds of people there, great talent, and
27:49
only four people kept their job. And, and I joked around at the
27:52
end of the day, I said, OK, who's the assholes that get to
27:55
keep their job? And, and they called them all
27:58
out there. They are.
28:01
So tell me about I was there with you, but I want to hear it
28:06
from your point of view and and not so much about you.
28:09
But what was your take that day? That was a heavy day, I thought,
28:15
where you saw this TV industry shutting down and hundreds of
28:21
people fling and you landed perfectly.
28:25
You're on your feet. You got it going on.
28:27
Tell me about that day. It was AI mean that day to me
28:31
was so beautiful. Like when I was sitting there on
28:35
the couch and they were going through like clips of the show
28:39
for 15 years. You know, when you're like in it
28:42
and you're living it every single day, you lose perspective
28:47
on the incredible people that you get to interact with and the
28:51
stories that you get to tell and the experiences that you have.
28:54
And there was this real sense of sadness that came over me while
28:57
we were sitting there, like, oh, my God, like, I, this is so sad.
29:01
But then at the same time, Kenny, like I kept thinking
29:04
about the phrase, it's better to have loved and lost than never
29:07
to have loved before. And you're a philosopher.
29:09
I love it. Thinking that because I was
29:12
like, yes, this hurts and it's sad and all this stuff, but at
29:16
the same time, would I give up that sadness and not experience
29:22
that for the for I mean, all of this was worth it.
29:25
I, I got to be part of this, this show that was so amazing
29:31
and like so great and great work.
29:33
And we laughed and we cried and we, I mean, like, yes, it hurts
29:39
because it's going away. But the idea that I was able to
29:42
be a part of that for 8-8 years, like that's, that's I'm the
29:47
luckiest girl in the world to be able to do that.
29:51
So one of the cool things is inside the playoffs, like the
29:53
show that we're doing on Thursday, there's probably about
29:55
15 or 20 people that are there from Race Hub I saw.
29:59
One of your girls with you on your Instagram.
30:01
Yeah. And so you walk in and it's like
30:03
the stage manager and camera guys and the director and
30:07
producer and you're like, OK, you feel like everyone is like,
30:12
you know, they're they're doing it.
30:14
Not, not that's what you think. Your your family.
30:16
You want to make sure everyone is safe and everyone and
30:18
everyone you know, moves on. You've been part of race teams
30:21
that move on. You know, Stewart Haas racing,
30:23
they're kind of going through the same thing right now.
30:24
It's like you just want to make sure that that everyone gets
30:27
something and land somewhere because you know, it can be a
30:29
scary place. That, that new building, it's
30:35
being talked about inside the industry, it appears now
30:39
straighten me out. It appears NASCAR is going to
30:45
control their future on TV. It looks like you're making the
30:50
shows. You're serving them up to.
30:53
Whoever it is that building that NASCAR built, it's it's their
30:59
production building. Tell me about that building.
31:03
It's, I mean, it's like what I just said about the, the, the
31:07
newness and the freshness and the storytelling.
31:10
It feels like I'm at the ground level of something really,
31:12
really cool. Does that building have, does
31:16
that building, I'm sorry, does that building have the latest
31:20
greatest technology in TV? I mean, I would say it's there's
31:24
a lot of really good stuff. There's stuff that they know
31:27
that they still have to continue to do and put in.
31:29
You know, we got this show, we got this inside the playoff
31:32
show. Kelly Hamilton, you know, Kelly,
31:33
right? And they said here you go, we
31:36
got it. We got five weeks to get on air
31:39
and we got on air. So we wouldn't be able to do
31:41
that if the facility wasn't ready to go.
31:44
And, and so she made it happened.
31:46
And I mean, from everything. And she was like, funny, because
31:49
I, I think she was like at home goods the Thursday before we
31:52
taped our first show, like getting stuff for the set.
31:54
And so it really has been. And then we were done with that
31:57
show and it was like, Oh my gosh, look at what we've done.
