Ben Keating shares his journey as a successful pro-am sports car driver and businessman, reflecting on his growth in racing and the impact of gentleman drivers on the sport. The conversation dives into humorous anecdotes, including Twitter meltdowns and memorable racing moments, while also discussing the importance of respect and recognition for those funding the sport. Keating's insights on competition, legacy, and personal experiences, including a transformative encounter with a medium, add depth to his character and perspective on racing.
If you listen to Episode 162 you’ve already heard Ben’s story, if you watch “Dinner(s) with Ben Keating” on MotorTrend you get an even further tale…. which is why in this episode we go the other way and just play some fun clips from our most recent recording. With the majority of the recording being […]
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MSRP is the price that car makers suggest dealers sell their cars for. It's a starting point for how much you might pay for a new car.
MSRP stands for Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, which is the price that the manufacturer recommends a dealer sell a vehicle for. It's often used as a baseline for negotiations between buyers and dealers.
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"New F-150s, brand new Rams, new Silverados, they're 40% off."
The Chevrolet Silverado is a popular truck that people use for work and personal driving. It's known for being strong and dependable.
The Chevrolet Silverado is a full-size pickup truck known for its reliability, strong towing capacity, and a variety of configurations to meet different needs.
"I mean, how many Le Mans 24 hours have you done? Ten."
The Le Mans 24 Hours is a famous car race where teams compete to see who can drive the farthest in 24 hours. It's known for its challenging conditions and high-performance cars.
The Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the most prestigious endurance races in the world, held annually in Le Mans, France. It involves teams racing for 24 hours straight, testing both the speed and durability of their vehicles.
"You race prototypes more regularly than GT cars now?"
GT cars are fast sports cars that are built for racing but can also be driven on regular roads. They are known for their performance and style.
GT cars, or Gran Turismo cars, are high-performance vehicles designed for both racing and road use. They typically combine luxury with speed and are often seen in sports car racing events.
"You race prototypes more regularly than GT cars now?"
Prototypes are custom-built race cars designed specifically for racing. They are not available for regular purchase and are made to be as fast and efficient as possible.
In racing, prototypes refer to specially designed vehicles that are built for competition, often featuring advanced technology and aerodynamics. They are distinct from production cars and are typically used in endurance racing events like Le Mans.
"...I won both the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Championship in both a GT car and in a prototype. And, you know, it's kind of like all the stars aligned..."
The IMSA Championship is a racing series in North America where different types of sports cars compete against each other. It's popular among fans and features exciting races throughout the year.
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Championship is a North American sports car racing series that features various classes of cars, including prototypes and GT vehicles. It is known for its competitive racing and has a significant following in the motorsport community.
"...I won both the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Championship in both a GT car and in a prototype. And, you know, it's kind of like all the stars aligned..."
The World Endurance Championship is a series of long car races where teams compete over many hours, sometimes even a full day. It's known for its challenging races and includes famous events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) is a premier endurance racing series featuring long-distance races, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. It showcases a variety of car classes, including prototypes and GT cars, and emphasizes teamwork and strategy over extended race durations.
"So in the years when I was doing IMSA GT, and we had the Detroit race at Bellisle, it's the same time when the Le Mans Test Day was the week."
IMSA GT is a racing series where modified sports cars compete against each other. It's known for exciting races and showcases high-performance vehicles.
IMSA GT refers to the Grand Touring (GT) racing series organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It features sports cars that are modified for racing, competing in various endurance events.
"We had the race on Saturday at the Le Mans Test Day was Sunday."
The Le Mans Test Day is a practice day for teams before the big Le Mans race. It helps them get ready and fine-tune their cars.
The Le Mans Test Day is an official practice session held before the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It allows teams to test their cars and make adjustments ahead of the main event.
"And I got, I got third place overall at Daytona in the DPI, you know, as a, as a bronze gentleman driver."
DPI is a type of race car used in endurance racing, especially at the Daytona 24-hour race. These cars are built for speed and performance, making them very exciting to watch.
DPI stands for Daytona Prototype International, a class of sports car racing that features high-performance prototypes designed for endurance racing, particularly at events like the Daytona 24 Hours. These cars are known for their advanced aerodynamics and powerful engines, making them a key part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
"...if I'm going to be competitive in the LMP2 class or the GT class at Le Mans, then I need to be a bronze driver."
