The Dale Jr. Download - Dale Jr. & "Butterbean" Queen: Rehash the Hampton Heat

Episode Date: July 25, 2024

What is the state of Late Model Stock racing? Well, Dale Jr. had a lot to say about it after he competed in the 16th annual Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway last Saturday night which treated fans to a physical battle in the closing laps between Brenden Queen, aka “Butterbean”, and Connor Hall. In the end, Butterbean emerged victorious, earning his third Hampton Heat win, tying C.E. Falk III for the most all-time. Dale Jr. came home with a 5th place finish. Today on DJD Reloaded, we’ve got Dale Jr. and Butterbean in-studio, plus Butterbean’s crew chief, Lee Pulliam, calling in to recap an exciting Hampton Heat, and discuss the state of Late Model Stock racing.  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.

No racing in NASCAR's top three series. No problem today on DJD Relo. We're getting into some late model stock racing today. And rightfully so with Dell Jr. coming off of his first run and a fifth place finish at Langley Speedway for the 16th annual Hampton Heat. And man, the fans had to stay up late for this one. But if they did, they were given a show by Brendan, Butterbean, Queen, and Connor Hall. And we're going to revisit all of that action today on DJD Reloaded with a full house. We've got Dale Jr. We've got Butterbean himself. and his crew chief Lee Pulliam. We're also going to just be talking about really this wave of late model stocks and why fans should really get on board while they can. The following is a production of Dirtymo Media.

Welcome into another episode of DJD. Reloaded. You're always biased to what you believe is the best form of grassroots racing. Where do we find the best drivers? Where are some of the most talented drivers? All right, welcome into another episode of D.E. DJD Reloaded and it is officially the off week for the top three series in NASCAR, which is a perfect segue into talking about some late model racing.

We've got Dale Jr. joining us right now and Butterbean and you two, both of you guys, were going up against each other this past week and I mean, how much fun was that and how good is it to be able to be here and kind of talk about this right now? Well, I had a lot of fun. I didn't get to race Butterbean all that much, but I got a great view of his battle with Connor and how he was able to pull off the wind. And just a great night in Langley. I had never been to Langley before,

so I don't know what it traditionally feels like there. But, I mean, you race there a lot of your career. So compare that night and the energy there to other nights you've, other big races you run the way. Yeah, it was so electric. You know, the fans that stayed, I mean, while I say that, everybody stayed. I don't think anybody left. Did you see the videos of them body surfing into mud?

No. Out in the outside parking lot. Like, those are true fans that stayed and they saw a great race. And I mean, obviously, you know, when they found out you were coming, it was really quick to sell out. But I think that track is always producing a good crowd. And like I said, like I remember to Dennyham when Showdown was packed and opening nights and Hampton Heights are always packed. But something was a little different about this one. I think just you see how late mile stock car racing is and everybody wants to go see the next great finish.

Yeah, because the late mile stock cars are producing great finishes every single week. The cars tour has been on a hell of a roll here. You've been a part of a lot of those finishes. And there's just some really great momentum. And, you know, we saw all that continue. It's, I don't know how you guys continue to deliver week in, week out, but it's just this really perfect storm. You've got a couple, handful of great drivers that are capable of winning these races and willing to do everything. They know, and I think you can speak on this, you guys know that the spotlight's on you.

It's bigger than it's ever been before. And the people that are going to give you or present you new opportunities at the next level, they're watching. And I think you guys know that or you have a sense that it's now or never. I've got to make this happen. I've got to shine tonight. Yeah, I definitely think, especially, you know, in my career path, you know, kind of a little bit about my backstory, but just seizing every opportunity. And I had this great opportunity with Lee.

I felt like I've been making the most of it. And, you know, when you have a big race like that, you know, nobody remembers a guy I finish second usually when it comes out to it. And if you can go out there and perform and, you know, I feel like, you know, especially when you race and just the tension has been on the cars tour, there's so many more eyes that are on it. And I think the racing world is starting to take that turn of where it's kind of like looking more for talent than the big dollar like it was a couple of years ago.

And it's opened up a lot more opportunities for me that I didn't think I'd have a couple years ago. And it's not just me. That's everybody. And I think we all know how hard we can race each other without wrecking each other. And it's just producing like, I mean, bad at the bone finishes. I had never experienced anything like it except the last couple of years. been like nonstop.

We know what this track, especially at Langley, means just to the history of, you know, late model racing. But what does it mean specifically to you as, I mean, a home track, right? Well, you know, for me, I had to privilege to race there every week. And I won those three championships in a row before I went on the tour. And I was content being a Langley Speedway guy. You know, I'm good friends with Greg Edwards and my old crew chief Phil Warren, seven-time champ. So I was just trying to break records and ended up tying, tie and CE with, well, actually, C.E. and Elton Sawyer with three championships in a row, which was really special.

And, you know, having that place in my backyard, you don't realize how special it was until it closed for a year. And once it reopened, it was like we supported that place every week until I went to the car store. So it's been really weird not racing there on a weekly thing, you know, but I feel like my fans enjoy when I, come back and it makes like winning the Hampton Heat or the Cars Tour race, knowing I'm only there twice a year, it makes it even more special to win. And Dale, you kind of already mentioned that this was your first run at Langley Speedway altogether, much less the Hampton Heat. How did this opportunity come about? Like what was it about you that drew you to this opportunity? Well, I'm going to run about three to five races a year. And depending on, so my family's priority, so whatever we're going to build,

You know, we kind of build out our schedule and plan on what we want to do as a family and trips we might want to take and things we need to take have to take for vacation or family events and so forth. We have to, we need to go see Amy's family in Texas. I want my girls and their girls there to all know each other and all that. So we spend as much time trying to prioritize family as much as we can. And then, you know, at this age of my life, that's really the way I would do it if I was in my 20. or 30s, I would probably prioritize racing over everything, and I did. But, you know, then I have responsibilities professionally and want to make sure I'm taking care of those.

