Dale Earnhardt Jr. ll

That I've never thought of myself as a legend, but it's going to be Dal Arnhut Junior j Teleeger Dale barn Hunt.

Junior wins the forty sixth that turn of five hundred.

I wanted him to be proud and happy. That was way more than important than a trophy. He was going to build one of the best race teams that this sport would ever see. Imagine getting getting a belt from Dale Earnhardt in some of the toughest moments, You're just like, I want to disappear. If that never happened, I'd probably race way on into my late forties. Twenty fifteen heads, Well, how did this happen between you two? You know every team needs that sort of clown, right, that class clown.

Have you ever gotten that like mental to where you're like, I'm gonna wreck this car?

That was one and this is what I don't tell.

Welcome to another episode of Busting with the Boys. I am your host, Will Compton. You're the co host. Taylor Lawan my co host. I apologize he is a training camp. We have a special this this pod is, in my opinion, on the mount busmore. We have Dale Earnhardt Junior flew to Nashville on a private jet crazy flex DAYA flew in, landed at about three pm, drove over god here about four wrecked a pod with us for about two How long?

Yeah. First question, how does it feel to be a legend? Dale? How did it feel? Yeah that I've never thought of myself as a legend. I I was the son of a legend.

Now I do know that.

It.

Uh, it was kind of amazing to grow up in that house and and see all the things that he was doing and all the people that pulled for him and cheered for him, and going to races and going to Victor Lane, and being this kid that just had all access. You know, you could just go through any gate, through any part of the track you wanted to go to. And I ran around those tracks like they were a playground. And let's go watch the cars racing one and two for a while. Let's go down to turn three and

Yeah.

So it was pretty awesome and I just always wanted to. I wanted to race, but I didn't know how. I didn't know, like there's no like college level, there's no high school racing, you know. And so I'm like, well, how the hell do I race? Like I'm thirteen, fourteen years old, I don't know how to start.

What do I do?

And one day me and my brother I was probably fourteen or fifteen, fifteen years old. Me and my brother Carry, he's older than me, We're hanging out around this picnic table in my dad's shop. He had a picnic table and where all the gossip went on. And he threw down this newspaper and it was a Charlotte Observer sports page and they had this picture of this guy with this street stock car. And my dad said, you always

Yeah, you know what, why do you think it was like cracking the code? If you like you said at the son of a legend, And I like, obviously, what do you can say whatever you want about yourself. You're obviously a very humble guy what you've done for the sport. Also thought Earnhardt family is and that's very cool, and you're a very humble guy.

But like, what did it?

Why did it seem so difficult for you to get in it? Knowing that your dad was who he was. You were one of those kids that was like I can get in there because I'm you know.

My jad, or like why isn't he showing me where some of these races are?

He ob something sounds just put the paper down. He's like, yeah, let's just do that. Then Dad, Dad would always say I know, he would just say like, I wouldn't talking. I wouldn't always like in his uh, I wouldn't always going hey what do I do? How?

You know?

I was just I wouldn't. I wouldn't with it. Yeah, you know, I was just going to school and trying to get seas and going home and doing whatever my friends are doing. And I loved racing, but I didn't maybe show it as much as he wanted me to. And he would always say, you need to show some initiative, and he used initial you do of all like that was the word. You need to be determined to show some initiative, showing no initiative and uh like, what.

Does that mean?

When? What about? How do I show you initiative?

Right?

What does that even mean to you? And he's like, uh if when I was your age, I was I was in a shop, sweping the floor. I was cleaning tools up, putting them back in the tool box. Classic.

Then I'm like, sucks, that sounds sucky, don't sound fun? How that's a long ways from driving? Driving's up here sweeping the floors like way down question? And I got to go all the way through that product, like what all the things that have to happen before I finally get to drive?

You know, it just seemed like it was so far away, and he was less than uh impressed, you know with my initiative and my uh my passion for it. Right, I wasn't outwardly expressing that to him, and he didn't I think that I really was even into it. And he's like, I'm not wasting my time unless you start showing me that you're into it. And he made it sound like, well, you got to do all this other

Sounds like a mister Migi type of thing, final complaining you show me wax sound.

It seems like one of those like classic tough nosed dads that were kind of like hard to please, Like there was always that tough love with the with the son and the dad.

Yeah, he was, uh, he was pretty tough and that he you know, his nickname at the racetrack was the Intimidator and he was absolutely terrifying you know, at home. And I mean, I remember h I said, I dropped. I said, either I said the word ship or I dropped an F bomb at my buddy's house. I thought it was just me and him and I'm playing. I'm playing on this. He had this wicked little video game machine like before Nintendo, and uh, I was playing this

I got.

I got to the door and out the front, out down the hall and out the front door, across the front yard, across the street and out into this hay field and and over this erosion ditch and dove in the ditch and just laid there for like six hours. I picked over, I picked I picked over that ditch and I'm like, he's he come out the front door and he's looking around. He goes back inside, and I'm like, man, I ain't getting no whooping today, yeah, not having tomorrow?

What happened when you got back home?

Nothing no whooping? Like yeah, and I don't I think. I don't think I ever got one after that, you know, but you know there was I remember the whoops yeah right, There weren't many, but the ones I got, I remember them, and I know exactly what I did wrong. I'll never forget that stuff, right, And uh, imagine getting getting a belt from Dale Earnhardt.

That's that's awesome. So when you went back in the house, what was his He's like, Hey, how's going have some supper? Let's sit down, or what's the deal?

He he was, he was.

We had a conversation about the word I used and and how do I how how I need to behave and and that I better not make that mistake again.

Yes, sir, Yes, any kids listening, all you run out the front door laying your old man cool off, and it's gonna be I got a story like that, but it's stilling it up at the end. Yeah, like hours after and he was waiting for me, like all right, well we're gonna do this. You gotta.

Yeah. I don't know why, but I hold hold some guilt for making that escape.

But I had. I just had to do it.

Why do you think you hold guilt from it? I don't know why. I feel like I didn't get what I deserved kind of thing. I don't know what, like I skipped out on a on a on a deserved punishment, you know, and I never And I think that's why I remember that story is because I feel like, you know, but you know, it is what it is.

I didn't want it, Yeah, I didn't want it, no question. It seems like you got exactly like you learned a huge lesson.

That out right.

Yeah.

It didn't take any comments for you to get in your head to that that specific story.

Did Joe Rogan pod This is probably like a couple of years ago. Yeah, I remember you're talking about like a buck a shit story. There's like a bucket of something.

Yeah, like, yeah, I was so talking to you know when I'm talking when I'm talking about not showing my dad initiative, so you know, to be clear, like around nineteen eighty, around nineteen ninety seven, ninety eight, I I think that I started to do the things that he hoped I would do in terms of making him proud. Right, every parent, every parent wants their kid to rise to the occasion, excel in whatever it is they love, right, And I wasn't doing none of that. And I was

But what were you doing at the time, Like, if you were so into racing, will you just kind of hang out with your buddies and doing whatever?

Yeah, Me and my buddies walked around the neighborhoods shooting birds would be begun and being it's right, And uh, I played video games and didn't want you know, I did want to go hang out with him. I did want to go to the shop. But when I went to the shop, I hung out with my buddy down the street and we got in trouble. Right, we went to the dairy queen or running. We didn't I didn't mess with cars I wouldn't sweeping the floor cleaning the tools.

Right.

And so now if he wanted me to go to the race, I love that. But when I got there, I'd take off and go hang out my buddy. And when I was gonna go eat some junk food or cheeseburger or you know, and he'd never see me. I was having fun, you know. And he wanted me to be interested in the cars, be interested in learning how to work on them, get get, seize any opportunity I took I could to work on him to learn about them.

And uh.

I wasn't an athlete. I was. I had no achievement none, you know, year on year on year on of just not getting anywhere. And I used to draw a lot, and I used to draw race cars a lot. And I think that he and my stepmom Teresa, thought that, man, maybe he's into being an artist or something. So they so this is kind of they. I came home from school one day and I walked into my bedroom and there was a bunch of art stuff, like papers and

Like?

I want to race? Man? Like, where is what the hell?

Right?

Yeah?

And uh, anyways, finally, finally, you know, I started to do well and actually, you know, starting to get some races where I ran pretty good. And then Dad came around, you know, and he me and him started having conversations where he was less preachy. Uh, he was less disappointed that, yeah, and it was more like, so what happened in the corner down there and you spun out? Did you realize what you needed to do there? You know, kind of those things where we're starting to tutor and talk and

For sure.

