The Dale Jr. Download - Jon Wood: Twitter Antics, Made Up Job Titles & Paving WBR’s Future

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

Two legendary NASCAR family names have a riveting discussion as Dale Earnhardt Jr. welcomes Jon Wood, President of Wood Brothers Racing, to the Download. The two go over Jon’s entertaining social media posts over the years, his vision to propel the Wood Brothers' heritage forward, why he stepped away from racing as a driver, and much more.  Jon’s earliest memories in racing and getting his first go-kart from NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett. From karts, Jon moved into late models before making the jump to the regional NASCAR stock car series and Trucks. Jon explains he likely didn’t take his racing career as seriously as he should have, and a loss of sponsors caused the team to work with veteran drivers to take over.After stepping out of the driver’s seat, Jon moved into a managerial position with the family team. At the time, the family team was struggling and needed redirection. Eventually, Jon would take over as President, helping to lead the team into a new era. To this day, Wood Brothers Racing continues to be a family enterprise, celebrating over 75 years in stock car racing. Dale and Jon also discuss some current NASCAR topics, such as charter ownership, the 23XI/FRM lawsuit, the Wood Brothers’ recent 100th victory, and social media presence. And for more content check out our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMediaReal fans wear Dirty Mo. Hit the link and join the crew.👇https://shop.dirtymomedia.com/FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call [phone] for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. 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.

One of the things that I think you're really well known for is managing the Woodbrother's social media account. I can't believe that they let you do that. Can't either, honestly. You still have the login? I do. Who runs now? My sister does a lot of it, but like all the crap you saw at Loudoun, that was me. That was you.

Yeah. Anything where you're like, whoa. That's me. I think we can tell. The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. All right, here we are for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download, and we got a great one for an interview today. It's John Wood. John has, you know, obviously grew up in the family, the Wood brothers that we all know about. And he's sort of found his way into a role, a prominent role, of managing and running this race team. John was a driver himself, had a relatively successful career, racing in the truck series, had some great runs in the Xfinity series as well, made some cup starts. And then, immediately somehow his career came to an end in terms of driving. We want to get behind that and see what happened and also learn how the process came

together for him to find his way into a new role and a new chapter in life. So this will be a lot of fun. I've known John for a long, long time, but it's been from a distance. He has a very, very fun personality, and I think we're all going to enjoy this. So let's get started. John, I appreciate you coming through. It's good to have you on here. Son of Eddie Wood.

Eddie is the oldest of Glenwood's children. You began working at the Wood Brothers at the age of 12. Is that right? You must have found it somewhere. I don't know. It sounds about right. I was there at 12. I won't say I was working.

You weren't working. So what's your earliest memory of racing and what your family? was what your family was responsible for. My earliest memory, this is a, I mean, it's crazy how things stick in your mind when you're a kid, but the earliest thing I remember

was being at Martinsville. There's two different times, but one of the times a friend of mine and I were throwing a baseball or a tennis ball or something, and your dad, of all people, walks past,

and we hit him with the ball. Like, I mean, hit him in the nuts. I wasn't going to say that, but, I mean, he just popped, around a hauler and like boom there he was and that just stuck in my mind because it's like I'm I'm at a racetrack and here's this like like almost imaginary figure and we just hit him with a ball that was that was kind of wild and then the other one was maybe the same racetracker or North

Wilkesboro something like that but getting to because back in those days our trailer or our hauler had a ramp in the back it was there was no lift gate it was you would hook a winch to it and then they would pull it up a ramp in the back. And I always got to sit in the passenger side and winched, like right up as it's being winched into the, end of the hauler. So I can't remember what track, but those are the two things that stuck out. Yeah. Were you in love with motorsports as a kid? Were you, did you play sports?

Did you, were you, you know, distracted by some of the things as a, you know, regular kid might be distracted by in school? or was your every thought of every day driven by being able to get home, get around your dad, get around the race cars? Yes and no. It took, so my mind is in a million places at once and it's like ADHD times a billion. So channeling that energy into one place was difficult. So one minute it's baseball, one minute, it's baseball, one minute, It's golf one minute. It's basketball.

So I played sports growing up. I did. The racing part wasn't a passion at the beginning because I wasn't really. It was there. The race shop was there. The business was there. But I wasn't really a part of it. Yeah.

So I didn't. It was just. And then coming from a small town where racing is not a big deal like it is here, um, your friends are not in it. It was just a business basically. So no, I wasn't. And then as I started to race and as I got into karting, it did become a passion.

It'd become a serious thing. And the competitive side of me was like, all right, I want to do this and I want to win. I don't know that it was a passion for racing. It was a passion for being competitive. And then that turned into, yes, I really like this racing thing. And when you've been that way about it and when you've felt that feeling, you kind of see it. and other kids if they have it or not. And I guess what I mean by that is, like, you go to a, I remember going to a hotel one time

with Brian Bickers. So we were roommates and really good friends. We went to Clearwater, Florida, of all places. And at the hotel room that night, we went and found a store that sold RC cars, like just regular RC cars you put double-a batteries in. And we made a little racetrack with cups in the hotel room that night, and we're racing the cars. Just, that's what we did. Yeah.

And then, like, I didn't think about it at the time, but looking back, when you have that passion, you find a way to make a racetrack. You find a way to, if it's sidewalk, chalk and bicycles, you know, you find a way of doing it. Make a race out of something. Yeah, and then it becomes a passion. It's something that you really, really enjoy and you want to be good at it.

So starting out, no, but then as I got a little older and I had a more involved role, yes, I did. Yeah. I wonder what it's been like for you to learn about your, family's legacy. You know, I, I, I, how would you answer that for yourself? Well, I mean, well, I can, I can say that it's been a bunch of fun for me to really dive in deeper to, to the, every little decision I can learn about that dad made.

I, I, I, for all of my life, it was, it was articles, statistics, picture books, photos, or what experience I had with him in real life. But now these days, and my vision of him and maybe similar for you was the same that everyone had, right? The intimidator, man in black, tough as nails, very intimidating. He was that way at home, that way everywhere. And I saw, I was so, I was also nervous around him, the same way a fan may be.

I had the same visceral sort of reaction to being around dad that anybody that was a adored him would be right and uh but as i've gotten older i've sort of wanted to know uh i've learned that i can find more information and more you know more stories and and things that i can't find in a picture book things i can't see in a statistic or a rundown or or or in racing reference uh yeah and that's been fun uh getting to know more what little things you can glean from the surface or from from history around Ralph, but also there's been a lot of things that I learned about dad in the 70s. One of the things, and I'm sorry from Ramman, but one of the things, this is like therapy.

One of the things that triggered this was my mom got sick and we knew she was not going to be with us much longer. And she decided she kept a lot of shit to herself around. She did not want to say anything bad about dad and change. Even though she had her own opinions about dad, she didn't want to change ours. And we got down in those final couple of weeks, and me and Kelly were saying, hey, you know, if there's something you can share with us, even if it sucks to hear, we kind of want to, we don't, we kind of want to hear it. And so mom dove into what life was like with him when he was running dirt tracks and, you know, 73, 74, when he didn't, when he wasn't anybody and making a bunch of decisions, you know, getting drunk with his buddies and coming home late and running into the truck, into the,

into the hitch of the trailer that they lived in and moving the trailer and knocking over the oil drum on the back that heated the furnace and that he just spent 20 bucks filling up. But it was, it was, that was the, what made me go, man, there's a side of dad that's not so glamorous, but it's who he was and it's what he was. And I don't know. I don't want to know. I haven't asked to know about that.