And so I feel lucky to be able to race. And so I don't take that for granted. And it's such a, you know, massive privilege to be able to take a good competitive car. I had a winning car this weekend. and it's amazing to be able to take one of those and go compete with these guys. And so we're going to run three or four, five races a year. And basically, Carson Quaple, who's been running our late model full time, is in this sort of weird transition, similar to Butterbean,

where there's these opportunities to race at the next level. And it's tough because you're racing in the cars tour, you prioritize that. that is a value to you and you get a chance to race a truck or an Xfinity car and it may conflict with that car store schedule and you've got to make that tough decision and I would encourage I mean as much as I am a massive, massive fan of the cars tour and involved in it financially, I would encourage any driver that gets an opportunity at the next level to prioritize that over the car store. If you have to miss a car store, race, miss it.

You know, go, you know, go run the truck or Xfinity car. So that's where Carson is. he's also running some Trans Am stuff, but, you know, he had a conflict. They weren't going to run the Hampton Heat this year. And the crew chief, Brian Schaefer, who, you know, I think the world of, great guy, works really, really hard, doesn't ask for anything, doesn't complain, just works and works and puts a good race car on the racetrack. Asked me if he's like, we like racing with you. We like when you go. We like when you're there.

and if you want to go run the heat, we'd like to take you. And we had this new car sitting in the corner of the shop for about a year and a half. And we just weren't, you know, we're happy with the car. They got a little age on them. But they said, we're going to build that new car if you want to go race this race. So I was like, great, let's do it. And so I was, I would have never ran it.

I would never walk in there and go, man, I want to run this race. You all figure out how to get me there. I try to make it as convenient as possible on them. I don't want to put any extra work on them. So if they're like, you know, we'd like to take you or we'd like you to run this race. It would be fun if you went to this one. You should try this. They're always trying to encourage me to race more.

And so I thought that was cool. And we went up there. So I've talked about this a little bit, but my mom lived there for 25 years, worked at UPS in the warehouse, and married a fireman and Willie. Jackson and Norfolk, and I would go up as a little kid twice a year and see, we'd go to the track every once a while and see a race. Got to be very close. Willie was close with Phil Warren, Newfield real well, and I had met Phil, and I was racing

in the 90s in the late models. If I saw, if I knew Phil was at the same racetrack as me, I always said hello. He's a great guy. Such an incredible guy. He was there the minute we showed up to, practice Thursday with his grandson, Riley Music, great kid. Got to know him really well this weekend. So I spent some time talking to Phil.

Another racer that raced at Langley, Wayne Hanberry, Willie was close with Wayne back when I was a kid, and Wayne had a son that was my age, and I'd go over there and play, you know, swimming a pool. And I remember Wayne having all these pictures of his old Camaro's at Langley. And so Langley's got, I've kind of had this. this odd connection with Langley for a long, long time, but never ran a lap there. And I'd always wanted, you know, this is a great opportunity for me at this point in my life

to do some things I've never done before and check the box off with the family. They were clear. They were good. And this was fun. I mean, I hate to hijack all this. But so I, when I was doing what you were doing now, I was, and you probably are doing this very same thing. I was so nervous about trying to make it.

scared you know yeah it's it's funny you say that like as I've gotten a little bit older now I don't you always have those jitters

right like and especially when I know the car's good yeah you know and with Lee it's every week I know if I don't perform it's me right

so when you're starting to back there's no pressure right you can only go one way yeah but when I was man 17, 18, I thought I had to win every race.

Yeah. I had to, that's the only way I'm going to get noticed. It's the only way I'm going to get, you know, get somewhere. And I, in my 20s, I've learned, like, there's a lot of things you can do outside the car that have helped me grow my brand and help, and help me maybe get a shot at being noticed without winning. And then obviously, the on-track performance is a bonus and has helped. and I'm not saying you don't need to win because you do need to win. But I felt like when I stopped putting as much pressure on myself, I started winning a lot more races.

Yeah. That makes sense. When I had pressure, I made mistakes. Yep. But I was, you know, you've got a really, really good job of creating a brand. I didn't, at your age, I didn't know what a brand was. I thought it was stupid, silly. It's nothing.

It's not, well, it's not tangible, right? And we're race car drivers. We believe in things that are tangible. We can see and look at it. And, you know, when people were telling me, it's good for the brand. It'll help your brand. I'm like, I don't even know what you're talking about. What did it?

And so, but you've done a really good job sort of creating a personality, a persona, share, you know, promoting yourself, things you like, things you're about, whether it's Legos or we love some Legos. Yeah, we do. We share an enjoyment of that. I just recently got into doing that. but, you know, just your deal with winning races and going to the Wavow House after a win and taking that picture, those little small things mean so much to people because they connect to it. They relate to it. Yeah. And that's what I tell everybody, like all my fans, especially now that I've gotten a little bit more success and ran the truck.

I'm like, I'm still the same person. Like I'm not going to ever forget where I was at the point. of Virginia working moving boxes like not going to ever forget that whether I make it or whether I don't and I'm just a normal guy at the end of the day that's getting a chance to race and if I can represent those those guys that never got it or or the ones in the fans that just believe ones in the stands that believe in you like that's who I want to be so yeah well I was when I was doing that I was so nervous about being able to go drive the truck that you're going to drive right for example and man is that going to go good what do you know so and I and not and I didn't enjoy

the moment the moment right you're right and it's hard you can't you can't enjoy it you're so you can't right you can't afford to and that's why I go back and do what I'm doing it makes sense because I didn't you know I knew that I was you know I'm trying to make this make sense but when I talk to Josh Barry and he's he's going up through the Xfinity and finally got this opportunity at Cup. I said, Hey man, I'm thrilled.

You're thrilled. All this is great. You've made it, right? But I'm going to promise you. You're going to look back on that late model stuff that you did and you will too, Brennan. And you'll,

you'll always personally say you might not publicly announce it or admit it, but that is probably the most fun you're ever going to have in your whole racing career. I believe that. What you're doing right now in that O3 car for league. is as much fun as it's going to ever be. From here on out, it's still fun, it's still racing, it's still competition, you're still going to be eager to do it every day and strap in, but it's more and more work.

