Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Dale Earnhardt’s Legacy, Kevin Harvick’s First ARCA Sponsor, and more with the founders of Realtree!

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

On Episode 4 of “Happy Hour with Kevin Harvick” RealTree Founders Bill and Tyler Jordan join Kevin Harvick to discuss how Realtree made its mark in NASCAR and serving as Kevin Harvick’s first ARCA sponsor during his time with Richard Childress Racing. Get ready to discover the behind-the-scenes secrets of Realtree’s NASCAR journey and their groundbreaking partnership with Kevin Harvick. But that’s not all! Stay tuned as Bill and Tyler reminisce about their special relationship with the legendary Dale Earnhardt, sharing their favorite memories of the racing icon. Plus, hear firsthand their most epic hunting stories, their unwavering love for NASCAR, and much more! Don’t miss this action-packed episode filled with unforgettable moments and the timeless bond between racing and the great outdoors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I was probably, I'm going to say one of five or six last people that had a chance to visit with him before a guy in the car that day. So it's a good memory for me to just share that part with him and, you know, coming down the track, but talking about turkey hunting. Five, four, three, two, one. You're on to the ballpark. You're the man. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on Fox,

and you can follow along with us on YouTube. or anywhere else that you get your podcast and anywhere on social media, happy, or I'm sorry, Harvick Happy Pod. We've got Bill and Tyler Jordan here today. They're owners of Realtry and longtime friends of mine that have been through a lot of the racing moments and episodes and just all kinds of fun times through the years. Bill was actually my first sponsor at RCR. He kind of broke the ice with Richard.

Childress and was on my Arka car in 1999 at Talladega Super Speedway. So the Realtree brand has been on my car or my helmet or something since I was in the car that particular day all the way until the very last day in Phoenix. So welcome. Thank you guys for taking the time to actually come to the studio. So that makes it even more fun because of the fact that we get to we get the show off the set and all our fancy technology and cameras and everything that we have that we have. So I thought it would be really cool for you guys to come in here today. We haven't heard. I've heard a lot of the stories, but I think a lot of people will actually enjoy a lot of

the time that you guys have spent and taken and been a part of the sport, been a part of driver's lives away from the racetrack. And I thought it would be fun to bring you guys in here. So just kind of give us the background. of actually how the Realtree brand started in NASCAR racing because it was it wasn't yesterday that this started. It has been a long run for the Real Tree brand. But tell me, tell me in our listeners, how you guys got started in NASCAR and why. Well, it was a long time ago. And in our Arker car, we ran in 1999 as your first sponsor, but it started really 12, 15 years before that. And, you know,

my friendship with Richard Chilers, and obviously with Dale Earnhardt and Davy Allison back in the day, the three of us met on a hunt together, of all things. And, you know, you can imagine Dale and Richard, you know, how crazy is about hunting and fishing. And Davey was the same way. We all met on a hunt with Buckmasters. And so automatically, in immediate, you know, we had a friendship going. They liked what I did. They liked the hunting side. Even though I followed NASCAR, I went in NASCAR. So from that original hunt with the three of us with Richard and Dale and Davy, we just all decided together we were going to hunt together. So that original meeting back in 1987 was a year that we all met.

And then obviously we stayed in contact with each other and hunted and fished and did all the things that you know with Richard. But it has been a long time. Well, I think when you had your relationship with Davey Allison, that actually started as a relationship in the souvenir business, correct? That is correct. You know, David, a lot of people don't know that. You know, unfortunately, Davey passed away in a helicopter crash.

And we, Dave and I were business partners on his souvenir rigs. And, you know, back in the day, it was just incredible. You know, what Davey sold and Dale did, you know, at Trackside. And, you know, Davy actually came to me in 1990 and said, no, I need for you to do our souvenir rig. And I kept telling him, I said, Dave, there's no way. I'm trying to get this real tree thing started. You know, it's a business. And I just don't have the expertise in running souvenir rigs.

And so he kept trying and convinced him. And so we did come with souvenir rigs, you know, with the 28. We did, yeah. We housed them in our hometown that you've been to in Columbus, Georgia, and the souvenir rigs, and went to a racetrack. And we got a day-to-day guide, you know, to run the operation. And just unfortunate that Davey didn't get a chance to see everything. And, you know, he was one of the favorites, obviously, at the NASCAR track.

But just a lot of good memories of Davey. And then Dale and Richard myself, you know, after that, you know, started hunting a lot together. And so it kind of originated from that original hunt in 1987. So you were in the souvenir business for a long time, obviously, with Davy. So you got to see the transition of how things changed to where they are pretty much up until a few years ago when you guys took a trailer off the road. But how was it different from when you guys started? It seems even when I started in 2000, it was almost a little bit of free-for-all, I guess you could say.

