The Dale Jr. Download - 407 - Scott Bloomquist - Aliens Don't Care About Long Hair

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

In short-track racing, one driver’s name has been synonymous with creating headlines and capturing the attention of the motorsports world. On this week’s episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-host Mike Davis sit down with that man: the legendary Scott Bloomquist. After arriving in Eastern Tennessee in the mid-1980s and taking the dirt late model scene by storm, Scott rose to prominence in the early ‘90s and has gone on to be regarded as one of the greatest race drivers of all time. Dale asks Scott about the moment he realized he had become larger than life, and he references the 1988 running of the premiere dirt late model racing event, Eldora Speedway’s World 100. Scott explains that he had never been to the track before and found it intimidating, and upon learning that there were over 250 other entrants for the race he about decided to head back to Knoxville to compete closer to home. He ultimately was convinced to stay by a Hoosier Tire representative, and in the big showdown, Scott defeated late model standout Jeff Purvis, who was aiming for his fourth win in a row at this event. Bloomquist is well known for his eccentric style and rockstar-like appearance. After being born in Iowa and spending the beginning of his childhood there, his father Ron decided to leave his electrician trade to pursue becoming a pilot. The career transition brought the family to California, where Scott discovered a love for surfing and fast cars. Another defining quality is Scott’s tendency to rebel, and when his father stated “I will never have no long-haired son”, well, you can guess where this is going. As a result, the image of Scott Bloomquist race fans have known for the last four decades was born, and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.The origin of Scott’s legendary racing career is in part thanks to his father’s interest in trying the craft out himself. After seeing a co-worker race at the local raceway in Corona, Ron bought an asphalt car and got it ready for dirt competition. One attempt was enough, and he quickly realized it wasn’t for him. He then offered Scott the opportunity to get behind the wheel, and the 16-year-old jumped at the chance to go fast. He ran well enough in his maiden voyage that the two decided to pursue the sport further, but when the car Ron built for Scott was destroyed in a crash at Manzanita Speedway, he told Scott he wasn’t spending a penny more. From then on, Scott was independent in his racing efforts.Scott tells the story of how his family arrived in Mooresburg, Tennessee on a plot of land located on the cusp of the Cherokee River. When Ron began looking for property to retire to in the early 1980s, the family originally looked at property in Oregon. But Scott, who was fully immersed in the dirt racing scene by that point, recognized that Oregon’s racing was outdated and suggested Tennessee, where Robert Smawley and his NDRA outfit were operating and paying $10,000 to win. Upon arriving, Scott found success early at Kingsport Speedway and used the momentum to propel himself to the top of the division, where he has gone on to win more marquee events than any other driver in history.However, Scott’s time at the top has not been without controversy and the interview touches on his various legal issues and suspensions over the years. Scott is open on the subject and explains how his appearance and success have led others to assume the worst about him. The infamy that came with the arrests boosted Scott’s reputation and ultimately led to him becoming a colossal figure in the sport.Finally, no interview with Scott Bloomquist would be complete without discussing aliens and extraterrestrial beings. Scott details his neighbor's encounter and even touches on an experience of his own. Download listeners should tune in for an unforgettable episode and a peak into the mind of one of racing’s most iconic figures.  Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You look at the left side of my car where he drove through the side of it. It's all marked up. I cleared him. He hit me in the ass. By lasting the longest and being in the lead, as far as I've been served, we won the race. They got a gift. Hey, everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Dell Jr. Download in the Ally guest segment. Thank you, Ally.

Do It Right for bringing us such amazing guests. We can and week out, and we have a massive one. Scott Bloomquist is coming into this studio here in a minute. And I think we're all fired up about this one. One of the greatest dirt racers of all time. Very eccentric guy. There will be a lot of things to get to there. He's had some controversy, highs and lows.

He wants to talk about them. Apparently is ready to talk about him. Been pretty limited on some of the things he will discuss in the past. But I think he's gotten to a point at 58 years old that he's ready to come clean on some things. or just at least enlighten us a little bit. But I've never met him. Wow. I have wanted to meet him and I have never met him

and I'm getting ready to here in just a moment because I do believe that he is one of the greatest racers all around racers of all time. And yeah. Yeah. So I can't wait to get him in here, man. We were walking into the shop this morning and people will ask who you got on today.

And I said, Scott Blumquist, and I just, the reaction that everybody has when hearing those two words. Scott Blumquist is just, that says all you need to know about Bloomer. And so, yes, let's get the Blumer into the Bojangles studio. There's the zero car, the goat, bringing out Scott Blumquist. Four-time, World One-Und winner, eight-time Durnaby. Bloomquist may have the advantage down the back, straightaway, slides up the racetrack, trying to get the edge over Darryport. It's going to be Scott Blumquist winning his feet. All our fans are out tonight.

I hope they appreciated that ass kicking. And y'all, I know you love me. Oh, man. How are you doing? Good to see you. What's up? I'm Mike. Where'd you come from today?

Do you travel in this morning? The universe. The universe. That's where you came from? You know what? That's what I'd expect, actually. Where do you live? Tennessee somewhere?

Yeah, Mooresburg. Okay. People mistake Mooresville, Mooresburg. But it's a small town. I live on Cherokee Lake and real secluded, real private place. It's a nice place to race out of. Yeah, I saw a little bit of YouTube video of your shop with all the airplanes and learned a lot about you. You know, as we study up for having our guests on this show, we kind of do a little bit of homework.

but you, your name for everybody in motorsports. I'm a stock car guy. I think no matter where you grew up or what you raced or what you're into in motorsports, everybody knows your name. And you are a racing God. You are an American badass. I've heard, I've got so many friends of mine text me knowing that this interview was going to happen sending me questions to ask you.

And somebody texted me this morning, one of our crew chiefs for our experience. affinity car here in the shops like you get enough sleep last night because this is you're about to be in the presence. He's not lying though. No. He's not lying. I just have always wanted to meet you. I've never met you ever, which blows my mind because I just figured at some point I

pazzled across, but you're 58 years old and you've been doing this for a really, really long time. 42 years. So I don't even know when it was that you. you became that persona. For one, I think it helps that you have this really sick last name. You know, your name is just... I've thought about that, you know?

And I think that really... I've thought about it because I have so many young kids. I think love saying, boomer or boomer or just something that... I think that had something more to do with it than I realize. Yeah. I think your name is unique. You don't forget it when you hear it. and so, you know, when people, you know, hear about you winning a race, I'm talking years ago, it clicks, right? It sticks with you. And so when you hear that name again and again and again. But I want to say, I'm going to tell you, a real unique name is my great grandparents. Both of their names were Axel Blumquist and Isle.

Wow. Axel and Isle Blumquist. That sounds pretty damn serious. Not going to beat those names. My daughter was mad at me for nothing. naming her isle. Really? So, you know, and then you go out there and you're incredibly good and win, you know, everything. So when, I guess when at what point in your career, do you start to realize, you know, with merchandise sales and all of the attention, when are, when did it dawn on you that you had became more or bigger than life, you know, when was that moment?

It probably was when I went to the world 188 and never had been there before and ended up winning the race. And I'll never forget when I pulled into the racetrack. I had won the North South two weeks prior, and I'd won my first 10,000 to win the week before that. So I hadn't won a 10,000 a win yet. And I bought one of Donnie Moran's used drain engines. and that changed things. Yeah. So I pull into the world 100, and there's 250 cars there.

And I've never seen the place. And that track's a little intimidating compared to small tracks. But I grew up and raced at Chula Vista, which is almost a 5-8 mile track. So the big tracks, I've always loved big race tracks. But I pull in there, and it's like, man, and then I asked somebody what the payout was, because I never really thought about it. And they said, well, that's 21,000 win, and 5,000. for second and I'm like, what?

And there was a race back home paying $5,000. I knew I could win. It's like, I almost left. I did. I said, what are you doing here? I needed to make the money. I couldn't afford, but I didn't think I could afford to stay when I needed to go make $5,000. So, but Pup that works at Hoosier down in Knoxville, he'd come walking up to me.

I'm standing at the fence and I'm about to go leave. Really? He walks up and I'm like, I think I'm going back to Knoxville and running at Atomic. And no, man, you're running too good. You need to stay. He talked me in to stay and we won the race. And it was just, that was just so bizarre, just so unbelievable. And people ask you're highlight of your career, you know.

It'd be hard to ever see anything but that. Yeah. You passed Jeff Purvis to win it. He'd only won those things three times in a row, right? Right. He had four cars there, and you could qualify multiple cars. So he had four cars there. So whatever he, if he didn't like where he started in this heat, or he could go to another one. Really? I had one car. And then we went back to next year, and I took two cars, and we qualified first, second, third, and fifth with two cars in our four laps. That's funny. And the next year, they said one car only from now.

So, but we won it in 90, you know, we went back 89. We run second, and then we went back in 90 and won the race. And then we went on this drought from hell and didn't win it for 10 years, but run second maybe eight times. It's like, you know how it goes. Yeah. And, you know, you wonder if you're ever going to win it again. What is up with your style?

Like, where? My hair style or what? Yeah, no, like, you know, you're, you're in. you're jamming Marilyn Manson out of the back of the holler and you know you've always had long hair you've always kind of been this outlaw you know outcast not anything like anybody else that's there and where does that come from is that a childhood development is what is what's behind all that well yeah I think first of all my my old man said he was never having a long haired kid so that really messed him up because I mean the day I turned 18 what was I saying

right? Yeah. But like I've been on stage with Pantera's backup vocals to love, love, you know, just I love. I love rock and roll. And I've set across from Maryland Manson, him putting on his makeup, getting ready to go out for a show. A good friend of mine was, he drove for Florida coach and had all these bands. And so I got to see a lot of bands and go out and experience. a lot of things.

