The discussion dives into the challenges and strategies of NASCAR racing, focusing on fuel-saving tactics, aerodynamic drag, and pack racing dynamics. Dale Jr. and guests analyze how reducing drag could allow drivers to break away from the pack and the risks NASCAR faces with potential single-file racing. They also reflect on aggressive driving decisions and their consequences during races. The episode touches on the balance between entertainment and competition, the approval system for drivers, and the impact of social media presence on NASCAR's priorities.
The post-Daytona 500 blues can hit you hard if you aren't careful, and a little dose of Dirty Mo Media will clear that right up. Welcome back to Dirty Thirty, also known as the most action-packed half hour of your week, and this week is loaded with content from FIVE of our DMM shows - so here we go!
We start off with Dale Jr. discussing one of his favorite topics - how to reduce drag at Daytona. Get them guys back to having to worry about handlin', man! He and TJ discuss the relationship between off-throttle time and seconds saved on pit road. Dale describes exactly what he wants to see happen with cars at plate tracks, but his fix might not be exactly what you'd expect.
Following that, Denny Hamlin discusses the wreck heard round the racing world this weekend, where Justin Allgaier took 100% of the blame. Denny describes how it went down and owns up to being responsible in some sense. Denny masterfully breaks down the moments leading up to The Big One, like only he can.
You know we can't have a week full of hot takes without hearing from the gang at Door Bumper Clear. They tee up and tee off on the approval process for the top-3 series of stock car racing after watching what seemed to be Cleetus McFarland & Natalie Decker get caught up in avoidable wrecks over the weekend. If you like a fired-up Tommy Baldwin, this part is a must listen.
We come out of turn 4 and head to the finish line, where the most viral moment of the week had to be addressed ... did Amy really tell Dale Jr. he should run the Daytona 500 next year? In Bless Your 'Hardt, Dale & Amy talk about how that comment came about, how it caught fire on social, and what the reality really is about Dale making a return to the Great American Race.
That's it for this week, but there's no telling where we might find ourselves next time on Dirty Thirty. See you next time!
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"Even the guy leading the race is running 60%, right? ... if they go and pull out of line and mash the gas to 100% ... the pack running 60% throttle will hang right on tool."
Throttle is how much you press the gas pedal to make the car go faster or slower.
Throttle refers to the amount of power the driver requests from the engine by controlling the accelerator pedal, often expressed as a percentage of full power.
"By saving this fuel. It's, you know, for every, it's a second or two on pit road, right? Yeah, it cycles you to the front of the group. So when you come down pit road, you're on pit road less."
Fuel saving means driving in a way that uses less gas so you don't have to stop as often to fill up, which can help you stay ahead in a race.
Fuel saving strategy in racing involves managing throttle and driving style to reduce fuel consumption, allowing fewer pit stops and better track position.
"I think what I propose to NASCAR is find out how much drag to pull off the car so that if I'm in a pack of cars that are running 60, 70% throttle and I mash the gas 100%, I drive away from them. I break the draft and pull away."
Drafting happens when a car drives close behind another to use less air resistance, which helps it go faster or save gas. If a driver moves out of this air pocket, they can speed ahead and get ahead of the others.
Drafting is a racing technique where a car closely follows another to reduce aerodynamic drag, allowing the trailing car to save fuel or prepare for a pass. By breaking the draft, a driver can gain an advantage by increasing their speed and pulling away from the pack.
""we're all gonna link up, mash wide open, we're gonna drive away from these guys. ... let's run wide open together, drive away from the field.""
Driving wide open means pushing the gas pedal all the way down to go as fast as possible.
Wide open refers to driving with the throttle fully open, meaning the driver is applying maximum power without lifting off the accelerator. This is often used to maximize speed.
""Remember when the Haas cars drove away from the field at Talladega by themselves?""
Talladega is a big race track where NASCAR cars race really fast and work together to win.
Talladega Superspeedway is a famous NASCAR race track in Alabama known for its high speeds and pack racing, where drafting and team strategies are crucial.
""Remember when the Haas cars drove away from the field at Talladega by themselves?""
Haas is a team that races cars in NASCAR, which is a popular type of car racing.
Haas is a NASCAR racing team officially known as Stewart-Haas Racing. They compete at tracks like Talladega and are known for their competitive performance.
