Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / The Kenny Conversation - Episode #15 - 10x World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz

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The Kenny Conversation - Episode #15 - 10x World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz · Kenny Wallace Media

0:00
Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation, brought
0:04
to you by Jags, the leader in high performance aftermarket car
0:08
parts. Remember to go to jags.com for
0:12
everything and anything you need.
0:15
I'm honored today, I really am because you know, anytime you
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get somebody that's done it all in their discipline, the great
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and my dear friend Donnie shots King Donnie.
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How you doing my friend? I'm doing good today.
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Last weekend really helped. You know it's been kind of a
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atrocious year and I guess anytime you can win a marquee
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event, but let alone multiple it's, it's been pretty crazy.
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So still feel like I'm can be a big factor in in racing with the
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World of Outlaws. So it feels good today and
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obviously we get to get back on the racetrack tomorrow and see
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if we can can keep that momentum going.
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So I hear in your voice and listen Donnie, we're going to
1:02
get to that in a little bit. I understand what it's like to
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be as good as you are, not win as much as you want, feel a
1:11
little lesser. Do I still got it.
1:13
But let let's talk about that in a little bit.
1:15
You know, Kenny, conversation is just that we can go anywhere but
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let's talk about the good times and then we'll talk about how
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hard it is to stay fast every every race but.
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Let's just talk about the whole Eldora weekend, but let's go
1:32
with the big win. Donnie, you you win.
1:35
Let me get my glasses on. I got to tell everybody your
1:39
stats. It's my job to make you feel
1:41
good, buddy. Listen, King Donnie.
1:44
Donnie shots. 45 years old. Six time winner, six.
1:52
There we go. 6/6 time winner of the Kings Royal.
1:56
You win one more of these Kings Royal and you tie Steve Kinzer.
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Not just that, you are an 11 time Knoxville Nationals winner
2:07
which is the biggest race you all run ten time World of Outlaw
2:14
champion. Now I'm just going to stop there
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because everybody will get tired.
2:21
You've done it all. Okay, let's talk about this
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race. The track conditions were
2:28
insane. What was going through your mind
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when you said, Oh my God, they're going to go ahead and
2:36
run this race? And it's been raining all day,
2:39
all night. What were you thinking?
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Well, you know, it all starts with we all have phones.
2:46
We all, we all, we all have these preconceived notions of
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it's going to rain because it says 80% chance of rain, but.
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Is that 80% chance for an hour or two?
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I mean, we all become weather experts, so I think that kind of
3:00
drugs some of the atmosphere away from what actually
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happened. I mean, it rained in the
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afternoon from 3:00 to 4:00, o'clock and it had a few popup
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showers. But the way Eldora had been fast
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all week, it was pretty demanding racetrack even when we
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thought it slipped up. And every Sky's able to run
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around there wide open. So having got all that moisture,
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we knew it was going to be that sort of a racetrack and.
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I think there was 67 cars. Maybe I'm wrong there, but under
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King's Royal format you all qualify against each other.
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And the racetrack really stayed fairly well throughout the whole
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thing because it was fast. It was, you know, quick time was
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a 12/8. We drew an 81, so we were a
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couple cars from the end and ended up qualifying 24th.
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So I didn't feel like that was too bad because most nights
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we're 2 to 2 1/2 tenths off. Of what QuickTime is.
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It's just kind of where we've been for the last 3-4 months.
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So you kind of have to take that into factor you know is to to
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what goes on. Because I think people play
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games with the format at the Kings Royal because they invert
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the heats and it's all about winning that heat race.
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Once you once you get past the heat win qualifying doesn't mean
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anything. So yeah it it believe me Kenny,
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at my age 45, I don't look forward to running around track
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record speeds for 40 laps but. You know, my guys did a
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phenomenal job of giving me a race car that was it was easy to
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drive in those conditions. We just sailed right around and
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I think a lot of it had to do with being in that six seat race
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and winning that. That put us on the pole.
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And you know, we we had clean air virtually the whole time.
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We didn't have any trouble getting through traffic.
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It was fairly choppy, but that's where clean air in our type of
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racing right now has. Has a distinct advantage and it
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was kind of that way all week long.
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So I wish we could go back and do those same things two days
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prior because the payday was more than five or six times more
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than what the Kings Royal was. But it was still a really good
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payday. It's still one of our marquee
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events and has a lot of history to it and in front of a record
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crowd. I think that says a lot about
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the state of dirt track racing for us.
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Man, I tell you what, there's three things that you just
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talked about #1. Even when I go to Volusia now
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and we think it's dry or super fast, you know, where where is
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all the grip coming from in these tracks that look dry?
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I noticed that. I noticed that I go to a lot of
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promoters, workshops, I give motivational speeches, you know,
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keep the dust down, keep the dust down, keep the dust down.
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And I think along with that makes grip in the race track so.
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You know, who knows what they're doing?
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Are they adding any chemicals anymore?
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I I don't know. The other thing, you know, the
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elephant in the room, Donnie, who can sandbag properly.
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I I don't know how to sandbag. If I sandbag, I'd miss the race,
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you know? Did David Gravel's sandbag, you
6:13
know? The the big money in racing.
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Now, these are all things that we want to get to.
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So let's start with the first one.
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And now you brought these up and I like these.
6:25
What's going on, in your opinion, with tracks that look
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dry but got enormous grip? Well, I can't speak for any
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other cars other than than what we have, but there has been,
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yeah, it has, you know there, there has been a change in the
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tires, you know. Last fall, Hoosier went tire
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testing and they and they wanted to make a change because they
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hadn't in a long time and we were kind of a part of that
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process. They they heard we were going to
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go testing in Charlotte. So they sent us a couple sets of
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tires and when we ran them, it wasn't per se a tire test.
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We were going there, doing an engine test and trying to work
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on our car stuff. And after we did all that, we,
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we bolted these two sets of tires on and I was like, wow,
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these things are they're unhook the cars.
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It kind of puts it back in the driver because Sprint cars used
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to be the hardest to drive down the straightaway, not the
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corner. And man, I'm telling you, you
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had to be on your game down the straightaway.
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You couldn't just run in the corner wide open and the car be
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stuck. It was, you know, it's kind of
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everything was all floppy and moving around.
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It just wouldn't stick it like it did.
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So I thought, man, if they do that, they're going to go back,
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You know, the racing's going to change drastically.
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But. Then when they went and did a
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tire test, you know that wasn't the actual direction they went.
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They they obviously tried to make the the product better.
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And you know what it's like when you do something different.
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You're damned if you do. You're damned if you don't.
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And and I think what we got going on is this.
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We actually have the car stuck harder right now because we have
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the right rears are actually stuck harder on the car than
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they were previous and the lepers aren't.
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And so a lot of race tracks we've seen this year where we're
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dragging the left first through and just you know people don't
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lift anymore. We don't the the paces are so
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torrid. There's so much on the line.