It is. A lot less structured than it is today. Well, you know, our friend Chris Williams, you know, action performance, you know, ran the souvenir rigs. And, you know, it was a little bit of free for all, you know. And with Dale, yeah, oh yeah, and it's new to me. And so it was just crazy. That's all I can tell you, you know, the amount of fans that came to the souvenir rigs were just astronomical. And those rigs were just, and people would be lined up for 100 yards or so, 200 yards, just waiting to buy merchandise.

but it was a free-for-all and a little bit more structured now, as you know. And when you got into the sport, souvenir rigs were still there. The business was still good. But I don't know, those golden years of 88 through maybe 92, 93, it was just crazy. Well, you have any good stories of like how much cash you guys brought home at once? I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Did you bring home a bag or did you fly it on a point?

You already know all those. You already know those stories. This is crazy. And so, yes, to answer your question. And so you dealt in cash back in the day. How much? How much do you remember bringing home? It's up there.

It's up there. Millions? It's up there. It's over a half of million dollars. And a single week you would leave? Yes. You would leave, you've heard these stories. You know, you would leave the sewer near rigs, and there was no guards.

There was nobody there. And so you would have three, four, five, $500,000, especially on Talladega race, which was Davy's home track. And so you did. I actually put it in a garbage bag and, you know, kind of took it to the house and no Monday you would count it. And so if anybody really knew, which you can't do now, thank goodness. But if anybody knew and they wanted to walk away with two, three, four, five hundred thousand dollars, just meet you at the door with the back of the souvenir rig. But fortunately, nothing happened. Wow.

So Davey dies in 1992. Yeah, 91 and 92 yet. I think it was 92. 92, yep. And you have to transition out of your relationship with, with Davey from the souvenir side of thing. We did. So how do you wind up with Earnhardt? Well, you know, we all hunted during that period. You know, Davy, Richard, and Dale and myself, and we kept all those relationships going.

And, you know, we had a television show on the Nashville Network, TNN called Real Tree Outdoors. And so, you know, Dale and Richard both were a constant, you know, guest on those shows with me. But we enjoy just being around each other. So it was a real easy thing. And, you know, it even up all the way through the 90s. I can't tell you how many times Dale was on Realty Outdoors and was Richard. And those relationships were just there as a friendship, just very similar where you and I have and Tyler have right now.

So it was easy. How did the sponsorship start on the car with Dale? Well, you know, we've been hunting and fishing together for about 10 years and probably about 94, 95. I actually told Richard, I said, look, you know, our business was new at the time. I didn't have a whole lot of money to be able to. put big sponsorship on cars. And so we did a deal with Dale and Dale said,

let's get the B post and the C post and let's get it started. And that's what we did. And, you know, the relationship with both of them, with Richman Dale was very good for our business, you know, back in the time, you know, being in the camouflage business. And so it just went from there. And obviously Dale's went in races.

And, you know, back in the day with RCR. And so it just, it was a good thing for us. Do you remember the first time you met, Dale? Or what was the first memory you have with him or being around him? Dad's probably going to remember this. But, you know, a memory that I still have to this day, I was probably, I don't know, maybe six or seven years old. And Dale actually took me in the garage and we were gone for like two hours. And like he was, I think, worried sick.

This was before cell phones. I didn't have a phone or anything. Dale didn't have a phone with him. And we went around, talked to different crew members. I'm sure I met some different drivers. First, Matt, first he wasn't supposed to be in the garage. There's more of the stories. There's more than the story.

First, he's not really supposed to be in the garage. Yeah. Of course, obviously, you know, with Richard and Dale and everything. And I'll never forget, Dale walked up to me and said, tell you, Daddy, we were back in a little while. And all I can remember, you know, six years old and Dale walking off, well, two hours go by and I have no clue where my baby boy is, but he's with Dale. Yeah.

So we were, and like at the time, obviously, like I had no idea how big of a deal that was. Like, even when he came to the farm and turkey hunted, I was like, man, this is just wanted dad's. Hunting buddies. Yeah. Right. I mean, now looking back on it,

you know, I realize how special those times were, but I do remember, you know, being gone for a long period of time and then, you know,

having him and Richard at the farm in those early years were, you know, special memories. Yeah, but you were gone, but what were you doing? We were just in the garage. I don't even know

what we were doing. I think we were maybe by, you got a six or seven-year-old now, yeah. roaming around. And I just followed him around. And he held my hand through the garage and we met,

I don't know, different team members, part of maybe some of his team members. I'm not even really sure. Yeah. But we were gone for at least an hour and a half. I got two funny stories. So the first time I met Dale, I was with Hornarday, and we had decided that we weren't very good at golf.