Yeah. You know, a lot of things you talk about and a lot you won't. Yeah. So we're here to talk about the ones you won't. No, I'm kidding. Yeah, no, absolutely. That'll be in the book. Oh, man.

So music, music drove a lot of that. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I've got some, like I love Shinedown. I like the latest stuff I like, and I recommend anybody to listen to nothing more tired of winning. That's right now one of my favorite songs. Okay. And it kicks. and it almost gets to the end where it almost slam dances in it.

But you can understand, I'm really a fan of music. You can understand what they're saying. Sure. Not just bra, rah, rah, rah. Yeah. You know, so, you know, when I went to Australia, I went there to race, but I really ended up just going there to surf. And growing up in California, I learned to surf,

and that was something when I moved to Tennessee to race, there was no more of. And then the last year, I went there for five years, but the fifth year, I didn't go to race. I just made enough friends that just went over there to go surfing, and we went to every cool surf spot in America,

or in Australia, from Perth to Melbourne to Brisbane, to Surface Paradise, to all of it, and went to raves and just they had more fun than the law should allow. Australia is,

how to have fun. Yes. Yeah. So you're, you, where were you born? Iowa. Iowa. Iowa. How do you end up in California? Both my parents went to school together in Iowa and both of my grandparents had a, they farmed a square mile in Iowa. My dad was an electrician and decided it was too cold to be up on poles in the winter and he took an interest in flying and then, and then pursued that. And when I was six, we moved to California. For a job he had. For him to pursue getting more hours to pursue becoming an airline pilot. And he did succeed.

He's probably, I think, one of the only ones that's ever become a chief pilot with American Airlines without a day of college. No college. You went to flying school. Well, my dad taught me to fly. He said he didn't have to teach him to fly. He said he just some you have to teach. He said you just could fly. And I'll go, I've got an airplane, I've got a Piper Cub,

and being him or a half's on a champ. And then he builds World War I airplanes from scratch and flies them off. We've got a grass runway. But yeah, I solo when I was 16, and he sent me to the school that no one fails because they just cram the answers. And guess who failed, right? You know, I was surfing and had a girlfriend and just had a 57 Chevy that had a 406 on nitrous and was street racing. And flying, if you're any higher than 500 feet, I don't really care about flying.

I just thought, and I didn't really, he thought maybe I'd pursue being a pilot like he did. And I knew when one of his good friends told me he was the best pilot on the planet. that I didn't want to compete with that. Sure. And I was like, what do you mean? How can you make that statement? What makes you be able to say that? You said, your dad is the only pilot that's never crashed a simulator.

I said, good enough for me. I'm not going to be a pilot. I'm just going to fly for fun. Yeah. And so they throw everything they can at you in those simulators. And he's the only ones who never crashed it. Yeah. But you still fly today.

Oh, yeah. And what type of license do you have? Do you have a license? What are you cleared type for? No, you just jump in and go. I've never been pulled over yet. I just take off from our place and land at our place. You just go around the sky a little bit?

I fly under the power lines, not over them. I fly on the water. I usually fly to go look for fish. I like to striper fish. And in the fall, like this time right now, like I almost went yesterday to look for them. But I could take my plane up and fly the lake. And this time of year, they're breaking on the surface, and you can spot them because their white bellies are rolling. And once I find them, then it's time to get the boat.

If I don't see any, I wait for another day. And so when I was watching this video, there's this hangar just slammed full of planes, slammed full. And they're all older, you know, just in the teens. I mean, it's World War I stuff. Those were the real men. Yeah. You got up there and you're one-on-one shooting bullets. at each other.

And, you know, it's really funny that you even think about it, that a war was determined by the outcome of who shot who. And it's like, but, you know, just think how fun that would be. A dog fight. I mean, all you had to do was have a plane that was just a little faster than the other guy, and you were probably going to win. Yeah. I like racing.

So when you go to your place in Tennessee, what's the race shop look like? I've got a 80 by 120 shop that is nice. Actually, Shane McDow rents another duplicate of that shop, 80 by 120, and Dale and Shane race out of it. They're all the, those two shops are together? They're right beside, I mean, they're right beside each other, basically. And he runs our race cars, and, you know, we communicate a lot. And, you know, that's one thing about dirt racing. I used to stand alone and not speak to a soul.

And when you see the whole pits huddled up sharing things to try to take you down, sometimes you've got to line up with a few to be sure and stay on top. And so I've always kept a couple around. But I mean, now I got into selling race cars to the public, which not to anybody. I picked and choose who I sold them to. And I know I'm proud to say, like Rick. Eckert, he won the dream, the $100,000 dream when he had our cars. Terry Phillips, biggest race he ever won, is in our car. He won the topless at Batesville. I've always,

maybe it's too much confidence. I wish that maybe wouldn't have shared as much as I had. Yeah. You know, because his information is power. And, you know, I mean, it's speed and it's, but I'm glad to see that those guys won big events in our car. And I still, I still have a week. for helping. I mean, I like helping people. I like watching people succeed. And I know I can make a difference in their careers. But you get stabbed in the back a lot. Sometimes it's hard on your heart. Yeah. Do you have any of your old race cars? I do, actually. I have my number 18 from 96. It's still, it's got the shocks. It's got the carbon fiber rotors. It's got everything.

I've got the engine that I won the show me in the dream with that car, and I got the engine. And Speedy Bill was wanting to put it in his museum up there, and then he passed. But I might still work something out with him to get that up there. But I've been wanting to make it run again with the engine, and all I need really is a transmission and stuff, and just take it out sometime and test against what we have now,

just to see what it can do. Because my home man would always say, he goes, ah, you ain't going no faster than you did 10 years ago. That's not true, you know. We're going tremendously faster than we did. Right. Everyone is.

Yeah. So, yeah, but it would be fun to do that. But yeah, it's exactly the way it was the last race I ran with it. What was your first race car? Where did you race it? I'm assuming back in California, right? Yeah, yeah.

My first race car, call it mine. My dad got a, a car for himself to race. He bought an asphalt car with a Cheval front clip and, you know, just a, and he raced it once and decided that dirt racing wasn't his deal, you know, and just said, do you want to try it? We'll do it next week with you. Where are we all racing at? At Corona, California. Okay. And so I'm like, sure. What did he not like? Well, here's what happened. He did it to me, too. He didn't have an air tank. So he put 50 pounds in all four tires to get to the track and forgot to let it out.

So he was ice skating. He wasn't racing. And that happened to me that when we went the next week, same thing. But after I hit everything but the concession stand, he remembered and let the air out. And so in the conci, I won it, made the show and ran pretty good. And that's when we decided to continue. Yeah. So this is the asphalt car that you're racing on dirt?

Yes, so the very last race of that season, I either got spun. Either way, I ended up spun until on the back straightaway. It was real dark. And the leader come around and almost hit me head on and swerved in time. But the guy in second didn't have time to swerve and hit me head on wide open and scrapped it. Wow. Everyone goes, well, that's the end of that kid, you know. But that he was still motivated enough that we, you might even hurt.

heard a dill in chassis. Yeah. Oh, yeah. They were in California, just built an asphalt cars. We went there and asked if they'd build a leaf spring car. And they, sure. So we did that.

And that's the year. First race I'd won was that year. And then we got a Tri-City buggy car. And, yeah, I brought some photos, but we didn't have time to go over those. But I got some pretty good photos of the last race I ran in California. he was pretty much done.

He said, he's spending no more money. He's done. If you want to continue racing, and we'd been back to Tennessee and looked at property, and I was in on that, because I've been looking at the papers, and they're paying $10,000 to win all around.

How old are you at this point? 18. Okay. So I left, I decided, he said that he needed somebody to stay on the property and cut trees and work, and that he would sell me the car.

So, price was 30. 35 grand. Wow. That's a lot. Good grief. But it had a new aluminum engine in it, and it was a new car. But I crashed it first time out, and I didn't go, he didn't go with me racing.

And that's when he said. He said, I'm not fixing it. Well, there was a race coming up at Chula Vista paying $4,000 to win, which nothing out there paid over $1,000 or $800. And so he said, if you want to race that race, he said, you spend your money. So I did. And I saw a photo of Charlie Schwartz's car from the Dirt Truck World Championship. Oh, that white wedge car. That wedge car.

I'm like, I can build that. And just got some white sheets of aluminum and made a big square box and outqualified the field by a second and a half and left twice in 50 laps. Yeah. And left for California three days later. Wow. I mean, it left from California to Tennessee three days later. Wow. What did they think about that car?

Because that thing's crazy, right? Well, no, he knew he could recover a lot of money if he sold it after I won that race. No, like what did the people thought about that car when he showed up? When I got here, I stopped it, Larry Shaw's on the way to Tennessee. When you raced it in L.A. or California before you left. Everybody wanted to buy it. Yeah. They didn't try to say, hey, it's illegal.

There were no rules. There was no weight rule. I mean, I'm racing against Gremlins with wings. Okay. And everything you can imagine. It was the most bizarre show because there were no rules. It just had to be a stock car, which that's pretty open. So, yeah, people had wings.

I had put on Lexan sideboards, had a 24-inch rear spoiler. And I had a deal like in hydraulically, raise and lower it while I raced. And as the race went on, I just jacked it up higher and higher and higher and just kill them. That was fun. That was fun stuff. So you, y'all buy some land in Tennessee, your dad, why are y'all moving? He actually was going to buy land in Oregon. Why?