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It's so competitive. Everybody's got good stuff that
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we're dragging these tires through and we create our own
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rubber just from drag and left for tires and we've seen it for
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a good month or month and a half there and and people are doing
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they know they got to do things to these race tracks to keep
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them speeded up and. Try to keep them from doing
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that. So that's where I think you're
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seeing a lot of that. No one wants to watch a rubber
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race, but I don't think anyone wants to watch a hammer down
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race either. So the most thankless job in
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this entire industry, in this entire sport is track prep,
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track maintenance, promoting. It's not I've been there and
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done it it's it's not as easy as everyone says.
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I mean you go to places that that.
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I think when they do water, it makes it sandy or and dustier,
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but the fans don't really understand that side of it
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because they're not at race tracks every day.
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So the promoter does what the fans want and that's great.
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They're they're what makes the world go round.
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So sometimes I think we were caught in that crossfire,
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whether it's do we have a great show or do we just keep the dirt
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down. But as long as we got people in
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the stands, I think that's what's most important.
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Yeah. So we're going to try as hard as
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we can to stay on that. You won the King's Royal.
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You're the King. King, Donnie.
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But you talk so well. That reminds me of this.
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Something that I've been saying for about a year is my Big
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Brother, Rusty. I love Rusty.
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He's smart. He's a winner, Rusty, says
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Herman. It's, it's sad to say, but you
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have to remind people because if you don't, they remember what
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they want to. So I do want to remind everybody
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that your dad, a great man, he was.
10:01
Invited me up to Fargo and you and your dad promoted a race at
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the Fargo race track USMTS modified race.
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And Donny, I'm bragging on you right now.
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Your your family taught you well because when I went to that race
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you were already great. But what I witnessed was you
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your father. I don't know where your sister
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was or what was up but. You were in there icing beer
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down. You were running the event.
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That was your job. Where did this work ethic come
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from? Because I'm sitting there, I'm
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looking damn Donny Shots, icing beer down, working behind the
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counters. Is that what your family's all
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about? Absolutely.
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That's how we were raised. Obviously we're in the truck
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stop business and you know, that's where I'm at right now.
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That's where my office is at. I got, I was able to take my
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father's office after he passed, but.
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You know, racing. Something about that, Donnie.
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I loved your dad. Great man.
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Thanks Kenny. You know racing something that
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that we've since I was old enough to do it.
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That's what we all enjoyed. You know our my entire family.
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So when we had the Red River Valley Speedway you know you
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just you had to do your part. People don't volunteer at race
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tracks anymore. It's all you know how it works.
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It's just like any other job or any other industry and I guess
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race is just something that we took is.
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Next level and and we we were able to have a lot of great
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people that were a part of it and a lot of them work for us
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right here today and come from that racing background.
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So you do what you got to do. I don't think there's anyone in
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my family that'll tell you, well I'm not going to do that that's
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not part of my job description. There is no job description.
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It's whatever it takes and especially when it comes to
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racing there was no punches pulled.
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So you know it's it was an honor to do it.
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It was something that also. Because we had four members of
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our family that were passionate about racing and we're all work
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together in business. When we put it in the race and
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it got to be a little bit too much because my father had an
12:05
idea one way, I had an idea the other, and then you take in two
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females, my mom and my sister, it got to be a challenge, so.
12:14
I can honestly tell you yeah, when we.
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When it it wasn't a sad day when when we couldn't do it anymore
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because it allowed. You know us to still race and do
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what we love to do, but yet step away from having racing as a
12:29
business side and and promoting because like I said, sometimes
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it doesn't matter what it is. Sometimes the your biggest
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supporters can also be your biggest critics when you have a
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race track. And believe me, I enjoyed it.
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It was a good life lesson, but I don't know that it's a career
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path for me or or anyone in my family.
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Donnie, the world of dirt racing has wonderful, wonderful race
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fans. They love it.
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But. They all go to work on Monday.
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Most of them do as as I look at you right now, I'm doing what
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any Dirt Racing fan would do. I'm looking at your files in the
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background. I'm looking at your folders.
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So I know you, but I'd like for you to give a glimpse of your
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lifestyle to everybody else. I admire you because I tell
13:17
everybody I said listen, you know, we interviewed, you know,
13:22
the big cat. Brad Sweet.
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And he said there's only about three or four of you that really
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make a good living 7 Do you know that?
13:30
Try to make a living. But Donnie, look.
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Look at you right now. You're you're at the truck stop.
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You're a businessman, fly your own plane.
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But I know dirt racing is a passion of yours.
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Can you paint at they, as they say on AM radio?
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Paint, Paint the picture right now.
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Where are you at? What besides racing, What do you
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do for a living? Tell me about this truck stop
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business. Well, Kenny, it all starts back
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to, you know, when I was younger out of high school is when I
14:03
started with the World of Outlaws.
14:04
And you know, college wasn't a path for me.
14:06
All I cared about was racing. I was going to race with the
14:08
World of Outlaws and be a bum. If that's what it took it, it
14:12
nothing else resonated. And my father?
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Always. My father always instilled in
14:18
me. You know you need to.
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Think about this here a minute. You need to have what if you get
14:23
hurt. I'm not going to get hurt.
14:24
You know you you know the the older generation always has
14:29
thinks ahead. They think for you and I I
14:32
didn't none of that matter. Like I said, I would have run
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away from home to do it. And I'm glad that, you know it
14:40
took me some period of time. You know, I probably 10 years
14:43
after I started before I started to sink in like, hey, I'm here.
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I'm no good. What am I going to do?
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You know I had a great support system but yet at some point you
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want to stand on your own 2 feet just like your your your family
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has and create something for yourself.
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And my father and I, you know, we started getting it.
15:04
We got partners in the car wash business and in 2004 so it was
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seven years after I started and I was you know went went to the
15:13
bank and borrowed money to to start the wash and my father and
15:16
me became partners and. Just kind of seen how it all
15:19
worked and from a different perspective, even though my
15:23
focus was 100% racing for my entire life, but when you then I
15:27
could tell you, well I'm going to race till I'm 70 years old.
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Well, I think we all know that's not realistic in our environment
15:33
or any environment. So as it started to you start to
15:37
get involved in those things, you realize hey this is really a
15:40
smart plan because what if. I do get hurt.
15:44
What if something happens? What if I'm not good enough?
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There's there's a lot of what ifs that you really don't even
15:49
want to ask yourself, but you should.
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And so I started down that path and and you know, my father was
15:55
very diverse, involved in a lot of things, not just the truck
15:58
stop business. But he wanted to own his own
16:00
properties and he'd he'd meet people that would be like, hey,
16:04
I need a building. He'd say, I'll build you a
16:05
building, I'll rent it to you. So we started to, you know,
16:08
commercial real estate and rental properties and all these
16:11
things and. And it's done very well for him.
