The Dale Jr. Download - A John Force Update & Talking Drag Racing Safety With Matt Hagan

Episode Date: June 27, 2024

Our buddy John Force was involved in a terrifying crash in his NHRA Funny Car on Sunday afternoon during the Virginia Nationals. We want to send our well wishes to John for a speedy recovery, and can���t wait to see him back behind the wheel. If there is one person who has ever been on the Dale Jr. Download that is still brought up most, it’s probably John Force. We’re going to look back at some of the greatest moments from that interview and also talk to John’s friend and competitor, Matt Hagan, about John’s fiery competitiveness and his charismatic - and hilarious - personality. Plus, ask any driver, and they’ll tell you what we all know is true: the sting of defeat is more intense than the euphoria of victory. With his second-place finish at New Hampshire, Sheldon Creed has now tied Daniel Hemric and Dale Jarrett for the most runner-up finishes ever before securing a NASCAR Xfinity Series win. We talk to Creed himself and hear from Daniel Hemric on the challenges of claiming that first victory. 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.

When you think about some of the all-time greatest guests that we've ever had on the Dell Jr. Download, one of the names that you're going to come across is John Forst. Now, John Forrest is an NHRA legend, but here at Dirty Mo Media, we truly consider him an icon. And as we continue to send our prayers and our thoughts, as he is recovering from a pretty terrible crash over the weekend, we also wanted to kind of take this time to introduce him to some of our new listeners, because we really do consider him one of the greatest guests of all time. We've also got a friend and competitor of Johns and Matt Hagan, also joining us to kind of add to that conversation. And one of the best parts about DJD Reloaded is not only can we go back and revisit some of those great episodes like John Forces,

but we can also talk about the current happenings in the sport right now, which brings us to the two car in the Xfinity series. Now, Sheldon Creed is very, very consistent in his results, but he still, looking for that first win in the series. So is consistency enough to keep him patient while he waits? Daniel Hemrick is also a driver that knows about that patience and what it takes to get that first time win. So we'll have Sheldon Creed and Daniel Hemrick here to weigh in on those runner-up finishes. As you can tell, a lot to get to today. So let's get started. The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. A NASCAR driver, a drag racer, and an IndyCar.

Bracer went into a bar. Dot, dot, dot. How does that end? Fist fight. Any car guy, they might kiss you. They'll slug you before it's over. Hey, everybody. Welcome inside the Bojangles studio for another episode of DJD Reloaded. I am your host, Carla Gepphard. And like we kind of already said earlier, we got two topics that are really going to lead us through the show today. But we are going to start with John Forse, first and foremost. Because if, listen, if you've been listening to the Dell Jr. download for the, for the, the last couple of years, then you know just how truly epic of an interview it was when Dale Jr. and Mike Davis sat down with John Forst back in 2019. It is truly one of the most memorable episodes of the Dell Jr. download that we can remember. So many great moments coming from that. And the stories, if you talk to Mike, if you talk to Dale, they just reverberate off of the building. And they're still talking about those stories even five years later. They

consider it a top four interview all time. And so, of course, we want to reiterate once again that we are thinking about John right now after the scary crash that happened over the weekend. And we're sending our well wishes and our prayers. And we've even got fans that are going to get incorporated into this. They've also called in to send some well wishes to John and to his family this week. So we'll get to those here in just a little bit. But before we introduce John and before we introduced kind of that episode about him. 254 was the episode number back in 2019. We want to bring in a friend and competitor of Johns, which is Matt Hagan.

And Matt, just first off, thank you so much for joining us today. And listen, your list of accolades are very lengthy driver for Tony Stewart racing, a four-time funny car world champ. And most recently, even this week, you were nominated for an SB for the 2024 season for the best driver. for your performance last year as well. So we just really appreciate you taking the time today. Yeah, glad to be on the show. I mean, it's one of those things where you list some of that stuff off,

and I still can't believe that it's been me that's accomplished some of that. You know, it just goes to show you what, you know, you can do with a great group of people around you. And, you know, just as it kind of started this whole thing, you know, just on a local track and never dreamed of being a funny car or driving for a championship or much less win-for championships. So it's kind of wild how things evolve. and, you know, well, you put yourself in the right place and right time and kind of around the right people and great things happen, you know.

Absolutely. And we know you're getting ready for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals this weekend as well. But first, I'm just curious, and I know that you're not a spokesperson for the Force family in any way or shape or form. But what if they kind of told you maybe an update on John Force just as an NHRA competitor? Have you heard anything at all? I just know there's lots of race fans out there that are certainly thinking about him right now. I think it's more like sit and wait and make sure that, you know, everything's, you know, look in the way it's supposed to and all the, you know,

I'm sure, you know, all the scans and stuff are coming back the right way. So, you know, it's tough. I mean, you know, he's 75 years old, you know. He's one of the toughest guys I've ever met. You know, they don't make guys like that anymore, you know. And, you know, but still, when you're that age, I'm sure it just takes you a little bit longer to kind of come bounce back. you know, so, but we've definitely been thinking about him. We've obviously been praying for him.