Because Air California is who he got a job with, and they only flew up and down the coast. So he's looking for a place to retire someday. Okay. And we went up and looked at some really nice places on some salmon lakes, and I've always loved fishing. And we're up there, and we went to a restaurant. I'll never forget this young kid. was walking down the street with a salmon

is about as big as him over his shoulder. I'm like, that's me, you know. But then we went to the races and it's like, no. I mean, it was just... It was like going back in time. Yeah. And they didn't pay but 600 to win every week. And that's not what...

I've been keeping up with Robert Smalley and the NDRA. And Smalley was from Kingsport. and like Newport, Bulls Gap, that's where all the first 10,000 win races kind of started. So I'm seeing them 10,000 win. I'm like, that's where I need to be. That's where. So that's when I told him, I said, I can't do this Oregon deal.

I want a race. And, you know, I was surfing, had a girlfriend, is pretty happy with, just had my 57. I was, you know, I was drag racing with it 406 on nitrous and street racing guys and just having a ball. And then I had to make that choice. And to leave all that. And he took this 57 on trade, which, you know, I was kind of chapped about. And then I moved to Tennessee and cut trees for two and a half years probably and cleared the property, wore out five or six chainsaws.

and he took off $2.50 a week off the $37,000, which that was minus the – he gave me $8,500 trade on my $57. But anyway, so that's all I'm doing, and he sent me $50 a week to eat. Good, great. You still paying that off? Because that's $35,000. $2.50 a week. Well, then J.D. Stacey, you'll remember the name. J.D. Stacey bought Kingsport Speedway and Cordell, Georgia, and came in and was going to pay $2,500 to win.

every Saturday. Well, it's like, okay, that's good deal. So we go up there, it's the first time me and my dad ever got into it. And I was trying to finish. I sold the car I moved there with, got a car from Barry Wright. We're trying to finish it. We got into it. And so, I mean, I'm going just, I'm sure I'm going to go win this $2,500.

And we pull over the top of the track and they're going in. He goes, well, there goes that $2,500. I'm like, what are you talking about? He goes, there's Larry Moore. So, which he was kicking ass then. So it's like, it ain't over yet. Well, he sets fast time. I'm second fast time.

And he just so happened to be holding me up. And I had a big bumper outside the body. And I booted him and won the race. Come back the next week. They paid him to come back again. I was fast time. He said, I won the race again. They paid Rodney Combs to come the next week.

He wasn't as much competition as more was. So now in 2,500, three weeks in a row, now cut your own trees, right? Yeah, I'll give you $250 a week. Yeah. So that's when it kind of changed. Actually, I won every race at that racetrack that year, but the one that NDRA came to town. So you're making a living, racing? That's all I've done since I moved here.

really I mean it just seems like that even making even winning that kind of money it'd be hard to make a living race it well back then you had one car you yeah you know they weren't hooked up like they are now the engines weren't like they are now I mean right now it's very difficult our engines are very expensive and you know you got to have more than one a car obviously and everyone's got this big ring big. But the purses are higher. I mean, I wish the purses were when I was really rolling good before my accident. Yeah, you can make some money. You can actually make money more money now probably than ever.

But I just, I won enough races and didn't have any expenses because I was living at my dad's place. I got you. And once I made a little bit racing and I could focus on my race car more than the trees, then we got fast enough. We won a lot of races. There's a lot of trees in Tennessee, by the way. I know about that. There was on our property.

I promise you. I bet. I bet. So maybe I missed this, but are you saying that the first argument you had with your dad, is that because he doubted you? No. Me and my mom and dad actually flew back to watch the race at Log Cabin. Donnie Moran won.

Oh, yeah. That was the deal. We just were like 35,000 and got airplane tickets and we all flew back and watched. And we're standing on top and looking down. It's almost like a like a hazard race track. You're like a down. You're looking way down at the track standing on these cliffs, whatever you want to call it. But anyway, so we're standing up there.

And my, I'm like, and we're watching, you know, look pretty fast. I took a picture of every car that day. I was taken by it and everybody's there that I'd ever heard about so we're standing on top watching this and my dad goes, so you think you can run

with these guys, huh? I'm like, yeah, if I've got if I had their same equipment or as good of equipment and he looked at me as a bit of a shit. So it's just like, you know,

yeah, it made you mad. I mean, it's like, you know, yeah, I was sure. I was pretty sure I could. And that's when we still lived in California. And it was, but the argument in the fight, my dad's a perfectionist. And I was trying to get that Barry Wright card done to go to that Kingsport race. And it was down to the wire.

And I didn't have time to measure. And I just drilled and I missed the brace behind. And he, if we do it right, you know, well, I stood up. And I kind of had a little bit of stuff stored up from my whole life and stood up and just said, it's about time. What do you mean? Let's get it on. You and him are going to fight.

I'm ready. I said, it's time. We're going to get it on. It's time to get it on. Yeah. I've had enough. And what happened? He picked the hatchet hammer up off the table and said, come on.

That ain't fair. And I'm like, I wasn't ready for that. Yeah. So I just, it's like, put that down and let's do it. and he wasn't putting it down. He thought you probably... My neighbor was still in high school that was helping me. He was 16 years old.

I bet he was his pants, yeah. But that, that, I'm glad it didn't happen. For sure. Yeah. But that was a moment, though, where you were finally, hey, have had enough. I'm staying in my ground. I actually had, I don't know where the picture is now, but I actually had, because I didn't have no money, and I had these concrete weights,

and I even had hangers hanging off of the, the barbell set, I've been pumping iron. I mean, I had some motivation. I knew the day was going to come. You've been training. You're training for this moment. Oh, I'm training ready.

Because he'd take off and he'd be gone flying with the airlines for two weeks. Then he'd be back for two weeks. He's got a good senior pilot, so he got to pick his line there a bit his routes and stuff. But that was one pinnacle moment. And that's when we pulled in. And he goes, well, there goes, $2,500, and I was just still, mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah, it was boiling. So it was some motivation, I'm sure. I can't believe, I mean, I can't believe that. But I'm surprised that, so how, so you and your dad were together a lot, when he could be there, right? When he was home, he was with you going to the races and so forth and always kind of at your side. He did.

He did. He, you know, and he said, I'd never make it without him. But he's a hell of a mechanic. And just like him building, he always built, like he built Auburn Boatail Speesters. He built Koblo replicas. And he's always doing something. And if he didn't have something, like some of his airplane stuff, he couldn't find the machine guns that were the authentic original stuff. And he just built some that looked exactly like them.

And so growing up around him, It really was a good thing for me. In racing, if I had an idea, I pursued it. If someone else didn't make it, I made it or found a way to make it. From fuel cells, you know, there was never a fuel cell that wasn't square. And I made the first, designed the first teardrop cell and made it become part of a wing under the car. And it was just always into air. But when I moved to, when I moved from California,

I drove the 72 Chevy pickup in a $600 trailer. It welded together with the car on the back and drove to Tennessee and got there. And the walls were up on the hangar, but no roof, slept under the stars and started on a little 20 by 20 apartment. I lived in for 14 years. Wow. You know, you're buying race cars or you're racing race cars. but eventually, you know, and you're taking that race car, that chassis built by the chassis

and you're setting it up and learning how to make it work. But eventually you started doing your own modifications, right? You started seeing ways to make this thing better. And you talk about it, like building the, you know, doing things with arrow underneath, obviously on top of the car from your understanding. of flying and so forth and talking and standing standing there staring at planes all day. So when did, where does the, where does the knowledge come from to understand you, I was watching this one video where you're talking about how, how you, you know, a lot of, I never, I looked at

a shock as a way to control the suspension. But you, obviously racing on dirt, have to look at a shock in a way that it absorbs the bump, but it all happens in a delayed process. Well, shock's never at real time with the bump. Right. Right. And I never. So it takes a total different understanding. When you first start thinking about shocks, you think it's at real time, but it never is. So when you were talking about that, that made me really, I never thought about it like that, you know. And so when did you start getting experimental? When did you start saying, why can't I cut that and why can't I build that differently and why can't I shape that different why can't the rear end move this way?

I think I had won every race at Kingsport and some lap cars got in an accident and I couldn't avoid them and I hit him with the left rear going by. We had heavy steel tubes and all this and never thought that it bent the rear end and And the race, you know, I dropped out of that race because I crashed with them. So the next week I go back and I wasn't having any problem winning every weekend. And I go back and I'm struggling. It's like, what the heck? And I run second and I mean I'm at a distant second.

And it's just struggling. I thought something had to have happened when I hit those guys and just went and got to study and looking at it. And the rear end had been bent back on the left side. So now I'm towed out quite a bit. and I'm like, oh, man, you know, so I got this big steel slug and got it, we're put it on there to Port of Power and just cranked until you couldn't hardly see out the other side and bend it back.

And then I started playing with bending it forward and started playing with bending camber. I mean, I just started to get my mind opened up. Right. Never had thought about it. And found what was really happy. and got to traveling and winning. But the shock thing, I get, you know,

Coney shocks, they got with me, and they had this real simple dino that was a pin, you know, and I actually still use the same style dino because it doesn't have filters, and it shows you every little glitch in your shock. And just started studying, and I had plenty of shocks, but, you know, you just feel them by hand. And I had a big arm hand pull, you know, try to feel and just try to get, because there's no two shocks the same, especially back then.

Right. So I finally got a dino and got a library on all my stuff. And I made sheets and taped him up inside a cabinet in my trailer and really got familiarized with that. Someone told me that Freddie Smith said, if he's got to have a shock dino to raise, he'll quit. well, it wasn't long, he did quit because it wasn't long. You needed a shock dino to be able to compete. So, you know, but the chassis thing, when I was run a Barry Wright car and Masterbilt gave me a frame to run. And I got it home and I'm putting it together.