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It's it's the things that it allowed me to get started in
16:18
racing and we have our own team and and get us to the point
16:21
where we were able to you know hey we got this opportunity to
16:24
go racing with Tony Stewart and not have to be on the ownership
16:27
side. So we can focus on our business
16:30
and still go race at the highest levels that we want.
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It was like a a no brainer win win situation and when that
16:37
happened it allowed me to be home more.
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Focus less on trying to manage a race team and and people who
16:44
don't want to be in North Dakota.
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You know, North Dakota is my home.
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That's where I I was born. It's where I'm going to die.
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Yeah, it is. The home is home.
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And you know, that's so, you know, I don't sit here and and
17:00
grind every day from 9:00 to 5:00, but part of it is being
17:05
here. We have several properties to
17:07
manage not just here but in my net where we grew up and you
17:11
know that was what my father took care of all those things.
17:15
It's whether it's maintenance in the parking lot every spring
17:18
from snow melt or just wear and tear.
17:21
When you have you know 2 truck stops that are 40 acres in size
17:25
each and and traffic going and out of here every day, there's
17:28
things that that just to keep up on it don't matter whether it's
17:31
a water retention pond that's starting to Slough on the walls
17:35
or. Or you got culverts out or
17:37
there's always something that needs to be fixed and that's
17:40
something that, you know, my father took care of all those
17:43
things and and then things kind of come back to me, not just
17:46
here but in Minot and at all our properties too.
17:50
And we still continue to build things even even a little more
17:53
diverse. So the latest, the latest builds
17:55
have been basketball academies. You know, both my sisters have
17:58
kids involved in basketball, so we have a basketball Academy at
18:02
each place and and some of the awesomest facilities in the
18:04
country, so. Always enjoy those things.
18:07
But there's not just one single thing that I do, you know, I
18:12
enjoy enjoy being here and you know, I have something that'll
18:15
keep me busy seven days a week, should I not race anymore.
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But racing still still me. It's still what I want to do and
18:23
thankfully thanks to Saturday, I think it kind of creates a a
18:27
narrative that a lot of people have.
18:30
Kind of said, hey, you know, I think you're probably getting to
18:32
the point where you should probably step away, but I'm I'm
18:34
not there yet. I'm, you know, I might be older,
18:38
but sometimes I might not push the issue as hard as I need to.
18:41
If I'm running 16th, I'm not going to tear a car up.
18:44
But you know, that's just the way it goes.
18:46
So there's a lot of aspects of life that that, but I enjoy all
18:49
of them. I kind of feel like right now it
18:52
seems like the more I have to do, the more on my plate the
18:55
easier it makes everything because you make a decision
18:59
right or wrong. Actions have consequences.
19:02
If you made a wrong one, you live with it.
19:04
If you made a right one, you live with it.
19:05
There's just it's just the way it works.
19:07
So I'm in a really good spot. I enjoy what I do.
19:10
So we call this Kenny conversation because that means
19:14
I get to talk too. So I I've got to say that I
19:20
admire you immensely. What I'm going to say right now
19:24
could could be considered all he and Kenny Wallace is corny he
19:29
but but listen Donnie and and I'm going to say this because a
19:32
lot of people watch this show. I want all my dirt racing
19:36
friends. I want Gordie Gundaker.
19:38
I want Nick Hoffman. I want all the Sprint car
19:42
racers. I'm going to tell Charlie
19:44
Marlowe our YouTube manager to edit this piece that you just
19:48
said you are the epitome of. Teaching these dirt racers what
19:54
life is all about. You you got truck washers, you
19:58
got truck stops. You got real estate, you got
20:00
baseball or basketball academies.
20:03
And and this makes it to where you you have a freer mind.
20:06
You can go racing. You're a great pilot.
20:09
You own your own jet. You you are what I want to be.
20:18
I had real estate. And I can promise you that.
20:21
I made money in NASCAR. I had a lot of rental homes.
20:26
I sold everything to David Reagan.
20:28
I cashed out. I put it in the stock market.
20:31
I'm kicking ass financially, too.
20:33
And I preach this to these I call dirt dippers.
20:36
My dear friends, I love them so much wearing the cargo shorts.
20:41
And like you said, you would have become a bum if that's what
20:46
you could do to stay dirt race. I'll be a bum.
20:49
I'll be a bum as long as I can just smell like ass and be be at
20:53
a dirt track. But then you get older and you
20:56
become 60 years old and you're like, OK, I'm done racing and I
20:59
still got to live. Donnie, I admire you.
21:03
I just wanted to get that out of my system.
21:04
I know everybody has heard this part.
21:07
This is an education for all dirt racers.
21:09
Money's got to come from somewhere.
21:11
It don't grow on trees and and and Donnie, just that's one.
21:18
I like you too, because you're good to me.
21:21
You're always nice to me. But buddy, you got it going on
21:25
and and that's part of my conversation.
21:27
I wanted to get that out. One reason I wanted to interview
21:31
you, because I knew all this about you.
21:34
You want to talk about racing now?
21:36
Yeah, I I enjoy that. I'm not going to lie, I've had a
21:41
great career. I've.
21:42
I've made a lot of money. A lot.
21:45
Of things. A lot of the things that that
21:47
I'm able to do don't come from being around racing it.
21:51
You know, I don't have an, I don't have an airplane because
21:53
of what I make racing. There's there's no question
21:55
about that. So I guess you know and then
21:58
there's some people that don't like it, that's fine.
22:01
That's just the way the world turns and.
22:03
I had a King of June for years, buddy.
22:05
I'm. You're my brother.
22:07
I'm with you. But that's right and.
22:10
And now I got to think about the next generation.
22:13
I got two nieces that that want to race.
22:15
In fact I got one that just left here 2 minutes ago on our way to
22:18
go race the spring car tonight in Rock Rapids, IA.
22:21
It's a 305 so and I got one that wants to the late model race.
22:25
So man I think you can tell that's going to become an
22:29
expensive proposition for me to keep two females racing.
22:35
If that's what they choose to do, I hope not.
22:37
But right now they're having fun.
22:38
They're 15 years old and it's enjoyable to see them.
22:42
You know, the hard path for them is, is they see like a lot of
22:47
other people that I'm surrounded by, they see the success, but
22:51
they didn't see the path. They didn't see the timeline.
22:55
So now they're standing there, one of them standing, one of
22:58
them standing in Victory Lane with me at King's Royal.
23:00
And I think she thinks, man, it'd be great to be here, but I
23:02
don't think they really understand totally the entire
23:06
path. It does not happen easy.
23:08
It does not have it quickly and it may never happen.
23:11
You know, that's an unfortunate part because there's a lot of
23:13
people that are never going to have them opportunities to stand
23:16
on those stages and get to that level.
23:19
But to some people, it doesn't matter.
23:20
They just want to race and that's where.
23:23
We're in one of them in industries and sports where
23:25
that's if you're okay with that, that's great and and I think you
23:28
have to have that attitude that you may never get there.