I've always wanted to hold him up here and think, man, you know, he's this amazing thing. And man, I really kind of want to know more about this guy, this guy didn't have a shit together, right? And what it did for me... The stuff that's not in racing reference.

That's right. Yeah. What it did for me was it taught me that, it taught me that dad, shouldn't have made it, you know. He shouldn't have made it. Like, he barely made it, right? All those things had to go just right. Hit the, hit the old drum just right to where it didn't catch on fire. Yeah. Yeah. So he barely made it. And he shouldn't have made a lot of bad decisions and all that, but, you know, it's part of the story that I hadn't heard. You are, you know,

you grew up in this. I grew up in that. You're around it and you don't know it. You don't know anything different. Right. It's all, it's all you've ever known. Yeah. And it's, to me, looking at the Wood Brothers, I'm like, freaking David Pearson. Yeah. Like getting to know Leonard and how, you know, getting to your dads and seeing the history and how y'all have persevered and still successful today. I have you way up here on this mountain, right? And I'm wondering where are, where is your legacy in your mind, you know?

And what is, what have you, how much have you enjoyed being exposed to it? And as you've gotten older, more mature. and appreciative of really that hard work that they've done to get there and the part that you've been a part of it. Like, how has that process changed? Well, now that I've got my shit together, because for a while I didn't. Yeah. The thing that fascinates me the most is similar to what you were just saying about how your dad shouldn't have made it. Like, we shouldn't.

I shouldn't be sitting right here right now talking to you about how our race team is going to be filled in the car this weekend in Charlotte. Like we should, I don't know what I would be doing, but I look at all of otherwise, but I look at all the things, the close calls that we've had over the years. And in 75 years, there's a lot. But every little one of those things had to go exactly the way that it did. You know, you're at a stop sign, a fork in the road. And this time, this left hand turn was the right way to go. The next time the right hand turn was the right way to go.

But every single one of those instances had to be just right. You know, I look at all the really low times when we didn't get the charter in 2016. Like that was a scary, scary time. And we barely made it. I mean, it's just a miracle. But the way, and I try to figure out how we did it, how this story continues. And it's the way that my grandpa, the way that my dad, the way they treat people, it makes people want to help them.

It makes Ford Motor Company say, you know what, I like these guys. Let's help them keep going. Edsel Ford, Jim Farley. Those are not just key figures in our history and our business. They're friends. They're great friends. Great friends of my family and my dad. And it's extraordinary to think about just, I mean, it's mind-boggling.

Like how we've made it this far. Yeah. And the close calls we've had and just somehow figured it out and made it. Yeah. And I don't, I don't, that's what, that's what I, you know, reflect on. Yeah. I think that's healthy because your, I feel the same way. I did a lot.

That's what I mean about, I guess, you know, dad shouldn't have made it. And had he not made it, right? He's making it. You made it. You made it. It changed everything. Yep. For everyone.

And, you know, connected to him down that line and myself included. And so you have this real crazy understanding of how delicate things can be. Yep. This is a fragile business. Fragile. It's, you're here until you're not. Yeah.

And then you're, you're scorned, and you're mad, and NASCAR sucks. You know, you've seen it. Oh, yeah. When you're in the business, it's great. And then when you're out, it's like you get this mindset that you were done wrong. and I wonder will I feel that way one day whenever that time may come hopefully never but you know when I'm on the outside looking in will I be bitter and say you know I hate them guys or whatever and I left me and I hope not yeah I hope so too um you talked about go-kart racing um you got

your first go car from Dale Jarrett yeah um why do you want to go what what was the catalyst for you racing was this something that your dad said hey we could do this was it something that you were asking for? It started one weekend. There's a local track in Madison, North Carolina. It was a go-cart track. It's probably a housing development now. All those go-cart tracks are now housing developments. And I went one weekend, drove another kid's cart, liked it, but I did. I liked it. But I didn't, it wasn't like, oh, my God, I got to do this again. It was just, yeah, this, I liked this. Let's try this. And so my dad never encouraged it, but he allowed it. And the reason, that he gave for allowing this was he was never given that opportunity. He didn't have the choice

to race. My grandpa said it's either the big ones or the little ones. We can race the big ones or we can race the little ones, but we're not doing both or something along the lines. And so he was always motivated and enabled it for me to be able to race the way I did. And, you know, I won't say that he encouraged it. He didn't, but he, you know, let me go as far as I wanted. And what was your, you know, what was your success in carts? I raced a lot of, so I moved up quickly. Like I never, I look at how my niece races now and Wyatt even. Like they stay at Millbridge for years.

It's like you're there forever until you get good and then you move on to late models or whatever. But I feel like the way we did it was carting for one year or two years, then an Allison legacy car for one year, then late models for one. one year than who just broke up for one year. I never really was in something long enough to master it. As soon as I got pretty good at it, it was on to the next level. What did you enjoy? What level? Late models were probably the best. Where did you race? A motor mile. So it was New River Valley Speedway at the time, but like being the hometown guy, because being from Stewart, is that close? Very close. Well, I say very close. It's 45 minutes. I mean, there's a hundred tracks around here,

but it was the closest one for us. And so, like, I could go there, and I felt, I felt like somebody. Because in the, in that environment, people were like, man, I really pull for your family. I really, really like you guys. And so it was like I established a fan base overnight that I didn't really earn. But it made me appreciate it nonetheless. And so those were the, those are the good times. Yeah, I think so, too.

I tell guys, I enjoyed cup racing, but I honestly, purefew, fun, like just being there for the sole reason of wanting to be there and loving it was late models and that grassroots level. And I tell guys, like I tell Josh Barry, I'm like, you're never going to have more fun than you're having right now. Like the rest, you're wanting to go up and go on up. Yeah. By all means.

It gets, it gets serious. And the fun goes away really quick. Yeah, it does. You know, I never, I don't know that I really knew too much about your racing until you got in the trucks. you made your debut at Martinsville in 2001. God, is that true? Yeah, I think it is.

I think it's for Billy Blue. Now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, and that thing was, it was a challenge that day. I mean, going to Martinsville and anything to be your debut in the top three series, Martinsville, I was always thinking, man, I'm going to go to Bristol and I'm going to get chewed up. It's just the way it's going to be for a while. you know them short tracks and just trying to finish a race and put

I could run like hell for a hundred laps but I was going to destroy something after that The crazy thing for me at Bristol I don't know if you ever did this but the first time I went there I got lost I couldn't I couldn't figure out if I was on the yeah because they're identical you see the flag stand and that's it everything else looks the same so I'm like which side am I on here?

I used to say that going to Bristol felt like putting the VCR on fast forward for about 40 laps and I was way behind everything going on until I got acclimated It took me about 20. Even now, like if I go there, I need about 30, 40 laps before I... You're hanging on. For I'm figuring, I'm finally up to speed with what's processing.