And I got it on four jackstands. And I walked by just for the heck of it. And I just pick up on the bumper, you know, the engines in it. most things are in it. And one side of the bumper picked up off the stand two inches before it picked off the other corners. I'm like, whoa. And so I checked my Barry Wright. And it was very little.

And I've been winning with the Barry Wright. And so now I was a little insecure. I'm like, whoa. And this thing didn't have hardly any tubes in it. So I come up with a way to flex test the charge. the chassis and and since then and I've been did that was 85 and I've been doing it since then what did it what did it want well I've learned because I've checked a lot of other people's cars since then and and some guys cars are they're stiffer from right rear to left front some are stiffer left

right front and the percentage that they're stiffer and I think intentionally I don't know if the the ones I checked were intentional right I just know that but they were way different. And then I actually learned the difference that the car wanted, the cars that were stiffer right front to left rear, wanted a lot of left rear weight. Opposite what I thought. I thought in the car stiffer from right rear to left front,

you about had to run right rear heavier. And you'd think, stiffer that way, you'd run more left rear. And it just, so I just kept learning. And then I, with that master built, I think I welded 20-some foot of tubing in it. Whoa. You put more tubing in it. Just stiffing it up.

It flexed so much. And they were from up in Indiana and Brownstown area, and the tracks were really slow and short. And Tennessee has some of the most aggressive to race tracks. You know, Taswell Bulls Gap, atomic speedway, fast, high speed, high bank. And I thought, this car is going to fall apart in the short time. So I welded a bunch of tubing in it and then went to win him with that car. and it wasn't long they pretty much had all that tubing in their car that they were selling but still

it's something that I really kept up with and have kept up with since. And I know enough about it. I can manipulate the handle of my car. I've got some things that bolt in. I've got some I can put one direction for different places and another for others. Wow.

You know, one tube, it's hard to believe, but could completely change the race car. Yeah. You probably know it. Sure. Yeah, we would go to, you know, cup tests and change the front motor mounts, you know, from single standard mounts that you'd see in cars for years to that big front plate. And we'd take the, you know, we'd have that crossbar on the front clip across the hoop bars that'd come in and out during testing and trying to see what would work best. And some of the best cars that I ever ran when you jack them up to floorboards would buckle.

You know, you'd be sitting in a car and you'd hear it go, boom, boom, boom, when they were jacking the car up. all, you know, to change the tires or something, the chassis is twisting and the sheet metal's buckling and, you know, making a racket. So my best way, the left, the interior beside the driver to the left, some of the best cars. If that didn't crack and just try to break all apart, it wasn't a good car. So, um, talking to some people that, um, are, you know, who are in your circle, your hours, your work hours are all over the place. Well, you know, you were testing one night at Volusia County near Christmas Eve.

You'd started at 11 p.m. and test until 7 a.m. all night long. And was pissed off. I had to quit. Right. They came in there and the cops shut you down. Yeah, we tried to lock it where they couldn't get to us. How are you testing in the middle of the night at a racetrack? Who in the world would be testing? at three o'clock in the morning. They left the lights on, you know?

I mean, I had so many things I wanted to test. That's such a great place to get to test. If you get an opportunity, get all you can. Because you may not get another chance. And we were just making a lot of headway. I had so many things. When was that? That was probably maybe it's been eight or ten years ago.

Yeah. On the flip side, you didn't want to go test even in the daytime. No, I hate a test. My problem, actually, you do hate testing. I love testing because I come up with most of the ideas that I want to test. You know, I never forget one time I was running a Rayburn car and you just could not get in the corner with cars at before bar. And I just like, I got to figure out how to get right rear going in and left rear coming out.

And that would fix his car. I fell asleep under my car and at 4 in a morning. I woke up and had it. And as soon as I did, I was like, I could do this. And I got up. And when the guy that worked for me got there at 8 in the morning, I'd already built it all. And I'd already called Atomic Speedway in Knoxville, scheduled going to test, went down there, and it was three-tenths, and we smoked S the rest of the year and won

the championship. And it worked everywhere. What'd you do? I clamped a second coelover behind so that when you got on the board, brakes and it was clamped to the tube so when the rear end rotated it went into it gave me right rear when i throtted up it took it out but i still kept the one in front just split the rate in half and and i played with shocks to where i put more shock behind on the compression side so it really stuck it going in and it was just way different and and my the guys that worked for me i never told them

I wouldn't tell nobody. Right. I said, and I've had guys get mad at me. They're like, well, man, maybe I can help you. But they didn't know what shock or what springs. And they're like, well, man, I mean, maybe I can add to it. I said, I can you add to it? You don't even understand it yet.

I said, the best thing you do is just keep working because I understand it. And we're winning because of it. And you knowing it just makes you be able to tell somebody. Yeah. That's awesome, man. Mark Martin talks about his setups on his ASA cars back in the 80s and the late 70s, and he would run, you know, he would take so much wedge, and he'd run so much wedge and left for a spring,

you wouldn't even need a spring in the right rear bucket. He'd run without it. Yeah, I remember that. Crazy stuff, you know, like, you know, things people would just never even attempt to try. There's a lot going on in the dirt world. There's a lot of real far out, abstract things, and you better keep your head to the ground and listen because all of a sudden somebody's just out of nowhere.

And I thought that that was over, but it's never over. It's never over. I think that because you're so, I think it's you're so open-minded and unique as an individual. And we got an open window, too, to do a lot. That served you. Yeah. Oh, I love it. Because I would have never been happy in NASCAR or asphalt racing because I like to build, yeah.

I can't be constricted like that. And I love the ability to. think outside the box and build it, make it, race it, and get results. And that's what I say when you say you didn't like testing. I love testing. I like testing as much or more than racing because I'm testing things that I know are going to make a big difference. If I knew enough of it.

If my mind worked that way, I would be driven to go to the track to attempt it, you know. A lot of satisfaction and something you think of or lay under the cars, fall asleep and wake up with and follow through with. and it works and you go kicking ass with it, a lot of satisfaction. So this is so interesting because it reminds me of the Gary Ballou conversation. When you have somebody that's so innovative in thinking so outside the box that nobody else is on it, you also catch a lot of static from the competition, either from jealousy, especially when you're wiping the floor with them.

What kind of static did you get? Three quarters of the rule book is because of me. Congratulations. If you read the rule book, probably over three quarters of it. rules to stop all the things that I was doing and come up with. And people don't want to work that hard, so they just get a rule put against it. Yeah. That's aggravating, though, isn't it?

It is. How do you deal with that? Well, here's the thing I've learned is you quit working on things they can see. You work in areas they can't see. But you also did unique things that I like to do, and that's, didn't you, you'll run a, You'll have something that's an obvious decoy. Oh, yeah. Like something looks like lead that's empty and a lot of things.

You'll do something. You'll throw them off. Yeah. You'll do something that's absolutely obvious that you know that they're going to go, hey, you've got to take that off. And you'll be like, you got me. They never see the other thing. That's really what you want.

And when you think you've really got something that's going to be an advantage, you need to do something that is so obviously blatant. and actually pisses them off and insults them that you even tried to do it. Yeah. And that's all they see and all they think about. They get fixated. And you go right on through with the goody. Yeah.

So this is, I heard a story. You tell me if it's true or not, but I heard a story that you actually had implemented a setup in a car that you had first crossed your mind in a dream, or like you had slept on it. And then all of us, is that true? That's the one I woke up at four in the morning with. The shot. I fell asleep under my car. And when I woke up, I had to fix for the car.

Because I couldn't, I was having trouble keeping up with the four-bar cars and stuff with the swing arm car. And they were just too loose going in. I just knew I had to figure out how to stick the car going in and not give up coming off. And that's when I woke up and built that clamp bracket deal and went and tested it. So that was, yeah, you know, I really, I think I wake up with a lot of things, you know, because I don't ever quit thinking about it. Clearly. So you're thinking while you're sleeping.

And sometimes you're thinking a little better sleeping. That's interesting. I feel like that's happened. But it worked. It all implemented. That's what these guys have to race against. You're not only wiping the floor with them, but even when you're sleeping, you're on. You're on.

It's hard to turn it off. Yeah. You know, it's called the circular sickness, okay? You know, the ones that have it and the ones that don't. And like Randy Sweet, you know, and there's only been a couple of people that have worked for me in my entire career. that I can really say had that sickness. And then there's no hours of the day.

There's no keeping up with the amount of time and energy. And when everybody else drops, they're there. And because the will to win, there's someone to race and some refuse to lose. And if you refuse to lose, you're going to put out a lot of hours in life. And the time, you know, get a lot of people like you talk about my hours.

Redick talked about my hours. Just can't get as much done in the daytime. When everybody's gone and it's like it's peaceful and the crickets are out. And you can really focus and just, I just always have gotten more done when it's quiet. Phone ain't ringing, you know. Yeah. I think when I really started hearing your name a lot and recognizing your, you're, the mystery around you was to have a Tampa series.

That's right. You race there in the mid-90s. Won championships. What do you remember about that time? Well, I had a lot of promoters call them. He wanted to pay me to come to their track. When a promoter calls you and pays, wants to pay you, what do they want to pay you?

Well, as little as possible. But, you know, I mean, I kind of settled in anywhere, you know, back then even, you know, usually 3,000 to 5,000 kind of thing. But I believed in the series and told the promoters if they'd have a 10,000 to win race and call and have a Tampa and schedule one of their events that I'd be there.

They don't have to pay me because I really want to try to see some things get going. And we want a lot of races. And then because I won so much, then all of a sudden I wasn't getting treated so well. What do you mean? Just judgment calls and, you know, doing things. And there was one pinnacle race.