And so that's why I think, and that's fine, and that's probably the way it should be. But that's why I feel lucky to be able to go back and do it now because I'm like, man, I really didn't get to enjoy Myrtle Beach. I didn't forget to enjoy the 90s and late model stock racing. and now I can go back and I got my fifth wheel hooked up and drove it all the way up there. Oh, you drove it up there. I see it up there. That's awesome.

I drove it all the way up there. We practiced Thursday, went out to dinner. Some local place was good. Practice Friday, went out to dinner again, raced to finish up at 2 o'clock in the morning, sit there and watch the local races run for an hour or two while you guys were over at tech. We drank beer. You know what was interesting about Langley that I thought was cool? They pull the trucks and trailers out so the fans can see the race.

It's a bit tough for the teams because, yeah, that's where we hang out. You know, we get out, we get out of the rain. That's your home. It's where all the stuff is. That's your stuff. So we had to pull all the stuff that we need out of the trailer and it's laying in the pits. But also what I saw was these fold-out tables and flat iron grills. And I'm like, what's going to happen after this race?

Why has everybody got their grill? So 2 o'clock in the morning race is over, and every pitts got grilling burgers and steaks, and I'm like, it's 2.30 in the morning. We're drinking beer. We're eating fillets by hand, because nobody thought to get the damn shit. Nobody got the plastic wear out of the trailer.

He's bare bombs. I mean, like, so you know I've raced there my whole life. So I know the process. I forgot my flag. No kidding. In the trailer. Oh, your big America flag. And I told, it was the same American.

flag I use every week. It's not the tracks. It's what I bring. And I just do it because I want to thank all the fans that are in the military and all that, kind of like Keselowski. But I just wanted to do something different on the short trail level. But at the start of, we're doing the National Anthem, and I go, yeah, I felt like I got a good shot to win, but you never know. And I don't like to jinx it. If I looked at my guys, I said, did we get the flag out of the trailer? They're like, no. I said, somebody's got to get it. So at the halfway break, they snuck a key to somebody that was one of my buddies running super streets. And what I won, because I told them at halfway, we're going to win this race, somehow

or another. And when I won, they're like, we don't have to flag. And I'm like, what? And I see him in turn one hanging over to pass. And I was like, yeah. So, yeah, is that so about not to get off topic? Oh, yeah. But it's easy to forget something.

It's a bit chaotic. It's so chaotic, especially with the way ours was, it wasn't a normal. qualify, pull your trailer out. It was, are we qualified? Are we raining? Are we pulling the trailers out? Are we doing that before qualified? Are we going to even qualify? Like what? Like, nobody knew what was going on. No. But finally, so we sat there and we drank some beers till 5 o'clock in the morning, the local shows, the local series, they're racing and they finish their races. And here comes the trucks and trailers back in. And so I loved it because it was super late. It was like 5 o'clock in the morning, and everybody's loading their trailers up, saying bye,

had a great time, nice hanging out. Like, Phil, and we were next to Phil Warren the whole day all weekend and hanging out with him and Raleigh. And it was kind of like, all right, y'all, man, it's a great weekend, five in the morning. We loaded them up. I walked out there, jumped in the fifth wheel and slept for about two and a half hours, got up, and I pulled out it right around. He had a Lego text for me about 7.8.

Yes, he did. I pulled out. I, we hooked the fifth wheel up and I pulled it out at 8.39 o'clock and drove all the way home. Oh, man. It was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. I love it. You can't make it up.

This is a thing you can't make up. I remember driving the goose neck from, from Charlotte or from, I remember driving the goose neck from D.E.I. All the way to the beach and back, right? And the buddies and you had your buddies with you. You weren't, you know, you had your buddies with you and you're riding down, you're racing and you're coming home. And that was exactly what this weekend was like. It was perfect. So when I, sometimes like when you want to do something, you want to go back and relive something,

it's never as good or never like you thought or it's like you build it up in your head. This was the perfect. This matched my vision of going back and racing. And I would have loved to have won the race, man. And I want to know how you did it. But it was tough. I qualified pretty good for my standards. No, I thought it was great.

Yeah, I was right, kind of right on the hills of you guys. I've struggled with the car trying to find speed and qualifying. Well, and our motor situation. Yeah, we had a small engine. I couldn't believe I was on the front row. Right. Like, I messed up. I hit water on the second lap, but I'm like, man, that close to the pole.

Yeah. Never, I thought I was going to be about both times I won that race. I've been ninth and 11th. Yep. So when the, so, you know, we're going to, it's two in a lap, same set of tires. You know, you're not going to go qualify, run qualifying laps. for people listening. You know, we, it's, I love these war-out tracks. I love it.

I love the strategy. I love trying to figure out if I'm saving enough tire for the end compared to the rest of the field. And it's a game. It's like chess. Every single lap, I don't know how, you probably have a lot more confidence in, kind of what you're doing as the race plays out.

I'm sitting back there going, am I losing too many spots? Am I too far back? You know, am I making the right choice? Should I run hard? You know, should I not run hard? I'm like back there panicking, like, every other corner.

And I can see you. You're like, you know, the whole night, you're like five, seven cars in front of me. And I'm like, man, I'd love to be where you are, but I'd have to work hard to get there. Do I want to work hard to get there? What's that going to cost me on the end of the race? What, you know, so, you're just trying to play this strategy, the whole race. It's awesome. It is so much fun.

I love it. Yeah. I mean, people look at it and go, we all riding off the pace, but that's the art of it. Yeah. Like the art of seeing somebody drop back. Like that's, I won so many races at Langley doing that about go a lap down and then I'd come back and win the race. Yeah. Five to go.

And for a fan, like, that is so more entertaining than seeing a guy lead every lap. And if I went to watch a race, like, I'll trust me, I want to lead every lap. Yeah. But if I'm in the stands and I see a guy like go to the back and then now he's dicing through the field, I love it. And that's what those races are all about. And I do freak out. if I'm losing too many spots. One little slip, I'm like, uh-oh, did I just buzzed the right rear tire?

