The Dale Jr. Download - 582 - Carson & Travis Kvapil: It's All Starting To Pay Off

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

On the dawn of a life-changing opportunity, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joined by up-and-coming racer Carson Kvapil this week on the Dale Jr. Download. Carson and his father Travis, longtime NASCAR competitor and 2003 NASCAR Truck Champion, join the show to share the announcement that he will be racing full-time for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year. After impressing the racing world with back-to-back CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championships in 2022/23 racing for JRM, Carson made his Xfinity debut for the team earlier this year at Martinsville, where he produced an impressive fourth-place finish. He followed this up by nearly winning at Dover, where he settled for runner-up behind Ryan Truex, a result that still haunts him today.Dale first began watching Carson closely when the decision needed to be made as to who was going to replace Josh Berry in JRM’s late model stock program. Dale explains that his sister  Kelley and husband LW Miller noticed Carson while racing at Millbridge Speedway in the outlaw karts division and made the recommendation. Carson realized he had big shoes to fill in Berry’s absence, but it’s a task he’s managed quite well with multiple marquee wins and season crowns. This past weekend, Carson brought home the most coveted trophy in late model stock car racing: the ValleyStar 300 at Martinsville.Dale shares that he enjoys working with the Kvapil family as Travis allows JRM crew chief Bryan Shaffer to run the show and Carson the opportunity to learn from the team. Dale and Travis both laud Carson’s hard work ethic, as he continues to turn wrenches on his family’s late model for his younger brother Caden while working in the JRM shop. This weekend, Carson prepares for his Talladega Xfinity debut where he’ll once again be behind the wheel of the number-88 JRM entry.21+ and present in North Carolina. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem? Call 877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov.  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.

Hey everybody, it's Dale Jr. back again for another episode of the Dale Jr. download, and it's the ally guest segment of the show. We have a couple allies coming in today. The Quapples are here, Travis and Carson, and we've got some great news to share, so I can't wait to get started. The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. Hey, everybody, Dale Jr., Dale Jr., back again, the ally guest segment today. The Quapples are here. I have gotten to know that family so well over the last few years, racing with Carson, And it's been a lot of fun.

They're incredible people. Towards the end of my driving career, it was miserable. You know, just running at the back of the pack. But I knew what we were trying to build with Carson. I knew at that time he had a lot of potential. It paid off, right? All right, we're back in the Dale Jr. Download, Dirty Mo Media Studio, for the Allied guest segment.

And Ally has a couple of allies dropping by today. Carson and Travis Quaple are here, and we have some really great news to announce. I'm sure some of y'all can already assume what that is. But Travis and I have become friends over the years because working with Carson has really allowed me to get introduced to this family and what they're all about. I raced with Travis in the Cup series,

but didn't know him all that well. So this has been a real treat for me to get to know them, and they are an incredible family, hardworking, and definitely a couple of allies. So I'm excited to tell a little bit about their story. And I want to thank Ally for bringing the guest segment to us every single week. They do such a great job supporting us here at Dirty Mo Media, but also doing all kinds of great things throughout the industry in NASCAR.

So we all should be big fans of Ally. They're doing it right. We have Carson and Travis Quaple on the show, and we got a lot to talk about. But one of the first things, I want to talk about, and this is fun for me, fun for you, and I guess fun for Carson, too. But we're here to announce that you'll be driving full-time for Junior Motorsports in the Xfinity series next year.

This is a dream come true. And I've had a real privilege to have a very similar moment and announcement with Josh Berry, a guy you know well that helped coach you a bit in the late model. stocks over the years. We had that sort of same announcement right here about his career and how he was going to get the opportunity to go full time. So this isn't news to you today. We've been working on this possibility for many, many months in the background. And, you know, you have incredible support from your dad over the years, your family. And he's, he's, he's. He's, he's been instrumental in helping you get all of the opportunities that you've had over the

year so we felt it important to include him on today's show but I want to get your initial reaction to being not only I guess obviously being able to share the news that you've you've wanted to share but what what is it emotionally like for you when you're sitting at home and you're finally you know because you're working your ass off all day long you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and you never really take you never really get much time to sit down and think about what's going on in your life but when you do um what's your emotions about this opportunity uh for me it's just super exciting uh i really truthfully haven't really thought about a whole lot like you're saying like that it hasn't really sunk in yet i guess you'd

say but uh after martinsville this past weekend doing interviews on the front stretch and stuff it was kind of a, I guess, kind of hit me there, right? I was just thinking about, like, this is probably my last Martinsville 300 or hopefully I get to do it again, but it's given my last one for right now, and to win that race was so big. And just reflecting on, I guess, everything we've done in the last five, ten years race, and kind of all is going to change quite a bit here. So that's really the biggest thing is it hit me pretty hard and almost got emotional really on some of those some of those interviews after the race, just thinking about all the hard work we put in, especially with those with Brian and all the late model guys, just grinding out every week,

running a late model stock races the last three years. It's kind of been a lot of work, obviously, but it's kind of all starting to pay off right now, I guess you'd say. You told me the other day, we were texting back to forth, and you said you got emotional, and I thought that was interesting because it doesn't seem like the kind of things you would do, because one of the things I always tell people about you is that you, you're always pretty much the same emotion

and that's served you well behind the wheel. You don't get frazzled, you don't get worked up, you don't get overhyped, you don't get angry. Now you have those emotions, but you're very good at managing them and not allowing that to be a problem

in any circumstance. But so when you get out and celebrate a victory, I can see the sense of happiness that you have for winning that race, because of the work that you just mentioned that goes into it, but I can't really ever see you being the emotional type. And I'm kind of glad that that happened because you, to your point,

your life's about to change drastically and all of the things that were familiar to you that you've grown happy doing, you know, and the people that you've been working with, I mean, those things, those things come and go. I think that's the one thing that I found most difficult is I had kind of the same experience. I was working with this guy in the late model stocks called Gary Hargett. And he was kind of like my Brian. And Gary became like a grandfather to me.

He spent so much time with Brian, right? He's a relative. He's family. And I wasn't ready or aware that people were always going to be coming and going in my life. And that's one of the difficult parts about this transition, I guess, and that's maybe why you got some emotional. I mean, probably, yeah. It's just, I guess the biggest thing for me is just if I, five years ago,

I would never would have thought I was in this position, right? We were running super late models, me and me and Travis were, and just grinding it out, just trying to get to the next race at Hickory Speedway or something. So I guess five, I just look at it five years ago, I would never would have thought I'd be in the spot. So to be in the spot's quite amazing, really, and three years ago to be able to run your late model, that was about as big of a step as this is right now. It felt like at the time, just because we went from kind of the family-owned shop and just kind of doing whatever we needed to do

and working however long we wanted to work on the stuff to more of a, I wouldn't say more of a legit race team, but just more structured and really the biggest thing that I had to learn was more. of the off-track stuff. I feel like you and everyone here at Junior Motorsports have really taught me. I wouldn't say I wouldn't say I'm quite perfect at it, but I've got a lot better at it. I kind of, I understand it more. I just felt like before it was, it was just race, race, race, and work, work, and get to the racetrack. And now there's a lot more to it. I guess you'd say I've learned. And there's a lot of extra stuff that I didn't realize that I needed to know. And I feel like I've really learned that. But yeah, for sure, I mean, being around

this late model guys the last few years. I've learned a lot off those guys and you know how Brian is. He's, uh, at times he's a little difficult to work with, but man, he's, he's super smart. He's, he's so good at what he does. Yeah. Um, I feel like, yeah, but he, part of that, he's difficult to work with, but like he molded you into a stronger person too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's not, he holds you accountable. Yeah, for sure. He's, he's great how he does that. And when you're at the time, you're just like, man, come on. But, you, you know, sit back on it, it's just like, yeah, it makes sense. And he does such a good job on the late-mile stuff.