32:00
And, and so it's, it's been really cool to be a part of that
32:02
and to, and to watch Kelly and some people might follow her on
32:06
Instagram. She's been in the sport forever,
32:08
just as long as as we have. She's covered college football,
32:11
she's covered indie racing forever, and so to see her get
32:14
an opportunity to sort of be the the woman on this show, the main
32:18
person, has been really cool. Kelly made me better.
32:22
She makes me better too. She she's a Philly girl and, and
32:28
I've spent a lot of time with her and when they put me on the
32:30
road to interview people, she really helped me.
32:34
She is good and I so when you say her name, I really get it.
32:39
OK, we're going to have fun on this one.
32:44
This is me. You're so famous 2017 Cars 3
32:51
movie You you become Shannon spokes.
32:56
You you play Shannon spokes. That's that's an A major movie.
33:03
Yeah. Tell me about that whole
33:04
experience. I mean, the coolest part for me,
33:06
Kenny, honestly, was my kids were in first grade at that time
33:10
and so my kids could careless that I'm interviewing John
33:13
Calipari and Bill going to the final four and Daytona 5
33:17
hundreds. They could careless about that.
33:20
But then when we got to go to the movie theater with all their
33:22
friends and their moms and we got to watch it, that was to me,
33:25
that was the coolest thing. I remember one time I had a
33:27
little die cast, a Shannon Spokes die cast, and my son was
33:31
like on the, he was young, obviously 7 or 8, and he was
33:34
like on the floor and he was racing my die cast, that's next
33:37
to Richard Petty's die cast. And I was just like, what planet
33:40
am I living on right now actually happening?
33:44
So that was the coolest for me. And I think also for me, I
33:46
remember being at Daytona, I think it was, Oh my goodness,
33:50
what year was it, 2016? It must have been right when I
33:53
just started with Fox and they had in the Media Center at
33:56
Daytona, they had all of the folks that were part of the cars
33:59
franchise. So it was like Jeff Gordon, Mike
34:00
Joy, Daryl, some of the drivers. And like, I look around and I'm
34:06
like, I'm the only girl here. I am the only woman here.
34:11
And, you know, they're people always ask, what is it like to
34:14
work in a man's sport? I think there's more women in
34:17
racing than there are than there are men because the women are
34:21
the PR, they're the writers or the, you know, the wives, the
34:25
girlfriends, like they're like. And and so for me to be standing
34:28
up there on this stage with a Lightning McQueen there against
34:31
all the, with all these men who I've admired for so long and me
34:34
to be the lone female voice up there with those men.
34:38
I was pretty damn awesome man to be representing all of the women
34:41
that that are in this sport. And like a lot of those women,
34:43
by the way, Kenny, like we started together.
34:45
So when I got pregnant, because I, I think I was, and not to
34:49
kind of go like this, but I do think I was the first one.
34:53
I had the expandable fire suit. I had the the mic pack.
34:57
That was a backpack that that then went from me to Jamie
35:00
Little to Wendy Venturini to, I think Caitlin Vincey.
35:04
And so I remember Claire V Lane coming up to me one time just
35:07
telling me, like you, you like a lot of women that are in this
35:11
sport don't have kids because you're on the road 40 weeks a
35:15
year. You're doing this.
35:16
You just don't have time. And and I did it and I was
35:20
climbing up on those pit boxes with my big old belly hanging
35:22
out and, and I mean, so to and, and there were a lot of PR women
35:28
at the same time who were my age who were having kids.
35:31
And that's a tough, it's AI mean you're on the road.
35:34
I remember laying in the back of a rental car one time leaving
35:36
Phoenix with Jamie and I was, you know, 29 weeks pregnant with
35:41
twins. I'm laying in the back seat just
35:43
crying my eyes out because I I wanted to go home and nest.
35:47
I was tired, my back hurt, my feet hurt.
35:50
I had just had an emotional day and Jamie was just like driving
35:53
and she's like, it's going to be OK.
35:54
Yeah, you know, like, and you can't show that, right?
35:58
You can't cry in the garage. You can't break down and and
36:01
show that it's, you know, the emotions and the feelings that
36:05
you're really feeling. You're tough and you want to you
36:07
want to get through it. So I think for me to be
36:09
representative of those women who also went through similar
36:13
experiences as me was was pretty cool.