It's going to cost me later. And, you know, in this race, the 22 was glued to my bumper everywhere I went. And like, if I pass a car, he passed the car. I think if I went to the Port-a-Joddy to win it. It was, I mean, he'd make it three wide to stay all by tail. And I knew, like, I don't want to be on defense ever. I want to be on offense when it's time to go. and I felt like with him riding on my bumper put me on defense later because, you know, I'm leading to train, so he's saving more than I am, which set up for a barn burner for race, really.

Yeah, I was, I'm sitting there, you know, and you'll get somebody that's behind you, there was a couple, the 41, a couple of the people that were, you know, they're running real tight. they're looking underneath you off the corners and you're like, is this guy going to put me on the outside? Does this guy, does he want to go by? You don't really know. You're constantly like not blocking, but you're like,

I don't want to get shuffled out. No. You don't want to get put on the outside because it's like every lap on the outside is like two laps on the inside for your tires, right? It beats the tires up pretty good. And you just don't know how the guy behind you,

where his strategy is. Is he ready to go? Is he thinking he needs to grab a few spots here? He might ride five laps and then on the sixth to sign it's time to go. And you're like, I didn't expect that. Nope. And so that's the tough part about it. But and to your point, Connor Hall in this case, and you'll see this in a lot of races where you need to conserve and be smart, they will find, like if I could have followed you like Connor, that's what I wanted to do, right?

I think a lot of people will, you know, when Josh Barry goes to Florence and, you know, five years ago, everybody watched him and tried to follow what he was doing, right? If he dropped back to six, they drop back to six, you know, and they just sit right on his heels, to your point, just saving just a little bit more. But following that guy that knows, that you know, knows what they're doing. And you're that guy right now, especially like at Langley. Connor is too, I think, to a point. And both of y'all, I watched where y'all were the whole race because that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be where you were because I knew you guys were going to decide who won this race. And if I could follow y'all and save what y'all were saving and do what y'all were doing, that was probably my best shot at being in the picture. Yeah. And I think another benefit of us being in that position is it tends to make people ride behind us so we don't lose as much track position.

And then when it's time to go, they can't go because we're going. Yeah. I was probably six or seven cars behind y'all the whole time. And they're stacked up. All the guys behind me wanted the same thing. They wanted to be behind y'all. So like there's 25 cars racing like hell to stay right behind you. To get behind y'all. I see it in the mirror.

Yeah. So everybody in front of y'all, it's funny because I'm sitting there going, you know, somebody told me a couple months ago they were like, man, you can almost save more riding in the top 10 than you can ride in 20th. and that's because like in scenarios like the other night it causes that scenario you guys are sitting there running a tent everybody in front of y'all's y'all are fine and everybody in front of y'all knows it and so they're not having to push they're just riding just fast enough and you're like

yeah i'm gonna sit right here it's where i want to be everybody behind y'all's like i want to be behind butterbean so they're too wise and so it's like a 20 car race to get behind butterbean and every one of us is like god dang y'all just everybody's settled out and i'm like good job get you're all back there burning our stuff up. Pulliam was spotting for me because Anthony, my normal spotter was at Indy, one to Brickyard with Cliff and Larson. And so Lee was spotted for me. He's like, two rows behind you, they're double wide. So we can't go back any further. I'm like 10-4. Let's go ahead and bring in Lee Pulliam, who just got pulled up on a

Zoom call too. And Lee, I kind of just want to bring you into their conversation right now on what you think Butterbeams performance was like at Langley and what that battle was like with Connor Hall. Yeah, first off, I just want to say thank you for letting me being a part of the show. It's a honor to be on and pretty special. So, but to go on the Langley race, it was a heck of a battle. And as Dale, I caught what Dale was saying there, that's exactly what was happening. So everybody asked what we're going to do each of those races where we have to ride and it just changes. So I told Butterbean, he really wanted to fall further back. And I told him, I said, we're going to use more tire running dead last and we will if we stay here in the top 10.

And we just kept changing our strategy on the fly. And he did a great job. So it was a real cool race to be a part of. And you really feel, I mean, so lucky, I think, to be paired with Lee, right? Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, so in my situation, we talked about Phil. Phil practically helped raise me through my later teen years. I mean, I remember him having to drive me to the track because I didn't have my license yet.

And then I took over and started driving the rig and all that. But he got me ready for this opportunity for Lee. And then obviously I couldn't have picked a better role model mentor with Lee to take me from running one track to being a touring driver and being competitive. So, you know, we won right away together, and he'll be a forever friend. I tell everybody he's a brother I didn't know I had, which is awesome. And when we're done racing, we'll still be buddies no matter what. So it's a really cool relationship. And when you have somebody like that, when you believe in each other, that's why you win races.

If you don't believe in each other, you're not going to go out there and run the way we do. So it's definitely a special relationship. We gel really good together. and I think I made a great choice teaming up with him and further in my career. So I'm super excited for the future. Yeah, Lee, you've, you know, you're considered one of the greatest late model stock racers, at least of your era. And you've done this, you've done a really unique thing in transitioning into a owner

that is presenting opportunities to drivers like Butterbean, but you're still relatively young. You still have your youth and ability to race, which you're going to do a little bit this year. You're going to run at Martinsville. But you've sort of put aside, I guess, your own ambition, personal ambition to race to create a business for yourself. And, you know, you have multiple race cars that go out to the racetrack and support different divisions in the cars tour. and you also present opportunities to drivers. Talk about that transition from being a racer that raced for yourself and was very successful

to now sort of the businessman that you are and owning that operation. Yeah, you know, I feel so blessed to do what I do for a living. And, you know, growing up, I was, that's what we did for fun, you know, went to the racetrack with my parents. And it's just, it's just been in my blood since I was a little kid. and I always wanted to make it, right? Like I aspired to be a cup champion one day, you know, and I worked really, really hard, you know,

with not a lot of funds as I was coming up. And I thought I could maybe win my way there at the time. And I really didn't focus a lot on networking and marketing and stuff like that. I just felt like when I won on Saturday, on the ride home, I was thinking about how I was going to win next week. And, you know, we had a standard. and win percentage for 10 years. But if I had to do it over again, I would have probably spent more time meeting other people

and trying to find the marketing partners to move up. But transitioning to being an owner, I feel like I am able to guide these other drivers better as to avoiding some of the mistakes that I made. So winning is very important in our sport. but without the marketing partners, without good people behind you, without the connections, it is so hard to make it to the next level. So not only do I try to help my drivers on the racetrack, I've tried to take what I've learned kind of the hard way and improve things going forward for them.