LMP2 is a type of race car used in long-distance races like Le Mans. These cars are built to be very fast and are usually less costly than the top-tier race cars.
The LMP2 class is a category of prototype racing cars that compete in endurance races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. These cars are designed for high performance and are typically less expensive than their LMP1 counterparts, making them popular among privateer teams.
A bronze driver is someone who is considered less experienced in racing. In some races, teams need to have a mix of experienced and less experienced drivers to compete.
A bronze driver is a classification in motorsport that typically refers to a driver with less experience or skill compared to silver, gold, or platinum drivers. This classification is often used in endurance racing to balance the performance of teams.
"...we were racing at Lime Rock Park in the AMG. I think this might have been 2019. But I was racing in the AMG and we had done a strategy."
Lime Rock Park is a racetrack in Connecticut where people race cars. It's a well-known place for car racing events.
Lime Rock Park is a road course located in Connecticut, USA, known for hosting various motorsport events including sports car racing and club racing. It's a popular track among amateur and professional racers alike.
"...it was obvious that this was team racing. It was team tactics..."
Team racing is when drivers from the same team help each other during a race, like blocking other cars to protect their teammate's position.
Team racing refers to a strategy in motorsport where drivers work together to achieve a common goal, such as blocking competitors or setting up a teammate for a better position.
"than any other GT three car in the field. OK, you know, they were was it actually 500 or you just being."
GT3 is a type of race car that is based on regular cars but made faster and safer for racing. They compete in special racing events.
GT3 refers to a class of racing cars that are built for competition in GT racing series. These cars are based on production models but modified for performance and safety.
"as part of the balance performance between all the cars. So and what I'll say is that, you know, they were BOPing results, not performance."
BOP means Balance of Performance. It's a way to make sure that different cars in a race are evenly matched by changing things like their weight and power.
BOP stands for Balance of Performance, a set of regulations used in motorsport to ensure that different car models compete on a level playing field. It adjusts factors like weight and power to balance performance among competitors.
"I handed the car over to Jerome with 20 seconds left in the race with a three second lead and we went on to win."
A three second lead means one car is three seconds faster than another car. This is important in racing because it shows who is ahead in the race.
A three second lead in racing means that one car is three seconds ahead of another car. This is a significant advantage, especially in competitive racing, as it can be challenging to close that gap.
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Get 40% off MSRP this weekend on every type of vehicle we sell in booming Port La Vaca.
New F-150s, brand new Rams, new Silverados, they're 40% off.
No payments till March.
Zero down and signing, plus 40% off cars, trucks, and SUVs, only in Port La Vaca.
And now for Dinner with Racers, presented by...
Continental tire.
...with your hosts, Ryan Eversley and Shawn Heckman.
Please hold your radios down.
Please hold your radios down.
I've been driving very angry with the sound of a driver on the radio during a race.
What do you think I should do?
H-J-N-O-N-O-N-O.
And welcome to Dinner with Racers, I'm Shawn Heckman.
I'm Ryan Eversley.
And hey, it's just a few days before Thanksgiving.
Now next week we've got our annual tradition of episodes coming out.
We know everyone's excited about that.
But we always get those couple of fans who are like, hey, I'm traveling now.
This would be really cool if we could get something out this weekend before my travels start.
And so we're putting a little something early out just for you so you can find something new to complain about.
So we went down to Texas last year and we spent a week in the life of Ben Keating.
Ben being a very well-known professional businessman in Texas,
but also being one of the most successful pro-am sports car drivers of recent years.
And we actually did an episode with him during the pandemic.
So there is a previous episode with him that you can go listen to, which is great.
But the point of this exercise was let's really get to know the guy for our Motor Trend video series.
And we figured a couple of podcasts that come out of it as well.
So some of the things that you'll hear about you might hear about from that first episode.
But then we did a bit of a deeper dive and looked into some of the updates that have gone on in Ben's life.
And also just things that we thought were funny.
Things that necessarily didn't make previous stories.
But we just want to put a quick little episode out there that just sort of updates you on some of the things.