You had some good success, though, in the trucks. I did, yeah. So I won two races in 2003. Carl was my teammate. Drive in for Roush. Yeah, for Roush. It was a competitive time back then. I mean, you were there, you know, like it...

I don't know if it's always like this once you retire and you're like, well, it was a lot harder back then. Maybe that's just how people are. But I do feel like it was tougher in the early 2000s. I remember in my Xfinity rookie season, there were 20 guys that were racing cup on Sunday, at least 20. And so if you finish 12, 11 of those 12 ahead of you work up guys. And so it was a tough time to come into it. you know, it only makes you stronger, I guess. Yeah, but you were able to win races.

Yeah, I do. You know, I mean, I don't know, I guess I don't know how to articulate it, but I had always looked at the Wood Brothers and the everybody involved in it, you know, Glenn, Leonard, Eddie, everybody involved as mechanics. ingenuity, building cars, owning cars. And you were the first, I know that Glenn drove, and I don't know that history as well, although I know that they did compete and he was behind the wheel back in the day. But you were breaking the mold

of what a lot of people felt like they had the Wood brothers, you know, in their mind. For you to be out on the racetrack and competitive and having ability, talent was surprising. Did you surprise yourself? A little. I mean, anybody in good equipment can probably do a decent job.

And I kind of learned that maybe the hard way that, you know, you're only as good as what you're driving. I didn't really have anybody to ask those questions to about the driving side because everybody in my family were mechanics or crew chief of someone. sort. So that part was, I'm not going to say challenging, but it was just different. Yeah, we didn't have the Josh Wise program. No, that stuff didn't exist. And you were, yeah, you were kind of on an island maybe. Yeah, it was, it was different. But, I mean, my dad knows surprisingly a lot about a lot of stuff. And so I never felt like I was underprepared, underdeveloped. I never really thought about it until you just mentioned it. Yeah. Yeah. Do you,

What's your opinion about your racing career, your driving career, and why did it end? I mean, I don't know, I ask myself that sometimes. I probably didn't take it the most serious. I mean, if I'm sitting here being honest, it was, again, a time when it was very competitive. One of the catalyst was the downturn when sponsors started leaving, and I was sharing the ride with Bill Elliott at the time. he kind of, well, actually it was Ken Schrader, and I think it was my idea, in fact, to try to get Bill to come along to help make the races, because we were, we were so far off. Having Bill there with the past champion provisional, kind of, it was like cheating, but it worked. And as time went on, he kind of took over more and more races because he was able to make them.

And then before you know it, it's just you're all outside looking in. And I wasn't going to try to be a starting Parker and still just wimp along. Like it was either be there, be competitive, or stop. And I spent a lot of time after pretty aggravated and pretty frustrated and, you know, mad at myself, mad at everybody. Not really taking full responsibility for it, but a lot of it was my own fault. And then I woke up one day and said, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to, embrace this role with the race team on the on the administrative side on the ownership side and I'm going to do it right yeah and that's where I'm at right now you were tagged to go full-time

cup racing and it didn't happen um the truck team shuts down at the end of 08 and you have it raced in a national series since then um had you had any interest in I know that they're I know that the answer to this is, yeah, if it's not a, you know, I'm not just going to go drive anything, but you could have, you could have put together a late model. You said you enjoyed late models. You could have put together a car and went and tinkering, played and pittled. What was, what were you, how did you handle turning off that, that route and that, and that route being turned off, right?

Because you've raced, you race trucks, you won, you had great flashes in the Xfinity car that produced this opportunity that, man, this guy is going to go cup racing, you've got your family behind you, and then that comes to a screeching halt. So whether it's right or wrong, I felt like continuing to try to race something is maybe like an alcoholic drinking occasionally. you either stop it or you don't. And I didn't have the means. I didn't have the ability, not ability,

I didn't have the opportunity to say, let me go drive your stuff for a weekend. Like I just didn't really, I wasn't going to ask anybody and put anybody in that position. And so just being done with it was. Did you have anybody call you and say, hey man, we've got,

won't you come drive this thing? Occasionally and like some modified stuff here and there. I had a couple that had modifies. I'm struggling to try to remember I mean, I even get it to this day. There was a couple guys that had a legends car that asked last summer about racing that. It's zero interest.

I won't say zero interest, but I know that if I do it, I'll probably be like, damn, I miss this. What's wrong with that? Well, nothing's wrong with, but if it's something that you can't do every weekend and do good. Yeah. Well, I think you know now that, like, hey, man,

I've got this real big responsibility. I'm not going to take away anything from that. You've made good choices. you're in a spot today that you have the ability, I think, to pedal. Like, I run, I ran for a while one Xfinity race a year, and I don't do that anymore because I'm good. I'm good. I don't have any interest, any, in going running an Xfinity car. You're going to talk me into this.

And wait, and then I ran some late models, and that was fun. And, you know, I'm kind of midway through that, you know. and I know like one of these days I'm just going to get up and go eh that was it I'd like to do it to show my kids yeah like like how are they this uh it changes every year not 9 and 13 not 9 and 13 I love that question so and that answers even better um but I coached both of them in baseball well I had coached one team I'm assistant coach in the other and that one of them's a travel team and the other one's going to be a travel team in the spring. So that people don't realize, like, that's a lot.

That's a, that's an ass load of responsibility. It's like every day. Yeah. So that takes, and maybe that's, maybe that's my excuse. Like, I can't go racing and I don't have time. Yeah. Well, you don't know. You don't have time.

I don't want to explore that because I'm happy. I'm happy where I'm at. I'm happy, you know, helping them. Yeah. But I would like one time to just go do it and say, all right, I told you. Like, I knew this. Yeah. Maybe you just need to take a little.

legend's car somewhere and test by yourself. And I've waited. Yeah. But and I've also, so like there's, there's videos of, of the races that I've won. Yeah. I can find them. But I'm not going to show them that until they are old enough to appreciate it. Yeah, yeah.

You get one shot. I know. I've showed, I've taken my girls to races and, uh, and I've shown them races, you know, and it just, it doesn't register. No. And it's, and the reason I feel that way is I grew up at your first question. When you grow up in it and you're exposed to something early on. you become sort of like

cold to it yeah like indifferent that's a perfect word indifferent it just doesn't nah whatever so like I won't I don't want them seeing this stuff until they're old enough

and I'm like alright look here's what happened yeah this is pretty cool yeah here's my trophies you know I did okay yeah

and then that'd be the end of it when you got done driving um was this a long decision was this something that happened overnight? What was your conversations like with your dad? I thought you meant having,

I thought you meant like when I got, when I became a dad. No. Because that was like a, that was like a last minute, oops, kind of that. Yeah. But it turned out great.

You know, it, I needed that. I needed that responsibility that, um, can't believe we're talking about this. But yeah, it happened. And, and so that was the best thing in the world.

and I became responsible overnight. Back to your question, what was it? When you were deciding to, when you were done driving, what was the conversation like with your family, with your dad? I didn't really have a choice because we had lost those sponsorship opportunities. The Cup team was on life support, like literal, we're in bad, bad shape. So I never, even if I could have been like, hey, can you help me out here, keep this going.

I wasn't going to do that because we just weren't in a place. How hard was that for you to, um, I mean, I guess maybe the fact that you all were in such dire straits was such a distraction. You didn't even get to think about your own feelings.