It was Scott Sexton that nailed me and tore my left front suspension off. And I wasn't going to be able to continue racing. And I'm just riding around real slow, waiting on him to come by before I leave the racetrack. And he's coming. And I timed it right because the gate you could exit to the right. and the time that were I was going to turn left and just blast and then turn right like I was meant that it was an accident, right? Like I turned left to get a good line to go out, right?

Well, he swerved fast enough. I never even touched him. And they threw me out of the race, took all my points, and had the police escort me off the property. Wow. And we never even made contact. And that's when I really felt it.

and that year, I had such a point lead, I couldn't have lost the championship, and so Freddie ends up winning it because they took 200 points for that race. That's right. That's when I quit racing for a little while, and I really wasn't sure if I was going to even do it anymore. I thought it just is just, I felt I'd done so much to help them get their series going, and just wasn't treated fairly. Yeah, and didn't know where it was headed from there.

and just stopped the press for a little while. Yeah. I noticed that. I remember, you know, I'm seeing this from a far, far, right? Very removed from it, racing asphalt, late models and bush cars and all that stuff. But I remember sent some frustration out of you back then. Like, you had all this success, and then it became difficult, like, to work. you know, to find...

Joy was gone. Yeah, to find the happiness out of it. Yeah, and that's the thing about it is I was enjoying things, and then all of a sudden it just having to look at this people at the track and having to go, and it's just, you just didn't, you know, we all do it to win races, and we all do it, and you're trying to make a living and make money, and I felt like I had contributed a lot,

and just it wasn't appreciated, and I thought it was only going to get worse, it seemed like. Yeah. So. So you really took a break. You decided not even to go back to that local place and have fun, back where the joy is real. Well, tell you what happened is I ended up, there was a track that wanted to pay me $5,000 to come to their race. They were paying $20,000 to win.

Well, I'd heard that they'd wrote some bad checks, and I'm just like, I call the guy, and he's like, oh, no, no. And I just thought about, and a friend of mine from Australia was over visiting. And so I just said, he wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. So we just got in the vehicle and just headed west and had a great time. And I was doing a little soul searching, and we're at the Grand Canyon. And you're not supposed to walk past these ropes and things. And we walked out there and told some people, that were up where you're supposed to stand, take a photo of us.

But we were out there, and the sun was setting calm as it could be. And I kind of, you know, my mother brought me up religion-wise, and even Jehovah's Witness and, you know, Lutheran, and then just even went to Scientology a little bit in California, but never really got a hold of it, but always felt definitely more. And you're searching. And I got where I was searching after that. I just kind of had a spot inside of me.

It was kind of empty then and didn't know what I wanted to do after that. And we're out on that rock. And I said something to my buddy. I said, hey, I said, I don't know you ever prayed before? He said, no, I wouldn't know what to say. And I said, well, I said, well, I'm just going to say a prayer here. I didn't know if you wanted to or not. It didn't matter.

He said, I said, again, you didn't know what to say. I said, well, maybe you say that. Say, I don't know who I'm talking to. I know what to say, but, you know, just whatever comes to your heart. But my prayer was I wanted to know, and can you show, just give me something to show me. Just give me something where I never doubted again. I'm tired of doubting and stood up, and the wind blew so hard for about a minute that I had to put my arms out. for balance. And so did he, and then just quit and was dead calm again. And I looked at him,

he looked at me and I'm like, whoa. I said, what'd you get? What'd you say? I was like, and then really it was bizarre because after that, my life kind of turned upside down for a while and a lot of really bizarre events happened. And, you know, we don't have time to talk about them all, but I don't doubt it. Yeah. I got my answer. Yeah. And it changed my life a lot. I changed a lot of things.

And I feel very fortunate to have experienced a lot of things that a lot probably haven't. But I've met a lot of people that have. And there's absolutely, in my mind, there's a world out there and there's existence out there that you can't see. Yeah. This room could be full right now, and we just don't see it. Yeah. And then, you know, I mean, everybody, the people make fun of you, you know, talking about alien stuff.

And, you know, but when you watch one lower down to fill up with water, your property, and then the neighbors, 80-some-year-old man and woman, saw it, but that's the only other people that could have seen it because there's no one else that lives by me that could have. so I'm not saying nothing and then I went over to ask him about maybe he's buying their property and the old man asked me he said I gotta ask you

did you see I'm like and then his wife heard him and come around the corner we agreed never to talk about this I'm not living in a locked up in a home you know yeah

so it's like she they agreed and he's like he's all right so we sat and talked about it a little bit and just something for everybody out there, you know. When the time comes, you know, don't get on the cigar-shaped ship. Get on the saucer, okay? Just a little friendly advice. Are there two types out there?

Oh, there's more than that, but that's the two you might encounter. What's wrong with the cigar-shaped ship? They're not nowhere near as friendly. Let me see, they're not? No. But the saucer? Get on the saucer? The saucer, that's the one.

Get on that one. You got it. You'll have an opportunity. probably. Okay. Hey, okay, hold up. If we're going to talk aliens, can I ask a alien question? Sure. And then we can get back to have a Tampa and I don't know where to go with all that. But, all right, so do you, are we amongst, you're saying that you think that there's aliens and stuff around us? Is there any that we can see right now, do you think? You see them all the time. We see them. We just don't know who they are.

Sure. You got to realize. You've probably raised. There's so much more advanced than we are. They can, you just got to realize. Is Tony Stewart and alien? You'll actually, you know, I've seen some on television, absolutely, and I just, I know it the second I see them. And if you pay attention, you'll see them. All right. What do we look for? You got to watch the eyes.

And they're, well, let's just say, some of them are reptiles. and their eyes will turn reptile for a second. Yeah. It's crazy, crazy stuff. So, my, your, your conversation makes me feel like that you've had a very up-close, you know, encounter with, with this in your life. Yeah.

And so. And it's your home, it sounds like, and your neighbor saw it too. All right, more than just seeing, you know, a UFO come down to fill up, fill up with water out of the pond, rider out of the lake, you've had an encounter. Yeah, it's enough. I was gone for a couple of days.

Okay. And can you tell me, like, what age-wise, give me a rough estimate of how old you were? 33. Okay. And so, you know, when something like that happens to you, nothing else is important after that. Nothing else is important. Racing is trivial.

Money's trivial. everything is trivial. Right. And actually, you know, I went through a time and I changed my diet, quit drinking, alcohol, went down and then I, you know, just like in the Bible, you know, it recommend fasting. Well, I'm not sure I recommend fasting unless you really want to learn a lot more about yourself than you know now. Because it absolutely will make you understand. more about not just yourself, but everything, because just a hungry dog hunts better, right?

You're starving yourself. Your body is heightened to a level. Everything is fine-tuning, and you're, you know, I can see oras around people. So you don't recommend it. Well, I'm not saying it's not for everybody. Not unless you're ready to learn something. Be sure that you need to know it's going to be a life-changing experience.

and a friend of mine was going down the highway with me and I was in my bus and I don't really necessarily believe that you can see things in the future but I believe just like a twin knows their twin across the country who just had something happen and they feel it well I believe that if you scream at the top of your lungs

it permeates the universe I believe that if someone has an accident and you can receive it. You know it, but I was climbing this hill in my bus, and my friend that was with me sitting beside me, and I went, ah, man, I said there was just a bad accident over this hill. And it had just happened, but I couldn't see it, but I knew. Just like, oh, I said this is a really bad accident over this hill.

Well, we topped the hill, and there's a guy hanging through the windshield, and people are just running to him. So it had just happened when I received it. So that makes people uncomfortable. And it actually made me uncomfortable. Yeah, I bet. So I started drinking again. But really, it's that you can alienate yourself from other people.

It's not something that people are comfortable being around. And I'm a believer that everyone's lived multiple lives. And this life, I've decided to have a good time. Yeah. And not get all wound up and all that. Yeah, well. That's interesting. So, you know, I think that, you know, I believe.

You believe you've lived another life? So, yeah, I do. Are you sure of it? Well, I'm not. But I believe. But you know it down deep, right? So, all right. So I.

You get hypnotized. You could be brought to a state to recall it. Maybe. I know what I've done. Yeah. It was bizarre. Yeah. I feel like, you know, so a lot of the, I have a lot of things that I feel are true, but I'm not 100% confident as you are about it.

I think that it's absolutely possible aliens exist. It seems to... How could it not be? Right. It seems to, it seems weighted toward the obvious that it, that they would. If we exist and the universes is as vast as it is, why wouldn't there be, other forms of life out there. There certainly has to be.

And so what forms that is, probably all types ranges from very, you know, just slugs on a rock to something far more advanced than we are. I would not be shocked by any of that being the truth. In terms of like, you know, past lives and things like that, I kind of, I don't not agree with it, but I don't know for sure.

So if we live multiple lives, then my, you know, does that mean I won't see my father again someday? You probably live your multiple lives in the same group. Yeah, you just might be, you might have been, you might have been the father to your father, the other life.

I mean, it's usually, usually you stay in the same group of. I hope that there's one day I see my dad again, and we have a conversation, right? I dream about him maybe once a year, and it's like he is there. You know, I have dreams all the time that are just dreams, but when he's in him, it's not a regular dream.

It's like he's coming to see me, say, hey, I'll get to where I miss him so badly. It's like he comes to my dreams to quell that, right? That is him. That's him saying. He is there. He is there. I know.

And when that happens, you just, you don't have to see him. It's kind of like you know him in the dark no matter what, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the real close people, you'll know in the dark. And after this life, you might be in the dark, but you'll know they're there with you. And then you might decide to do something together again

and go be whatever you want to do. You decided to come here. You decided to come into that family. Yeah. I guess. I mean, I hope that one day we all figure all that out. I mean, like, you feel like that you have seen more than most and understand more than most, and that's, I envy that a little bit.