And there's a few things that we just found hilarious from Ben's last few years, like Twitter meltdowns.
Yeah, Twitter meltdowns and BOP, let's say protests that might have happened.
So some interesting stories there, but just a nice catch up with Ben.
But we did dinner at the Victoria Country Club where I believe I had a delicious steak.
And I had a chicken sandwich.
Are we still doing that?
You can see it in the show with the knife and fork.
That's right. That's how you eat those.
And the biggest thing about this show is that it would not exist if it wasn't for God, metal tire.
Hashtag dinner with Conti.
We say hashtag dinner with Conti because our Instagram presence and social media presence is very important for the future of the show.
So if you are a big fan of what we do and love getting these free episodes,
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So very important to kind of keep that message going that we are a valuable,
sponsorable product and you guys have done such a great job of doing that,
which is why we've been here for the last 10 years.
So please go to dinnerwithracers.com, look for those links.
We also have another website you can check out, patreon.com forward slash DWR show,
which is a bit of a behind the scenes thing that we have going on here.
We have a couple different levels, but the most important and fun one is the dinner club,
where you can kind of join in and find out a little bit more about the show.
We do a lot of behind the scenes stories from how the show started from some of the dinners that didn't make the edit just because it was too long.
And we have all sorts of funny little backgrounds and insights that we've got to experience that we've been sharing on that,
as well as covering our racing that we're doing currently by giving race reviews, race reports,
a little bit of industry insight knowledge.
So it's been a lot of fun to do that.
And we're also offering up the opportunity for you guys to know who the guests are ahead of time when the big podcast comes out
and even have the ability to ask those guests questions that will be read and listened to on the episode itself.
So a lot of fun over on Patreon.
That's patreon.com forward slash DWR show.
And now Ben Keating.
All right, we're going to start in five, four, three, two.
You've had one of the most impressive rises through the sport that I think any of us have seen.
Not only just not only with like how you've done it, like working with good people and like proper teams,
but your personal growth as a driver has been really, really excellent.
And you've never seemed any different to me because I met you at your first role X-24.
And you're literally the same guy.
We were teammates.
Yeah, we're literally the same guy.
Like you haven't changed to me at all.
And you've always taken the time for people from the get go.
Like every time I see you, you stop what you're doing to say hello to me like without a doubt.
And I always appreciate that about you because you've done some amazing things.
Did you have any idea?
No.
Any idea?
I mean, how many Le Mans 24 hours have you done?
Ten.
You race prototypes more regularly than GT cars now?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's been amazing for me as well.
It's not like I'm going around saying I'm hot.
I'm like, this is cool.
That's how you should be.
And I'm still a kid in a candy shop, so to speak.
But I'll also say that I feel like I've done a really good job of finding the best spot for me to be able to win.
Yeah.
In other words, it's easier for me to perform better in a series that requires a bronze
than where I was for those six years in GT racing where any silver was an AM.
Yeah.
And the other thing I will say is that without a doubt, I'm a better driver at 53 than I was at 45.
Yeah.
And kind of the, I won't say the system is set up that way, but it's kind of designed with the expectation that you go the other way.
Yes.
And so, I don't know when it's going to happen, but I expect that it's going to happen.
I'm going to try to prolong it as long as I can.
Yeah, good for you.
But at 53, I'm still hanging on to the performance of 2023 as an example where I had, I got my best results ever.
Yeah.
You know, I won both the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Championship in both a GT car and in a prototype.
And, you know, it's kind of like all the stars aligned and it was magical.
Do you ever think about the impact you've had on the sport from a financial standpoint?
And what I mean is you've given a lot of mechanics jobs.
Oh.
You've given a lot of race car drivers jobs.
Yeah, that's true.
I tell people all the time, like people like yourself, I thank them when they especially help young drivers because people made my dreams come true by doing the same thing you're doing for people.
And I don't know that they say thank you enough, not those guys, the sport.
Yeah.
The sport says thank you enough because guys like you are keeping us in business.
I think as the sport does not.
The sport, you know, there are times in this sport where the manufacturers are dumping lots of money in there.
And there are times in the sport where it's all about the gentlemen drivers who are dumping all the money in there because the manufacturers pull out.