So it's, and I still get the same passion, right? Like when I won, I was very passionate in Victory Lane and always show, you know, emotion and I still get that way. You know, when we finished, you know, when we won Carraway last year and finished second to your car, Dale, for the championship, you know, it was emotional for me and Victor Lane because it was, I've never won a cars to a championship and, you know, I think back to running out of gas at Tri County and some of the things that slipped away last year. And even though I'd won that race, I was with Butterbean, I was so disappointed that we didn't

get the ultimate goal because I felt like Butterbean had a championship performing year and I almost felt like, you know, some of the mistakes that I made with the gas situation and a couple other things, you know, that's all I could harp on. You know, it was hard for me to celebrate the win and I got a little emotional in Victory Lane and just, I just want my drivers to be successful and do the best, do the best job I can for them. And I think it takes that passion and people likely to propel the sport. And Dale, you kind of talked about late model stocks at the end of your post race at Langley and just kind of this feeling that there's this momentum growing around that specific series.

Why do you feel that way? And what is the state currently? Well, I grew up racing late model stocks. So that's my favorite grassroots form of racing. and everybody has, you know, their own sort of niche that they cling to, and that's what I like. As I moved up into the Cup series and went through my Cup career, you're seeing all these different drivers that are making it to Cup, and they're coming from different forms of motorsport, right? And there was, there's always this, you know, you're always biased to what you believe is the best form of grassroots racing.

Where do we find the best drivers? Where can we get the best drivers? where are drivers learning racecraft, where are some of the most talented drivers that could come up through the ranks into the stock car world? I've always felt like that late model stock racing in the mid-Atlantic, right? And late model stocks are confined to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, a little bit of Tennessee. And so I've always felt like that that style of racing that they do at those racetracks and those cars developed very talented. race car drivers that could go win at the truck, Xfinity and Cup level.

Denny Hamlin is a great example of that, and there's so many others that fall into that group. And for a while, it wasn't, you know, for a while, I did not think that NASCAR was looking at late model stock racing and looking for drivers there. There, you know, there was Kyle Larson and these guys would come up through sprint cars and World Outlaw and Dirt.

and there were, you know, there was, there's the international drivers that come from different various forms of motorsport and all of those things are really, you know, exciting and trendy. And there are some amazing race car drivers coming out of California and other areas in the country that don't race late model stocks. But I just felt like late model stock was lost in the shuffle. People just weren't looking at it for drivers. And this is all right under the nose of the NASCAR industry here in North Carolina. And so I was like, man, we got to shine a light on late model stocks.

And because it does live in this very small part of the country, it also has a, you know, it also has a bit of a personal struggle to survive, right, and be viable and financially, you know, successful, race tracks as well. And so I felt like, man, I'm, I want it to succeed. I want it to survive. I want NASCAR to look at it and go, there's great drivers there. Who's good, you know, but are being. is a driver right now.

I think they're looking at and considering, right? Teams are, teams are considering when they have open seats, the butter beans, the Connor halls, and those type of drivers. And I didn't think they were doing that five or ten years ago. They weren't looking at the cars tour going, is the next great driver in that series? And so, you know, I believe they were there, but weren't getting looked at.

And so that was kind of something that was important to me. I've raced in the cars tour like Lee as an owner for over a decade and, you know, just have had a blast doing that and really, really loved doing that. And so we decided to take it to the next level. And with that, I think with me getting involved in some, you know, Harvick and Burton, Justin Marks, with a lot of, we're also seeing some of the manufacturers support. some of these teams and feed their driver pipeline through some of these teams. Toyota and Chevrolet and so forth are doing that. It's now starting to regain some of that respect, I think, that it deserves in terms of a form of motorsport where a driver can truly become great and polished.

I do not, I mean, when you watch that finish in Langley, and you watch the finishes in the cars tour and you go and see the racing there, It is an excellent place for a driver to learn racecraft and judgment and decision-making and common sense, right? What were your thoughts of the finish? Well, I mean, the finish was exciting, thrilling. You guys didn't, you know, nobody got sent in the fence. Somebody's got to win. Somebody's got to lose.

That's what I said. I said, somebody's going to be on the wrong end and they're going to be mad. But I felt like we were driving each other, how we would drive each other. And it won't nobody wrecked anybody. No. But it sucks to be on the losing end. Sure. But you're nudging and you're not, yeah, sending them off.

It's incredible to watch that. It is. It is. As an owner, I love it. As a series owner, as a series owner, I love it. I mean, you know, but I think, you know, I think that we're, we're in a really great place right now with late milestone racing. I think motorsports in general's surged a bit, especially the grassroots level. What Larson and those guys have done with sprint cars is incredible.

There's a lot of great energy. I think everybody can succeed and be happy in this sort of environment. But it won't last forever. These things cycle. We go up and then we come back down and then we have to work to get back up again. And I think that's what I was trying to say at the end of the day over at Langley was get on the wagon because it's at the peak right now. I don't know how long we can keep this peak going, but it's good. It's as good as it's going to get right now.