And he's a guy that, you know, I battled out my career with, you know, and he's a living legend of the sport. It's something that, you know, you look back and if my career ended tomorrow, you know, you got to say, hey, man, I battled it out with John Forst has won 16 championships and he's the goad of drag racing and kind of put drag racing on the map, you know, I mean, along with like Shirley Modowny and Snake and, you know, Coletta and all those guys back in the day. And then, you know, Force has been there.

through these type of crashes and stuff. I mean, growing up, you know, you watch some of these YouTube deals and he's been on firing upside down from here to Australia, I think, is it saying, you know, and it's just kind of, you wonder how he walks away from some of that stuff. And, you know, he's just, he's just a tough old guy, man. So you kind of just expected him to kind of shake it off and hop off a stretcher and, you know, go back and pull a spare car out and get back to racing again, you know, but I think some of these, these crashes, you know, when the shoots don't come out like that and you hit the wall that hard. It's, it's a pretty hard lick out there. Absolutely. And we're certainly praying for him as well right now. And we appreciate that update that you shared with us.

How have you seen the NHRA community kind of rally around him? I know it's not something that you can't really get to him right now, but how do you see kind of everybody else coming together? Because you mentioned he is a true icon of the sport. Yeah, you know, I think we've all had conversations, you know, in the background of like, what can we do to make this, for it safer, for us as drivers, obviously, for our fans, for everybody, you know. And it's just every time something happens, you know, unfortunately, you take and you, you pick apart that situation and you really try to figure out what happened, why it happened that way, and what we can do to make it better and safer for us as drivers.

You just have to keep working towards that. But the biggest thing right now is just, you know, showing the respect that the family wants and needs to have the time to kind of process what's going on with. and, you know, I guess everybody's different, right? Like for me, I was talking to somebody this morning, and if I was in a crash, I want somebody updating everybody every day, you know, I mean, like, hey, you know, this is this and this. But everyone's different, and they kind of really kind of, you know,

handle things differently sometimes. So, but I'm a very open person, and I kind of always, you know, wear it on my sleep, my business is always out there. So, you know, it's kind of one of those things, you know. But I just, I have so much respect for him and what he's done for the sport and for everything that he's, you know, moving forward. You know, he came up in the lounge the other day and he said, my run's done, you know, and he's like, but I need to talk to you about Tony Stewart.

He's like, he's so good for the sport and he needs to be here. And he's like, I'm, you know, I've done all I can do for this sport. And he's like, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be here. But he's like, we got to make sure Tony's happy and Tony's here. And, you know, he's bringing all the NASCAR people over. And he's like, this is going to what's going to grow the sport. But that's how much John cares is that he comes up in our trailer and he's like, you know, make sure, you know,

Tony's happy here and that he wants to be here and he wants to, you know, be involved in drag racing and stuff like that. So John is just that type of guy. Like, even though it wasn't about him, he was like, this is what's going to be best for the sport, you know? Yeah, absolutely. And he is such a big personality, which is why we kind of brought up the episode part of when he was on the Dell Jr. download, because he is a big personality and he is a big part of your sport, we know, you know, he's focused on healing right now. But how strange is it going to be to to not have him at the track this weekend. Yeah, you know, obviously, John is what, you know, so many people come out to see and talk to and

get autographs. And it will definitely be different without John there, you know. And I think, you know, as we crawl in those cars, you know, you can understand that that could be one of us tomorrow, you know what I mean? Like, it's just, there's some safety things that are going on that I feel like need to be changed on these cars so that doesn't happen again like that. You know, we've been tying these bodies down on a funny car side of things now. And I guess Robert launched one up into the stands a while back. And I don't think it hurt anybody, but the potential was there to, you know, for it to get in the stands with our fans.

And we got to take care of our fans. And I understand that. But, you know, tying these bodies down is just the wrong way to go, I feel, in my opinion, you know. And it just, it takes all that energy and puts it on the driver. The parachutes don't come out. Like, you know, just there's a lot of things that I think in John forces run, you look back and everybody can Monday quarterback and everybody can have an opinion on it. But if those shoots come out and that body goes away, the fire goes away, the shoots are out, the car runs going straight.

You know, there's just a lot of things that I know that when I've blown them up in the lights like that, that I'm super, you know, thankful that the body goes away and the parachutes come out. So he had a couple things there that just didn't go his way. And, you know, I feel like that we really need to address that as a sport, as sanctioned and body to see what we can do to make this safer for our drivers. You know, as far as the fire goes, as far as the parachutes, as far as just not tying these things down. That's just so much energy down there at the finish line when you blow one up. And I've done that several times. And it's just you can't explain it to someone.

It's just, you know, it's the same principle of like if you put a firecracker in your hand and you open your hand, you know, it'll burn you. But if you close your hand, it's going to knock your fingers off, you know. So that's what we're trying to do right now. We're trying to close our hand around these funny car motors. And when they go, boom, it's just, it's a lot of energy down there for the driver to take on. So, you know, like I've been a big voice of being against that. rule for a long time. But, you know, sometimes it takes some things like this for us to go back

and reevaluate things. You mentioned working with John, and we've also talked about how impressionable he is. I'm just kind of curious. Do you remember the first time that you met him and what that experience was like? Yeah. Yeah, the first time I really kind of met John. And he's always been so kind to my family, my dad and everybody, he pulls up on the scooter. and he's like, hey, kid, you know, where's your dad at? Where's your pops at? You know, like, tell him I, you know, and all that kind of stuff. And just, you know, you got to pull a helmet on and race the guy.