Right now, I think we are in a time period where the manufacturers are paying a lot.
Yeah.
But it won't last forever.
It won't.
No.
Neither will I.
Yeah.
But, you know, I don't think, you know, in these times, especially the gentleman driver, if you will, you know, whether you like or dislike that term, I don't mind it.
Yeah.
The people who are bringing money into the sport to be able to play in the playground, I don't think they get much credit in this moment right now.
Right.
Because if it's not you, we'll find somebody else.
Yeah.
Which is not how you should be thinking about it.
So this has been mentioned on some of the podcasts we've done.
Do you, I don't know a good way to say it, but do you do any other sort of a wealthy person's hobbies, boating, yachting, anything like that?
I'll say yes and no.
No is the answer.
Yeah.
Other than I've got some pretty great vacation homes that I recognize that that is a wealthy person's situation.
Sure.
But you've been like really nice resorts, for example, for people that haven't been.
I have been, but I own a couple of other homes.
Sure.
So when you would go to Le Mans, you would charter a jet, right?
Is that correct?
So in the years when I was doing IMSA GT, and we had the Detroit race at Bellisle, it's the same time when the Le Mans Test Day was the week.
We had the race on Saturday at the Le Mans Test Day was Sunday.
You had to go directly to be able to make it in time.
And so, yes, I flew privately on a chartered plane many times.
Yes.
And somehow or another, I became the Pied Piper.
Right.
Everybody in the paddock knew, well, I got to get there, I'll call Keating.
Exactly.
So I ended up, we'd get 10 drivers, we'd all put together 10 grand and it cost 100 grand to fly to Le Mans.
Yeah, sure, sure.
Okay.
So where we're going here is like, have you chartered a plane like that for yourself?
Have I ever done that?
Yes, but not across the pond.
No, that's not where we're going.
Where we're going is when you charter a plane that big for that much money, do they ever talk to you like certain race series have talked to you?
Or do they say, thank you for coming today, Ben, is there anything we can do for you?
They literally roll out the red carpet.
Exactly.
And that's the question we have is the arguments been made that for the amount that you're spending, whether it's WBC or whatever it is,
any other spend in any other part of life, entertainment hobbies, you name it, the white gloves, the red carpet come rolling out.
And yet it doesn't seem to be the case in our sport.
No, that's true.
Yeah.
Does that bother you?
I'll say it can't because I choose to be here.
Sure.
I make a choice.
If it did, you wouldn't be here.
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah.
You know, I have a choice of where to spend my time and my money.
Yeah.
You know, I have made on multiple occasions, I've made the decision to leave a series because I didn't feel respected.
I didn't feel like my money was appreciated.
And you know, I make the decision to spend my time and my money how I want and to be with whom I want.
And so I can't say that it bothers me unless I say that it bothers me enough to go away.
Yeah.
But you know, there is, the sport would obviously be different if there weren't people bringing all this money to go racing.
It would be.
It'd be different.
Yeah.
Gentlemen drivers, sort of a word we're kind of not supposed to say anymore.
But you'll mind it.
But you don't mind it.
I just don't.
You're a race car driver.
Yeah.
I am.
You know what I mean.
Do you mind that connotation of he's a pay driver?
I don't.
Yeah.
Why not?
Because it's the truth.
Well, for a couple of reasons.
Number one, it's the truth.
And number two, I have had the opportunity to race at no charge.
And it's a great opportunity.
But most of the time in that type of an opportunity, we're not competitive.
Yeah.
And you know, this is not fun for me if I'm not doing well.
Right.
And I recognize that as I'm driving around the track in the last place going, this is
not fun.
Why am I here?
To have leveraged yourself into work as hard as you have over the last 20 years, you've
earned that right to get a Daytona win just as much the pro driver has.
Sure.
Yeah.
Sure.
You know, a decent example of that was 2023.
Yes.
2023.
You know, I was in the, the, the DPI.
Oh, right.
And I got, I got third place overall at Daytona in the DPI, you know, as a, as a bronze gentleman
driver.
That's pretty cool.