Enjoy this. Come on. Come join us. Come see what we're doing. Because he's going to move on. Connor Hall, these other guys, they're going to move on. Who will replace them? You're only going to be able to see Brennan, if he's, you know, has his way,

you're only going to see him race a late-mile stock car for a handful of months. And he's going to be on to the next thing if everything goes is planned, right? So come check us out. And because this momentum in this way, is as good as it gets and you don't want to, you know, I feel like, you know, there was a, you know, these things kind of cycle and late model stock racing had an incredible existence in the, in the 90s. It had a good run and, you know, it kind of goes every 10 years or so, every eight years or or so. It sort of has this sort of resurgence and we're living one now and I want people to really

be able to enjoy it while, while the getting's good. Do you feel the relevancy as a driver? I do. Obviously, I want to make it to the next level, and I'm doing everything I can. I'll still always try to fill in an off weekend with a late mile race. Like that's told Lee next year if I'm even if I moved on I want to come race the big races if I can But I feel like no matter what 15 years for now 20 years for now I'm going to look back and be Thankful that I was a part of it because like I've heard the Phil Warren stories of back in the day I've heard the leap or I've saw the Lee Pulliam stories like I was watching during that time and I was getting into it and you never thought of you never thought you'd be a part of history or a part of finishes like I've been a part of. And now to have my name on that list, like I just want to be when it's all said and done,

whether I make it or not, like I want to be known as one of the good late model guys that people go, that guy was good. But you never know until later on down the road, right? Yep. You talk about Lee, and I mentioned that he's going to race again, Lee, you've made plans to enter. into the biggest race of the year for late model stocks at Martinsville. I want to know how you got talked into doing that. And what are you excited about?

What is your expectations? So it didn't take a lot of arm twisting to get me there. But really it started. My dad, he got, he was, he had a surgery this all season. And he got pretty sick and was facing kidney failure. And, you know, we was in the hospital and just. you know, me and my dad always race together. Dad had a hard time when I had to walk away from racing

because we couldn't afford to do it and just start working on cars. He had a hard time with that, you know, and it took him years to kind of accept that I had to do what I had to do to pay my bills, you know, and provide for my daughter and wife. So when we were in the hospital, you know, dad, he was pretty sick. And I remember I was holding his hand.

and I told him, I said, he was in a bad spot, and I told him, I said, Dad, if you'll fight and get through this, I said, we'll go to race Martinsville one more time. And he squeezed my hand. I felt him squeezing my hand. And I knew that that meant a lot to him. And, you know, he was able to hold up to his end of the deal and pull through. And he's been at the last couple races with me. And, you know, racing together, that was what me.

and dad did, you know, it was always special. And going forward, I told Butterbean, when I let, when we got Dad out to hospital, I said, I'll crew chief of you every race this year, but I said, I need to run Martinsville so I can hold up my promise to Dad. And, you know, they were, they were really happy about it and cool with it. And I had planned to run three cars there and just get someone else to crew chief, Butterbean, for the event. And, you know, Better Bean ended up signing the contract to run Kansas race. And at Ace, him and John surprised me at the end of the night and told me, hey, Lee, you don't have to, you know, go find sponsorship and stuff.

We want you to drive to zero three car there. And, you know, we surprised my dad with it about a month ago. And, you know, it was pretty emotional for me and him just because I know how much he's missed me racing and behind the wheel. And I'm really excited and looking forward to it. And for John and Butterbean to be a part of it, it really is going to be special for me. It was a no-brainer. We're just like, let Lee drive the car.

Like, Lee was going to try to run a third car for himself. For himself. And I just was like, man, I would be honored if he'd just drive my car, like, what's his car, but drive my scheme, my number. So he's going to run to O3. And that's going to be a cool moment for me because I'm going to fly back, obviously, as long as everything works out. You'll be able to catch your race.

I must sit on a pit box. What will be interesting is, is I bet the people that tune in won't even be able to tell the difference between who's driving that car. It'll probably make me look back. Well, I think, but, you know, because he's so good and you're so good, that car will be out on the track and you'll have to remind yourself who's behind the wheel. Man, he's. I imagine it'll be up in the top five, the same place you put it.

I think he'll have a good shot to win a clock. And, you know, if he does, I'll be the first one there to support him. I mean, he dropped everything and came to Wilkesboro when I ran the truck, and he sat on the box. And him and my girlfriend sat up there together, and he kept her calm. And he was there. So, like, during the rain delay, he was able to coach me up. And it was pretty cool.

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Gambling problem, call 877-718-5443 or visit more than a game.n.nc.gov. I kind of want to go back really quickly just to bring Lee in on our conversation of the state of late models. And you had kind of mentioned Dale just the support that it has had, but there's still challenges that drivers and teams and the local tracks have to overcome. Lee, I'm sure you have a really great perspective of this of what some of those challenges look like currently, even though maybe there is that support that they'll mentioned. what what him and kevin and jeff and travis have done to put a spotlight on lake model racing you know none of us could ever repay them enough i think um i think lane mott racing is special i think that you have several special drivers that could really be stars on sunday and and even you know even though you know me and josh had a lot of rivals i'll pull for josh every sunday because i think

it's cool that he got the opportunity to do it. And he's a talented race car driver. And, you know, so I look up to Dale for what he gave back. I mean, he didn't have to give back to short track racing. He did it out of the goodness of his heart because he loves it. And I can tell you racing with him on a weekend, there isn't a guy in the pits that's more passionate about motorsports than Dale. And that's special to see, you know, to me because,

You know, like he said, I think it's a lot of talent that got kind of flew under the radar for years. And now these guys have a, you know, they have a spotlight on them. And I think that's such a special thing. And, you know, we owe a big thank you to all of them. I want to know, Lee, you know, what are some of the challenges as an owner that, you know, what are some of your biggest concerns as an owner? And, you know, we think about there are two entities that have to be. to succeed. It's you, the owner of the team in the car, in the car, but also the racetrack.

But you can speak to ownership. So, you know, what are some of the biggest challenges facing you? You know, I think trying to find a sponsorship to help get drivers into cars, racing costs more than it's ever cost before to have a competitive car. And for me, one of the challenges is, you know, I'm in Alton, Virginia. So I'm kind of, I'm away from the Mooresville area. Don't, you know, got a few connections down there, but not a lot. So I have to really work super hard to make sure that I got cars that can compete, you know, with stuff that's coming out of, you know, the biggest technology place in racing, you know.