23:31
I've raced against a lot of great people, grew up racing, a
23:34
lot of great people that are, they're good with that to this
23:37
day, but they still have great careers.
23:39
So it's it's a pretty humbling position.
23:43
I want to talk about your God-given talent.
23:45
I talked to your boss about this, Tony Stewart.
23:47
He was the first person on Kenny conversation.
23:51
So. I want to draw attention to
23:55
something that I see you do, and I want you to comment on it.
23:59
So when the track gets extremely dry, and I saw you do this to
24:03
the World finals a lot. I'm a student of the sport and I
24:07
watch you. You have a talent that other
24:11
drivers don't have. You're able to keep your car
24:14
tracking straight on real wide corners.
24:18
You don't go in there. You don't get inside, but you
24:20
don't hang it on the right rear. Hang, hang, hang.
24:24
Lose forward by your ability that you play the a beautiful
24:31
piano. Your right foot.
24:34
You're breaking your eyes, your hands.
24:38
What is it that you think I know?
24:40
It's. I know it's a God-given talent.
24:42
What is it that you do, You know?
24:47
That rises you above the rest. When these tracks become
24:50
extremely dry and you're able to track right through the middle,
24:53
right through the slick, can you?
24:56
Do you know what you do? You know, I don't think that
24:58
it's a God-given talent, Kenny. I think it's something that you
25:01
acquire and it's something you learn.
25:02
It comes back to, you know, when I was younger I wasn't like
25:05
that. I mean, you talk to people where
25:08
I grew up racing at Houston, and they'll tell you.
25:11
I was good for two right rear wheels a week, one in the heat
25:14
race and one in the feet in the fence.
25:16
And I was good for a wing at night.
25:17
I mean, I was tearing stuff up and bouncing off stuff, But when
25:20
it was fast, or when the track was fast and wet, I was just
25:23
wide open, hammered down like what you see nowadays.
25:25
And I tore up a lot of stuff and I went to my very first PRI in
25:30
Columbus, OH, that's how long ago this was.
25:33
And I was with some guys that had taken me because my my
25:36
father couldn't go. So I was kind of like had
25:39
babysitters basically. And we were in the hotel lobby
25:44
of a hotel with a guy that I raced with up here and there was
25:48
a lot of, I mean back then to me everybody was a superhero.
25:53
Anybody who watched on TV was was in a I run into all these
25:56
people and I got introduced to the Hoosier people from this
26:00
person, and he's his. The way he introduced me is,
26:04
yeah, this is not his shots. He's really good till it gets
26:07
slick And then. He's in trouble.
26:11
It didn't hurt my feelings. It it was a motivator.
26:13
It was it was an eye opener and and I sat down and thought about
26:17
it and I think I I think I laid in bed for six months thinking
26:20
about it and I thought you know what, he's right.
26:24
These races that pay the money they're not hammered down wide
26:27
open there when you have races, all the races that pay big money
26:32
or all in the summer all in the heat and and they're all slick.
26:35
So if you don't learn how to race in the slick.
26:39
You're probably not going to ever win any any marquee events
26:42
or or anything, any money. So we started to to work around
26:48
on stuff. I've I've always raced with
26:49
great people. I've had great crew chiefs all
26:51
the way through my whole career and I realized after having a
26:56
couple of these guys, I'm like, huh, I've had some of the best
26:59
guys here and I'm have the same result.
27:03
So clearly we know what the problem is.
27:05
It's me. So you back yourself up to try
27:09
to just start doing things. Yeah, you got to start figuring
27:13
out how to get the car underneath you.
27:14
You got to figure out how to drive it a different way.
27:18
And I think when you're able to race 100 * a year like we do
27:21
with the World of Outlaws, that's like 100 test sessions
27:25
because I wasn't capable of winning championships.
27:27
So we just turned it into test mode.
27:30
And for me and I just kept doing different things that were
27:34
uncomfortable until I got to a point where something worked.
27:37
And once you get that feel figured out and what it takes to
27:41
get there, you that's what you strive for every night.
27:43
I still strive for that feel, even though once you get it,
27:48
it's very hard to get. But sometimes you you know you
27:51
can still get there. And you know, obviously we
27:54
didn't have that scenario on Saturday night.
27:55
That was probably one of the most demanding 40 lap races I've
27:58
ever been a part of and choppy and rough, but still there's
28:02
still some of that same. The same things you do in the
28:06
slick, like it's Charlotte and the slick you had.
28:08
To keep it straight. You got to keep it straight and
28:11
and that's what a lot of it is it's so it's it's a fine line.
28:16
It's like a double edged sword. And I think if you ask some of
28:19
the people that I've raced with the Rick Warner, any of the any
28:22
of the kerchiefs that have been with you.
28:23
I'll tell you when when you race with someone like that their job
28:27
is like them being on a double edged sword like you're living
28:30
on a razor blade you're. You know you're trying to find
28:34
that fine line and if you're not on that fine line and good
28:36
you're completely terrible. So it's it's just the nature of
28:39
the beast and it makes it tough for those guys but you know
28:43
they've they've all done very well and and my guys today are
28:46
are doing a great job. It's if you ask scuba, you know
28:49
the last couple years we're trying to get somewhere that
28:51
some days you just can't get to but that's that's what you
28:54
strive for. So when I race, I call them
28:59
idiosyncrasies, things you just don't.
29:02
Talk about because you're like, I don't know if anybody else
29:04
does this, but you know, you know, whether I race NASCAR or
29:08
Xfinity Series or a Super late model or now I'm in these mods,
29:12
you and I raced a lot of everything.
29:15
Would would you say that you got some idiosyncrasies that you
29:20
just don't talk about because it's not worth talking about
29:23
inside that car that make your car do some things you wanted to
29:28
do? Yeah, I don't know.
29:31
Not really. I guess I think there's times I
29:36
maybe of the fact that you, you know you're you're everybody
29:39
talks about being comfortable in the car.
29:42
I think comfortable in the car comes from a physical
29:44
standpoint. You know we know we're safe.
29:46
We know we have all these things in these cars.
29:50
But it's kind of like when I started racing when when these
29:52
cars went around there fast, we didn't have all these head
29:55
supports. So big thing was being able to
29:58
run a whole race and hold your head up.
29:59
Guys had straps. Today's environment doesn't have
30:03
that You know some of these guys that are $1.25 soak and wet,
30:07
they got to lay their head on the pillow and just like this
30:11
that's that's kind of that's that's that's exactly what it
30:14
feels like. I I'd love nothing more than you
30:16
know come Saturday night to say hey you know let's take the head
30:21
surrounds off these things and let's see who can make 10 laps
30:23
and hold their head up. I know I can because.
30:26
We grew up doing that, Steve Kinzer.
30:28
It was the same way. That's why all of us have necks
30:30
that when we go to the doctor they say hey you need to take
30:33
the sleep apnea test. I'm like I promise you it's
30:35
solid muscle. I don't have a sleep.