It's kind of like, you know, we all know, you know, RJ Valentine or John Pugh or, you
know, all these other, you know, AMS who have, who have won really big races.
Yes.
Yeah.
And, you know, I don't, I don't see it as a negative.
And I don't, I don't want to be, from my view of it, if, if I'm not paying, then my perception
is our team is not competitive and it's not fun.
Part of the fun in this for me is that I want to build the team.
Yeah.
And you've earned the right to do that.
And if I'm going to build the team, that means I have to pay for it.
Yeah.
Right.
And if I'm going to be competitive in the LMP2 class or the GT class at Le Mans, then
I need to be a bronze driver.
Yeah.
And, you know, it, regardless of my age, you know, who cares if I'm, if I'm
53, if, if I'm a paid driver, they're going to make me silver, at least.
Yeah.
And so there's an advantage to me, to being a paid driver.
Sure.
Yeah.
I got you.
Any case you can.
Yeah.
What are some of the words you think people that work for you have used to describe
you?
If you were to ask me how to describe myself, I think the first word I would use is competitive.
I'd say that's probably 50% of the people.
Yeah.
I say that because it doesn't matter if it's in the racing world or the, the car
business world or normal family life that trait rears its head often.
You know, but it's a weird combination of it.
I am competitive.
I do want to win, but I enjoy doing it with others.
I enjoy helping to make other people successful.
I enjoy bringing people along with it.
It's no fun if it's by myself.
You know, I don't want to stand on top of the mountain with my arms up in a V with
nobody else around.
Right.
I want to, you know, I want to celebrate with everybody.
Yeah.
Even if they're golfing with their dad.
They better be down here.
That's right.
Exactly.
That's right.
So, you know, I am ultra competitive, but I'm also, you know, inclusive and
sharing.
And, you know, I don't want to do it alone.
I want to do it with people.
Yeah.
So, you know, it's this 20 years from now and not have known you as a racer or sure
thing.
What would you hope the legacy that you'd leave behind is?
I, you know, I'm not going to ask what you're asking.
I'm going to say I'm answering this from a racing context.
You know, I think there are different answers depending on what the context
is, but from a racing perspective.
I think my legacy has been that I'm a better driver at 53 than I was at 45 that you can get
better, you can grow, you can develop and you can build a winning team.
You know, that, you know, life is too short to race with and I work really hard to build
a winning team made of good people.
And, you know, as as you look back on the racing career of been Keating, you know, who
knows what the future holds for me, but I mean, how crazy would it be if I'm a better racer
at 60 than I am at 53?
I mean, that would be absurd.
I would be using you as an inspiration.
But I mean, maybe I don't know.
I'm going to do everything I can to hold on to it.
Two very quick things.
Neither of us are on your payroll.
We don't have to say nice things if we don't want to technically.
But I think we would both argue that you are genuinely as fast as they come among
AMS.
I mean, your pole record speaks for itself.
I think we would both agree that had you started go karting or whatever at a young
age, you'd have the talent to become pro if you'd started younger.
I believe that.
And I would not be here today.
I couldn't afford to be here.
Right.
So knowing what you know about your business side, if you had discovered go kart to
10 years old and had the means to get into junior racing, which path would you have chosen?
Because I know my drug addict side, I think I would have chosen racing.
I think it would have been a single-minded path.
There wouldn't have been other options.
The thing that kind of defines me in a lot of my life is that I'm super competitive.
But I'm a small guy.
I don't have the right body for almost every kind of sport I ever tried to do.
I played football.
I got demolished.
I played basketball.
I got none of those skills.
When I got into a race car, it was the first time I went bingo, baby.
I just found, I unlocked the key.
And it's a serious advantage to be a small guy.
And I loved that.
And to a certain degree, I found that same kind of niche in the car business,
but I didn't know it then.
If I would have gotten into racing early, I would have felt like I found my niche.
I found my home.
I'm going to go all in because if a little is good, then more is better.
And I seriously doubt I would be where I am today.
However, I also have a lot of confidence that I would have figured out a way to make it work.
I don't know what it would have looked like, but there would have been some kind of side hustle going on.
So you are Christian, correct?
But you started seeing a medium to engage with your father.