So it's tough because a lot of people consider me, you know, a big fish in the sea of cars to a racing, but we work really, really hard up here to keep up because, you know, I've got Dave here that's been with me since 2009, and then I set up all the race cars here myself, and we just, you know, it's ever-changing. You know, I look back at the set-up sheets and the set-up books and the things we're doing. It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, evolution. And, you know, I think for us, just trying to keep up with the technology and find enough funding to make it realistic for drivers to race here is the biggest thing. Yeah. I, you know, Landon Huffman races regularly at Hickram Motor Speedway, does some social

media and creates content. And he did this really neat video a couple years back where he basically kind of spelled out cost of racing for him to race regularly at a local track like a, you know, a Hickory. And it was 60 grand. Just to race a, just to race a late-moste car at Hickory every week to do it competitively but bare and tight, it was around $60,000. And, you know, that when you go onto a Turin series, you're talking a couple, you know, it's into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to compete competitively at the cars tour level. And it's, you know, parts and pieces. It's, you know, shocks and all the little things that dial the car in plus hotel rooms.

And we try our hardest to make the travel and all of the, you know, the general cost of just traveling and going and eating and all of those things as low as possible. But it's not going to get cheaper, right? like there's not going to be a reset button wing mashed to make it cost less for everybody and trying to find that support to his point, to Lee's point, trying to find that sponsorship is a difficult thing. But there's a lot of companies out there seeing what we're doing,

getting excited about what we're doing. They're seeing that more people are watching. We've got a great partnership with flow. One of the best things I think we did was connect with flow to be able to take our show to a really big audience. and we can now give that information to Lee and say, Lee, look, here's all the people that are watching. Take this to your partners and show them, you know, how the sport is being seen by so many people comparable to, you know, three or four or five years ago.

Yeah, and you've got the talent that's rising. You've got talent like a Josh Berry in the Cup Series. You've got Cup Series guys now going back down and that all makes a huge point in elevating it. That is an excellent point. So Josh Barry is going to, you know, race this weekend at Hickory for the Cars Tour event. We made, you know, what we would love to do is to have the Cars Tour and late model stock racing, the Hampton Heat, a regular, you know, advanced auto parts show for NASCAR, be something that's interesting to Cup drivers, Xfinity drivers.

You know, we see, we see these guys go race super late mall cars or Larson will go run. the dirt stuff. We see them guys do that, and that helps those series and those tracks so much. We want them to also look at our late model stock cars and go, I'm going to go do that this weekend. That looks like fun. And the other thing I'll say, so we do have drivers doing that. Harvest going to race at North Wiltsboro, so we see that from time to time.

Another thing, I want to give Butterbean a lot of credit and some of the other drivers, what you do to create a personality, to make yourself. interesting to connect with fans outside of the car. Like that is a massive asset for our series. And, you know, if our drivers aren't interesting and aren't creating like this little cult following and creating this small fan base and growing it into something bigger, it's difficult for us to get people to tune in. You help us.

You help us bring an audience to the, and so I got to credit you. and I think other drivers in our series and other drivers coming up running even like Landon. Landon done a great job creating noise right around what he's doing by creating content and so forth and just show even if he's having a bad weekend. He's showing people what he's going through. So those are great examples and that creates value for either that racetrack that Landon races at, the series that you race in.

And so we can't, you know, we can't say enough about that. And I'm looking in our series. series at what drivers are doing. I'm watching what those guys are creating and content they're creating during the week and how they're promoting themselves. Yeah, that's how I got noticed by flow was I was doing the vlogs just kind of on my own, not the best, just doing it. And always, whether we won or lost, you show people that you're, you got to handle

to losing to win, first off. Can't be a poor sport because, you know, it could be worse. It could be not racing. That's been my philosophy. Even on a bad day, it's better than sitting in the stands, never getting the chance to drive. But that's how it got me with Flow. Flow took over. We do our vlogs through Flow, which has been huge.

Never thought I'd have a merch trailer that I carried all the races. I feel like that's where the asphalt world misses out is on the merch at the short track level. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to sell at Langley, which was a bad weekend for me there, because that would have been really big. I had a really good success at the cars tour race when I sold. But I just feel like that's a spot that needs to be improved on short track racing is not killing the local guy trying to sell racing shirts. Why weren't you able to?

I had my trailer out there. I know, I was told the only one. What? So I was told. What the hell? I was going to ask you on Friday if I could put my stuff in your train. But with the rain, I told my guy, so just get a pit pass with us and enjoy the race. said I'll worry about it.

That's, you know, those are the, that's where we can get better. That's right. That is, that is, I got mine this weekend, me and Huffman, side by side, I think. So I know Huffman has, has emerged trailer and he struggled, he had to park his trailer across the street from Hickory. They charged me a buttload. Right, to just be on property, right? And so you have to go down the road to the gas station or just, you know, somewhere local to

the track. And we've got to be able to let you guys, I mean, I had mine there. That's totally unfair for me to park mine there and you not be able to sell your own merch For everything you've done for that racetrack That's what I suppose I think that's where I mean I'm not talking bad about it Not at all the tracks the track but that's where we've got to find some common ground Where the tracks and the drivers and teams they got to That stuff right there has got to get better

I look at it this way if if a fan is going to buy a racetrack t-shirt They're going to buy a race track shirt if they're going to buy a race track shirt if they're going to buy a in Queen's shirt, they're going to buy it. They're going to buy a Dale Junior shirt. They're going to go buy it. Just because your setup's not going to dictate that they don't buy somebody else's, like they're already going to have their mind of what they, when they see it. Like, at least I feel that way.

Like when I'd go to a NASCAR race when I was a kid, like, I knew who I was, I knew what I wanted. Like, I might go look at other stuff and maybe buy something extra. Yeah. But like, I had my mind kind of made up. Like, it wasn't going to derail me. Yeah. So, and the dirt world kills us on that.

Yeah. Like go to, go to any dirt race. And like, because I race dirt on the off weekends, I'm getting ready to race a big one in August. And I love it. I go there and I sell my merch and I enjoy it. And that's helped me grow. Yeah. I have fans five hours away from home now that buy my shirts.