30:39
You know, I don't know that you can have idiosyncrasies When
30:42
things change like that. You know the the sports
30:44
evolving. You know we all wear head and
30:46
neck restraint all these all these things that that are a
30:49
part of what it is so and when you race that much.
30:54
I don't. I don't think I do, but maybe an
30:56
outside source would tell you I do in some way shape or form.
31:00
You brought up Steve Kinzer. Let's let's go at that.
31:04
Let's address it quickly. So you're you're quickly closing
31:09
in. You know sometimes people get
31:13
sad, you know, don't don't break Babe Ruth's record, don't.
31:20
Don't become an 8 time cup champion.
31:24
Don't you dare be better than Richard Petty.
31:29
You're my friend. Listen, I love Steve Kinzer too.
31:32
He's the king. We all know that.
31:34
As do I. Just your thoughts.
31:37
I want your your thoughts. I'm not.
31:39
You know, Kenny, it's never something that ever I ever
31:43
dreamt about. I dreamed about winning.
31:45
I dreamed about winning. I would.
31:46
I dreamed about winning a world of outlaw race.
31:48
I won a world of outlaw race. And then I won a second one.
31:51
And then I won another one. I dreamed about winning the
31:53
Knoxville Nationals. I've dreamed about winning a a
31:56
Kings Royal, a National Open, a championship, all those things.
32:00
And they kept going. And I'm very, very blessed for
32:03
that, Very, very fortunate for that.
32:06
But there's no one that's ever going to touch the ability of
32:08
what Steve did, nor would you even compare anyone to him.
32:12
He's won 600 race. He's forgot about more wins than
32:15
I've ever won his championships. Yeah, I've been able to get to
32:20
not equal him, but getting near him on on on a big stage at the
32:24
Kings Royal, the Knoxville Nationals at at the Williams
32:28
Grove National Open. We've managed to get ahead of
32:30
him. But it's but it's not it's not
32:32
about that. It's if we could have him in
32:35
today's environment, if we could have him racing the young guys.
32:42
Of today, it would make so much, so many more of them so much
32:46
better. I just feel lucky.
32:48
I feel like some of him was able to teach me things and and rub
32:52
off on me because that's what you look at.
32:56
You know when you race against guys like him, you learn things
33:00
from him and it's not from beating him, it's from getting
33:03
beat by him. And we all got beat by him for
33:05
the longest time. You know, like I said, I'm
33:09
fortunate for that. I wish he was still around, but.
33:12
He's not there was a there was a day coming.
33:14
I I actually got to call him a teammate at the end of his
33:17
career and that was that was really neat because I know what
33:21
it's like to have people come along and and they rival you and
33:25
not that someone stages it but because it just happens and
33:29
Stephen at Steve and I had that like I was winning races and he
33:32
was wanting to win races and we became teammates and and even
33:37
though we had utmost respect for each other.
33:41
It was trying to beat each other literally in in.
33:45
I think that both that excelled both of us.
33:48
So like I said, I'm fortunate to have raced against them and I
33:52
hope that maybe the things that I was taught from him and and
33:58
that things people see are things that maybe the younger
34:01
generation today is able to get from me.
34:03
So you know, I I know back in those days.
34:09
It was a different level of respect when you raced.
34:12
If you went and ran over him, I can assure you the conversation
34:16
was up in front of the truck and no one had a camera phone
34:18
catching it. And then the next day you were
34:21
having to explain why you had a black eye or why you had a puffy
34:24
cheek. We don't have those times
34:26
anymore. And you know, I guess that's you
34:30
had to dot your i's and cross your t's and and you raced a
34:33
certain way and that day is no longer, but.
34:37
It is what it is. So like I said, I'm just, I'm
34:40
just honored to have been able to learn from him and had him in
34:43
the sport and he has set the goal posts and there's no one
34:47
ever going to move those goal posts.
34:48
There's no one ever even going to get close to those goal
34:50
posts. So what we have done, I'm pretty
34:53
honored about. That is, that is emotionally
34:55
awesome to hear. I agree with you.
34:58
Let's just touch on the world of outlaw, the legend, the the
35:02
legendary. The World of Outlaws.
35:04
Wolfgang Wolfie, Opperman. I mean these names.
35:08
You know, I can go on and on. You know, one of my best friends
35:12
in life lives 30 minutes from me is Kenny Schrader when me and
35:17
Schrader would drink beer. And I wouldn't know who the
35:22
person is because Kenny Schrader knows I'm an asphalt dude.
35:25
But you know, I've been running dirt now for about 17 years.
35:30
Well. Somebody would come up and it'd
35:32
be an older gentleman. Schrader would give me a
35:35
shortcut after he get done during his very point he he'd
35:38
say hero, hero, whether it's Bobby Marshall, you know, the
35:44
late Bobby Marshall, the original World of Outlaws.
35:48
So my my question to you is, is the original World of Outlaws
35:53
versus the Pennsylvania posse that whole that whole thing
35:58
there. Have we lost it or is it still
36:02
around? It's still around.
36:04
I think it's still still the best racing.
36:07
But if you look back and you, if you knew Ted Johnson and you
36:11
knew how he did things, was there a little bit of smoke and
36:15
mirrors maybe? Ted Johnson, the owner.
36:18
The original. The the thing was, as he had, he
36:23
had Steve Kinzer, he had Sammy Swindell, he had all the greats.
36:26
But if there was a night where Steve Kinzer blew a motor.
36:29
In the dash and it looked like he was going to have a hard time
36:33
getting out for the feature. The fans didn't want to not have
36:35
a race with Steve Kinzer in it, so miraculously the lights went
36:38
out. And.
36:40
Then that's and and that happened many times but it you
36:43
got to understand it that's that's part of the entertainment
36:46
side. I think in today's environment
36:49
it's kind of like when you watch the the Chili Bowl when you you
36:54
talk about entertainment and I'm not knocking the Chili Bowl by
36:56
by any means but they say. If you're going to fight, let's
37:00
do it on the racetrack so we can put it on TV and let people
37:02
watch. Well, what are we watching this
37:04
for? We're watching it for racing.
37:07
So I don't condone promote fighting and I think sometimes
37:12
the entertainment side gets a little like you know they they
37:16
neglect if the racing side and I think that's something that Ted
37:20
Johnson definitely was the biggest race fan.
37:23
And when he left the track every night, he wanted to say, damn,
37:26
that was awesome. He didn't care if it was Steve
37:28
Warner lost, but the fans got a great show.
37:30
Whether he started in the back, started wherever that was his
37:34
product, his product was real. And it wasn't like WWE staged.
37:39
We get into some of that nowadays.
37:41
We want the perfect storyline. We want these things.
37:43
And I'm not saying it's fixed, but there's a lot of things that
37:46
you have to ask questions. How did the stars line up on
37:49
this one, Not just today, but tomorrow and the day before so?
