Darlington weekend sets the tone: Dale Jr. and TJ dig into the alumni program’s impact, throwback paint schemes, and the recurring debate over stage racing and even number placement during throwback events. They also preview the Cars Tour race at Wake County and Dale’s Nashville testing, including muffler rules and the track’s vintage night feel. Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick weigh in on restarts, strategy, and winning under pressure. The show ends with a Hall of Fame argument—whether non-Cup champions (like Xfinity/Trucks/Modified) should be eligible—plus Ask Jr. and betting picks for Martinsville.
Dale Jr. and the crew celebrate 700 episodes with plenty of laughs and nostalgia, including some fun stories and a look at a signed Dale Sr. trading card. They preview a big CARS Tour weekend with limited spots and high stakes, share what made Dale’s Nashville test feel like stepping back in time, and dive into everything that made Darlington weekend stand out, from throwback energy to the opinions it always brings out across the garage.
They break down the on-track action in Darlington, including Justin Allgaier’s strength on restarts in the O’Reilly series and a Cup race that had a little bit of everything with strategy, tire falloff, and late-race intensity. Tyler Reddick joins after a hard-fought performance to talk through the challenges he faced, and the crew weighs in on the Reddick vs. Buescher moment while also highlighting a few underrated runs across the field.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
"Well this episode number 700 is presented by Arby's.
Don't forget about Arby's new meat in three bucks."
Arby’s is a restaurant chain that sells fast food, especially roast beef sandwiches. Here it’s just the sponsor for the podcast episode.
Arby's is a fast-food restaurant chain known for roast beef sandwiches. In this segment it’s mentioned as the episode sponsor, not as an automotive-related brand.
"The person sent it off and got it PSA authenticated to autograph.
It is certified."
PSA is a third-party authentication service (Professional Sports Authenticator) that verifies the authenticity of sports memorabilia. “PSA authenticated” means the autograph was submitted, verified, and given a certification for collectors.
"...after the 1987 All-Star Race, the Winston, where Dad and Bill Elliott tangled... The last 10 laps of the Winston in 1987."
Winston was a major NASCAR sponsor during the 1980s, and its name shows up in event titles and series branding. Mentioning “Winston” signals the specific sponsorship era and helps listeners place the race historically.
"they were 13, 14, 12, whatever, were running all over the footprint of Talladega super speedway property. We're over at the Hall of Fame by ourselves."
Talladega Superspeedway is a famous NASCAR race track. It’s huge, so “running all over the footprint” means they were roaming around the track area.
Talladega Superspeedway is a NASCAR oval known for very high speeds and pack racing. When the speaker says they were running all over the “footprint” of Talladega, they’re describing the large track complex and its surrounding areas.
"meaning that this person that made the shirt must have been a Bill Elliott fan. And they're saying, look who ran into me."
Bill Elliott is a famous NASCAR driver. The speaker is saying the shirt’s design suggests it was made by someone who was a Bill Elliott fan.
Bill Elliott is a legendary NASCAR driver known for multiple championships and a long career. The speaker uses Elliott as a fan reference to explain the shirt’s colors and how it connected to NASCAR fandom.
"But our producer Travis likes us to stay on the NASCAR content. ... He is not excited about anything non cup. Little Xfinity. Mostly cup."
NASCAR is a big American stock-car racing league. They have different levels of racing—Cup is the top tier, and Xfinity is a step below. When someone says “Cup” or “Xfinity,” they’re talking about which level of NASCAR race it is.
NASCAR is a stock-car racing series in the U.S. It has multiple national touring series, and races are often grouped by “Cup” (top level) versus “Xfinity” (the next tier down). Understanding which series they’re talking about helps you follow the competition level and the teams involved.
"The Xfinity race at Martinsville will run.
And you can lead right into the broadcast on Flow for the car store."
In NASCAR, “Xfinity” is a major racing series. It’s like the tier just under the top NASCAR series, and it has its own cars and rules.
“Xfinity” refers to NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, a national touring series that sits just below the top-level Cup Series. When a podcast mentions an “Xfinity race,” it’s usually talking about the specific series format, car rules, and competition level that come with that series.
"We have like 33 cars going for 26 spots.
There's going to be some good teams
that are more than likely going to not qualify"
Qualifying determines which cars earn starting spots in the race. With “33 cars going for 26 spots,” the field is cut down, so teams that miss qualifying lose the chance to race—making setup and single-lap performance critical.
"And when the caution comes out with 26 cars on the track,
we are nose to tail all the way."
A “caution” means the race slows down because something happened on the track. Everyone has to tighten up, and strategy can change fast.