And we were going to go and we were going to get some shotguns. So this is probably, probably 98. So Hornaday was, Ron Hornaday was driving for Dale. And he went from the truck. He was probably still in the truck, probably in 98. So we go in there and we walk straight upstairs. We bust through Earnhardt's office door and he's sitting in his desk and he's got his glasses down about like this and he looks over his glasses.

What the hell do you two want? He's got piles of papers sitting on his desk and we sit down and Hornetace. Well, boss, he's like, we want to go learn how to shoot a shotgun. He said, what in the hell do you want to go learn how to shoot a shotgun for? You two idiots will shoot your toes off or something happened. shouldn't you be outside in the shop working on your race cars? And so we go through that whole spill. And finally, you remember Danny from Remington?

He calls Danny from Remington. He's like, can you come get these two morons and teach them how to shoot these guns correctly so that they don't injure themselves and can still drive this race car? And he gets up and takes his glasses and throws him on the desk. And he tells Hornet, he says, go outside and get the truck. Kevin, you come with me. And we start walking down the stairs. And then he starts explaining everything that he had going on at DEI.

and we go back behind the shop and we go into this room and it's got knives and guns and everything. Earhead shot. Yeah. Right behind the. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So we go into that room and we get, that's where I got my first gun. So that was where I got my first shotgun was from Dale.

And he gave myself in Hornaday a Remington shotgun. And to this day, I still have it. But that was kind of where the outdoor piece of it start. And then so we went a couple of a couple of it. couple years and we go to to Michigan to announce the AC Delco deal and I'm same kind of deal walking around with Richard. He's he's showing me around. I'm, you know, 23 years old and and just everything, everything there is great. And we're going over to the trailer. We do our announcement. We walk over to the trailer. He's like, come on, let's go. Let's go see what,

let's go see what Dale's doing. So we walk up in the three trailer and walk up in the lounge because we're like 15, 20 minutes before practice. And we walk in and it was an absolutely. nothing that I never thought I would see in my whole life. But I walk in and there stands Dale Earnhardt. You know, you're thinking this guy in this big GM good rinse suit. He's got, he's got his underwear on and two gloves on his hand. He's like, hey, Richard. How are you doing, Kevin? And he walks over, shakes my hand in his gloves, standing in his, standing in his briefs. And I'm like, well, what's what's happening in here? He's like, well, I got to wear these new gloves. And so I don't like them if I don't wear them for a while. So he's just standing up there in his race gloves and his underwear. Oh, yeah. Just in between, I guess, getting in his driver's suit. Yeah. So that was my first two really.

Lasting memories right there. Lasting memories of Dale Earnhardt. So it was always, always entertaining. So as you go back and we go back to the relationship with Dale and you talk about those early days, there has to be, to me, Dale was always pretty, is this? fair to say he was pretty high-strung and always in a hurry. Is that fair? That is fair. And you know people that have known Dale and you've been around him as well. Dale was, well, always quick to give you advice. Yeah. You know, even friends and you've heard stuff, I know with Dale

Jr. and stuff, but he was quick to give you advice about something. Whether he was right or wrong, he was always right. And I say that in a compliment every way, not a bad way. But he was always thinking about something all the time. Was he an anxious hunter? Or was he a pretty... Not as much as Childress. He had a heap more patient. The most anxious hunter I've ever seen in my life was Richard Childers.

But Dale was somewhat patient and, you know, he wanted to get the big one. And he loved competition. He didn't want you to outdo him. So he was very competitive, even in the woods and fishing or whatever he was doing. But he was a little anxious, yep. They like to get past on dirt road in a stone. no. Several.

Well, they were rental cars. They were not my car, but they were rental, but we had a little bump or two, you know, in the rear end. Were you in his car? Where were you? No. Well, the story you're probably trying to. In Iowa? We were in Iowa.

Yeah. And we were out of. We were hunting with good friends Donning Candy Kiski at the Kiski Place. And it was Dale and I and Ned Yost, that Ned's a former third base coach, Alana Braves. and also for the Kansas City Royers. They won the World Series. Ned was a good friend of Dale's, and Dale was a good friend of ours.

But we were in Iowa, but Dale loved the competition side, which we all know, whether on the track or off the track, but he gave us a little bump from the rear on the county road. And David Blanton, you know, I know you know David that works for us.

David was driving, and we were behind on a county road. It is cold, as could be. Snow's coming down, and we're going from one place, from the farm where we were staying to where Don and Candy were. We were going to sight in shotguns for, you know, slug gun season. And so we're following Dale on this county road.

It's probably about 14, 15 degrees. And David looks at me and says, I'm going to pass Dale. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. We don't need to be paying. You were in the car with David. Yeah, I was in the car with David. So Ned and Dale are together. And so David gets a running start on that county road.

it's got snow drifts on both sides. And I said, no, it's going to be payback if you pass him. And so David just floored it. And so we pull out, Dale does not see it coming. And I'll never forget, we get side by side on the county road. And I'll never forget Dale was driving. And he looked and saw what's passing him. And you can see it through his face.