37:53
It's it's kind of odd how that it's changed and and you know
38:00
you just have to deal with it. But I still have that look back
38:04
and I think about Ted all the time and how he did things.
38:06
What would Ted do? What would Ted do?
38:08
And we all know what Ted Ted would do.
38:10
And it was he was ultimately the biggest race fan.
38:12
And if it meant go out there and redo the track to put on a great
38:15
show, you do it. You do whatever it takes.
38:19
I I do this to everybody. I I, I got all these notes
38:23
because I I admire you and I haven't got the one of them.
38:26
That's how fun this is for me. So you bring up a good point as
38:32
an asphalt racer, if you have a flat tower, that means you're
38:37
unlucky and you're out or you know we're going green flag.
38:41
One thing that I noticed in that I do admire, I like this is that
38:46
all of you with the World of Outlaws, you're.
38:49
You're on the road all year long.
38:52
It's like, it's like, hey, I'm, I'm going from track to track.
38:54
Give me a break. The World of Outlaws, you have a
38:58
flat tire. They throw the caution and it's
39:01
like let him get his tire changed and let him start in the
39:05
back because this is the World of Outlaws they all want to see.
39:10
We've seen you guys come from the back to the front.
39:14
Just your your thoughts on something that I didn't grow up
39:18
with. But I see.
39:20
I know why they do it. I admire.
39:22
So my question is, flat tire caution comes out, you change
39:26
it. Race starts over.
39:29
That's the way you all do it. It's just the way they've always
39:34
done it. They want to get you back out.
39:35
I mean when you race 85 nights a year it's it's it'd be a slap in
39:39
the face to travel the country coast to coast twice and and you
39:41
know leave. You sit some night because you
39:43
you don't have a flat tire. But I can tell you it would make
39:46
guys race a whole lot different. But then there comes in that
39:49
factor of you know, local guys versus outlaw guys, you know
39:54
that that's been a a a huge thing forever.
39:57
Do they do it for everybody or do we just do?
39:59
It I've never noticed that. No, but I'm saying that the
40:05
reason they do it is, is for points chasers and when you come
40:08
local guy comes to your race, he's not really chasing points
40:11
he's just there for that night trying to do you know when when
40:14
a race or or have a respectable finish so.
40:18
You know it is what it is. It's always been that way and I
40:22
guess I don't have a problem with it.
40:24
They they they don't allow you to do it after halfway.
40:26
They don't wait for you. So it could come into a factor
40:29
for a championship at some point.
40:30
I don't know that it has realistically but you know the
40:34
fans come to see a race let them race.
40:37
You know it's but then if it if it drags a show out some night
40:41
where we got a 2 hour feature because 40 guys have changed
40:43
tires twice, you know it gets to be a little bit of a hiccup too
40:47
but. I I like to not be on the side
40:50
of those making those rules or or being a part of that, but
40:53
they've they've just done that forever.
40:55
Yeah, well, that's good stuff. All right, we got to get back to
40:58
Eldora. We we're 42 minutes into this
41:00
and we haven't talked about you being king, Donnie.
41:03
Hundred $175,000, you're going to get half.
41:08
We've already debullshitted this with a lot of people.
41:12
I don't know what you're going to get.
41:13
Doesn't matter. People are amazed with money,
41:16
Donnie. Money is so famous now.
41:18
Money, money, oh money, $1,000,000 to win.
41:22
Logan Schuhart, you know, Davenport, Superman in the late
41:29
models, $1,000,000 to win all of you out.
41:33
At use. It's 200 quarter of 1/4 of
41:35
$1,000,000 to win money. When and what is going on?
41:42
I love it. I think it's awesome, but I want
41:44
to hear your opinion. What's going on in the sport?
41:48
It's everywhere now. Everything's 50,000 to win.
41:51
And I mean over the last two years, what made this change?
41:56
Where's all the money coming from now?
41:59
It's competition. It's competitions among
42:02
different series. You know, you got the All Stars
42:04
are out there, you got the World of Outlaws, you got Kyle Arson
42:07
and Brad's new High Limits things.
42:08
It's one has to keep up with the other.
42:11
I mean it's just like you look at late model racing, they all
42:13
have. They have two premier series
42:15
that race against each other. So they have all these high
42:17
dollar paydays quite often. It's one trying to outdo the
42:20
other. It's one trying to compete
42:22
against the other, just like what we do every day, day in and
42:24
out compete against another person.
42:26
So I think it's great to see. I'm not not sure that we'll see
42:31
a million to win show again, but I look at that and just, I mean
42:36
believe you me, I'm not. I'd never throw a rock at doing
42:39
it, but it's like. Man, if that was my race track,
42:43
I think I'd be nervous as I'll get out because if you look at
42:47
the money that was paid out last week, there was over $2,000,000
42:49
paid out at Eldora last week and and that.
42:52
That's absolutely insane. I'm sure it takes all his big
42:55
shows to be able to do that one week.
42:57
So it really is Tony's kind side saying I want to give back to
43:03
Dirt Race and for giving to me, for supporting me and and his
43:07
fans and all that stuff. But the paydays that are out
43:09
there are are. They're getting up there and
43:12
they're incredible. But I kind of look at it like
43:15
this, Kenny, when I was looking the other night, we did an
43:17
autograph session up at the barn.
43:19
Someone said someone's going to win $1,000,000.
43:21
I said look down there in that infield, look down there, guy
43:25
goes, yeah, what about it? I said there's over $150 million
43:30
worth the equipment sitting in there.
43:31
So is racing for $1,000,000 really Look that grand?
43:35
No. And that's, that's the business
43:38
side of it. That look at the money that it
43:41
takes to to be able to do that. So when the monies get up there
43:45
it's warranted. I mean you know how much
43:46
everything cost. Everything's gone through the
43:48
roof with everything over and over and over.
43:50
So it's warranted. But then there's only one guy
43:55
that gets it and then and you know I guess we didn't get in on
43:59
the million but that's that's just the way it works.
44:01
That's the way racing is. You don't you don't cry over
44:04
spilt milk. I I feel pretty good right now
44:07
that we were able to leave Eldore with.
44:09
With the second largest payday of the weekend and and the of
44:14
the year. So that's a that's a pretty
44:15
decent thing. So we'll we'll make the best of
44:19
it and hopefully that that money stays there.
44:20
But I think a lot of it's driven from competition.
44:23
It's that you got series competing against each other and
44:27
there's nothing wrong with competition.
44:28
That's what they want us to do on the racetrack every day is
44:31
compete and put on the best show.
44:32
Well if that's what puts on the best show on the racetrack then
44:35
off the racetrack having competition is good too.
44:38
Yeah, I I I like everything you said there.
44:43
What caught my ear, what you said is don't look, don't, maybe
44:47
don't look at more $1,000,000 to win shows.
44:50
Do you think that was rare? Do you think we'll see more
44:53
$1,000,000 to win shows? Next year, I don't think we
44:56
will. I think it'll be several years
44:57
before we do. But I could be wrong.