You know, you love him to death, but then it's like you got to turn that switch off of liking him so much and being so personal to getting in there and just, you know, just kind of wanting to chew on your mouthpiece and brace the guy, you know? So it's really tough sometimes because he is so personal. But, you know, the first time with John with me, you know, it really like left an impression. I mean, we talked here and there, but I blew a car up one time. And it was a real bad explosion. And I had split my forehead, like my head rotated inside my helmet.

So like when you cut your, it split my eyebrows open. So I was bleeding everywhere. And they put me in the ambulance and, you know, just checking me out. And John Rips open the back of the ambulance. And he goes, hey, kid, you okay? And I said, yeah, I think I'm going to be all right, man. And he said, well, next time roll around on the ground, act like you on fire. He said, you'll get more TV time like that, you know?

And it just, it blew me away. It kind of stuck with me because I was like, man, this guy's a showman. You know what I mean? Like he gets it, you know? and we're out here to put on a show for our fans. And, you know, it's kind of one of those things where it just left a huge impression on me of, like, John is all about the show and, you know, providing that for the fans. And also, he does a good job at winning races, too, you know.

Yeah, he is all about the show. And again, this is why we're talking about him today because it made us think to go back to episode 254 and listen in. And our listeners, if they did listen to that, I know that that stands out. And so we're going to keep you on the line. And we're going to play some of the most memorable moments of that interview when John sat down with Del Jr. And with Mike Davis and some of the things that kind of came out of his mouth. I don't even think they really had to ask him any questions, but just the stories that he would share. So we'll go ahead and play the first clip.

And then we'll have you react to it after. You joined Twitter about what a year ago? My kids do it for me all the time because I'm not good at that. People always ask. Part of the worst thing ever happened me is I discovered. porn hub and I talk about an addiction. I got to get rid of it. I got to get rid of it.

People always ask me all the time. Like, what was your dad think about Twitter and, or computer? I think I just learned my answer. I'm standing behind my race car trailer and I see these five boxes and one's got a woodpecker in it. Another one's got something. And I said, what the hell is that on the back of my trailer? And they said, well, that's all the, whatever they're called, social media.

Social media that's on your phone. Well, how do you? My favorite part of that, Matt, is the woodpecker because obviously before Twitter changed into X, yeah, we had the little bluebird. What do you think about that? I mean, I feel like that's just true John Force. That's typical John, man. Like, you think like he's one way on TV, but he's the same way off of TV, right?

Like, he's just high on life. like, you know, the energy that he brings to the table is always, always something. And he can talk in circles too, right? Like, he'll be like, you know, telling this story and then this another story pops up. And I'm like, which story are we in, John? You know what I mean? And it just kind of, it's so funny because he finally gets there at the end. And, you know, he'll ride up on the scooter and do that.

Like he was telling me right before we ran, you know, he rode up on the scooter. And I guess Leah and Tony had, uh, blow TV, you know, kind of doing some stuff with them at the tracklist last weekend. And they, uh, they basically, he was like, I interrupted their interview. you and all this kind of stuff. And he was just telling me how he was just trying to be funny. But he was like, I think they thought I was seen out because I kind of talked in and bounced in and bounced out. But that's typical John, right?

Like you just, you love it because you never know what's going to come out of his mouth. And he always makes it interesting. And but there's always comes across that there's just such a love for the sport, right? Like you can tell John just loves the sport. And I think that's the same reason why he's been driving so long. It's just because like, you know, he came in the lounge the other day. And he's like, you know, I should have been done 10 years ago. He's like, but I just, you know,

and I think that's why he was kind of like talking about Tony coming up and kind of taking over and being the, you know, the star of the show, that kind of stuff for our sport. But, you know, he has been that for so long. And it's kind of one of those things where I think he felt an obligation to be out there for our sport and to kind of keep things going and what NHRA needs out of the sport. So, you know, it definitely has been one of those things where you just, you take in every moment with John.

And even when he beat me this year, and we raced in Pomona and we finished in Phoenix, I went up there and gave him a big old hug, you know what I mean? And usually you don't do that for the guy to beat you, you know what I mean? But you never know when the last time you're going to race, John, you know what I mean? He came over and he's like, hey kid, I really appreciate you hugging me up there in the winter circle and stuff. And he's like, that kind of caught me off guard. And I was like, yeah, man, you know, but like you take those moments because you never know when he is going to hang up the, hang up the, you know, the driving suit or whatever.

So, you know, for me, coming into the sport, I was kind of like, you know, I'm going to prove something to these guys and this and that. And now it's kind of like, I'm just appreciative to be able to race against the guy, you know? Yeah. And you can just tell the way he loves people. He loves people well. And, of course, he loves NHRA as well to. He can also tell a joke, which is a part of our next moment that we're going to play for you. A NASCAR driver, a drag racer, and an IndyCar racer went into a bar.

Dot, dot, dot. Dot, how does that end? Fist fight. You ain't going to get away, especially a NASCAR guy. Indy car guy, they might kiss you. But they'll slug you before it's over. Oh, let me, I know them guys. They are different personalities.

I went to a show once. Everybody in line, they got a little umbrellas and the girls in high heels. And I look over at my deal. I said it looks like a homeless situation. They look like you're all trying to get in a bar. So how do you not, I don't know, how do you not just want to listen to him talk all of the time when you're, when you're at the dragstrip? Yeah, yeah, it's nonstop. You know, I mean, like, John, he's got, he's got so many stories, right?

