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Episode 3- Kevin Ramey · Pushin' the Cushion

• Kevin Ramey: This is y'all's rookie at this or what? Jim Gardner: I'll have agent. This is our third one. Kevin Ramey: Maybe you to get Jeb in there to help you out. Slim Pushins: Welcome to the Pushing the Cushion podcast with Slim Pushings and Corby Scherb. For all your local and national sprint car updates, news, opinions, driver and team interviews, and behind the scenes insights and stories, I promise you've never heard. These two have no idea what they're doing or why they're doing it, so give it a try. If for no other reason, you'll be able to make fun of them for it. From the Rutherford team studio, please welcome Corby and Slim. All right. We made it all the way to episode, ⁓ number three, and, we've got a legend of the sport today. ⁓ as always, my cohost, ⁓ the only guy that refuses to watch anything on an airplane, just bare backs looking at the backside of the seat, Corby Sherb. Corby: Hi everyone, how are y'all doing tonight? Kevin Ramey: M2, I did the same thing. Slim Pushins: You Corby: I cannot wait to introduce this guy. This guy, I can never say that he's underrated. I believe he's won everything he's ever tried to race, probably even a tricycle once or twice, but the 7M Kevin Raimi. Slim Pushins: Welcome, buddy. Jim Gardner: Thanks for coming on. Kevin Ramey: What's happening? Thank you guys. Slim Pushins: Thanks for dropping down to our level and talking to us. Kevin Ramey: Something like that. Something like that. Slim Pushins: fresh off a TMS what you have 25 cars out there this weekend Kevin Ramey: Three too many, three too many. Actually, technically four. We had one that left wounded, so we had to go home and get the other one and it all worked out. So it's all good. We actually, I know our results didn't actually show the performance, but all three cars did really, really well on Saturday. And we had a new driver, technically two new drivers in the midgets for us. Dylan's kind of played a little, not much. And then ⁓ Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: We had the Rowland Gray in the other car and ⁓ I think we've found three for Chili Bowl that were the bond and the atmosphere and the attitude is spot on on all three guys with Chance Crumb being the third one and ⁓ I'm excited. I like where we're going. So we got some speed. We just got to get our drivers to pick and choose lines a little bit smarter and. ⁓ know, stay up on the wheel all 30 laps and I think we'll be just fine. Corby: Well, not everyone's you, Kevin. Slim Pushins: Jimmy and I have been telling our drivers that forever. Kevin Ramey: hahaha Corby: It's same, know Kevin I mean, I think that you were the last like true local that showed up to the chili wall and stuck Saturday night You know, you're a bad dude in any car Yeah For sure Slim Pushins: Good. Kevin Ramey: It happened. Jim Gardner: Kyle Jones was in there a couple years ago. We keep forgetting he's a local, but... Kevin Ramey: Yeah, Kyle got in there a couple years ago. Nah, not really. He's almost in Oklahoma, so we'll count him as goodbye and gone. Plus, he's a horseback rider now, so we can't claim him. Corby: I Slim Pushins: You Corby: Yeah. Jim Gardner: Right. What's your Slim Pushins: We were just talking off air about Kevin Ramey: And some of us actually have normal real jobs. We have real jobs. He don't have a real job, so he don't count either. Slim Pushins: We were just talking off air about the mustache. You gotta have respect for the mustache. Anybody, anybody that uses, you know, cream or salve to brush your mustache off. Corby: Right, right. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ something like that. Corby: Kevin doesn't even like anyone who likes that stuff. Kevin Ramey: Can you imagine? Hey, I can just see him and Keith Martin together when they do work together, probably rubbing each other's mustache and cream. I can just see that now. Corby: ⁓ man. Jim Gardner: What's ⁓ great we'll cross them off of this ⁓ Slim Pushins: He's never gonna be on the show now. So you're, you're a promoter now you're even at, well, you were a promoter in the past, but, uh, big time promoter again. How's that going? Kevin Ramey: It's going it's it's it's been a lot we've ⁓ I think this time around I mean the way it ended in 2012 it just didn't sit well with me I don't think it was good for either side of us and the way it ended was not good for either one of us and There's a lot of regrets there on my end. I don't know about their end, but I mean there's some things we probably could have done and Done a little bit different. Let's just put it that way and probably we would still probably be there and probably be ⁓ be very happy. ⁓ And this opportunity popped into my lap ⁓ in October, ⁓ actually just by fluke freak deal. And, ⁓ you know, I went and sat down with Tom over at Smiley's and we had a discussion on where I was and what I thought the future was and him the same way. And we both kind of, I mean, I don't know that there's much value difference there between both of us. And, ⁓ you know, he's kind of My opinion went a little bit overboard with the track. He's spent a little bit more money than I wish he would have, but at end of the day, it's his and the dang place looks brand spanking new and ⁓ shiny and got new stuff out there. And ⁓ you know, he's in for the long haul. didn't want to do this, you know, one and done. And like we did at KSP, I felt like that was the wrong thing. And you know, you can't get momentum by sitting on the sidelines. So we both agreed this would be a multi-year deal for both of us. And you know, we'll see what happens. We've had. really, really good turnouts on the two practices we have. I think we had in the eighties the first time and then we were right around 60, 55, 60 this past Saturday with everybody else running. So I was really happy about that. You know, all the tools that he supplies me with out there are second to none. I mean, I'll put our equipment up against anybody's in the United States and that's including Houston's and they are the best. And I feel like at the end of the day, give us about a year. And this will be the nicest racetrack probably in the damn United States. It's, it's headed that way. And he is persistent on keeping it that way from washing the tractors every time I use them to ⁓ the wreckers and everything else. mean, he is truly a guy that, know, you'd think that the man in his position, he would have a whole lot of helpers running around doing all this for him. And it's not, I mean, it's him. He's passionate about it. He loves getting on the tractors and ⁓ helping us out. loves the mowing. care much for the weed eating part of it, but he does the mowing and ⁓ you know, but he's, he wants his stuff looking top notch. He wants everybody treated the right way and we'll see what happens Saturday night, but I do like the path that we are on. Jim Gardner: Yeah, so you're. Slim Pushins: the best bathrooms the best bathrooms and all of dirt track racing. Let's not forget that. Corby: That's cool. Jim Gardner: That's true. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, I think on Thursday I got a dinner planned over there in the bathroom. So I got to get over there Thursday and get my dinner seat straightened out so we can get that deal done too. Slim Pushins: I didn't, I didn't see you post about that. Was that invite only or how does that work? Jim Gardner: Yeah. Corby: I, it's a- Kevin Ramey: You know, I think there might be a couple of us involved there. know, Water Burger is a main sponsor of the racetrack, so I'm pretty much sure a good old number five bacon cheeseburger would be plenty good there on top of that deal. So we're good to go. Corby: Yeah. It's a cool place, you know in our PM has been around for a long time and it's got a very unique shape and ⁓ The big thing is it typically almost always anytime I've ever been there It's it's two-lane racetrack and you can run anything from you said tuners Botifieds 410 sprints midgets you can run it all there. It's a really cool place ⁓ There's just ⁓ you know, what what's what's the the drawing need for us guys from the west side to go over to our PM Jim Gardner: at Dale. Corby: Shit. Jim Gardner: Red flag, throw a red. Slim Pushins: That was a good one. That was a good one. I was just about to ask him if I could drive the motor grader. Jim Gardner: The red's out. Closed red. ⁓ no. Go to commercial. Corby: His phone just went dead. Jim Gardner: We could either edit this out or we could keep it and just talk bad about Kevin for a couple of minutes till he gets back. Slim Pushins: Remember, hey, remember when... Corby probably won't, Corby probably, he won't remember this, but used to when you'd have, when you'd be on the internet or something and you only had one line and went through the phone line, your mom or dad pick up the phone and just kick you right off the internet. Corby: No, we ain't gotta talk bad about it. Jim Gardner: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Corby: What you talking about, dude? I'm not that much younger than you. I'm the same age as Jimmy. Slim Pushins: Right in the middle of AOL. Jim Gardner: Yeah, I would have been like sixth, seventh grade when that was all going down. Yeah. I, I like how I've built up this reputation that I've been a big traveling sprint car guy and been doing like forever. I don't know. Internationally known locally respected from Indiana. Yeah. Yeah. But Slim Pushins: You've got mail. Corby: Yeah, dude a will jet Slim Pushins: Do you have everybody fooled? Corby: But you are man, like, you well you come from, you come from the Ohio area, you know, the Ohio, Indiana is massive and you come down here and you take some dorks as writer claims are blacked out sunglasses and made us go good. Jim Gardner: It's yeah, I mean I've been around but I'm not Slim Pushins: You No, the other three had potential. He made you go good. Corby: Yeah for sure. Now Merle didn't really have ever potential but Lucas and Logan did. Lucas can show up today and win a race. Jim Gardner: Not true, not true. Slim Pushins: Wow. and look good doing it. Corby: Logan's gonna probably junk four or five cars trying to Jim Gardner: Morales got that. Slim Pushins: You Jim Gardner: Murrow's got that, kind of Dale feature winter trophy up at the house. Just like you do that I don't. So yet not this Saturday. I'll be putt-putt in the bottom. You guys saw me running that midget. I'll be hound dog in the bottom. Like I got bills to pay. Corby: He does. He does. He did win. He does. Slim Pushins: That's is that gonna change this year? Corby: Dude, it works sometimes, man. You just never know. Like I said, dude, you can make the bottom work at Kennedale. Jim Gardner: see but yeah I don't I don't know how I got this I've done that too yeah softer Slim Pushins: You can also, you can also hit tractor tires on the bottom too. Corby: You can. It's okay at Kennedale. They're soft. Slim Pushins: You think Kevin's still talking into his phone? Jim Gardner: I don't know how does the Corby you're on your phone, right? You're on your phone. Okay. Corby: I think so. Slim Pushins: These cameras going hello. Hello. Corby: Huh? No, I'm actually I'm on a laptop now. I The first time I did it it was on the phone and it was it was the exact same He doesn't he has terrible service at the shop though Slim Pushins: Wow! at the compound. Corby: Well, his, like how his house sits and where the shop is, it's like just far enough away that wifi is going to struggle. And then if he's standing at all inside of the shop, then wifi is really going to struggle. Jim Gardner: This is the most on brand thing to happen for this podcast. Slim Pushins: to pushing the cushion. We're keeping this in. The podcast just became an hour and 15 minutes. Corby: His shop's cool, man. His shop's super cool, man. It's probably like one of the most basic standard shops that exists, but just the memories that Kevin Ramey has inside of there. I don't think there's ever been a car he's ever been in that he hasn't won something in. the dude did it in factor stocks. think he's actually, he raised sport mods for a long time. He's raised some late model stuff. Jim Gardner: ⁓ yeah. Hahaha! Slim Pushins: checks all over the walls. Jim Gardner: Yeah, they had great late models randomly for just one year. They were like, yeah, we're going to go door slam people. It's going to be great. And I was like, those are kind of cool. Yeah. He doesn't. He doesn't. Corby: Yeah, for sure. For sure. ⁓ absolutely. Slim Pushins: and successful at it. Hey, Corbin, we gotta ask him, we gotta ask him his version of the Waco story when y'all got tangled up and... Corby: when he put Bump Start to me with one hand. Slim Pushins: If you've never met Kevin Raimi, the guy's larger than life. Corby: He's a big guy in that and we talked about rider about Just being a taller person, you know, Kevin's not a small person in any way and He actually I would love ⁓ to Talk to Kevin about this, you know, he made his own chassis for a long time. I don't know if his Sprint car stuff still to this day is his chassis But yeah, he had to move the a frames back for quite a while just so he can get into the 305s Slim Pushins: Like like Shaquille O'Neal having to have his cars redone, Corvettes and stuff like that. ⁓ Corby: Yeah, yeah. For sure. Jim Gardner: Well. Corby: That's a good thing. That's a crazy thing about Kevin Ramey, you know Pete Probably the most people don't even know you know Kevin Ramey is is a extremely good welder and fabricator Slim Pushins: You have to be because he's he's seeing him junk some stuff. Jim Gardner: Not true. I Corby's not. I'm not. Corby: No, I'm not. I can weld. I didn't call myself a welder. There's a difference. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Slim Pushins: Listen, for folks listening at home or in the car, YouTube, wherever you pick this up at, there has been a welding rivalry between these two for Jim. Jim has taken up learning how to weld. And as soon as Corby found out, as soon as Corby found out that he has any idea how to do this, he's a, it's been a battle. We just been, Jim Gardner: in spite of Corby. Corby: There he is, he's back. Kevin Ramey: Jesus, rubbed them two dang antennas together y'all got in there. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Slim Pushins: We've just been talking about you for four or five minutes. Jim Gardner: There, now that's all, that was... Kevin Ramey: Well, I mean, either way, I just feel like every fan, every racer is important to us. I mean, there's not any one person that's not. And I think that's important to get back to that in this area. And it dang sure is going to be that way at RPM Speedway. So we'll see. We got Saturday night coming off of fast. Jim Gardner: Good deal. Corby: Yeah, I'm- Yeah, you know, I'll say it. I'll say it open and to the public, you know, that you're never nice to anyone on the racetrack. ⁓ You are one of the most humble people whenever I've ever met you when it comes to talking to your face. And I know that you have great intentions with RPM and pushing it to be something that it's supposed to be. Jim Gardner: Yeah, so. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, we are. mean, when I'm at the racetrack with a helmet on, I brought my friends with me, I can kind of be, there's an A word they call it, but at the end of the day, I'm not that at all. Honestly, I'm there for one thing and one thing only, and that's to win. ⁓ If it happens, fine, if it don't, but I mean, I'm always... There's guys that I don't care for but if they walked up and they needed help on I'll be the first one to help him I was in that shoe at one time and I don't want to have to be in another one Slim Pushins: Where is he? ⁓ Is he at the beach now? Jim Gardner: ⁓ boy, ⁓ boy, ⁓ boy, ⁓ boy, ⁓ boy. He, ⁓ I'll piggyback that piggyback that point. went down to Ramy's trailer Saturday to borrow a gear and he was the first one to him and Dylan were like, yeah, what do you need? And drop what they were doing. They were working on their cars and Corby: He's standing outside of his shop right now. Kevin Ramey: This thing didn't even did it again. You get on. There we go. Corby: absolutely. Slim Pushins: That was on my show notes whether or not you gave him his gear back. Kevin, do you know that? Do you know that Jimmy borrowed some stuff from y'all? Jim Gardner: I get- Corby: Did Jimmy bring back his stuff? Kevin Ramey: No. Jim Gardner: First of all, your 542 gear is back in the trailer. gave it to Dylan. It has three semi-hard laps on it. Kevin Ramey: It don't matter, he outrun Dylan in the heat race, so it don't matter. He deserved the gear. Jim Gardner: Yeah, but we had that thing screaming with its tongue hanging out. I had to to kill some gear out of it. Kevin Ramey: You got yours going? Slim Pushins: Kevin, you definitely have people talking ⁓ about you at RPM now. And I think a lot of people are excited and what you've done is make people truly decide on, like Corby said, to cross the Metroplex or to come up which direction from 35. I know I'm excited about it. I haven't been out there a ton of times. Got my tailgate stolen after racing there one night in Terrell. Wasn't your fault or RPM's fault. Jim Gardner: you Kevin Ramey: Big say I hope it went at the race track. Jim Gardner: It was mine, but sorry. But, Corby: I say I mean our PMS really cool place and and I know Kevin that your heart is is a racer first and that helps a big time in the promotional side of things ⁓ Because you know it too Kevin you've done it. I've done it. We've all done it as racers You know the difference in being a promoter and a racer is such a massive jump To you know, like you're saying like you're you want to make every racer and every fan feel like they're important ⁓ Kevin Ramey: It does and sometimes that's not a good thing on the business side, but ⁓ that's what Tom's for. Stain cut off again, there we go. What? Maybe let's go. Corby: What's the hardest thing about promoting? Kevin Ramey: Hello? Slim Pushins: We'll wait. Jim Gardner: Oh boy, were you there? Slim Pushins: He's been real still. Kevin Ramey: Hey, let's try the inside and see if it helps. Jim Gardner: Here we go. There we go. Corby: There you go. Slim Pushins: Hey, y'all got Wi-Fi down there on the compound? Nope. Here you go. Kevin Ramey: that I'm doing. Reconnect. ⁓ Slim Pushins: Jim, see if you can text one of them, them to see if Mackenzie can explain to him how to get his phone on the... Jim Gardner: Uhhh Yeah, we could fly messages on a pigeon back and forth. Slim Pushins: the one. Ask a question, get it back next week. That's Jim Gardner: ⁓ it'll be alright. We'll deal with this. May this be the worst thing that ever happens. You know? Now, now we know if we want to go, you know, do another episode with them, we all got to trek down to Kennedale and be at the compound together. Corby: You're just gonna have to be better at your editing. Slim Pushins: I really wanna- We got to have him up. We got to have him up to the studio. Corby: Cool place man. It really is a Kevin. Kevin rabies shop is a cool place Just just the the memorabilia that sits inside of there Not just from Kevin and the people he's had drive for him super cool place No, not yet, we ain't we ain't upset him yet Jim Gardner: Well, I hope we're not raising his blood pressure dealing with our little program here. May this be the most challenging thing he has to do this week. Slim Pushins: Are you on the wifi now? Corby: There it. Kevin Ramey: I've been on the Wi-Fi, but I guess the house is kicking its butt. we're, we, hopefully we're good now. Jim Gardner: Alright, well... Corby: What's the what's the biggest difference Kevin and and being a racer and being a promoter ⁓ and a promoter it the track has a great name but it like I said you have a lot of people like us that are from the west side and you guys are over on the east side of what How do you go about that stuff? Kevin Ramey: Luckily we're on Saturday nights. That's going to help you guys travel. But the difference between me as a racer and me as promoter is honestly, I mean, it's a racetrack. If Dylan's not racing, it's just me I'll worry about, you know, in my car. And that's all I'm worried about is that setup. And, know, obviously somebody needs help and that's one thing. But when Dylan come along, then I've kind of don't worry so much about mine and worry more about him. Slim Pushins: you Kevin Ramey: And then on the race track side of things, I mean, I even worry about the dang hamburgers and that's probably stupid, but I want everybody to have a really good experience there. And you know, I think that's important. mean, nowadays stuff so expensive. I mean, even just going to fill up your trucks, crazy expensive nowadays. So if you're going to come and spend your trip, your night and your family's time and your money, hard earned money to come with us. I want you to leave there, you no matter if you've had a good night or a bad night behind the wheel, want you to, your experience interaction with us as employees of RPM and the facility, I want you to be super happy with, you know, and if there's something that we might need to do a little different, then speak up. I mean, that's what it's for. I think we have something that's going to be kind of unique to most people that we're going to have a, like a committee. And about every six weeks we're going to change it, but there's going to be five or six of us, seven of us. So it's an odd number, but, ⁓ you know, we'll pick people from different classes and then, you know, them give us their opinion on things that are what's going on and what's happening. Things that maybe they see that we don't. And I think that's important because I mean, I see them out of my eyes, but sometimes I don't see everything. ⁓ And that's important to us. I want everybody, you're never going to make everybody happy, but I feel like if you can get majority of them happy and, and, you know. everybody can help you with that. Corby: Yum. Jim Gardner: Yeah. So we, we, my, my thought process behind starting this podcast was, you know, think Corby and Kerbo are, are dynamic people and are interesting, we're wanting to help promote and put butts in seats and give somebody something to listen to on Wednesday. Slim Pushins: What a great idea. Jim Gardner: for the racing junkies out there to be a little bit more involved, learn some more about you and the guests and everything like that. We want to help promote this thing. This is the sport that we all love dearly more, you know, and how, how as a racer doing this, which, you know, how can we, we want to make sure like, if something rubs us the wrong way, we come on here and we help promote, we're helping engage and get fans of the racetrack and get racers excited about the next race. the big shows we got, how do we balance holding tracks accountable or promoters accountable or saying like, Hey, I didn't really like this and try to get those out there or should we not even do it on this forum? Kevin Ramey: Okay. I feel like the number one thing is that everybody does it the wrong way. As me on this side of the fence now is they get on social media and even though they might not be doing it, but it comes across as bashing a racetrack or a promoter or a purse or whatever happened that night. I felt like if they would physically talk to the people or just have a normal conversation like we are right now, they would see both sides of it. Slim Pushins: you Kevin Ramey: You know, I see both sides that as a racer, I'd love to race for $10,000 every night at RPM Speedway. There's no way in heck that's ever going to happen. I mean, obviously we're on our, you know, fourth, fifth owner right now. Well, there's a reason why, you know, and this is the point where we need to stop. We want to be the last people here until we're dead and gone. We want this thing to be King Kong at the end of the day. And I felt like just having an, even after the drivers meeting, come over and say, hey, Corby: Yep. Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: This is what I'm feeling. What do you think? You know, and if I explain my side of it from my side of the fence and they explain it to their side of the fence, more than likely we can come together and everybody be happy and come to a conclusion and a happy medium for everybody. But the turnaround and just get on social media and you know, people don't realize that even if the owner of the racetrack or the promoter doesn't get on there and say anything or a judge or a flagman or a record driver, whoever it is. Even though they might not comment on there, they still read that and they have a feeling about it. You know, and it's, if it's negative and you got a guy that spent $2 million on it, on a racetrack, you know, and you, all you do is see negativity towards you. don't take very long for that guy to throw in the towel and say, I can go sit on a lake and do this and not hear none of this. So that's one thing I feel like the fans need to realize. Everybody has opinions and we all appreciate it, but. Jim Gardner: Right. Kevin Ramey: we need to kind of maybe tone that down a little bit and just have normal conversations. ⁓ And I do believe there is a path for that. I just don't know if it's getting, I hate getting everybody in one class together because you're never going to get none of them guys to agree on anything. But if you pick a couple of guys from each classes and know, each class and just have a Sunday dinner or a, you know, a 30 minute meeting. Say, what's going on in your class? What do you think? What are we doing here? And they can go back and spread the word and have different people once a month, once every couple of months. And I feel like that's a positive. Is it gonna help? hope. Will it? Only time's gonna tell. Corby: I like it. I like that. You're just trying to add other people other than just your opinion because like I said, you're a racer and promoter, but you're standing on this side of the fence right now, but just having racers inputs from other classes tell you what they liked or didn't like. mean, even if it's just track conditions, anything, you know, if they didn't like someone standing on the back straight away who had a flashlight on them or something like that. I think it's a. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Jim Gardner: Kerbo. Slim Pushins: I've been that guy before. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, we can't miss you, Kerbo, don't worry. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Oh yeah. Slim Pushins: Yeah Corby: I think it's important to give feedback and allow that and it's the same like I say like the social media stuff is really easy for us to for everyone to go on there and just Knock stuff when a lot of times like I said, I mean Kevin like you're a super nice guy You've never told me no I've walked up to you and asked you probably plenty of dumb questions ⁓ And and that's the thing ⁓ that I think is great for RPM is you've been a racer for a very long time and you can give that racer aspect back to the promotional side of it. Kevin Ramey: I hope so. mean, that's what we're here for. And Lord knows I got plenty of experience at it all over the United States. I mean, there ain't very many tracks we haven't been to. And, you know, we've had a little bit of luck here and there on our side and we've done well here and there. And, you know, I don't know. And that's one thing I've noticed. You know, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, you know, we go races in places and they all seem to kind of have the same thing, the same style, the same. you know, fan, you know, enthusiasm about it. I mean, you go to Cocoa Boat, Indiana on a Sunday night and you drive about three miles and both sides of the dang road that you're driving down is tailgaters. And I'm just scratching my head and, you know, I'm thinking, you know, and I get it. You walk in any convenience store within the 200 mile radius of this place and all you see is cowboys, cowboys, cowboys, cowboys. Well, you don't see none of that in Indiana. You see Indy 500, you know, you see all of that stuff. You know, and as a racer, for me coming from here, I mean, that's cool as shit. You know, then people think it's, you're crazy. What are you talking about? Well, come down here and you get some of this Cowboys losing for the last 30 years, you get tired of that. you know, I mean, Jerry Jones, I'm glad he stepped into the racing ring. Now, at least we get some racing around here. ⁓ it didn't help, you know, so maybe that'll help. Corby: Right? Slim Pushins: How did the... Corby: That's the same, like you talk about, you've won the 305 RaceSaver Nationals before, it's the same. Whenever you're in Nebraska, you can go to every single place around Eagle and that's all that it is. It's just that racetrack. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ It is. And one thing, and I will tell Roger does a really good job of fan interaction, no matter if it's a, you know, some idiot jumping a car and hitting a bus and bombs going off or, you know, he just gets people involved in it and they love it. And, know, we could all learn from him. I mean, yeah, he's probably got his sides that you would not want to do, but at the end of the day, as a promoter of a motorsports event, he does a phenomenal job. ⁓ Corby: Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: You know, he's the same way. You walk up to him and you need something, I got you. You know, go talk to this guy, go talk to that guy. You know, he's willing to help you. mean, Lord knows we've all been to the damn ⁓ tech doom, you know, room of gloom there. you know, there's always, somebody always has something wrong. Well, he always has a solution for you. You know, you might not like it sometimes, but he's willing to make it work for you. Corby: Yeah. I agree. Jim Gardner: skin. Kevin Ramey: So. Slim Pushins: Hey, I'm gonna throw this out there. I could, I might be willing to drive a bus on the infield. If that, it ever Kevin Ramey: Be careful what you ask for. Corby: Kevin can probably make it, Kevin can probably make it happen, so be careful. Slim Pushins: If it ever comes to that holler at me, let's. Kevin Ramey: Hang on, hang Let me tell you something, big boy. We have the trailer race and you better be, y'all, this little podcast better be on the side of one of them damn things. And you three clowns need to be in the seats. And then another thing, we have a front wheel drive, a long jump competition. So you start on the middle of the back straight away and you come around wide open till you get to the flags. And if you got enough guts, let's put it that way, and see how far you can jump. Longest one wins a thousand bucks, cowboy. Jim Gardner: Book it. You Slim Pushins: I Jim Gardner: Alright. Slim Pushins: I think I don't know that I'll fit. I don't know if I'd fit the weight restrictions for jumping up, whatever. Corby: See? That's Curb-O's calling. That's that's Curb-O's calling. Kevin Ramey: I'll tilt the ramp to the right a little bit to offset that weight, it's all good. Jim Gardner: Hehehehehe done. You ⁓ came up a couple episodes ago because know, Kerbo officiated my wedding. He's still ordained the state of Texas. So we signed up, you know, we signed him up to officiate some race fans renewing their vows during intermission over at RPM. Slim Pushins: Yeah, I don't know if you've, I don't know if you listen to that episode yet, but we are game for having like some sort of mass infield wedding at intermission out there. You know, if we get to the point of, of putting butts in seats, I'm retired, but I'd come. Kevin Ramey: If it'll put a bunch of butts in seats, I'm in, but we need to get this intermission done with so we can go back to racing so I can get you back across to your side of town at a decent time without your tailgate getting ripped off. Jim Gardner: ⁓ I appreciate it. Slim Pushins: Yeah, we appreciate that. Absolutely. So tell me how did this whole, how this whole racing thing start for you? How did sprint cars start for you? Corby: See, I like that plan too. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Kevin Ramey: Racing wise, my dad had a car and he was always part of somebody's team helping them out. He never wanted to drive. He always loved building engines and just kind of hanging out and doing the thing with that. And then he had a mechanic shop and then we had a car, he had a car that some guys drove back in the day. And to be honest, they weren't very competitive. ⁓ The drivers weren't, I felt like the cars were good, which I didn't know much back then, but it just seemed like they were just happy going and just getting a pit pass and drinking a cold beer and having a good time. And that wasn't me. I was there to win and pulverize the field or let's just stay home. I can watch Saturday Night Wrestling on TV. know, so I just didn't, I just didn't, that wasn't for me. And so when I finally got old enough, I guess they finally got tired of me wearing them out about they couldn't drive. So they said, here sucker, you jump in there and the rest is history. I mean, it's just, loved it and you know, I have a passion for it. still do. I don't get to do it nearly as much as I used to, let's put it that way. But I mean, I still like to do it. It's to the point now where it's almost, I love the challenge of it. I love the new stuff that I get to learn. You know, I get to, I'm always building and tweaking and, you know, trying something different to see if it works. If it don't, then it don't. But I love looking at the rule book and going, ha ha, they didn't, they don't have that in there. So let's, let's work on that. Jim Gardner: you Kevin Ramey: And then, you know, just, just, love that side of it a lot. And I'm probably leaning more on that side now than ever. We have another car out in the shop that's, that will be debuting here probably in probably six or eight weeks. ⁓ That's different. Let's just put it that way. It's quite a bit different. Corby: Well, because it's the same. know a lot of people don't know this. mean, you're just as good of a fabricator as you are as a racer. And that's saying a lot. You build your own stuff a lot more than you buy your own stuff. Slim Pushins: Does that mean you're... Kevin Ramey: ⁓ Jim Gardner: Yeah, yeah, my race pass doesn't have like stats on cool shit you built. Like, like it, like it does race wins. I was researching last night. Kevin Ramey: But the funny part that all started because I'm a tight ass. I didn't want to buy anything I just wanted to build it so But I also grew up in the era two guys where you know You didn't go to smileys and buy anything except the tires and wheels You know back then the little store over in Oak Cliff was they didn't have a lot you need to buy the tubing and Tires and wheels or maybe some sheet metal but now I mean I grew up going to the wrecking yard and crawling underneath the spider and snake infested grass and you know pulling part out taking a home and tweak it and put it on my hot rod so Slim Pushins: Yeah. Jim Gardner: Fair enough. Kevin Ramey: Um, that, that times are a little different and, you know, but now, mean, it's, I get to do it with Dylan and that's a lot of fun. He's learned a lot about it and he's getting to come with fabricator. looked at mechanic wise. He's as good as, as I am, um, fabricator wise, he's, he still needs to do a little bit more of it, but, um, he has all the tools here and, you know, we're, get to build stuff together and, know, the whole time we're building this, this, uh, the sprint car out in the shop, he's looking at me scratching his head. It was no way in hell he's ever gonna drive it and then for some reason the day he walks in and you know I've been thinking about that car. I think I really want to drive that I'm like, no, no, no, no, you don't get to backtrack now, you know, Be able to see over the dash but yeah ⁓ Corby: Well, it's the same, you know, like we can be honest here, know, Dylan absolutely rips too, the same McKenzie, whenever she did race, she was super fast. I mean, it runs in y'all's blood. Slim Pushins: Speaking of speak speaking of Mackenzie. This is McKinsey. Does McKinsey still hate Corby for ⁓ the Grayson County tangle? Kevin Ramey: She is just funny. Corby: You can't help you can't help but if Kevin Ramey: Yes. great thing down and yes. What happened? Oh, and me and Corby were right and I missed the bottom and Corby came in there and. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, no, but go ahead and get him to tell you what I said when he come in and was mad. I said, hey, I'd have done the same thing to your big boys to get over it. I'm going to lock that. Slim Pushins: Kevin, let me tell you something. Kevin, you don't know this, but we were so grateful that we heard through the grapevine that that was your sentiment because the last thing that anybody wants is you stomping down to somebody else's pit because you're upset. Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: No, Look, at the end of the day, I want to win. It don't matter if it's him or not. And look, I have this theory and it's probably dumb as hell, but I don't ever want him to think that I gave him a win because it won't mean as much to him. it's just a start. When he outright kicks my ass, he's going to get that prop and he earned it. And I'm not going to mean me now. I'm not going to rough him up. I might rough him up. I'm not going to hurt him. ⁓ Corby: Yeah. Slim Pushins: couldn't agree more. Kevin Ramey: Because mama already gets on my ass because I get too close to him every once in a while or he gets too close to me. But I still at the end of the day, they're gonna earn it from me. I had to earn it, and I appreciate them guys. I I grew up racing with Gary Wright and Wayne Johnson and Crawley and all them guys, and Bob Yule. mean, them guys were very nice men, hard working men. Them were guys that went to work every day and built their own stuff. And I have much respect for that. The kids that come up nowadays that don't do nothing but hold their hand out and daddy pays for it and they sit around with their sunglasses on all day, that don't work for me. So I appreciate the way I was raised with them guys and sometimes it was a little tougher and a little harder than I was looking for. But I think it's made me who I am today and just like him, if I disappear today and gone forever. He can still get out there and build his own cars and do his own thing and be competitive and be successful. And I'm proud of that, Polly Moran, out of anything we've done. Slim Pushins: He had a big win at Waco last year, right? Jim Gardner: That's awesome. Kevin Ramey: But yeah, a year ago and don't worry, let Jeb, he reminded Jeb of that three times this weekend. Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: So yeah, and it's funny because that's the only time Mamas went and she was crew chief, but he walked out on the racetrack and called me because I was in Tulsa and dad, this is what the track's doing, what should I do? So I told him, well then she calls me balling and squalling and he won. So he calls me back, dad, the car was too tight. I said, did you win? I said, yes. I said, then it wasn't too tight. It was perfect. Jim Gardner: Uh-huh. Alright. Corby: See? Slim Pushins: That was, I watched it from the house that night. That was cool. It was always good to see people, good people that we have come to know and the work that they put in and the care that they have and the drive that they have. That was pretty cool. I think I texted Dylan later that night and congratulated him. That was big. We were happy for him. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Yeah, like my deal. mean, Bobby went with me because they weren't racing their midgets and was me and Bobby win. And, you all the guys that normally helped me, they went and helped him because they knew he didn't have anything. you know, seeing the picture of them all in victory lane was, it was emotional for me to be honest, because that mean it's, it meant a lot to me because that meant if, you know, if some reason I'm not here tomorrow, ⁓ you know, them guys, they had his back and I appreciate that for them guys. Jim Gardner: soon. Corby: Yep. That's a big deal. That's cool. Jim Gardner: awesome. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ yeah. So now we got to get him some more. He says Abilene when I won and he started on the pole and he said I jumped him on the start. So my my fake check, they got me out there on the wall. I put on there, Dylan said dad jumped the start, but I still won. So. Jim Gardner: Ha ha. Slim Pushins: Those are great memories. I mean, y'all are out there making memories. What else is there? Kevin Ramey: Yeah, it is. It is. It is. It's a lot of fun. And we're still going to get to do it some. got, like I said, the new car is coming out here pretty soon. And if it don't work out, then I'll bring the old one. It's still together. But I got some Friday night stuff that I can still go do. I want to go do the speed week that's coming up. And then I'm going back to Nebraska to, ⁓ you know, we're second row of the big dance, the makeup dance. So I felt like I need to go back and do that. And some reason I ended up that, I think I'll just stay in the pits and Corby: Yeah. Kevin Ramey: drink beer the rest of the weekend and help him. ⁓ either way. Yeah, I mean, it is what it is. had a really good car last year and then the rain hit us. But I mean, there was a lot of guys got good cars, so who knows. But it is what it is. Yeah, it's fun. Slim Pushins: Got some unfinished business. Corby: Yep. And you always go really good there too. Jim Gardner: When are they wrong? Slim Pushins: So. Jim Gardner: When, ⁓ when are they running that makeup race? They running it right when you get there, like Thursday. Kevin Ramey: on Thursday after practice. Instead of doing the heat races, the race of champions, I think they're doing the last year's feature. Jim Gardner: ⁓ wow, okay. I got you. Good. I think. Slim Pushins: That'd be great for the fans. Corby: It is, a cool experience. mean, the RaceSaver Nationals are massive, massive. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Yeah, that's something we would love to get down here. But the problem is, we, our springs are so squirrely with weather. We've been lucky this spring so far, but I mean, and even in the fall, we get football season here. So I hate to do anything after basically September, because we get beat up so bad fan-wise on Friday nights, we can't do a multiple day deal. So that is a struggle for us at RPM is trying to balance that and- Jim Gardner: Yeah, I've not been, so. Corby: Right. Right. Kevin Ramey: come up with something that works for us and the fans. So we're working on that. We would like to have a big midget race down here, probably coming in 27. We're working on the outlaws in 27. It's gonna require us to have some more stands. So there's a lot in the works. There's a lot of good things in the works. We gotta walk before we run. So we're in the process of a heavy trot at this moment. Slim Pushins: Let me speak into the outlaws and I don't want to go into like some major detail, but after the events that happened a couple of weeks ago, as a guy that's responsible for a track, do you go back to the drawing board? Do you go back and evaluate your way of doing things? Emergency vehicles, ⁓ medics, stuff like that. ⁓ What goes on behind the scenes after a big tragedy like that? Kevin Ramey: Lots of talk, lots of openness, honesty, looking at each other in the eye. We never want to be late to any party or anything like that. there's also a sense of responsibility on your end that you need to wait and let the car stop and then take off and go that way. I think the tracks that have the walls around them like we do and KSP does. You know, it's not as easily as somewhere where they can park, you know, on the outside and then when everything stops and one's in one corner, one's in the other and then they're not together. So, I mean, tragedy is it may be, I feel like that there is a big learning lesson here. You know, and we've had that conversation with our, with our fire guy and he is the one that's been at Devil's bowl all the years, him and his dad, and then he's chilly bowls well with his mom and dad. So, I mean, he is a real live fireman and I felt like that he has a lot of that information that he's just learned over the years. So I'm excited about that side of it and ⁓ just hope for the best on that end of it. Corby: It's the same, know like you're saying you you've been that the drivers been upside down and then you have Promoted before to try to be one of the first people there I mean, it's it's such just a fine line of where is safe and where is we? Probably should have just waited another two seconds Kevin Ramey: Yes. ⁓ you know, that's something that this year at RPM, we've changed ⁓ caution lights. want, we went to new LEDs that, this is a Ray Saver, Ray Siever brand. And eventually we're going to make ⁓ over time, everybody's going to have to have the Ray Siever that's on the dash. So when we throw the yellow on or the red, pops up on your dash as well. And besides having our new lights, you're going to have one that blast in your face. Corby: Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: And it's a little bit more money to purchase that, but we're going to give some people some grace period and ⁓ hopefully some certificates and things like that. hopefully within a year or two, we have all of our cars outfitted with that so that instantly you know exactly what's going on that minute. that's something I'm excited about. That's something new that's coming out that we have and other tracks are trying it as well. I think in our area, we will be the first ones that have it. And we're super pumped about that. Corby: That's really cool. Of course, of course, Kevin would be another inventor. Of course. Slim Pushins: It's a idea. Kevin Ramey: Not inventive, just pushing it. ⁓ Jim Gardner: Yep. Corby: Yeah, right. Slim Pushins: The first, Corby's got, Corby, were talking ⁓ in our ⁓ intermission while ago when you getting reconnected, Corby's got a Waco story and I don't know if we, I don't know if we ever talked to you about it. Go ahead and tell the story. Corby: I've talked to him about it. Kevin Ramey: whenever he don't remember what happened in front of him? Yeah, I remember that too. Slim Pushins: You Corby: I think that Kevin, I don't know if many fans truly know, Kevin's no small guy and I think that Kevin bump-started me with one hand pushing me off down the racetrack. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, cause I think I removed about $9,000 worth of shocks off the front of my race car when I hit you. So I was a little hot. And then plus one, and I don't know what it is. It irritates the living heck out of me, but that's cause I don't get to race so much anymore, you know, like I used to. So when I do race, it's gotta be quality over quantity. And that wasn't not quality that evening. And, and then plus the person that got blamed for it the first time. Slim Pushins: Ha ha ha ha Corby: Yeah. Kevin Ramey: There is no love lost there and I mean, we get along now, but there's been a few bad days. you know, we're over that now, but back of my mind, it's still tapping me on the shoulder thinking, know, so I just, it was just one of them moments, not my finest moment and it worked out. So it's all good. Nobody got hurt. Corby: Plenty. I go with more plenty. Yeah. Slim Pushins: You Corby: Yeah, that's the you know, the the crazy thing I know fans don't understand is everything happens so fast on the racetrack especially on the first lap the same actually what in 24 we were racing at Waco and You had passed ⁓ I can't remember I think it was like Rodney Henderson or something you we had lat we were going to lap Rodney Henderson I was right behind you and whenever you went by him he moved up to to go to the top to give you room and I was up there and then I needed a Jim Gardner: Yeah. Kevin Ramey: guys. Corby: Getting taken out because of that it it happened so quick you can you can never think of stuff like that You know Kevin Ramey: Yeah. ⁓ never. And that's kind of the situation I got into with you because I've been fortunate that I see, yeah, the hot lemon sky just busted his rear end on TV. Yeah. Well, Dylan, I didn't even see it. Dylan's pointing at it. I'm like, what the heck? But no, I I pride myself into, I see things coming a lot. I've done it so long that I see little things. Corby: Yeah. Jim Gardner: Yeah, sorry we're all distracted. Slim Pushins: That's what I was, think we're all, we've all got it. One second. One second, folks. Corby: Right. Kevin Ramey: Well, in your situation, I didn't see you because I forget who was directly in front of me. At the last second, they hung her, they hung her out or left, whatever it was. And then you were just sitting there dead in the water. And I was probably more mad at myself than I was anything because I did hit you. And I did have enough time to miss you if I would have seen you. And that is the irritated the living crap out of me because I didn't see you. So. Corby: Yeah. Right. Kevin Ramey: I mean, I was more mad at myself than anything and that's why I tell them that when you come back to the trailer I was over and I was just more mad at myself because I should have seen the damn thing. So, you know, it is what it is. Corby: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's the crazy thing. I know that you have endless stories about that. just things happen so fast and and and or you're you see the dust in front of you you predict where this person's gonna be and you go the wrong way ⁓ and that's where But that's that's the beauty of sprint cars and It's cool, you know, like say that sprint cars aren't huge around here. And I think the sprint cars need a bigger name Kevin Ramey: And they never go the right way. ⁓ Corby: The 305 stuff has always been, you know, like semi like it's always been on the verge of it could be that big and it's going to take some promoters like you that are, they're focused just simply on the racers that can make 305 sprint cars be something like it has been there. There's been times and spurts, ⁓ the same as I, you know, I, I will say this, you know, you, what you did at KSP with the micros was huge. It was massive. And it kept micros around here for a long time and I know the micros have really fallen off and I don't want to see the same thing happen to 305s Kevin Ramey: Yeah, I don't either. I think a positive that's, or was a negative, but now it's becoming a positive. But with all the series that we had here, probably in the last six or eight years, it really spread our class then, the racers then. you know, everybody couldn't seem to get on the same page. And I'm kind of not necessarily glad the other series are kind of falling to the wayside, but it is a positive for us as a track and as a racer with a car that Corby: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ Maybe we can start getting a core group of cars. I mean this weekend I'll probably be a prime example that KSP There's no reason there's not 25 sprint cars there and there should be I mean, that's a great place to race ⁓ You know, and I don't know that y'all get the respect that you deserve there ⁓ But again for you guys, it's a great place to race it's somewhere closer to home and I mean, it's a beautiful facility and there's you know, there's no reason you all can't have a you know, awesome show there Corby: Right. Yeah, and and I think that 305s are huge around here a lot of people have it including, know Like you say some of the some of the series falling at the wayside I think a lot of people are going back to the 305 I mean that is the most consistent or the only consistent thing that's really ever happened around here the same you raised a devil's bowl for a very long time a devil's bowl was always big that devil's bowl I think a little bit more like catered to the 305 stuff I mean, I don't know like what you do. You almost turned in like a perfect season there or something like that Kevin Ramey: I don't know something like that. Jim Gardner: All I know is when I moved here. Slim Pushins: Hey, this is a show. This is a show of honesty. So you can be was it how close was it? Jim Gardner: Humility to be damned tell us how it was Kevin Ramey: And you only He finished out of the top five once because the cam spud strip. Other than that, he won, I think, all but two. Look. No, I mean, and look, I'll be honest, guys. mean, when I started as a kid sitting in the stands at Devil's Bow with my mom, you know, my dad's an infield working on a car, I never in a million years dreamed I'd even make one lap around that place. And then as I got older and started learning more about it and decided I might want to do that, then I did. And I won my Jim Gardner: you Corby: There we go. See? I know, I thank you Dylan, because I know he's not going to tell me the truth. Jim Gardner: Yeah, we're... Kevin Ramey: first couple of races in stock cars there my first year and it just kind of grew. And then when I got into the sprint cars, you know, I was leery about it because I had so much success with the stock cars. And then I had had friends and guys that I knew of and respected get hurt and killed and things like that there and in sprint cars in general. And I knew that was, ⁓ you know, something that I wasn't a fan of. But at the end of the day, I felt like I was at the end of my road in the stock car class. I mean, we can all sit in one class forever and beat it up. But I mean, that wasn't any fun for me anymore. it's strange how it seems, my car owners now that I still have, even with the midget stuff, there's two of them ⁓ or three of them. they both were the guys that supported me back then and they still are now. that's. extremely rewarding for me that we're still all friends at this point and still passionately do this together. And that's what's kind of what the chili bowl is for all of us now. But, you know, on the sprint car side of things at the bowl, you know, I thought, yeah, I won my first race my first year and I thought that's pretty damn cool shit. Well, then I sit here, you know, a few years later and I'm sitting on top of the pile of everybody and ⁓ honestly and all sincere. I never thought I'd win one race there, much less be a hundred and I think four hundred, a hundred and forty something wins at just doubles bowl. And when I sit back and think about it, and I did, had a damn, I had a damn, moment the other night in the shop. was out there by myself and you know, we were joking with Dylan about this little Abilene thing and I wrote and he stuck it over the wall and he'd went inside and I was just sitting there looking at all the different trophies and checks on the walls. And I just shook my head because I can't still to this day believe that I've won, you know, been a part of the USAC national win. Corby: Yeah. Yeah. Kevin Ramey: you know, ASCS wins and championships and this and that and dang sure a single win at Devils Bowl, you know, in Devils Bowl in my mind is still, you know, they outlaw started there and that's, you know, obviously with the world's largest touring sprint car series. So, I mean, it's just, I don't know, kind of humbling sometimes and makes you scratch your head like little redneck garage kid, garage grease monkey from Duncanville had a little fun along the way. Corby: Right. Jim Gardner: Not bad. Corby: No, you were that good. Kevin Ramey: Back to that season when we were talking about Devils Ball, he had 31 starts, 16 wins, 30 top pives, and one DNF. And the one DNF was the cam spud strip going at Devils Ball. We had a really good year. We had a good car. And, you know, it's that whole thing. And it's weird how that car come about. I had back surgery the year before for some pants nerves and stuff that I had going on. And the car was sitting there. So obviously you can't do anything. So I'm sitting there scratching my head. what can I do to make this car better? So I got the measuring and levels and angle finders and this and that. And next thing you know, I got this thing where I thought I wanted it. I didn't know if it would work or not, but we went out there and we never touched it. mean, that thing was just lights out all year long and it's the same car we won the Nationals with in the rain. And I mean, just, mean, the week before we're going to the Nationals, I smoked the... Corby: Yep. Kevin Ramey: frigging tractor tire and turned two at Devil's Bow in hot laps and knocked her front clip over about three inches. So I'm like, are you kidding me? And then so a wrecker and a port of power and a little wire welder at Devil's Bow, I didn't touch it and here we go. We had a pretty good year. Slim Pushins: you Jim Gardner: That's awesome. Corby: Yeah, that's the coolest thing about Sprint cards like I said, you just beat it back together and a lot of it had to do with confidence in that car you felt that good in it and you didn't need to do anything else. Kevin Ramey: Nah, we did have lot of confidence in that car, so it was a good piece. Slim Pushins: You talk, Kevin, you talk about, talk about, ⁓ trying stuff and the rule book last year, we were pitted close to each other and you were trying something with your exhaust, your exhaust, ⁓ man fold exhaust. But you knew you'd run it underneath your, seat and quickly changed it. You want to tell people how come you, why didn't that work out for you? Kevin Ramey: The actual performance of it worked. The heat or nothing like that's not a big deal. But to get it, I'm obviously a heavier driver. Let's say I'm a Husky driver. And ⁓ so I have to block my car on shorter blocks to get it up off the ground for my weight. Well, in doing that, the exhaust has to kind of be smashed a little bit, you know, just to get it where you can set the rear end on blocks. And running wise, it's freaking, it rocks big time. Slim Pushins: Right. You Kevin Ramey: but it drags the ground. there's a, the new car is going to have something a little different than that. And it won't be dragging the ground. It's actually polar opposite of that, but it's, it's, ⁓ I just took it out. I mean, it just, was dragging the ground and it was upsetting the car worse and more than it was helping me performance wise. So I just took it out and decided to revisit that at a later date. Slim Pushins: I'm Kevin Ramey: I think that was my third or fourth version. And the first version started during COVID. We were sitting around for three months with nothing to do. And you go up there and you start scratching your head, what can I do to make this thing faster after you look at the rules? And our rules in the race, were, engine wise, they were pretty restricted, but everything else, it's kind of wide open. You can do some things with the body and the wings. And I enjoy that side of it. I enjoy the sheet metal side of things. I love building bodies. You know, I don't ever build two the same. even if I build like, just put a body on factory stock for Coy and Brandon, I built it last year too. And it just, doesn't look the same as it did last year. I just don't, I love trying to make things go faster with my hands, ⁓ you know, without spending money and things like that. And it's just, that's, that's fun and rewarding for me. But back to that, back to that exhaust, your driver there, he was more worried about my buns than he was worried about. Corby: you Kevin Ramey: anything else. thought it was gonna roast me. Slim Pushins: Well... The reason that I brought it up is because I remember looking over at one point and y'all were adding like exhaust tape around the underside of the seat. So I just assumed she got hot. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. because it drugged her. No, it just drug the ground and it pulled it off and I didn't want the damn, I didn't want the shifter cable getting hot. So I made sure that I did that because the shifter cable gets hot, it melts together and then you either can't put it in gear or get it out and either one of them become an issue at some point during the evening. So. Slim Pushins: We had that problem. Corby and I had that problem at at RPM. Jim Gardner: At RPM, at the last race course. Corby: Yeah, we had RPM actually. Kevin Ramey: Now you just lock it in gear, I'll push you off, bud. Don't run over nobody. Corby: Yeah. Slim Pushins: Listen, these people listening have no idea. They just look and they see somebody, a big guy on a four wheeler. You've never lived until you've seen an entire field of cars screaming to the left and right of you as you're on your hands and knees, bleeding thumbs, trying to get a car into gear. Corby yelling at me, Ray Siever yelling at me. Corby: It wouldn't go in gear and Martin's Martin's yelling at me. Yeah, Martin's yelling at me to get off the racetrack Don't touch that car get off the racetrack get all the racetrack finally. We got all the racetrack We got around right in front of the chute and Jimmy got out there with a pair of pliers I'm pretty sure he just hammered it in gear and we actually ended up missing the start Yeah, right Kevin Ramey: Yeah. had one smart guy of the bunch that had tools. Jim Gardner: I, it took so long because I had to sprint back and go get something. And then we got it before the green came out, but they wouldn't let us refire. And then corporate goes, I'm never going back. Slim Pushins: Yeah You talk about just an... Kevin Ramey: Hey, why do you want to be- hey, you gotta come back now. Jim Gardner: Right. Yeah. Corby: I know now that it's okay. It's okay. I've settled I've slept since then I was mad I Felt like we got it I felt like we got it in gear quick enough that they could have pushed me off in front of the field and it would have been I would have just jumped in the tail of it, but they didn't let me so Just like you're saying that any racer are gonna be emotional and pissed off in that moment Slim Pushins: You talk about an intense, an intense, an intense moment. Jim Gardner: I think they could have. Kevin Ramey: You must have not erased the devil's bowl your whole life and they show you favoritism, right? That's what I hear all the time. Jim Gardner: Yeah, yeah. They might have been able to just run one more caution lap and put us on the tail. We'd have felt okay about it, know, going back to just feeling like you're appreciated, you know? Corby: Yeah, right. Yeah. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I think there's probably some LED light company around town that could probably donate some lights to that and probably get some of that done for you. I don't know, I'd have to find out. I need to put out that prop maybe. Jim Gardner: Probably. Corby: See? There you go. ⁓ Jim Gardner: That's gotta be a side. Yeah. Slim Pushins: Cheap Chinese lights we we got a guy Yeah, you've never seen intensity until you got a driver yelling at you 19 other cars everybody on the front stretch staring down the down your neck race Cever yelling at you not being able Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Yeah. But see, I think as a promoter that might have been a golden opportunity for some little entertainment for my crowd. Seeing a big boy running is priceless. Jim Gardner: Hahaha Slim Pushins: You know Jim Gardner: ⁓ It was on the back stretch not the front stretch though Corby: ⁓ Right Slim Pushins: Yeah, we were on the back stretch. Kevin Ramey: Hey, they can see we got fans on the backstretch too, baby. We gotta satisfy all of them. Corby: I was yelling at him telling him to knock it in gear just put your foot in there and push it just knock it in gear Slim Pushins: You drivers, you drivers have a bad habit of just assuming we can hear what you're saying through that helmet with other cars running around. Corby's arms are just flailing. finally, I mean, it, it seemed like it took like a, like a half hour. I'm sure it only took 45 seconds or a minute before I realized, you know, cause I'm yelling at him, just put it in gear, just put it in gear and his arms are flailing and stuff until I realized, you know, what was going on. So. Kevin Ramey: Hey, pan signals are awesome. You know the bad part about it is I wish I'd have known that. I probably did see it, but I just didn't pay attention. I could have maybe crop dusted you a little close there or something like that and got your attention. Jim Gardner: Buzzed him up Slim Pushins: I'm telling you, felt like everybody was crop dusting me. I felt like I was changing the tire in the middle lane of the interstate is what I felt like. Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: Thank you. Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: Yeah, good luck with that. Jim Gardner: Yeah. ⁓ man. ⁓ Slim Pushins: So. Corby: But no, it's cool. I've slept since then. It's all good now. And Kevin's running the show, so I got respect for Kevin. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, that don't mean you won't get black flagged, it just means we appreciate you coming and see you next week. Corby: Yeah, for sure. Jim Gardner: That's right. ⁓ man. What else? ⁓ so speaking of, so you are going to run 305 speed week, you race. Okay. And, and, and somehow double up, ⁓ Slim Pushins: Well, I'll see Kevin Ramey: Yeah, it's all good. I am. The Saturday night show at RPM on the 23rd is, depends on what my week looks like before that. If I've either been terrible or good, ⁓ there's a possibility of Crawley coming up and driving it. It might even drive the backup car, but me and him's been in talks about that. We tried to get Gary Wright to come up, but he said he's too old and can't see. so Crawley said, I'm in. ⁓ We might have two cars there or he just might be in mine. I don't know. It's kind of what our week looks like there. And then obviously we're at his place, texture Canada the next night. there's some plans there. do, I want the car to be there. I want the car to support the series and there's a lot of good there. ⁓ I'm hoping that with IMCA and the race on and, Nathan that that deal keeps going in the trajectory that it is. I love it. It's a good thing. And all the tracks loved it. Jim Gardner: Sunday. Corby: Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: And I think we have something to build on there. Even if Nathan decides he wants to go a different direction and step away and I don't see that happening. But if he does, I feel like we'll pick it up and run with it and keep that momentum going because I do. Some of the guys that I know, I met a couple of them from up north that come down to Pennsylvania guys and they both were super pumped about it and really nice people and they're all coming back. I think there's a couple of them gonna come here and stay. ⁓ Jim Gardner: It was super cool. Kevin Ramey: prior to the speed week and then maybe a little bit after so they don't have to go straight back home and kind of hang out here, run a few more nights. And I look forward to that. I enjoyed that. We just had the outlaw guys in town and I think we had about six of them out here in the driveway for two weeks and they've become like family to us over the last few years. And it's just enjoyable. Jim Gardner: The Speedwig thing was cool. Corby: It's cool because I can say that. mean, yeah, speed was super cool and everything about racing is a family and I don't think that any racer can ever forget that. It's the same. I know that I could go up to you and ask you for just about anything and you to give it to me. ⁓ And Speed Week and stuff like that needs to happen as we said, you know, just bringing the 305s back to what it's supposed to be around here in North Texas. It's a really big thing. Kevin Ramey: Yes. And there's still enough of them around. mean, between basically Ardmore down to Waco and all the way over to Shreveport and Texarkana to Abilene, there's still 40 of them easily. And there's no reason that half of them to three quarters of them can't be at the races on the weekends if everybody gets on the same page here. And maybe we can start getting the money a little bit better as time goes on. we see a positive. Corby: Yeah. Yep. Kevin Ramey: On that side of things, we can get maybe some more contingency parts and things like that. Tom's committed to doing a lot of that is talking to the header people, the wheel people, the tire people, whoever he can get to kind of help us out on that end of it. It might not be a lot, but at end of the day, it's something you didn't have. And I know all the racers appreciate it. And it just means a lot. It goes a long ways. Corby: And it's like you say, we'll touch base on this again, track conditions mean a lot and how the racing surface is. From one lane, hammer down around the tires, taking rubber halfway through a feature or two lane, that matters big time in people and rather than running once a month or they'll go run all the races because they can go to RPM and they can have two lanes racing. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. And that's actually funny you said that that conversation has been had with me and a couple of the sanctioning bodies asking why Waco struggles so much for cars because there's no reason for it far as the facility, the area and the promoters. mean, they're all great people. It's a beautiful place to race. It's fun as heck, but I feel like that they're Corby: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: They're modified guys and the modified guys love it good and hard and I appreciate that. But as a sprint car, when a modified takes rubber, it'll fluff the tire up a little bit. But in general, the tires still usable at end of the night. Where prime example this weekend, the top two cars, that's all I've seen. I didn't see anybody else. I'm sure they all look the same. But I mean, the new tire just, it's gone. It's just junk. So you're racing for, even if it was a thousand to win, you didn't pay for your tires. Corby: Right. Yeah. Kevin Ramey: And that's one thing I feel like they struggle on. missed the boat on that. They don't understand that yet. I feel like that as racers, need to, you know, maybe next time we're there, go over and explain to them that we were $300, you know, for each corner of our car, you know, not $80 or $150, you know, so the track, don't need it to be. Corby: Right. And once they, like you say, once they blistered like that, they're Yep. Kevin Ramey: They're junk. you know, mean, them guys, took a beating last weekend financially. But I mean, it's going to happen every once in a while. know RPM is not perfect either and we don't claim to be, but we, a group of promoters and race prep people, we need to do a good job of giving racers, no matter what class you're in, a couple of grooves to race in. think that makes great racing and great racing produces fans. So, and that's what we all need. Corby: Yep. Yep, I agree. Jim Gardner: Yeah, ⁓ Waco, you know, we were, we were talking about Waco and, know, it was good to see Claude win was, was our big thing. It's like Claude got to win. That's good. ⁓ it's tough on Fridays. mean, I that's right. ⁓ you know, it's tough on Fridays already to be a Friday night track and get people to tow, you know, through, through rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon to get wherever. And there's just a lot of things working against, ⁓ working against them on that deal. And then, ⁓ Kevin Ramey: up with the whole guy, so... Slim Pushins: Hehehe. Jim Gardner: You know, just, just track conditions and, and, and, you know, it's like, it's like paying to go on vacation and you're, sitting at dinner the first night and you just light $900 on fire and throw it in the trash. ⁓ which just was not the start to the season. think anybody was expecting. So, ⁓ you know, it's a two way street. We, we as racers have to support the track, but they have to, to, understand kind of the bigger picture, of what, what, what it costs to actually. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Jim Gardner: you know, put on a show for the fans when it takes rubber and it's and Waco's put on some really good races. Especially the last couple years. I think it's been for the sprint car stuff really entertaining. ⁓ Where right when I moved here five, six years ago, we knew it was going to take rubber and it was very predictable and it was a bad deal. But yeah, you know, that was kind of shocking to see on Friday. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, I we used, we run ASC for years. actually run, used to run the IMCA stuff there with the little wings and then it transitioned over into the ASC stuff. mean, there was nights we'd have 40 cars there ⁓ and you couldn't have bought, I the racing was just incredible. I mean, we all loved it and, you know, the jeans sold it to these guys and we still had some good racing there. But here lately in the last few years, it's just getting, it's getting where it just kills tires. I don't know if they need to go in and. cut a couple inches off the track and blade it off and flip it all over and start over or what. But it's extremely hard on us as racers and I hope they can get that corrected because I don't want to lose that racetrack as one of our sprint car tracks. It's a super good racetrack for us. Corby: You Jim Gardner: I agree. It's cool. Corby: Yeah, because you know, and I'll just touch base on this, know, Hunt County is probably a farther drive for the majority of us, but typically it has a top and it has a bottom and it just helps car count consistently to have something like that, you know, and we're just, we're putting you on the spot, you know, you're in the promotional seat now and ⁓ that stuff matters. You too are a car owner, same as your kid and ⁓ tires are expensive. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. And I will tell you in our first, probably two conversations and meetings we had at RPM, for RPM with Tom and everybody involved with this deal, that was the number one thing that Tom did not want. We're not changing rules and we don't want to track, kill and tires because I don't want everybody saying you're doing that because I sell parts. And I a hundred percent agree with him. And that is Corby: Yeah. Kevin Ramey: far from what he wants. He wants everybody to be happy. If they buy something from him, fine. If they don't, I'll see you next time. But that is something that we're painfully conscious about on our side of it. ⁓ And there's no reason for it. I mean, we have the equipment to keep it right, even if it means take a 30 minute break at intermission and do a little fluffing and a little watering and then going back at it. And if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. But... ⁓ Corby: Right. Yep. Kevin Ramey: We want to continue to keep the racing surface enjoyable for everybody and we don't need guys buying tires every night. We just can't have it. mean, it looks bad on us, it looks bad on everybody and it ain't sure looks bad in your pocketbook. And right now the economy is kind of heading in the right direction, but I mean, it's still ain't great. So we need to help every way we can. Jim Gardner: Yeah, it's a challenging problem to fix. There's no easy answers with a lot of that, we are all on the same kind of, it's a two way street between the racers and the tracks to make sure that everybody's getting out of it, they feel like they need to. Kevin Ramey: It is. You you hear... Yeah, and you hear, I run across and deal with a lot of people that race up north and different, obviously even higher than Oklahoma, up in Iowa and Nebraska and things like that. And they're like, oh God, they don't understand that we live on the face of the sun most of the time, so we... I mean, it's nothing for us to have to go to RPM during the week and in the evenings and water a couple of nights just to keep the moisture down in the track. Slim Pushins: You Kevin Ramey: If you can keep the moisture down in it, it makes your life a lot easier. ⁓ And that's just something that we're consciously going to have to keep up with. And again, we're committed to doing it, and hopefully it works out for everybody. Corby: Right. Jim Gardner: awesome. Slim Pushins: Well, we need to, we probably need to start wrapping this up. have a couple of questions. First of all, first of all, Kevin, do you think that we landed on the moon? Corby: Here we go. Jim Gardner: Here it comes. Kevin Ramey: No. Corby: you Slim Pushins: You do not believe that we ever landed on the moon? What? Kevin Ramey: No. We did not have the technology back then to get our asses back. Slim Pushins: Do you think we have the technology to get our asses there? Kevin Ramey: Yes. You can shove a rocket up anybody's ass and send them to the moon. It's just refiring it and getting it back to earth is the problem. Slim Pushins: Alright. You All right. The other question I have is, can I drive the motor grader at RPM? Kevin Ramey: Negative. He won't even let me drive. Negative. There's no way in heck I'm letting you put putting gouges in my racetrack. But you can drive the pace truck if you want. It's Riddle Brother's roofing, ⁓ you know, pace truck there so you can come drive it all you want. Slim Pushins: What about? Corby: I don't blame you. Slim Pushins: You Corby: There we go. Slim Pushins: we might have something there. about the water truck? Can I drive the water truck? Kevin Ramey: Yeah, when we go to packing with it, yes. After I've watered it, you can get out there and make laps. I have one with no power steering and it's a stick shift. So you decide if you want in it or not. Jim Gardner: Yeah. You can. Corby: That's the one. That's the one. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Andy, you got drive over there on a Wednesday night and do it, Kerbo. Slim Pushins: Alright. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, you gotta get a little practice, bud. I ain't letting you out there cold turkey. It ain't happening. Slim Pushins: ⁓ You're not going to let me fired up on race night. Just give her some laughs. Kevin Ramey: Now you can get out there that power washer and wash it on race nights if you won't make it look pretty again. He'll let me do anything on the racetrack up until night and then he tells me to Yeah. Y'all got to get out the way because this is, this right here just like, it's just like building a race car. mean, it's. Jim Gardner: I think, Corby: There we go. There we go. Kevin Ramey: So it's for me, it's the racetrack is no different than me crawling in a race car and trying to win. I want to beat all the other tracks ever weekend, you know, and I know that's probably stupid, but that's the way I go at it. And I want it to be the nicest, the fastest, the best, you know, I want, it's just, it's, it's exhausting sometimes, but here we are. Slim Pushins: I like it. Jim Gardner: Well, we, Kerbo and I were drinking some beer at Chili Bowl and brainstorming, uh, some crowd activities, uh, for some racetracks. had some redraw ideas. Um, we had some fan interaction ideas. Uh, what did we come up with Kerbo? We want to do a, instead of just a pill draw, we want to do a closest to the pin golf shot from turn four into turn two. Closest to the pin gets the pole. Slim Pushins: I think hedging. Jim Gardner: and the top five are back. Kevin Ramey: You do realize we're going to have about 3,000 people sitting in the stands and I don't need no black eyes or busted heads or anything. So that's not a good idea cowboy. Jim Gardner: you Slim Pushins: Hahaha. Jim Gardner: What else did we come up with, Eric? Chili-Boker. Slim Pushins: All right. Idea number one. Kevin Ramey: But the fans are redrawing our guys. that is in our, we have a wheel of, ⁓ we spin in a wheel and they're gonna redraw, know, zero, two, know, four, six, go from that way. But the fans are gonna have some interaction with that. Corby: I like that. Jim Gardner: Nice. Which other? Slim Pushins: So we thought it'd be cool on, on a night with a solid like a LCQ, we thought it'd be cool for the guys that qualified for the redraw to bet or to pick ⁓ a driver from the B and then the highest qualified pick is how they, that's how they line up. So if you pick, you know, the 22 car, he comes in second, but that's the Corby: like that. Jim Gardner: care about. Corby: We're just trying to create more enemies. Slim Pushins: That's the highest, I think it's awesome. That's the highest finisher. Jim Gardner: Yeah. Or. You can see all the redraw guys in the front row pumping their fists when their guy takes the lead in the B main. Slim Pushins: Yes. Put them. Kevin Ramey: I can see all of my records being real busy too. So we do want to get the show onward and get moving here. You know, we can't be out having cautions after cautions. Slim Pushins: You Jim Gardner: All right Good point. I think those were the two good ones we had. forget, I had another one, but I... Slim Pushins: All right, Jim, we're over to what else you got. Kevin Ramey: They were not good ones, guys. don't know. Listen, when y'all are making corporate decisions, let's make sure there's not adult beverages involved, and especially at Chili Bowl. Jim Gardner: ⁓ Well, that's why we're Slim Pushins: Kevin, Kevin, do you think, where do you think slim pushings and pushing the cushion came from? That's some of our best work. Jim Gardner: Hehehehehe Kevin Ramey: And it really bummed me out, it's not called the three stooges or something like that. I don't really get why y'all didn't do that. Jim Gardner: I'm not even on the logo. No. Yeah. Corby: Jimmy wasn't even supposed to be in here and then he got stuck. Slim Pushins: Yeah, Jim's all salute. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, and you're the brains behind the whole deal. What does that tell you? He also ran over his mom's car in the drive. Yeah, you did run over your mom's car, so we can't go there with Jimmy. Corby: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Jim Gardner: ⁓ Not really the brains. Slim Pushins: He's been asking me for... He did. Corby: Music Jim Gardner: Well, they were, they were asking me as like, is your car ready for Kennedale? And I was like, well, ⁓ I got to fire it up and set the timing. As long as I don't run over a vehicle in my backyard, I think I'll be all right. And we'll be there Saturday, but we don't quite know yet. Kevin Ramey: And I'll be honest, I've raced the Devil's Bowl. I've raced the Devil's Bowl like one or two times in my lifetime. And I've seen some pretty, pretty exciting wrecks. And Jimmy's one of the top 10 there, I can tell you that. I'm like, I don't know who the hell that was, but I know that's one of them Sherb cards and I bet he's gonna be sore tomorrow. Here comes Doug. Hey, I told Jimmy that was my boss. I'm like, what did they do? Draw the shorts draw or what? Corby: ⁓ yeah! Slim Pushins: RUIT Jim Gardner: Man so Slim Pushins: Rumor has it, rumor has it that one of those sideboards still hadn't landed yet. Kevin Ramey: ⁓ man, that was nasty. Jim Gardner: So man, was, well, so we'll tell that. So I ran the fourth car at, for, for, you know, we would go, we would take four cars and, and, you know, by about hot laps, either, you know, Scott, you know, the, Sherb dad, uh, if it was hot, he'd be like, eh, I don't really feel it. Jim, why don't you drive it? And so we ran the night before in Wichita Falls and I ran pretty okay for me. think I run. fifth, sixth, something like that from the back. And so I was on the lake on Lake Texoma with my family Saturday morning. ⁓ and I was reaching into the cooler to get, grab a beer at 10 30 in the morning, like you do on the lake. And my phone rings and it's Scott Sherby goes, Hey, we're going to take Corby to, ⁓ the devil's bowl tonight. I'm going to take the 68 car. You want to go and you can drive it. And I was like, all right, put the beer back down. And I was like, Hey, we're to run devil's bowl tonight. And I'm going to to drive Scott's, I mean, that 68 car was his baby. He loved it. And it was a nice piece. And I had no business being in that car on a half mile. I've never been on a half mile. I've been in a wing car four times in my life, maybe. And, um, I went down in there and to turn, and I had to start in the back because I had no points, right? This is my fourth race in seven years. And, and you know, Kevin Ramey: Yeah, welcome to point average. Corby: Yeah, right. Slim Pushins: Ha ha ha. Jim Gardner: I hated the point average and now we do draw redraw every week and I hate that even more. Like I wish they would just do the point average, but anyway, that's Kevin Ramey: So you're a typical Facebook keyboard warrior then, you don't know what you like. Jim Gardner: I have enough discipline that I don't get on there and say it. I have hot, hot racing opinions, but I don't, you know, I made a podcast at least so people could see my face. But, ⁓ so I'm in the back and, and I don't even remember hitting the brakes. think I was like committed down the front straightaway going into turn one. And I think the car in front of me missed the bottom slipped off up the bottom and I didn't even. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Slim Pushins: He started a whole podcast to be able to air those out. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jim Gardner: think about touching the brakes and I'm in midair crashing going, I think I'm crashing. Like what happened? And, ⁓ so I ran over that right rear and destroyed that car. I ended up in the parking lot way down there. ⁓ the wing and the tail tank flew into the neighbor's property and I'm sitting there, ⁓ just devastated cause I just destroyed Scott Sherb's car. ⁓ and Kevin Ramey: with a dump. Okay, so let me give you a tech tip of everything you just told me. this is what happened to the car in front of you. You just explained it. The tech tip at Devil's Bowl in turn one and two is to lift off the gas. Let the car settle down and turn and then go wide open until you get back to turn one again. So you and the other car did not know what y'all were doing and y'all met in the middle. Slim Pushins: You Jim Gardner: No. ⁓ I... That's what happens when you're running 17th and back there with the squirrels, you get your nuts cracked. But I landed over there and you know it's bad when you crash. When, before you even like catch your breath and open your eyes and think about what happened, there's already people in the cockpit. Like that's the most terrifying thing. They're like, wake up, you okay? You're like, ⁓ shit, this was a bad one. And so then Scott Sherb ran over and he's like, you okay, you okay? And he's, you know... Kevin Ramey: Yay! Jim Gardner: It was wicked and I'm like, I'm, I'm just like, man, I'm so heartbroken right now. Like I'm physically fine, but mentally I'm just, ⁓ I feel so bad. And, ⁓ so then. Scott was super cool about it. He gave, showed me so much grace. So we're back there in the trailer, trying to, trying to figure out how we're going to roll that heat back in. And here comes Corby blazing in about halfway through the feature. Pissed off. He hops out of the car, throws his gloves and like storms in there. Kevin Ramey: Yeah, he thought he killed you. Slim Pushins: But Jim Gardner: parks right next to my heap. And it probably took him 10 minutes to realize that I was the crash. ⁓ That huge red light, yeah. And walked by the car. Corby: walked by him in the trailer. I walked by him and I was upset and it started stumbling again. We were chasing fuel issues for a while that year and I turned around and go, that was you? Kevin Ramey: I'm to take a break. ⁓ Jim Gardner: Yeah. And he goes, he goes, man over the race seaver. They're like, ⁓ red flag, red flag. The 32 car just went huge and turn one. And Corby's like, I was sitting on the front stretch. They were saying I just crashed huge. And I was like, well, in their defense, everything that had a number on it flew into the neighbor's property. I mean, they did, they just guess because it said Sherb on the side, but, ⁓ that was awful. Luckily, Jeb's big crash there was like three weeks later and everybody forgot about my big shunt. Yeah. Corby: I'm out of here. Slim Pushins: Ouch, outshadowed yours. Jim Gardner: But that sucked, but Scott Sherb really, the whole Sherb family is like family to me and Scott Sherb really showed me lot of grace there. So I'm really appreciative of that. Oh, I deserved an ass kick in. We did. Yeah, no, we did. Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Corby: Kevin would have fired you on the spot. Kevin would have fired you for sure. Kevin Ramey: No, he'd have had to help straighten up his mess first before I fired him. At least get it washed. Kerbo, you need to tell the story about my dad at Chili Bowl going over, I don't know how you said he went through the rope, but you said he didn't go over it or under it. Slim Pushins: Ha ha! Yes, sir. Corby: I'm sure he went through it. Slim Pushins: So at the end of the ramp at the chili bowl, once all the cars... That's the place. Kevin Ramey: What Rope? where you almost fell and died. Oh, is that where you almost fell down in the mud? Yeah, I wouldn't have laughed at that. That was hilarious. Jim Gardner: You Slim Pushins: Dylan and Austin Burke, I'm love to tell that story because there's no way to be cool at that point. Your feet go out from underneath you and you're just praying to the God of your choice that you don't hit the dirt. when all the cars enter the track, they raise this little plastic chain link, ⁓ well, piece of chain with some flags hanging off of it. And you had a car. Jim Gardner: I think we just do it. think we just do it. Chilly Bowl live of video watching Curbo. Kevin Ramey: didn't know a big guy could move that fast. Corby: Is it even chain? I think it's just rope. Kevin Ramey: It's actually a Hoosier Rope Banner. Slim Pushins: I don't know what it is. I know that normal, I know that normal people have to go above or below it. ⁓ so you had a car, you had a dog in the fight in this heat race and, you were behind me because you're 18 foot tall and I'm not. you were, I was bellied up to that, to that rope and something happened on the track and you just flipped a light switch and just flew off the handle and respectfully you blew past me. Corby: There you go. Kevin Ramey: Stay in the community. Slim Pushins: which is fine. I knew it was coming because I knew that was your car. And I, to this day, I swear to God, you didn't go over that rope or under that rope. I, I, to this day, I have no clue how you made it onto the track without going, you went through that rope. Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: Okay, so let me explain that whole sequence that you just did. since you're a rookie at this whole program, when you stand that close to the rope at the chili bowl, shit hits you in the face and everywhere else when them cars sling in there. So as a smart person, I stand behind the biggest guy I can get the most blockage from. So guess who I was behind? Slim Pushins: Well. Jim Gardner: you Slim Pushins: Well, as a short guy, I didn't have any choice. If I'm not upfront, then I might as well go to the front stretch. But yes. Kevin Ramey: The reason I lost my religion at that moment is because we have a car that's on the front row of this deal that's one. Yeah, one, whatever it was. And then the caution come out for the one that was at the back. Well, he didn't have his radio in and they black flagged him or told him to get off the track and go get a radio. Well, he started in front row outside fixing to transfer into like to the D main on a Saturday. And of course, it just bought my tongue. Slim Pushins: Ha ha ha! Kevin Ramey: He just decided to go ahead and go on up the ramp. And at that point I lost every bit of, yeah, that was ugly. So I'm like, are you kidding me? ⁓ no, I knew what my name was and it had a fire on the end of it. I was hot. I'm like, come on. We wait until we get to this point and you don't have a radio and don't realize that they're talking about somebody else. Yeah, he didn't change the battery. And then Saturday, he never changed Yeah, that was not a good moment. So yeah, it worked. Corby: You forgot your name at that point Mm-hmm. Kevin Ramey: It worked its way out. Slim Pushins: It was, it was like, it was like walking on water at that moment. was just looking around at the people next to me. like, did y'all see that? Like what, how Kevin Ramey: ⁓ Yeah, you just got to learn how to do that, I've learned a long time ago in racing, either in fights or in racing, if you hit them hard enough, shit's going to happen. So I just flew into that thing and it happened. Jim Gardner: David Copperfield. Slim Pushins: What just happened? I don't think I have the gift. Corby: No. Slim Pushins: Yeah, it didn't fall down or anything. I was just hung. I'm still there. It was amazing. Kevin Ramey: And the best part about it is Kelly that works that rope. He's known me for a really long time and we're buddies. And he sees me coming, he just holds it up above my head and I just keep on going. So yeah, it's all good. Jim Gardner: So you said. He said. Slim Pushins: People have learned to get out of your way, except on the racetrack. Kevin Ramey: So from now on, now you know when I'm standing behind you, it ain't because you smell good, bud. I'm looking for protection. Well, when I'm at the bottom of the ramp and I see Carbo coming down the hill, get out of the way. I don't want to be a bowling pin to that bowling ball coming down the ramp. That ramp, we've often laughed, the last few years we bought one of them big one inch gnarly impacts for the midget socket and it weighs about 75 pounds. I said, I don't know who the sucker is going to run down that slick ass ramp. Slim Pushins: Yeah, I appreciate that. Jim Gardner: Yeah Slim Pushins: Ha ha ha! Kevin Ramey: But when you get to the bottom, look out, because there ain't nobody going to stop. You're going to slam into the car. That sucker ended up being Missy. Yeah. So it. Jim Gardner: you Slim Pushins: ⁓ We had a whole conversation about it that whoever's idea, I think somebody's got jokes. They just wet that thing down and ⁓ it's treacherous. Corby: you Jim Gardner: unnecessarily. Kevin Ramey: You do know the camera's on it all the time so the producer can just flip it over and watch you slam the ground. Corby: Yeah. Slim Pushins: Yeah, yeah, just add that. You just, yeah, you just add that to just the stress of everything. I was given... Corby: I can't wait Jim Gardner: You Kevin Ramey: They didn't say it wouldn't be mud wrestling at the mud racetracks. So, I mean, it is what it is. I need to get with the flow producer and see if he can go back and find that for me. Yeah. Corby: See? Jim Gardner: Ha ha! Slim Pushins: I was given a... I was giving Corby hand signals and making faces at him every time I waddled up the ramp this last year. Kevin Ramey: We need to Corby back in the car at the Chili Bowl and let you and Jimmy ⁓ crew chief him. Or give him pep talks anyway. Corby: Yeah. Slim Pushins: Yeah, we do. Corby: At least pet talks. That's all I need. I Remember you made you made a funny comment to me the first time I raised the chili bowl I was walking down the ramp and went to go look at the racetrack and And none other than the Kevin Ramey voice. Yep, Corby still got four turns two straightaways and I'm like, thanks Kevin. Appreciate that buddy Jim Gardner: Yeah, I bet. It's round brown and brown Kevin Ramey: of dirt circle, bud. The building ain't growing, it ain't getting no smaller. Just the same thing. Gas her up, cowboy. Jim Gardner: ⁓ You said you've got your chili bowl lineup. How much midget racing you guys got planned this year? Kevin Ramey: Probably not a lot honestly with the track. We might go to DeCoy and just kind of see where the cars are at that point. We have a little bit of work to do on a couple of our king cars. We're going to do a little bit of chassis work on them. One car is really, really good and the other one struggles and we don't know why. So we're going to build a jig off of that one. ⁓ And, ⁓ figure it out. We got, we got something going on there and we just don't know what it is. We're going to figure that out. I'm, as soon as I get done with the sprint car that we've, that we're putting together now, that kind of gets settled down. Then I've already started on a new midget with the tubing and some rear tubes are done and things like that. But we're going to have a new, our own chassis midget out again. I've learned so much since I built the other three that we did and I've already sold them. So they're long gone. And, ⁓ I want to do it again because I feel like I have some more there that we can give to our guys and we'll see what works out. Luckily, if I can get everything done in time and get some laps in on it, Fortuna Bowl would be really good. But I mean, at this point, who knows? I mean, it's a day-by-day deal. We got to get this Saturday night in and through the books. And next Saturday, we got double features with the modifieds. Jim Gardner: Do you? Kevin Ramey: with the Makeup Sigmund race and I'm excited about that to be honest. I think that's gonna be a really good show for us and I think it's just gonna be as a fan. It's gonna be a great show. You got some of the best modified guys in the south down here running with open motors and mean, they just, they're monsters and I'm excited about that. Jim Gardner: We are, ⁓ we are Sprint car snobs on this podcast, I do appreciate some good open motor modified and late model racing. That's why I grew up going to most down in Southern Kentucky. ⁓ Kevin Ramey: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's good. mean, it's, mean, around here that dominates kind of our deal and with that and stock cars, but you know, at the end of the day, ⁓ I've learned through all these years that no matter if they're a bicycle racer or, you know, an Indy car racer, they're still race fans. And I think that's important. We, you know, we, we might disagree on, you know, what Chassis or cars we run and mud or asphalt, but at end of the day, we all have the same passion for our sport. And you got to love and respect that person. Jim Gardner: Exactly. ⁓ That's well said. ⁓ And we're excited for you. I hope to come out and support you some. That's right. He's good. Corby: Kevin's just saying all that because he knows he could win in any one of those classes. Slim Pushins: Anything. Anything with a motor and wheels. Kevin Ramey: I'm not racing no bicycle, but I did that when I was a kid and hit the ground too many times. I had to get in some with the road cage on it. At least they have a big heavy class or something like that. Maybe me and Kerbo can get out there and have fun, but I'm out. I'm too old for that. I'm too old. Be like Eagle. ⁓ We had our main guy Jambo. ⁓ He got in at the Tiki bar, had a little too much fun on the Thursday night. Jim Gardner: Yeah, it's like a ⁓ man Corby: Yeah Kevin Ramey: Couple kids rode up after Roger prepped the track and ⁓ watered it, shut the lights off, was ready for the next day. And then of course we're all out there having a great time, bands playing and you know, not all friends and all good. And these couple little kids rode up on bicycles and Jambo was giving one of them hard time that he was at his age. He was a BMX champion, but he said, you want to race, you want to race old man? Well, he did, but he made it all the way out the gate, all the way into turn three for he finally had planted and shoulder planted the ground. ⁓ Jim Gardner: Ha ha. Slim Pushins: You Jim Gardner: you Kevin Ramey: Two surgeries later had all that put back together and the meat put back on the bone. We can't ride bicycles at Eagle Raceway anymore. So it was somewhat my group, but I wasn't the one. So yeah, that's always fun. The next day in the driver's meet when Roger Luch you dead and I, no more bicycle racing. But hey, we laughed about it. Slim Pushins: Ha Corby: ⁓ man. Jim Gardner: Corby and his Corby Corby and his family would be riding unicycles around the shop while I'm sitting there trying to bleed brakes Back in the day, and I'm sitting there thinking you're gonna bust your ass. I'm gonna have to drive this tomorrow and probably destroy it Corby: We were just... Kevin Ramey: Yeah. Corby: ⁓ man. Jim Gardner: you Slim Pushins: Well, we appreciate it, Kevin. Thanks for ⁓ such a, such a legend in the game. Take some time out to talk to us. ⁓ Jim Gardner: Yeah, thank you, Kevin. Kevin Ramey: What does legend mean? Does that mean I'm old? That's what it feels like. Yeah, yeah. I noticed my hair, what little I have left is changing colors rapidly. Jim Gardner: You Slim Pushins: That's a nice way. That's a nice way of saying it. Legend. Jim Gardner: Still getting it on, man. Yeah, still. Slim Pushins: Legend old but still has some stuff to offer Corby: That's because you're a kid, Jim Gardner: still get it done, man. On the seventh, when the seven, seven ⁓ is unloaded in the pits, you know, you're to have to deal with them before the night's over if you want to be upfront. So, it's right. But now, now there's two of them. Yeah, that's right. But, ⁓ now we appreciate it, Kevin. We know you're super slammed and busy getting, getting prepped with everything and, we'll try to get you on here later in the year and see how everything's going. ⁓ Kevin Ramey: and Yeah, ⁓ you guys. Corby: Yeah, right. Kevin Ramey: I'm thinking the podcast needs to come to ⁓ RPM one night. Jim Gardner: So we do have the ability to do it all live, right in the midway. Corby: We could probably do that. Slim Pushins: We can do it in a motor grader. Kevin Ramey: You ain't getting in the motor grader. April 18th, race savers will be on hand at RPM Speedway. That's the night y'all need to be there. Jimmie will be behind the wheel. Jim Gardner: Alright, alright. ⁓ we'll see. Corby: We need Jimmy behind the wheel. We need Jimmy behind the wheel more than me behind the wheel. Jim Gardner: We'll see about that. Somebody's got to run 13th, you know, might well be me Slim Pushins: slim pushings, slim pushings will be leading in the, ⁓ the pace truck. That's, know, that's my claim to fame. All right. Jim Gardner: Hey. Kevin Ramey: And you go. And Water Burger have nice nice nice bacon burgers there in the ladies restroom. Jim Gardner: all right. We appreciate it. Thanks guys. Slim Pushins: All right. Well, we appreciate it. Have a good one. Kevin Ramey: Thank you guys. See you. Corby: Thanks Kevin. Slim Pushins: podcast. I'm sorry that it was a complete waste of your time. Maybe Corby and Slim will actually learn how to make an interesting podcast before the next one. Who am I kidding? I don't get paid enough for this. We'll see you next time.