That's when I said, you know, I went through a period where I was bitter and aggravated and frustrated. It's just like, and I see why people get that way when they're, where did you go? What did you do? for before you got it figured out i don't know i mean it there was there was a lot of days where i was

i was i don't i don't even know where did you work what did you do for the shop i was i was i was at the shop i was i was just hanging out yeah like just had my head in my ass i mean it it it was not fun but a lot of that was my own doings yeah but it it it i can't change it i can't yeah i can't rewind and redo it. As I said at the beginning, every decision you make and every close call that we had led us to where we are today, and I wouldn't trade anything for where we are. Like, it's a really good place for the race team. I'm in a really good place with my family. Like, whatever happened, whatever course I had to go down. Did your dad, was your dad, you know, getting on your ass and saying, hey, when are you going to figure this out? He was mad. Yeah. You said,

you know, becoming a father changed you. It did. Yeah. That's, I mean, I think it has that effect on most, all men. I just had Tony Stewart in here the other day, and he's a new dad. And it's awesome, because I knew how much. You felt it, you know. Yeah.

Yeah. So I myself had a lot of things that I needed to get better at as a man, as a person. and you becoming a parent give you don't have much of a choice in some of that and it teaches you you I think you're instantly sort of flung into you know this new relationship and you love this thing with more than you thought you could love anything right um so I guess you know talk about how becoming a dad has been an adventure and and improved you as a person it's probably made me more patient. I don't really know how it's changed me. It's just, it's made me realize, okay, I can't sleep in today. I can't do like there's so many things that I used to be

able to do that I no longer have the opportunity or ability to do. Yeah. Because I have two kids that I have to make sure they stay alive. And like when you, when this first happens and you first have that, or that baby is alive, you're like, how do I keep it this way? Yeah. And it's a little bit scary. Yeah. But kids have been turning into adults for tens of thousands of years and they've made it. So surely I can not screw this up.

Yeah. And it's, it's been great. I mean, I feel like my two get great. They have a lot of opportunity. I want them to have the opportunities I had, but I want them to maybe appreciate their family lineage more at an earlier age than maybe I did. I don't know how to do that because, again, as we talked about, when you're exposed to something and you're that young, you just, you can't help but becoming indifferent to it. Yeah.

And I don't want that. I want them to see what they came from and realize what a big deal it is and the accomplishments that my dad and my family have made. Yeah. Yeah, man, that's tough. I don't really know how to, I don't know how to do that better myself. So you, you, we just kind of got a hope. I feel like the more I try to share,

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That's promo code playoffs at linelracing.com. You would serve as the vice president and the director of business development for the Wood Brothers. That was a self-made title. I made that shit up just to be able to have something on a business card and at the bottom of my emails. Yeah. Because like the way we do things,

it's it's it's it's it's all just family decisions like we we don't we delegate we there are things that win does that he's that he excels at you know the the financial part numbers he's great at that but we all kind of chip in and and do what needs to be done but we're in a world and in a in a business now whereas 20 years ago it well it's different now you got to have to have a corporate title. You've got to have some structure because racing is different. It's just not the same. It's a business. And so I felt like we all needed titles. We all needed to look fancier. And so I just made all that crap up. But now, now as president, that's real. And that wasn't my, I didn't make that up. How did you learn about that? My dad just up,

because I had been fighting and fighting and fighting to try to get all of us having, like real on paper rolls and like this one does this yeah this one does that so he knew that i was really pushing for that but i wasn't i didn't want to go that far and then one day is like hey i'm thinking about talking to lynn and um we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna um i'm gonna resign's not the right word but you're gonna take my spot oh yeah okay so so So your uncle and your dad like carried on the Wood Brothers legacy perfectly

it was almost like it was perfect it was it was destiny that they would be raised and and almost bred to take over as the next generation right from from Leonard and your grandfather

he made them My, I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I don't, I'll forget. My grandpa, he was in it until one day he wasn't. What happened? He just was like, y'all take this over, I'm done. And I don't mean that one afternoon on a Friday, he says, okay, I'm going to garden, y'all take it over. But it was a very quick transition. So my dad and Lynn were under his and Leonard's control.

And then one day he's like, y'all are doing a good job. job at this, go run it. And I don't really see that happening now. And it's not that they don't trust us. It's that NASCAR ownership, look at Roger Penske, look at Richard Chilters. Like, you go until you just can't go anymore. It's not like you're punching a time card or like you, you're the owner and you're the shot caller until you just, until you decide you're not anymore. Yeah. And, and,

they're getting a little older, but they're still doing it. So I don't really see that happening where one day Lynn and my dad are like, yeah, y'all go take it over. Yeah. I think they'll, and I want them involved.

Yeah. The, the, they're, they're incredible at relationships. And, I mean, it's just unreal at how good they are at this stuff. And I'm terrible at it.

I hate talking. Like, it's, I won't, I won't say that. I won't say that I hate talking. I, I'm a back of the office person.

Like, I like getting stuff done, but I'm not somebody that's good at, how's your mom on them? Yeah. That type of just a... I'm the same way. Okay. So you kind of relate. Like, it's not that I'm standoffish. It's not that I'm just not good at it.

And I shy away from it. Me too. It's just a personality trait. And I don't know. It's not insecurity. I'm not good enough at remembering. the details, whereas like Rick Hendrick, my sister, there's other people that I know that will learn something about somebody in their family, their child, or somebody's graduated

or somebody just got married. And they got that up there. And man, next time they see that person six months a year down the road, oh, hey, how they doing? How's this? Yeah, that's not. I can't. I I can't, I can't, I do get to remember people's names. Yeah. And it's not that I don't appreciate them or respect them. I just, my mind doesn't work that way. Yeah. Um, I'll, get that. I don't know, but it's right or wrong. You know, I got to get better at it. Yeah. And is what it is. You have Lynn's son, Kevin is your first cousin. He was named Executive Vice President. Your sister Jordan Wood Hicks was the chief marketing officer. I guess at one point, I'm not sure what everybody's roles are these days. That's close enough. But everybody, but it's a big family operation.

still. Everybody's still there together. Yep. And I think part of the reason that it works is one of the great things that my grandpa did is he instilled a mindset of level playing field. So my dad, Lynn and Kim, even though my dad might have been the older sibling and on paper ran the show or whatever, they all three had the same say. And they made the same amount of money.

And they were treated exactly the same. So Jordan, Kevin, and I are in that same tier amongst ourselves. And it just works. I mean, we don't, every family has their squabbles. Every family, but to be a family business that's thriving and has thrived for 75 years, and I'm not going to sit there for an hour and trash one or the other, you know, it's probably working okay. There's some similarities here at junior mergersports, and the one thing that I'll say about family,

there's a ton of things that are positives to working with family, but the trust is the one thing. I know that no matter what we may not, we may not see eye to eye on a certain decision, but I know they're still going to be there tomorrow. The other individual has all the opportunity to go decide, hey, this is a lot. for me. I don't agree with this direction. I might go over here and do that job for another organization. But with family, you have a sense of security, I think, that I've gotten used to. You know, I've tried not to take for granted, but it certainly, you know, insulated me, I think, a lot from what someone else might deal with in another organization where you're working with

people that aren't family, you know. There's a challenge. trust and I know that we'll we'll figure it out and you're you're you're you're you'll be here tomorrow just same as me and we'll figure it out we'll come to a compromise and yeah I mean like I I might and this is just a hypothetical but like I might be mad at Kim right now and then I'll be spraying her turf this afternoon you know working on her her her yard yeah so um that's just like that's how we do it that's right it's um you know it's it's family first and then business second but we're a family business and so it works. As you've been put into this role as team president,

you talked about how touch and go it was back in the day trying to get that charter. It feels like, I'm going to six, eight, ten years ago when the charter agreement came around. The, you know, as you've learned more about the way the business works, what, you know, it's kind of like getting a peek behind the curtain, a wizard of odds, so to say. speak. There's some things that are awesome. There's some things that scare the shit out of you.