You know, I mean, one time we were, we were drinking, having dinner and having a few drinks and stuff. And I was sitting by myself and, and he invited me over to his dinner with his family at his daughters and stuff there. And John got a couple glasses of wine in him. And the next thing, you know, he's telling him mat tracing stories. And back in the day and all this kind of stuff. And I'm just like, I just wanted to be a sponge, you know what I mean, sit there and listen to, I mean, jokes after jokes. And this person did this.

And, you know, I mean, he just had so much history that you just kind of want to just shut up and just listen, you know what I mean? But it's just, it's amazing, you know, how much John has been through and how much John has done. And just to hear some of those stories, you know, that he's kind of been through and done, you know, just back in the day when they were racing for no money. And they, you know, like, you would have to go shake the, the, you know, the promoter down just to get paid after a matrease and all this kind of stuff.

And you're just going like, man, you know, he's come so far and the sport has come so far. And he's been a big part of it. You know what I mean? So, uh, but yeah, I mean, but I think that's where all some of those jokes and some of those stories and stuff just kind of, you can never get enough of John sometimes. Yeah, a great storyteller. I know he mentioned on that episode, too, that he's a big coffee drinker. But I felt like, uh, if, if our listeners go back and listen to that episode,

you almost get like an injection of caffeine just listening to him because if you're tired, your energy just kind of rises because it tries to match his level, which I don't even know, is it even matchable, Matt? Well, I think a real fit for him, and he's got Monster Energy as a sponsor. So I think he's definitely drank a few monsters along the way, you know what I mean? Because he's high on life and just he's one of those guys that brings the energy to the table. And every time that I race him, I've always, you know, respected who he is and what he's and you always have to get up for him.

I mean, I know he talks about, oh, I got a deep stage now to keep up with these kids and all this kind of stuff, but we're all still trying to keep up with him, man. I mean, we'll never be able to touch. You know, I've been very blessed to be, you know, in the same category of winning four championships now with force and Bernstein and Snake and me.

And then that's it, you know what I mean? And if I can win one more championship, it'll just be me and John. And, you know, just to be even in those ranks with those type of drivers and those people is just unbelievable. you know and we'll never catch john john is one of those legends that you just you hang your hat on it saying he's the best of the best man and and that's uh that's just one of those things where they'll never be another john force and uh you know we sure hope that he's he's okay um which i'm sure he will be you know he's he's tough his nails and uh but like i said

before they don't build guys like that anymore you know what i mean that's why he's still 75 and driving one of these things and there'll be times where it's 140 degrees on the racetrack and you're sitting under you're sweating and you're going like man i don't want to be in here And then I look over and I look at John. He's over there. And I'm like, well, that guy's doing it. He's 75. I was like, I need to quit being upset about sweating, you know? So it kind of motivates you a little bit, you know?

Yeah, it certainly does motivate you. Matt, we really appreciate your time today. And, of course, we continue to send our prayers to John and to the NHRA community because we know that this impacts you as well. We wish you all the best this weekend. But we really appreciate you coming on and kind of sharing those stories about John Forrest. Yeah, he's a living legend and thank you guys for having us on there. And God bless him and his family and prayers for safe recovery. As Matt is continuing to leave us right now, we want to leave you with some more impressionable moments from John Forst. We couldn't fit, of course, the whole episode in here. Again, I think I've mentioned it like three times, but 254 is the episode with John Force when he sits down on the Dale Jr. download. But if you don't have a chance to listen to that, then we have kind of spliced some of his best. moments that you haven't heard already on this show right now.

Racing is such an overload. Don't have a life. I go fishing with my grandsons, and they go, you don't know how to fish, do you happen? You don't know nothing but a race car. I tried golfing once. I never forget I was on a golf course. They come over. I hit the ball from the T and it went to the right.

No, Tiger Woods couldn't have done that. And it bounced off the golf cart and the starter. Oh, it just missed him. They said, get force. So they said, you drive the beer cart. So me and Bob Fisher, my buddy, we got on a beer car. We drove it all day. We were so drunk in the middle of it.

So we went swimming in a big old fond. And a guy come by on a tractor and said, get out of that water. There's moccasins in there. I'm from California. Like, you think you're at Disneyland everywhere you go. California is all fake. You know what I mean? Everything you see is, if it's a gator, it's put there on a rail.

In 1974, when I went to Australia with my funny car, I'll let you guys get in here in a minute. I'm really sorry, Dale. No, that's great. But I went down there and I saw a great white shark, and I'm telling you, the Jaws movie wasn't too far off. That thing could have eight of Volksmen. They're really big, you know, and I saw E.T. that year. So, but since I quit. What?

Not a shark movie. No, no, the movie E.T. Okay. No, I got it. But since the. It's on Alien? You guys never even heard of these movies. I'm trying to correlate E.T. with sharks is what I'm doing.

Those are movies in 74 that came out. Okay. And the exorcist. Oh man, I got real problems. 74 was a good year for movies. I sat in my bedroom hugging my teddy bear waiting for the exorcism to come in. There you go. Look at this.

Hey. I bought two hats, junior hats to take back them for me. And they won't take no money. No, no. Oh, man. Two. The ladies were really nice. I did a little commercial internet.

I said, that's where I do all my Christmas shopping. Sorry I interrupt. John, John. John, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're going to send this back when we get our... I don't want nothing free. They were very nice. But I wanted to last.