His foot went. You know, he went fast. And we pulled around him. I said, he's going to spin us out. I'm just telling you right now. He's going to spend us out. So we're on this county road. Thank goodness no other cars run there.

And sure enough, he gets up there and gives us a little tap, you know, on the back. Yeah. And I said, we got to go up here and make his turn, David. He's going to spin us out right here on this road. So he backed up, Dale backed off a little bit. So we go down this road. I said, we got to stop. There's this barn where we're going to cite in the guns.

And I know it's coming. And so we get to the barn. And so sure enough, you know, two rental cars, boom, boom. and I just sit there, we're all stopped, and he gets out, and the only comment he says, said, y'all don't pass me again. That's all he said, y'all don't pass me again. And I went back and looked at the back end of our truck and the front end of his, and we had a little dent.

And so we had to do, turn it in on our insurance, you know, get it fixed for, you know, you turned across. You didn't claim ignorance on that one. You just knew you were in trouble. I was in trouble. No, you knew it was going to happen. Yeah. And Dale played that way.

I mean, you know, he was, he liked competition. Didn't like anybody getting one up on him, but we did return to Reynolds with Denton. Did you ever hunt with him, Tyler? I don't think so. I don't think I ever did. I mean, I think I was always, like when he came to circle in in Alabama, you know, we had a lease over there.

And I remember, you know, Dave and Richard and Dale came and hunted. But I was always at camp. I don't think I was ever in the woods. I think, I think Dale was probably worried I would have slowed everything down. You said Dave. Are you talking to Dave Marlon? Dave Marcus, yes. I mean, so Dave, I mean, I have pictures in front of the circle in, you know, sign the least we had over there with Dave and Dale both and Richard. So, I mean, I have probably three or four pictures, you know, from different times they hunted there. Was, was, so was Rich or Dale involved with everything that Dave did at this point? Or were Dale and Dave friends?

They were friends. Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, it, I think when you go back and, you know, ask Richard and everything, you know, Dale and Richard really trying to help Dave. You know, Dave did a lot of testing, you know, for RCR. I'm pretty sure he tested a lot for Dale, but I know he tested the Daytona 500, 88, or 1998 car. Really? Yeah.

Dave Marcus test. I think Mike Dillon and Dave. No kidding. Yeah. Well, we tested all the time for sure. Yeah. And so that sounds pretty much part for the course because in 2000, I started doing the testing for Dale. And we, because Dale would never, if it wasn't Indy or it wasn't the Daytona test

before the 500, he was not going to test. And at that particular time, you couldn't, there was no limit. Like, you just went to the racetrack. So we lived at Talladega and Daytona testing. And that kind of branched off in 2000 over into doing the testing with General Motors. They were trying to develop a new shock system and new suspension and everything that we had to. going on. So really during 2000, we did all the testing. And the first, we spent like, we would spend like two or three days a week at Kentucky doing the downforce testing. So we took that car that we were testing and they actually took my seat out of it. It was actually one of Dale's cars. And so we took the seat out of it, put his seat back in it, and they took it to Indianapolis.

They got it to Indy and they unloaded both cars and Dale gets there and he goes out in his car and makes a run and they said, okay, now get in this car and goes out and runs nine-tenths of a second faster than he did in his car. So we've been working on this stuff for months and months and months and comes back in and they said, wow, that was, you know, that was a lot better. And he said, well, what's in this car? At that point, you know, like Dale and Rusty and all those guys, they were very into the springs and the shocks and everything that was happening on their, on their car. So they had this kind of common mindset of, well, it needs a 800 pound spring, a 900 pound spring, 250, whatever that, whatever that was at that particular time. Well, this car was

nothing like that. It was really the kind of the next generation of springs and shocks and suspension and the way that it was. And they told him, they said, well, it's got three, 500 pound springs and a 200 pound spring in the back and and by the time they got done he said you load this motherfucker in the truck and don't ever don't ever bring it back to the racetrack again because i am not driving anything that has those those springs and those shocks in there and he wouldn't drive it he would not drive it after after that that particular run so they put it back in the truck and and he never drove it and we won a ton of races that year well we continued to develop his car and the suspension and that suspension package and we took it all the way to the end of the year. Well, at the end of the year,

we went to Homestead and we were the fastest car there. Well, it was towards the end of the year. And he was at a point of saying, hey, might be time, might not be time, didn't really know when he was going to retire. So we were the fastest car at Homestead. And at that time, they covered, the media covered the test. So we came into the garage at Phoenix that next weekend. And his first questions, he was just getting hammered with, are you retiring? Why is Harvick tests in your car? your whole teams there with him because I would take Kevin Hamlin and and all of us would go together. And so we, I go walking through the cup garage because I knew that a lot of the stuff was starting to cycle in. And we had kind of started just being able to joke around and kid around.