So what I would say is 16 years ago,
my wife and I went on a vacation to a woo-woo resort in Tucson, Arizona.
A resort that's all about spiritual healing and Native American shaman stuff.
And I just foo-foo, woo-woo kind of stuff.
Was it Canyon Ranch?
No.
Okay.
Miravol is the name of the place.
And while we were there, one of the opportunities that you could sign up to have an appointment with a medium.
And I'll very clearly and easily say I'm like this is total bulls***.
Yeah.
But let me see what you got.
I was willing to go check it out even though I was skeptical.
It seems like not strong enough.
And the experience completely changed my life.
It blew me out of the water.
There is no doubt that I was talking to my father.
Not only in what he was saying, not only in his personality coming through,
but kind of the, I've talked to a lot of people about it over the last 16 years.
And they're like, oh, she did all this research on you on Google.
And, you know, she figured out all who you were before you ever came in there.
And the way I know that that's not true is that, you know, my dad was a doomsday prepper.
He did, you know, all aspects of that including hiding gold.
Because, you know, when the world goes into anarchy and the sh*** hits the fan,
he decided that gold was going to be the only valuable currency.
And so he hid it.
And of course, you know, when he died, none of us knew where to find it.
And he told me where to find it through the medium.
And it was accurate.
And it was accurate.
And nobody knew that other than him.
I'd say that's not on Google.
And so, you know, I get goosebumps talking about it right now.
But, you know, I have seen her every year for 16 years.
And so you still talk to your father.
And on most occasions, it's about him, not always.
But I've had a lot more people, you know, my grandparents, my uncles.
I've had a lot more people in my life who have passed away and have things to say.
And, you know, in a weird way, you know, when I first went through that experience,
you know, it was so tangible and so real that it rocked my world.
Sure.
It's like, you know, where do I put this into?
Everything else I believe in.
Everything else I believe, right?
You know, where do I put this?
I think it's a bit in conflict with Christianity.
I don't really know.
I did, too.
Yeah.
And now I'll say that I don't feel that way at all.
Okay.
I'm very comfortable with it.
And matter of fact, you know, one of the definitions you'll hear of faith is a belief in something
that you can't see or experience.
A belief in something that you don't know.
The benefit I have is that I've seen it.
I know it.
I get to talk about it.
And so it's super easy for me to have faith.
Yeah, sure.
My faith is stronger than ever before because now I'm not believing in it because my parents
took me to church.
You're right.
I'm believing in it because I know it's real.
And so it's a weird, you know, combination of experiences that I've had that have, you know,
like I said, changed my life.
You know, but I'll also say that's another big reason why I don't hold any question
marks about why my dad shot him.
Sure.
Sure.
Yeah.
Because we've talked about it.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
You know, how thrilled he is for me and how proud he is of me and everything that's happened.
And that is a big gift to experience that deal.
Do you see a therapist at all?
I don't.
Okay.
Do you think this plays that role?
Yes.
Yeah.
I mean, once a year.
Sure.
But if it resets you.
Something.
Yeah.
It does.
Yeah.
You know, I'm again, I've done it long enough that I used to be really uncomfortable with
it.
Totally.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Our dead people watching me when I'm in the shower.
Right.
Right.
Or whatever.
I'm putting it on a show for them.
They're not watching me.
Yeah.
You know, that kind of stuff was kind of big question marks.
Yeah.
But now, I mean, I'm very comfortable with it.
We all have free will, you know, it's, you know, we can all do whatever we
want to do.
We can make whatever life choices we want to make.
Yeah.
It's not like everything is predestined, you know, but I'm very comfortable going in
into an appointment and asking about a business deal.
I'm thinking about buying this big Chevy store in Conroe.
You know, what do you think of this deal?
Yeah.
Right.
And they'll go, hey, you know, thumbs up, that's a good one.
Or, you know, I'd look for another opportunity.
Right.
Yeah.
I mean, just, you know, it's stuff like that that is, you know, kind of fills the therapist
role or sounding board.
That's incredible.
You know, but now they're just not, they're just different.
Yeah.
I've been doing it for so long that the conversations are different.
Yeah.
All right.
I'm happy.
Yeah.