Like now you know too much, right? I never wanted to know what I know now. Right. Yeah. Like I always trusted my dad to go and fix it. Yeah. Like don't tell me, don't tell me the bad stuff. Just go just go fix it and we'll go right along. And it's, you're right. Like the, the higher up, the pecking order you go, the more you're exposed to and the scary stuff you see becomes real. And it can make you worry. Yeah. What about the business today gives you confidence?

I think our, I'm not going to call it a relationship. It's more of a partnership with Team Penske. Our great relationship with Ford, with, as I said, Edsel and Jim Farley, like those things are as strong as they've ever been. And so it puts us in a really good position. Beyond that, I mean, there's a lot of uncertainty right now and where things are going to go. Yeah. But we've done what we can do to make ourselves as strong as possible.

Yeah. Do you, I imagine, you know, like everybody else, you watch the current dispute between 2311 and NASCAR, hoping things get sorted out. What would be the best outcome, in your opinion? A settlement? Yeah. I mean, I don't, I don't know. I don't, this is, this is a, this is a scary time. Yeah.

I mean, it, I wonder how, if it is scary. Like, I don't know what, I don't have a charter, never have had a charter. I don't know what that would actually truly feel like. I can assume. But I, I wonder sometimes, is it, do the teams that are, that are sitting on the sideline idly watching this go by, watching this play out, are they, do they feel insulated, protected? Is it nerve? Is there some anxiety?

Because like, and I know, I don't want to die too deep into this because I know you've got to be careful about what you say, but. Me, careful? Well, I know. I want to protect you. You help me with that because you know I, too stupid. But when they say, when they talk about, you know, when the judge says, man, things could be completely different if this goes a certain way.

Yeah. Right? What the freak does that even mean, right? And I can't imagine, I can't imagine this not going down the road the way it's been going, right? I can't imagine NASCAR in any other way than I've experienced it all these years, right? But you have a little bit of a better peek behind that curtain than I do. So, yeah, I guess how scary is it? How much anxiety is there around what the eventual outcome of this deal?

I think a lot of this moves at such a pace. It's almost like watching grass grow. I don't know what analogy to give, but it's so slow. You don't really notice where it's going because it's there. Yeah, like it's almost like watching a kid grow up. If you see him once a year, it looks like he's really growing because you've only seen him one other time. If you see him every day, you don't notice. So I think there's a lot of that here where we get little updates every day.

And so it doesn't really seem as troubling, or maybe it doesn't really seem as good. But, you know, we're heading toward a showdown. Yeah. You know, that's coming. And I don't think, unless there is a settlement, somebody's going to win and somebody's going to lose. And that's...

I feel like if there's not a settlement, everybody's going to lose. I just don't feel like if the... Like, I wish they would settle. I wish that they would... be a give and take and everybody could walk away and go, hey, you know, sorry about all those text messages, sorry about all the shit we said about you back and forth from both sides. This is the time that I go and get on my air rater and work on a yard and like, yeah, and just, just forget about it.

I hear you. Because it's a, it can wear you out. Yep. Hey, TJ, you know that I got my own Chevy dealership down in Tallahassee, Florida. We're part of the Hendrick Automotive Group. Yes, I have heard of Darren Hart Jr. Chevrolet. I bet you'd be surprised on what type of Chevrolet vehicles we specialize in. If I had a guess, I'm going to say it would probably be Chevy trucks.

Well, we definitely sell plenty of those, but actually we're really big in commercial vehicles. We actually sell a lot of crane trucks, or the number one seller, actually, in crane trucks. Okay, I definitely did not see that coming. Yeah, pretty neat, huh? So for any of our listeners shopping for commercial vehicles, here's some things you need to know about us at Delenhart. Junior Chevrolet. We have hundreds of trucks in stock so you can find what you need fast. And we have people there that can help you with custom orders. So if you want to build the exact vehicle you need, we can do it. We offer complimentary delivery anywhere in the continental

US. Plus, Hendrick Automotive Group is the nation's top rated dealer group for online reputation. Visit Dale Jr. Chevy.com and click commercial to explore the wide range of available commercial vehicles. Our team at Dellenhart Jr. Chevrolet will give you a world-class experience. Chevrolet, together, let's drive. You guys have found some good success this year on the racetrack. Last year, you got a win with Harrison.

Worked really hard with him for a couple of years. Things, you know, you change drivers, but some other things as well changed in the team, new crew chief. Just, you know, just come out of the gate with, with a bit of a lot of new variables, not just from behind the seat with Josh. No, we did, you're right.

You know, you went to the first couple of races, lead laps at Atlanta, you know, had some, saw some things that were like, hmm, this is neat. And then you go to Vegas and run good all day, run up fun all day, and dialed it in and got it done. Do you remember how that felt?

Oh, yeah. Oh, I absolutely. remember that one. The Daytona win was more, it was more like a like a, like an out of body experience because it happened, you know how Daytonas are in Speedways. You, you're like, we're going to wreck. We're like, yeah, we're going to wreck. Can I get out? Can I get to the plane quick enough to get a, get a, get a single row seat? Like I'm counting how many cars have crashed, who might be on our plane and am I going to get a single row seat? Yeah. That's what you're thinking. And all of a sudden, this dude's leading and there's only two laps to go like at what point do we wreck at what point

does this become the reality that it always is where it's snatched away from you at the last second and so time goes on that you know one lap becomes two laps he comes off turn four and he's still leading and even at that point I'm like I'll be seeing both headlights facing me here and just just any second yeah and then he won it and I'm I'm not, this isn't a critique of Harrison. I'm, that's just plate racing. Yeah, yeah. And, and so I remember looking at Jefferson, uh, Hodges.

Yeah, so Jefferson's two seats over and he's like going nuts and Jeremy's going nuts. And it was, I walked over to Jefferson. I said, am I supposed to feel conflicted? Like, I mean, this 100 win thing, we took, everybody's played it up like it's got like confetti's going to fall from the sky and, you know, there's going to be a ticker tape parade. but it's over and done now. And like it just happened.

Am I supposed to feel like weird about this? And he goes, no, that's just, that's just how it goes. Like you, tomorrow you'll feel different. And I did. You know, the next day, it's like, damn, you just won that race. But at the time, it didn't, it just didn't feel right. I don't know why because it, maybe because we just, we spent the whole race average, the whole year, the whole prior two or three seasons, not really in a position to win.