He's won however many races with Josh and one with others even. So he's a great role model to work with throughout the years, and hopefully I can still drop in there quite a bit. That's what I'm hoping to do is just drop in there as much as I can and hang out with those guys. Travis, you had the challenge of getting yourself the, you know, getting yourself the career and the opportunities that you were presented. And you know how difficult that is.

You know how difficult this next step is for him. You know how difficult it is to even have the opportunity to present itself. You've lived that. And I've found that really fascinating to watch fathers. And I'm not experienced this myself, but I've certainly seen it happen many, many times. What is this feeling like for you? Having exhausted yourself in your own career, right? All of us, no matter what we go through, our careers take a ton out of us.

And then you had to sort of, and I imagine this wasn't that difficult because of the love you have for your children. But then you had to man back up and climb back up on that horse to try to get your boys those same chances. and here it is coming to reality. Yeah, I mean, it's almost like a sense of relief. Like, because I felt like several years ago running a bandalero car or an outlaw car at Millbridge, it's like he's got something special. I knew it. You know, I've known it for a number of years.

And it's only, it seems like only the last few years has it been like public knowledge, right? Like you've seen it. Sponsors and other owners, manufacturers see it. So just all the work in the late hours, the time, you know, so much. Like I was thinking about this last night. Like when he was 12 years old and he went a outlaw cart race in Iowa, you know, I had a group. I kind of had like this, there was five or six people I would text in the industry just to like, hey, Carson, want another big one, you know, like pay attention. He's coming. And you don't know if it's going to

work out, but it was just keep his name, you know, people, whether they're team owners or in manufacturers, I would just try to keep his name coming, right? Like remind him every week or every couple weeks when you win a race. Pay attention to this guy. So to see, and like he said, when he got this opportunity to drive the late model for you, I knew 100% he would just take the ball and run and go. We were having success in our super late model stuff. We were winning races, but it was just me and him. Our resources were so limited. And I was a race car driver forever. Since 19 or since 2001, I never hardly touched a wrench, you know, until like we started. We started to start. bandelera racing again you know 15 16 years later so the cars and everything had changed so much in that

time so i had to learn how to you know the bump stops and all that stuff i had to learn all of that um so that's why i say i felt like i was kind of we were holding him back even though we were having success i knew when he got with a legitimate race team that was already winning and had a solid notebook that he was just going to go and that's exactly what happened one of the things that uh I really appreciate it about you. Look, I mean, when he come to drive the late model stock car, I would not have, I would not have minded one bit had you been incredibly hands-on and involved yourself in the mechanics of the team.

But you didn't. Now, you were around, you were supporting your son. And you were, you know, if we, from my experience, experience, which is limited, but for my experience of seeing you at the racetrack, you let Brian do his job and you let the team work, and you almost let him learn on his own. And you would watch him get smarter, you know, make a mistake and figure it out, right? Your approach to all of this has been really nice for me. Yeah. And it's encouraging us. It's encouraging us. us to continue this relationship. You have another son, Caden, that's, you know, got a ton of talent

and a ton of opportunity and somebody that we want to try to groom in the late model stock car the same way we did with Carson. And I think the reason why that's exciting for me is because I know how you and your family are to work with. And even Brian says that. And so I wanted to make mention of that is and credit you for how you managed Carson's career. You made a great point about

the text messages, sending those text messages to the people that you could wondering whether that would ever make a difference or whether it mattered. We know now that it matters. And so if there's a dad out there listening or a dad who's wanting to figure out how to get his son going and what he should do,

your role is like the blueprint. Yeah. We were kind of learning on the fly. But, you know, towards the end of my driving career, you know, I was driving for some very underfunded teams. And people are like, why are you doing this, man? You want some truck races. You won a Truck Series championship. And the reason was right there.

you know 100% just to keep those connections in the industry see these people face to face every week and you know it wasn't it was miserable you know running at the back of the pack but um i felt like i knew i had a kind of a plan right like if you're if you're not seeing you're you're kind of you're kind of forgotten in the in the garage area i felt like so i knew what we were trying to build with Carson. I knew at that time he had a lot of potential to achieve big things. So I kind of stuck it out and, you know, and it paid off, right? Like, you never know who you meet in the garage or what connection you make or what bridge, you know, that will lead to. So, and you're looking back on it, I loved every minute of the journey, you know,

bringing him along. I mean, it's fun to think back when he's just a kid, you know, he grew up literally at the racetrack, in the race shop. We were at the track just a few weeks ago, and somebody, you know, one of my old teammates, one of one of the mechanics was like, man, I remember Carson coming in there and digging under the bolt bin, picking up nuts and bolts, you know, when you're five, you probably remember that. Yeah, or I'd wash them in the sink and they'd rust.

Yeah, I never could figure it out. I remember that. Or another one said, I remember the hauler was inside the shop and you'd just run the lift gate up and down, you know, get candy out of the trailer. So that's all he's ever known is race cars.

And he is, in my opinion, like, if you want to define a racer, it's him, you know, 100%. Yeah. I was introduced to Carson and his talent at Millbridge. you were running over there. You know, Kelly, my sister and LW, they've got Wyatt who's racing now, but there was also Carson and Kennedy, and there was multiple reasons for them to be over in that area.

And they came to me and said, you know, we were looking for who was going to go in the car, or late-mile stock car after Josh. And Josh came to me and said, you know, this is an important choice because we've built this program up to be something spectacular and the next driver that comes in will have will they'll be more responsibility than they realize to keep it there and you know I wasn't sure really how much Josh's involvement affected the performance of the car we always you know I knew Brian was a played a massive role in it

And I wasn't really sure how much Josh had learned and how much Josh's work ethic really did affect the team until he had that conversation with me. And it was really something that was pretty important. I mean, the late-mile stock cars are core. It's our nucleus. It's everything we love about racing is found at the late model stock level. It's in that shop. It's in those, it's in Slim and Brian and those people that are working there. And so we certainly wanted it to continue.

But staying where it was, where Josh and those guys had got it to, was pretty unlikely because they had really became the best team in the country with that type of car. And so we had Kelly and LW came to me and said, we think we found somebody who we want to focus on and it was you. Watched your race. I started watching you a little bit more than I was before. I'd recognized you, knowing your dad, and had recognized your name and seen you race, but then I started paying more attention. I think the one thing that I was really happy with

was over the long. It feels like we've been doing this longer than we have. But you're a mechanic. You can do any job on the car. if Brian if Brian just couldn't be there I think that that car would be able to go to the racetrack with the setup and everything like it should and still be just as competitive

and so not only were you able to get in there and win races that your dad knew you could win but you did work in the shop every single day you were which was at that level with that type of team is entirely necessary and you've been able to keep that team as good as it was the moment you stepped into it. You just this past weekend won the biggest late model stock race of the year,

which is kind of the benchmark in late model stock racing. And so I would say to you, man, congratulations, because not only you're getting this great opportunity to go into the Xfinity Series, but you were given an asset, which was the late model stock program, and you're giving it back to whoever gets in it next and back to me, as in the same shape that you started it with, which is pretty incredible. Yeah, I'm really glad I didn't mess it all up, I guess you'd say.

I knew it was, I'll tell you what, man. After we ran that Super in 21, and I got the chance to run Florence and Hickory at the end of 21. After all that, and we got signed up to do full-time for 22, was I was really nervous because I knew Josh leaving that's a big like you said it's a critical role in the whole team and I didn't really know how prepared I guess I was I was nervous that you mean you know how it is you're always you're always doubtful it's going into the first race it was one of those deals where I was told myself that you got to win like I don't know why it's just you have to win to prove that you're good enough to be there and stuff like that but no for sure I mean the last

three years. It's been, you guys got to hold it all together. Brian, Slim, those guys, obviously, they're the core of the late model team, but me being there, Josh being there, it's, you've got to have that person, I guess, you'd say, and it all messes together, and I just remember, man, I was so nervous getting in your car for the first time. The first, I'm telling you what, the first 20 races. The first 20 races, I mean, into 22, I was like, man, I don't know, what's, I hope they keep me for next year like it's just man the whole time you're just on edge and um it's such a big opportunity that i just didn't want to mess it up and um yeah those guys the guys at the shop brian

slim it's uh without those guys you're gonna have as nearly as successful of the late mall team as you have now but it does matter whoever's driving it if they're hands on or not i think at least so um yeah i did the best i could and it seems i really wanted to win martin'sville this past weekend. I was going into it for the month before that. I just wanted to win that race. Just because I felt like the first year we went there in 22, I had a good shot to win it, and I guess I kind of messed it up, I guess you'd say, and didn't really make the right move on the Greenlight Checker to get the win. And we ran third the next year, and we're just all over the win, right? And we're just barely outside the winning spot. And this year, we brought a really

good piece. Kind of put the last few seasons together for a setup and hit the track really good. And Brian really made it so good. We were a second place car until the halfway break. Brian made some small tweaks, and man, it was lights out from there. So you had a little bit of a free race car up until the halfway mark. You're going to come in at halfway and put tires on and make some adjustments. The tires alone are a change that you don't know which direction they're going to go.

Yeah. but you make the small adjustments to tighten the car up a little bit, and at the end of the race, you're far and away the best car. Yeah, for sure. We were, I thought at least at probably 10th better than the rest of the field, but I was surprised. I was a little doubtful. Brian kind of told me what he was going to change before the break or at the break,

and, man, I was just like, I just got to let him do it. He knows what it needs, and I threw some recommendations, but I just let him kind of take the ball. and do his job, I guess he'd say. And it paid off after 30 laps. We had the best car and just drove away at the end. Brian Schaefer's the Brian that we keep mentioning. Brian Schaefer has been around NASCAR for a long time.

He was working on Dick Trickle's car when Dick Trickle beat me in 1999 at Darlington. But just to give people an idea of like his history, he's a racer and a mechanic and always dirt under his fingernails, always a dirt under his fingernails kind of guy. And he's overqualified for that role that he has, but damn it, he's perfect for it. And he loves it. You know, and we've been doing this a long time. He's been working on our program for a while through Josh and now you.

He worked with William Byron and other drivers that we've had come through the program. But he'll tell you, like, all they want to do is just race. They want to go to the racetrack and race and have fun. And, you know, it's a pretty, Pretty neat program. But to your point, like, you know, for all the young drivers that are listening, that are wanting to be in your shoes one day, if you don't work on the car, and if you're not there at 8 o'clock sharp every day until closing,

being the first one there and the last one to leave and always learning and always working, you won't get these opportunities. No, I don't believe so. I've had people same situation shoot me a text or they'll ask me at the racetrack like hey man I'm running so-and-so charge a car what do I need to do to get an opportunity or to be where you are and I always tell them that it's a it's super difficult don't don't put all your eggs in one basket I guess you'd say but I just tell them if you think you're working 100% and work 120 more percent it's just it's so hard You have to put everything into it and everything has to go your way.

Opportunities have to have to line up and there's a lot of things that have to go your way, but it's not going to, you're not going to get even close to the opportunity if you don't work all day, every day and put everything to it. You can't go and go party all day, I guess you'd say, or sit on the couch all day and wait for a phone call from Rick Hendricks. Yeah, as per se. So I just tell everybody you've got to work 110% if you think you're working. working 110 percent work even harder and you might get a chance yeah well i'll i'd like to try to remind drivers like you know winning isn't enough like you go under the racetrack on the weekend and and winning that weekend's race isn't the only box you got to check no for sure that's what we expect to happen yeah

right yeah what you're doing between the you know between the races is where people are going to really notice. And so, for example, I always, I talk about the Josh Wise program. Look, I mean, I don't, I'm not me and your dad. We're not in the program, but I can imagine that the majority of the effort and the work in that program is, is miserable work. It's tough, but it's necessary. And some people have had opportunities to get into that program and didn't take it

seriously. Didn't enjoy it, so quit showing up. And those are the things that get noticed, right? It's, you know, if you, if you're given an opportunity to get into a program where you're going to get to work alongside Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain or whatever, you know, some of these Chevrolet guys, you're a late model guy or a truck or an Xfinity guy, and you're going to be able to be in the same room with some of the best cup racers that Chevrolet has to offer, you've got to get yourself in that room because not only are you getting better as a driver, right? You're going through whatever Josh Wise wants you to do that day.

But Kyle Larson leaves that room and goes and tells everybody that he sees, man, Carson Quappell works his ass off. I'm going to start watching him on the racetrack. I like his work ethic. I like his attitude. That shit gets spread around and the right people start hearing that. For sure. They start paying attention to you. And that's the message out to all the younger drivers.

Like, yes, you've got to win races, but it really, you know, it really matters what you're doing with your time when you're not at the racetrack that people are going to start really picking up on. Yeah. And if you're not at Josh Wise or somewhere working out, training yourself physically, you have to be underneath that race car in the shop, figuring out what made it work or not work the last week. And I think a lot of kids just think, man,

if I just win enough races, if I just win the right races, that's going to get it done. And it's just not enough anymore. That's just part of it. Yeah. He won't brag on himself, but his work ethic is incredible. You know, when he was 16 years old, he had kind of a summer intern role at GMS racing. And I remember when I was 16 years old, I didn't want to get up at 6 in the morning, you know, and drive 40 minutes of Statesville and be there at 7 a.m. on the clock or on the button.

he did it all summer long, you know, for two summers, I think. Yeah, I think it was about two here. You know, it's, to me, that's, you know, that was long before any of this was ever thought of, right? But it was an opportunity we kind of presented him, and he knew, he loved working on a race car, so that helps. But he knew it was building towards potentially something big. And I give him a lot of credit for the time and effort and, you know, He'll work in your shop all day. Then he comes home and works in my shop till 7, 8, 9 o'clock at night,

working on his little brother's car. Pretty incredible, incredible work ethic. Yeah. I was, yeah, I'd be surprised sometimes when we wouldn't have a late model stock race, some of the places that you'd travel just to be there to work on somebody else's car. Obviously, you're going to be helping your brother, and that makes sense. But, I mean, you would drive to Daytona or drive. you know, hours and hours out of the way,

just to, you know, be working on some race cars somewhere. And so, you definitely have that passion for it. Hey, NFL fans, you can start the season with a big return on fan duel. It's America's number one sports book. Say you get a hunch in the middle of the game. You can check out the latest stats.

You can view live play-by-play and so much more in the same page where you place your bets. You get started with $200 in bonus bets, guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. That's fandul.com slash dell. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with

FanDuel an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. 21 plus and present in North Carolina first online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanul

dot com gambling problem. Call 87771717-185543 or visit more than a game.nc.nc.com. This may be my favorite time of the NASCAR season. It's when the on-track drama starts to ramp up, and each driver fights harder and harder, because each win might mean survival and a shot at the championship. And hard-fought battles on the track mean that this is also the time of the year

when raced wind die casts from Lionel racing really tell a story. These authentic replicas capture a particular moment in NASCAR history like no other collectible does from each piece of confetti on the car, car, the tire marks, the scuff marks, the artist Lionel do an incredible job making the raced win diecast look just like the real thing. These diecast are incredibly authentic. Remember when the trackhouse team put a giant taco on Daniel Suarez car at Atlanta earlier this season?

Well, Lionel Racing's Atlanta win diecast has a taco on the hood too. I have Lionel win diecast in my collection and you can too by ordering them at Lionel Racing. Team Stores and Authorized Lionel Racing Dealers. And don't forget, you can find a wide selection of diecast at the Lionel stores in Concord Mills Mall near Charlotte Motor Speedway and Opry Mills Mall in Nashville. I wanted to step into, you know, what you think, you know, let's talk about the Cars Tour for a minute. What does the tour help you? Let's pray you that Cars Tour, because I talk about it all the time being a great place for racecraft and people to really understand how. to race each other and become better and smarter drivers.

You know, before you, you know, you were winning races. You were successful before you ever got to the Cars Tour. But what's the Cars Tour meant to you? Man, it's formed me for sure. It's been a huge role in part of my career. And the biggest thing I always say is just it's so much harder than it looks. I'm sure you know how it is. You've ran it.

And it's not just a Saturday night, a bunch of stuff. Saturday night guys coming out and race, and it's so much more than that. And the competition level, since I've even started with you guys, has multiplied so much. It's everybody has good stuff. Whenever I started, most of the guys had good stuff, good motors, good race cars, and now it's everybody. So the last few seasons have been really difficult. The cars sure is just, just the competition level is insane, really, for late model racing. It's, I mean, there's 20 guys that I could, that I would list off that could win Hickory or tri-county every week. It's just whoever gets their stuff literally perfect.

If you have a race car and it's all right, you ain't going to win or if it's pretty good. There's been races where I've said to Brian after race, I'm like, Brian, it was good. I don't know what else we needed there and when we still finished third. So just the amount of competition that that series has has really prepared me for the exfinition. races that I've done this year even. It's been one of those deals where got out of the late model, the cars were late model racing and jumped to the Xfinity car

and it's like, oh, yeah, you drive it different, the cars are different, tracks are different, but man, the competition level isn't completely different. So it's been an honor, honestly, to run with the cars tour. I'm super fortunate to be able to be in this area and to be with you guys, be able to run the cars tour and

really be put up against the best competition in the country. Yeah. Hunter I mean, I grew up in Wisconsin, and that's kind of a hotbed for short track racing for sure. And, you know, I'm not in the car, but I'm there every week. And it is, in my opinion, by far, the toughest competition traveling series there is. Like he said, there's 15 or 20 guys that could win week in, week out. Everybody has good race cars. Everybody has smart people working on them.

You know, they all have good race car drivers. So it's, I don't want to say it's harder, but it's going to be, I don't think it'll be as crazy of a step going to Xfinity racing, you know, or the next step is, because this, the series has, it's prepped him very well. Yeah. So take that step for sure. I love to hear that, man, because I wanted the cars tour to be a place that owners and people would look at the industry, the NASCAR industry would look at for talent to evaluate talent, a place where they may send talent to get evaluated, to get better. to and so it's nice to hear that the transition I guess from the cars tour to an Xfinity car is not a massive jump it's been a very kind of a comfortable thing for you let's go ahead and talk about it you've had a couple opportunities to race in the

Xfinity series already this past year the results are remarkable I don't really I guess I'm you know your dad knows what you can do your dad will tell us every day that, hey, this is who he is. This is what I've known he's been capable of this. But, and I have a lot of belief in your ability or talent, but to go out there and get the result you got at Martinsville, running the top five, to be able to go to Dover and sit there with a real true opportunity to win the race outright in just a handful of starts, to have a top three car barring some, you know, some pitch strategy that kind of took you out at

at Michigan. You go to these races and you don't make the rookie mistake. You're, I don't know whether it's your mentality, your even keel sort of approach to everything that keeps you

from getting too excited or over excited in those moments. But, you know, you, we've kind of built you as a driver that's turned key and has really great racecraft and then you go out on the the racetrack and you prove it out.

You know, kind of what's been your reaction to how well things have gone up to this point? I mean, for me, it's just, I've been happy, that's for sure. I mean, jumping up, obviously, from the late model stuff, you don't know what to expect, and you don't know what you're getting into. You're going to Indianapolis for the first time, and you're going to Dover.

It's, you're walking into the place on Friday, seeing it for the first time. Intimidating. It is, yes. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's so much different about the, how the late model drives compared to the Xfinity car, to me at least, all just the, the aerodynamics and, and, and, so much, so much different that I feel like every week I'm, I'm learning more and more. And, um, I, I, I still really kick myself in the butt over to over about every few days.

I always, always think about it. I'm just like, man, that's so close. If we were just done little things a little bit different, if I would have, um, just had a little more experience or knew what to do in the situation. I felt like we'd come out of that race with a win. So it's been it's been tough for sure. There's been some times where I felt like I've kind of been, I guess, struggling a little bit, but at the same time by the end of the race, pretty much every race, I kind of feel like I know what I need to do. And I'm not really sitting there wondering where the speeds at or what I need to do difference. So for me, it's, it's been, it's been great. I've enjoyed it a lot. I've learned so much this past season, just running that X-Finity car and feeling it all.

all out and some things even transferred back over to the late model stuff that uh how the car drives and stuff like that but no it's just been it's been a big learning curve learning all these new racetracks and yeah i'm excited to go to daga this weekend i think it's incredibly like i we've been doing the late model thing for five years and i honestly don't pay attention a whole lot to the big three i mean we watch i watch the races but i don't you know i'm not engrossed in it like i like we were um i can't believe the challenge they set up for these younger drivers with in ARCA in the truck series, Xfinity series, you might get 15 minutes of practice,

you might get 30 minutes of practice. You know, it's like... That's really tough. 15, 20 minutes of practice. I'm used to run a late models where we usually get a day of practice. Or you could go anytime. Yeah, you just go test when you want

and not being able to do that and just getting one run of practice and then go qualify at Darlington. It's difficult. You take him to, we were in the ARCA race at Kansas last year and he's never been, you know, anything bigger than Wilkesburg.

I guess maybe and you just so much to take in and the arrow is so important in that feel and the mile an hour it's like I just feel like they could do a better job you know I understand maybe they're trying to save costs but we're still only using one set of tires what's what's an hour and a half of practice versus 30 minutes you know I feel like they could build that in the schedule to give these younger drivers a better opportunity and I feel like maybe it would produce a better product on the racetrack. You know, maybe there wouldn't be, you know, spinouts or mistakes and things like that if the driver's got a few more laps and more comfortable learning the racetracks.

But I guess to, at that point, though, for him to get that limited practice time and still do great is, it's incredible. So give him a lot of credit. When you went to Martinsville and ran in the top five, you know, do you, did you, did you have, I remember when I was running, you know, a handful of my first few races, I'd have these moments where I was sitting on, you know, sitting on the grid or whatever, and it just couldn't believe that I was getting ready to do what I was about to do. And then when you get a result, you know, I had relief like, man, I'm going to, I might get to do this for a living, right?

Because that's all we want. Yeah. All we want is to say. hey, do I get to do this for the rest of my life? Because that's really what we want. Yeah. And so when you finally go and you say, all right, I did it at this level. I ran top five at Martinsville in an Xfinity car. I belong here. You know, what was your emotion around that?

I was really relieved. Yeah. That's probably the biggest thing is, I mean, going. Were you nervous? You were going to screw it up? Yeah. I was pretty nervous, honestly. I mean, I just felt like those cars drive different.

and so I knew the track. I knew Martinsville, but I felt like I would just make a mistake or there was something that I wasn't going to have figured out by the end of the race. And we just really were in a good spot all race. I think we didn't have the greatest pit stops. But I felt like every run we gained positions and just put ourselves in a pretty good spot at the end. And I knew as long as we didn't get caught up in anything,

and you know how Martinsville goes. So I knew if we just didn't, if we just stayed out of the trouble and finished where we were running, we were going to have a, top five at worst top ten finish and we're going to have a good run so uh the biggest thing for for that race and really all these exfinity races is just my goal is just to finish the race yeah and i feel like if you do that if we can do that as the team we're going to have a good finish but at the end of martinsville and a lot of these races in xfinity series so you you're you're smart enough and good enough to like for the first three quarters of the race to keep yourself out of trouble and and and

put yourself in a decent spot. But in the last 20% of the race or the last 10% of the race, especially at Martinsville this year, all hell breaks loose. Everybody starts getting aggressive. They quit taking care of each other. They quit being respectful. They start putting people in bad situations.

And you were in and around all of that going on. And you, multiple times, there were two or three moments where you had to get the restart right. had to do this right. You had to make this choice and miss this and just, you know, not get caught up in this. And, you know, there's some, there's a little bit of, you know, luck involved, but you also make your own luck. And I feel like that, you know, yeah, you can look at that Dover race and wish you could have it back. There was also some moments in that Dover race that you made some choices that put you in that position to have that shot to win. And so that's one of the things that I think is,

innate in your your your sort of chemical makeup and and your choices and decisions behind the wheel is you seem to always more times and often more times than not make the best choice in the moment right the smartest choice in the moment which will really serve you at the end of these races because we know that the Xfinity races will get chaotic things just sort of unravel at times and, you know, guys that are sitting there running top three all day end up, you know, getting knocked out of ruining their day. It's also starting to happen at the cup level. You're starting to see these races sort of get really intense and just sort of unravel and come apart in the last, you know, 10 or 20 laps given the opportunity. So, you know, that's something that's, you know, that's like a quality that you have that I think is really going to serve you well.

And I mean, I don't even know what you call it, but you got great racecraft. But in the most intense moments, you don't really seem to be the kind of guy that gets spooked or riled up by things that are going on around you. Yeah, I mean, I feel like a lot of that just stems from working on my own stuff or his stuff per se. And just, I mean, I feel like I don't wreck a lot, I guess you'd say. I don't want to jinx myself or anything. But I feel like usually this stuff comes back in one piece. And I feel like a lot of it's just from working on them. I mean, who wants to put front clips on it every week?

And it's a lot easier to put front clips on when you don't have to do the hard, poor labor. I think a lot of it's just the person he is, the chemical makeup as you referenced. But I think I honestly give a lot of credit to running those crazy outlaw carts at Millbridge. Those things are stupid quick. And you have to make reactions and moves in an instant. There's no time to calculate it, right?

He's done some incredible things in those cars, you know, and you're on the millbridge, you would run the wall. And if you didn't run the wall, it was, you know, there's a difference from first and third. So he always had that ability to maximize the race car. even when there was moments of adversity. You know, the car's not at 100% or, I got to tell the story. One time he was running Millbridge in our four-stroke car,

and he's going in the corner and the throttle's like, or the motor's like, ba-da-da-da-da-da, just banging the chip, you know, leading the race. Do you remember this? Where I'm going? Yeah, I remember that. And I'm like, what in the hell are we doing? You know, like, he has to be grabbing the clutch because I know we're not geared.

that far off. And then a few laps later, it's not hitting the chip. And we're driving away wound the race. I'm like, what was that all about? You know, why is the thing killing the chip? He said, oh, the throttle hung, and I figured out I could just grab the clutch. But then I knew it was hard on the motor. So then I decided to just hit the kill switch, you know, and then let it go and fire

it back off. And I'm like, this is crazy at 14 years old running two. inches off the wall, you know, sideways. And that, you know, to your point now, I think that's, he's, he's quick on the fly, making the correct decisions, computes in his head. And it's just, it's just part of what he is. Yeah. Yeah. I'd probably agree with that. Those, those outlaw carts, they're probably the hardest thing I've driven today at least. I mean, you, you've never jumped into. Never. Have you? No, man, you need. Intense.

And it's a wake-up call for sure. I mean, you don't even have time to make reactions. It's just whatever you do, you just hope it's the right thing. It's crazy how fast they are. Yeah. No suspension. Yeah, no suspension. 70 horsepower, 450 pounds with you in it.

So it's just wild for sure. And there's really not no time to think about decisions. Just you've got to do them. You are coming up. You mentioned that you're going to run day this weekend. What are you doing to prepare? I've done a little bit of ir racing with Spotter TJ and I got a few guys that jump on there to practice some side drafting stuff

and drafting and timing and whatnot. But tonight I think I'm going to do a little bit more of that with those guys and probably watch some races and just try to just figure it out, I guess. I feel like when I get there and I'm doing it, it'll hopefully come a little easier than what I think it will. But just trying to learn everything I can in a few days, right? And I feel like it's a discipline that I've never done before.

So I feel like it's going to be another learning experience for me. But at the same time, I think if I can prep good enough and know what I need to do, or at least have a good idea of what does what whenever you're beside race cars and whatnot, I think I'll be pretty prepared. That'll be a race where what you said, like you use three quarters of that race, kind of figuring it out, put yourself in positions and understand what moves work, what didn't work, who you work with, how to make runs, things like that. You know, you'll learn for three quarters of that race to be able to take advantage of what you learned

the last 20 laps or 15 laps. Hopefully the first three quarter we just settle in and figure it out and we're in a good spot for the last quarter. Yeah. I, you know, when that race stays busy, when the pack stays busy, it can be a great opportunity to learn. If they end up putting the whole field up on the top side and everybody running a single file, you basically don't have much choice other than to stay in line, right? And you don't, and it's just, the laps are going by and you're not really getting better as a race card rider.

But, you know, hopefully there'll be some opportunity for you to kind of put yourself in situations. And what I think will happen is if you watched enough races when your dad was racing and if you watched enough film of recent races, you'll have memories and moments when something you're doing behind the wheel will remind you of a race or a moment

or a video that you saw and you'll go that makes sense the car did the car did this and now I know why and put it all together yeah and so then the car becomes

like a tool like you have to you have to use the car in the air to do what you know to do the passes and to make things happen that you want to make happen but I'll be honest with you like the first most drivers are not naturally great at racing at Daytona and Talladega the majority of them will go to those races and not look great not make great choices maybe wreck out

which I did I wrecked out of a lot of races and like the first six plate races I ran. I destroyed the car. And eventually it just clicks, you know. You put yourself in enough, you're not, it's not going to click unless you're out there, you know, moving around, doing, and trying, and you're going to do things, and they're not going to work, and that's okay because you learned. But eventually, and there'll be a race where it just all kind of comes together, and the car is doing everything you're asking it to do.

But I wouldn't be too worried about the result for this weekend, just about trying to just, you know, like you say, you've never experienced a style of race. go out there and run all the laps, get to the checkered flag, and hopefully you've learned a ton at the end of the day. Yeah, for sure. So what is left in the rest of this year? You're going to Dega. There's possibly, there's some cars tour races left to run.

They could be affected by the weather and the flooding that we had out in the Western North Carolina of that's kind of, you know, put all that on pause for a while, so not really sure. But outside of Daga, what other races you got? Yeah. For the Cars Tour, we got Tri-County, which hopefully is still on after all that. But that's the weekend after Daga, and then a weekend or two later, we go to North Wilkesboro to finish off the Cars Tour season. Other than that, though, I really don't have too many left.

I think I'm going to Kota with a TA2 car November to try to, I guess, tune up on some of that road course and a little bit better. And I might sprinkle in a few dirt races or something, maybe in that cart. But what am I missing here? Maybe the 400. Yeah, maybe the 4 and's 400 then the year. I'm not really sure on that one. I haven't really talked to Brian. I got a plan together.

I guess I think we'll probably have to see what our race cars look like after the season's over and see how, see how much work we have to do and that'll kind of sway that decision but uh it seems like man it just seems like this year's flown by so fast it seems like it every year rights but uh we only got a handful of races left i know we packed a packed a lot of racing in this summer it goes whenever you're in the middle of the middle of the race season and it's every weekend it just blows by super how many cars do you all have sitting at your house uh the house yeah like racable cars what is there outlaw cart yeah micro micro Rico, Super. Archie St. Hilaire, the one's used to on the 32 cup car.

So he got a super. Yeah, got his super. Two of my pro cars. Is that it? And a broke down Cadillac. Yeah. And so, Cadence's driving some of that stuff. But, like, you know, there's super late mile races and stuff going on in the, not so much in the wintertime in December, but you got, you know, slow flake and all that stuff firing up.

Derby. Yeah, they got the derby going on. You won't be going on. up there? I wanted to, talking to him. My brother's going to race Archie's 32 Super Way model there, and I kind of brought up the idea of taking his car, but just one of those deals where it's not a cheap race to run and finding the funding that's pretty tough. So I've kind of just decided, I'd like to do it, right, but I've decided, and we've decided that it's probably better if I just don't. Focus on. Yeah, just kind of focus on next year, right? And I'll go there and I'll work on

like I'm his car and help my brother out. But I feel like it's, I don't really need to run it. I'd like to run it, but it's one of those deals where it just didn't really line up. What's the most important thing for you? Go ahead. Sorry. No, I was just going to say that race financially and people, right? Yeah, hard to get people.

A lot of people. We go and we'll test Monday. And then the race is Sunday. So it's hard to find three or four or five guys that can be gone for a week. Seven or eight days. Yeah, for sure. What is one of the things or what is something you're looking forward to this offseason? terms of preparing for next year.

I haven't really thought of that, honestly, but... You're going to be doing a... So, Sim's a big tool. Yeah, we'll use... How much are you enjoying that? No, that's good. Andrew, my crew chief this year, he's really good about that Sim stuff, and he really has good understanding for it, and I'll admit that I'm...

I don't know what it is. The Sim just doesn't really correlate to on track for me. I use it, and it helps me for sure. But a lot of the times I get a little aggravated and basically asking Andrew, man, what am I doing wrong? I'm messing this up completely. What do I need to do? So we're going to focus on that really hard, I'm sure, and really put some hours in at GM on the SIM and hopefully get me better at feeling the simulator. And obviously, I'm hoping we can hit a lot of the tracks that we're going to go to and hit some of the ones that we've already raced at and just try to have a good feel for every point.

place, at least get the visuals of whenever I go to Richmond or when I go to Texas. So just trying to get as much on-track experience as I can. Obviously, you can't go test or anything. So really the only thing you have to do is either watch film or get on the Sims. So I'm going to knock a lot of Sim hours out and just try to be as prepped as they can. Yeah, that's the one thing. I was surprised. So Sim wasn't a big deal when I was racing.

but it was kind of coming around and now it's something that a lot of the teams push for their drivers to use there's still some drivers that are skeptical of the SIM and don't really put a lot into it but there's drivers, there's tons of drivers that do spend lots and lots of time on the SIM

when I went to race at Bristol the past couple of years having not been in the car and not been around Bristol knowing you're going to get 15 minutes of practice and you've got to get up to speed and be great. The sim was so helpful. And so I think it's an interesting situation for you.

Knowing that maybe you're not as good or getting as much out of the sim as you know you can or think you can, that you realize that it's such an important tool that you can't discard it. No, for sure. You're right. You can't just go, I'm one of those guys that aren't,

I'm not getting anything out of it, so it's not important to me. You have to find a way to figure out how to make that sim work for you. Yeah, for sure. That's really the biggest thing over the offseason that I want to focus on is just get it's where I believe in the sim,

or I guess you'd say, and I have a good feel for the sim. I know how it translates over and stuff. So I think every race we do, obviously we get on the sim a few times before we go to the racetrack, but every week it does seem to get better. I kind of feel like I'm not as lost,

I guess you'd say, when I get to the racetrack. and hopefully after we put in a few sessions over the offseason, I can feel a lot better about it. I had a really good session last year, and then this year when I got in the motion rig, I got nauseous as hell. And I don't know, you know,

usually I don't get that bothered by it at all, and I always kind of felt like I was one of those that weren't, wasn't ever going to have an issue with it. But we were running Bristol, obviously, and I was done with the particular run that I was going to make so I was trying to stop the car. And so they could reset it and change what they were going to change and then fire it back up.

So when you stop the car for people that haven't been in the SIM, you don't have to stop the car, but to let them know you're done and ready for them to try and know to change, you pull over and stop the car. And the SIM just turns off black. Like it goes black. They make a change in the room back. there, whatever, on the computer, and then the sim fires back up, and all of a sudden the

screens pop back on, and you're back in the car on pit road, and you're going to drive it off pit road and run whatever change it is they made. I went to go stop the car, and I was on the back straight away, and then the car started sliding down the hill. And so I'm sitting there, and the whole room's moving to the right, and I got freaking, I about lost my lunch. and then that feeling never went away. Like even though I ran another 45 minutes, I was like sick. Yep. I felt like that before.

I don't get it too bad. There's been a few times. I'm just like, man, I just need to take a break. Take a break. Yeah. It's a little different. It is. It's a bit tough.

Considering, like, you're a bit of a sim racer, and I've been sim racing all my life, I thought I was never going to have an issue with it. But, man, when you get in that sim and you've got to be in there for an hour and you get nauseous in the first 15 minutes. It's rough. It's not fun, makes it rough.

Yeah. Some of those sim sessions can be really long. Yeah. I did a few of them with some cup tire stuff. Man, I think,

I'm trying to remember, it was 7 to 12. 7 a. Jesus. Really? It was brutal. Yeah, I did probably four or five of those

with Kenny. And, man, it was brutal for sure. Prince? Francis, yeah. Yeah, I did Francis. Oh, my God. Yeah, it was rough.

Seven to 12 is pretty brutal. Damn. Yeah. I wouldn't want to do that. But, all right. So do you know what the emotions will be like when you go into Daytona for the first time? Starting off your full season? Man, I would say I'll be nervous, but I feel like after Talladega, I'll have a lot better feel for it.

And I'll be, I kind of know what to expect, I guess. Going into Dega this weekend, I'm kind of just having an open mind and trying to learn as much as I can and figure it out. But I feel like by the time Daytona comes around, I have a lot of knowledge on how. how to speed race or more knowledge than I have now. I'll kind of be able to, I'll do the same thing as I did this year, probably. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to really change anything when I go to Dover and all these races. I felt we've had really good runs and been contending for wins at a few of them.

So I feel like just going to try to take all the stuff that I learned this year and some stuff in the Sim I learned over the offseason and just try to translate it over and have as consistent and as successful year as we can. Do you talk to him about the, you know, Do you talk to him about the grind that now? You know, I mean, you've been grinding in the cars tour. I'm working running short tracks is no easy feet, but you do have a couple off weekends here and there.

And the grind driving in a top, you know, series in NASCAR is more of a mental thing. Yeah. You talk to him about that because. No, we haven't really had that conversation yet. You get to, you feel great. Out of the gate. Yeah.

Hitting on all cylinders. Everything's great. And then about right. around August you go damn how much more season than we got left like I'm smoked yeah yeah but uh yeah it can be tough no look at the schedule it looks like it's hopefully I'm not fighting that too much right but it does look like it's it's really long and obviously the late model stuff we run 20 25 races a year and uh but it's more more spread out we start in we start in February and and end in November October so um it's a little a little bit more spread out and maybe we're racing a few more times at the

car but it's a lot more compact and haven't really prepared myself for it but it looking at the schedule looks like it's going to be racing i just hope we're doing i have one thing we talked about a little bit and i just hope he enjoys it you know because i remember it's like my first year in the truck series i'm sure you remember your first opportunities you're just you're so nervous and you're so insecure um just take it in man enjoy it it's these like you're right what you're doing right now man this is the best part of your life. You know, you don't have kids, you know, really any responsibilities other than go racing every weekend and just have fun, you know, and enjoy every moment of it. I'm going to try, that's for sure. That's what we're all here for, right? Yeah. That's fun. You'll win

races. Yeah, I think once you, I was, that's a good point about enjoying it. And we've, I've talked about all my shows before about, man, when I was, when I was in your shoes, I was so worried about am I going to make it? Am I going to get to do this the rest of my life for like a better way to describe it? And you're so worried about that that you don't realize how much fun you're having. And so I told Josh Barry, I said, yes, go to the Cup Series. Try to get to the Cup Series. That's absolutely where you want to be, but you're never going to have as much fun as you're having right now.

Yeah, for sure. That's where you want to go, and that's where you hope to get. but that's there that is there's more and more work all that stuff you know but Monday to Friday it's going to keep getting you know tougher and tougher yeah that's the part I think that's probably the the most you know the most difficult now for for you guys is so much more is required and expected of you Monday through Saturday or Monday through Friday than there ever was for for me and Travis I mean we would race on Sunday or on the weekend you'd have a couple debriefs you might get over the shop it wasn't a

requirement but of course you tried to you know be accountable and available but it was a couple phone calls some bullse sessions and you're going racing the next weekend yeah be on the plane Thursday yeah now and yeah and you had a lot of that you could do that was your own right you had your family or your shop or your own race cars or whatever your hobbies were you were taking over that during the week. And you guys aren't afforded that anymore. You know, you're, you know, the studying film and studying film, the freaking down pit stops. Freaking down pit stops.

The meetings they have now. The meetings they have is crazy. And the Josh Wise and all of the things that are just going to be plugged into your schedule that you're not going to get to say no to. For sure. I'm ready. I feel like I kind of been, I've noticed the last, last season has kind of been ramping up. A little bit of a, of a, of a, wait.

pickup call, I guess he'd say, but I feel like I'm glad I was able to run a handful of races this year to kind of be able to experience that and not get hit right in the face with the door when we come Daytona. Yeah, for sure. Well, man, I wouldn't, you know, before we, in this conversation, I've, you know, there's so many people that you will think are responsible for this opportunity and want to be thankful for, namely your dad and the sacrifices that he's made. to allow you to race and to give you opportunity. He's enjoyed every damn minute of it. He'll tell you that.

But he certainly has invested a ton of his life into giving you these opportunities. And you've had a ton of partners in your career over the years that have been a big, you know, a big help. I know Corvette Parts, Mr. Keen's been somebody that's supported you guys. you talk about those relationships that you were, you know, that you were nurturing in the, toward the tail end of your career that have continued to be valuable. He would be one of the individuals that, that I'd say you could credit to helping you continue your journey. Another partnership is one that's been more recent, and that's Bass Pro Shops.

Bass Pro Shop has been a partner and a friend of ours of the Earnhardt families for a long time, a friend of my dads, and we've worked in many, you know, capacities over the years together in different ways. We were lucky enough and fortunate enough to have them join the late model program and want to invest in what we're trying to do there. And it's been a lot of fun to introduce Johnny to you and to what we're trying to do with you, Carson. And so we always want to be mindful of that. Johnny actually came out to some late model stock races, actually showed up at Florence,

which is always a lot of fun, knowing how busy and how many places he's getting pulled in many directions. And so that's been a great relationship, and one that we're thankful for, and one that we're going to continue going forward. And so you've been a great representative for not only junior motorsports, but Johnny and Bass Pro Shops on the late model side, and helping us continue that relationship here at junior motorsports.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I always think back to that icebreaker race earlier in the year when Johnny came out. And that was a really good time. Obviously, we won that race. You finished third, didn't you? You had a good run. Yeah, some of that. You had a really good run.

We won the race. And having him there and his kid and his buddy there was a really good time. I was nervous, right? Obviously, it was first time meeting them. And it was really good that we were able to win that race for them and send him home with the trophy and stuff. But no, those guys, I mean, obviously without Corrette Parts.net, like normal mechanical, and, man, I could sit here for 30 minutes

and just list off names of volunteers and people that have helped me throughout my career and gave me opportunities. I could see you and do it. So obviously, you can't do it with those guys. and without Johnny and Bass Pro Shops and all the people that invest in the racing scene, we wouldn't be able to do this. So I just can't thank those guys enough.

And Tom Keene, T.J. Keene, Brad and Lou, Hawk over at Lake Norm Mechanical, all those people. It's just, it's great to have those type of people in racing and they really push guys like me in. They're rooting for you, man. This is what they want. Yeah, you know. They support you for.

all these years and they're just hoping these opportunities come for you. Yeah. Tom Keen's been doing some amazing things in motorsports and especially in short track racing over the years and his name's been everywhere because he just loves it. But he does love you guys and he is probably one of your biggest fans. And to see you get this opportunity must mean the world to him having helped you. So that's, we were talking earlier about relationships and connections. That's how I met Tom and T.J. Keene was when I was driving, I was driving. I was driving Archie's 32 cup car.

Yep. They were a small part of, you know, their sponsor on that car. And when I got to know them and become friends with them, they got to know the boys. And they started sponsoring him when he's in a band-a-o. They had to be my first sponsor, weren't they? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

They were running a band-a-a-a-car. 12 years old. At the summer shootout. So they've been on this journey as long as anyone. Yeah. And Johnny with Bass Pro, where they were instrumental in getting Josh to the next level, getting us, you know. Yeah. We went 10 years trying to find that opportunity for Josh at the Xfinity level.

And John and his team were really critical to allow us to get to where we needed to be to help Josh get that full-time program. And it's been fun to see him help us on our late model side too, be able to give drivers like you opportunities. So we didn't have to try to wait 10 years to get you that Exfinity level. Well, Carson, I'm going to tell you, man. I have, you know, racing the late model, you know how important the late model car is to me, and the driver that drives that car has to check a lot of boxes, which you did.

You're a great mechanic, you're a winning driver, a great personality, easy to be around, fun to be around. but another part of that relationship that's important to me is that we would become friends and that I would you know I got to want I got to want the best for you right and and that that's like a bonus really for me and that's what happened over the course of you driving our car I became a massive fan of yours I really enjoyed being around you racing with you going to the racetrack and being a teammate to you you and getting to know your dad on a different level. We had always been competitors and just to know your family and how hard y'all worked to create this opportunity, to know how appreciative of the opportunity you are and how well you'll shepherd and take care of this opportunity. I have no doubt that you'll not only succeed, but you'll do it the exact.

act right way. And so I'm excited about this. I'm looking forward to next year, just continuing the journey that we've all been on. And can't wait to go to Victory Circle. Can't wait to go to Victory Circle and see you hold up a trophy. Me too. I feel like after that Dover race, I just want it even more now.

So I feel like when that does come, finally, I'm going to be really excited. You might see a smile out of me, is sometimes sometimes tough for me to do after victory. You won the Martinsville race. I'm like, act like you care for this, man. Like, this is a big one. Yeah, it's just something.

I have tears in my eye. I don't know what it is, man. It's just who you are. Yeah, I just, I don't know. I feel like when we go to the racetrack and we win the race, that's my part of the job. Yeah, it's my job. My job's to go there and win the race.

So if you finish second or third, it's, you're not doing your job. But no for sure. I'm super excited for this, for this opportunity. it's a huge, huge step up for me and trying to prepare the best I can and go out there and right out of the gate and succeed. I think for us, everything you said there is incredible to hear that. But, you know, he would echo what I say is just thank you guys.

Thank you and LW. and Kelly for recognizing him at Millbridge, you know, years ago and giving him this opportunity. it's life-changing. Without that, I'd probably have a snap-on toolbox and be working on race cars the rest of my life. There's nothing wrong with that. Racing his car when I could. Working on someone else's race car.

Yeah, not your own. Yeah, for sure. So just to have that opportunity that we got three years ago with the late model and obviously it's transformed in this Xfinity ride. It's just can't thank you guys enough, everyone here.

Yeah. Well, I mean, it's a great example, classic example of, you know, how these things are supposed to happen, how they should happen. You know, you guys worked for every, you worked for every success, you worked for every checker flag, you worked for every next door to open, and all that hard work pays off, all that text message he sent, all those things build up and create equity. And, you know, with all that effort over time, it pays out. And that's just what's happening.

We got a lot of confidence in you, bud, and it's going to be fun having you part of the team. You're going to have some great teammates next year. You'll be going to the racetrack every single weekend instead of these spotty one-off runs. And so it'll be fun for you to sort of get into a rhythm. And I can't wait, man. It's going to be a blast. I'm looking forward to it. This is probably the funnest thing about being an owner in the sport is,

getting it to do, getting to work and race with people that you like to work and race with. And so, yeah, we're going to have a good time. Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. All right, man. Travis and Carson Cople on the Dale Jr. Down there. All right, so there's a great conversation with Carson and Travis, and we've been kind of

sitting on the news about trying to get his deal together and going full time next year. and it's finally nice to be able to put this out there. It actually creates a lot of dominoes, right? Who's going to go into Carson's seat at the Late Model Program? You know, there's a lot of conversation around that over the last several months. And it puts me back in that situation that I mentioned earlier in the conversation with Carson. is, man, we've got to make sure we put the right person in there at this time and keep that program not only successful,

but have the knowledge, the mechanical knowledge, and the input and involvement that it needs continuing from the driver's seat and in the shop as well. So that's something that's important to me. Also, and I want to keep driving the late model race cars out of that shop for some time going forward. So I definitely want that program to continue to be strong. But at the same time, I'm going to be wanting to, you know,

see how Carson does with his full time in the Xfinity series and, you know, want to, you know, kind of be present in what he's going to go through. We've got a cool lineup next year that I'm excited about for our junior motorsports cars. And I think that they'll all work well together and motivate each other and, you know, raise the expectations and hopefully raise the successes on the racetrack as well. But it's a, you know, it's a bit of an exciting moment, but also a bit of a sad moment. as Carson made mention your, he knows that he's stepping away from full-time late model stock short track racing. And while that's what he wants, while that is the goal, it is a really hard thing to let go of. And because even though he's excited about the future in the next step, he does realize, he does realize, he does realize,

just how much how pure and how much fun short track racing is. And so, you know, you never will go back and do that again. You'll never be able to recreate the enjoyment and excitement that he's experienced over the last three or four years with our team. And so, you know, that's kind of tough knowing a chapter like that's closing while another exciting one is opening up. So I hope that people will appreciate Carson. I hope they'll appreciate the path that he took to get to where he is.

I hope they will appreciate his father's commitment and love for his son and the things that he's done to provide these opportunities. and even though, you know, Carson has jumped in the cars and seized and won and done what he was expected to do. Travis has done a lot in the background to keep that, you know, keep that kid's career going. And so I'm telling you, it's been fun for us to get to know them the way that we have working with Carson on the late model stock program. And it's got me excited about Carson going into our Xfinity program and watching his brother, Caden, come up through the ranks and possibly be a driver that we could have in our late model stock cars in the future.

So it's been nice, and I'm looking forward to it. I think it's a, you know, we just wanted to get them in here and get the announcement done, but also, you know, learn a little bit about Carson, let folks that are listening learn about Carson and who he is. He's understated. He's calm and quiet and not going to brag on himself. He thinks when he wins races, that's his job and what he's supposed to do, which is admirable. And he's going to give every day he's going to work as hard as you can to put himself in position to succeed. So it'll be fun. It's going to be fun pulling for him. He's an easy one to pull for it. I've got to thank Ally for setting us up every single week at the guest segment here on

our Wednesdays with the Dale Jr. download. They brought us a couple allies into the office today that I was excited to interview and no matter what you're saving for, whether it's race tickets to the next race, a new car, a new home. We're all better off with an ally. All right, it's time for the white flag dropping Sunday after the race at Kansas. Tear down with Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi. They covered everything going on in the Kansas race, which was a lot. Had some great opinions about what they thought of the events. And then Monday, actions detrimental with Denny Hamlin. Didn't he give us the point of view from behind the wheel of his Toyota during their Kansas race

and what he thinks of their situation going forward in the playoffs. Doorbump a clear. The spotters got together and raised hell and complained about everything, as they usually do on Monday. And then yesterday, dirty air dropped. Amy was on the show, as she always is at the first of the month. Speed Street drops today with Conradale and Chase Holden. Tomorrow, DJD Reloaded with Ask Amy.

She's usually asked Junior, but it's asked Amy. That drops on DJD Reloaded tomorrow. And then Dirty Mo Doe comes out, giving you all the best bets for the upcoming race at Talladega. And remember to leave us a five-star Apple review, we will read it on the show, as we've read over the last several weeks. Andrew Brown gives us a five-star review here. As he says, I have around an hour and a half drive to work in Sanford, and I can get an episode in before I get to work. I always enjoy your content and the guests that you present to your own. audience. Andrew, I appreciate that. If you're speaking of Sanford, North Carolina, I ran my very

first go-kart race at Sanford. Way, way, way back in the day. So shout out Sanford. Thank you, Andrew. And we'll see y'all tomorrow on DJD Reloaded. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.