Well, he was not kidding around on this particular day after his media session. He was mad. He rounded up myself, Richard, Kevin Hamlin. And I am that particular day, Dale Jr. just accidentally walked into the trailer. at the wrong time. And he ripped our butts that day for going and testing. And he needed to be at these tests. And he didn't need to be answering these questions and this and that. And so he came back in and he practiced good, went out and qualified, ran over the apron. And I went back in the trailer just trying to be a smart ass. I went back in the trailer. And he ran over the apron and

qualifying and kind of screwed the lap up. And I said, hey, man, if you need a pillow to see over that steering wheel, just let me know. And that was probably probably not the right. Probably not the right thing to say. He didn't react. Yeah, he didn't. At that point, I was still pretty young. And, you know, it's that generational thing, right? You know, it's a different, you're joking around, but he doesn't, he doesn't think it's

respectful to joke around. And so he would get a little bit offended in some of those situations. But we were having fun. We were young and didn't care. And so that was kind of the end of 2000. And so, I mean, when did you think? think he would retire. If he hadn't passed in 2001 with the accident, how many more years do you think he had like? You know, Richard and I had that conversation. I think he was within a year.

You think so? Or two, yeah, at the most. Because I think Dale wanted to go out on his own terms. I'm not the one to be the judge and the jury on any of that. But Rich and I had conversations about it. I know they had conversations. And I think, you know, at 49 years of age, I think he would have probably given another year or two. Yeah. Yeah. What's your thoughts?

I mean, you think he... I think it was pretty close to. Yeah. Yeah, I think you're... I mean, I think we all kind of knew the time frame was right around that 50 number. Yeah. I think a lot of it was just wanting to go out on positive terms and do the things that, that, on a positive note, because they had put a lot of effort into the car.

I mean, we had tested it a lot in 2000 and had everything squared away. And really, that's part of the reason that, that's part of the reason that, we were able to get in that car the next year and be able to run competitively right off the bat because General Motors and RCR and Dale and just everybody had said, okay, we need to, it's getting towards the end here, but we can't go out not running good. We can't just go flop around. So they had put a lot of effort into the cars and the program. And like I say, I think after Dale died and we were able to go out and run good in those first few weeks,

it's because that everybody had put so much effort in, and we had been in the car a lot. But obviously everything happened at Daytona in 2001, and were you guys there? I was there, you know, and I don't know if you were there at that race, but a lot of people don't know this, but on Thursday afternoon, I flew in,

and that's, you know, when they were covering the practices on Friday and back in the day. And so when I got there on Thursday, He called me and said, what new hats we got? You know, we had the Real Tree souvenir rig there. And I said, I don't know, let's call Chris. So Chris Williams end up bringing three or four hats. And so Dale and I and Chris went through the hats on his motor coach.

And Teresa was not there when we were looking at hats. But he picked out this one particular hat. It was solid black with a camo real tree number three on the front. So he said, I'm going to wear this one all weekend. And that was Dale's way saying, I'm going to show your products off. and we had the real tree souvenir rig out there. So he had that hat, and, you know, he kept it all weekend, and he wore it, you know, he did a ride around before the 500 with Terry Bradshaw.

And so he had that hat on. And so that was, I think they filmed it on Saturday and it air before the 500 on Sunday. But that Sunday morning, I get a call, and it's from Dale. He said, come over at Motor Coach. And he and I walked into the track together. And so one of my good memories is walking through the garage, you know, coming through the starting grid, just me and him. And we were talking about turkey hunting for all things.

You know, we had that annual trip, you know, within February. And our season opened up in the middle of March. So he and I walked through the starting grid. Biggest race of y'all's, you know, career being the Daytona 500. And we talked turkey hunting coming through the grid, you know, and stuff. And so when we got to the race car, I went off to the right side, and Teresa and Taylor were on the left. left side of the car and, you know, he went obviously to them. And I started talking to Danny was

up there at the car. And as you know, I know a lot of the three car members that became your, a lot of your crew members after that. But I sat over there on the other side and didn't think anything about anything. That's another Daytona 500. And I can remember looking across the car back at him and they had the track chaplain there and they said a prayer, you know, there at the window. So Danny and I was sitting there talking and then, of course, we had, I went on to our Thrive people of the suite, not thinking anything, you know, it was going to happen. But that was my last moments with him. And, you know, I tell Tyler this, I was probably, I'm going to say one of five, six last people that had a chance to visit with him for, he got in the car that day. So it's a good

memory for me to just share that part with him and, you know, coming down the track, but talking about turkey hunting. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think that's the, I mean, that's really the, the common thread that you've had with so many people in our sport. You know, it's not just not just myself and Dale and Dave Marcus. I mean, for a number of years, you had group hunts that we went on that were fun as as anything as anything that we ever did. And really, every year that we go to Talladega for the most part, at some point, we're going turkey hunting at real tree farms.