""I'm just saying if you got four or five guys that teamed up and said, hey, let's jump off this strategy of saving and let's run wide open together, drive away from the field.""
Sometimes race drivers help each other by working as a team, driving close together to go faster and get ahead of other cars.
In racing, drivers sometimes work together as a team to gain an advantage, such as drafting or running wide open together to pull away from competitors. This coordinated effort can improve overall race performance.
"...I drove race cars with all types of packages at Daytona, different splitters, wings, spoilers, restricted plates."
Splitters are parts on the front of race cars that help push the car down onto the track so it sticks better when going fast.
Splitters are aerodynamic parts mounted at the front of a race car that help increase downforce by directing airflow, improving grip and stability at high speeds.
"NASCAR is terrified, I believe, that we're all gonna end up on the top in a big string, like we were at the end of 2016 or so."
NASCAR is a type of car racing where many cars race around an oval track at high speeds, often very close to each other.
NASCAR is a popular American motorsport organization known for stock car racing on oval tracks. It features close, high-speed racing with multiple cars often running side-by-side.
"We were, Jimmy won the Daytona 500, I think I finished second."
The Daytona 500 is a very famous car race in NASCAR where drivers compete to be the first to finish 500 miles.
The Daytona 500 is a prestigious NASCAR race held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is considered the most important and famous race in the NASCAR calendar.
"we go from running three wide and the casual fan thinks that's amazing."
Three wide means three cars are driving next to each other on the track, which is very close and exciting to watch.
In racing, 'three wide' refers to three cars running side-by-side across the track, which is exciting for fans due to the close competition and skill required.
""...do some street stock racing and then. Next thing you know, I'm gonna be driving a top five truck.""
Street stock racing means racing regular cars or trucks that have been changed a little bit to go faster, usually on simple race tracks. It's a way for many people to race without spending too much money.
Street stock racing is a form of grassroots motorsport where drivers race modified street cars or trucks on oval tracks, emphasizing affordability and accessibility.
""...Next thing you know, I'm gonna be driving a top five truck. I mean, there was two glaring examples of this weekend.""
In some racing competitions, trucks race instead of cars. Being a 'top five truck' means finishing in one of the best five spots in those races.
A 'top five truck' refers to a competitive position in a racing series that features pickup trucks, such as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, indicating a driver finishing among the top five.
"...wrecked half the field in one of them, from trying to do a restart, talking about Cletus..."
A restart is when the race starts again after a pause, and all the cars line up close together. This can be a risky time because drivers are close and trying to go fast.
In racing, a restart occurs after a caution period when the race resumes and all cars line up to begin racing again. Restarts are often chaotic and can lead to accidents due to close proximity and aggressive driving.
"...he just loses a nose and gets loose off a four."
A car that is 'loose' is sliding a bit at the back, which makes it tricky to drive and can cause accidents.
In racing, 'loose' describes a car that has oversteer, meaning the rear tires lose grip and the back end tends to slide out, making the car harder to control.
""Connor, what was your approval process like? I mean, you're the perfect one to ask. Yeah, I mean, it took a while, right? I had to race at an ARCA in a mile and a half before,""
Before a driver or car can race in a big event, the people in charge have to say it's okay. This is called the approval process.
The approval process refers to the formal procedure by which racing organizations, like NASCAR or ARCA, review and authorize drivers, cars, or events to ensure safety and compliance with rules.
""Yeah, I mean, it took a while, right? I had to race at an ARCA in a mile and a half before,""
ARCA is a kind of car race where drivers can practice and get better before moving up to bigger races like NASCAR.
ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) is a stock car racing series that often serves as a developmental platform for drivers aiming to compete in top-tier series like NASCAR.
""But go through the system like Luke has. Like Luke has. He should be racing more. Run modifies, run late models, run, no doubt. Go through the system, learn how to race, do all the things that we all have to do to get to the places,""
Racing development system is the usual way drivers start with smaller races and easier cars to learn how to race well before moving up to big races.
The racing development system refers to the typical progression path drivers follow, starting from lower-level series like modifieds and late models, learning skills and gaining experience before advancing to higher levels of professional racing.
""He should be racing more. Run modifies, run late models, run, no doubt. Go through the system, learn how to race,""
Late models are special race cars that look like regular cars but are made just for racing on small tracks. Many drivers start in late models to learn how to race.