36:15
Getting back to your cars. 3 questions.
36:17
Yeah, but that's OK because your Instagram is awesome.
36:21
And and Charlie, when you edit this up, let's drop that
36:26
picture. In right here Charlie my my dog.
36:28
You got a CC? Charlie, you see him?
36:32
No, wait. He's right there.
36:34
Oh yeah, what a great dog. Never.
36:36
Far away and Norman. Norman's somewhere around here.
36:39
He's my big boy. Charlie and Norman.
36:41
And and Athena and Athena. And we have a cat, so I know.
36:46
So my boyfriend, when he came here, he brought his cat and his
36:50
dog, Athena and Ginger. And so I had two dogs.
36:53
He had two animals and so now I have 6 souls that are looking up
36:57
at me first thing in the morning and saying feed me.
37:00
You, you are a great Mama. And Charlie, let's grab
37:04
Shannon's going to let us as we edit this up.
37:07
Let's drop that picture in that you put on Instagram not long
37:11
ago where you, you know, you are as pregnant as you can get and
37:15
you're sitting on a set of tires.
37:17
Look at this picture, everyone. But one thing I like is that you
37:21
put this on Instagram and you're, you're celebrating that
37:25
time. You know, my wife said she loved
37:27
being pregnant. I did too.
37:29
Yeah, tell me about this picture here that you put on Instagram.
37:33
What was going on there? Yeah, so I think it's the one of
37:35
me sitting there and I'm like smiling and I'm on tires.
37:37
I feel like that was very. That was so I had twins and so I
37:42
was allowed to travel until week 30.
37:44
That was my cut off date. Well, week 30 just happened to
37:48
coincide with Homestead and SO. I.
37:51
Got to do the whole year. I remember Alan Beswick saying
37:53
to me like, like, are you going to be able to make it the whole
37:55
year? And I'm like, of course I'm
37:57
going to make it. Are you kidding me?
37:58
I'm going to make it. And then I walked into Homestead
38:00
bathroom and I had my maternity shirt on and I was standing in
38:03
the bathroom and you could see my belly poking out from
38:07
underneath my maternity shirt. And I was like, OK, I've made my
38:11
point. I got to go home now.
38:14
But I feel like that might have been at Phoenix, which back then
38:16
it was right. Phoenix was before Homestead.
38:18
It was like the the penultimate because I feel did it go Texas
38:23
Martinsville Phoenix homestead. I feel like that was the, the,
38:26
or was Martinsville Texas Phoenix homestead one of the
38:28
other. And so I would literally do my
38:31
opening report and I was my, my pelvic area and everything hurt
38:36
so bad because of how heavy the kids were that I would sit down
38:40
on the tires immediately and, and just sit there and, and, and
38:45
as long as I had to, to do my reports and stuff.
38:49
So you have twins. You have Brady and Liam and you
38:54
say they're twins. And I always when I hear twins,
38:58
I'm like, are they twins? Do they do they think alike?
39:02
Are they emotional with each other?
39:05
Or are they a little separate? How?
39:07
What kind of twins are they? Are they really close or?
39:11
Yeah, I so I think like so they're identical twins.
39:15
I think that like any relationship, if you spend every
39:21
single minute with someone your entire life and you've been
39:25
constantly compared to that person, I think there are so
39:28
many things that I can never understand that they have to go
39:32
through, right? People at school saying, are you
39:34
Brady or Liam? Are you this or that?
39:36
Are you that or this? And then of course, they're so
39:39
different. Like one of my children is type
39:42
A. Everything comes super easy,
39:44
everything. He's a people pleaser.
39:46
And the other one's a little more laid back back and has to
39:49
work a little harder for things. And so you're constantly being
39:51
compared to the other one. I think they, they love each
39:55
other enormously. They have a lot of respect for
39:58
each other, which is my biggest thing.
39:59
I'm like, you guys don't have to like each other right now, but
40:01
you have to freaking respect each other.
40:03
And I do think that they they respect each other And but I do
40:07
think that they just get annoyed with each other from time to
40:09
time and they need a break just like, just like anything else.