I got your daddy's t-shirt. I carried it in my trailer for efforts, my good life. All right. Thank you, John. No problem. Oh, man. There is nobody. better than John Force on the Dell Jr. Download. And if you couldn't see the video there of the last

clip with John Force coming back into the building, back into the Dell Jr. Downloads studio, back when he came here for episode 254, he was actually in Junior Motorsports store, tried to buy some hats and they wouldn't take his money. So he came back in, laid money on the table, and that was kind of the last exchange that you saw there. But just, wow, what a great guy. No one is going to be ever in comparison to John Force. And obviously you can see why fans gravitate to John, why his teammates do, and why anybody that maybe isn't familiar with him might gravitate to this episode again. But again, we've had some other, some fans out there that have reached out. And listen, we had a lot of calls

come in, probably the most of any DJD reloaded episode. And so we're going to go ahead and take a listen to what the fans had to say, giving John some well wishes for his recovery. Hey, just wanted to leave a message for John Force. Man, I've been watching him since I was a kid. And listen to him on the DJD download. He's one of the best shows ever. The man has so much energy. I hope he's doing okay.

John, get well soon. Love you, man. My name's Jeff Cogger from Germant to North Carolina. Just wanted to let John Forrest know that we're thinking about him. Hope he heals up and gets back out there. Hill up, man. I know a lot of people are going to tell you, though. Now it's time to give it up.

But, hey, man, as long as you got the fire and desire, you keep digging. Look forward to seeing you back on TV doing your thing. Hey, man, this is for John Forrest. John, this is bad Bobby Horvath. I'm just calling to wish you a speedy recovery, brother. You were one of the baddest drag racing bad ass dudes. I met you a couple times in Norwalk, Ohio. And, brother, I hope you get well soon.

You are awesome. And I know I'll see you on the drag strip again. Get well, brother. Love you. I was lucky enough to get to meet John on Saturday at the Virginia Nationals day before his crash. And, you know, I'd never have been a drag racing fan by any means. I just kind of respected the legacy he had built with. with him and his family and in the sport.

And he is everything that everyone has, you know, every story you hear about John Force, he is all of that in so much more. Such a great ambassador for not just drag racing, but just for the entire motorsports industry in general. Meeting him on Saturday was amazing. And, you know, nothing but, you know, my prayers and thoughts of, you know, him and the entire Force family.

They're just an amazing group. And John is an amazing human being. We really appreciate everyone for reaching out for this week's Dell calls. Those were amazing. And if we could wrap up the first half of this episode as a big hug and a big prayer to wrap around John Forst. That would be an example of this. And up next, we are going to switch gears a little bit talking about the Xfinity series. And Sheldon Creed's run so far since he's gotten into that series.

He's still looking for that first win. Daniel Hemmerich is also going to call in a little bit later. but we're going to be talking about those runner-up finishes and when he might get that first win. All right, it's time now to bring in Sheldon Creed. And Sheldon, before we get started, we're going to be talking about your Xfinity series career and, of course, your truck series career a little bit as well. But I have to commend you for the T-shirt that you have right now. You got a Dale Senior shirt.

You said you were given a choice of T-shirt today. Yeah, actually, I think my wife made this shirt for me. Nice. my cricket. So, yeah, when he gave me a T-shirt of choice, I knew what I was wearing. We both got rope hats on, too, so I feel like this interview is going to be really great today. But we're talking a little bit about your Xfinity Series career and a lot of second place finishes in that. I'm looking at the stats right now. And first off, you had eight truck series wins, five in 2020, which is when you won the championship there, three in 2021. You move into the Xfinity series.

and if anything, people can call you consistent because since 2022, all the way up to this past weekend and Loudon, you have 10, which now ties a record for most runner-up finishes in the Xfinity series. Does it feel like it's been that many runner-up finishes for you? Yes. Yes. Yeah, I mean, I even said it this past weekend. That was not a stat I wanted to tie. Right. But here we are.

How do you kind of handle that? I mean, I could be frustrated or mad about it, but I feel like there's a lot of people that would like to be in my shoes in good race cars. So I don't know. I'm happy with where we're at with our team right now. And I feel like we're just getting better and better every week. We kind of were rocky there after the first couple of races. But, yeah, I feel like we've really come around. So I really have nothing to be mad about.

When you climbed out of the car, you kind of made mention, too, that. you know, you've kind of prided yourself on racing cleanly, and that's kind of been your MO since you've got into that Xfinity Series car. Why is that the case? Like what has kind of driven you to kind of have that mindset? I know a lot of race car drivers out there do have that, but you seem to, even in the heat of the moment, stay true to that. Yeah, I don't, I don't know if I was always in that mindset, especially when I was younger. It was like whatever it took to win. I didn't care what people thought. But then, yeah, I don't know, as I've gotten older and watched other people race, maybe like a Kyle Larson or just people that are really good in racing, not just a NASCAR,

but maybe spring cars or other forms. I just liked the fact that they could win cleanly without roughing somebody up. And maybe they were okay to run second or third to, I don't know, I was definitely, I have not always been super clean. Like I have done things that, I probably was not proud of after, so maybe that's why I just, I don't want to just deliberately wreck somebody. You've kind of talked a little bit about your season so far and how you're, you know, proud of how the way you and your team have ran, thinking back all the way to your start of the Xfinity series, how do you kind of view your performance?