A caution in NASCAR is when the race is slowed due to an incident on track (like debris or a crash). The pace changes and the field bunches up, which can dramatically affect strategy—especially with many cars on track.
"Nashville is interesting because of the
606.5s
the mufflers.
607.7s
You got to run mufflers.
609.0s
You got to have your car can't be over like 100 decibels."
Mufflers are parts on the exhaust that make the car quieter. Tracks often set a loudness limit, so teams use mufflers to keep the car within the rules.
In racing, mufflers are exhaust components that reduce sound output. Many tracks require cars to meet a maximum decibel level, so teams run specific muffler setups to stay legal while keeping the car drivable.
"they started putting these Jersey barriers out on the racetrack.
655.3s
And it is because the joy riders tend to show up if you don't do that."
Jersey barriers are heavy concrete blocks placed along the track. They help protect people and keep cars away from dangerous areas.
Jersey barriers are modular concrete barriers used to separate cars from hazards and control access to track areas. They’re often deployed or repositioned to improve safety and manage crowd/vehicle flow during events.
"And Marcus Smith and Bristol Motor Speedway are trying to work with the local government."
Bristol Motor Speedway is a famous NASCAR track. It’s known for exciting racing, and it also deals with noise issues from nearby residents.
Bristol Motor Speedway is a NASCAR venue known for its short track racing and intense, close-quarters action. It’s also a place where track upgrades and community noise concerns can become part of local government negotiations.
"they will fix the racetrack up, clean it up, repave it more than likely, put a new wall and safer barrier around it."
Repaving is when they put down a new layer of pavement on the track. It can make the surface smoother and safer for racing.
“Repave” means resurfacing the track with new asphalt. On race tracks, it can improve grip consistency and reduce bumps that affect tire wear and lap times.
"[773.4s] And I'll tell you, I've seen some, I've watched a lot of races like I've watched the 1984, [778.9s] one of the last races they had there in the Cup Series."
The Cup Series is NASCAR’s top national stock-car racing series. When the host references “the 1984” and “one of the last races they had there in the Cup Series,” they’re talking about major NASCAR-level competition at that venue.
"[816.1s] One small note, Jerky Boys, which is Nashville made, [820.3s] they'll be out at the fairgrounds."
The Jerky Boys are a comedy act famous for prank calls. The host is saying they’ll be at the fairgrounds too, so it’s not just cars—it’s also entertainment.
The Jerky Boys are a comedy brand known for prank-call recordings and live appearances. The host mentions “Jerky Boys” as a Nashville-made act that will be at the fairgrounds, tying it to the overall fan experience beyond racing.
"That's why I want to talk to you about can-cut drill bits and cutting tools. These are American-made, family-owned drill bits that automotive and fabrication professionals have trusted for decades... I had my can-cut drill bits there for the job."
Can-Cut is a brand of drill bits. The host is saying these bits hold up well when you’re drilling metal for practical projects, like making a hole to fit a hitch pin.
Can-Cut is a drill-bit brand marketed toward automotive and fabrication professionals. The episode highlights its drill bits as being durable enough to handle real-world metal drilling jobs without constantly breaking bits.
"I already had a hitch pin for it, but of course the pinhole wasn't the same size as the hitch pin. And that's how it always happens. So yes, I needed to drill a hole."
A hitch pin is what locks a trailer to the hitch so it can’t come loose. In this story, the hole size didn’t match the pin, so he had to drill a new hole.
A hitch pin is the locking pin used to secure a trailer’s hitch connection. The segment describes a common fitment issue: the pinhole size on the trailer doesn’t match the pin you already have, requiring drilling to correct the alignment.
"nobody does it better than Lionel Racing, the official die cast of NASCAR. Their race-win die casts are some of my favorite cars in my own collection."
Lionel Racing makes model cars for NASCAR fans. They’re known for making die-cast versions that look like the real race cars from specific events.
Lionel Racing is a major manufacturer of NASCAR collectibles, especially die-cast cars. In this segment, they’re described as the “official die cast of NASCAR,” meaning their models are licensed and made to match the real cars and paint schemes from races.
"they look exactly like the car does in Victory Lane, the confetti, scuffs, marks, tire marks, damage, all of it."
Victory Lane is where the winner gets celebrated right after the race. It’s the “winning moment” people associate with trophies, confetti, and celebration.
Victory Lane is the area at a racetrack where the winning car is celebrated after a race. The term is used as shorthand for the post-race “winner’s moment,” which is why die-cast models are described as matching what you’d see there.
"...with, you know, waving the green flag, like Speed saying the prayer, and, you know, Dave Marcus handing the trophy over in Victor Lane..."
The green flag means the race is starting for real. Drivers can go full speed and the competition begins.