44:59
I don't, you know I don't. We don't.
45:00
Tony and I don't speak about those things and aren't.
45:02
We're together. Our time is limited and.
45:06
Lately it's I've been getting up up to speed on what drag
45:08
racing's all about. So because because they had.
45:13
Because. They had a late model race in a
45:15
million. I think it was only justified.
45:16
They did a Sprint car race. So you don't have that
45:19
politically correct, not politically correct scenario and
45:23
but I don't think we'll have one next year if we do.
45:25
Well, kudos to him for figuring out a way to do it, but I don't
45:29
think it'll be for several years again.
45:32
OK, this is like a movie. Let's let's go back to the
45:35
start. So when you won the Kings Royal,
45:40
you said in your your interview after the race that you know
45:44
it's been a tough year on me. We haven't been running the way
45:48
I want to. You said we went upstairs.
45:51
I don't know if that means in your truck or trailer trailer
45:55
and you, you went after an old school setup and you went
46:00
through the holes, you went through the mud.
46:02
And you shot straight the whole way through the corners.
46:05
You weren't out of control. You have great driving ability.
46:08
What did you mean by that when you went back old school?
46:12
Well through the the development of the Ford Ford Motor program,
46:15
you know you make changes as you go as to to what evolves and
46:18
from when it started which was really good.
46:21
We've just made some changes and and had some direction that.
46:24
Obviously we didn't go the right way and and I haven't been able
46:28
to get anything to accelerate for the last couple months and I
46:31
in the in the summer heat it's gotten worse and so we've had a
46:35
a car in a motor upstairs in the trailer that we've hauled around
46:38
the last three years. It's some of the older stuff
46:41
that was more original that it just just for a spare car.
46:47
If we we tear a car up one night we pull it down and run it.
46:49
We put it back up there and build a new one after that and.
46:53
After running through three or four motors the first three
46:55
nights, Scuba said. You know what, I man, I'm out of
46:58
options here. I don't know what to do.
47:00
I guess we pulled the upstairs car down and see if the old one
47:02
runs. And I think the engine builder
47:05
actually told him he's like, you guys won't even make the show
47:07
with that thing. Well, you've seen what happens.
47:10
So it's just the the direction that we went.
47:14
It's it's hard to run 85 nights a year, Kenny, in different
47:18
tracks and sizes and airs and all these things.
47:21
And then. Feel like you got you got to be
47:23
an engineer on the two and and and make the decision as to what
47:27
we're going to do direction wise.
47:28
And so we just kind of went back to old school where it all
47:31
started and obviously we've since won that race kind of
47:36
revisited that direction as to what we're going to do going
47:39
forward. So I'm just glad we we were able
47:42
to do that and have something happen and and because that
47:45
thing run it ran really good and.
47:48
The car worked really good. Yeah, but at that point, Kenny,
47:51
we were, you know, we ran 7th the first two nights there.
47:55
We ran 16th the third night, but that wasn't anything to do with
47:58
other than us just trying something completely silly that
48:00
went the wrong way. So after that, and that's what
48:04
you do, I called it a Hail Mary and that's that's basically what
48:07
it was. And so the Hail Mary won us the
48:10
King's Royal, but it's also giving us a new direction as to
48:13
what we need to do to try to get ourself more competitive and
48:16
more consistent day in, day out. So I'm going to say something,
48:19
and maybe I'm wrong. Let's say I'm wrong, but I'm
48:23
going to say it and then you respond to it.
48:26
In the World of Outlaws, with with the wings, you need massive
48:31
amount of torque in a heat race. It's wet, you qualify, you line
48:36
up, you drop the green flag, and whatever you're going to get
48:41
most likely is going to be through turns one and two.
48:44
At the start of the race and then after that you follow the
48:47
leader and then you got to wait for the a main for everything to
48:50
dry out to start passing. You're telling me that you went,
48:56
you went, you went back upstairs got this motor so out everything
49:01
I just said there can you shed light on am I wrong or what's
49:06
up? No, we just took out the whole
49:09
car. It was the.
49:10
Spare the whole damn car. We just took the whole car out.
49:12
It was, it was a brand new car. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't.
49:15
It was, but that was our spare car as a brand new car and it
49:18
had the that that older motor in it and I thought it was 2 years
49:21
old, but it was really three years is what the configuration
49:24
was it something something back from, you know when Andy still
49:28
did the motors so. Did it have more torque?
49:32
You know, I don't know what the torque numbers were, Kenny.
49:34
All I can tell you is what I feel on my foot when I move the
49:36
pedal both directions and. And I I think what caught us off
49:40
was as we were trying to work on you know the Fords have a ton of
49:43
power a a lot of power and we were trying to corral some of
49:47
that at the end of the straightaway where we were
49:49
having trouble and we lost focus on we still got to get there.
49:53
They they always had a little problem getting going and and we
49:56
we needed to work on that too as well as try to get them under
50:00
control. So we just obviously made
50:03
changes to the not the right direction and.
50:08
We pulled that motor out and it was kind of a reset for
50:11
everybody to be able to say hey obviously in these conditions I
50:14
thought racetrack the way the summer air is that's what we
50:17
need to do and and believe me there's a lot of things
50:19
different about that but it's that's just live and learn you
50:23
know we when you're part of a program like that that's part of
50:27
the give and take and there's believe me there's been a lot of
50:29
give and it feels like not enough take some days but hey it
50:33
is what it is we were we snuck away from Knox over the win last
50:35
year we got a Kings Royal win. Hopefully we can take something
50:39
from both of those and try to put together what we need to be
50:43
more consistent so we can get back to racing for a
50:44
championship every night. I went through this exact
50:47
situation with my Toyota motors. I was with him for seven years.
50:51
I had so much power, but I could never feel it exiting.
50:54
It was all at the start. Finish line blew my tires off.
50:57
I'm like, get me back there in the middle of the I don't care
51:02
about that high car. Racing.
51:04
We gotta get going. Yeah, give me some torch.
51:06
So. We got that done.
51:08
Well, Donnie, we're we're 52 minutes already.
51:13
Let me ask a fun question here. What is it like we we don't see
51:18
very many sports where when you win the Kings Royal, they put
51:22
that Cape on you. They they put that hat on you.
51:26
What's it, what's it feel like when they do that?
51:29
You know, Kenny, the first time I did it, I was you'd watched it
51:32
happen. So when it happens to you, you.
51:36
You're pretty and all you're like, man, I got all those
51:38
people watching. I'm not sure what you're
51:40
supposed to do. It make you feel a little silly
51:42
putting a crown on. But you know everyone wants to
51:44
stay in there and do that. I was honestly, I was just in
51:47
awe. You know I've won that race
51:49
before. But standing there being able to
51:52
do it, it's just like man, I just in awe because our
51:55
performance I didn't feel like leading up to that was warranted
51:59
for being able to sit on that throne, wear that Cape and take
52:02
that crown and be able to win that race but.