And so, you know, I think that that is not a surprising conversation that you and Dale that you and Dale were having. And I think as people hear this, they're going to have more questions and they're going to understand that that outdoor bond that you guys had was probably something that a lot of people didn't understand.

Well, I can say this right now, even with Tyler, but you and I have that bond. You and Tyler have that bond. Right. And outdoors really probably put that bond even closer together between the Harvicks and our family and Bobby Bonnie.

We talked about Bobby earlier. and Terry was just that common interest of enjoying the same things. And, you know, you guys have life away from the track. And I was very fortunate to be able to hunt with you and you go on hunt with us. And, you know, it kind of clicked with you. You know, we had so much good times together, elk hunting and still will. And so it's the outdoor bond really, I think. My relationships with most everybody in that garage is built around the outdoors.

You really get to know somebody. And you get to know somebody. It's just like going to a golf. course or something. When you're in hunting camp with somebody for four or five days, I mean, that's when you really get to know one another and create a special bond. Well, we went on an elk hunt and I believe it was in Utah with Bobby and Terry Labani. And, you know, most people would look at Bobby and Terry. They're like, oh, they're quiet and shy. Funny. They're, they are, they have the best sense of humor that you could possibly ever ask for.

And when you get them together and have a couple beers and you're in hunting camp, we had the best time that that you could possibly ever have on that hunt with those guys. Well, you know, I would think this too, you know, on those hunts, even though you knew drivers, you all have another way to get to know each other better. Yeah. You know, I mean, a lot of times that we were going on hunting, that it was really neat to see,

even though you know each other, you don't know each other in some ways. And so the hunting thing kind of brought everybody together as a common interest. But it was fun for me to sit back on those type hunts. and, you know, just have great memories of Terry and Bobby and Ryan Newman and Truex and everybody else. Dale Jr. went on a couple of hunts with us, you know, into Montana. So it was just a good bonding experience. Well, we can't completely step away from the Utah Elkhunt because I think that is one of our better bonding moments that we have had. We got close. We got close.

We did get really close. So do you want to start with telling your. My version of it. Your version of the story and I fill in the blanks or do you want me to tell the story and you fill in your version? Is that your first elk cut? This is my first elk cut. Yeah. So I guess if we back up a little bit, when we started in 1999, I wasn't really that into the outdoors. And so Bill and Realtree really introduced me to the outdoors and became something that I enjoyed being a part of and doing in the camaraderie and the hunts and

learning and turkey hunting and elk hunting. But for me, elk hunting is what I've learned to enjoy the most because I think it's the most intense thing that you can do. But my first elk hunt was on this trip that I'm talking about. In Utah. In Utah was Bobby and Terry the Bonnie. I don't remember who else was there. Might have been true X. You know, I'm not, was Carrie Earnhardt on that hunt? I don't remember who the others were. But I remember Bobby and Terry and myself and you and Chris. And so This is my first elk hunt that I went on. This is Bill's version, and I'll fill in the blanks.

But it was right in the middle of the rut, and that means that the animals are... Bugling? Bugling, very vocal, excited. And we walk into camp. We said, hey, let's go out and scout a little bit. We walk down the road. We start calling. And the next thing you know, there is an elk just ripping the trees down, coming through the brush.

And he's a giant. massive, massive animal. And I had never seen this before. But before we even got to the point of seeing that elk finish coming through the brush, do you remember the little baby moose that walked up the side of the mountain and scared the living crap out of us? It came walking up. I mean, it was like a slope like this. And this little baby moose just comes walking up from me to you and just standing there like,

yeah, looking at it. What are you doing, buddy? I think we probably have that footage. You probably have it. But go ahead. No, no, no, you tell us. So we're there for like three or four days. You're doing good.

We're out and we're set up on this little plateau and we've got when we hunt with Bill, we have yourself and Bill, a camera guy. And then usually whoever you're hunting with is up on top of the hill, just kind of glassing and making sure that they know what's going on. So you got there's a lot of moving people. to it. So myself and Bill and the camera guy, who was camera guy? Do you remember? Not so sure it wasn't Daniel. Maybe in Daniel. Might have been Daniel. Yeah. So anyway, we'll just, for for now, we'll just call him the camera guy. But so we're set up on this little

plateau and we've got three elk. There's, there's one on each. We're calling. We're calling. And they're bugle. Yes. Bill is calling and this elk, these elk, all three are coming in. and he says, don't shoot, don't move, just let me keep calling. They're going to all meet together and we're going to have a nice little, whatever. We're going to have a little fight. And we want to get it on camera. And I'm like, okay. So these elk start walking in.