In NASCAR, the green flag signals the race is officially underway and cars can accelerate at full speed. It’s a key moment in the race weekend experience because it marks the transition from pre-race procedures to competitive racing.
"There are still some people that feel like, you know, number placement, stage racing, things that there's still some format championship."
Stage racing means a NASCAR race is split into sections, and drivers can earn points at the end of each section. Some fans like it because it makes the race more exciting, while others miss the older style.
Stage racing is NASCAR’s format where races are divided into multiple segments (stages), with points awarded at the end of each stage. It’s designed to create more frequent competitive moments, but it also changes race strategy compared to traditional single-race scoring.
"It reminds me of the first, one of the first throwback weekends we did when the pit crews started wearing one of the teams had them white uniform. Might have been the wood brothers. The glory days of the throwback week."
A “throwback weekend” is when NASCAR teams make their cars and crew gear look like older, classic race days. It’s basically a retro theme for the event.
“Throwback weekends” in NASCAR are events where teams dress and present their cars in retro liveries and uniforms inspired by earlier eras. The goal is to recreate the look and feel of classic racing while still running modern cars and rules.
"Might have been the wood brothers. The glory days of the throwback week."
Wood Brothers is a famous NASCAR racing team with a long history. When they show up in a throwback story, it’s usually about their classic look and legacy.
The Wood Brothers Racing team is one of NASCAR’s most historic organizations, known for classic branding and long-running participation in the sport. Mentioning them here signals a specific era of throwback aesthetics and team identity.
"you know, uh, no matter what. So you couldn't, you couldn't talk them into, into anything, you know, the Budweiser guys, they did not want to run anything but a red car."
Budweiser has been a big sponsor in NASCAR. In this story, they wanted the car to stay a certain color and look, which affected what teams could do.
Budweiser is a major NASCAR sponsor historically, and the transcript highlights how sponsor branding requirements can dictate car colors and liveries. That kind of sponsorship control can limit how much teams can change the look of the car week to week.
"Um, I brought the idea one day of running a Bud Light car in the All-Star race to them"
Bud Light is a beer brand that sponsors NASCAR. The speaker is saying he suggested a Bud Light-themed car for an All-Star event, but the sponsor group didn’t like the idea.
Bud Light is a beer brand that has also sponsored NASCAR events. Here, the speaker is describing sponsor-driven constraints—specifically pushing an idea to run a Bud Light-themed car in an All-Star race and getting pushback.
"...Justin, he had two really good pit stops near the end and his restart is..."
A pit stop is when the car pulls into the pits to get serviced, usually for tires and adjustments. Doing it well—and at the right time—can help you gain positions.
A pit stop is the scheduled (or caution-driven) service of the race car in the pits, typically involving tire changes and adjustments. Timing and execution of pit stops can swing a driver from mid-pack to the front by improving speed and maintaining favorable track position.
"Uh, the, you know, Goodyear's done some great work on the tire. Uh, we had guys, I watched a lot of guys in the middle of the pack,"
Goodyear makes the tires used in the race. The tire’s grip and how fast it wears can change how easy it is for drivers to pass and how they plan their run.
Goodyear is a major tire manufacturer that supplies racing tires and works on tire compounds and construction. In NASCAR, tire behavior (grip, wear, and how quickly it comes in) strongly affects how drivers can pass and manage the race.
"I have one question for Tyler. Tyler, what's the shoey taste like?"
A “shoey” is when someone drinks from a shoe as a victory celebration. It’s a goofy tradition that’s common in some racing scenes.
A “shoey” is a celebratory ritual where someone drinks alcohol from a shoe, often in motorsports culture. The speaker describes the taste and the messy, chaotic nature of the tradition.
"Did he come to pit road late because of a flat tire? No, I don't, I don't think he came to pit road. I think he rode around the road around slow. No, he did go to pit road."
Pit road is the special lane NASCAR cars use to stop during the race. Teams use it to change tires and do quick service, and when you pit can make a big difference in where you end up.
In NASCAR, pit road is the lane where teams stop during a race to service the car—typically for tire changes, fuel, and adjustments. Timing and strategy on pit road often determine track position and can swing the outcome.
Select text to request an explanation
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The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media.
This is the most fun I've had in this chair in the last hour and a half.
I don't know if we've ever argued.
Did I piss you off over the weekend or?
I'm still sour that I want the best man at your wedding.
Who was your best man Dale?
T.J.
You don't need a cool vest for that race.
What are you thinking?
Get him T.J.
Hell way it's starting to show.
All right then.
Hey everybody it's Dale Jr. back again for another episode of the Dale Jr.
Download.
This is post Darlington.