52:06
All it takes is is is a hard reset like that to to get in
52:10
that position so it's it it really kind of mixes messes with
52:14
your emotions. As to the night before I was
52:17
16th racing for 16th and tonight I'm I just won the King's Royal.
52:23
That's what's in the back of your mind.
52:24
It's not instantly celebrating go hog wild you know And then
52:30
you're sitting there thinking I was thinking you know man what
52:32
do we got to do to make sure we're.
52:34
Get that thing for Wednesday and Friday and Saturday obviously
52:37
that you know you're thinking about what it takes to to what
52:41
got you there and make sure we can incorporate that because you
52:44
only get a couple minutes after the race is over really to.
52:47
Think of all of this right? All was.
52:49
Doing or this to that. And then it's time to celebrate
52:52
and and do all the formalities and sometimes it's hard to
52:55
struggle those emotions you try to.
52:57
It's not like your phone. You can pull your phone out and
52:59
start taking notes as to what you're thinking right then and
53:02
there. You got to keep them in your
53:03
mind. And I've been hit a few too many
53:06
times to keep all that stuff in my mind.
53:07
So you know, it's pretty surreal really.
53:10
It's pretty awesome to be in that position.
53:13
Well, when that's warranted, because you see Logan Shoe Art,
53:18
who won the $1,000,000, he missed the race.
53:21
He did not qualify track conditions.
53:24
Brad Sweet missed the race. He says he.
53:27
Brad Sweet said. I don't remember the last time I
53:30
miss an Amen, so I understand why you would think that way.
53:34
It's very humbling. But Donnie, you're still the
53:37
man. You're 45 years young, not old.
53:43
You, You've reminded everybody. You know you get what you need.
53:48
And and we know, like you said, the sports are very competitive.
53:52
It's not like we go winning. That's not what we call it.
53:55
So you're still the man. But that being said, we know
54:00
that Knoxville is the number one most prideful race for you all,
54:05
and then we know Eldora's second.
54:08
I'm still confused on what is third.
54:10
I don't know. In your opinion, what is?
54:13
What is the third event that you all consider the one?
54:20
I think it used to be the Lernerville Silver Cup that used
54:23
to have a you know, when I saw the race.
54:26
Yeah, Lernerville used to be we don't even go there anymore with
54:29
the world of Allah. So that that's kind of went by
54:31
the wayside. But it's hard to say.
54:36
The National Open at Williams Grove is is a really big payday
54:39
and it has a lot of history and man, that place is tough to to
54:42
win at. So it's probably, you know the
54:46
the National Open right now and they've done a great job of
54:48
making it a a bigger marquee event with it with a decent
54:51
payday and I've been fortunate to win that a few times so.
54:56
You know, And then there's Gold Cup of Chico.
54:58
There's so many. Yeah, Chico's got the Gold Cup
55:01
back. Brad's Brad promotes that.
55:03
And they run legendary. Yeah, it is.
55:06
It's, it's one of my. It's not my favorite because
55:11
I've been on fire there and it just seems like you go there, I
55:14
just can't get out of my own way.
55:16
It's like can't get out of sight on a dark night some days.
55:18
But that's just the way it goes at certain places.
55:21
But we have been able to win the Gold Cup a couple times so that
55:24
was pretty neat. But.
55:26
But we're we're building these new events.
55:28
Will the million be again, I don't know it I think if it
55:30
comes back it's it can only build on what it had but it's
55:34
hard to say there's we keep building building events all the
55:37
time and that competitions what's doing that.
55:40
So I just hope that regardless what happens they just continue
55:45
to have that competition. Donnie, we're at the end now.
55:49
My friend and I like to end with something nice.
55:54
So when we do these, we hope that the young kids watch these
55:57
and we hope that they learn a little bit.
55:59
So this is going to catch you off guard.
56:03
But Greg Deathridge is a dear friend of mine.
56:07
My brother Rusty Wallace used to race his father down there at
56:11
Pocola, Oklahoma, and I was a kid.
56:13
We raced there every Saturday night.
56:15
I'm from Missouri so it was Springfield, MO on Friday
56:20
nights. Fort Smith, AR Saturday nights,
56:23
but. The story is this and I got a
56:26
new thing. It's called the story in the
56:28
garage area. Okay.
56:31
So. So here's the story in the
56:33
garage area right now. I'm not going to say his name
56:37
because I don't know if he wants me to, but I'm over at Tri-City
56:41
Speedway in Granite City, IL on Friday night, this last Friday
56:48
night. Good race car driver walks up to
56:50
me. He said I watched your
56:52
conversation with Jonathan Davenport, he said.
56:56
I went ahead and went and got some glasses.
57:00
Man, I can see a lot better now, Donnie.
57:02
There are drivers out there that need glasses and don't damn know
57:07
it, I mean. There is Kenny and and I wore
57:11
glasses for a long time when and it's it's not that your eyes are
57:15
bad but but the shades of the colors of dirt and this and that
57:19
and I've wore them for a long time and.
57:21
And actually as you spoke of Greg there, I just started
57:23
wearing his optics you know and JD's the one that told me, JD
57:29
told me last fall at at Charlotte there he's like, man,
57:32
you got to get this guy does something with his lenses it's
57:34
like high def. It's like we're in high
57:37
definition. And I, you know JD and I were
57:40
having we both won Charlotte. So we were having a little fun
57:42
in the hotel lobby and. Glasses win races.
57:47
Well-being able to see a little bit better than everyone else.
57:50
Allows you to win races and and the one thing that you can never
57:54
get back is your eyesight so you want to make sure you stay on
57:57
top of it. But yeah Greg's done a great job
58:00
I I just got my new progressives here.
58:02
So when I when I work I have to wear the I have to wear stuff to
58:06
see close or distort. So I got my new progressives
58:09
where they go down into a little bit of bifocal but I'm having a
58:14
hard time getting used to them but on the racetrack I'm wearing
58:17
the regular ones in there. Pretty incredible.
58:19
So if you have any questions about vision, you must begin
58:22
getting you some glasses. Yeah And and this, I think the
58:25
reason I bring it up is I've just seen so much going on now
58:29
with with Joey Logano yourself, Jonathan Davenport, so many
58:35
racers wearing glasses now and winning championships and races.
58:38
So thank you for telling us your story there.
58:41
It, you know, the fans always want to know the things that are
58:44
private. But listen, that's it, my
58:48
friend. We could go another hour,
58:51
Donnie. Thank.
58:52
You. Let's do her again.
58:55
All right. Well, thank you so much, buddy.
58:56
And remember, everybody, we are in podcast form.
59:00
You can check us out on iTunes or Spotify.
59:03
These big shows are always an hour long.
59:05
Listen to it on the way to work, shut it off and listen to it
59:08
again on your way back home. Until then, Kenny, conversation
59:13
keeps on rolling. Thank you, Kenny.
59:16
Play Akshay Song.