Late models are a class of stock car racing vehicles commonly used in regional and local short track racing. They are often purpose-built race cars that resemble production cars but are designed for competitive racing.
""He should be racing more. Run modifies, run late models, run, no doubt. Go through the system, learn how to race,""
Modifieds are special race cars that have been changed a lot from normal cars to make them faster and better for racing on small tracks.
Modifieds are a type of race car with heavily altered or custom-built chassis and bodies, often used in short track racing. They are known for their open-wheel front ends and powerful engines.
"I have never raced the next gen. Oh, that's true. I've never been in that car."
'Next Gen' means the newest version of the race cars that have better safety and technology.
In NASCAR, 'Next Gen' refers to the latest generation of race cars introduced to improve safety, performance, and competition with modern technology and design.
Select text to request an explanation
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Hey everybody, I'm Dillon Hart Jr.
And this is The Dirty 30.
The best highlights from all of our podcasts this week.
30 minutes every single Friday,
The Dirty 30 coming at you.
Let's get right to it.
This episode of The Dirty 30
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We had the meats.
We got the whole field sitting there running
60, 40, 50% per hour.
Even the guy leading.
Even the guy leading the race is running 60%, right?
If there's a person that's running, you know,
in the middle of the pack and they're like,
man, I'm gonna run wide open.
They, they, they, they, if they go and pull out of line
and mash the gas to 100%,
they cannot drive away from the field.
The car has so much drag on it
in such a large spoiler that even running wide open,
the pack running 60% throttle will hang right on tool.
And so I discussed this with Denny
and I believe he agrees that if we were to take enough drag
off the cars, so what are you gaining?
All right, let's just go back and say,
all right, what's the advantage you're gaining, right?
By saving this fuel.
It's, you know, for every,
it's a second or two on pit road, right?
Yeah, it cycles you to the front of the group.
Yeah.
So when you come down pit road,
you're on pit road less.
You come down pit road 30th in a big pack
and you pull off pit road first, fifth, 10th, whatever, right?
So it's a couple of seconds.
At most.
If I took enough, I need to know exactly what NASCAR,
I think what I propose to NASCAR is find out
how much drag to pull off the car
so that if I'm in a pack of cars
that are running 60, 70% throttle
and I mash the gas 100%, I drive away from them.
I break the draft and pull away.
And if I'm running wide open
and I'm driving away from that pack,
then I'm negating their advantage
and they're gonna have to chase me down
because then if I get so far ahead,
now I have the advantage.
If I drive out to four, five, six seconds
away from the pack,
then I'll just, you know, I'm gonna be adding more fuel
when I come to pit road,
but that's how many seconds of fuel I'll be taking, right?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, theoretically,
if you get that far in front, you're done.
So it should come out.
If you can, what would probably happen
is you might get four or five, six cars,
pre-race that go,
hey man, when we get a chance,
we're all gonna link up, mash wide open,
we're gonna drive away from these guys.
Remember when the Haas cars drove away from the field
at Talladega by themselves?
Yeah.
I'm not saying that was what was going on.
I'm just saying if you got four or five guys
that teamed up and said,
hey, let's jump off this strategy of saving
and let's run wide open together,
drive away from the field.
Yeah, they were fast.
Well, the car currently can't do that
because it has so much drag.
So there's no point for anyone to go wide open
because they can't gain an advantage
by driving away from the field
because the car has too much drag.
So there in lies the issue.
And that I would love to hear from a crew chief
to tell me why that wouldn't steer us
back in the right direction.
I'm not saying it fixes the problem,
but why wouldn't taking the drag off the car fix it?
I know that, you know, if I'm running wide,
so okay, they might tell you this,
they might say this,
okay, Dale, you know, you're taking the drag off the car,
now I can pull away from this pack,
but the pack just runs 80% throttle instead of 60.
They're still saving gas.
They'll run 80% to keep up with the 100%, right?
The guy that's full throttle,
the pack's just gonna sit behind him and still save,
still beat him off pit race.
Yeah, you're still gonna have.
You're still gonna have people.
I mean, I drove race cars with all types
of packages at Daytona, different splitters,
wings, spoilers, restricted plates.
And yes, if you're second, third, fourth, fifth,
you're not wide open.