And then all of a sudden, in a snap of a finger, it happens. So that one was different. Not bad, not good. It was great, but it was also just different. Josh's win, that one was, I felt like it was earned from start to finish, and it was just like, we're going to win this thing. Unless there's a caution, he's going to win it. And it was just a different pace.

So my dad was there with me for that one, which was really, really awesome, because it was just the two of us. I don't know how to explain it. But the two wins were so different, but they could not have happened to two better guys, having Harrison get that win, propelling him into a better place moving forward, because that also really sucked. No one that, you know, at the end of our season last year, he would need to go somewhere. And it just never felt complete.

It never felt like he had done enough to where he could move on and start his next chapter. And so that really made it good. Yeah. did you do you remember any moments with your dad in Vegas maybe in the car we don't hug we don't like but we did that one time

and it was on it was on TV too so there's proof he's not a hugger no I'm not either like I feel like it's I don't really know but like I'm just not that person and and we that situation

made us I don't know it's weird this is like therapy I already said that once but You know, it was really, really, really special because it just was. Just having him there, me being in a new role with the race team, like that was the first one where I really felt like I'd helped and contributed. And so it was a neat deal.

Yeah. When you, you know, you know what that does to your team and your organization to be able to thrust yourselves into the playoffs. That's a difference in millions of dollars for your team. Absolutely. And I know you're counting the body. bottom line at the end of the day. You probably operate very similarly to our program. And if we can do this and break even at the end of the day, like that's a good day. You know what I mean? Making money is

great. But if we can do this and not lose money, even, you know, that's kind of the, the worst we can do. We, our, our sole objective is to continue on. It's not to make a pile of money. We don't have motorhomes. My company car, my company provided car that I drive is 18 years old. It's a 2008 expedition. It's got 312,000 miles on it and I've driven that, I've driven the guts out of that thing. Yeah. But that's what I drive. Like tomorrow we'll have a team owner council meeting in the parking lot. You'll have Jeff Gordon with some like brand new Chevrolet SUV. My dad will be in his new Explorer ST and then I'll come clunking up the um there's there's no windshield washer fluid like you push the button nothing happened I can go on all day about the stuff that doesn't work with

that car but I'm not ashamed to be in the same parking lot with the biggest pile of junk compared to every like it's something that makes me who yeah it's just it's who I am yeah I and I embrace it I know I'm the same I do that with I do that with stuff too where I'm like now I don't want the newest. I kind of like this because it's what I know, but it's also like I feel grounded. Like I'm grounding myself. I spilled 50 pounds last night,

so a bag of fertilizer busted in the back, 50 pounds of fertilizer in the back. And I'm on the phone with my dad, and I'm like, I got to go. I got to clean the car out. And he's like, we can clean that thing out for it? And I said, well, it's 50 pounds of fertilizer just busted.

So I get a leaf blower and blow the car out. Like that, but it's okay because it's mine. Yeah, and it's a piece of junk. but it's mine. Yeah. So the season carries on. You've had some other, you know, you've had some tough luck, some bad runs,

some unfortunate things, but also some other moments where you're still seeing the potential in this team, the new potential. Where are we today? Josh has just come off of a tough crash at Kansas. Yeah. But two weeks ago, that's what started this whole outfit,

was yours and my mind. text because you know josh was doing really well that's right almost came came close to win in that's right so um where where are we today with uh with the race team there are times so i don't i don't really look at our results and say we're this or that we're an a team or a b team i look at where are we at any given point in a race were we fast or or were we just did we just luck into a 10th place finish and more races than not this year we've been fast. We've been among the faster cars.

There are a lot of races where we struggled. Road courses, that's not fun. This weekend will not be fun. No. But like you look at any of these short tracks, Josh is a contender. Yeah. And Miles gives him a great car, a fast car.

I didn't really know what to expect when Jeremy parted ways with us and we got Miles because Miles had no prior crew chief and experience, not just Cup experience, but no crew chief in experience. So we kind of spent the whole offseason with the,

we kind of knew what we were getting with Josh, but we didn't really know what we were going to get with Miles. Yeah. And it's been great. I mean, you look at the Vegas win. I mean, that happened fast, really, really quick.

Yeah. So we've got some stuff we've got to work on. We've got some stuff that we need to dial in we've got to stop crashing um and that's not necessarily josh's fault but when you put yourself in a position where you're behind a lot of cars if there's a wreck you've got to somehow not be in it it's easier to not crash when you're ahead of the wreck yeah um other than that i mean i'm i'm pleased with our first we're further along than what i expected yeah let's just put it that way yeah so one of the things i wanted to talk to you about was social media one of the

one of the things that I think you're really well known for is managing the Woodbrother's social media account. You would admit an on up to having managed that account, that account single-handedly for what, the last decade? I would admit to it most times. There was a time I got into a little hot water. I did with one of the former NASCAR executive. He was not happy with me. But like the way I approach things. This guy might be the same guy that was not happy with me.

I'm not sure. I'm just going to assume. But it's possible. We don't have to discuss that. But I may have made the same person upset. Okay. Well, then I'm in good company. I tried it.

I can't believe that they let you do that. Can't either, honestly, because it's, you know, I don't know. But at the same time, at the same time. So one of the accounts that, I like doing this, man, because they deserve it. There's a lot of great accounts out there. And we as an industry have learned that it's good when our accounts have personality. Absolutely.

And one of the really good ones out there right now is RFK. They do a really solid job. There's others as well. But there is a, Dirty Mo Media has, you know, makes an effort to have personality. and sort of play along with the storylines that are happening day to day. It's fun. It makes it, it makes, it makes social media in the NASCAR world enjoyable. I would say that you inadvertently, maybe unintentionally,

were kind of on the front end of that. Being an account that could be self-deprecating, but also at the same time, call out some stuff that was funny. Tell it like I see it. Just tell the truth. How did you get away with that? Because I see the Wood Brothers, in my opinion, as very conservative when it comes to, you know, speaking out of class. That part I got no answers for because so at the beginning, my dad was like, just don't get us in trouble.

Like don't make us lose a sponsorship. Don't say anything that, you know, like we're going to get in trouble with the law. Just, you know, just be cool about it. But it started because my sister had to go to a wedding. So she was doing it prior, 2012. She had to go to a wedding. So they gave me the login information. And I'd never even use Twitter.

I didn't even know what Twitter was. So I created an account for myself and then took over that one. And it was just trial by error. What worked was I still don't know how to Photoshop. I don't know how to doctor up a picture, make these graphics. So that shortfall I made up with words where I couldn't post a really cool picture and say, here's my social media graphic for the day, like it and retweet it and subscribe and whatever you do,

I would come up with a phrase or a sentence or words that still got the message across. And it sort of turned into, well, I'll just tell it like I see it because that's just the type of person I am. I don't really know why. But Motorcraft has always been trusting maybe, and they were our only partner for a long time.

So back when this started, we were part-time. They were our only sponsor, basically that and Ford. And they seemed to be cool with it. And yeah, go have at it. Do whatever you want to do. Just don't say cuss words. Bad ones.

Yeah. And we'll see what happens. And I would push the boundaries. I didn't know it at the time. You didn't. But like there was one time when, so we're at Pocono, and Bubba Wallace crashes with somebody. And we hit a piece of his brake rotor.