Sometimes when like the ending credits, we do like the stuff.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oftentimes the Motortrend videos are a little more serious.
Yeah.
And so like, but we haven't done any off stuff.
Yeah.
What is your favorite Twitter memory from motor sports?
Oh, so when I feel like I have, you know, there's something in my soul,
something about my being that when I feel like I've been screwed, a switch
off.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We've read.
Samesies.
Yeah.
And I, you know, when I'm in the right situation, when I'm wound up enough, I can have a pretty
sharp wit and a pretty sharp tongue or fingers.
Yeah.
Laser sharp thumbs.
And, you know, yes, I mean, it's, it's hard for me to look back on it and say
that it's a favorite because I went over the top.
It was too much.
Nope.
And I remember sitting in a car with somebody loving every second, but knowing we couldn't
text you.
I remember where we were.
We were passing the Mall of Georgia on 85 South heading into Atlanta like on a road
trip.
Like we can't text him.
He's going to screen grab it and then tweet it and be like, even your friends
think it's funny.
Yeah.
And you're like, I would have absolutely done that.
But what's the story?
So we were racing at Lime Rock Park in the AMG.
I think this might have been 2019.
But I was racing in the AMG and we had done a strategy.
We'd done a specific strategy where we started, I think we might have started Geron or
somehow or another, we did a specific strategy where we needed to get a huge lead.
We needed to get a huge lead to be able for our strategy to work.
And we were trying to get this huge lead over the Acura.
And I think Mario Farnbacher was driving the Acura and we were doing well.
And Catherine Legg was driving the team Acura and she was not doing well.
Her car was not doing well.
And we were in a position to lap the Catherine Acura.
And we had to lap to keep that car because we needed to create the gap.
And Catherine, if you know Lime Rock, there aren't very many big passing opportunities.
And it's not super difficult to block at that particular track.
And on that particular day, at that particular track, Catherine was the biggest blocker I had ever seen.
And what really pissed me off about it was that to me, I'm not saying this is what actually took place,
but to me, it was obvious that this was team racing.
It was team tactics.
The Acura team is saying, don't let that guy by because they're going to beat us.
And she ran us off the road a couple of times into the dirt.
We didn't wreck miraculously, but every time it went on, I just got more irate and more pissed and more pissed.
And we ended up, I don't remember if we were on the podium at all, our race went to shit.
Because we were slowed down by her Acura and the Mario's Acura won the race.
And I'm already pissed at the Acura because, you know, they're getting handed the championship by the BOP program.
And I'm just pissed at them, so I'm pissed at everything.
And now, because the BOP is not enough, they got to use a second car to beat us.
And I was just pissed.
And I can't remember how or why or what, but I chose to vent on Twitter.
And the more I sat there in my hotel room and got wound up and got elevated, I started to get really witty.
I started to think of some really fun cat puns.
What's the phrase you use with me?
Do you say, I'm better when I'm angry?
Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And yeah, I was angry and Michael Schenck was running Catherine's car.
Yeah, yeah.
And I mean, it might have been a tweet from Michael Schenck and me responding to it.
You know, it might have been.
I think it might have been Michael Schenck saying, you know, man, what a great race we had, how great we were.
And whatever great day at Lime Rock.
And I boom, you know, you fucked me and I'm going to fuck you now.
And so I started to go off.
And I mean, I literally, it was middle of the night, you know, I would send a tweet and like, OK, I'm going to go to bed.
I'm laying in bed like, oh, that's really good.
I just thought of another one.
I jump up and I put another one on it.
And then two guys are in a van.
He's doing it.
Oh, man.
Then I went over the top.
Then I took the gloves off and, you know, I regret it mostly.
You know, I'll say that my relationship with Michael Schenck has never been the same.
You know, and they both should be friends with you, by the way.
Well, but yeah, the way they should be like, oh, good.
Yeah, yeah, you know, Michael Schenck, you know, of course, I'm excited for Michael Schenck
when he wins the Indy 500.
You know, I'm one of the first people to say, I walk up to him and say, man,
I'm so proud of you, man. Good job.
I love that you won that.
And he's like, still, you know, thanks, man.
Yeah. Yeah, I really went off and, you know, I remember accusing,
you know, when Andy stopped typing and stopped responding.
I remember saying things like, you know, what happened?
Andy, cat got your tongue.
I don't think I remember that one.
You know, I remember that one.
I remember.
Spell it with a K. I did. Yeah.
Yeah, I remember referring to
his doppelganger. Yeah, I better remember that.
And yeah, that was the worst part.
Yeah, he's a good deal.
What I remember thinking after I was so bold with all my, you know,
comments is, you know, what the f*** am I thinking?
Well, it makes us happy.
That's what I think.
I know two people that are loving this.
MMA fighter who would just love to kick my ass.
Yeah, right.
You know, how's this going to go next time he sees me?
Right, right.
You know, I was smart.
I had a concern.
It's going to go nowhere.
So anyway, yes, I
and it's not only that situation.
I can think of others, you know, where when I've felt wronged,
I have I've gone over the top on occasion.
Like wearing a fat suit at a driver's meeting.
Yeah. Yes.
That's that's another good one.
Why did you do that?
Venkating in three minutes or less before this.
Because the AMG was 500 pounds heavier
than any other GT three car in the field.
OK, you know, they were was it actually 500 or you just being.
No, 500.
It was 500 pounds heavier as part of the heavier
as part of the balance performance between all the cars.
So and what I'll say is that, you know, they were
BOPing results, not performance.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So you go into a driver's meeting wearing a fat suit as you are like
sort of not so subtle protest.
Yeah. And I'm I'm if I was to look at a photo of this.
I'm imagining two thirds of the people in the meeting
are like they're like drivers and strategists
and like people who think it's hilarious.
You think it's funny.
And Roger Pinsky is looking down his nose at me with a stern face.
He does not think it's funny.
And that's why it's one of my favorite photos.
Yeah, yeah.
But the other thing that was really great about that
is that Bo Barfield addressed me and talked about it.
Yeah. In the driver's meeting.
What did he say?
He was like, well, Ben, you know, what do you have going on here?
You're trying to make a statement.
You know, this is unbelievable.
And he got in big trouble for even acknowledging.
Oh, really? Yes. OK.
Yeah, awesome. Yeah, I'm proud of that.
In two minutes or less, by the way, not to get too much on the back.
Do you have a favorite win?
Yes. The next one.
No, I mean, interestingly enough,
it is the Lamar that got disqualified 2019.
It's 2019 Lamar because I kept on getting penalties.
You know, we had a huge lead.
Yeah. And with 20 minutes left in the race.
It's the Lamar.
You're in a Ford, which has so much family history.
But with like 40 minutes to go in the race,
I still have 20 minutes of my drive time to do.
Yeah. Bill Riley comes on the radio and says, Ben,
I'm sorry, but we still have a chance.
And I know Bill.
Well, I'm like, what the fuck does that mean?
What do you mean?
I'm sorry, but we still have a chance.
He said, well, you know,
Jorg Bergmeister is 15 seconds behind you
and he's in second place. Yeah.
And I said, well, Bill, do I still have to keep saving fuel?
And he said, no, you know, and so I went into total quality mode
as the bronze driver, you know, at the end of the race
against the pro driver, because normally in endurance race,
you have your fastest guy finish.
That's right. The strategy that you guys played at Lamar
basically put it put you in a position where they you got a big lead
and then the bronze driver, you that's right, has to finish
with the huge freight train of pros coming.
That's right. Yeah.
And so I went into quality mode.
I did three of the fastest laps I've ever done at Lamar,
three fifty five at the time. I'm no sleep. Yeah.
And, you know, Jorg Bergmeister had a 15 second lead.
He was 15 seconds behind me.
I handed the car over to Jerome with 20 seconds left in the race
with a three second lead and we went on to win.
So every every am bronze dreams of being
in the biggest race at the very end, racing against a pro and winning.
Yes. Yeah. And you did.
Do you cross the line first?
And that was that was a big deal for me.
Yeah. Is it possible that you could calculate
if field mileage made a difference in that race?
I'm yes. Yes, you could.
Yes, you could. So you could actually look into it
and see that it wasn't the factor and how you guys won.
Correct. OK, I just want to say that.
All right, we're good. We're good.
Finished.
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