What episode is this?
700.
Really?
Why'd you quit putting it on here?
Because I don't care about the number.
We do.
We care about it.
Too much work.
700 episodes.
Geez.
Feels like 7,000.
Working with you it does.
That's right.
Well this episode number 700 is presented by Arby's.
Don't forget about Arby's new meat in three bucks.
You get more meal for your money at Arby's.
We had the meats.
So let's get right into it bud.
We got a lot to talk about.
On the table I've got some props.
I have a box of NFL paninis.
I thought we might, we could open those.
We should.
I got a Dale Earnhardt.
Nice.
Card this is, I don't know, 2000.
Dad signed this.
More than likely he signed this at DEI in his autograph room.
The person sent it off and got it PSA authenticated to autograph.
It is certified.
And a friend of mine that brings me the, he brings me stuff from Canada.
He's a high five guy?
Five alive.
Five alive.
Five alive.
He brings five alive and ketchup flavored chips.
Potato chips.
This is hard to say for some reason.
He gave me this, this slabbed.
I love that word.
He gave me this slabbed autographed Dale Earnhardt card for the studio.
And also we talk about this shirt.
Now I don't like promoting and making other people money, but you know,
we like to promote things that make 30 million money, but this shirt is the shirt.
Guess who ran into me today at the track.
So this shirt, after the 1987 All-Star Race, the Winston, where Dad and Bill Elliott tangled,
Jeff and I got in that little mix up as well.
It was maybe, in my opinion, I'm biased, the most dramatic and exciting 10 laps in NASCAR history.
Okay.
The last 10 laps of the Winston in 1987.
The next couple of weeks, you start going to the racetrack and you start seeing these bootlegged
t-shirts being sold all around the racetracks.
And I bought one at Talladega.
All right.
Now in 1987, I was 13 years old and I bought one of these t-shirts.
Dad would give me a hundred bucks and I'd run all over the property.
No chaperone, no snow supervision, 13 years old, me and my buddies,
they were 13, 14, 12, whatever, were running all over the footprint of Talladega
super speedway property.
We're over at the Hall of Fame by ourselves.
We go over to the dirt track at night and watch the dirt trackers run.
No parents, nothing, man.
I don't know what the hell, such a different world, right?
It really is.
You never do that now.
Well, I bought one of these with some of the money Dad gave me to spend.
And I got a guy, so I see it, right?
And I'm like, yeah, it's got a lot of yellow and blue paint on it,
meaning that this person that made the shirt must have been a Bill Elliott fan.
And they're saying, look who ran into me.
All the yellow and blue marks on it, Earnhardt ran into me.
Well, I thought I would fix the shirt and I got a guy to spray on a number three,
like this is the door of Dad's car and put a little bit of red and gold on there too.
And I was like, Hey, Dad will see it and not think this is an anti Earnhardt shirt.
He'll think it's a, I'm wearing, I'm like, Hey, look who ran into me, Bill Elliott.
You know what I'm saying?
I changed a narrative.
Well, not, Dad did not think so.
And he saw it and he told me to take it off immediately.
And he used a lot of curse words.
And so the shirt disappeared.
But now I have another about it on the internet.
I think, I think our old friend NASCAR man has sort of a pop up t-shirt kind of
sell by print, you know, print by, you know, you order it, it gets made.
I'm glad to have one of these and I'm going to wear it.
And Dad ain't here to tell me to take it off, off, off, right?
So it's creative.
I love it.
It's very creative.
You go to football game, whatever.
And there's the people selling bootleg illegal t-shirts outside the stadium.
You know, you know, this ain't got nobody's name on it.
There's no trademark violations.
This one to me kind of clears the books.
Yeah.
All right.
Anywho, so I brought some props today.
I guess we could put this in here.
I don't know.
I kind of want to put it.
I want to kind of want to take it home.
Could leave it here.
I'd probably take it home.
TJ made the call.
Well, me and you will open some cards here after a while.
All right.
Went to, we got a big race this weekend in the cars tour.
I'm leading into something.
So don't get nervous about me talking about the cars tour.
But our producer Travis likes us to stay on the NASCAR content.
That's not true.
He does.
He is not excited about anything non cup.
Little Xfinity.
Mostly cup.
He likes a lot of cup.
He likes a lot of cup in our show.
A little bit of Xfinity.
But I, um...
Or Riley.
Or Riley.
Or Riley.
Sorry.
Yeah.
This is the way it's going to be for a while.
It's going to be, that's the way it's going to be for a while.
So, um, there's a 175 lap race this weekend at Wake County.
Wake County is a really tiny track.
And usually all of our late model stock races are 125 laps.
We talked to the teams and we said,
Hey, let's add some laps to this one.
So it's 100 and 75 laps at Wake County after the Xfinity race.
The Xfinity race at Martinsville will run.
And you can lead right into the broadcast on Flow for the car store.
Please tune in.
There's also $10,000 up for grabs in the Floodium program
between six drivers in this race.
So not only can teams, you know, win the money,
win the race and win that money,
but there's also another $10,000 up for grabs in the Floodium program.
Thank you, Flow Racing.
Flow's awesome.
So anyhow, we're going to run that race this weekend.
We have like 33 cars going for 26 spots.
There's going to be some good teams
that are more than likely going to not qualify
for this race in the cars tour.
This is a very tiny racetrack.
And when the caution comes out with 26 cars on the track,
we are nose to tail all the way.
You know, the freaking pace car is right up somebody's ass.
So it's a tight little spot.
But anyways, yeah, I'm excited about it this weekend.
I say that because this past week,
I went to Nashville to test, went to the fairgrounds
and ran some laps and in preparation
for the cars tour race on the April the 11th in Nashville.
And so that was a ton of fun.
We went out there.
Nashville is interesting because of the
the mufflers.
You got to run mufflers.
You got to have your car can't be over like 100 decibels.
So you have to run mufflers.
And we were testing some mufflers
and we got a little work to do there.
You can't be on the track before three o'clock in the afternoon.
You can only practice from three to seven on Thursday and Tuesday.
Same thing on Friday.
Saturday, I think it's a it's a bit different.
But I'm excited to go out there.
They want it's very bumpy.
There's some patches, some issues, character,
whatever you want to call it with the racetrack, which is fine.
Sounds fun.
Big bump off a turn two, which is fine.
That's where the tunnel is, right?
Yep. Yep.
One of the funny things is,
is we got done testing around seven o'clock
and they started putting these Jersey barriers out on the racetrack.
And it is because the joy riders tend to show up if you don't do that.
Some two and three in the morning.
Some folks try to break, you know, cut the lock
and drive into the racetrack and cut a couple laps.
Dang.
Yeah.
How about the hot item there?
They at a set at around 6 36 o'clock, they turn the lights on.
Now, I haven't been there since 1999 to drive a race car.
I haven't run a lap on that racetrack since 1999.
And it was not changed a bit, which is, in my opinion, a good thing.
I mean, it needs a little fluff and buff.
And Marcus Smith and Bristol Motor Speedway
are trying to work with the local government.
They have been for the past, I don't know, five years trying to work a deal.
There is a deal in place.
Everybody just needs to agree.
And should that deal get done,
they will fix the racetrack up, clean it up,
repave it more than likely, put a new wall and safer barrier around it.
But also, most importantly, put a sound barrier around the racetrack.
For all the folks that live in that area that are upset about sound and racing and noise,
this man wants to spend, you know, thousands, a couple hundred thousand dollars to improve
the situation with a sound barrier around the racetrack.
But that doesn't get done if the deal doesn't get done.
And I think racing is protected there as far as, you know,
short track racing, the 12 or 15 events they have annually will continue with no sound barrier.
So anyhow, they turn the lights on around six o'clock, man, and I will tell you what,
that is probably as close as I've ever felt to going to time traveling back in time.
When they turn the lights on, the lights are good enough, but they're imperfect
and they're vintage.
And I'll tell you, I've seen some, I've watched a lot of races like I've watched the 1984,
one of the last races they had there in the Cup Series.
The races there at night, it was not well-lit.
It was just, you know, very vintage, has a very vintage feel when you watch it on YouTube.
And it looked exactly like that.
It was so freaking cool.
So I cannot wait to go back there with the cars tour.
April 11th for Nashville Fairgrounds.
We will have a lot going on to make sure that event's a lot of fun.
If you were out there for XRS, you've got an idea of what you might get
when you come back for the cars tour because I heard the XRS deal was really cool.
So I'm excited to go to Nashville.
One small note, Jerky Boys, which is Nashville made,
they'll be out at the fairgrounds.
I'll probably over-sign in autographs at the Jerky Boys booth trying to, you know, move some Jerky.
And so you sent Cory Hyme some Jerky.
We did.
I didn't know anything about that.
I guess our boys sent Cory some Jerky and he posted about it on social media.
Thank you, Cory Hyme.
Maybe that's what got him the W.
I like Cory Hyme and I like him a lot more now, that little thing right there.
Yeah, he was like, hey, this is actually pretty good.
I believe I'll let everybody know.
Thank you, Cory Hyme.
That's how social media works.
Hey, everybody, it's Mike Davis here.
I have a question for you.
Now, be honest.