So I couldn't see the crash. All I knew was what I heard on the radio that, well, we hit a piece of a brake rotor. So I did it tweet, I guess there was a crash or something, and we hit a brake rotor. I don't know what words it was I said, but it came across as a little bit callous. Condescending. Yeah, maybe because at the time Bubba might have been hurt. I didn't know that. Like if you were in my position, you had had no idea.

So anyway, whoever it was at the time, the scumbag, that ran RCR's Twitter. Here I am, like doing it again. Called us out and like, well, at least Bubba wasn't hurt. Dude, I didn't know. Like, you're on pit road just like I am. You see the same stuff I see. I didn't know how hard he crashed.

I got no clue. So give me an opportunity to be like, hey, sorry, I didn't know that. But they doubled down and, yeah, sure, you're sorry. Uh-huh. Oh, goodness gracious. Why do this to me? Like, I haven't, I don't even know who it was. To the day, I don't know.

And I don't want to know. I don't want to hate them. Yeah. But that happened. That's hilarious. And like I, it was totally no malice intent at all. Sure. So over time when those things happened over and over and over and over, you kind of get like, is this worth it?

Mm-hmm. Like, is it worth me getting in trouble and losing potentially my job, losing, hurting my race teams, longevity, whatever, by saying something. to keep people entertained. No, it's not. So I backed off some. But the tendencies are still there. You still have the login? I do. I do. Who runs now? My sister does a lot of it, but like all the crap you saw at Loudoun, that was me. That was you. Yeah. Yeah. Anything where you're like, whoa. That's me. I think we can tell. But, you know, again, I can't change it. It's just who I am, who we are.

And it seems to work okay. Yeah. Your personality is very unique. You know, for example, the other day we were racing at New Hampshire. Y'all were having a good day. And typically when y'all were having a good day, we might end up in a conversation on the text chain or something. and you have this very are you have this very you're are you pessimistic no never never so you you I relate a little bit to all right well what's going to happen to ruin this like when

something good's happening that's me absolutely yeah like T.J majors can tell you like before a race, he'll be like, this is y'all's weekend. Y'all got the speed. And I'm like, give it time. Let's have, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, we'll talk again and see where things are. Yeah. And, uh, he gets a big kick out of it, but I'm a little bit, a little bit more negative. Yeah. I mean, do you think, um, your, it's a protective mechanism.

Yes. Because of, you don't want to get your hopes. Yep. Yep. That's a million percent what it is. Yeah. It's like if you expect it. It's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's it's it's it's, And you're prepared for it. And then it doesn't have, like the last weekend, I was ready at any moment for a late race caution or something, or a flat tire, or something dumb. And it didn't happen. So, yay, great.

You know, we're in good shape. But had it happened, I was prepared for it. Yeah. So I have, I'm sure you've, you've had this conversation or you've had these thoughts. I was exactly the same way. still get that way sometimes about like going into things that I've actually wanted to do or signed up for just like you as the president of the company and going to the racetrack. You're signed up to, you've signed yourself emotionally to go through this process.

And you get into it and you're like, man, I hope this don't suck. And it's supposed to be like a great thing, right? And I do, I still do that too. My wife, Amy, says that I'm bringing on, like I'm in control of my universe or the universe or my experiences in the universe through law of attraction. And that if I are... Maybe that's our problem then. Like if I'm thinking that this bad thing is going to ruin this day, then I'm offering it the

opportunity to come in and do exactly that. Interesting perspective. She's told me that she believes in the law of attraction that it is. if I had went into it with, you know, expecting better or, you know, that I might more often than not experience a better experience. And so I have tried to steer myself in that direction, but I have the, I was like, I'm like you and similar to you and had been forever, even my racing career, I'm like, here I am, leading with 10 to go. When's the caution coming? The cost is coming. NASCAR is going to throw it. There it is. I knew it, you know.

Called it all along. I knew it. Yep. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, it's, you, you hit it without me even realizing it. It's a coping mechanism. It's a way of softening the blow. Like, I'm just expecting at any moment. And it's not that I have no confidence in the guys. Like, I got every ounce of confidence in the world.

They're there for a reason. They earned it. It's not that. It's just me. Like, I'm just bad luck and unlucky. But, I mean, I'm very, let me back up. I'm very fortunate. Very, very lucky.

I just expect the bottom to fall out. Yeah. I think that that is also a sign of your wanting it to succeed. You want it so bad. Yeah, you want it so bad. Yeah. Especially now that you are in this elevated position, right? You're carrying some responsibility for how it goes.

Yeah. I'll end with this. First off, what playoff format do you want? Keep it like it is, four race, final round, or 36 race full season points? I don't think, I think people are going to complain no matter what format. I think a full 36 has the potential to less, have fewer storylines. I think that you can have a runaway winner. but it doesn't matter what if they cared what i thought i'd be on that panel so whatever y'all

figure it out denny mark jeff i'm on it um you figure it out i'm pulling for the 36 even though it's never going to happen i'm pulling for the 36 race schedule or for a race final round but i like i like that like a more you have one bad like is it is it really right to have one bad race yeah i will not And to the guys that have won under the current format, I believe that this is the most difficult way to do it. So, like, the guys that have won the championships doing it this way, the Blanis, the Liganoes. More pressure.

It is absolutely insanely ridiculous what your odds are, right? Yes. But I don't prefer it. No, you're right. I mean, it's, and the current format has benefited us the last two seasons. Last year, more than this year, we went from making no money in point fund and barely making, I'm not going to say barely, but like it was another struggling time to like, we just, we just another snap of the finger, turn things around overnight. And it depends on what, not only if you win a race, but when you win that race. If we'd have won it two weeks later, the first weekend or, nope, one week later.

It wouldn't matter, yeah. It was just been a win. Yeah. But winning it during the regular season totally changes everything. Financially. Yeah. Yeah. And then Josh won his, and that was a little different story.

Like it's, yeah, we screwed up in the first three races of the playoffs and it is a really bad time to screw up. But we're still as good or better than a third of those guys that made the playoffs. Like if we don't keep screwing up, we'll eventually pass them and settle in somewhere 12th or 11th or something like that. where we should be. Yeah. So I'll leave you with this. I, what is the,

what is the vision? So as, is, is the vision for the company and the business to, you know, to,

to continue as it is, um, your, you know, your partnership with Penske is, is, is important to performance. We have a similar relationship with Hendrick Motorsports,

your relationship with Ford. All those things are very important. And I feel like for you, personally, for this to succeed and this to win, that you're going to have to come out of your shell just a little bit. You're going to have to come out of the back of the office. You know that. Yeah, I know.

But it also helps when I'm forced to do that. Yeah. Like when my dad's there, he does it whether I like it or not. But when he's not there, I have to do it. And so... Not so bad. What is that word?

It's something immersion. Like immersion therapy or something. I don't know. But being forced to do those things will help a lot. But Cal Wales, of all people, said in a meeting, and he doesn't even remember saying this, and I've told this story a dozen times. But in that meeting, he's talking about something. And the first thing he says is everybody here knows that if you're not growing, you're dying.