There's been really good strings of weeks and not so good. Obviously, my first year was a lot of learning in 22 and had a few good. And then last year had a few more good runs. And then this year, I feel like we're starting to string together a lot of good races. So if I can run top five all day and have a chance at the end, that's way more enjoyable to me. How do you approach it mentally? And how does your team kind of rally around you in these moments? Because you're getting the results, but I know you're probably really hungry for a win. Yeah, I mean, they've been they've been behind me all the way, right? They I wouldn't say it's a totally new team.

I got the 19 team from last year. Jason Ratcliffe crew chief did. And I have Sam McCauley as my crew chief this year. So a couple changes, a couple new guys. But for the most part, it was the 19 team for last year. So yeah, they're pumped. They're excited. Obviously, we're starting to run better and better every week.

And I probably didn't realize how down my confidence was. Like, I'd be like, I can still do this. But then I just probably wasn't. And then like those last few weeks, I've been like, all right. Like I feel like I'm more confident and more just believing what I'm telling the guys. So what's helped with that? Just running good. Just running good.

Yeah. Being able to like pass good cars at the end of races, which I didn't do. Yeah. Like I was always getting passed and that was so frustrating to me. So, yeah, cars have been honestly just really good. and just getting better every week. I'm looking at a lot of your results right now. Darlington, you had Larson kind of on the final lap,

and then Gregson goes on to win. Martinsville in 2022, Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones, I think. Everybody goes three wide at the end. Is there any? And there's five in 2023, and like we said, three in 2024. Are there any of those that you really play over? Because I know this is a thing that happens with drivers, is that you always kind of go back and think to that one race that you really feel like you could have gotten it done.

Darlington 22. I don't know. I led like the last 50 laps or so. And I didn't want the caution, which was Brandon Jones. Uh-huh. Then it got a lot harder once they were close to me. And I should have just ran the top line in one and two. And I just didn't, I guess, trust myself.

myself or it enough at the time where I think if I had done that admit I would have made it a lot harder for them to just to navigate around me they probably would have got to my inside maybe but I don't know if they could have finished the past so that one that one's kept me up definitely at night especially what I did in three and four like I figured I felt like my right front was down but I don't know if it truly was just like going back and watching video of it where like I just video gameed it. Right. Work till it didn't. So I'm like, man, if I would have just gone and ran a normal corner there, maybe the nine would have slid me, but like he hit the wall and maybe I would have crawed. I don't know how it plays out. Right.

Definitely thought about that one a lot. And there's been a lot of close ones with like Al-Gyre. I finished like side by side with them twice. Walkins Glen leading on the white flag and like slipped up in the oil. There's a lot of different tracks on here, though. So looking ahead to your schedule, which ones are you feeling confident going into right now? I've been asked that a lot. I feel like in every track that I would think I would have my best shot at would be like Darlington, Kansas, Vegas, Homestead, like tracks where I think I'm pretty good at.

I feel like I'm the furthest away from winning. and then tracks where I probably don't circle as much, I run really good at like Phoenix, Martinsville, New Hampshire has been a good one for me. So it could be any week. I don't know at this point. I'm just focusing on each week and I don't have one circled. I know these are difficult questions to kind of think about. And again, I just want to applaud your consistency in the series, but also just thinking about talking with you right now. and when you eventually do get that win,

what that is going to mean for you and for your team as well. But we have Daniel Hemrick calling in a little bit in a little bit here. And he has quite a unique perspective. I think he can probably really relate to you in a little bit in these ways. And so we're going to get his opinion on kind of what it was like waiting for that win to come. And ultimately what that meant for him winning the championship that year. All right. So let's go ahead and welcome in Daniel.

Daniel Hemrick, he is driver of the 31 for the colleague Cup Series car. He is also a 2021-Xfinity Series champ as well. And Daniel, our topic today is all about those runner-up finishes, which I'm sure you already know right now. And there's nobody better to talk about that than you who in that 2021 championship really walked off not only with the championship, but that was your first win in the Xfinity series as well. So you're going to be able to really kind of to provide some context for this. But Sheldon and I were just briefly talking before you called in. And he mentioned that you went up to him after this weekend at Loudoun and you told him something. Do you remember what that was?

Welcome to the club. And the club includes Daniel Hemrick and Del Jarrett and Del Jarrett and now Sheldon Creed for the most runner-up finishes in the Xfinity series without a win. Daniel, I just want to know from your perspective, thinking back to that time, how, what, like, how did you, what did you take away from that? I'm sure that was a very difficult time, but how did you handle that in the moment? Yeah, that's a great question. And honestly, a pretty loaded question at that. The only guy who actually understands that probably better than me right now is the guy currently living, living that moment, obviously, in Sheldon there sitting next to you. But, yeah, for me, I think about, you know, earlier, earlier my experience career running second so many

times and I'm pretty sure all races are understanding where I'm coming from a lot of of second place finishes were manufactured from days when you were sixth, eighth, tenth place on speed. And believe or not, at the core of your being as a racer when you ran second, yeah, of course, second, nobody wants to finish second. When you felt like you had speed around eighth, ninth,

and you finished that, I feel like that was the early piece. Like, hey, we're making more out of our days and what our speed is. And you do that a couple times. and then you find yourself getting better speed, the ones that I think that were a little tougher, you know, mentally on you are the ones where you think you possibly had a car that was capable of winning. And you had the opposite result in the fact of you let one get away

and that happened. Obviously, they got closer. But ultimately, I think throughout the whole process, it taught me kind of resilience, for sure, a lot of patience. And at end of the day, I mean, gosh, so many people just want to be relevant. it no matter what they're doing. And to be put yourself in that position, I remember I had an old mentor,

I'm like, hey, it was better than finishing third. I was like, ah, I don't want to hear that. But in the day, no, just a lot of patience, a lot of resilience. I felt like learning throughout that and just continue to work on the craft. I mean, there's always something to be learned in every situation. I know Sheldon knows that. He's got a great head on his shoulders and slowly but surely when the moment's right.