It gives me comfort in knowing that. I guess I'm glad that you're not freaked the hell out, and you're like, we're all doomed. To know what you know, and you're sitting here going, eh, you know, everything's trivial, money's trivial. I get the reaction to that. Like if I had experienced what you have, I would absolutely probably have the same feelings, but the fact that you're not sitting here going, hey, just make sure you're, you know,

just make sure you're on that boat, not this, this, this. Well, if you have a choice, that's just a recommendation. We know what ship did not get on. That's what I meant. If that time comes. I wanted to talk to you, man, about the, you talked about how your life, turned upside down.

And we don't have to go into details, whatever you're comfortable with. But you got arrested for possession of cocaine in 93. That was, you're still racing then. What happens, you know, I mean, that, you know, everybody makes mistakes that you're able to move beyond that. Your life turned upside down. What? Well, the reality of, I, I didn't get, I got charged with position.

possession from something that they found that had some residue, whatever. But anyway, I was actually charged with sale of which I didn't do. And because ever since we moved to Tennessee and my dad built the runway and you got airplanes and people assumed things that weren't true. Right. So forgive my ignorance. This is an ignorant thing that I did. But I somehow at some point in my life in the late 90s all the way.

till probably a couple years ago. I somehow saw similarities in you and came on to say, Gary Blue. So obviously, I don't think, I never thought that you and Gary did the same thing. Gary's, you know, right? He was, up for his smuggling drug smuggler. Yeah, he smuggled weed up. Right. Yeah, no, no, I never even knew him.

Right. But when I would hear your name, I would think that I would do the same. thing. I would, because I read somewhere you had this arrest, then I, then I would think, you'd hear rumors or you'd hear stories about you smuggling drugs up down the road and the tires of your race car, right? Crazy things. Having never met you, never been in your world, never been nowhere near your world. You thought sounds exciting. I thought, well, it fits the wild man, you know, crazy badass persona. Yeah. That you're like, you know, just, You know, lawless, you know, it fit the...

A little bit, a little bit that way, but not in that way there. Sure, not in that way. I mean, I definitely have been lawless, but... And I think people wanted to think at times... I think they wanted to. I think they wanted to. 100%. You were doing way more than was reality.

Absolutely. Because it fit that narrative in their mind. And the hair didn't help. No. And the airplane, and the runway and airplanes. and it's just something that naturally people are going to want to talk. And really, if they can't beat you, they want to try to make you look bad. Okay.

That's really true. I was really surprised at... Do you remember, like, rock bottom? Was there a rock bottom? You know, that I have always been a strong enough individual that when this happened, I knew the truth. But what was so bizarre, and I was just telling... You girls out front there. Like, I'll never forget walking through the trade show,

and Chris Oconomackie is at a booth. And I didn't really care who he was or didn't really, I mean, I knew who he was. But so I'm walking by with my first wife. And he said, Scott, Scott, he said, I notice you don't subscribe to my magazine or my paper, you know, speech board, whatever. And I'm like, yeah, you're right.

I said, I don't subscribe. to shit that people don't research what they write about. Oh, because they said something, you didn't... I'd won $40,000 that month racing. They printed. I took in $40,000 that month in cocaine sales. What? Really?

Yeah. Oh, I mean, there's so much... Here's the thing about it. Not just the racing papers, but all the radio stations, all the local television stations, I had been successful enough, and I hear you're talking about your, the radio and the television. You know what I did? I turned all of it off.

I didn't read any of the papers anymore. I didn't listen to the radio. I didn't watch television. I stayed at home and I went fishing and just, and you'll all know the truth one day because you're all wrong. And I won the only case of entrapment ever in the state of Tennessee. Yeah. So it, but it was just, again.

That's rock. That's when you're talking about your world turning upside down. That's what you're talking about. Yeah, no, it was definitely an eye-opener, and you learned, it's really funny because you had a lot of people you know, right? And there's people you know, they go, man, I know you're doing that, man, hell out of the damn down, right? You know, just.

Yeah. Like, no, that's not the way it was. And then you have one that just won't even ever speak to you again and just turn and every time they see you. And you thought they were friends. and so you learn a lot about people. Damn. It's something that I'm not saying everyone should experience,

but you really learn a lot about people. All right, I got so many questions. First of all, one is I am an example of when you were going through that time and you mentioned to have a Tampa Dale, I mean, that's when I first heard about Scott Blumquist and it was somebody from work who said, I mean, I was in high school, and they're like, hey, let's go out to Cleveland Speedways,

Cleveland, Tennessee, right? Cleveland Speedway, and Scott Bloomquist is going to be there. And we're going to go watch Scott Bloomquist and they have a Tampa series. And I'm like, I'd never been to a race, Scott. I'd never been. And this was in 94. So this was fresh off.

I mean, like, I think it was 94 or 95. And so you would have been fresh off this arrest. Am I right? Am I getting the timing right? It was right. I think it was right at 95. I was racing with Barry Wright and Barry, God love him. He had to endure a lot of that with me. But he, you know, we kept racing and he told me, he said, you know, of any driver I've ever raced with, he said, he was shocked that my personal life didn't affect my racing and I kept winning and I kept, but I knew that it just wasn't real. It wasn't me.

I didn't even, I wasn't even the person that even was part of the transactions or any of that, but they wanted me so bad that they turned it all around. And that's why they lost, you know. It's why it didn't pan out for them. But it still put me through major education about life and about people. I guess my point on that is, is that whether or not it's a good thing, bad thing, or true or false, you were. even more of a draw.

It made me larger than life. 100%. That's my point. And that's what my lawyer at the time said. He goes, it may seem bad right now. But he said, he said, in so many years from now, he said, they'll just remember the name. And they won't remember why they know the name, but they will never forget the name. I can't think of an example anymore of where, you know, an arrest actually built up almost a brand that drew more people.

to attract. And I remember that. People had to come to just look at you. And I was one of them that day in Cleveland. So did you serve jail time? Because now I am confused about this. No. Actually, what ended up happening is they found straw on the property. Who knows who's, I don't know what it was doing there, but I guess it had some residue. They said, so they charged me with paraphernalia and possession from a straw. Yeah. That, and the judge was, they call him Maximum Bechner. So he gave me maximum.

But all I had to do was check in at night and check out in the morning for six weeks. Never, never put an orange suit on if that's what you mean. No, no. Well, no, the reason I'm asking is because you continue to race. Yes, because I got out for work release. What does that mean? How does that work? really pissed the judge off. But the sheriff

said, this is my jail. You run your courtroom. I'll run my jail. And he was a race fan and I got to get out and race. Okay. And I never stopped racing and I kept winning. And every weekend I'd get out and I'd win both events. And the

judge just was pissed off beyond belief and tried to get the sheriff did not let me out anymore. And he continued let me out. So it was really, it was just bizarre because the people that really knew, I'd check in at 9 o'clock. And it was hilarious because all of a sudden, I'm in this annex and there's just beds,

you know, not in jail, but all these beds in. And then all of a sudden I hear, boomquist, come to the front. First time, you know. So I walk in the front and there's three pizzas sitting there. Uh-uh. So I sit there and eat pizza and sit and BS with them. And then I go back and go to bed. I actually got the most rest of my life then.

but I got out at 7 in the morning and had to be back in by 9 at night. Wow. It was just the whole thing, really. It was a good experience for me. It made me, I met some interesting people through it. Oh, sure. So when you left Havon, Tampa, where did you go?

Where did you go start? Where did you keep racing at? I just picked and chose major events. And raced a little bit less and was really kind of relieved. I didn't have to be anywhere. When did you go to Australia? What part of your life was at?

I went from 93 or 92 to 97. And when did you quit surfing? Well, I've surfed once since Australia, but it would have been 97. Wow. You know what? I mean, that's one thing I tell me. I said, you know, I just wasn't good enough. But that's the only thing I would have loved to have done.

done if I could have been good enough to be a professional surfer because I really at heart am a beach bum. Yeah. You knee-boarded and all that stuff. Everything. Just started on body surfing and boogie boarding and just like right here,

this scar right here and here the first skateboard park they ever made was in California close to where I lived and they had 14 empty swimming pools. And I was 13 years old and and went to it. And I'm up coming out of this 14-foot deep pool

and I catch my trucks on the coping and it catches and now I'm falling down. And I'm going to land on my shoulder and I put my arm out to brace my faller. And it snapped my arm right here and it was aimed 90 degrees. And the bone stuck through right here. And I could see the bone sticking out

and I landed it. And I grabbed it and I pulled on it and it stretched about two inches and I pulled the bone in that brought it around, said it, and my orthopedic surgeon said, you never see nothing like it. It was set. He didn't even have to move it. That's awesome.

But, you know, if you ever do have something happen to you, nasty, you've got about two to three minutes without pain, so you better hurry. Yeah. There you go. There's some advice. Yeah, again. So you said that the deal in 93 with the straw was not a, was not, was not. not what it was, but you got arrested again. At what point?

2003. Yeah. I actually had, I was in a guy's place and he had a blown Camaro, and we were drinking for a drive, and we're around the middle of nowhere. And so, yeah, man, I'm going to take it for a run. He's got slicks on it, man. I'm like, I'm going to go out and get it on, right? I pulled out on the highway. Well, it had a fuel shut off.

I never even got to get in the gas, and it died, and I coasted the shoulder off the side. And I don't know whether they were waiting or whatever. But anyway, it wasn't 10 seconds. Cop pulls up behind, gets out, comes up, and. So, I mean, at least I didn't get in trouble for drag racing or doing something else. But anyway, so he searched the car and there was some in the car. And they, like that, again, that was not a deal I did any time or anything. They actually, I'm surprised you even found it because it's not even on my record because they realize, you know, that it wasn't mine.

Yeah. I'm surprised we found it too. We got a great. How do you guys? You got a great historian. We got a great historian. We got a great historian. So, you know, that issue back then didn't deter, no bump in the road, no problem.

It really, that really just came in so fast. But it was bizarre because it came out in the paper or it disappeared so fast that nobody could find it. And everybody's dying to find it. But I guess they pulled it. I don't know what the heck. But I, and that was kind of bizarre because even the police there, I had to go back up there. And again, I went up there for a couple of days.

And I had to check in at this time and got out at that time and went fishing for a couple of days. and came back home. I mean, you know, if that's what I was about, I'm sure I would have probably ended up having to endure a lot more, you know, wrath for it. But I just not what I was about. I mean, I know we all know people that do a lot of things,

and I don't judge people for what they do, even though people do like to judge others. I just live and let live. Sometimes you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yeah, all right. So I agree with that. But the thing keeps following you. Let me ask you, let me ask yourself.

All right. You all ever done me? Well, be specific. I don't know. You all ain't going to any kind of illegal drugs? I have not. You've never done anything, Mike? I haven't.

Never in your life. Never a pill. Nothing illegal. You've never smoked a joint? Never smoked a joint. Are you kidding me? I'm not. I'd like to.

You want to? Yeah, I'd love to. I'd love to. If you could put. promise my boss here not to give me a drug test afterwards. Oh, hell, that's legal in so many states. He shouldn't ask for that. That's right, but I'm waiting for North Carolina.

That's funny. I've always had too many responsibilities to be able to do anything. Keep you out of trouble. Like that. Big trouble. Responsibility keeps you out of trouble. You're right. And I've had way too many responsibilities and had too many people relying on me in life.

Too many sponsors that I didn't want to upset. and never and even marijuana you know kind of thing I can't do nothing on that other than chill and sleep and I got too much to do yeah let me ask you a couple more questions

why is your brake pedal and your clutch pedal reversed in your cars you have the clutch in the middle is that true you like do you like racing with your legs crossed and crushing your nuts because I can I can My legs can be way farther apart. I break with my left foot. Yeah.

I was like, okay. But it's right beside your right. Yeah. It's your nuts crutch. No. Tell us about this, Del. Give us. I drive like this when my knee throw it out.

I mean, I've road raised. I've done heel, toe, down, shifting, no sick. I mean, I've done all that. And I can do it, but I'm absolutely the most comfortable. Like, I'm like I'm sitting in the recliner in the living room. My legs are out, and I'm just being comfortable is number one. But that's true? You switched to pedals?

I have never had, from the first time I started racing, I think, and I had my first car, I'm like, because all we do is push the clutch to get moving, and then we lock it in gear. Then you're done, yeah, yeah. Now, about every car I've ever sold, I sell that way. And. The guy calls you and goes, hey, I need a new front clip because I mash the clutch instead. Thinking I was going to mash the brake pedal. They've done it.

They've done it. Oh, I'm sure. Oh, it's like, hey, and the first thing I tell them, and I see guys pull on the racetrack and just, they don't even try the brakes and just floor it and go into first corner. I say, look, what's the first thing you do before you get on the gas is check your brakes, right? Yeah. And once you feel that that's the break, don't move your foot.

All right. And you'll be more comfortable. A lot of them really love it and continue doing it. it whether they're in my cars or not, and some of them hit the wall and changed it the next week. You were talking to Bill Elliott at one point about driving a stock car that he owned. Is that true? I went to buy a car that they had won. You were going to buy one of his cars?

Uh-huh. Why were you going to? Because- Why were you going to drive stock cars? I was just going to try it. Yeah. I realized that I'm not cut out for a day job. You had a plan?

What was your plan? My plan was that he had won a race in that car, and it was complete, and it was sitting exactly the way it was when he won the race. A cup car? No, it was a Bush car. It was a Bush car, yeah. Yeah, it's Kennedy now, Bush then. And so I drove over and look at the car, and while I'm there, it's like, okay, and it was sitting exactly the way they'd finish the race, and obviously they got paid and they got the win, right? So I'm like, so if I'm going to buy this, all I asked for.

is if someone from this place can walk it through tech and represent it as the exact same car that won the race and I should be able to at least get to race it one time as it won. Okay. We can't do that. Why? Because it wasn't illegal. And then started telling me all the things I was going to need

to be able to race it. And then I also got a call from Mike Hilton, you know, which who's Mike Hilton. Well, I knew afterwards. I figured out who he was. That he asked me to not gum race. Why? Still too much controversy.

Oh, really? This was right around the mid-late 90s? And said that he'd welcome me with open arms if I'd wait a while until all that went away. And then that opportunity didn't never come. Well, because when I got done listening to them about, I'm going to need a body. man and I'm going to need all these carburetors I'm going to need and the list just kept growing and growing and growing and I said so I don't I can't race the card that you just won with and I said why why is that he said I'm just going to be straight up here just because you're not

Bill Elliott and I'm like well this ain't for me yeah I never look back knowing what we now know of you from from all this conversation you don't conform to everybody's rules very well and so as soon is that that starts stacking up. You're just stepping closer at the door. I knew that the playing field wasn't the same for me. I was done. Yeah. Did you follow stock car racing at all?

I mean, I always kept my eye on it. Did you? I had gone to, it was really bizarre. Even when I lived in California, went to Riverside and watched it. And I've been to Bristol. I've been to Charlotte. And actually, I drove an arc of car at Michigan.

Michigan and Atlanta. Really? How'd that go? Pretty good. I mean, that's pretty good, really. I drove the arc of car on the dirt at the mile. You did. And it was just kind of playing a little bit with it.

But it just wasn't my cup of tea. I understand. Yeah. I like, and actually, I went to Coburn, Virginia, and drove a late model stock. The first time I'd ever done that, and we won the race. first time I'd ever gone and we won the race. And it was, I mean, all the good guys were there.

I ran an all pro car at 4-11, and I got second to Freddie Query. But I'll never forget that because it was 110 degrees. And that was a Camaro that, I think Arnold was who owned it. And had no ventilation and no air ducts, no nothing. They had been sitting in the barn, I guess.

I don't know. But they got it out because they wanted to promote. I was going to race it to get people to come. They never thought I was going to run good. But I was asphyxiated with exhaust and the heat. And when the race was over, I was right up on query trying to win the race. He was on the show this year. He's a wheelman.

Yeah. And that was pretty big in his first time in an all-pro car. And when the race was over, I was so gassed and exhausted it from heat in gases that I'd have two people help me out of the car and I couldn't stand up after, you know, when I got out of it. And, I mean, I was at my peak in physically. So I'd hate to think I have to endure that today. Yeah, yeah.

I'm sure we could have made the car more comfortable. That's what I told him. I said, if you ever want me to do this again, let's get some air. Did you follow anybody as a fan? Oh, just probably, probably your dad would have been the only one. And I did get to meet him one time at Charlotte. Really? Just to shake hands and no conversation.

I just wanted someone to introduce me. Yeah. He ran dirt a lot in the 70s at Metrolina and Concord. Well, I think that he was the one that at Riverside, this is like the first NASCAR race, went straight through the S's. I'm like, that's me. I like that. I think that's when I became.

I was a fan. That was my first NASCAR. car race. I'm like, that's the kind of shit I do. I like that. That's awesome. You did run a truck at El Dora. You ran without the sway bar. I was so pissed off at you. You know what, though? I went and tested at Smoky Mountain. And the other two cars, the other two cars of his, I was a half a second faster than they were. With the sway bar off? And I think that they decided I didn't get to win the race because the car didn't handle nothing like it did when I went back to Eldon. You struggled. Oh. I was just, it was a waste of my time.

I said, I wish I'd have known the car wasn't going to be nothing like it was at Smoky Mountain. I wouldn't have shown up. So are you saying that, what are you saying exactly? You thought that there was like a conspiracy. I'm saying that they had adjustable shocks and all. And conspiracy, you can't prove that. That's why I say it. So they had to go back and make shocks off of all the adjustments that were made.

And I guess they just missed it. I don't know. But, you know, the other guys ran good, and I was a half-second faster practice and then all, than his other guys. But still, you know, and you know that Kyle drove my car and won the last prelude they ever had. He did. And when he called me and talked to me about that, he said, on his bucket list was to beat Tony Stewart at his own racetrack. That's why he called me. And I said, I think we can do it.

And I must say, I mean, I was impressed. anybody thinks he's not a race car driver's mistake and he can drive anything. Yeah. The reason I'm asking, because I remember you were in some sort of legal lawsuit against Tony Stewart, and I thought it was because they had wronged you somehow with what you raised at Eldora, right? Yeah, I never did do a lawsuit. I knew that wasn't going to be good for my career or my visits back to Eldora. But one thing it did do, I won the dream again.

And I said, so this is 100,000. And I was, I think it was 12 that time. I've been thrown out for three pounds there. But, and I knew I wasn't light. You know, afterwards, after we said we were not going to get paid, we had, you know, threw us out for it. I checked my fuel, 11. And I had done the car myself. I knew that I wasn't light.

And so I went straight home, fire suit, just didn't touch nothing, put it on. my scales and I was 20 over which you know let's say maybe I should have added more but I was still I know how much I'm going to burn I knew I had it calculated I won the race but you know no matter what but so I called the Ohio weights and measures and it's kind of funny because the woman that was head of it I told her who I was well she was a big fan when she was younger so I told her that the whole situation. And she said, well, I'll tell you what I can do. She said, I can get the truck and all the weights and go down to Eldora. They don't have to let me, but they may not realize they don't have to let me on the property to do it. And I'll just ask them if I can check them

and she did. And when she checked them, she called me, and the scales they had then were worthy at doing the job they were using them for. And she said when she took the weight and moved it around, there was 60 pounds fluctuation. So, you know, I might have run a lot more left rear than anybody else. And I asked her, I said, so I said, just document the movements. And it turned out that when she moved the weight there, got lighter over here, 60 over here. And she told them, she said these, and they weren't certified. because no one would certify them.

