Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / History Made: Rajah Caruth Wins Vegas Truck Race!

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History Made: Rajah Caruth Wins Vegas Truck Race! · Kenny Wallace Media

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  We are now joined by our winner of tonight's race, Raja Kruth
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  Raja History Making Performance. Tonight, in the 20th anniversary
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  of the Drive for Diversity program, Drive for Diversity
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  graduate wins a race, becoming only the third African American
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  driver to win a NASCAR National Series race, joining Hall of
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  Famer Wendell Scott and of course, Bubba Wallace.
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  What's it like to hear that and make history like you did
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  tonight? Yeah, man, it's it's pretty
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  speechless. You know, It's been a tough
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  journey so far and a lot of people have, you know, helped me
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  get to this point and thank you every single one of one of y'all
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  and definitely ups and downs, but this journey has been
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  fruitful at times and and testing at times.
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  But I'm just super grateful for Mr. H because he's the only
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  reason why I got in this thing full time, you know, in this,
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  this winter. It was a lot of uncertainty
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  about where I'd be driving, you know, not having you know, a
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  bunch of funding behind me at the time.
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  And I just stay true to my faith and and my family.
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  And fortunately a lot of people will just put a lot of stuff
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  together for me to be in the spot.
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  So I'm glad I made the most of it tonight and and be locked
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  into the playoffs. What were those final laps like
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  for you? What was going through your head
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  at the time? Honestly Jeff, I was just like
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  thinking what I need to do if like a caution came out, you
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  know just trying to make it live to the end just of with how my
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  balance of my truck was all night but just being prepared
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  for anything, all right. It's easy to get really excited
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  and stuff and get miss your Marks and and just get caught up
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  in the moment. I just try to execute and and
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  fortunately no yellow came out and it worked out for us Bob.
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  Hawker is Fox Sports I2 the 1st as a kid in DC playing or doing
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  this on iRacing, how feasible did you think this moment was?
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  Man, it was a lot of days, especially in high school, that
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  I did not think I could get here.
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  Bob, like, I can't tell you how many times, you know, I was at
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  internship in my junior year working at, you know, the GW's.
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  It's like their basketball court or whatever in the box office
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  and just working on my website when I was just, I racing.
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  And a lot of those days, I didn't think this would be, you
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  know, at all possible. So I just got to thank my dad
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  and my mom, my sister, just because they've no sacrifice a
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  lot to move me to North Carolina to be a product of the NASCAR
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  driver diversity program. That's really cool.
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  That's 20 years. I didn't know that.
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  That's really cool. So shout them, you know Max
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  Siegel and and NASCAR for believing in me from jump just
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  because I think a lot, not a lot of people did.
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  But hopefully they they start now.
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  And this might sound like a weird question, but do you know
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  what happened to your name on the back of the truck?
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  Because it like the R Have you seen it?
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  I haven't. I've not seen.
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  It it looks like it, says Kaputh.
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  It doesn't say Carruth, so you have no idea.
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  Well, that thing was was so good then it just blew the decals
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  off, I guess, Yeah. Chris then Jim and then over
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  here. Chrislikecatchments.com Congrats
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  Without Hendrick Motors or Rick Hendrick and Hendrick
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  hendrickcars.com. Would you race the full schedule
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  or were you just had the sponsorship for those 10 races?
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  It would have been tough. You know, like I said, not
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  having a family that owns the team or or having, you know, not
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  being born into this, right? So I just, I got really lucky
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  and fortunate that we started that relationship last year and
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  that they believe in me enough to to have me represent them not
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  just, you know, here at the racetrack, but at the things
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  that I do, you know, away from from the track.
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  So I'm just super thankful, Chris, and excited for more.
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  Jim. Jim Utter, Motorsport.
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  Dot com. Congratulations obviously.
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  The wind is huge. But you have had like a really
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  spectacular start the first three weeks of this season.
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  Just in general. What?
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  How? How do you?
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  Take in the. Start of this year, man.
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  I don't know. I'm glad it's off week next week
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  get to spend some time with some people, some really good people
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  in my life. But and I don't know, it's it's
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  just a testament to my team. You know everybody aspires been
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  pulling the One Direction and and they've done a great job for
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  giving us 4 fast trucks. But also you know getting the
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  cup stuff where where it used to be in closer to where it needs
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  to be. So everybody's been working
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  hard. Like I said in my TV interview,
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  the decal shops been early busting their tails you know
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  with same with our marketing department our PR folks and
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  obviously you know our parks room guys and everybody at the
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  shop. So I just I'm really grateful to
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  for today and just trying to take in the moment and and like
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  I said hopefully people stop writing me off then.