And like, I never pay attention to anything. Like, I'm always, like, on Amazon or whatever during these meetings, like, not even listening. And that one perked my, like, I was like, what? Like a dog whistle. And I thought about it. Okay, like, I get that. Like, if you're, if you just continue doing the same things, eventually time will pass you by. Eventually, the typewriter will quit.

the desktop computer will become a laptop, the laptop will become an iPad, you will eventually be phased out. You can't keep doing the same thing. You have to grow. You have to evolve. By the same token, what makes the Wood Brothers,

the Wood Brothers has to stay. That can't change. So you can grow, you can change, but you can still be what made you a successful 75-year race team. I believe. Now, how you do that, I don't know. Well, I think y'all do a good job of doing that by the enshrined sort of, you know,

being able to go up there to the museum and see physically all of the years of work, success, accomplishment. Y'all have a, I haven't seen it yet. I haven't been there. But y'all have, from the photos that I've seen and the people that I've heard talk about at Kurt Bush was this there a couple days ago. Y'all do, that's how you do it, right? All that stuff is a reminder of your DNA, right? Now, you know you've got to be tech savvy, you've got to be modern,

and you're going to go in that direction. But you're not going to forget, because all those things are there. You're in your face, you know, you're reminded all the time. I think that's really healthy to be, you know, be a witness to all of that history. any moment you need it, right? If you need a reminder of some of the core values, you just go into that building and find them immediately. Yeah, and walk in with my dad,

and he'll tell you something if you've been there like me, if you grew up there. And then one night we're there looking for a baseball bat. I don't know something, like just scrounged around through junk. And he'll see something and be like, oh this happened such and such and let me tell you a funny story and it's those stories never end and what really really concerns me is what makes that museum what it is isn't so much the artifacts that are in there they're they're great but it's being lucky enough to have Leonard or my dad or Lynn there

to tell the stories that goes along with it and that's what makes that museum different than the others yeah do y'all do any content like um you know the the the petties they the marisa's family and so forth, they do that, they do a podcast where they sort of document a lot of these stories. We don't. And we, we, that's a, that's a whole story for another day. We're trying to figure out a way because what, our museum is, what makes it different is we have almost everything that ever mattered at some point in time.

Now, it's not organized and it's not pretty. Like, like, like the RCR museum looks like a legit, like you pay to go in type of museum. Yeah. Yeah. It's something at Dollywood. Ours is not that. This is, but you will come away with a bigger appreciation for history in ours if you take the time to sort through the distraction.

There's a lot of stuff there, a lot of stuff that means a lot. And there's stories to go along with it, but it's getting to know those stories is what's hard. Yeah. Well, man, I appreciate you coming through the day. I texted you the other day about coming on the show, and I'm glad you said yes. Of course, I'm a big fan of Josh and love what you all. doing but I'm also a big fan of

yours and I love the progress that you've made and you know what you're going to continue to do going forward in your position with the race team I think you got a lot to offer and your perspective and personality is going to be a valuable one for NASCAR going forward

carrying on this legacy man you got a lot of responsibility but I'd embrace it I just got to keep out of trouble not let my keep my filter on you ain't screwed it up yet I think you're out of the woods I think the days of maybe possibly making that mistake are long gone. I hope so.

I count my blessings every day that I made it out the other end. Made it out. I appreciate you, man. Yes, sir. Thank you. John Wood on the Dale Jr. Download. Hey, everybody, you want the latest Dale Jr. download apparel? Visit shop.dirtymohmedia.com.

We're always adding new stuff all the time, especially like when we say something silly on this show. We'll put it on a t-shirt. Again, check it out at shop. dot dirtymomedia.com. All right, so that was John Wood on the Dale Jr. download. That was a lot of fun catching up with him. I enjoyed the conversation.

And man, I probably, I'm probably trying too hard, but I see a lot of similarities in our outlook and on life and so forth. And some of the ways he feels like we talked, once he got up from the table, talking about his car, that he drives. He doesn't feel like he deserves anything better. And, you know, that's kind of, we have, we have, we probably have similar issues that we probably should seek some more therapy for. But he's an awesome guy, man, a lot of fun to talk to.

And, yeah, I think we covered pretty much everything. So I'm glad he came through, excited about the future of the Wood Brothers and his role in that. I'm happy for him to have this sort of, you know, to have been able to sort of earn this trust and this opportunity to be a part of steering the ship. And, you know, I think that there's always, you know, you think about these team owners that are around forever. And you're always, you're always wondering what is the plan for that program to move forward? And so it looks like the Woodbrothers have things in a good place for that team to continue to succeed and be a successful race team. because I think we all felt, regardless of the performance over the years and ups and downs,

a successful Wood Brothers makes NASCAR better. So we love seeing that 21 car battling for victories today and into the future. So it's time of the white flag. And every Sunday night, as it was after the race this past weekend in Kansas, the tear down was live on YouTube and on Twitter. If you have it checked in and done so, you need to go. to the Dirty Mo Media YouTube page and subscribe and click on notifications so you don't miss a thing. Thank you to Jeff and Jordan every single week.

Great content. There's a lot of storylines. Those guys are hammering it out, covering everything as they just saw it happen on every Sunday. Action is detrimental is out as well. Denny covers everything that went on at Kansas. His perspective from behind the wheel going for the wind down there in turn three with his other, with Bobba Wallace. his race car that he owns. He gave us his perspective and reasoning for what he did.

And so that's a great take, a great listen every single week with Denny. He does an amazing job. Really embrace the, he's really embraced the podcasting host role and does a great job with that show and keeping everybody in the room and the conversation. Just a lot of fun to listen to. Yesterday, Dirty Air with T.J. Majors and me, we had a lot of fun going over the race as well. and talking about a lot of topics that seem to be popping up in conversation on social media. Some real, some maybe not real, but some worth keeping an ear to the ground for.

And then tomorrow we'll have another episode of Bless Your Heart with my wife, Amy. And Herman Schrader, yeah, another episode of Herman Schrader as well today. Also, BBC, another episode of BBC came out this week. AJ Amendinger stopped by as a host. Always awesome to have AJ in. and here his perspective on on what's going on in the sport. He had a good run going in Kansas, some good speed, but ultimately got mixed up in some of the crashes happening late in the race.

And then don't forget on Friday, the Dirty 30. It's kind of like a highlight reel, 30 minutes long, all the great stuff from this week. If you missed a few shows or whatever, you'll catch all the good stuff in that 30-minute episode every Friday. Yeah, so I appreciate everybody tuning in. we also have a new merch contest going on. And this one's, we did one just recently where we had a lot of the folks in the office create merch for, for DirtyMo Media. And this one will be fan-focused.

So the fans will get to get involved. We're going to pick some of the best ideas that you will provide. You go to shop.dirtymohmedia.com. Yeah, you go to shop. Dirtymoanmedia.com and there's a tab. It's a making-mo merch contest tab at the top of shop. Dot dirtymolemaid. Go there. Click on that tab. It'll tell you everything you need to do. You're going to be making merch for Bless Your Heart for the show that me and Amy do every Thursday. And I think the winner is going to get $500. Also, second and third get a little cash as well.

It's going to be a lot of fun seeing how this merch turns out. Everybody in the office had a lot of fun with that. and I think that the fans will come up with some even more creative ideas to be able to see what we can do. It should be fun. So, yeah, that's the show. We'll see you tomorrow for Bless Your Heart. Check out Dirtymo Media on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok.