Jeff Gordon Part 1

story for you. Oh so with chit chat and you know, just trying to be a lot more not a lot more,

little bit more approachable. All right. So I was talking to my neighbor and he he was telling me the story and like everybody else, you know, how you live in neighborhoods and there's people you talk to that's really like what they're either on your in your radius of like a cross the street or to the right of to the left of you, but very few people really interact with depending on the size of your neighborhood, like somebody that's in the front interest if you live in

the back, or maybe just like your next door name. Yeah, So this is like across the street. Like our kids play together a lot, so we're you know, hey, how are you doing, how's your week? Blah blah. So this one of my neighbors. He is like a cyclist, like mountain bike, has the outfits like he's he's the guy like on Sunday when you maybe Saturday, or during the week, or even in the afternoon if there's like a hot day, he's outside like redoing his retooling his bike, washing the bike, golf.

You know. He about that life. He's about that life. So he tells me about some folks in the neighborhood. He goes, Man, I rode my bike. I got invited to ride with some guys in the neighborhood. And I'm like, all right, So I'm telling the story as my neighbor. Just man, I'm riding a bike. And he said, Man, we go and I don't know. But he says, riding a bike with speed it's important. But also you have to know your surroundings. So they're in a they're riding

a bike in the area he doesn't know. So this guy, he says, the neighbor in our neighborhood. He says, first of all, I'll never ride bikes with this dude ever again. I said it was that bad. He goes, let me tell you why it was bad. I said why. He said, they're riding. So now he's riding his bike in a unfamiliar trail. So he's ride and he says, every single time he catches up with the guy, the guy takes off. He's like, he's trying not to be rude, but he's like, man,

this dude needs to slow down. But every time he catches up to him, the guy takes off. So he's like, you know, and he doesn't want to be the guy's like, hey, slow down, you're going too fast. Because he's a new guy and if these guys are cool, he doesn't want to lose the opportunity to ride bikes with some new guys. Because this guy just moved. He moved to several months

ago from Detroit. There's a whole etiquette behind this. Yes, but he said, this dude is really just he's like, he's huffing and puffing like and guy's like you all right, and he's he you know, his his breathing is no, but he says, oh, yeah, I'm fine. But he says, Steve, I am dying, like this dude is kicking my ass. And I'm like, oh, what's the problem. He said, well, here's the problem. This dude. Does it really look like the guy that should be peddling consistently as fast as

he's peddling. I said, I don't get it, all right. Look, the dude is a little bit. His weight and his speed don't compute. Okay, big big bones, bones, But he said, just pounding his ass off. And he said, bro. And I'm I'm a pretty good writer. You know. I don't mean to judge, but I understand why this dude it's

killing me, Like I'm killing me. So he said. This goes on for the next hour, in twenty minutes, so he's going, He's going, And then they finally finished with the trail and he's like, man, he was like, how are you doing? He's like, man, it was all right, it was cool. You want to come next week? He's like, yeah, well, you know, I gotta talk with the wife and see how and things going. So it was three of them, my neighboring and the other two guys, he says. The

friend spills the beans. The friend tells them the guy that invited him over. This dude is riding guess what an e bike? Mm hmm, he was riding electrical bike. Cold. He said, if I had Superman heat seeking eyes, I would have killed him on the spot. He said. It was so the dude, you can still generate the pedals even on an e bike. Bro, I guess the e bike is doing all the work. You can do it. But he said, the dude, but here's the party, He said, he was piste off about the guy who invited him

didn't even tell him. His body told on him. So the whole time transmission, for the whole hour and a half to do our fifty minutes just bike ride over thirty forty miles fifty miles, this dude barely did anything. So I said, what are you gonna do? He said, Man, I'm not riding with that dude ever again. And that just kind of like, it's so, why are you telling the story. What's the whole point? The point is made. People are doing things and just cutting short, capping and

snitching is what I got from that story. Can you imagine me you working out or something like in a gym and I got I got forty five place, But they really attend they just look like for yes, and you keep them clean though yeah we we we max and you maxing like to fifty times. But really yes, like you got you got their weights from like say a movie. Yeah right, they got him at like the here in Charlotte is this little discovery place where they

look they look like they're heavy, but they're really not. Yeah. So it was just I was like, man and they just told his story and I just thought it was hilarious because really, how many times have you done something or been with somebody and co and you comparing and realize you're comparing the to a person who's really not even putting it in that work. So I just thought that was I thought it was a stop yes, you

leading people astrain? Yeah, yeah, and stopping for doughnuts after the bike in the pacie didn't match up, not even close. So who we got coming up on the Cut to It podcast, We've got Jeff Gordon, the retired driver of the number twenty four car. He's a four time NASCAR Cup Series champion and he has there most wins in NASCAR history. Right now, he's a Fox Sports analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series. Jeff Gordon joined us in studio for the Cut to It podcast. Jeff Gordon, thanks for coming,

my pleasure. Always been a fan of this guy over here, Steve, and um, I think we met a couple of times. We don't really hung out, but but but we've met, and mad respect for for what you did on the field. I think I think I've told you this. You know, a long time forty Niners fan. But I've lived in Charlotte for uh who many years, going back to you know, early nineties when I came to NASCAR, and so uh

you know when when the Panthers came. I always always had a special place there that as long as you were playing my team and uh but huge, you know, fan of your work and and always always loved what you brought on the field. Well he's fan of you as well. Um, I'm actually a four friends so that's pretty cool. So yeah, so this is this is gonna

start off from the Bay Area. You know, my family's for Monterey and then my my folks moved down to l A. So grew up in l A. Um but so cold man, beautiful place it sure he is, isn't it. There's no place like it. Traffic and all. Yeah, yeah, that's why I don't live there. I'll be honest. I like to drive. I do not like to sit. I need to be moving. I just like going fishing. I'm not going to just put a hook in the water. I want to actually catch some fish. That's why I

don't fish. You don't have the patience for it. I've never something got to go with the right people. Someone invited me to fish. I will not say the name, because you hit me with the flex and say, hey, I'm going fishing and you want to join. I said, maybe we could do something else, but I don't fish. I used to be yeah, you don't fish with the

right people. I used to be like that until until I started finding the right experiences where I was like, oh, oh, this is a whole another level fishing right here, and I can get into So you're fishing up nor No. No, I mean my parents have a pond that they stocked and and I'll take my kids out there and we'll do a little you know, kitching release. Yeah, just like bass carp stuff like that. But I've been with with Rick Hendrick on his his fishing boat and we actually

did a Trea. You didn't want to play, Yeah, those arms are coming out of the head of that button fish with that guy, it's it's the next level. So a little little side side story. Uh, I purchased word on the Lake Norman streets. I think I purchased your old condom up in Lake Norman. It used to be Queen's Landing across. Yes, I had that back in UM. It was actually people used to think I was trying to hold out when I told my hand Frakes and I had said, if I wanted to hold out, I'll

just go up to my lakehouse. And there was a lakehouse right up there. I had a boat at the UM. No, no, no, it was. It wasn't flexed because here's why I learned very quickly electricity and water equals a lot of expensive repairs. So I had I had a I had a boat, UM and then I had had that condo that was up there that they said it was yours when you first came here. Yeah, that was I first I lived out near the speedway and that didn't last very long and boom, I was I was up to the the lake.

So it's true. Huh man, I sold the change on the which if our first segment is called get ice We haven't even started. Yeah, we just we went straight into it. But our first segment is called get ice Up. Their random icebreakers developed by some many. You don't know what's coming up. There may be a follow up, there may not be. It may be a about who's your favorite me go. I have no idea, but Smithie go ahead and give him the first one and we'll get your iced up. Are you ready? Uh no? But it

is a test about yourself. So if you fail, yeah, I'm myself, got it all right? So automatic or stick shift? Oh? Is paddle an option in there? Paddle is like, what kind of paddle are you talking about? Well, we're not that first. You know, I'm a technology guy, like I love technology, and to me, these days, what's happening in automobiles of I mean, you could even go electric. There's

there's no gears at all. Um. But but okay, I grew up racing with stick shift, so I love stick But these days, you know, the fastest race cars on the plane are all paddle So you know, you just got the paddles on. I know someone I didn't know it was a paddle. I just knew it was the thing on the back of the sterium wheel. I don't just talk about something now, so it probably leaned more

towards believe it or not. Automatic. These days, these like ten speed automatics are faster than than than you know, just a manual stick shift. So I'm all about speed. Favorite vacation spot. Oh so, I mean, I don't know if this is the top of my list, but but I gotta say that my wife playing this trip pre COVID where we're going to go to someplace in in Alaska, and I was like, man, Alaska. You know that's cold. There's a lot of snow and ice and and but

I love the mountains. And she didn't give me the full low down on on how remote this place was. So we finally technology guy, Yeah, we made we just made up this trip. This place was spect accurate, Like it was one of those things where I got to the airport and I was like, okay, you know what

what what? What's the plane? So I was in Phoenix at the race, finished the broadcast, flew to Seattle, met up with the kids and my wife, Ingrid, and the next morning we're taken off to go to um to Anchorage, Alaska, and so we get the Anchorage, Alaska. I'm like, well, what's what's the plane here? What's going on? I like to be surprised sometimes on on the my wife's pretty good at it. I never lose faith in her abilities to uh to come up some pretty spectacular things. Anyway.

So all of a sudden, it's it's like a blizzard outside, and I'm like, how are we gonna get there? Well, where they're the only way you can get to this place is either by a plane that can land on it, like on the on the snow, or a helicopter. And there's no way we can helicopter in this weather. So they pick they get us out of the plane, and they it gets over this hangar with a helicopter pilot. He's like, hey, you know I've flew in the military. Um,

you don't have anything to worry about. I wouldn't fly if it was dangerous. We're all good. He's like, it's clear five minutes from here. We just got to get through the first five minutes of snow. I'm like, snow in a helicopter, Like that doesn't that's that. But I gotta say this guy was one of the most spectacular pilots I've ever flown with, and and he was super confident. We got out there and he was right. It was Blue Skies five minutes away. And and we flew into

the Denali National Park. And I didn't, you know, I know about Denali, heard of it and all that stuff, but it never really knew a lot about it. And I gotta say it was just one of the most spectacular places I've ever been. Just the beauty. Um you know that I learned so much about, uh, the glaciers, how how you know, how they melt and how the snow builds up on hom of the winter. How tall Denali is, you know, when the tallest mountains in in