Well, I can hear one of the elk come up on the road. And maybe the footage is different than this, but this is how I remember it. But I hear one elk, you can hear it. It's footsteps on the road. On the rocks. And the other one's coming straight. the one to the left is literally in the field right with us. And I keep looking back and I can hear this elk right behind me.

And I'm like, man, this thing is right here. This thing is close. And I've seen the footage. We got the footage. I am scared to freaking death at this particular point because I've seen how excited these animals are and how massive they are. And I had never been in a moment like this. So these two are in the field. And this one is on the other side of this little pine tree about from here to my...

It's a big, it's kind of thick. if you remember. Yeah. It was hard to see through. I'm from here to my suit away from me, sitting on the set here. About five yards. Yeah, it was close. And Bill is like, don't shoot, don't shoot, whatever you do, do not shoot.

And I was like, okay, this animal is that close right here. Well, we didn't have a, even though it was close, it wasn't a good shot. You know, the elk wasn't far enough out. It was behind me. It was behind you. Yeah. So I keep hearing an animal. I could care less about these two because.

I know this one is right behind me. Well, I look over, and about that same time, this elk looks around the tree like this, and it is massive. And when I say massive, I mean massive. Well, it scares the crap out of me. So I just pick up my gun, turn to the right, shoot. And I missed from five yards.

It skims off a branch over the top of the elk. And this elk is standing there looking at me like, what the heck? What in the heck just happened? Bill's fumbling through his pocket. What in the world? What are you doing? What happened here?

My first turkey hunt that I went on. Do you remember that one? Not on Harvick Hill, was it? Which one? No, that one was definitely not on Harvick Hill. The first turkey hunt I went to was not very good. So we went to the farm. You probably have this one on footage, too.

So we were at the farm, and it was hot in the miserable part of the day. Right in the middle of the day, it was hot. And there was not a turkey goblin anywhere in sight. But you had these new pop-up blinds. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He had these new pop-up blinds. He's telling on me.

Okay. He's telling on me now. Have you ever seen the movie E-T? Oh, yeah. E-T's in the little covers himself up with the shooting, standing around. E-T. All right. Let me just sit at it.

Let me just set this up. It's hot. It is hot. And so these turkeys were coming to one of our fields, you know. And so I said, let's just do this. We're just going to throw a pop-up blind up. we're just sitting here. It's hot.

We'll just open up the windows and everything. And it's no sense that's just, you know, going on these deer, I mean, these turkeys are coming to the field. So we had a pop-up blind. So you have to, the people who don't know, you have to open it up and it's got springs on it. And so you can take it from there. So I'm opening up the blind. Yeah.

So Bill opens up this blind and we've got lawn chairs set up. And we're just, we're just screwing around at this particular point. So he opens up this blind. And he's in there fumbling around. and it kind of folds up. Well, he's in the middle. He's in the middle of this thing trying to get it to spring open.

Well, when it springs open, the whole thing just pops open. Not like a number, bro. Yeah. Yeah. So we, we, um, I'm, and I'm laughing outside because I have no idea what he's doing. Um,

and apparently he didn't have any idea what he was doing either. So he's in the middle of this spot. I knew what I was doing. Yeah. Well, this thing, this thing finally springs open and all I hear is, ah,

ha! Bill has got his fingers that are in the, in the, in the middle of where the hinges are. You know, where the hinges are and they call my, it comes. All of his fingers are in the middle of these hinges and stuck. And it's got all his fingers pinched. And he's walking around in this, in his, in his blind. And I'm laughing so hard that I can't go over and help him to get the thing. It took, it takes me two or three minutes to get composed enough to go over and,

and pull down on this blind to be able to get to free my fingers out. But, I mean, those are those are the things that, that I love, and you've got to experience that with so many people throughout the years. But for us, our families have become great friends and through the outdoors and through racing and through the relationships that we've built. It wasn't just a name on the car, and you can see it on the helmets back there for a number of years since 1999. It's been a part of who we are and what we do and created, we've created a monster.

No. Well, you know, Oh, yeah. In a year, I've known you long enough, and of course, him being young, but you are going to remember this, but I kept encouraging you to have kids. Yeah. You know, all the way through this thing.

We had that conversation a lot. We had that conversation. I said, look, the greatest thing will ever happen to you. And, of course, you were on a certain time, racing and everything else. And so every time I decided, look, you're going to be a great dad. Yeah.