You know, just always told her by the timing, when it's right, it'll be right. I could have never dreamed that when that timing was right would be in the moment in which it happened. But I knew that when it did happen that I had prepared, I'd worked for it, and I was prepared for that moment. How do you put into words that 2021 season winning the championship? We were talking with Sheldon earlier when he does finally get that win, how much more it's going to mean that had to be the same for you back in 2021. Oh, my gosh, yes. Just a complete, a lot of people say weight off your shoulder, but that's not.

you know, for me, it was just getting that that stamp of validation and the fact that I've told you you could do this. You wake up every day. You apply yourself. You go do the things when they're the hardest, right? Like, it's easy to do it when it's all going great. But the run's taken so many times. I have things not go your way. And all I'm doing is speaking the voice of racers, right?

We all get it and see each other what we're going through. And to continue to go on the tough days, right? I think going through that, living that, having it turn out like it turned out for me at the end of 2021, it was just that stamp of validation for yourself. At the day, that's what you selfishly are doing it for, right? You've got to at some point prove to yourself that you can do it. That's what it was for me. Sheldon, I know that you said that you and Hemrick have kind of become friends and working out together is what he's saying. Definitely, like kind of the voice that you play in your head often.

Does that resonate? Definitely. I think for sure when it's the hardest to keep going has been been tough. You've got to keep telling yourself, keep showing up. And learning to enjoy it through the whole process has been probably something for me the last three years. Like it was really easy for me to just be like, this is dumb. Yeah. What am I doing?

I could go race dirt cars or sprint cars or go do something that I would really enjoy all the time. where now I'm like, I've got kids and stuff. Like, I need to enjoy it. Like, I don't know how long I'm going to be doing this. So having fun, no matter what the situation is, is what I try to do. I wouldn't say it works out that way all the time. But, yeah, I'm always trying to have fun with it. You mentioned kind of being happy through it.

Daniel, I feel like you're a very positive driver out there in the field mostly. but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is kind of a hard issue to go through in your career, to kind of push pass and to keep that focus. So how did you stay positive? I know you've kind of mentioned that a little bit, but how do you push pass in those performances, right? Yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to, you know, we're talking about this thing, which is racing, right? And we get on a plane and we fly there and we're there for two days or three days a week at most. but then you got the majority of the week, which you're not, right?

So it comes down to, you know, the people we were surrounding yourself with, the kind of inner circle in which you're around the other majority of your life. And, you know, for me, as life evolved, Sheldon touched on the family side, right? Like just having that support group, you know, it makes you realize, you know, that's really not that deep at the end of the day. You know, you're not finished the second because you want to finish second. That's what, it's all you had. And I think just having, you know, that right core group around you, you know, for me, that was a big thing.

And it continued to be a big thing. Listen, I'm sitting here today and probably one of the more trying times that I can remember, right? I'm trying to compete at the highest level on Sundays. And, you know, I'm not going to sure it's going pretty terrible. And it would be super easy to just say, well, why am I doing this? But then you had that group around you to continue to support you and they're continuing to show up for you. So it makes you want to go to continue to show up for yourself. and that's, I think, something that I have enjoyed as well. I mean, love, I don't necessarily, I've actually said this recently, but I've thought it for a long time, that I necessarily don't know if I completely love the racing side is why I do this.

I attach to the competition as a kid and trying to tap back into that. Like, that's what I love doing. Love having to go and be, and put in the work it takes to compete. And I know Sheldon's no stranger that. He shows up. So cool to see him continue to him. Thank you back to all of those second place finishes in the Xfinity series. This is kind of a question for both of y'all.

But Sheldon, I'll start with you in those final couple of laps because a lot of those runner-up finishes did kind of come in over times and two laps to go, right? How vital is that communication between you and your crew chief, you and your spotter and just the space in between your ears, too, in those last. two laps. Yeah, I mean, gosh, I've had second and all kinds of situations now a lot, like you're saying, from late race restarts. And Daniel touched on it a little bit. Like a lot of them have been days. I've run six to tenth most of the day.

And then, yeah, just a couple of restarts go my way at the end of the day and can make better of it. So you feel really good about those. But, yeah, it's gone a lot of different ways. Just they kind of feed you information on. maybe what they see on on SMT or little things that maybe the guys in front of you've been doing on on the short run. So you're trying to gather that in and then you're trying to gather in what your what your own car is doing like how do I need to work the tire here under caution or

what tire do I need to work to make myself fire off better. So I would say that's most of my thoughts on tire prep. I don't know if the tires change this year, but tire prep has become really important, I think, at least for me on the way that I get heat and in what tire can kind of determine how good my car fires off. So that's been a lot of my focus this time, or this year, I guess. And yeah, I mean, they can go so many ways. Like, you could have a crew chief, like, go and wreck them. Right, right. Then it just flows everything out of the water. So. Have you had that? No. Okay. No. No, I've had good crew chiefs over the last few years. I've only had two. So they've been really good about just feeding good info and yeah, just try to pump you up,

you know, go get after it. Daniel, I kind of want to pose that that same question that I asked to Sheldon, but in those last couple of laps, I know communication is important from your crew chief and your spotter, but were there ever moments in that 2021 season that you, you, were thinking about the other runner-up finishes during those maybe last couple of laps where you were kind of in that scenario again? I'd be lying if I said no. I think back to last Green flag run of Phoenix 2021, and we weren't very good that run. I got the second, and I'm like, not again.

