Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Pit Stop: How Chiefs GM Brett Veach became interested in NASCAR, favorite drivers, car collection & more

Episode Date: April 20, 2024

Kevin Harvick is joined by Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach! Kevin and Brett discussed how Brett first become interested in NASCAR and racing, Brett’s favorite drivers, car collection & more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How in the world did you become a race fan? When did you start watching racing and what got you involved in to just paying attention to our sport? Well, it's funny. I have to give the credits my older brother, Bob. I'm from Pennsylvania originally. He still lives back in PA. And growing up, he followed NASCAR. He followed motorsports.

And I really wasn't into it at all. He was a few years older than I was. And I ended up going University of Delaware. And one spring, he came to visit me. and I had nothing going on and he said, hey, I want to check this race down in Dover, why don't you come with me? And I really wasn't that interested, but it's my brother. It's a weekend. There's nothing going on. Went down there, saw the race. And ever since then, I mean, I've been a fan. I think you probably hear this a lot that anyone that appreciates a sport from a distance once they go, I mean, they're hooked. And that was certainly the case for me. I left that race.

and I just kind of digested as much information as I could and start falling the drivers and the tracks and as much as I could. I think once you see something like that live and the talent, you know, you realize and you have an appreciation that everybody thinks they can drive a car. But, I mean, there's very few people that, you know, can do it at that level. And obviously that's why it's cool talking to you today because you were one of the best to ever do it. Well, I appreciate that. And you're one of the best to ever do what you do. You guys have obviously very successful. You've been in the NFL for 18 years.

You've won three Super Bowls. And to go back on that, so you talk about watching, I mean, do you have a, do you have a favorite driver now? Who would you pick to be your favorite driver in today's NASCAR world? Well, I'm off the hook now because Clint Boyer retired. So certainly I would have had to say Clint just because of his relationship with us and he's been great. But I've been very fortunate and blessed because of. of the job I have to meet a lot of great people. So it's more so the person and who I know. And, you know, I've gotten obviously the Stuart Haas people. So you and Clint, through a mutual friend here at the Kansas City Chiefs, I've gotten no Kyle Bush really well.

And then our mutual friend, Chad Wheeler, he's close with Kyle Larson. So I've gotten to say hi and talk to him. So all those guys that I've been able to spend time with and get to know, I really appreciate. It's funny with Kyle Bush, he's one of those guys when I followed it before I was doing what I was doing. Didn't like Kyle Bush. And I mean, he was a villain, if you will, in the NASCAR circuit. And then you get to meet him and you just realize he's wired just like you are. He just wants to win at all costs and doesn't care what people think or what they say. Like, he's just going to do his thing.

So since getting to meet him and know him, obviously a great appreciation for him. But, I mean, the one cool thing that I've always appreciated in my time going to NASCAR events and getting the opportunity to spend time with you guys is how, like, hospitable and gracious those events are. I mean, you know, you get to do a lot of cool things when you're in this type of position and go to a lot of events. And Kevin, we were just talking about the F-O-1 race. But the people at NASCAR are just so accommodating. And when you go there, it's not just a wave or, you know, here's a section. to view the race. I mean, they give you whatever access that you want, and they let you experience

anything you want. I remember I took Coach Reed to his first NASCAR race like three years ago, and Pat Warren was giving us the garage passes we were walking through. And I was basically telling coach, you know, you can kind of go wherever you want, and I'll introduce you to drivers. And I think Austin Dillon saw him, pulled him right in the garage and right through the specs and all that stuff. And that was really cool. But I, the cool thing is it's not just coach Reed. It's really, they treat everyone like that. And I think that's the really cool thing about your sport. So I want to back up a little bit here. We've got to back up to your t-shirt. Yeah. You mentioned Chad Wheeler. So are you a sim racer? So, I mean, I don't know if you would classify

me as a sim racer. I'm more of a novice. So I actually have to give credit, you know, to your manager Josh because during COVID I was it wasn't a lot to do and uh you won that darlington race that during COVID right darlington yeah so I have a pretty good memory and I was sitting there we were watching the races but a few weeks prior to that I think you guys were hopping on and doing the simple the virtual racing so I called Eric and I was like man there's nothing going on you know how much you think one of these costs and this would be really cool to have and and Eric was like I got a guy Harvicks guy Josh, like he knows everybody. So he got me in touch with Josh.