I went down to Myrtle Beach and I was racing, and I would I would the same guy for like three weeks in a row. I would get underneath him, and the guy didn't care if he was if he had a car underneath him. He was still coming down to go into the corner to the bottom, and he cuts you off over and over and over. And that was the way race. We didn't even get mad. Hold the rest of the people that race there were like,

And damn it.

I mean literally, I'm in the same situation the next weekend, and I did that thing and it worked the way Dad said it would work. And so, I mean, from that moment on, we started having, you know, the conversations I wanted to have, you know, with him my whole life, instead of just hearing about how much trouble I was in, or how I pissed him off about this or that and the other, how I needed to do this better or be excited.

Were you to tell about that situation once he did it pretty excited? Ye man, Yeah, that's pretty cool.

It was good.

It was good I had. There was a lot of little moments like that in early in my career when when I wasn't just his son, you know, because when I when Dad, when I when I was around my dad, it was at the shop or at the farm, all that's kind of the same place. And he always had his guys around, his buddies, the employees or whatever, and they were always, you know, five o'clock, everybody met at the picnic table and they drank beer and then they're going to go right around the farm and look at

We did you understand that naturally or we were told that at one point that you were like, hey, you're not don't really talk unless it's just.

Listen.

It's kind of it can be like that sometimes, like it's a look your parents or your dad gives you, you know, you know not to just say, you know, you didn't get to you didn't get too full of yourself. Yeah right, yo.

I hope you guys are enjoying the episode. As you're watching this episode, don't forget to like in comment, don't forget to do real comments in the YouTube boys and leave realist reviews, but shout out Georgia Boot, the world's most comfortable boot. Are we able to? Are we able to go? Get those boots out there, JP or or Blash. Are you guys able to go? We can just do it right now. I'll just start dabbling. I'll just start saying the ad reading by the time it comes back,

I started well, I started seeing the racing creating that relationship, and so I wanted to do whatever I could do to get more of that relationship from him, right, And so I started, you know we you know, winning and all those things were not to be so cliche, but I wanted him to be proud and happy. That was way more than important than a trophy or or anyone else patting my back, right, And so he was absolutely the main motivation for me early in my career. You know,

Right, But everybody thinks like, oh, your down's sign, Like you don't thinks he's awesome. And see.

Yeah, so there's a there's a big feeling of like did you feel like you were in his shadow your whole life.

Mhm, No, I didn't. I I always read about that. I always seen that written, you know, and uh, I always I felt I felt like other people saw me in his shadow. But if I was, it was a hell of a place to be. Yeah, it was. Yeah, No, lie, like I understand, and I'm I'm first admit like being his son opened tons of doors wide open and made a lot of challenges for for an average guy trying to get in a sport much easier for me, and already I had like a built in fan base before

I mean when you go into i've never this has never been a situation for me, right, My dad didn't play football or anything like that, so I never had to like felt the need to overcome or impress him that way. My dad played college ball for a second. But I mean when you spend your whole life kind of feeling out like how can I get dad to notice how good I'm doing it.

These things.

I didn't know if once you got into NASCAR, if it was like, I don't know this, this thought of like I want to make did you ever want to up him?

Did you ever want to beat him?

And that's that shadow is a tough word to use because it sounds like, I don't know if it sounds negative, but I'm saying like, once you're in that thing with him, there there was no like that's dad, Dad's gotta went like you wanted to beat your dad.

We went to Japan. I had raced in the the Exfinity Series, which is kind of like college level or it's it's like Triple A and the next Steps to Cup series, where Dad's at. I won the championship, and so I got an invitation to race in an exhibition in Japan with Cup racers and Dad, and it would be the first time I'd ever be on the track

I'm kind of smiling.

I couldn't believe he was in there steering that car. I couldn't believe it. And then two days later, like we practiced qualify. Two days later, in the race, we're running, We're bad indoors and I'm pissing him off and he's mad. So a little extra froom too when he got to him. So this is how it kind of worked out. We I ran really good and he he ran like sixth to eighth the whole day. It's an exhibition, and he's

And so.

I go back on the track and I lined up like tenth and there's a real short five lap sprint to the end, and it's you gotta go. It's you can't lift, you can't take, you can't check up for something. Uh, you gotta go? What does check up?

Men?

You can't lift.

If it's something happening in front of you, and you check up off the gas or lift off the throttle, you it'll take you another lap to build up your momentum. And it's a lap that's gone. And if with five of that, with five laps to go, you just don't have time to be waiting on things to happen in front of you. You just try to make gup. Just go for it, right. So the so the green flag drops and I gotta I got things happening. I'm passing a couple of cars and I get to Dad really quickly.

And and so I.

Squeezed him into the wall and and we hit, and his nose slid up under my bumper, and now he has me in a bad position and he knows it. And so he's picked my rear tires off the ground and he's steering my car like a forklift down the straightaway. He could have just let you go. He should have let me go. Should have or could have. He could have, but he but he didn't. He's like he's like, he's like, I'm like, dude, you only You're like you only got an inch on me, and you could just let me

I go on.

I passed another car to and finished like fifth or something, and uh, he's eight these a couple of spots back. So the race is over. And I'm like, that was badass. And I beat my dad, you know what I mean? And he knows I beam.

I was.

This ship just happened, right, And so it was really cold. But I remember they had, uh it was in the middle of the winter. They had they had inside the track these little rented cubicles like trailers like you see on job sites, and each driver our team had one and me and Dad were sharing one. I go into the one that we have. It's cold as hell outside.

He's the front door. Back from childhood. I'm looking.

We we never talked about it, and you about it really never talked sounds like your father really didn't say a whole lot intimidator.

This like was like a cave man. Yes, sir, absolutely need a by light.

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We had run ins after that on the racetrack. We were at Bristol one day. Uh, it's my first Cup race at Bristol in two thousand. Bristol is a high bank concrete, a half mile track and you run there about fifteen sixteen second laps, silly fast, and it's wild to race. And so I just knew. I'm like, I'm gonna tear up a bunch of stuff today. This is just gonna happen. There's no bunch stuff on you.

You're in a mess.

I'm gonna right my car. This is a five hundred mile race and this time bull ring, and I'm young and dumb. Yeah, I'm gonna make a bunch of mistakes. Take We're just Bobby out there. I just want to go fast, get after it. Just how much do you hit do you love that movie or hate it? Sorry, I like it.

You like it?

I got a story about that, all right, stories for days.

Baby, You're the best you ever. It's like I'm sitting here, I'm really just enjoying your company. I wish there was a fire.

Pit right here. We're like smiling as it's going.

I guess it's over. Yeah, one hundred percent. Sometimes you get guys on here.

Look at each other and talking.

Hopefully the guy comes into it like three word answers. Yeah, you're like, all right, well this is going downhill fast, but no, sorry, I keep going. I don't want to kill your loving every second of this. We're Bristol and I qualified in front of Dad, and uh beside me is a friend named Elliott Sadler and he's on the inside and I'm on the outside and Dad's behind us. Well, me and Elliot are talking just about getting our cars. Dad walks up and goes, all right, boys, bristles stuff

He's going by and he sent a message watching this, spatting family members getting.

After he sends this message, like tell him to cut it out. He's going to find another driver, but he sent his he sent a message via his team to my team to tell me to stop it, to get a telephone. Yeah, they can tell you whatever they want. And so, but we had we had other moments kind of like that. But I mean, you know when the funny thing about it being in a race car is that, you know, the the race car turns into for lack

Yeah, Hunter laughs, down doesn't doesn't where was seeing the race when he's like running top ten, cruising hawks.

He's out there cruising like, hey man, sorry, but I've already forgot.

Yeah what happened? That's aside from your dad. Have you ever gotten that like mental to where you're like, I'm gonna I'm gonna wreck this car. Another guy right, like a different guy a different person. Yes, it happened.

I yeah, Kyle b Yeah the rivalry.

Is this a known rivalry that you're talking.

Yeah, so Kyle and me were really big rivals at this particular point in my career, and he, uh, what point is this two thousand and eight and.

You guys are you guys are big rivals? Is it a dislike rivalry or is it like, hey, we'll we're on the.

Track all we don't like them. I don't like them. Zach was probably back there like you're an idiot, Taylor, like you have no idea. So he's he was, he was like we he was just we just didn't like each other. And so this was there an incident at the bar.

Y Bobby.

Trying to make you say something like that. You know what I'm saying. So first off, let me tell the Ricky Bobby store.

So yeah, I love to hear it.