We weren't saving gas,
we were just trying not to hit the guy in front of us,
but you're not always wide open.
But we weren't thinking, hey, we're saving gas.
We were just driving in a draft, you know?
So what is that race like though in a pack?
Yeah, that's gonna be the tough part.
NASCAR is terrified, I believe,
that we're all gonna end up on the top in a big string,
like we were at the end of 2016 or so.
We were, Jimmy won the Daytona 500,
I think I finished second.
And we ran around the top of the racetrack
for a majority of that race.
It was relatively uneventful.
They're worried, I think NASCAR is,
that we mash a button figuratively,
we change some things and they go from running three wide
and the casual fan thinks that's amazing.
The fan that doesn't really know about the fuel savings
thinks this is amazing.
And they go from that to running single file
from first to last.
And then they're going to be, NASCAR will be
so disappointed if that's what we end up with.
And I agree, that's a risk you take.
And I wouldn't be comfortable throwing something out there
to see how it works without a real understanding
of what we might get.
Al Geyer took 100% of the blame, I'll take 20.
I'll take 20 of it because it was an aggressive move.
But it's coming to the end stage,
he's gotta know I'm gonna be,
like I'm gonna take every run I'm gonna get
at the end of a stage,
because stage points do matter to me.
I had established very early, I wanted to be in the top.
It's why once I cleared the bottom lane,
I moved right to the top.
That's where I wanted to be to end the stage.
And so, and I was coming with such a massive run.
I figured as well that, so I made up my mind probably,
you know, a hundred yards or so before I actually went high.
I said, I'm going to the outside, no matter what.
Cause I knew where he had run on the top before that.
So I knew there would be enough space,
but it just was not quite, it was enough space.
I mean, obviously if he didn't move up,
I would have, you know, I had outside position,
but it probably happened so quickly
that it caught him off guard.
And so for me, I think it's my 20% is that
he probably didn't have a whole lot of time
to react or see that that was coming.
Therefore, was late to react to it.
I get points or stage ones are more important this year,
but on your end, why be so aggressive
for someone that always says like,
you just got to get to the end.
Like you're in a good spot, like keep pushing him
and that runs going to keep going.
Yeah.
That's, that's what I would have done differently.
Had I had to do it all over again,
I certainly would have just, you know, stayed on the 40.
What, what I was saying though is that we were running
like 10 miles an hour faster than him at that time
because of the push that I got.
So I just, if I go into the tri oval
and then check up for him, I mean,
does the 12 just plow into the back of me?
I don't know, probably not
because he's got a good spot or he's a good driver.
So they, they can know and plan for that kind of stuff.
But I just, it would have caused a huge domino effect
had I just checked up and not taken it.
Or I could have just gone to the bottom
and probably cleared them with the speed differential
that I had.
I probably just could have passed them
then gotten right back up to the top.
But yeah, I agree that
again, doing it all over again,
had I known what the result was going to be,
I would have just stayed in line there
for a few more laps.
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All right, last one.
The NASCAR approval system is broken.
Spot on, spot off.
Tommy.
What do you mean?
What do you mean?
What do I mean?
Five million followers and bunch of friends
and they'll let you in.
Yeah.
I mean, that's all you gotta do.
Case closed.
Case closed?
Yeah, I mean, that's what I was saying earlier,
like this is not gonna be,
this is gonna be very unpopular and I'm sorry.
But what are we doing?
Are we trying to get the best race car drivers
on the racetrack or are we trying to get
the biggest social media following?
Yeah, let's just get,
I'm gonna buy five million tick tax.
Tick tax.
Tick tocks.
And I'm gonna make a bunch of friends
and do some street stock racing and then.
Next thing you know, I'm gonna be driving a top five truck.
I mean, there was two glaring examples of this weekend.
One, Cletus, obviously, in the truck race.
What has he done?
Like for me, I get it.
There's a system in place
that you have to run certain races
to get approved for other races.
This, a system should not be based on participation.
It needs to be based on results.
This guy run two plate races last year,
wrecked in both of them,
wrecked half the field in one of them,
from trying to do a restart, talking about Cletus.
And then we're just lucky the other night
that he didn't wipe out half the truck field
because when he spun, he went down instead of up
and running, I mean, he was running in the top 10
when it happened.
And I told Gio, I said, this guy's never been
in this position before.