Josh got me in touch with Chad. And I have two of them now. I have one that just does the F1 stuff. And then one of them that just does an NASCAR stuff. So the F1 stuff is more of like EA type driven stuff because it's really a little bit too technical for me, those cars. Not that I'm any good at anything, but I can at least be functional to a point where I can have fun. and but I enjoy it and I understand your son's obviously super talented at that too so I don't think I'm at your son's level but I'm enough to occupy myself with some free time so do you get on there

and just practice or do you actually get in some races and get in there and compete yeah so I don't what I do is kind of the computer racing and you know they have the the skill level and I just try to it usually takes me about two or three weeks to get like competent at a track so I'll just hop on a track say Kansas Motor Speedway and then um you know I'll start at that middle level and then try to work my way up and see how I can go. But then I got frustrated. I was actually calling Clint because, you know, once you get to a certain level, those cars run like perfect lines every single lap.

And then you get to the point where you realize that if you don't know how to set up a car and to make little tweaks, like you're not going to be like the elite level computer racing because they just run the same line and it's perfect every single time. So I was literally like sending, you know, the setup page of the car. I don't know anything about sending a car up. So I would be sending Chad and Clint some videos and some screenshots of, you know, how do I adjust this car? Because it just, you know, this thing, I cannot keep the back end down after 10 laps.

And especially against this level of competition. So they try to give me pointers every now and then. But, you know, I'm sure they have better things to do and sit there on a phone call and help me adjust a car on a simulator. So have you ever, have you ever driven any, any race cars or anything outside on a real racetrack? No, I've not. Again, street cars, street cars anything? No, haven't on the bucket list to do.

Again, Pat Warren, track president at Kansas Motor Speedway, he's invited me out a few times. And it's certainly something that is on the bucket list to do. We have, and I'm sure you can relate to this because, you know, When you were driving, I mean, the schedules are so crazy where our schedules are like ridiculous. It's, I mean, we start in July. I mean, there's more games now. I mean, then there used to be in the past. And so we end up starting our training campus in July.

And then, you know, if you're fortunate enough to have a good season like we've had in the past, I mean, you're playing until February. And then right from February, you go into the free agency period. Then you go into the draft. And then the rookies come in and the new players come in for OTAs. And so you're leaving in June and you're coming back. Yeah, you're leaving mid-June. you're coming back mid-July. So it's really an 11-month process for us.

So once I'm able to find a way to work out some free time in my schedule, certainly on the bucket list of things to do, get to a track and cut some laps. Do you have like a car collection, any fancy cars, anything in your garage? No. Well, listen, I'm pretty basic. I'm a Ford guy. Been a Ford guy my whole life, I think. But I got a, again, I love the NASCAR and everything about it.

And so I have a Roush Raptor and GT500. And those are all you need here in Missouri. So I'm good with those. Just just normal, just some normal cars. But what was your first car? What was your first car that you remember having? So it's funny because I was listening to some of your podcasts here. And I was laughing when you had Joe Gerardi on.

And he mentioned a four tempo. But my first car was a four tempo. My great aunt passed away. I didn't have a car in high school at all. And I didn't actually have a car. freshman year in college. My great aunt passed away and they were going through some of her old belongings. She had like a 92 four tempo and I said, look, I'll take it. They'll get me from point A to point B. So had that, I think I had 150,000 miles on it. And I think I got a year out of it before it kind of blew up

on the side of the road. So yeah, I started with a fort. Yeah. Did you leave it? I got towed. It was in the parking lot after one class. It just wouldn't start. And I rolled the dice as long as I could with that car. I think there were multiple occasions where it was stalled out on Main Street on campus there and super embarrassing when you're, you know, a college kid and your car's kind of stolen out in between classes. But I did find a way to get through a year with it. And I think it just died in a parking lot somewhere.