I'm a straightaway behind here. Last for counting down, I was a little faster at the back side of the run, but I wasn't going to get there. yellow came out. And for me, I found that so freeing to think that second at that particular moment didn't really matter, third did matter, fourth did matter solely because it was a championship four and okay, I go down here and we're going to race hard and whatever happens, I'm going to end up fourth in this point still at worse. The tough part, I think, a little bit in the back of all of our minds as competitors,

but also putting the length of our full season together as tough is, you know, where it's always risk management, right? So for Sheldon, like, currently be here in the middle of the year and his other times throughout his career where you're, you know, you're racing, you're putting yourself in positions, but the worst thing can happen is you take a second, third, fourth place race car and crash it, right? Like, that's the worst case on mentally as a driver and for the team. Like, everything is bad. So he's done an incredible job, but I feel like I was staying composed in those moments, even though if the result was not a win like he wants, but finishing second. in those scenarios still all but maximize his day. In the middle of the season, that's so long, that stuff does add up, and it does carry weight.

So, yeah, it's just, every situation is a little different, but you find yourself, I think you, when you can learn how to tap back in those experiences in those moments and think about, think about how to execute at a higher success rate, I think that's the reward of thinking back to those in those moments. Does that make sense? You know, for me, I think that was a big deal to be able to pull it off in 2021. I'm sure that's things that your team has kind of reiterated to you. Is there anything that he said there that kind of sticks out to you?

Yeah, I mean, I've been no stranger to wrecking good race cars over the years by myself. Like, just trying to get more out of what I had that day. So that was a big thing for me this year. Like, all right, I got a new opportunity, a new team. we're going to go like try to finish all the laps and just not put myself in in positions to be on the risk of of crashing myself when when it could turn into a good day so haven't wrecked one yet this year 16 in it's pretty good it's pretty good it's good yeah fifth and points um we're gonna get to some some fan reaction about some racetracks that they feel like you're going to get your first

win at but daniel before i let you go do you have anything else you want to want to share with Sheldon before we let you go. Oh, gosh. You put me on a spot. And more or less just continue to enjoy the moment. I'm telling him stuff that I know he's probably telling himself, enjoy the moment, enjoy the process. Like I told myself, for a reason this time,

he hadn't worked out to this point. So you're no stranger to it. They're talking about you. You're putting yourself in position. You can only do that so many times before you will not be denied. So I can hear my crew chief in 2021, Dave Rogers, telling me on the restart that we're playing with house money, you won't be denied.

And in those moments, in the right moment, you'll be rewarded for your work, man. So keep it up. Yeah. Thank you, man. All right, love that. All right, Daniel, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

Yeah, I appreciate you, guys. Thank you. So we mentioned the hashtag, don't hold me to it poll this week that we had for fans to kind of weigh in. And so we kind of pose this question, Sheldon, of what track that they think that you're going to get a win at. We had a lot of different responses. So a lot of fans out there are really pulling for you. So we'll go ahead and pull those up. But here is the list that you can see right there.

Pocono. They think you have a shot there at Pocono. What do you think about that? I've always liked Pocono. I think I ran okay last year, but there was like late race restarts maybe a year before I was like fifth. So it could be it. Could be it. All right. Mark Gaville says Doors Austin Hill to win at Phoenix? Do you think that'll happen? I don't know. If he does something to you, maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

You got to make it to the final four first to worry about that. All right, we got Hayward Parish. He says Martinsville. I know you would love to get that one back for sure. And then Lori Thompson, Michigan. What do you feel about Michigan? Michigan. Got my first ARCA win there, actually.

Okay. It's going to be lame this year. It wouldn't be lame if you got to win, though. That would not be lame. It would not be lame. All right. And then Ryan Guns, I love this. He's way overdue, been a good road racer.

So I'm picking Chicago next week. So he's calling his shot as soon as basically seven days away from now. I like that. I liked Chicago last year. That was a lot of fun. Well, Sheldon, we appreciate you stopping by today and talking about your Xfinity Series career so far. And, of course, we wish you all the best and can't wait for you to get that first win. Thank you.

All right, let's go ahead and get to our white flag going to review all of the dirty mo media content that we put out earlier this week. Of course, to start the week off, we had the tear down with Jordan. Bianchi and Jeff Gluck, actions detrimental with Denny Hamlin. Door bumper clear. I got to sit in with those guys earlier this week. That was quite an interesting viewpoint of that show. Love my time with those guys and they always keep it fun over there. So be sure to check that episode out.

The Dale Jr. download has Jeff Green on it this week. We got Dirty Mo Doe and Speed Street. So a lot of good podcasts to take a listen to this week. Also, just want to take another moment to thank Matt Hagan, Sheldon Creed. and Daniel Hemrick for joining this show today. That'll do it for us on DJD Reloaded. We'll see you next week. Check out Dirtymo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.