Arrow, bottom, he's on the bottom of three wide.
He's never been in this position before.
He's gonna wreck.
And it was, I said, the next five laps probably.
And it was two laps later,
he just loses a nose and gets loose off a four.
And Rex, and it was just dumb luck
that he didn't wipe out half the field.
And we'll talk about safety.
The guy's, I'm sure he's a great guy.
He seems like a phenomenal person.
He's got great car control, the videos that I watch.
He drives everything in the world.
He's not ready for what he's doing.
So you cannot approve these people to go out there.
Natalie Decker, another one.
How did she first of all, how did she ever get approved?
Now that she has approved, she's run 13 races
and averaged a 29th place finish.
Piling in the Rex on top of that.
At what point do you look and say,
all right, we made a mistake approving this person.
Now we need to take it back.
Because you put these people in positions where,
this is not Cletus' fault, by the way.
Is there a system for that?
Like, can you revoke your,
if there's not there needs to be.
There's a committee.
And I wanna make it clear that Cletus,
it's not Cletus' fault, but it's NASCAR's fault
for letting him race.
It's the same thing we talked about
with Catherine Leg.
It's the system not, and if you had a problem
with how she did and what she did.
I didn't have any problem with what she did.
No, I know.
But don't have a problem with Cletus,
then there's your example.
Catherine has way, way more race experience.
Totally, but not necessarily in,
you know, what we're talking about.
It doesn't matter.
At the end of the day,
we're honestly, neither one of them
should have been approved.
The system, like I said, should not be about,
Connor, what was your approval process like?
I mean, you're the perfect one to ask.
Yeah, I mean, it took a while, right?
I had to race at an ARCA in a mile and a half before,
but I mean, I don't, look, it would be really bad
if NASCAR said no to Cletus.
Like, you know, he's gonna probably go out
and be mad at NASCAR, but I don't know.
It's a tough spot.
I'm glad I'm not the ones making those decisions
because at the end of the day,
you've got this guy with a ton of followers
that you're trying to-
He can bring a lot to this part from-
He can bring a lot to the sport.
But go through the system like Luke has.
Like Luke has.
He should be racing more.
Run modifies, run late models, run, no doubt.
Go through the system, learn how to race,
do all the things that we all have to do
to get to the places, spend the money
like we all had to to get to certain spots.
It feels like a movie.
Like it feels like-
You just don't show up.
And okay.
Oh, we're raising our voice.
No, because it pisses me off.
It feels like in practical jokers
where like there's somebody in a room
somewhere being like, okay, now wreck half the field.
Okay, now, now spin out.
Like it's like, what the f*** is going on?
Your real name's Kenny Cox.
Everybody knows you as Siv or Sivill.
Yes, sir.
You had success, I would say,
publicly as a mad gamer years ago.
And we're gonna talk about your story a little bit
about how, you know, how it's just kind of shifted
to where you are today.
And one of the things that you did recently
was you went public with your faith.
Yeah.
And, you know, I was following you already
and just sort of, you know, skimming some ideas
off of your information on trying to how to beat my buddies.
And you have a dynamic personality on your content.
You know, you're very personable, easy to watch,
good energy, all of those things.
I'm not sure if you even have to try,
but it comes across really, really well.
Appreciate that.
How do you remain fresh and sustainable?
I think it comes back to the Lord.
Like, I mean, like, what a blessing,
like, dude, what a freaking blessing it is
to be able to do what I do for a living.
Like, who am I to be like, oh, I don't know,
like what a freaking blessing it is.
And to take that for granted, it's like,
it's crazy to me.
Before I ever came to the Lord,
it was very obvious to me, I have no idea
why I'm having some of the material successes I'm having.
Like this makes, for a logical standpoint,
this makes no sense.
Like I'm not, I was never the smartest in the room.
I was never like this or that or whatever.
And I'm like, we are objectively materially killing it
in this, I don't know why.
And then being able to see like, okay,
these like different material things
that I'm having here for me can be used to like bless,
like it's way bigger than Civil or way bigger than Kenny.
From the standpoint, one like,
of like being able to provide like jobs for people,
like that's, I think one of the coolest things
you could possibly do,
but then being able to give out to community
to be able to buy my parents a house,
be able to do other things like,
it's like dude, like that's freaking awesome.