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My drill bits from Can-Cut came in handy just a couple weeks ago,
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I already had a hitch pin for it,
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And that's how it always happens.
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I had my can-cut drill bits there for the job.
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Hey, everybody.
The 2026 NASCAR season is underway.
And it's already shaping up to be another year of hard racing,
great storylines, winning moments that remind us why we love this amazing sport.
And when it comes to capturing all of that on-track action in collectible form,
nobody does it better than Lionel Racing, the official die cast of NASCAR.
Their race-win die casts are some of my favorite cars in my own collection.
That's because the detail, they look exactly like the car does in Victory Lane,
the confetti, scuffs, marks, tire marks, damage, all of it.
It's like freezing that winning moment in time
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All right.
So let's talk about, let's talk about Darlington.
So NASCAR had the alumni program come out to Darlington,
and, you know, some teams did throw back paint schemes,
but the, you know, which was great,
and there were some really good ones,
and I want to talk about them in a minute,
but NASCAR has this new alumni program that they've developed
where they're encouraging a lot of the drivers from NASCAR's past
and a lot of historic names to come back out to the racetrack,
and it's working really well.
You saw a lot of those guys on social media this weekend,
they incorporated them into the race weekend experience
with, you know, waving the green flag,
like Speed saying the prayer,
and, you know, Dave Marcus handing the trophy over in Victor Lane,
and you had a lot of guys in the media center
and a lot of great quotes and comments from, you know,
Mark Martin and Daryl Waltrip and Bobby the Bonnie
and all these different people, right?
And I love it.
The, you know, the alumni program is really cool.
NASCAR sends you a box, it's got a hat and all this stuff in it.
We've been taking that stuff and putting it,
signing it and putting it on our foundation website
for people to buy, but which I'm very thankful
to be in the alumni program.
I just feel like, you know,
I'm not going to walk around with an alumni hat on,
not that I'm not glad to be part of it, but it's just a little weird.
It's just, for some people, it works and some people don't.
It's like, you know, it's kind of like the Jersey conversation,
you know, how old do you, how old do you start wearing them or whatever.
But anyways, they, the program is working really well.
With it, with having those guys at the racetrack, though,
you know, they come with their opinions, you know,
and they come to the racetrack.
Bobby the Bonnie, Daryl Waltrip were asked about stage cautions
and there's some clips on social media about their opinions about it
and they don't like it.
It's funny because DW, as he's in the booth,
and I know this very well, you know,
as a broadcaster in the booth,
you keep your damn opinions to yourself in terms of state of the sport.
And I've, you know, the only time I really ever weighed into any of that
is when we're on this podcast and I'm careful about,
you know, kind of how far I want to go down some of these roads
when we're talking about things in the sport.
But now that DW is not working the booth,
he's quite a bit more, you know, free, I suppose,
or apt to give his opinion on things.
And he said that he, he's not a big fan of the stage racing.
Bobby the Bonnie chimed in on social media to agree with that as well.
The teardown went on to debate number placement at Darlington, specifically.
Jeff Gluck said that he would be for them
allowing the numbers to be moved back for some of the vintage scheme
or, you know, some of the throwback schemes or whatever.
And why would you say no?
Why would you, why would anyone say no,
they shouldn't move the numbers back for Darlington?
I mean, it's just, why can't, what, what is the, why, why the restrictions?
Why the, why are we shackling ourselves to tethering ourselves to some,
you know, for brand consistency or what are we talking about?
But I thought I was like, man, if they moved the freaking number back
for one race and everybody sees how good it looks,
it's just going to open up big can worms.
Same.
But anyhow, throwback weekend lends itself to some throwback opinions.
And I guess what I was wanting to say about that is
NASCAR has made some really, really good changes to the sport.
Namely the point system.
We had a lot of, you know, we had a lot of great conversations,
a lot of kumbaya, everybody in the same room, happy and a lot of,
you know, announcements and meetings and every and just a lot of positive comments.
And this season has been great.
We got off on a, we got off to a great start and everything is, everything is good.
But I guess that doesn't mean that,
you know, everything, I guess that doesn't mean that you're not going to have
somebody every now and then come up and go, you know, I miss this or I think this is,
this should be different.
I mean, I had some moments that were great.
What?
Just anything that like has its moments like.
Well, I'm just saying like here's, I guess the conversation I'm trying to have TJ is like,
listen, NASCAR made some good changes this all season.
We're all very happy about it.
There are still some people that feel like, you know, number placement, stage racing,
things that there's still some format championship.
There's still some people that still aren't in love with a couple of those things.
It's always going to be that way.
And I feel like it's okay to still have those conversations.
100%.