All right, Ricky Bobby and tallading Ice comes out or it's coming out right, and we're gonna get to see it before it goes to theaters. And uh, we're in Sonoma racing in California and they're like, yeah, you're gonna go over to what's the name of that place George Lucas's Ranch Star Wars Skywalker runt. You're gonna go over to the ranch and watch it. And we're like, damn, I'm all right, so that's cool. What does that mean?

So we drive in and it's beautiful, and it's just all the guys are going there, my team, Yeah, because you were were you in the movie?

You?

I had a little tiny thing, Yeah, a little for an autograph?

Right? How was that?

How many times five? Really?

Yeah?

It wasn't that mean professional? Yeah? I like that that or we just weren't gonna get any better. Yeah, we're getting progressively worse for these take Okay, let's just shut it down. So you know, we're driving into this place and and and they're like, yeah, he makes it. They

Down behind me and all right on being chill Yeah.

I was one shock to see him, right, and and had never thought I'd ever meet the guy. But what is he doing watching Telene Nights right?

Yeah?

Exactly? Why does he care to watch this movie?

There's millions of movies can be like, yeah, but uh, and I'm watching I'm kind of sad and I'm like, and he's chuckling at that.

That's pretty up. I think that's funny too. After this, we could talk about the movie and he's not even like listening to the movie.

He's just listening.

Damn. He thinks this is good. I think he's good too. I mean I like it, but now he likes it. It was weird, man, but it was uh and he uh, you know, after everything was done, you know, he was very nice to everybody. Hey, yes, thank you for coming.

Yeah, it's always cool.

So it sounds like that's an awesome, insane that is so bad.

That you get to see like a like a Yoda like figure.

None of that was happening.

There was no just hasn't just with the Skywalker rant, you know what I mean, you don't know if like the actual Star Wars actual Star I'm talking about just to figure sitting there. It's not like, yeah, no, Yoda's not a real thing, a real being.

I'm aware. I was trying to help you be aware of that. I don't know if you had a thing.

No, I know how you are.

But your Star Wars, yeah, I wish there was Star Wars. But I'm sharing the enthusiasm with both of.

You, right, Yeah, I'm not a massive fan, but I know him. Yeah he is, well, I know, yeah, absolutely.

Being a filmmaker's got to be one of the most difficult jobs to do because you're literally praying that people like it. And if it's like your hopes and dreams are on other people's opinions, God, that's got to be a tough li And when.

You're like making a certain decision that you might think is cool for seeing, you might have just one opinion next to you, like say, say I'm making something I'll make I think it's dope, and I'm like, hey, what are you thinking that. You're like, yeah, but maybe this and your one opinions like, oh man, maybe maybe everyone feels that way. Yeah, And then you changed. You're like, well, I was gonna do this. Everybody's like, oh, you should have kept it that way.

You're like, fuck, you are you quitting Tarantina fan? Yeah, yeah, well he just did it.

Just said a pop with Rogan. They were talking about a specific true romance. Yeah, yeah, true not true romances of our dogs. Yeah, the torture scene in that have you seen that movie?

Yes?

And then the scene where he cuts the guy's ear off and stuff like that, and Quentin was like, this is happening, and a couple guys were like, hey, listen, if you put this scene in the movie, you put your margin for the people that are going to come watch it, because it was like after.

Like the eighties or not like some decade like the eighties.

It's always a superhero.

Yeah. Yeah that was a good is it?

I have listened the whole thing?

Yeah? Big fan Charles like, who is this talking?

Like?

It's Quink Tarantino.

Yeah, this is my favorite director. Yeah by far. Sorry sorry, Yeah, it's a good movie. Yeah, good movie.

He makes a lot of good What story were we headed to before the Kyle Busch Kyle the rivalry you were trying to kill him?

Told story? This is told a lot. I tell this one a lot, but you oh you do you know? I want to know I learned that you got a new audience every time you're in front of the mic. So yeah, it's never the same.

So have you ever told your side of the story about why you hate him, why you hated him? Yeah?

So, I don't know, maybe we'll tell a little different this. Do we still hate him now?

No?

Oh, you don't hate him? No, he's great?

All right?

Oh well the story? Why did you guys go to dinner?

No?

Okay? Is he ain't great? Well, he's fine. That's better.

There you go. Now we're getting somewhere. And now we're getting somewhere. Yeah.

So anyways, he's we're racing against each other. He racist for Rick Hendrick, and I raced for for Dad. And he was a rookie and he did something at a racetrack and and uh, I said to the media that Kyle made a mistake and he'll figure it out. And he took offense to that. He's a rookie.

How how you've been in the game for eight years now, maybe not that long way, this is before that, okay, but I've been in doing it for six years maybe okay.

And uh, but anyways, someone asked me a question. I just said, you know, he made a mistake and and he'll figure that out. What was what was the mistakes? Like he calls the crash or something or or a couple of guys ended up crashing because of something he did. I can't read. Yeah, I don't even remember. It's not a big deal. And we went to uh that set

And so.

There was a race at Texas. His car crashed and there was a miscommunication between him and his team. He left the track and the car got repaired and they didn't have where's he at? They need to put him back in it to go finish a few laps. And they saw me in the garage and said, hey, are you get in this car? We got like eight laps to go. We just need you to go out there and run the rest of this race. And I'm like, absolutely, I'm diving in this thing head first because I wanted

And that was it.

Nothing, There was nothing. I didn't. It wasn't. It wasn't in spite, it wasn't a spike Kyle. But he was mad again, Right, I drove his car. Right, It's like I took his took his girlfriend out, and you know, I mean.

And so.

That's a reference. Yea day had a seafood dinner, never called her back. It was he he I'm an old school guy where relief driving is a cool thing and and it happened all the time in the seventies and I'm totally a throwback and nostalgic. And that's freaking yes. I've never been asked to relief drive for somebody, Right,

They decided not to do a contract, went to you got the contract, and he's in free agency and.

He gets hired by Joe Gibbs. This works out tremendously for him in the short run and the long run, but he was upset at the time and was like feeling rejected by Rick Hendrick. Rick's this ultra freaking respected guy in the sport, and if you get rejected by him, there must be something wrong with you, right, And he read that. And so when we started racing the next year, and I'm in his car and he's in the Joe Gibbs car. It was me against him. That's the way he saw it, and that's the way I kind of

And so.

He's a good enough race car driver to know how to intentionally if he was trying to intentionally crash me, he's good enough to just go in there and move me out of the way and go on and win. So I know that it just, you know, I know, just watching him by how all that went down, that he didn't really intend for that to happen. But he was absolutely unapologetic, and of course, I mean, he wasn't

Now.

The media is in love with this. Media loves it. Every week, right, They're going to him. Hey, Neil said this, what do you think? Well, help with him? Now, Hey, Kyle just said ten minutes to go to hell with you? What do you think? And they just going at us every week, right, And we have these obligations to the media. We had to be obligation. You had to be there. And so they knew they were going to get a sound bite. And Kyle was not great at biting his tongue.

Is there Is there a fine system put in place with NASCAR, Like you see you can say whatever you want.

Yeah, Like Ricky, listen that that's little of this whole podcast. We're really hanging out on this. We go back to Richmond later in the year and the back end of the summer, and uh, the it's early, it's midway through the race, it's not near the end. It's not in the same scenario. But Kyle's leading and I'm running second, and I went into turn one and tried my hardest to put him in the wall, and uh, he's I ran into the back of him and he slid up the track and backed into the fence and spun down

Hey, and we're back. Hey comments, comments, comments, comments on YouTube, comings in the YouTube shout out, shout out hey. Right now, Cigars International is offering our listeners ten percent off your order plus free shipping. Just go to Cigars International dot com. Is this right? That's the call to action, That's what we start with. Either way, you're gonna be using uh the promo code. Boys at checkout look number one, shout

Yeah.

So, how many exchanges with Kyle did you have in like like you and I talking right now, like face to face.

Do you ever look at him? Hey Kyle? Sood No?

Did you mentioned there's Twitter back then?

Oh? Shit?

That was a.

There was one. So and this is what I don't tell.

Let's go.

We and Kyle's Kyle. You can get Kyle's version of it. It might be different.

I was welcome on this podcast. Yeah, I was welcome you you this is your second time on't.

Bus.

You should have him. We were at Phoenix and this is toward the This is around p R. Yeah, this is around twenty fourteen. Things aren't going well for me. I'm having a down year, pretty frustrating year.

And uh.

It's practice. I'm going down the back straight away and I'm slowing down and coming into the pits and I get to the apron and Kyle's going Kyle's behind me and he's coming by, and I guess I was too close to the racetrack. He didn't like where I was at and it was appeeding, and it was bothering him and his focus and his really the racetrack. I moved here in the no I slowed down and got on the apron to come into the pits. And he's coming by me on the racetrack and uh, and he you

That the other way. We really did, because you know, what's his name, I'm gonna kill you, Taylor says.

He gets I just don't think that's that big of a deal because it's like, I don't know, it could happen, but you're not gonna kill knock him out, hopefully.

I don't the car being a weapon at some point.

Because questions, emotions get the best of you do. So you tell this guy everything I wanted to tell him, and I I'd never ever do that, right, That's that a character for me, But it was to a point to where I was done. I needed to tell this guy to knock it off right. The words in the media, the bird, the this, the disrespect is just got to come to an end. You're gonna respect me, and you're not gonna you're not gonna look at me the way you're looking at me and perceive me the way you

You just said it and turn around and you walked out.

I didn't want him to respond to me. And his his crew chief didn't didn't move, and like it. It was what I wanted it to be. Yeah, you know, I feel like that if I didn't want anything to happen to where it would have gotten physical, it probably would have easily gotten that way. It's good that nothing happened to where it became physical. It's kind of dude. He's tall. He's tall, but he's not now, Okay, I mean yeah, you're okay. He's taller. He's taller than me five ten and a half.

That I love that half.

Sad half.

You get the detailed question. Looking back on it, he stood up and said, all right, I'll kill you right now. He had to have found out who was gonna be like that, So you think you could have taken him?

I don't know, is are you back there?

Story where you got in his car? Yeah, he's pretty skinny. Yeah, I don't I'm not. I don't have enough. We'll I don't know what my ability is. Yeah, that's understandable.

I mean, no one can really fight unless you're a fighter, right, Like all of us can sit here and talk about what every At the end of the day we fight for.

There's buttons all over this chick.

I might be hard for twenty seconds. We're all we're both tired.

We're like, all right, hey, guys, get twenty get the hell out of here. But you used to think I can fight. We all did, yeah with one right, Yeah, at at one.

Point we all think we still do. Come on, we're on cameras. I don't know.

Once I started getting kids, I was like, I don't know who am I fighting dude, Yeah, only my daughter's assumed me fighting somebody, you know, practice, no problem.

It felt good though. I was glad to do it, and it got it. I think it changed our relationship. So, you know, years later he's he texted me one day and he's like, Hey, We're at a race track somewhere. He's like, Hey, I want to talk to you about some race. He owns the team and I owned the team. He's like, I want to compare some things that y'all are doing with what I'm doing on my business. How far after probably four years after the Richmond incident, okay, four or five years.

Four or five years, so you guys lines of communication after that, and the media kind of stopped. You guys obviously didn't talk. So he just had you guys are both.

Kind of transitioning in the business world, and you guys are kind of like, you know, respected at this point.

And then we started communicating and then I had him on my podcast and we talked about Richmond. Oh, we never talked about it, and I said, hey, come on my podcast and let's talk about Richmond, and let's talk about that day, what you went through, what I thought, what you thought, what what I know, let's be honest and be clear and everything beyond that, all the dirt we threw on each other in the media. Yeah, and and we talked it out and he told me, and you know, you can get him in here and talk

Yeah?

And he's like, I don't know, we'll find out. And so he was playing dumb. Yeah, He's like, do you he has have agents in the game or you guys? Kind of I think it's probably his parents more than anything, right, I imagine.

I don't know. I doubt he had an agent, but he's like, man, back then, I wanted to be your friend like you were. You were the bud guy, you were the you were the fun guy. He was like, I wanted to be in your group. And I'm like, damn, I didn't know that. He's like, yeah, I hated how things got took off with us and how we went down this other path. He's like, because when when I was coming into sport, I was thinking, Man, it's gonna be cool if I can hang out and drink beer

Yeah, we're having beers.

Now, how cool is that having beers?

How cool is it like to have somebody when you're in the game long enough look up to you. What we talk about that sometimes it's like when you play something long enough, you have kids that are growing up and going into your world that are fans of you, Like, hey, you're selling some You're just like, yeah, listen, I'm just talking about you know what I'm saying. That's I mean, that was That's a cool feeling for us.

It's pretty cool. Now, Yeah, you know, I don't. I don't not the It wasn't that cool to hear that from my peers, if any of those were to ever say that. But now that I'm done and I'm and these like twenty year olds, they are coming into sport, and I guess because I'm forty six and I feel like I'm getting old as hell that they even knew who I was. They're like, man, I used to be a big hell junior fan when I was five. I'm like,

Who the hell I am, right right, Yeah, it's super cool. Yeah, So we go back to the beginning of the podcast, legend, just let your.

You're returning, They'll be I see you're you're returning back to the racetrack.

Well, I do run one a year. I run one race a year to scratch the itch and to smell the smells and hear the sounds. So when I'm I'm a broadcast for NBC and I when you're up there in the booth, all right, if you're a player and you go into the broadcast booth, it's you can tell the broadcast and the viewer everything that the player's thinking, right, because you played it. You just played there. You were

Yeah, But if you win, are you gonna sit there like you No, Let's get another run at this thing.

H No, I'm done, man, I you know I ran. I raced for twenty years. I had some head injury stuff, some concussion stuff, and I felt like that I was going to the well too many times I felt like that I was taking some risks unnecessarily. So I'm getting ready to get married. And at the end of twenty sixteen,

Right.

I had like these visual cues that you could see.

Right.

I had balance issues and visual I had I had uh issues speaking and thinking of pulling words out, you know, just trying to form the normal sentences and not being able to think of a simple word that I use every day.

Right.

I had these issues that were frightening, man, frightening and uh. And I thought to myself, like I don't want to ever put myself back there again. Uh, And going to the racetrack and running every single week, You're gonna crash you cannot run a whole year and never hit anything. You're gonna hit stuff. And and if I'm just hitting stuff all the time, I'm never giving myself any chance to get beyond this and get past this and get away from it. Right, And so yeah, going back and

Have you done like anything post racing that is like beneficial for brand stuff? Have you gone and looked at anything like IV therapy is different stuff like that?

No, So I haven't. And the only reason I think is because I haven't had anything that's triggered me to have concern. And so, you know, when I had the problems that I was having in twenty sixteen, I'd already been to Pittsburgh to see Mickey Collins, who's a guy that works with a lot of the Steelers. Yeah, he's the Steelers guy, Penguin's guy, but he also worked with other racers. He's worked with a lot of people that I know, but he's worked. He's worked with tons of

Right?

So finally I figured out that I needed to go see him, and he uh, we spent eight months fixing it.

Wow, yeah, it was you do anything that I was like, out of the norm of what the usual.

Well, you know, everybody's experience seems to be different, and whether you My treatment in twenty twelve was much different than in twenty sixteen because the the understanding of how to treat a concussion had changed. So when twenty twelve happened, they were like no TV, no cell phones, dark rooms, sleep, silence, quiet, nothing. And in twenty sixteen, when I was like, man, I do not want to go through that, no rooms in

Yeah you have.

You're trying to get over a concussion. What are you doing?

You know?

And so I would take all the people that I could take to see Mickey when I would go visit him, so he could explain to them like, hey, this is what we're doing, and he's in big trouble and so you know, and it was helpful, but uh, it took a long time to get over that, and I you know, so I think I retired probably about if that never happened. If that never happened, I'd probably race way on into my late forties. And I think that if I hadn't

You worry, bussy t.

I think you know I do. Uh, it's a I don't worry about it. For me, I can't live the rest of my life thinking, man, what's gonna happen to me? I think that some people do live their life like that, worrying about their future. But I'm just gonna today's good. Let's see how tomorrow is. Tomorrow's good. You know, I'm just doing it, doing it day to day.

You've also dealt with a lot of trauma also, like just like that plane Crush talked about in the last podcast and Wills and Hayes flying in It's like, I bet every time you got on a plane, it's there's gotta be a little something in there. Yeah, it starts taking off, you just start rolling a little bit, like let's.

Get this thing off the ground.

Yeah, the arm.

But if you live your entire life thinking of the next flight I take, you can't. I can't do that. I can't not fly. Yeah, I've got to get back on a plane because there'd be would be things I need to go do that are important, right.

Like busting with the boys.

It's very important. This is a very important thing. Fall through through the anxieties.

To be here.

Yeah.

I hope you guys are enjoying this all time episode that is going to belong on Mountain bus Moore and I think you would all agree. But need a shout out Cannabis, Cannon Dips CBD, no free shoutouts, candadips uh from deep in the hills of Humboldt County, California. This is gonna be tough following the clear rules of no free shout outs. I I fucking love that comes the innovative dip heroes at Candadip CBD, the original nicotine and tobacco free dip alternative with CBD. Guys, we super excited

Man, I'm working hard at it. Seems like everyone's really excited about it. Yeah, yeah, everyone that even people that aren't just just a casual fan are excited. I think people just want as many sports as possible here and that absolutely.

I think so. I always say that, you know, the rising Tides lists, all the ships up, and we have IndyCar coming to run the street course at Nashville. We got NASCAR at the Nashville super Speedway. There's a lot of there's a push to get Nashville to the fairgrounds in town. It's a short track and so and Nashville Man has changed so much in the last ten years. When NASCAR left in nineteen eighty four, it was a different town. And what it is today, it's where we

Yes, absolutely, yeah, it brings the brand up. Have is there is there a difficulty with the brand of NASCAR in the last like ten years, like keeping everything going in a tribjectory. You guys wanted to go in.

Well the uh you know, we had an amazing run in the two thousands. Things were crazy, we were, I mean, souvenir business was multimillions of dollars. All the drivers were making money in souvenirs alone. Driver salaries were going through the roof. Sponsorships were going through the roof. In two thousand and eight, I think we had over four million, forty million dollars on one car, really, yeah, Rick Hendrick was probably near to one hundred million dollars for his

Really, yeah, it's that much of a difference, Yeah, for some plat do What do you think that is? Is it just everybody a different way?

I don't think so. I think it's the way people consume content these days. I think that's you know, there were a million different variables that made it more difficult

Yeah, nig City, Bro, it'd be awesome.

I think however many people you can get is gonna go, especially that first one. But if you guys do it right. We read concerts and all that.

We ran out at the fair, we ran out at the speedway, and everybody the industry, meaning crew members, all the people that work in NASCAR drivers, wives, all the industry people and the fans all got entertained for a week, you know. I mean we came into town, we went to Broadway, we had they had parties, and out at the track they had parties. The sponsors were holding parties in town, big vents. Everybody was getting taken. It was great and we had that stuff hasn't been happening for years.

Yeah, pretty savvy in the business world.

I was.

I was transitioning from like NASCAR juggling the business and becoming the businessman that you're obviously being, like being a part owner in the NASCAR speedway circuit whatever it's called. Apologize, No, it's good.

I've been uh well, speedway circuit.

I'm just saying.

It's all good.

The NASCAR Talladega race.

Yeah, I think I used to tell people, like when I first started racing, and it was just I was just making a paycheck from racing alone. And uh, I used to tell people that I wanted to find my form and grill. So George Foreman had the grill. And and anyone in any athletes size or any race car driver's eyes, you know you want to you want to be George Foreman. I want to have them. You want

Yeah.

And uh so you try, you know, not everything, some things are silly, but you try about everything that sounds good, right, and some stuff doesn't work. I've done candy bars, uh, and different things that just don't work. Chocolate, what's to do on the candy bars that did just go? I mean, getting some shelves, space, get a damn store. I don't care what kind of food product you are. Is competitive. Look, you just don't walk in and put your tatter chips on the tater chip aisle. You know what I mean?

To do.

I got some people that I partner with that absolutely know how to run a restaurant. And that's why it wins, you know, And so you know when you you just can't go in there thinking, Man, I know how to do this. I know how to run a night club. Be the best nightclub. Yeah, you know, you're never gonna make it if you're not a nightclub owner. If you weren't born into it, you can do everything right. You have to put with the right people in the right place. George didn't build that grip.

He did not.

There's no way he built that grill. Do you think George is in the basement.

Maybe things together?

You don't know George, dude, I do actually know George. Yeah, literally, so this I actually wanted to talk about. What is how did this happen between you two? Let's like, what because I've heard I've heard a gentle story about.

Wales.

He you know, he flexed on me a couple of times.

It's tough sometimes strong around Dale and I being friend.

Yeah, there's no question.

I mean I literally I feel like the third wheel here. But I do want to know between the two, how did this whole thing work out?

Is a natural thing?

Yeah?

It natural?

He can? He can? He can, you know, chime in whatever. How I remember it. We were on our run. That's when we won the division back in twenty and fifteen, and that was the year I started taking over the job, and we were we were playing well in the back end the back end of the season, and we started stringing games together because we can never win like two games in a row. It was always we'd win one, we lose one, we win one, we lose one. And

Man.

He's a fan of the team, because Kat's a big fan of the Washington football team. And Kat responds like, hey, Comp, I know who you are. Man. He follows me and stuff. And I'm like, you know, I played that up, that KD follows me. And then I see yeah, yeah exactly.

I like, Kat fan is that how you saw this thing go down?

Well, he's he's a he was a Washington guy too.

He was watching fan, Yeah, Washington fan. And I was always like active thought, this is the guy I'm gonna follow. I was on social Let's let's take a pause here.

Okay.

So I was like, let's look that for a second. So you're obviously a huge fan of the team. Yes, to be falling, you know what I'm saying. Well, fifteen playing well? Yeah, playing well.

But the first was dat play each other that year?

Yeah we won.

I know, I'm very aware. It was a horrible day. It wasn't fun a white good It.

Was you and Alex Boone. You guys were both They called me like some like white guy out there, but Boone was like messing with me.

I remember going to you like, hey we played other in college, and You're like, all right, white dude with the content on his back. I'm like you can't.

This got to be the same guy from Nebraska. So okay, So twenty fifteen hits, Well, how did you get to that man's twitter?

Washing him play? He's playing good? Are you serious? I mean like you saw him make a couple of make a couple of Accoles and you just gave him a follow. I think it was more like.

That looks so different.

That was like just bored as hell, like all the time.

We couldn't even drive the race car that day for real. But oh really yeah, but yeah, so.

You just started following that day?

Or was it?

Did you see the I don't. I think it might have been that day. I don't I think it was that day. I can't remember. I mean, I just you know, I would. I just was like, man, this guy seems pretty cool and we needed, uh, you know, our team needed some personality.

Uh.

You know, when you're a fan, you gravitate towards the guys that seemed to show some personality. Right, there's the workman type guy that you appreciate, like you know, uh that that scores a touchdown, hands the ball, the wrap goes back to the bench, right right. But you know every team needs that sort of uh clown, right, that class clown.

Jesus Christ God, it's the funnyest fun about that is, I know, you know, every team needs sort of a clown. And I just see that part being in just some trailer that.

You know what I mean, just the fun you're enjoying yourself. Things were work, things are going well for you, and you were you were you were embracing that, and you were sharing that with fans.

Right.

That fired me up because Dobson back there was my He's been my strength coach pretty much my entire life.

And uh say this, okay, all right, I am a fan of the team, and if I can interact with one of the players, I mean, I'm no different than the guy next door who isn't a race car driver and on TV, right, I'm just like him. And if I'm just as excited about, you know, getting on social media and interacting with Will is this guy.

Is I get it.

And so people think people that do stuff, they think that I'm like, yeah, right, like George, George, you're not a fan of anything.

Ye like me and George like he's really nice. It's like, oh yeah, I mean we're all human beings, like we all like want to hang.

Yeah, he's playing for the team, and I'm like, dang, that's cool, man, because we you know, he was cool enough to be, you know, engage.

Which is crazy because I'm thinking, I'm like, because I knew dob was a huge Dale or hard junior fan, and I'm like, yo, I can't wait to show tell Dob that Dale and I follow each other. We're kind of friends because what I'm saying.

And so.

The next uh, the next year, we were about to go to O t As. Dale tweets like, hey, good luck in O t As. I'm like, we're fucking we're boys, man, And then we get to go we get race at the Richmond Speedway.

Is that is that?

Oh? Yeah, we get to go to Richmond Speedway and it's just yeah, that's how it happened, dude, Literally like Twitter and the kind of really we text every now and then.

That's super nice. I'm really glad this is developing something that you got some both hang your hat on all over.

The guy.

It was just a clown, and you know, every team needs a you know, a clown.

He goes, he goes.

You got the hard.

Workers, you know, and then you know every team needs like a clown.

Yeah, that day, that day, you guys been driving, Like were you guys kicking it up? You guys couldn't drive the race car. Legit, we couldn't drive the race car.

Yeah. He was like, we get to choose like four or five players to come out to the speedway, like your names on the list, like make sure we get to go out because it was during training camp. So you wait. So you go to the stand and hey, you're doing like a retirement round or something, right.

Yes, and you go to it was Richmond. Yeah, go to Richmond, Washington at the time, Washington football team.

Yeah. So I was going to go to training camp later that day. Yeah, but we had we practiced early in the mornings.

Right, and so we had to wait on y'all.

And yeah, I think I put you and me, Kirk Morgan, Moses, Ryan Kerrigan, and I don't know if there's anybody else, but you put on your list or you.

Put Will on your list. I put all those names on this.

Okay, got you Morgan, Moses, huh Off, it's Lineman Butt. You follow him on Twitter, say, hey, Dale, how much more bake can I throw you?

Now?

Let me get that. But yeah, it was an awesome time. And I'm sitting there thinking, like, you know, we finally get the meet and hang out and we take like you know, I do like a little snapchat, little snapchat selfie with him with the dog tongue and stuff, and he drives around the car and I just you know, have a blast. Yeah, I'm like a kid in the candy store, no question, you know. I see Dale. This the most humble human being. I like to tell you,

He just seems like he's happy to give you the He's like this guy, were you really yes?

What like what what?

What are you nervous about? Because you see how he's on driving.

We will come to the boy, the boy in the.

Car, dude, you got there. You know they're in the middle of their prep for the season.

Oh we were hyped up to man. There there.

Are on whatever that is, right, staying healthy and just getting getting the work in. And they are getting, you know, asked to go out of their way over to do this thing.

It's like a field trip. We got to miss some of the training camp.

All right, I don't know that, so you know, this is the greatest thing.

Keep driving so we don't have to go back.

You're like, hey, good day, you're sitting there going, man. I hope they like I hope they want to be here. Yeah, that's what I'm saying, dude.

But then you you went though, like ran around against Jeno, right, Yes, yeah, Josh Norman, I remember that.

We're buddy, Hell, how did that you catch on him? I did?

So that's back when Jo was like Jay No, Yeah, he was like that. We came off going to the playoffs the year before, went in the division. Kirk was now taking the hell, you know, leading the way at quarterbacks, so we had like it was like, you know, it was a good time to be a Washington football Teammateah.

Yeah, So that was off script. So we were walking We're walking around. I'm just like, I don't even know where it's supposed to be, and uh, you know, I'm trying to be out of the way, but there's no obvious place that this is out of the way and their players doing their own thing, and Josh was jesus, Josh, is are you showing the Josh thing? This is me and Josh Norman.

Do you remember that? I bet he thought you were an asshole. Dude.

I'm like, who's Josh Norman? I was, I was kind of bush to you.

What's he doing?

After this? Yeah, well we were so this this thing. We were in four minute drill at the end of the game.

This is like the game like it was like December twenty third, was like Christmas time, and what's the upset for? Well, okay, so Josh, so we did four minute drill. Obviously in the game, I did their bone arrow. I know, That's why I trying to make this thing. And then they So Derek runs the ball left, smart move, gets a few yards and Josh tackles him and Gator rolls his leg and I'm not like, like, listen, Derek's my boy. But even if Derek wasn't my boy, like the we're

This day was that boom do Do Do doo and he's like still floating off. That's awesome. You guys are you guys had a little deal there. That's nice. Yeah, I'm happy for you too.

No, I'm not being judged, it's just it's just interesting to get the perspective of other people because I don't know, I feel like we'll was probably super nervous to meet you too getting in there.

Oh dude, I was fired up, like up, yeah, I mean I was a little nervous, but I was like fired up too, just just like I wasn't like a big Nascar guy growing up, but knowing like Dale Junior, like you just know Dale Junior, just the name Dr Junior, and you know people like Dobson and a couple like family members back home that are like, you know, love Nascar, like love Dale Junior. So I'm like stoked to show dob I'm like, dude, check this ship out. And uh but yeah, I was. I was like fired up to

I love that. It's all I had.

Even looked away. You're like, that's awesome.

We just want to celebrate our friendship. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's nice to be a part of, just to be around it. It's like it's uh, it's infectious. It's infectious.

Exactly what you.

Yeah, anybody Dobson, you guys been back there, I'm sure time.

He was all right, let's do this. I've kind of got two questions. We'll start with the first one.

Okay, So I didn't really grew up like I mean, I'm twenty two, So your dad wasn't really alive like when I could remember racing. But I was listening to the Ty Norris episode of him talking about the most Popular Driver award? What kept your dad from winning that?

Like for so long?

Like people now, I mean know your dad, but they don't know Bill Elliott. He was the one who was winning that award way back then.

Yeah, I mean Bill. So the most Popular Driver award when dad was alive went to Bill Elliott. He won it sixteen times. I think he holds the record. And Bill's popular now.

He was.

He was a popular driver without a doubt.

But the.

You know, I can say this, I think without being too disrespectful, but we always felt like that they had bots before bots were bots, right, they had a hm, I'll be I think, you know, to be clear, what it was is that they organized like that. You know, when the vote was going on, you had to vote through an old news letter and his fan club would organize and be like, all right, everybody's that time of year, let's go get get you get your votes in, right,

Bill?

Bill's nickname was Awesome Bill from.

Dawsonville, Awesomeville from Dawsonville, Austville, George, Hey, listen, put there one everywhere Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. That's tough, Like listen, as a casual, casual fan, I don't know who that is.

Sure, you know, you gotta refrain, you gotta frame this in the eighties, you know, awesome you know the it was. It sounded absolutely spot on in the eighties, like, yeah, Awesome Bill from dos Mill. That's people.

It's got a nice jingle to it, right, Yeah, yeah, today it might not sound quite as might not it sounds dated.

Yeah, that name is getting drugg on.

A little round table.

And like, hey, let's take a nickname for Dale. And you said Awesome Dale from wherever he's from, I'd say, hey, well, you gotta leave the room.

You're fired.

Get him out of here right now. Yeah, the intiminary lives on forever. I suppose that name is awesome. I suppose, man, I feel I feel like I have to I feel like I have to.

Have bills back. I mean, yeah, yeah, I get you.

Yuh yeah, yeah, you guys. Everybody shoots honest and everybody shoots straight in here. But I think that, you know, it was in the eighties. It like seemed to make sense right.

Here in the eighties, right coming coming after you know, the seventies.

Yeah, yeah, in like the eighties, Like even if you look at the movies like Friday, like Friday the thirteenth, it's like no, no, no, and like they have like the thirteen and it's like probably a swing and a miss now right, that's like you can you do that on any computer?

Now?

Yeah? Exactly, that's true.

Exactly. Yeah, I see what you're saying, getting this.

To the other side. Keep getting us to the other side, being like that is a badass name.

That is nice. Yeah that I think about it, whatever whenever I want. That's a lot from me yesterday.

Zach also brought up that you had a funny story for accepting the award of your dad. I did. Uh.

So the banquet at that time was in New York City, and my dad is passed away earlier the year before, and Bill Elliott bowed out of the voting that year and said, do not vote for me, really, And so Dad won it after you know, that year after his death he goes and so at the banquet, they have a dinner or breakfast the day before the morning of, and they give away these special awards, right, and that one of them is the most Popular Driver award, And Dads,

And so.

The general manager for DEI, my dad's company, ty Norris, comes up there and he's like, hey, the bankt or the breakfast is happening. Come on, and I'm like, I ain't going down there, fucking that, I'm not doing it. He's like, no, you got to go do it. This is your dad's award. And he's like, I'm like, I always got to accept everything for him, you know. Ever since he's passed away, I got to go up there and get all the things, and everybody wanted to honor

I know.

I'm glad I did. I would probably that would be something that'd be something you'd regret.

I love how you just turned around and walked out, just set the scene.

Good for him. It was good, is thatch? Was that your second question?

No?

So this is uh.

I guess more or less athlete mindset. And maybe Taylor and Will can relate to this, but they may not know this, but you went on a four year losing streak. You what was your mentality like during the middle of those four years where you were just not winning.

Like I was going I was saying to my I was saying to only a very very few individuals that I wanted to quit, like this is miserable, this sucks. I don't want to do this anymore. How can I end this? How can I get out of this? How can I stop this? I just don't want to And I didn't have the I didn't say it to like my car owner, Rick Hendrick, or my team because I was I knew one that I wasn't being honest with myself, and obviously I didn't want to destroy the relationship. Rick

Especially for like four years. You're like, what am I doing?

So I changed crew chiefs. And this guy that came in, his name Steve Latart. He was kind of kind of rejected by the driver that was driving for him a little bit. At least he viewed it as I'm not wanted by this guy. And he came to me and he said, I think me and you were both looking at our last chance. He said to you, yeah, and he's like, we're gonna do this and we're gonna make it work, or you know, if you don't do what I need you to do, then it ain't gonna work.

No.

So I got this rumor on the way into Charlotte Murder Speedway. We were racing there in May. So I've got this screwchief right, and he we we're doing well. And when we don't do well, instead of looking at me and going all right, man, I need you to try a little harder, he looked at me and he said, I got to build you a better car. And I'm like, holy shit, I've never heard that, right. I always heard that I made the mistake, or I needed to try harder.

Yeah.

And he was a massive, awesome cheerleader, always cheer always like come on, man, we can do it. Come on. Standing there always cracking the whip. Come on, come on, we can do it. You know, if you're talking, you know you're hearing your hearing this over the radio. It's pumping you up every race. Anyways, you know, he's taking this job as a broadcaster, and I was devastated, and so,

We won.

I have four races maybe something like that. And uh, then he went into TV, and so I raced a few more years and had some more fun. And then when I got ready to retire, I went to the booth where he works. Really yeah, I said, hey, man, you cool. If I come to the booth, they're offering me this job. He's like, come on, yeah, that's awesome. Now we're back.

I love that.

I'd love to hear that for sure.

Those two years after he left, was there like a nervousness transition like that support systems kind of gone.

Nope, So we had there was there was this prospect, prospect Greg guy'es was his name. He's a crew chief, bright engineering mind. And I talked to Steve and I said, okay, I said, man, you're leaving me. You got one job outside of us going through this final year together. You got one damn job. Like every time there's a void in this team, you don't try to just feel it. You try to put a better person in that position.

Yeah.

I was like, find me that guy that's better than you. I was like, here's all the names. I'm here, and here's here's the people that we could go after. And he's like, that's the guy right away. And I'm like, I like that guy too. I'm glad you feel that way. That's cool.

Yeah, I love that that's hard transitioning from anybody, but just having having the sports system and yeah, that's cool.

He was so cool about that. And that's one of the tough things about I don't know if that's one of the tough things about life is learning that not you know, you're gonna fall in love with people, You're gonna make these amazing friendships with people, whether it's your wife, your best friend, your dad, your your your cousin, your your buddy from high school. But none of that stuff lasts forever. That was such a hard lesson to learn,

Yeah, man, that is that is so true too. It's like sometimes like just think about like almost being done with ball, like damn, like this chapter that you've worked, you know, up to twenty three years to play it. You know, a sport that you you know, you know the average career is light, and then to play and then you know, now you know, like it's almost final and over, regardless if I want it to be or not.

That these friends in your life are like seasons. Like you there has this big vertical leap and you're like, God, this guy's the best. Then for whatever reason, it kind of just fizzles out. But then you make like two or three that are like lifetime friends.

Sure.

Yeah, of course. The best are the ones where you might not hear from them for a long time, but you can pick it right back up. That's how me and my high school are. Man, they don't give you that, They don't give you that that feeling of that vibe that man.

You should have stayed in touch the whole time.

Why haven't you been calling me? Yeah, they're just like glad to hear from you.

Yeah, you got a buddy who can get off the phone with and a month later call back and pick up on the same conversation.

Those are the Those are the ones that last forever. Yeah, that's awesome.

The boys when you when.

You were talking about your dad and like kind of always wanting him to give you that that approval, and like when you start racing, you started to see that. You guys, when he went from preaching to okay, you're kind of working together as a tutoring when he did pass away, Where were you guys at in your relationship?

Was it really everything you wanted it to be? Yeah, it was amazing. I was uh.

We I was this? Uh I was this.

I don't know how to put this into words and articulate just right. But man, he was looking at me like, this is gonna be part of the future of my business, right, I mean it had to be. I had won, uh you know, over a dozen races in the Xfinity Series, two championships back to back, and was moving into the Cup Series, had won the All Star Race as a rookie, won at Texas and Richmond, and I had this potential, right, I had this this uh, this this prospect of success.

Listen, both of you are fathers of two daughters.

Yeah, you have two daughters. Hold it they now three and eight months. Gosh, I have mine just turned four, and they have one that's certain one.

In a week. Yeah, it's awesome.

It's it is awesome. It's it's definitely. It's cool to see their different personalities. You have one, you're like, okay, they're all like this, right, and when you have the next one, like, listen, this is way different, you know, but it's very cool being a dead That's awesome.

It is.

Yeah, it's crazy how different they look. You'd think, I mean, I'm not. This is different for every parent. Some parents their kids do look similar. But they these two that I got, man, they appear to be complete opposites. And their whole vibe they give off is not the same. Yeah, and uh but it's fun and it's good and but it's so challenging to try to my three year old

I saw Taylor's oldest win almost choked Taylor to death. I remember that she didn't want to get out of the pool.

She's like screaming, it's tough, man, because yeah, I mean my childhood wasn't the best and so like for me, it's like, I want to make sure that you guys have everything you need without being spoiled and also appreciate the things you have. And it's just you just don't want to You just don't want to be like that kid. Whatever the in that situation is, that's kind of act

So I went in i was room the other day and and uh She's laying in there and I'm like, I'm like, uh, hey, you're good. She's like get out. Yeah, And I'm like you're three, Yeah, what the hell.

You're like nine twelve, Yeah, get out of my room, dad, But she's three and saying get out of here, and the most random things will be so mean to you, and then the next minute they'll like kind of crawl over, yeah, snug on you a little bit and turn around just give you a kiss, and you're.

Like, that's all right.

Yeah, my kids are awesome. I'm gonna be definitely be that dad when they start doing stuff like see what my kid did?

He always to having them what they did there? I always got the video on your phone videos.

Do you wish you had a boy? No, because I so I was thinking about my own life, thinking about growing up, and you know, the thinking about growing up in my dad's house and how much people expected and thought, Man, you know, you're just automatically gonna be this rock star race car driver. I'm just gonna you know, you're gonna follow right in your dad's footsteps and do everything he

It's almost like there's some other option, like, you know, that's what I'm going to be.

I'm trying to make that clear. I because people aren't supposed to wish for one of the just you know, want a healthy baby, right, and so I feel I feel okay, So my wife is badass, and my little my first girl is giving me all this love, right, and I'm like, damn, I'll take some one of this.

But would you name them in the third.

No?

Hell no, And so damn don't think it easy. I'm the third note.

No, hell no, that'd be awesome.

No.

The junior is the thing that's like, all right, well you get it going, yeah, get it. It's like, oh, I felt.

That paintings hanging in on some royalty water.

Mustaches. It was the first to say, yeah, I was worried that I would screw up the boy that I would. I felt like that I wasn't parent material in terms of being able to treat teach them uh right and wrong and manners. And I don't have that. In my mind, I'm thinking I don't have that ability. I'm not a parent.

I don't know.

I'm never parented. I'm probably going to be pretty bad as everybody before they have their first Yeah.

Yeah, I'm looking at my wife, going, now, she's got it, even though she's probably sitting there going, I don't got it.

I don't know what I'm doing. I'm looking at everyone. She knows what she's doing.

And she can keep these girls in line because she knows girls, right. I don't and and and I can't screw these girls up. She's Amy's not going to allow it, right, She's gonna raise two perfectly amazing girls, and I will have.

Nothing to do with it. If not, it's on her, you know. Well, But boy, it was no, There was no. It was sure to be a mess. That was the way I had it in my head. I hear you, that is absolutely not the reality of the situation. But that's like, in my mind that's the way I think. I think I'm weird. Do you think your patients have gotten a lot better? Like for me, whenever my kids

Yeah?

You know what I'm saying, How do I handle this situation the right way? My patients have gotten a whole lot better.

I mean I've I have gotten to the point to where like Ilah is trying to do something and I'm like, you're not gonna bother me, Like you're trying to get me upset, You're trying to trigger me, You're trying to get this reaction out of me. And I'm not gonna not bothered by what you're doing right there and keep it on going, right, And So I think I have I didn't have that in year one, year one and a half two, but I've I've kind of I used to let her bother me. Man, she could hurt my feelings.

Right?

I finally, for the most part, work that out. Now, she's gonna have new tools. You know, they get older, they come at you with new things. They say that they're like, wait, that that hurts that that's a new one.

Yeah.

Yeah, and uh, and we'll we'll deal with that when it happens. But it's, uh, you know, it's it's interesting. I'm hands on, man. I take out of the school, pick her up from school. Like when Amy, when we had our second one. That first year, I was I was. My job was taking care of Isla. Get her up, get her dressed, get her to school, pick her up from school, spend the rest of the day with her, get her breath, theater, you know, get her bath, get her teeth brush, get her back in bed. I mean, boom,

Going DoD You got a question, It's been the longest pot we might have ever done rightfully, So I mean this is what we needed, like Dale on the you know the Dale bus. I know, what do you think of the bus? Yeah?

Like you know, I was honored like that y'all chose to do your pod in this bus was really cool to me. That's awesome.

It was when he got here. I asked him like, what do you think. He's like, it's cool, man. I'm thinking like, come on.

I mean, yeah, this is your number, this is your cool. Thing is is like we didn't paint this like this. This is Yeah, there's a story about this bus. I've come across five or six different people. It's like, oh yeah, my buddy's on that bus, and then somebody else's buddy. I think it's been around forever, you understand.

Yeah, Coffy, good deal.

I think Trader probably yeah, I'm drinking buddy.

Oh yeah, you guys cool, he flew out here. He's going to hang out with a buddy afterwards.

Trader is the one that drugged in New York. There it is finest strip club and of me or it's not a strip. You want to listen, it's not a shrip.

Do you want to know?

What was crazy about that? Is like, we're in the middle of New York City and and and dive, and they had vastcar crashes looped on all the TVs. And I'm like, I never thought this, this is what I would see. I was like, this is the best bar in the world. And I thought it would be in like Talladega, Alabama, or Daytona Beach, Florida. But it's in New York City. How cool is that? Yeah, that's awesome. It was pretty awesome. I love that. Sit there and watch that all day drinking beer and I love that.

I love how much you love beer on a loop?

Yeah, drink I watched.

Yeah he did only drink two beers, but we were.

Only on your little trick. I hear, what was that? So you're college boys, right, y'all drink playing beer in college?

Huh?

You've never seen that? No, So this is so when you drink a lot, you don't drop it, see that. And also, so it's a grip you're creating. Also speeds the float up out.

Of the beer.

Oh, if you want to speed the flu a little Okay, here we go, just give a little flush. And then you got to yeah, I ain't doing that that like beer, Well you're going to lose a thumb.

Yeah, I was gonna say, I might get caught.

Come on, yeah, don't try that, don't. I don't do that right here, because absolutely gonna cut your thumb off. He just starts bleeding everywhere, just starts gushing. Give that a go. One day I saw a guy I went to hang with my sister. I was fifteen, sixteen years old, and I drove down to her college at Wilmington and set around a table drinking, playing President and Assholes with him. What's president? Assholes? Nobody's ever heard of president?

Maybe maybe back then?

Oh yeah, there's another no questions king?

Okay, oh yeah, circle of death. Well there was a we call it President and Assholes. There's an asshole in there as a president.

Yeah.

And there was this guy ditting his cans and he was like, so I can count how many I've had at the end of the night. But he's also telling me about the flow.

And he doesn't drop behind.

It does help with the flow. I don't understand that you have to try it to see it. But the beer flows over the Okay, Tony's back there, He's just the beer goes.

Over, the.

Beer goes over the hunk, and then can right here?

Why are well? I am.

You're not gonna drown. I promise it's not gonna come out so fast you can't handle it. Chuck that, chuck it the whole thing. It's too fast. It's too fast.

Just to see the speed. You see the speed half I'm just gonna do a little bit.

I hear the bubbling. It's already not worth it.

I don't know. Man, Okay, did you hear the did you hear the bubb time? Yeah? I feel like it was kind of the same speed space.

See if you vented, of course it's gonna problem. You're not gonna get You're not gonna get the I think.

If you did it, I know you can't. But I feel like the best the best person to do this example is definitely him, because he could he get hold it. We could actually watch the flow.

I can open the throat. I spent a little time with Juvie. It's not a big deal anyway, just kidding, I'm not kidding. I appreciate you coming on the bus.

Yeah, this is this is awesome.

Literally, it's a lot of times you sit there with somebody new and you kind of do this around about we're trying to fee each other out. You came on you telling stories in my mouth is just open listening.

You know what I'm saying. Grandpa sitting around a fire, just tell tales, war stories.

And it was awesome. I've been for a long time. Man, I'm glad you guys had me on last year. And you know it's Uh, I love the bus, love what you guys are doing. I do podcasts, so I kind of keep up with what you guys are up to. We are all kind of learning from each other and taking things off each other that we like.

And uh, I'll not to force ourselves on you, but you know we should probably get on the day.

We'll probably come on.

We could probably come on there.

We also talked about in your last on the last podcast, you're on this whole western town.

You have, Yes, you need to come. We're still waiting on that call. We're still I don't know how that works. You just wanting to show up at the door with a stick and you do the same thing. Hey, it's twenty four to seven. You can come whenever you want. See it feels we're right.

Yeah, well we just don't know him like I know you, and we'll sort it all out. Yeah, I'm figuring it right.

Yeah, we're texting you guys.

Just call me.

I'll be on the Southwest see thirty. I'll be on that thing. No problem, dude.

I feel like, uh, you'd probably enjoy just the way you're out there talking about your truck. I'm like, I'm sure they both know what each other's saying here.

But listen, I finish, I'm gonna sit there and talk for six seconds and he'll go and I'll be like you, you know, like I like the way trucks run.

I love beautiful old vehicles.

And that's We'll go check it out.

Choose oil. I can get that done for you, no problem. Maybe depends on the all right.

Subscribe rate review barstools sports dot com, slash Merch. That's where you can get our merch YouTube channel. Subscribe, hit the algorithms, comment below, do all the fun stuff. I'm sure NASCAR culture might be killing us for the Billy Elliott, for the Bill Elliot stuff, but.

Probably where's Bill out?

Now?

What do you think more about killing you, more about what you called the series, And oh yeah, I didn't even know that was that bad, the Circle Track NASCAR racing series.

Seriously, just getting drug out there.

It's better than right around the same thing as awesome Bill from or whatever.

And we just went in on him. He goes, listen, I'm gonna have.

Assholes whatever.

Nastar culture is killing us right now. Yeah, but Bill is still around. Yeah, he's still He's still do his thing. Was your dad and him rivals. I'm still trying to do it.

What am I doing here?

You probably want to go the kids.

He's got to go to sleep soon.

And I think as long as he's asking a question, I guess we're good.

On Town's cool. Yeah, those kids have been missing their dad all day, you know what I'm saying. But your dad and him, yeah they were good. Yeah, that's a very few run ins, but everybody does. Then with the intimidator, who was his big bible? Go YouTube and watch the nineteen eighty seven Winston All Star Race.

Just that's one. If you're going to watch a race about NASCAR history, that's the one. Go watch that one. There's others, but that that'll be a good one for that, all right, nineteen eighty seven all Star Winston, they called it the Winston The Winston, Yeah, because Winston Cigarettes was a big deal.

Cigarettes was a big deal back then.

I think they kind of still are, yeah, but not like I mean they they.

Were on signed like hate smoke cigarettes, like it's all good. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, and then whenever nash nas Nascar, suffs comes in that I'm sorry walking behind Yeah.

Hey, we used to have a guy on our team called two Beers because he would get like this after.

A couple of struggle to struggles, struggle to put thoughts together.

I had a buddy named Chris back home.

He the first thing to go is his speech, you know, fully functional, just words aren't coming out for the poor guy, Chris l It's my cat man.

I love him. But when NASCAR comes to Nashville, we obviously need to be communicating because we need to have this bus somewhere visible. You know what I'm saying, Right on the track, Right on the track, guys, move around it. You know, you do your thing in the booth, Tony Wall hang by it. It's been most Rex ever because there's a bus in the movie. But appreciate it. Man.

Hey, I'm I'm excited to uh to finally be on the show and can't wait for folks to hear it. Get that feedback, man, we need that NASCAR. What's the name of podcast? The Dale Junior Download Dale Junior Download all major podcast platforms, let's go.

We're always in the same realm, and the rankings download they stay a little more consistently above us. But there are some times now we're all in the same realm we're compete against.

Where do you guys competitive? He's Kyle Busch because he's.

In the sports category. Yeah, he's a Kyle Busch.

I gotta go. Appreciate you man, Thank you so much, Thank you guys. Thanks for the beer.

Big shout out to you guys. If you enjoyed this episode and love and support Busting with the Boys, go to whatever podcast platform you're on and subscribe to us. Leave a review, rate five stars. If you're already subscribed, unsubscribe and resubscribe again. It helps the boys climb the charts, and again, we wouldn't be doing this and can't do this without you guys and all of your support. We also have a YouTube channel if you like If you'd like to watch our show or these episodes, they are