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  Go here in the middle. Hey Rodger, Erica, UW, Robo
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  Report. Roger, you said you weren't born
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  into this, So what would you tell other kids that maybe come
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  from the similar backgrounds of you that weren't born into the
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  racing industry that one day would like to be in your shoes?
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  Well, I think for me, I guess it's not easy, right?
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  And if you think it's going to just wake up and be on air in
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  front of you, it's not. But you just got to put in the
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  work right and and listen and emphasis on listen because, you
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  know, I think about my first years, you know, racing on on
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  our racing and learning how to be fast on there and then making
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  a lot of mistakes. And honestly it was kind of the
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  same when I started in real life and I just listened to people
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  that wanted to help me and I put in the work the the late nights,
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  the early mornings showing up and I I caught some breaks for
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  sure. But I'd say to those kids
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  because I know it's a lot that are out there that we're in
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  similar spots as me, that y'all can do it.
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  It is just got to put in the work and pay attention and and
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  just do the right thing and it'll work out.
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  Go to Dustin and then we'll go over here.
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  Dustin, let me know. Jason, Congrats.
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  Raja getting a win so early in the season.
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  How does this change your mindset for the rest of the
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  regular season? It doesn't really.
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  I just feel relieved, right? To To be, you know, locked in a
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  playoff spot besides that, man. I mean, it doesn't change
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  anything, right? We we prepare just as hard and
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  do all the little things right, the best way we can each race
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  and adjust accordingly so it it doesn't really change my outlook
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  for the rest of the season. I definitely feel relief because
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  I literally haven't won anything since I was racing late models,
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  so I've been really close and the ARCA stuff I raced over the
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  the last couple years and obviously a couple times last
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  year, so to finally get a win, it's been a long time, but it
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  feels feels special. Was obviously one of your
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  biggest mentors. Have you been able to chat with
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  him yet? Nah, But I mean, we will at some
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  point. It's no biggie.
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  Go over here. Tom Zielinski, Iron County today
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  congratulations Roger. As the penalty as all the chaos
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  was unfolding in the just before you took the lead again, what
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  are you thinking as you're seeing all, as you're hearing
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  all the penalties in from the other drivers on the radio and
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  they were all falling back. Did you have an?
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  Was that your opportunity, that your moment to try and get to
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  the front? What what was the thinking?
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  So was it was those speeding penalties?
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  What was it? The 98 speed, 98 speed.
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  So man, so I I waved off A2 and I saw, he waved.
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  I was like, OK, so he's judging how far he was away from me.
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  Like I could try to sneak up to him to get to the line and we're
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  going three and three and four and I'm at my hots point, I'm
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  like he's still going. So I'm like, OK, I need to just
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  back it down. And I had to give back a lot in
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  my first section or two just to make sure I didn't speed.
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  And I just honestly, I was like, no way.
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  Like, I didn't expect that to happen.
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  But I'm just grateful that the work kind of paid off there.
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  I've I've really put in the effort to be be good at the the
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  Pit Rd. stuff for from learning in my Xfinity races to
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  practicing it on our racing. I'm just glad it all worked out
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  for sure. Go here in the middle and then.
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  Hi, Roger Crystal Clay from racingrefresh.com.
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  Can you just speak a little bit more to what it's like to have
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  the support of your family, especially here while you get
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  your first win and it's such a huge win.
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  Yeah. You know, I'm really glad that
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  the both my parents are here, especially, you know my dad.
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  I know my sister's watching too because they've been, you know,
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  my rock since you know, my dad took me to my first race.
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  Really. Both my parents did with my late
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  granddad and got me that first experience and really enabled me
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  to to put in the work and chase the dreams.
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  Like I said of, you know, living by myself in North Carolina.
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  Like I can't imagine for for a mom and for a dad to send their
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  18 year old kid to a completely different culture, a completely
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  different lifestyle, to live on on his own, work at a race shop
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  and be in a completely different environment.
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  But they just, I'm, I'm glad they're here and they've they've
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  been you know, with me every step of the way.
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  And that's honestly a blessing I've really had is is having my
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  parents, my sister, a lot of you know, really good close friends
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  and and others that have helped elevate me and help me during
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  the tough times and help me celebrate for the good ones go.
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  Here Brian Twining, Betts Roots Media Group.
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  First of all, congratulations. I just want to let you know
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  within the betting community, you've had a lot of supporters
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  these first couple of. Weeks.