And now, Keeleyn is going to be a great bomb. Keelan might love it as much as anybody. Yeah, I agree. I mean, we enjoyed, I know the last few years having him down turkey hunting and then deer hunting this past fall. He's, you know, got that competitive kind of mindset even when it comes to that. And, you know, I think what's been a joy with him is just watching him take everything in and like sitting in the blind with him a few times I did asking so many questions. Yeah. Just about why the deer are doing, you know, certain things this time of year. And, you know, so it's, it's been fun and hopefully, you know, continue, you know, kind of feeding his outdoor passion as we go forward to. He loves it. Yeah, well, and you guys are gracious enough to be a part of his racing career. And it's been the real tree relationship has been on Keelan since he started racing on whether his suit or his car or whatever it is. And that part is great. But the thing that I love is now we're the old, I mean, you're much older than me, Bill. Yeah, I'm a lot of.

But I got you. I'm way old. I'm old. I'm up there with Richard. But we're a different generation. That's true. And so Keelan doesn't like, he doesn't like to hunt with you. and he doesn't like to hunt with me.

He wants to hunt with with Tyler. So every time we go hunting now, Tyler is, Tyler is the one that, that gets to go hunting with Keelan. And I've been in the blind with him and some of those hunts so I've been able to do with him, but I can't wait to see him

here his first turkey goblin in this year. And for me, being able to see his passion for the outdoors is something that I never got to grow up with like that. But you guys, or the reason that that happened. And I think being able to share in what he does with the outdoors with you guys

and just watch that grow. But you've done the same thing with Tyler and your company and the way that you guys have structured everything has been fun to watch. So I guess we've got a couple of minutes left. I guess the biggest thing for me is just, I just want to say thanks. Thanks for everything that you guys have done

for not only me, but for NASCAR racing, because I don't think in the end, people really understand the reach that the Realtree brand has had throughout the years. It started with Davey Allison. It went to Dale Earnhardt, but for a number of years,

I mean, you guys had pretty much the whole field. Anybody who was a star driver on the Realtree. Suvenile rig. And I think that's something that a lot of people don't realize is just how many outdoors and women there are that are in our sport.

Our sport, NASCAR racing and the outdoors, pretty much go. They go together. They go together. That's our customer. That's your customer. Those are the things that the people in our garage, for the most part, love to do and that watch our sport love to do. And whether it was on the outdoor channel or ESPN or now it's on all the real tree networks of outlets

that you guys have. but it's been something that's that's been a part of the NASCAR DNA for a little bit. You know, it's been great for us. And I tell you, all the friendships and drivers are one thing, but a lot of your crew members over the years, outdoorsmen. Yeah. You know, and we have a special relationship with a lot of the 29 team, as you know, and obviously with your current four team that you just left.

And so, but, you know, those guys, when we go to the racetrack, we don't talk about racing. Yeah. We're talking about hunting. I'm about to say some of my favorites. favorite and best hunting relationships come from within NASCAR. I mean, I've been growing up in the sport. I've been turkey hunting probably since I was four or five years old.

I've been at a NASCAR track since I was the same age. Well, you know, I think the neat thing, too, you know, talk about Richard. And what a legend Richard and what he has meant to the sport all these years. And, you know, both the grandkids with Ty and Austin both. You know, they hunted with us. And we have pictures of Tyler and Austin and Ty together, you know, when they were eight, nine, 10 years old. So, you know, obviously Richard has passed that heritage. his own to Mike Dillon and, of course, the grandkids with Ty in Austin.

So it's been very rewarding for us. It's, you know, I'd like to think, like with you, you probably never would have done the outdoor thing. And Keelham probably would have never done the outdoor thing if we hadn't gotten connected some way. And, you know, I was telling Tyler on the way over here, one of the biggest compliments I can say about Kevin Harvick. Now, where you've given us compliments was, you know,

you and I sat in that room in 2001 after the daily passed. And I'll never forget these words from Richard Chilers when he's dressing the three team now, the 29 team and that meeting on Thursday morning after the 500, him saying, telling that crew members that on your 29 team, if I hadn't hired him, Dale was. And what a compliment to you that Richard and Dale both thought of you as a driver and your potential that you had.

And, you know, here we are 20 plus years later. and it all is true. So we thank you for the same thing as well, just for what you've meant to the sport, what you've meant to us. And I think we got a lot longer to go, and we're going to turn this thing over to Keelan and Tyler. That's right.

You know, I have a 15-year-old son that Keelan knows well, too. That's right. So it's going to be fun to watch those guys. I appreciate you guys taking the time today. I think I thought it was fun to be able to tell people a little bit of the history of real tree and everything that you guys have done in our sport and our relationship and how that has gone through the. years. So thank you for listening to Kevin Harbick's happy hour presented by NASCAR on Fox. You can

watch on YouTube or catch it on Harvick Happy Pod anywhere on social media. Thanks.