Yeah, I know, but I'll say this, like, you know, NASCAR and all the progress, you know,
we'll call it progress, all the progress they made this all season to make good changes.
And it's really, really great change for the points format.
They would hope that everybody would just shut the hell up and be happy, right?
Just, hey, be happy for what you got.
And I agree with that a little bit.
But at the same time, when Daryl Walter or Bobby the Bonnie says, you know what,
I love all the changes, but I also think they should not have stage racing.
And I'm like, hmm, me too, kind of, you know, but not that I'm going to go on social media
and start a, you know, kind of a crusade to try to bend that back in the other direction.
But every sport has where people are critiquing it.
Well, at Darlington Week, I'm going to, I think what we're going to find
is that Darlington Weekend is going to be the moment in every season when those nostalgic
sort of comments and conversations flare the number placement, right?
We don't really, I mean, there's a ton of us out there that absolutely despise
the current number placement.
We keep our mouth shut.
It ain't changing.
Nobody's talking about it changing that, you know, nobody that matters.
And so we're not, we're not thinking it's going to change.
So there's no argument to have, right?
Why complain if it's not going to do anything.
But when Darlington comes around and the throwback schemes come around,
oh, what are we talking about?
We're talking about number placement, you know?
And so I just find that interesting.
It's like, you know, we did a lot of great things this all season and everything is good
and we are happy and we're moving down the right direction.
And Darlington, Darlington is going to always be this weekend that stirs up some of these
discussions and conversations about what used to be and how it used to be and how that was better.
And not to, there's not, I'm not saying there's a right or wrong.
I'm kind of always does that.
Darlington's going to do it.
So, and I think that NASCAR, I guess, is just going to have to,
you know, know that's just how it's going to go, you know?
Every time we bring these old hats around, like for example, Kirk Schermanine, I love him,
awesome guy, right?
One of the things that I wish he hadn't done and he didn't have to do it,
he gets up in his, he gets up during his speech for the Hall of Fame.
He's getting inducted into the Hall of Fame.
He is on the stage in front of the entire industry.
And he got so freaking mad about the next-gen car that he cussed it on stage during his speech.
You know, he said something along the lines of, you know, whatever the f*** this thing is y'all
have now, you know, when talking about race cars.
And I was like, Kirk, you didn't have to do that, you know?
Just, you know, just be happy about your career, you know?
And this is the Hall of Fame and not the time or the place.
But when you bring those guys around, you know, they're going to tell you what they think
and they don't have, they're not, they don't have filters on them.
Nope.
And so I love the alumni program, you know, because you get the, you get there,
Walter telling you what he's really been thinking, you know what I'm saying?
Just to have them personalities, they crack.
Like I saw Hanford, I saw Bobby a little bit.
You know, Bobby is the nicest guy ever.
I was so surprised to see him chime in on the stage racing conversation on social media.
I even looked at the handle to make sure it was really him.
I was like, this is bulls***.
I was like, no, Bobby, Bobby don't never, you know, wade into the, you know.
Yeah, he just kind of lies in the shadows a little bit.
Darrell, I think Darrell said something and it floated around.
And because there was some, there was some media at the alumni tent,
like kind of problem these guys about, Hey man, what do you think about stage racing?
You know, yeah, they know they haven't been talking for some months.
Yes.
Wind them up and let them go.
Yeah, but I don't know.
I always, I only wanted to mention that because I found it interesting to me.
And yeah, Darlington's going to be the weekend where it kind of like picks it,
some of those old wounds.
Sure.
But the alumni program is great.
Great job on NASCAR.
I love seeing all of the historic names out there.
And, you know, having Lake Speed, a guy,
there was some opportunity for me to be there to do a couple of things.
And I was like, man, there's guys that have won races at this racetrack
that need to be doing these things.
You know, having Lake Speed say in the prayer,
guy one is only Speedway race at Darlington, always ran good at Darlington.
Kurt Busch, all these great guys that are, you know, part of the story,
you know, Kurt part of that crazy finish with Craven.
Yeah, the picture he took.
I love the picture he took where he's standing on the front straightaway
at the start finish line and Kurt Busch is like,
I missed it by that much.
I mean, just, it was a, that was a lot of fun.
And that added to a regular normal good solid race weekend.
It added some seasoning and some flavor to it.
And so I was, I was very happy about that talking about throwbacks.
Not much of an argument here.
I think a lot of people would say that host of ours group knocked it out of the park.
Again, I'm biased that we talked about it on the show last week,
that that particular scheme from 1981.
It's a lost year for dad because it was so, so, you know,
so bad for the most part, not a good year for him, but that's my favorite design
of Wrangler car that he ever raced for sure.