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  Yeah. So it's funny you say that
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  because like so many people will be like, hey bro, I bet on you
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  tonight, so you better give me some.
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  And I'm like, OK, hopefully you didn't put a house on me, but
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  we'll see. Let me just tell you, there are
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  lots of people celebrating tonight, so I just wanted to ask
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  you, do you have any special plans to celebrate this
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  monumental victory? Well I had a bet with my my tire
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  specialist Peter that I was shotgun a beer in Victory Lane
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  but nobody got me a beer which I'm not complaining.
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  I I don't really drink anyway. But I don't know hang out with
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  my peeps tomorrow. I'm going home bro.
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  I'm flying back. Yeah, I'm, I'm a homebody.
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  I stay inside, so but I definitely just, I know I may
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  seem docile, but I'm just trying to take in everything just
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  because like I said, when the last time I won, you know, I won
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  like you know, two or three races in a row and I thought it
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  was going to be easy and then I was struggling for a lot of
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  times and had it close and slipped through my fingers a
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  couple times. So I'm just trying to take it
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  in. Go back up here, Jeff, and then
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  in the back and then Bob. I want to follow up on that
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  because it you joked during qualifying, they they said like,
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  oh looks like you maybe you have some dust in your eye or
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  something after you got the pole.
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  That was that was solely the truth.
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  That was, yeah. That was the truth.
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  That was not lying, OK? Because.
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  I was like, wait, how come you got emotional for the pole or
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  something, but not? You know, exactly.
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  That's what I'm saying, bro. Like, I mean, that would be kind
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  of weird, I think, like this whole race, you know?
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  But I don't know. Yeah, I was.
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  It was dust. I was not.
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  I was not lying. Go to Bob and then we'll go in
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  the back. Packers Fox Sports have a couple
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  more. Do you still go to Winston Salem
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  State? Yeah, So I'm a senior.
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  Hopefully. I don't have any homework doing
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  tonight, but yeah, I'm a I'm a graduate in the fall, so it'll
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  be nice to walk across the stage.
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  It'll be after the season ends. So it's great, you know, I can
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  go and see some of my classmates, my professors, but
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  I'm almost done. I got some credits left I got to
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  take care of. Will this make it any easier to
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  get some delay or some? I hope so.
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  Yeah, I hope so. I'll probably ask.
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  I'll just send a picture. Like, yo, I'm a little busy, so
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  maybe I can get some extensions now.
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  But it's been really cool with having the support of Winston,
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  Salem State, you know, they've, they've been behind me since
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  really I started driving when I was in late models as a freshman
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  there and you know, supporting me in the Xfinity races, in the
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  darker car and and other things I've done off the tracks.
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  So it's been great to represent them.
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  Just fine. What you do tonight that you
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  haven't done in a few years since you last won?
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  I don't know, actually, like I said, I'm just trying to take it
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  in just because. I mean, it's my first right?
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  But you never know what will happen again.
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  So what? Oh, oh, I'm sorry.
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  I I didn't really do anything different.
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  I think the last, you know 1012 races that I've done I've just
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  kind of just try to be pretty calm and just do the race that
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  best I can and and not let my guard down like Daytona let my
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  guard down there off of two and you know that led to all the
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  things there. But otherwise I think I've just
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  been keeping the same energy and it just worked out tonight.
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  So now you'll see what happens when I I get in.
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  Good stuff. Something.
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  I'm thankful for that. Go here.
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  Mitchell Brewer Black had sports Raja bouncing off that.
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  You had a lot of criticism after Daytona for the ending of that
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  race tonight. It seemed like a very well
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  executed race on your part, racing very clean passing guys
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  like Kyle Busch. What's it mean to just be able
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  to like have such a performance like that after Daytona and
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  everything that happened there? Man I think personally it's
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  great in in my own mind, right Because like like after Daytona
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  I I got a lot of Flack, man. And I really feel like I didn't
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  deserve it because it wasn't something I did on purpose and
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  similar things happened. The Xfinity race and the Cup
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  race and a lot of that stuff I just, I didn't really appreciate
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  because it it was again not somebody did on purpose and you
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  know it's it's racing right. But I think tonight you know,
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  earning the race, the win, tonight, racing clean like you
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  said I I learned a lot and hopefully it's just some
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  validation right. I think for myself it hopes just
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  because obviously you have your own doubts and you know self
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  talk is a really important thing and so it's it's great to kind
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  of get over that hump a little bit.
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  So I just got to keep going and you know, lean on on my circle.