Like, how could it, what more do you want?
That's how I think of it.
You were having all this success and you,
you know, you felt empty and you were like,
you went out party, had, you know,
tried different things to try to find,
you know, find ways to make life feel more full.
I dropped out of college and like my,
my goal when I was 18 was to take care of my parent,
like figure out how do you do it,
how do you do it, how do you do it?
And then in December of 2024, Christmas,
my brother and I are able to come together
and buy my parents' house.
It's like, what more, like they are,
they are set financially barring some disaster.
And then afterwards I'm like, that was cool.
I'm like, dang, that actually is not like,
cause if you told me before that,
I could die the next day and like, we're good.
Like who cares?
And I'm like, this is not it, dude.
And then for the past seven years or so.
What are you looking for?
What do you mean?
There's just, there's more, there's just more to it.
You just, you needed to feel, it wasn't enough.
It was never enough.
It was never enough.
Even the money things.
I would see, go from like making no money
while I was eating ramen every single day
for months and months and months and months and months.
I'd upgraded to ramen and rabbi always
for a few months too.
So I'm like, then I'm eating like actual food.
And I'm like, okay, Edward, do I get more,
do I get better food?
Like that's not making much of a difference
on my happiness.
Like the money isn't making me happy.
Why were you not happy?
It wasn't fulfilling.
Like it wasn't, it felt like it was never enough.
And there was always something
I was trying to chase after.
It became very obvious very quickly
that no matter what next goal I hit,
whether it was a dollar amount,
whether it was like a subscriber count,
whatever it was, was not gonna be like,
oh, Kenny's satisfied now.
Yeah.
And so I just went looking.
I looked for like partying.
I looked in like relationships.
I looked in, in every which way
that you could possibly look trying to find like,
okay, maybe I need to be around like other YouTubers.
My friends just don't get it.
Yeah. No, that's not it.
Maybe other entrepreneurs like, no, that's not it.
Like whatever, whatever.
And I remember one time I was getting like,
I was kind of being like cocky to myself walking around
where I was like, man, like Kenny,
you've done some like cool things, like heck yeah.
And I'm like, dude, for some reason
I remember thinking this so clearly,
like dude, like you are about to crash, you idiot.
And I'm like, I don't know what that means at all,
but like whatever.
And I remember thinking like,
I should look into like another place called church.
Like I don't know what that really looks like.
I called one of my good friends
who's my girlfriend now actually,
and I called her up and she, I said,
she went to church.
I had never done anything with them.
I was like, hey, do you know any church is my area?
Like she's way up North Austin, out South Austin.
And she's like, I don't really know any around your area,
but like in the morning I'm actually getting baptized.
So you want to come like see that.
And I was like, oh, like, sure, I'll just go there.
And I went, that was the first time
I'm going to church January 5th of 2025.
I remember like walking in like shaking people's hands
and like they were like talking to me.
Like I was like a human who like they cared about.
I was like, this is weird.
Okay, let's go.
And I got to see the baptism.
Didn't really understand what that was at all.
But I was like, cool.
Like people are cheering for her.
So like let's go.
Was there for a couple of weeks,
all the guys who come up to me and be like,
hey man, like you're so happy you're here.
Like by the way, this like this Christ thing,
this Jesus thing changed my life.
Jesus changed my life.
I'm like, what are you talking about dude?
Like you're like, I don't know what you're full of,
but like it ain't.
But I know people said it.
And I'm like, I'm not smarter than you.
So there might be something here.
Yeah. And so a couple of weeks I decided to read,
get a Bible and one of the people at the church named Shane,
gave me a Bible, started with the gospel of Matthew.
And the end of it, I'm like, dude, if this is true,
this is a really big deal.
Tell me about that.
So I had a friend of mine talk about
picking up the Bible and read the Bible
and how reading the Bible and the stories within it
had this massive impact on them.
And so I've not read the Bible thoroughly.
I'm not read an entire, you know,
I'm not read an entire three, four pages, you know?
But so like tell me, like if I would just sit down
and literally dive into the story, right?
What would my experience be?
I think it'd become very, very clear
of like what we're doing here on earth,
there's so much more, it's so much bigger
than everything here.
It's bigger than our jobs.
It's bigger than even our immediate family.
There's something bigger going out there.
And there's a creator above who loves us
more than we could possibly imagine.
I'll say, I think one of the things that like,
I would ask you, Dale, what do you think
about like Jesus, for example?
Like you just had to say, what do you think about Jesus?
What would you say?
That he died for our sins.
So that's a big deal.
So like if that is true, that's a massive deal, right?
It's like objectively, because like if that's true,
if he died for our sin and the wages of sin,
it reads in the Bible is death
and he died for it to give it us forgiven
and with the chance for eternal life in heaven.
It's like, well, these are objectively big claims.
Like there's no way around it.
And so it's like, well, I wanna research these claims
and like see, are these like, is this just a load of crap?
Cause if it's a little crap,
I want nothing to do with it.
But if it's-
And so in reading the Bible,
you gain confidence in those claims.
Yes, yes.
I gained confidence in the claims
that Jesus was a son of God,
that Jesus was God,
is God,
that his word is true,
his word is reliable.
And if that's the case,
I think it was like a father figure,
but like to the ultimate extreme where it's like,
you may not understand your father always
when he's telling you things,
but you can have confidence
that he's telling you things in good faith
and he has what your best interest in mind, right?
You don't see the big picture,
but like you know that like,
okay, I'll listen to dad
because he's saying this and whatever,
or maybe you might even be like, ah, whatever dad.
But then so like take that idea
and like put at times infinity,
because there's a father in heaven
who knows what we need,
who knows our deepest and our smallest desires.
And it's telling us how to achieve these things.
And it's just like by putting faith
into him and him alone,
we're like, we're able to come closer to him
and come closer to those things.
Yeah.
And so this is giving you peace?
Yeah, it's giving me,
fulfillment is giving me drive
towards like something way bigger.
It's like a lot of the thing,
I remember reading the gospel of Matthew
and consistently throughout,
I'd be like these like,
they were like different.
I thought ideas that I would have
and it's like articulated right here,
like so well articulated here,
so well articulated here,
so well articulated here.
I'm like, man, like what a freaking great,
like it was so, so, so cool.
And so many things that would like challenge me.
And it's like, okay,
I look at like the idea of like forgiveness.
Like we can all agree that like,
it's good to forgive people.
Like you should forgive people.
At the same time,
like someone really wrongs you,
it's like really hard to forgive.
But Jesus says we should forgive
even the people who have wronged us the most.
And it's like objectively,
even though it's hard for us emotionally to do that,
I think we can all be like, yeah, we should,
like that's probably a better way to live life
than like not forgiving at all.
Yeah, it is, yeah, it has been an incredible,
incredible like life change for me.
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All right, so let's address the elephant in the room.
I wanted to keep it going for a little longer.
What?
The elephant in the room?
It's on a 500.
Listen.
Listen.
Explain yourself, Amy.
I was in a weakened state.
You had me trapped in a bus with the kids
and I have a short shelf life.
I have a short shelf life in environments like that.
I thought she was gonna say I was laying back next
to my handsome husband in bed
and I was in a weakened state.
Well, you know.
I'm trapped in a camper with him.
I'm a fluffer.
I'm trying to make you smile and make you happy
and you lay down and you were talking about the race.
I was like, you just should run at yourself next year.
And he looks at me like, what the hell?
Who has abducted my wife and put this chick here?
I mean, I was kind of serious, but listen,
it is up to you.
It's always up to you.
It's just so much work.
Oh my God.
It's so much work.
You had no clue.
I don't.
You're right.
I don't.
But I feel like it would be worth the extra whatever.
It ain't.
Like, all right, look, if I could put a suit on
and walk out and climb in the car and start it up
and drive it off and race like hell, hell yes.
But you got SEM, you got photo shoots,
you got to take picture.
You know, you got to get fitted in the suit and do all.
It's just, there's months of lead up to,
and there'll be so many people that are partners
and you'll be a lot of media.
There'll be just a bunch of asks.
You can't just go race.
You'll feel bad saying, no, I don't want to do all that.
Why do you have to feel bad?
Because I feel bad.
It's a privilege to be able to do it.
And you feel like it's your job and your obligation
to say yes to all of the things
that allow it to happen, right?
Well, this is part of the reason
you've always felt so much pressure
is because you feel that way.
Instead of just enjoying the racing
and separating those things for yourself.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, like I just know that if I said, yeah, I'll do that.
It will turn into a just a circus.
And standing out there on the grid,
getting ready to get in the car,
it would just be a circus.
I mean, I don't feel like that's a reason to say no.
I mean, the other reasons make more sense.
We go, we went to the Daytona 500.
We stood out on the grid.
And it's not a circus in this, in my current role.
And I like watching, I like watching the circus.
Not being the,
You don't want to be a monkey in a circus?
Yeah, so I don't know.
I do love driving.
I do watch them go around the track and go,
man, I'd love to be out there and feeling that
and doing that.
I would love that, but.
What if they created like a, wait, hey, okay.
So the other part is.
I got that big fat hand.
I have never raced the next gen.
Oh, that's true.
I've never been in that car.
This is, it is racing at the cup level.
And I will always feel this way.
It is an elite level.
You have to be freaking badass to be there
and know where all every square inch of that car is
as you're traveling around the track.
I don't know where the corners are.
I don't know.
I don't know.
You don't know the car.
That when we get into the very finite moments of adjustment
and driving and decision-making and instant,
like bam, bam, bam, I don't know that I still,
I don't think you can just jump in
and all that comes right back.
Really?
I think you need to be doing it every week.
Okay.
To be able to be as sharp as you're gonna wanna be.
And so if I go out there and those guys
are moving, reacting quicker
because their minds are where my mind used to be,
you know, and they're quicker reacting, they're sharper.
I'm gonna notice that and I'm gonna go,
I don't wanna do this unless I can be
as good as I remember being.
I understand.
Right?
Yeah.
And so while it's fun and I do enjoy it,
I only want to do it if I feel like I am absolutely 100%
as good as I can possibly be.
And...
Well, how are you gonna know?
How do you know?
I only can be that good if I'm doing it every single week.
I think any cup guy, like even Blaney,
a friend of ours would come in here and say,
hey, man, yeah.
Are you sure?
We're gonna have your hands full.
But I feel like I would really be over my head.
I hear you.
And as much as it would be fun,
there would be no matter, it would be fun,
but I would end it no matter what the result would be,
going, man, I realize I'm not there anymore, you know?
So are you worried a little bit too,
putting all that aside, like how it would affect your ego?
Not so much of an ego.
I don't mean that in a negative way, but like...
Yeah, I know what you mean.
I wouldn't say ego.
That hurt feelings.
But yeah, it might drive home the truth that you're 51,
you're not gonna be as sharp
because you don't do it every week.
It's like golf.
Like if you wanna be great at golf
and truly doing a great job hitting the ball
and putting it where you're supposed to do it,
you need to do it all the time.
You can't just...
And another example, and I'll end here.
Casey Cain came into the studio probably six years ago.
And he was back and forth about driving his dirt cars.
And I'm like, why don't you drive them?
Why don't you drive them more?
And he goes, man, I get mad
because I do it every now and then
and I get my ass kicked
and I can only do it well if I'm doing it every week
and I can't do it every week.
And so it's frustrating.
I wanna do it, it's fun,
but I can't be as good as I want
because I can't do it all the time.
And I'm like, yep, totally understand that.
All right, well, we settled it.
We settled it.
Thank you for bringing that up.
I was taking a back when I saw that come up
on my phone yesterday.
I was like, oh, please, I can't believe you said that.
I didn't want him to come out and acknowledge.
I wanted you to sit there for a little longer.
I thought it was just gonna be in the camper
and that was that.
We're gonna leave it there.
Well, I said that, I said that selfishly maybe
because one of the things that bothered me
when I retired was people were blaming Amy.
And so I saw people on social media
and I know you're not supposed to read this.
I mean, I'm an easy target.
That's like where everybody goes, right?
They were like, I bet Amy told him to quit.
It's Amy, it's her.
She told him to stop.
Amy told him not to do anymore.
And that's not accurate at all.
And so when you said that the other night,
I was like, man, people would not believe
that she just said that.
They wouldn't believe your point of view.
And so I shared that.
I shared that with everybody.
And I made the choice to stop.
And Amy supported my choice,
but she wasn't sitting there going,
man, you need to stop.
No, I was very careful with what I said to you.
Of course I wanted you to be healthy and safe
and all the things, but also you have to be happy.
And your choice has to be yours
or you have to, because you have to live with it.
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