40:13
But the twin thing is so cool seeing them grow up and knowing
40:16
that they have a built in friend.
40:17
But it is my. My job is their mom, I think, to
40:20
make sure that they understand how valuable that is.
40:23
Yeah, that's really interesting. I I got a really good friend
40:27
that they're twins, but but yet they're, I mean, you know, you
40:32
know what I'm saying? You got the twins that are
40:33
jointed, you know, and then, but then there's twins that came
40:36
out, but they're kind of separate.
40:39
That's that's interesting. So.
40:40
I feel like a little bit of both with my kids, right?
40:42
I do feel like they're very different, which is crazy
40:45
because they're like identical twins are the exact same human,
40:49
right? Like their DNA is exactly the
40:51
same and then they're so drastically different so.
40:55
So I want to go somewhere that you said I wasn't going to go
40:59
there. It's it's not in my Larry Mac
41:01
rental notes. But you know me, I'm a pisser
41:06
every once in a while. I.
41:07
Know so the ladies my my wife is awesome and she says I really
41:16
like being a lady him never wanted to be in a man's world
41:22
when I when I see you and Jamie you you 2 handle yourself really
41:28
well. So have you ever you know so I'm
41:33
going to ask that question that you referred to Have you have
41:37
you ever had to straighten the men out because you know you're
41:42
in a man's world? But now, like you say, there's
41:44
so many ladies. Any any, any times in your life
41:49
where you had to rough rough a guy up?
41:51
No, I mean, I think first of all, I think my tolerance is
41:53
super high. You know, me, I'm like a 15 year
41:55
old boy. My my sort of like.
41:57
I love it my. Murder is like so locker room
42:01
anyways that there's it's like I don't get offended easily,
42:04
which, you know, I mean, that's just how I am.
42:07
I joke with the voice sometimes. I'm actually like, oh, maybe I
42:09
shouldn't have said that, you know, like.
42:12
You're the. Boy, yeah, sometimes I'm like,
42:14
maybe I won't say that again. So no, I don't.
42:18
I mean, I, I think that what you have to do, what I've I had to
42:21
learn very early on is not to take it personal that nothing
42:24
that is like if a guy and a guy is having a conversation and A
42:28
and a male reporter gets, gets a story or get something because
42:32
he was able to like, I don't know, buddy up or they're in the
42:36
lock, whatever, right? I just think that you have to
42:38
realize that men and men are going to have different
42:39
relationships and women and men, that's just how it is.
42:43
I, on the other hand, have worked really, really hard, and
42:45
I know Jamie has as well, to earn the respect of the men in
42:48
the garage and to show them that I care about what they're doing
42:52
and I have respect. I mean, when I first started in
42:55
racing, now I was really lucky because I had Marty Smith, who
42:59
who, and I'll say held my hand, but was very, I was very close
43:04
with him and, and he introduced me to so many people in the
43:06
garage that I didn't know. And he had a relationship with,
43:10
and I was able to, to gain some of my respect and, and some of
43:14
the, the friendships because of Marty.
43:17
So I had a man who directly helped me with my career, who
43:21
who helped me and Alan Bestwick the same thing.
43:23
Like he was one of my mentors from very early on.
43:27
I mean, it was, you know, navigating all the craziness.
43:29
And so I, I, I think that there's been a couple of times
43:33
where maybe I'm like, OK, whatever.
43:35
And, but nothing that registers to me because again, I, I feel
43:40
like I, I've said this before, it's one of my, one of my mottos
43:44
is, is hard work is genderless. Like if you work hard, it
43:48
doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man or it doesn't matter if
43:51
you work hard, that is going to be recognized and, and people
43:56
are going to respect that, I believe.
43:58
And, and so I mean, I know Jamie the same way she busts her ass,
44:02
man, like she is a hard worker and that's how you have to be.
44:06
Well, that is very refreshing because I have a wife and three
44:10
daughters and I'm a girl dad and I love you for what you just
44:15
said, that that makes me really happy.
44:17
I believe it. It's a tough world right now and
44:21
and I'm not going to go there, but just to hear you say that
44:26
it's genderless hard work, I. Believe it.
44:28
Some pipe some people can get really stuck in that that that
44:32
me I could have and you just kicked total ass.
44:36
So all right, here we are already 45 minutes in.
44:39
It happens to me all the time. Take me through a day.
44:43
And here's here's the reason I'm asking this because you're,
44:48
you're with your new jobs, plural, but yet you, you got the
44:52
Charlotte and Hornets basketball.
44:56
When do you do this? How, how does your day, your
44:59
fans, even some of your friends? It's like, OK, what are your
45:03
days? Now What?
45:04
What is your timeline like with, you know, the TV show with
45:08
NASCAR, The basketball with the Charlotte Hornets?
45:11
I don't know yet. So that's one of the scary parts
45:14
of you know, I mean, change is good, right, But it's also scary
45:17
because for eight years, like I was doing race hub and and doing
45:21
sidelines on Sunday. And so I'm now venturing into a
45:24
whole new world. I'll start with the Hornets
45:26
towards the end of the of October, middle of October, some
45:29
preseason games and then I'll be on the road with them for 4141
45:35
games. Wow, OK, I didn't really realize
45:37
that. Yeah, so I'll do all 82.
45:39
So I'll do, you know, obviously the ones here and then on the
45:41
road with them and I get to travel with the team, which is
45:44
nice and all that stuff. But it's going to be, you know,
45:46
I'm used to leaving Friday morning and coming back Sunday
45:48
night and and managing that. So it'll be a lot of sort of
45:51
figuring it out as far as the show right now, I get up between
45:57
4:30 and 5:15 in the morning, depending on what my day is
45:59
going to look like because I like to work out.
46:01
So if I'm not going to have time to do it later in the day, I'll
46:05
make sure that I get up and work out in the morning.
46:07
I make my kids lunches. I, I, I write a little bit of
46:11
the show. I'll wake up and do it in the
46:13
morning because I, I'm not a good like, I'm not a good like
46:16
after 7:00. I'm, I'm usually like, my brain
46:19
is kind of shutting down. So I'll write a lot of the show
46:22
in the morning. I'll take my kids to school,
46:25
I'll come back, sit down in the studio or downstairs and and
46:28
we'll tape the show we took. We usually try to start about
46:30
8:00. Now, this morning after we
46:32
taped, I went back and laid down for a few minutes.
46:36
Normally I would go work out or I would start to do some prep
46:39
for the next day, But today I went lay down because after you
46:42
and I are done, I'm going to go work out.
46:44
Now as far as the Hornets are concerned, I am, I'm starting to
46:47
dig into some research. I haven't been covering the NBA.
46:49
I, I, this will be my first time I've, I did the NBA draft in
46:52
2015, but that was more on the college side.
46:56
And so I'm, I'm really excited. It's, it's going to be quite a
46:59
challenge to cover something new.
47:02
But I know that it's, it's, I mean, listen, now I've covered
47:04
college football, college basketball, NFL and now the NBA.
47:07
And that's massive for me. And so I'm really excited to get
47:11
started and to and to kind of figure out that new world and
47:16
figure everything out. So I don't have an answer for
47:18
you. I don't know what Shannon's day
47:19
looks like. It's TBD.
47:22
It it's awesome and let's end like this.
47:26
I'm going to encourage everybody to go to your Instagram page
47:28
because I don't you know, I everybody says, boy, Kenny,
47:32
you're a social media guru. I'm like, look, all I can do is
47:34
talk. Shannon, I want you to teach me
47:37
because I went through your Instagram last night and I loved
47:41
however you did that where you you took us through your morning
47:45
at that, that video of how you go through your morning.
47:48
I love that. And you are a go getter.
47:51
I had no idea that you were that early of a riser.
47:55
I mean, you're up when it's dark and you're digging.
47:58
I have a here's another philosophy thing.
48:01
So I have a quote on my gym downstairs and it's from Kobe
48:05
Bryant, and it says we are not on this stage because of talent
48:09
alone. We're on this stage because of
48:11
4:00 AM and I, I just like I have it on my wall in my gym and
48:17
I really kind of referenced it a lot when I was doing triathlons,
48:20
but I still look up at it all the time and it's just putting
48:22
in the time. It's like it's like what we said
48:24
earlier, it's like you can't get the opportunities unless you put
48:27
in the time. And for me like that, that time
48:31
is sometimes in the morning, like when I would do my
48:32
triathlons and I would have to do like a 60 mile bike ride.
48:36
I would get up at 3:30. Sometimes I'd get on the bike,
48:39
I'd ride, I'd ride 30 miles before I got my kids ready for
48:42
school and then and I drive 30 miles after my kids.
48:45
And listen, the only person that's going to be hurt by not
48:50
putting in the time is yours truly, right?
48:53
When I line up to get tonight like a marathon and I have 26.2
48:57
miles. Do you think that like the, my,
49:00
my family who's waiting for me at the finish is going to be
49:02
hurt if I didn't do my 420 mile runs?
49:04
No, I'm going to hurt If I don't do the homework or the research
49:08
before I do an NFL game. The only person that I'm hurting
49:11
is me is because I'm not prepared for something.
49:14
I'm uncomfortable. I don't, I don't enjoy it as
49:18
much. I'm, I, I feel out of sorts.
49:21
I feel so I so I have to put in the time.
49:24
I have to go through my processes and a lot of time that
49:27
starts very, very early in the morning.
49:29
Shannon, this was wonderful and let me tell you why.
49:33
Like a philosopher. Well, not even that because I'm
49:38
the same as you and I get so tired of people that why me if I
49:45
could have. And there are so many great
49:48
stories out there that, you know successful people that either
49:54
control their own self. I have this philosophy that you
49:59
know, you're in control and that if you're not up, get up, be
50:04
ready. So when the day really starts,
50:07
like, you know, 839 o'clock, when businesses open up, you've
50:10
already beat them. You, you, you know, you, you've
50:13
already, you're already ready. If if you're getting ready at 9,
50:17
you're behind. And I love that.
50:21
I also think though, Kenny, I and one thing I've learned over
50:23
the years is I also think that you need to allow yourself to
50:28
not be, not be like, like, what's, what am I looking for?
50:32
Like if things are not going well, like you just said, like
50:35
change it, right? The only person that could do
50:37
it. But I also think that you have
50:37
to allow yourself to feel. And there are moments where I
50:41
remember I posted something the other day where I was like
50:43
sitting on the bathroom floor, like just, I think I was talking
50:45
to one of my kids. They walked out and I laid down
50:47
just kind of just right, like just lay down.
50:50
And I was like laying there and I was like, you know what, I bet
50:52
you there's somebody else that's laying on the bathroom floor
50:54
right now. And I was like, and I took a
50:57
picture and I posted it and everyone going, are you OK?
50:59
Are you OK? And I was like, yeah, I'm OK.
51:02
I'm having a moment, right? Laying here just thinking about
51:05
how big the world is and how heavy it is.
51:07
I'll be fine. But I have to allow myself to
51:09
sit here right now. And I know that there's someone
51:11
else out there who's feeling the same way.
51:12
And so that wasn't about me trying to get people to like,
51:16
OK. I just wanted people to know
51:17
like, hey, you're not alone, man.
51:19
Like we're there are other people that are laying on the
51:21
bathroom floor right now trying to figure shit out in their
51:24
life. And, and so, yeah, that's,
51:26
that's I, I just, you know, again, like you said about being
51:30
a philosopher, there's a lot of experiences that I've gone
51:32
through in my almost 5 decades, good, bad and different.
51:36
And I, I'm not afraid to share those things.
51:38
I'm not afraid to talk about the the not so pretty things.
51:41
Shannon, I'm a philosopher too. And your life.
51:46
This is a message to everybody that helped me.
51:48
Your life will not change until you change your life.
51:54
A lot of us, a lot of us feel like that.
51:57
The man's holding me back. No, you can do whatever the hell
52:00
you want to do. You just figure out a way to do
52:02
it. OK?
52:03
Listen, you're awesome. And we are in podcast form,
52:08
everyone, Spotify, iTunes. Listen to Shannon on the way to
52:13
work. You're going to listen to her on
52:15
the way back home. And we're showing up on podcast
52:20
and Charlie's doing a great job. With you, my friend.
52:23
Thank you. Thank you so much, Shannon.
52:25
I love you. You're wonderful.
52:27
You're, you're kicking ass. I think you're so funny.
52:29
When I watch your coffee with Kenny, it's just like this.
52:31
It's like, hey y'all. Come.
52:35
On just and you just make me smile like I'm just like, yes.
52:41
So I, I need your, I look up to you because I think you're
52:45
really good at what you do. Do do you think I do a good job
52:49
at like OK, coffee with Kenny's that person And then here is
52:55
more kind of do do you see a difference?
52:58
Because that's what I'm going for.
52:59
I'm going for the difference coffee with Kenny as I get up.
53:03
This is what's on my mind and this is celebrating people's
53:07
life. I.
53:08
Do absolutely, but I mean, like with anything, like it's not
53:12
just like you've prepared to talk to me.
53:15
You have certain questions. It's not just like Kenny just,
53:18
you know, giving his thoughts on on something that this was, you
53:22
know, thoughtful and I I do have to tell a story.
53:25
I don't I you know what, I bet you I still have the video.
53:28
Was it Texas? Really, My, my, my, my phone is
53:31
always right here. So I I easily go to people's
53:34
things. We were leaving Texas, right,
53:38
And I think like I was just telling my boyfriend about this
53:41
this morning when I was getting ready for this, I was like, I
53:43
love Kenny. We were leaving Texas and we're
53:45
in the car together. I don't remember who was
53:46
driving. Maybe Jamie and his his like we
53:50
call it hits and and TV, right? His his live shot or whatever
53:53
got killed and you were in the backseat and you were like,
53:55
damn, I worked really hard. I had practiced.
53:58
I was ready for that. And I was like, you know what,
54:00
let's do it, Kenny. And I just hit record on my
54:03
phone and you did the whole thing in the car.
54:07
Thanks, John. Have you ever wondered what it
54:09
was like? Do I have to wait for something
54:12
that you wanted so bad in your life?
54:14
It's like TikTok, TikTok. Well, tonight, that's what it's
54:19
like for DJ Kennington. He's in the second dual 150 and
54:24
he's waiting to make the Daytona 500.
54:26
He is not locked in right now. He's sitting in his motorhome.
54:29
He's a bundle of nerves. His heart is going pitter
54:32
patter. But also he has to keep an eye
54:35
on these drivers in the first duel because we have these new
54:37
rules their cars are dancing around.
54:40
So he's going to watch them and see where he can make the pass
54:43
to qualify for the Daytona 500. Cut, cut, clip it, Emmy.
54:48
And I was like, hey, see, it didn't go to it didn't go to
54:51
waste like you. You prepared and we did it.
54:53
Are awesome. So OK, look here everyone, just
54:57
so you do it. This is her Instagram page and
55:02
it is fantastic. And there it is.
55:06
There here I'm going to push on it.
55:09
There it is. That's that picture is so
55:12
badass. Everyone's like, you look so
55:14
cute when you're pregnant. I was like, no, I didn't look at
55:17
me. I mean, my goodness, my nose was
55:21
like out to here. My I'm wearing, I'm wearing an
55:23
expandable fire suit. Like, what in the heck?
55:27
Who thought that was a good idea?
55:29
They made that for you. I would have to go into where,
55:32
wherever the place is here in Charlotte that did the fire
55:35
suits back then and they would have to put panels in like.
55:38
Every two weeks. We had to go in and get the
55:40
panels put in you. Had two people in you, so that's
55:44
tough. All right, everybody listen up.
55:46
We've already said goodbye once. And Shannon, thank you so much.
55:50
And until the next, any conversation everybody, we have
55:54
some good ones coming down the pipeline.
55:56
So just stay tuned right here to Kenny conversation Until next
56:00
time, we'll see you all later. Bye, yeah.