the world, certainly tallest peak in North America. So I gotta say that on was fresh on my mind right now. Prior to that, we did a trip a few summers ago. We went to Indonesia. My son love uh Komodo Dragon still does, and so every time, you know, we go to a zoo or something, or he's watching the show on TV's like Komodo Dragons, Comodo Dragons. So my wife she's like, well, We're gonna take him to see Komodo dragons on Komodo Island. So so we went, we went Indonesia,

not just not just ask bur Zoo Indonesia. Man, I feel terrible. I'm like, I'm not trying to flex. Time is a habitual flex. He flex effortlessly. Yes, I know, he's a vis I'm just living my life. Sorry, I'm just asking to answer the question. I said a favorite vacation. I didn't say my favorite vacation. I just asked the man about it. So, I mean those are probably so tell us about vacations I've been on. So you went on the glaciers, and then you saw how they make,

how they make and invent dragons? What else? What else? Magic dragon? We're going to see you know, next week, we're going to see you know where rock they pulled the sword out of the stone. Right when my wife says, I've got this, Uh, I got this idea of going somewhere on a vacation. I get, I get worried. I'm like, oh boy, I gotta work. Okay, So I think I know by your face. What do you get worried about the location? How much it's gonna There's only one thing.

I'm I'm an adventurer. I'll go anywhere. Uh, you know, it takes a lot to make me nervous. But but paying for that's my first question. How much it cost? Hey, we can go, how much it costs. I've actually had to tell myself to last two or three times, like, Okay, don't let that be the first thing that comes out of your mouth. I know you're thinking it, but you have to have with yourself. With my I'm talking to myself, I'm like, I'm don't do it, don't do it, don't

do it, don't do it. So I didn't realize how hard it is. It is so hard for me not to immediately just go, well, that sounds expensive. Same thing. We just we just booked our summer trip, and I was thinking that the whole time. Now you stay in domestic with all the COVID stuff, I know it's hard. So we actually, my wife has been trying to get me so long, and so we finally committed that first. She'son was trying to get me to buy a sprinter van and in the RV and I said, let's rent first.

Let's rent let's rent this first to see So we're taking a So we're taking I think it's like twelve thirteen days flying to l a driving to Orange County, standing for a couple of days, then driving to Lake pal, then from Lake pal going to Moab or Zion, glamping, glamping under the lights, under the star. So inphasis on

glamping because his brother right here, I don't camp. Oh you're gonna glamp, I'm but it's got a little like the No, it's called glamping, so it's it's open tent with a shower, no technology, but we can have lunch and breakfast in a low So everything's under a tent, no open doors. So I'm a little worried about that, though I'm a little bit nervous about something walking up on me right a nothing. It is worse than having to go pee and something sneak up on you. That's

the whole point of camping. You suppose that your survivalist does this ninja look like you want to camp. See, I don't worry about I can't camp in Jordan's about bugs. I don't like mosquito bites and stuff like that. But but the like snakes and bears that don't bother me. I just saw afraid a guy said, a grizzly bear cound get up to thirty miles per hour. My peak was good. The man, don't add up, man, get some sparking me twenty five point seven. I'm still short. The

first thing is don't try to outrun the bear. I'm a brother, that's the first instinct. Yeah, I ain't got the outrun the bear. He gotta catch me. I just got the outrun. But the last guy can't be with your kids. Yeah, so damn shame't what Steve didn't want this? You left them home? Um, and then from there we're driving to So I love that. I love hearing this because to me, that that's that's that's my kind of vacation.

That's not my wife's kind of vacation. That's my kind of vacation because every year I run an airstream and I go somewhere and I just but it's just me, like I just kind of do my my zen solo trip once a while. I just rent this. You get a pass for that. I do. I do every year. My wife said, you're gonna go to you can't get an air stream to a campground by yourself. And I'm like yeah, she's like hmm, She's like, gives me that look,

give me inspiration. Jeff I'm gonna try this. But I just did that trip a few weeks ago and I went to Santa Barbara, So I highly recommend I go to some places like that with that, with that spiring. Well, yeah, we're gonna drive up and down the coach. So we're going l A and finishing Utah. Hey man, we got some of the most beautiful landscape national parks in the world. So you and it sounds like you're going to hit

a couple. Yeah, we're gonna say that. That's the whole point of of seeing seeing some stuff we like to travel around with before the pandemic, we all we had a two week vacation for Israel, but that got canceled, and sure it took me. Just imagine what's going to happen when when things finally get back to real normal. Right, I think there's gonna be a real normal. I don't know, maybe it's a new normal. We have to take a break and the morning thing, we gotta pay some bills.

You got checks. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe and you can follow us on social media too. Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It? On Instagram, what about Twitter? At cut to It Facebook, cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr what about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcast. I got all my

answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. I always like to grill, like at the racetrack, grill like grill out, steaks, chicken, just basic stuff. You put fish on the grill. I'll put like salmon on the plank. That's the right way to do it. If you're gonna do it, I know what. I know what Steve's gonna go. Don't let him go. Don't let him take you down. His bad. He doesn't believe that

fishould go on the grill. Well, I agree. I do a lot of pan searing stuff. I like. I like that a little no no pants on the on the on the But that's what I was going to say is that the cooking through covid has been holding next level because it's like get on Instagram and you find you know, the chefs that were doing stuff like doing cooking lessons on Instagram. You're doing you know, all kinds of you created dishes and yeah, you just falls I

mean I can. I'm good at fallowing direction the gas exactly. So like my wife loves steak up, so you know we we did that one night. But the other thing is that like a ribby or no, what that be. The other one you're gonna laugh at is d Jyne, who way, don't just kind of hold up. Wait now I know that Nelly rapped about you, and ea, I know jay Z wrapped about you. So now we got DJ jazz Jams. That name was already it's already taking I'm not qualified to have a DJ name that DJ.

But um So I went to a Bisa or a the a few years ago, several years ago and had had had a good vacation there, went to Burning Man, which is just mind blowing experience. And ever since those two experiences, I've just you know, like I was like partying and having fun you know, with my wife with friends, but all the club music that don't don't don't was never my thing until I went to these two places.

And now I'm like, okay, it's funny even people that know me for years, like they're like, damn, Jeff, I've known you for a long time. You surprised the hell every time. And I've always loved music, um, you know, all kinds of music from growing up as a kid in California. My sister hadn't influence on me four years older than me, and so it was like, you know, Tom Jones and the Beatles and stuff like that, and so I was like, okay, that's not necessarily me and

then okay, okay, I was like, how didn't usual? No? No, I was like right, and so him like okay. So then then I got into more like, uh, you know, pop and in some rock and roll and you know, a C d C. And then I started breakdancing and getting into you were no, did you have a jacket? Did you have a jacket? Oh yeah, I was baby Smurf. That was that I had the jacket. Baby. I was in a group. He was he was a cruel So he was like doing. He was on the ground, like

doing all. I just did stuff on the ground. Okay, you got it. You were like electric boogaloo. No, No, I didn't do any popping. It was just he stayed within his his genetics, Jeff break break dancing, and then you do a little smurf are you? Are you DJ Smurf? Now? I try, but that's what backstage things. So my music like has gone all over the place. And and so right now what I'm what I'm like, and what's been fast about this whole um conversation, But this whole journey

is I didn't know. I always is fascinating in the club watching the DJM, like that's cool, that's cool. I wish I could do that. Yeah, you know, you know, I don't know about a race car driver with a helmet on inside a race car that's loud. But I still wanted to be on the stage. You know. I like to entertain, but I didn't. I couldn't play an instrument. I couldn't sing or you want to party? Yeah, I

like that. I like entertaining people, and so so um, what's been fascinating through this is learning how all this DJ equipment equipment and the software and the computer and all that stuff plays a role, and you know, and how it sinks the music and and and you know, then you've got all these different platforms SoundCloud title of where you're getting all your music from and and so yeah, it's it's I mean, should to build your library up. God, it takes so much of your effort and time. So

I have a whole new appreciation. And I've got a few friends there DJs I know, Dip Blow and Change, Smokers and some of these guys. So I just met him over the years, and so we're gonna I expect to see Jeff Gordon now like DJ Coachella, is that next not entertained? I got good, but I'm not gonna it sounds like I'm not gonna be fancy, like the verse of DJs are always the best ones. Well, you can take me from genre to genre. Definitely, dude, I got a lot of different music. But anyway, so it's

it's super cool. Brother in laws getting married. I'm gonna reach out to my wife was here, She'd say, yeah, he's gone a little crazy with this DJ stuff like I have in my garage. I was actually moving before I came over here. I've got I've got to eighteens and two fifteen. Its first, what kind of amp you running with it? So these are all powered subs, so you don't need you don't need the amp because I'm like, I'm not I'm not all into to that. I just

want plug and play. But I've got this this den and um DJ controller that It's like, what the hell am I doing with this thing? I mean, I could play four different things at one time and it's lit up. So I'm like, I'm like that guy that shows up the golf course with the set of brand new pings, like he looks like he knows what he's doing. But but and then to wait until I hit the ball. I have no idea where it's gonna go. We're gonna have a DJ bad You and Chet because DJ's now too,

so we got this cross over. Well well yeah, and then what I've learned about all that, right is is you know, you go hire somebody to help you kind of produce your your your show. So I'm not that another level. We're gonna we're gonna get Jeff Gooden new DJ Jeff alright, last one. I just got schooled. Man. This is damn. I we weren't prepared for this. Was like, yeah, when in the research stop it, you're a little smurf Frien sur when he on the ones in two it's rocky,

do get it? Twisted, no cats, Hey, your head out on his airstream, But we go fishing playing dj D S. I'm so screwed. I like it though, I like it. Yeah, all right, So last one, uh, you know, being from California, which I knew, UM, and we do it as well, Um a fellow California, California rolling stop or a full complete stop? Does anybody come to complete stop these days? Uh? I'm yeah, I'm I'm probably. I like to follow the rules,

you know, I'm muna say I follow the rules. But yeah, no, I don't think my tires have ever just come to full stuff. The rule we say in our family in the neighborhoods no cop, no stop. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, is if I see something out of the corner of my eye that I need to stop full absolutely, Yeah, all right, let's go. Let listen. That that was the best ice thing we had. We always get something interesting that I guess, but that that's about

far the most interesting. Probably I probably this is you know what I learned the TV is you don't want to empty the bucket too early. I think I just said no, but we appreciate you it on our platform all right, So where are you from in a place you call your hometown? So man, I'm like, I'm like somebody, it's all from all over the place, right, Because my birthplace Valeo, California, that I lived and tell us about fourteen took me then racing two Indiana to a place

called Pittsburgh, Indiana. So for the longest time I always called Pittsburgh my my hometown. Um, but but then moved to North Carolina. So I'm I'm in Charlotte, you know. Now, that's where I spent most of my time. And my my business is obviously racing in NASCAR, and and whether it be working for Fox Sports or Hendrick Motorsports. I've got a couple of dealerships in North Carolina. So this is where my kids are in school here. So this

Charlotte is my my home. But we would love to travel, as I mentioned earlier, so I don't I don't know if we can be locked down any one place for too long. I challenge people all the time, you know, even my wife. You know, my wife's from Belgium and we met in New York. I brought her to Charlotte and she's like, you know, I'm used to New York. She's a little spic so so. But you know, I challenge anybody of find a better place to bring up

your kids. Um, you know, better place to the There's lots of opportunities here, whether you know, if you look at it and you've got the seasons, but nice weather. My my family all followed me here. My my mom, my stepdad, my sister, my stepbrother all came here because they loved None of them wanted to go to Indiana, but they all came here. That's cool, it's a it's a it's a great place not to age you. But growing up in Vallejo, growing up Indiana, you know, growing

up in those places. How did this shape your view on the world as you see it today? Yeah, probably growing up in Valeo more than anything else, right, I mean very diverse school, um public school. Didn't go to private school. Um, you know, from getting in fights at school to um the type of education you know that I got probably more life less in education than than anything else. I didn't think my my education I got at school was very good, like it just I wasn't

that interested. I was more of an average student anyway, because I wanted to race my parents introduced me to racing very young at five. So school was like I just think something I felt like I needed to do. But you know, the kids that I interacted with, UM taught me a lot, you know about about life. Just just things happened fast. Man, just being introduced and seeing things that that I didn't see anywhere else. Um, kids bringing guns and knives to school in in in you know, uh,

seventh and eighth grade. Um. You know, just clothing, music, you know, just different cultures, different um you know, um, you know, lifestyles, just a little bit of everything. And it was very you know, you know, Invaleto, it's a big Filipino population, Mexican population, African American population, white population, and just kind of all congregating in one place. And I went from that to go in to Indiana and it was people with tractors and not on farms and

you know, milk and cows and things like that. Um, and I just wanted to race, so but but I always fell back when I came to Indiana and I'm you know, talking to the kids, they're like, man, you're from Mars. Where are you from? Like where did you learn all these things? And men, you grow up fast, you know, in in a place in California, didn't I didn't grow up in a in a fluent, you know, wealthy family. My parents worked hard, but but they you know, they got me into racing too. So it wasn't like

we're poor or anything. But um, you know, I got I got to see them have to work, you know, as hard as they did to have the things that that that we had and and and what that created also in uh, in racing. For me, that's interesting now that you say that, how does that with everything you experience at such a young age growing up, how does that play into your parenting here in Charlotte, Because Charlotte is Charlotte has this places, but it's not the way

you're talking about. In the eighties and nineties, California was just a different place, right. You have Reginald Denny Rodney King. Uh you up in northern California a little bit where you have the Black Panther movement as well. Uh. The influence of that Oakland, California, San Francisco, all of that in the eighties and nineties was the It was a hotbed for whether it was racial injustice, equality of justice.

You have gay rights as epidemic. H m hm um, poor folks, people getting beat by the police, a myriad issue. And then you got l A the l A riots down you know, five hours down the street, which I experienced, and going through all of that and seeing that and witnessing that, and now you're a dad, and you know what you were taught and learned in the seventh grade, what you experienced, it has to at least play. I'll

just said that. I want to say it is I find myself at times parenting out of fear because I know what I experienced. And how does that? How does that? Do you ever think about that? Or do you look at yourself and say, man, and my parenting for the best way on my parenting out of fear because I know what I experienced and what I didn't need to know at twelve years old that I know my kids just can't handle it or or I just desire for them not to be exposed to it at such a

young age. Yeah, I mean, gosh, this is this. We could do a podcast or just this subject alone, right, because you know, parenting, I think it's the toughest job there is on the plans, and and I thought my parents did of course, it's like I told you, my mom my stepdad. I thought they did an amazing job. But I think most of what they did was kind of out of necessity of that's how our lives just worked. And and you know, I think now I won't let

my kids leave my driveway. When I was living in Valeo, I'd get on my bike and I'd go ten miles, you know, and you're just going for the afternoon. Just be home before the streetlights Colt. That was it and uh. And it was seldom when I got home before the street Maybe that was just our room, but you had to be back home if if I yelled Steve on one mode, damn time right. That just made me think of one story I was probably I think I was six or seventh grade, six or seventh grade still remember well,

somebody has got a whooping. I should have got whooped. Um. But but I was. I was always pushing the limits right of being home by dinner time or light you know when when when when um it got dark? Lights come on? Uh. And so I was across the neighborhood like a mile or two, and I was like, Okay, I'm gonna go to my other buddy's house that's just around the corner, and then that way. I'm close to home, so I only have a five minute you know spring.

I was either a bike or skateboard. That was that how I got around, and always on wheels, man, and these wheels unlike those wheels you gotta wheels didn't take me far. But but so this guy he had they had a pool in the back of their house. That was a big deal, right, absolutely pool. And so I'm at his house and I'm watching the clock, and right as I was getting ready to leave, I stepped off into the pool. Actually, like we were messed around the

backyard and I run around. Oh, I wouldn't even supposed to be at his house? How are you going to explain this? And then now I'm I'm soaking wet from the waist end. So I I did one of those walk in the front door. Hey, They're like, whoaa, come in here? And my it was literally like they're like, what happened. I'm like, I don't remember what. I'm like,

stepped in a puddle or something. You know, they hadn't rained in Damn, My month came out better just saying that urinated almost well, I don't mean this to make this a bad joke. But what kind of puddle. I don't know, you're not tall, but you ain't They even sent me to tall. I don't think they knew that I hold steps in the puddles. He's went from the waist down. I stepped in the puddle. Hey, I didn't say it was the sharpest night. But anyway, I don't

know what made me think about that. But going back to the parenting, you know my parents, I don't. And I asked him this every once in a while, and I don't know if I've gotten a straight answer. But I worry so much about my kids now, right of thinking all the things that I did, thinking about the things that are happening in the world, and I want, I want them to experience all these things. But I

just have such a hard time letting go. And and I don't, you know, I don't know if it's who I've become them through racing, but I definitely I want to control them more than I should. And and that's when I when I'm you know, battling with my own demons, and and you know, me and my wife are trying to talk about parenting. It's how you know, how you let go. My daughter's thirteen now, so I have no choice but to let go. She's she's like on her own path and care about what I did, who I am.

She barely cares that I'm her dad right now some days. But but we we gotta. We got a cool relationship too, so I want to keep and maintain that. So it's tough, but I do want to, you know, bring up on one thing. You know, when I lived in Valo and I left Valleo and I moved to Indiana, and then you know, if racism or something would get brought up, I was like, you know what, I don't see people for for the color of their skin. I I judge each person individually, and and you know, I want to

I want to know who they are. I don't care about anything else that's influencing that. But as I've gotten holder, I realized that I actually want to see person for you know, who they are, the color of their skin.

Head has a story about who they are, and and you know, that's that's been I think more of a change of since I've become a parent, and how I want to teach, you know, those things to my kids about that you know, it's not just you know the way a person looks, it's you've got to go deeper and find out, you know, really why they're who they are, good or bad, because because you know, we've all we've all had some major influence, whether it be our parents,

life's experiences, um that that like you were mentioning to me, you know what what I mean. I you know, I got in a fight in school one day, and I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that moment. I'll tell you a quick story on this one. So me and this kid we didn't get along and and I can't remember. He was calling me out on something in one of our classes and and I was like, man, I'm you

after school and he's like, all right. So now I usually wouldn't mess with somebody that I didn't think that I had a shot at right. So he was a little taller me, but I was like and I wasn't a big kid, so it wasn't like I was messing. But I was like, I'm like, all right, I think I got and I was a pretty good like grappler wrestler type, like I get him on the ground that but I never punched anybody. So so that's that's been That's that's kind of needed. Yeah, maybe the chest or

something like that, but never like wham. And so so I get after school, he meets up with me, and man, I take him down and I'm on top of him. I'm like, yeah, what am I going to do? And all of a sudden, like lights, you know, and and and cops come by and I'm like whom We all scattered and and so the next day show up at school and he walks up to me and he's like, he's like, hey, man, where'd you run off to? Oh no,

he sucker punch you ain't. That's that's that that's the that's the lesson I should I should I should have known that was coming. Yes, absolutely, the police stopped it. The police stopped it. You said a fight, not a wrestling match. That's right now. You're right. You don't want to three game over right now. Here's so I learned to less Where he hit you in the face. Oh yeah, I didn't have a black eye, but I definitely am

say whoa? And he knocked me back, and as I came for him, then everybody pulled us apart and we both got suspended. He saved you. No, no, oh, I wasn't. I had this guy. I meany times, you're gonna take him down. But but he he was smarter than me, though, Jeff, Joe, hold on, you can't get hit and can't win a

smart photo. You can't hit him in the face and then take him down and put him in a peaky grappler, right, say, uncle, say uncle, Jeff, Alright, you can't just put someone in the curt ankle an it's gonna be at that point, I was ready to hit them, Okay, so I did the police. Jim got street crab man. So my point is that you know I learned that day man. Never

let your guard down. Never never, never think you're in a safe place environment and you know, unless you know what the other person is thinking, and you never can know what There's what I love what you said that I think sometimes a lot of us right now and this time we try to skirt over and try to avoid the word you use with the j judge. You know you said you judge people for who they are. A lot of times we don't want to say, well, we're judging people we are. We judge everything. We we judge,

is that flavor good or not. I love what you said because I think that is important. It's nothing wrong with judging someone, it's when you start to judge them and put them down or on a preconceived notion. Like what I love that Jeff said is that I went from saying I don't see color, just saying I see color because that's who God made your. God God made

you with your with your color. So being able to see ray says I see that person for who they are, completely who they are, and that one is a testament to growth and to it is a testament to everything. That Steve saying is that yeah, you you you build an opinion off someone, but based off of their whole self, and you allow that individual to represent themselves whether it's good or bad. Because there are times we represent ourselves

very poor depending on the day. Like I mean, there's some days you get up on the wrong side of bed and you just are not as outgoing, You're not as nice, you feel groggy to day, or you just feel like, look, I'm being sweatpain. It's t shirt, shoes, no socks, and that that day you woke up saying, hey, this is who I am, and there are some people who will see that and go, I don't want to be next to that person or that person seems like you're feeling. Yeah, some days I don't want to be

next to myself, and that's great. I just I just thought that I wanted to point that out because there are times people just try so hard. I don't judge. We all do. We all do we whether we want to or not. I won't to admit it. We do. And I think in the right context, judging is okay.

Whether it's okay or not, it it's happening. And so you've you've got to get thick skin yourself and then and then you've got to you get I I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt, you know, and and I like second chances, and I like, you know, to to try to be more thorough in my judging.

Like if I only had a quick interaction with somebody, you know, and I didn't like the interaction, I'll go, well, I wonder what it was to your point, Like was it something that happened to them in their life that day? Whatever you say, Okay, I'm not gonna let that you get to me. Now if I get to know that person, and I realized that person is a real jackass, and and every interaction I've had, I'm gonna judge him as

a jackass. I think it's about that time, just so I'll take a little breathering, good, good, good, getting down to do it good. Hey Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. You talked about you getting into racing

at such a young age, at six years old. I don't even remember what I was doing a six year old, But you know, the closest thing I had to any vehicle was I had a Duke's a hazard set, which was the big wheel, and then the card that was a pedal. I was not thinking about six years old, clutch reverse neutral. There was no clutch on the big wheel, wasn't. Yeah, I mean I I think I think my dad brought home a race car before I ever brought home a big wheel. I mean, it's just I did race bicycles.

We had a BMX bicycle track up the street. Uh it was. It was a cool track. It was like like you had you had the baseball little league fields, and then not too far away from that you had a drive in movie theater and and then on the corner was this this BMX bicycle track. And that's just the kids in my neighborhood, that's that's what they did. And so I was again little kid. I was the

youngest kid. I was always hanging out with older kids, and my sister was older, so I hung out hang out with her friends too, And so I learned to ride a bike really young, but racing the whole different thing. In kindergarten I learned. I learned how to ride a bike in kindergarten on a beach cruiser. See that that's l a right. There never one beach cruiser that definitely weren't a beach cruisers in Valeto here. But there were some low rider bikes. So there's some of those cool bikes.

But but yeah, so I was so I my my stepdad this, Yeah, you have to understand him to understand my whole story, because one he met my mom very young, my mom and my dad, uh split up when I was just a baby, and then she met through work, you know, my stepdad, and then they got married. So I was I don't know, maybe one or something like that at the time they got married, and he just took to his step kids of man, I want to I want to give them, you know, opportunities and present

some things to them. And so I don't know, somehow he saw right away I had good hand eye coordination, and boom, by the time I'm three, I'm riding a bicycle. And by the time I'm four, I was racing bicycles at you know, at this track. And I mean I was okay, you know, because I because you were four, right, how does how does it? Four year okay? But there weren't a whole lot of four year olds, that's my boy, you So you were pretty good without even being there.

I mean that I'm not trying to knock you, but there's a high problem. You still had at least pull up on that night ridings in day. But I was okay. Just the fact that you were riding about four years old, you were probably okay going to get six year olds. Well, I don't know how old out the kids were, but I mean I was holding my own. And then there was one kid. I remember anytime he showed up, it's like, oh man, and so so you'd hope he'd go down

or something in the first turn. But there was There was a couple of recks of some other kids, and I got into a small one and my mom was telling my My dad's like, she's like, I don't know about this. You know, I see him getting hurt. And so he had some friends that race cars. So you know, six months later, the next thing I know, he's bringing home this this little car. So my little Jeffy, he's gonna get hurt Baden bikes. So let's go get this. Let's go get this because he ain't gonna get hurt

going faster in this car. This is how good of a salesman my state that is because he convinced my mom he's like, no, no, he's got a helmet, seat belt. He does kind of sound like an upgrade when you think about it. He made her believe that, so up to the mom it does kind of sound Gona. This is a non African American conversation because I ain't no ninja, I don't know, cannot stop from BMX to car. There were still some there's six people in neighborhoods who couldn't

drive four year old driving a car. I like at grandma whose sixty still ain't got My grandmother her first car she got when she was I would say fifty. Grandmother she got it because unfortunately my aunt got inhering some money and so she bought my grandmother. It was a Dodge Colt. It was four I remember four Dodge Colton. Now we was in there. Uh we were still driving that cold when I was in high school. But that's

another story. So the fact that you go from more efty to a bike to a car again you still probably and pull ups that night and it dries behind the wheel, behind the wheel. As long as I got four wheels as a car, I don't care what Yeah, now this it was crazy. Man's still a car. I don't know. I mean now, I'll be honest. Now I know people, but I don't know back there what you are doing for the we can help hield driving driving what a car? Hey? You would there's a track out

in Connapolis. Uh, you would not believe the number of kids out there racing. So that that does lead. So that that like it opened up my eyes to this, like you think of of of your Pop Warner or literally whatever whatever you were being not I mean, yeah, yes, okay, maybe be a little bit and I was probably a little bit on the young side for most of you.

But I'm gonna tell you what, right now, you go out there, there are six and seven year old kids, and there's some four year olds out there that can't race, but they'll let them drive. I'm telling you it's crazy. They can't. They'll let him practice. They'll let him practice until they get to five. You gotta be five. So I mean you kind of walked into the question right into it. I know the pathway. If I wanted to play football, I know I can play Little League or

Pop Warner football. If I want to play basketball, I can go to a y m c. A or or rexent or or AU team. What is the pathway of entry into NASCAR? Because it seems like we've had young drivers on we've We've mentioned Chase Elliott or William Byron and they've had very different entry points into NASCAR. But from from your standpoint, what what is that pathway to take in order to become a NASCAR driver or a race car driver overall. Yeah, I mean somebody is going

to have to introduce you to it. Somebody is going to have to um have the initial cost of it because it's not cheap, right, there are less expensive ways to just get introduced to it, um and then there's you know, like the less expensive ways like well, I mean, you know, you you could have somebody that says, hey, I got a car here, you want to you know, you want to drive it? I mean no, it could be no cost, right, but somebody else who has to give you that opportunity if you wanted to just go

out by your own stuff. You're talking about you know, top notch quarter midget engine, chassis, trailer and all. I mean you probably eight ten dollars just to get that car, you know, on the track. So it's not cheap. You have that the Sporting good Store. Yeah exactly. So, I mean this is this is something that basketball shop. I would love to see more of an initiative to introduce

kids to it. You know that they can't afford it, that maybe our interests racing, maybe they watch racing or or whatever like cars that they like a little a little slot car video game and say, okay, how do I how do I go racing and have whether it be a scholarship, whatever it may be. UM And I think there's some opportunities out there for that, but they're

very very few. So it is it is, you know, an a sport that I would say, compared to other sports, is expensive to get into even at I definitely see even from the expense standpoint, but even are their initiatives that potentially happen even to just um create just that, Like I said that that barrier of entry to to be able to create a pipeline for people to know if I going through particularly this program or this initiative, that it puts me on the pathway to become to

becoming a driver. Yeah, I mean, because I think that's great because you look at all the other sports they have some sort of developmental they or some of them are using ethnicity as an opportunity, like first Tea for golf,

yeah right, and um Arthur Ashe program for tennis. That's how I was introduced to tennis when I was a young boy, right, it was all about Arthur Ashe and then you know Venus and Serena, you know those uh, young women seeing people that look like them be able to even though it wasn't as many being able to see that. You have basketball obviously, basketball is what it is.

You have football what it is. Um you know, Soccer and I believe racing are the last two sports where the developmentally or easy accessibility it doesn't really exist, like you said, and I don't think people really know how, Like I have no idea how to get involved, like

you're telling me. Like Chase was different because he's third generation of racing, right, he has this whole little world out there in Georgia, right William Biden with the technology right and what he the technology aspect, but then also he had been racing. But you are so unique because it has been ingrained from you since such a young age, racing and speed and then a success we haven't had.

And then you know, I know, I know Dale and what he's experienced with second and third generation, but no one ever it's getting more and more rare. Yeah that that h And by the way, in Valleto, California, there was nobody racing. I was the only kid in that that was racing. NASCAR really hadn't made it out there. But you have to understand this goes way beyond. I didn't even know what NASCAR was back then. Like I didn't know what NASCAR was until I was in my teens.

But but there's there's dirt track racing, sprint cars. Um there's there's indy car I knew with me too, but I did not know what NASCAR was till I was older. So you know, when you grow up in the open wheel because of quartermages I'm talking about, that's what they're called, and and go carts, that really leads more to the path of open wheel racing and not necessarily stock cars. Stock cars didn't really become big out in California until

much later that they are now. I mean we've had do you think about Jimmy Johnson, myself and Kevin Harvick all champions of NASCAR from California. That very very rare. Um. So now it's opened up more opportunities in doors. You know, to try to answer your question right now, for a five six seven year old kid, somebody's gonna have to take them to the racetrack and show them these types of race cars and and then figure out, Okay, how could we do this? Is there is there a way?

But once you get older, there are some some paths there that young. Um, NASCAR has some some different initiatives. What do you want to be a pit crew member? Uh, NASCAR official and engineer? Um? You know. I think also though, I think of of somebody like maybe dani Ka Patrick or a Hailey Deagan right now as a female racer

who's who's young and up and coming, Bubba Wallace. I think this is some of their long term opportunities, Like they're changing how people view the sport and and they have a long term impact totally and so so I think that I could see them playing a bigger role in this. But we all got to play a role in it, um And because to me, I want to see a NASCAR that everybody goes. Man, this is for everybody.

This is for anybody. If you have talent and you have interest, you can excel at this and it doesn't matter where you came from. Well, we got to stop right there. You thought that was it, but but there's more. There is so much more. Come back in the next episode when you hear DJ Jeff Gordon hits his on the one and two. So come back to part two. You are a unique person. You are well worth it,

you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith, singer, I'm Gerard Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Singior. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It, LLC ball Told Creative Media, The Black Effect, and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you

listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singor co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Balta Chevic and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec. Production coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let

you know. It's all