I ship, Mark Martin bought a shirt. Like, I've shipped to people I never thought I'd ship to. Yep. That's the, the other thing, too, is like the visual, the optics of having the merch trailers sitting there when a fan walks up to the racetrack and it's basically bear of all of those things that you expect to see at a race. Like my die cast are coming. Yeah. And I ordered extras and I'll have them on there because people that didn't order it, they might see it and go, I won't that. I got to have that. Yeah.

That's how you do it. Well, that's where we got to find some common ground with the racetracks. and because I've noticed that, you know, the track will want to charge so much, it makes it unreasonable for you guys to even bring in your merch trailer, right? And maybe some of these tracks could find, you know, where are they selling merch? Maybe you guys could get in that room. Maybe, you know, that way, you know, a fan that walks up wanting your shirt sees a track shirt and goes, I'll take both of those.

You know, and you guys work together. There's got to be a common ground there. I know we're getting ready to wrap up, but since we have you here, I'm curious because I know you said you really enjoyed Dale being at the track at Langley. How do you feel when some of the cup guys do drop down? And honestly, I feel like most of the cup guys, Dale, they kind of come in, not insecure, but they're like, these guys do it on a weekly basis and they're just like coming in for this one-off. But how do you feel about kind of the attention that it creates and going up against those guys? I love it. You know, I've always tried to just look at it as, you know, when we all strap in, we're all ready. and you don't ever change anything because of somebody coming down the run with you. But, like, when I won Wilkesboro, how many eyes were on it because there was eight or nine cup guys?

And, like, for me, that did, you want to beat the best. Like, I miss, like, I know they've changed the rules in the upper series, but, like, if I was an X-Finity guy or a truck guy, like, I want to beat Kyle Busch, right? Like, if I beat him, I know I beat the best that's doing it. And I always have told myself, like, the more, the better, really. Because, like, you know, if you're racing five cars and one falls out and this guy is barely getting there, you know, it's not going to mean the same as if you beat 20 guys that are the best of the best. So it's like almost like that's why the car store is so big. It's like running Martin'sville every week. Yeah, I think for me, my focus is our audience on.

flow. You know, we want to have a great walk-up audience. We want to have a great attendance at the racetrack. But where we will, I think where we'll get to the next level and where all of us get to, you know, I'm an owner. And so I have the same concerns and worries that Lee might have about, you know, the viability of the cost and expense. So there's, I look at the flow audience. and how that's growing, and we will only be able to get better and bigger if we continue to multiply that flow audience. You know, if we get, you know, 100,000, 150,000, 200, 250,000 people watching our races, which I think is realistic, we're really truly going to see a massive change in support

from corporate America, support from local sponsors and so forth, and it'll just get a lot of easier for all of us. And so that's probably the main thing that I look at. car count is another thing that I look at. When the car counts, you know, are volatile, we've got to know why. We've got to figure out why are guys and girls not wanting to race this weekend. Is it the travel? Is there a track too far away? Are our rules conflicting with that track and creating, you know, a barrier for local entries to want to join us? Because we usually have four to six local drivers that will want to race with us when we come.

to their tracks. So we're looking at all of those things. But those are the two main focuses for me in terms of trying to grow the cars tour and make the cars tour something that all these short tracks want, right? All the hickories and they were like, hey, we do great when y'all are on our calendar year. We want y'all to be here. It helps us, you know, financially. And so that's, that's kind of the focus for me. Yeah, a lot of variables, but a lot of room to grow, which is has to be encouraging as a driver, as an owner, and a series owner as well. I guess that will kind of wrap up our day, Butterbean. We appreciate you joining us.

And Studio and Lee, thanks for joining us online as well. Yeah, thanks for having us. We appreciate it. Yeah, I appreciate y'all having me. It's an honor to be here. I appreciate y'all taking the time to have me, and I know Lee feels the same way. So it's really cool. Y'all let us have this time with y'all and showcase ourselves.

Lee raced with Josh, as he mentioned, they had a lot of great battles together. I really didn't know, know Lee that well over the years. Since I retired, I've been able to get to the racetracks where Lee's at, and it's been amazing to get to know him better. And I really truly appreciate what a valuable asset he is to the cars tour and to late model stock racing, how he champions that type of car and what he does for that and what he's done for drivers like you, Brandon. and I, you know, I appreciate you and what you've done to shine a light on our series.

And I enjoy coming to the racetrack and being a part of what I'm racing or there to watch or to pull from my own car in the race itself. You know, you guys are amazing and a lot of fun to be around. So the sky's the limit. We've got a long way to go, a lot of growing to do and a lot of opportunity and possibility. And a couple of these guys right here is the reason why this stuff's realistic for us. as far as growing in the future. Well, and we appreciate you.

I mean, we appreciate, like Lee said, you didn't have to do what you do. And it means a lot to the short track guys. I know it does. So I'm having a blast doing it. Yeah, I was just going to say, you know, we do appreciate it. And it's been special. Like I tell everybody at the racetrack, you know, like that I see, Dale's having a ball.

Like I can look at him. I'm like, he is truly having fun out here with us. And it's so cool to see. you know, because I think it's special for the sport, special to be a part of. I mean, even talking to Brian, he was like, you know, Dale come and help me hang the body on this thing. And, you know, from the crew guys that's working on the eight car and a three car to all of us on pit road, we're just one big family. You know, we're all competing against each other trying to win races. but at the end of the day, we would all help each other out with anything.

And we got a special group, and I'm proud to be a small part of it. Another reminder to check out all the Dirty Mo Media podcast that we have out there today. Of course, the Dell Jr. download had Donnie Reeves and Dale, I know this one just had to have been really special, just listening. A lot of great stories shared this week. Yeah, we had a great guest. Donnie Reeves is one of dad's best friends, best man in his wedding. And so Donnie would not do interviews forever. out of respect for dad and Teresa and his appreciation for them.

So got him in the studio. We told some good stories and had a lot of fun. So hopefully people tune in. Yeah, a lot of chills listening to that. So be sure to check that out. And we'll see you next week on DJD Reloaded. See y'all next week. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.