And host of our and his team did a lot of great stuff on social media with content.
They wrapped a grand prix where, you know, where in the hell is that car been?
And where is it going?
I mean, I think the Wrangler, you know, wrapped grand prix ought to, you know,
be who's, who's is that?
Where is it?
I want to see it going down the street.
I might want to drive it.
What's it like on the inside?
I never saw the inside.
Host of our probably has it now.
Who has it?
We'll find out.
I need to know.
I mean, that's a pretty bad ass looking car now.
Yeah.
You know, I don't know what it looked like before they wrapped it, but
I kind of like it.
Um, so they bring and they bring the Pontiac grand prix to the racetrack and take a picture of it
as he's making a couple of practices.
I mean, they really went all out.
They went all out.
They put some good effort into this.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
I just don't see a lot of folks, uh, putting that kind of effort into certain campaigns,
even non throwback campaigns.
Yeah.
Hell of a job.
It reminds me of the first, one of the first throwback weekends we did
when the pit crews started wearing one of the teams had them white uniform.
Might have been the wood brothers.
The glory days of the throwback week.
Back in my day.
Well, a lot of throwback stuff.
Well, it helps that he goes out there and has a great performance on the racetrack.
You know, but it's a good looking race car, good looking job.
Any other throwbacks stand out to you guys?
Um, I thought the, uh,
the, uh, the O'Reilly race, I thought, um, Austin greens car stood out a little bit.
Yeah.
Slim Jim car.
I think the trucks and the O'Reilly guys always have done solid work.
They have a lot more flexibility with partners to be able to do things that they want to do
with the cars.
Whereas the cup guys, you know,
nothing wrong with it, I suppose, but corporate America is not always that excited to change
their logo or the colors of their car.
Yeah.
Um, you know, when I ran the nationwide car, the hood had to be blue.
Uh, you know, you had to design the car around a blue hood all the time, you know, uh, no
matter what.
So you couldn't, you couldn't talk them into, into anything, you know, the Budweiser guys,
they did not want to run anything but a red car.
The exact same car every single week when, when they would do a baseball car or something
like that, it had to really be something that it was their idea, you know, yeah.
Um, I brought the idea one day of running a Bud Light car in the All-Star race to them
and you thought that I had pissed on their grave.
I mean, it was, they were like, what the hell, you know, help them guys.
They're already out selling us.
You know, it was, um, very competitive inside the building.
Yeah.
It unhires a bush.
But, um, yeah, I would say that, uh, the throwback weekend was a success.
The alumni weekend was a success.
The, uh, Xfinity race was a lot of fun.
O'Reilly, yeah.
Did you guys watch, did you guys watch the O'Reilly race?
I did not.
I did.
Boy, you didn't watch it.
I was drinking.
Now that one was fun to do while you're drinking.
Yeah.
Yeah, I did.
Okay.
Um, do you watch, what would you watch?
A college basketball?
Mm-hmm.
I had a lot going on with that too.
We'll talk about that later in the show, but, um, the O'Reilly race was surprising to me.
So Larson looked like he was, you know, definitely gonna be tough to beat.
And, um, they had, you know, maybe not the best pit stop late in the race.
Yeah.
But, uh, one of the things that I, uh, you know, was impressed with, but not surprised
by at all is Justin Algarone restarts.
You know, just twice he schooled, uh, Brandon Jones.
So, you know, earlier in the race, every time Larson was launching, dude, he was clear before
term one, getting some really, really great launches on that inside line, not even challenged
off into the corner.
Um, but both times that Brandon and Justin were aligned in the outs, you know, in the
front row on those final couple of restarts, Jones just could not get launched and clear
of the seven before term one.
And man, you give Justin any sort of a chance on a restart.
That's why they call him the Gator.
I mean, he is tenacious.
Um, I will never forget a race at, uh, Chicago many, many years ago, uh, late restart.
I think we're restarting fourth or somewhere along those lines and he just took it from
those guys.
I thought, man, we've been running good all day, top five here.
It'll be great.
Fired off on a restart and he went and won the race in the final couple of laps and I was just
blown away, but that is him to AT.
That is what makes him great.
That's twice this year that I feel like he is a, he's done that Phoenix as well.
Like Justin Algar is in the twilight of his career and there is still not many people
as aggressive and successful.
He's not, he's not aggressive reckless, but he's aggressive.
He's a dog on the late race restarts.
Yeah, he's so good.
He just knows where to be and he almost knows what's going to happen before it happens.
Yeah.
And the confidence that he has that he, that the race ain't over.
I, you know, that is rare in certain individuals where you're sitting, you've ran.
So if you're sitting there racing all day long, right, and you're driving this car and
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