They weren't of a quality scale. So I just bit that bullet. They ended up, you know, at least a long time ago, they just dug four holes and had four computer scales in the dirt, you know. And that was a joke, too. But they had a scale, but it wasn't quality and it wasn't even certifiable. So what came of that is Tony did put a good scale in, and it has a readout, and it shows a light now.

I mean, it's, so if anything come with it, at least now, it won't happen to anybody else, but I had to still. You had to get. I had to take the damn hit. Well, but by hit, you threatened a big, you threatened a lawsuit. I mean, actually, because I do, I was right. And then what she had the documentation, I probably would have won, but I would lost, you know, in the big picture. Sure, sure, sure. I didn't, I'm not about Sue and nobody likes people that are Sue happy.

and you don't want to be remembered for that. Well, you and Tony clearly fix things because you also raced in a series. Yeah, yeah. Tony, we're good, and, you know, I mean, and I know that we wouldn't have been if I would have pursued it. No.

But, no, I think a lot of Tony, and I think, you know, I mean, every time he sees me at a race, he comes and talks, and I went to the drag races at Bristol, he was there, and he's like, you know, so, you know, we're good. 2019 Daytona Beach you got injured

in a motorcycle crash you're racing and then this happens and it puts you on the sidelines I remember you

going through that showing some of your rehab and recovery and your efforts to try to get back and get strong enough to get back behind the wheel of a car

yeah yeah that's tough yeah so you've struggled with issues long term with the injuries when trying to race numbness in your leg

and having re-injured your leg a time or two and so kind of where are you with all of this? The first surgery was just to try, you know, my knee hit the 7-Eleven signs, shattered it, drove my pelvis back into my hip socket and shattered my hip socket. So they did surgery and just basically patched you together and waited for

bone to grow back. They knew the whole time, which they didn't tell me at the time, but they pretty much knew the whole time that this was to get the bone to grow back enough to be able to go in and do a hip replacement. So it was a year, and by the time I got the hip replacement, it was bone-to-bone grinding. It was really painful. And I went out to New Mexico to race, and I had to take the roof off the car to take.

get in and and I stayed in the car the whole entire night because I could not there's no way there's most most pain I've probably ever been in but I I've ran into three days and I think till last night I've run third or fourth and but it was extremely painful and and after that I came home got the hip replacement which the foot's always had tingling and it's not numb I could feel it but but then it got a little worse to where about 30 laps in the race, it would travel up into my knee, and then by 40 or 50 it was up in my hip. So from hip to the tip of my toes would go totally numb. Like I remember falling off the throttle and not being able to find it.

And that's when I pulled the plug on. I just said, I'm doing myself an injustice and sponsors and just everybody. I'm stopping here. And I got these shots they call epidural shot. or whatever I got the series of those didn't help at all and the x-rays basically showed by which I was cleaning my boat this agitated made it worse I wasn't expecting this to happen but I was cleaning my boat in the driveway and I went to get out of it and I hooked my foot on the hose and I was gonna have a pretty

good fall and I jumped through the hose and landed and I did I felt my lower back of the sharp sting and so my L5 and my tailbone were shifted back and it was pitching my nerves and now my left foot had not gone numb and now my left foot's going numb too so the chiropractor stuff didn't didn't really help what I started doing and and my chiropractor sponsor and friend Steve Sabara ended up telling me he x-rayed me and he's like, yeah, this is back. And he said, he suggested I try sleeping on or laying on. And you know those tubes that you get in boxes of shipping stuff, just air tubes?

He suggested that I put a few together and lay on my back and put it right there on that L5 and tailbone and just see just long as I could. So I started doing that and started feeling better. and just things got better, better. And that's when I said, I think I could race again. And I was just up there not long ago, and he X-rated. And it is about two-thirds of the way back where it should be. And I'm just going to continue. But I can race now.

And I know I can run a hundred-lap race now. Really? Yeah. No, I mean, I actually did, you know, the World 100. Yeah, I can do it whatever I want now. So where are you with racing? Where is your... Well, when you're off for two years and not without any income,

I really just can't say enough for Ed Petrov for sticking it out and staying with me. And a lot of people. Who's that? Who's that? And they're Petrov towing out of St. Louis. Okay. That's your sponsor. Yeah.

He's been the biggest supporter and help in keeping me because, you know, you've got bills. You got. Yeah. So what's your plan? The plan right now, first of all, you to keep the shop. but keep everything going. You're still building chassis. Yeah, I kind of stopped doing that.

I really, you can't please race car drivers. You know that. But I'm going to do some more of that. Still, like Dale McDowell runs our cars, Chris Ferguson runs our cars. And they run really good at them. But I've had a little string where it had some engine problems. So now you get down and you don't have. the money to basically get, I mean, well, you couldn't even get engines here for a while.

Like you can call top builders and you can't get one for a year. It's screwed up. Oh, yeah. But I have a line that gets a couple of engines. I just got to work financially. Be sure I can keep the bills paid and I got to recoup and get some equipment. We're racing this weekend at Sanoa. It's $50,000 a win.

And we'll be racing at the dome. In St. Louis, that's a good race and a lot of fans. A lot of, you know, the biggest thing in our souvenir sales have always been really good. Yeah. Missing races and then you miss your souvenir sales. Yeah. So you're still driving? Yes. When's the next race?

This weekend. You're going to drive. Yes, I raced at Charlotte this weekend. I didn't know that. Yeah. So when do you think you'll quit? when something physical makes me pretty sure I'm not I don't have a chance of winning. But if I don't feel I can win, I'm not going to race.

And it's either going to be, you know, if you can't see or you can't, something physical is going to have to happen to where I'm sure that I don't have the chance I used to have at winning. And, you know, I always tell people I really don't like racing, but I like, riding around collecting checks, you know. I mean, you know, we've had a really good career and went a lot of races. And I've never settled for anything but winning. And I'm not going to go to a race if I'm not sure I have a chance of winning. Yeah.

I imagine that your excitement and enthusiasm for racing has not changed. It's as similar as it is today as it was in the 80s or 90s. It was the perfect thing for me to do in this life. because you won't conquer it. It's always a challenge, and I get to express myself in the building of the cars and driving of the cars.

And my T-shirts. I've always been involved in my T-shirt world and designs of it. And I trademarked saying no weak links about 25, 30 years ago and still feel strong about that. I think one day that might be something might take to the masses. Yeah. So, you know, for for people that have watched you and know the name and

all the people that admire the name and the legend and the history, it's good to know that you're, you know, the ends nowhere in sight and that when we think about people as American badasses or, you know, racing gods or legends and heroes, we want to always see them compete. We never want that, you know, we never want the Peyton Manning to retire. We never want Tom Brady to retire. We never want Del Earnhardt to not be at a cup race, right? We always want to be living that dream of watching them compete. And it's good to know that we're still going to have some opportunities to see that.

I need to come to a race. Yeah. What you need to do is when I get my podcast rolling, you need to come and let me ask you some questions. Oh, come and see our place. hang out. I would love to. Maybe when my dad finishes his project, building the largest home build airplane

that anyone's ever attempted building. And it's got 73-foot wingspan by plane twin engine, World War I bomber. And it is one bad mofo, and he's going to fly it this spring. Maybe you could make a trip over. Let me know. That'd be amazing. I would love to.

Are you really going to do a podcast? Yes. Are you just, you are? Yes. When do we get to do this? When is this going to happen? It's going to be a little more X-rated than yours, but it'll be good. It'll be fun.

We would expect nothing less, Scott. Nothing less. We want the X-rated. No, I mean, there'll be a warning come on before it starts. Those are fine. You give them warnings. You can say whatever you want. This is fascinating.

You know what, you know, the thing about, you've got to think about this because to be a guest, you've got this clear jar that burns a blue flame that's called moonshine. And you've got to take a shot while it's on fire. Okay. That's all? That's it? If you can do that, we'll talk. All right. Line them up.

Line them up. You want to watch someone. I've done it. I got video. I can show you. Everybody live through it. All right. That's a white somebody else do it before I'll do it.

I don't think you'll have a problem booking guest. I don't. I think they'll line up. Yeah. So that'll be fun. We'll do that. We'll let you know. We're going to start.

We're probably, we were going to have it going already. And when I stopped racing, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure where my career was going to go. Sure. I really wasn't sure. But now that I know I'm going to be racing again, I'm more excited about doing it that way. Scott Blumquist, it's been an honor man to meet you. We celebrate you.

We're so thrilled to have the opportunity to have you as a guest on our show. Thank you for the die cast. Thank you for the autograph. It will not leave this table. Awesome. It's just been incredible, man. Everything I hoped it would be. And looking forward to anything and everything you got going on in the future.

And you got some of your biggest fans right here. Yep. Like to come over sometime and you give me a tour. You got it. Scott Bloomclist on the Dell Jr. Download. You know, Mike, whether I've been in the garage, right, as a driver or in the studio as a member of the media, the biggest lesson I've learned over the years is that we are all better off with an ally. a friend, a partner.

My favorite part of the download has always been the opportunity it gives me to connect with such a wide range of people. They love racing as much as I do, and it means so much to me that when we leave the guest segment, I leave it with a feeling

that I can call each and every guest on the download of true ally. Thank you, Ally, for your continued support of the show and the entire Dirtymo Media team. Check out Dirtymo Media. on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.