The Dale Jr. Download - Parker Kligerman On The One That Got Away, The Worst Car Dale Jr. Ever Won With, & What to Expect in Vegas

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

In this episode of DJD Reloaded, we talk with Parker Kligerman, as he opens up about stepping back from full-time racing. Parker gets real about the emotional highs and lows of his recent performances, the support from fans and racing legends, and his next move into broadcasting. We also catch up with Taylor Gray, who’s taking the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s iconic 54 car in the Xfinity series next year, sharing what it means to step into such a legendary ride. But it wouldn’t be DJD without Ask Jr.! Dale Jr. and the crew hit up fan questions, sharing stories about the worst cars he ever won in. Plus, the guys from Dirty Mo Dough are here to break down the odds and give you the inside scoop on how to bet smart for Las Vegas this weekend. Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, one's coming in and one's going out, but they're both on DJD reloaded today. We are talking with two Xfinity Series drivers and the 48 of Parker Cliggerman. Going to be talking a little bit about his future after racing. We've also got the new driver of the 54. Joe Gibbs Racing just announced this week that Taylor Gray is going to be taking over that ride next season. So we're going to chat with him a little bit about that. We've also got all three series heading out to Vegas. So it only makes sense that we talk a little bit about the odds.

And our friends at Dirty Mode Doe are going to give us a pretty good preview. of what's to come there. We've also got Ash Jr., where Dale answers the biggest questions of the week. The following is a production of Dirtymo Media. Welcome into another episode of DJD Reloaded. We were going to do something different. No idea that a tradition was going to be started. The racing world is Connor Zillard's oyster. Is he truly the next NASCAR prodigy? Hey, you did a cartwheel down the stands. Holding your cooler, your arm never bent. It was like watching an Olympian in its pod. All right, well, let's go ahead and welcome in the driver of the 48 for Big Machine.

We got Parker Cligerman joining us once again on DJD Reloaded. This is your second time joining us this season. And we're going to talk a little bit about your kind of exit from the Xfinity series and what the decision was behind that to do that this season. But you've been a pretty popular guy this week. And I know it might not be popularity that you love. But obviously the finish and the way that everything ended at the Charlotte Roval this past weekend, And you've been on pretty much every channel talking about this.

And so has that been difficult for you to kind of have to revisit or maybe has it helped the process of how you've processed that? Well, first off, thanks for having me back on. Such an honor to be on the Dale Jr. download reloaded. Love it. I guess both times has been a bit of controversy. One time it was a fight. Now we're basically almost want a race. It's true.

You know, I think the thing for me is I take solace in the fact of our performance. performance, right? When the pressure was on, when, you know, our season was on the line, our team rose up. Our pit crew had the best pit stop they've had in two years. You know, we had a great restart. We put our, you know, my team, Pashtanio and Cody McKenzie, my engineer, did a great job getting us in position, sticking to our plan of going for the win. And when it came down to it, you know, me personally inside the car, I executed. And I did everything that I possibly knew how to do and I found more speed than we'd had throughout that entire race when I needed it most and held off the fastest car in the race. And so, you know, what happened there at the end,

yes, it was heartbreaking. Yes, for 30 seconds. I felt what it was like to win an exfiny race in a must-win position and to rise up. And I felt that and I now know what it's like and not many people got to experience it with me. But, you know, that's racing and the way it went down. And this, this sport is cruel at times. It will rip your heart out, but that's why we do it and that's why we love it because when it all comes together, what an incredible feeling to know all those factors lined up. But, you know, we had a tremendous performance and that's all I can control, and I take solace in that. You also had an outpouring from all of the fans who, you know, felt like they just wanted to offer support for you in that moment. How much did that mean?

You know, that was very touching. It was amazing to have so. many people reach out and, you know, including legends of our sport who texted me, called me, we're proud of the performance that we put out there, you know, and it's very touching because I think, and I said this all week, you know, you do something like this as long as I have, you know, 15 years I've been a part of this sport and you kind of wonder at times like, eh, does anyone care? Does it matter I'm here? That sort of thing. They wouldn't even pay attention. And then, you know, when something like this happens and the amount of people that reach out and the fans have reached out, it means the world. And so, you know, it's very, very,

flattering. I'm very grateful to have that support and to have everyone who has reached out, you know, give me great words of wisdom and advice. And, you know, really right when the race stopped, I didn't expect this, but SVG came up to me and Eric Almerolla came up to me and he said some really kind things and really got my head in a great space. And I wonder without what he said, if I would have reacted the way I did. So I really appreciate that. You know, AJ Omnir came up to me who so I had a huge amount of respect for. And, you know, just it's great to have, you know, the validation from your peers. I think that's something that we all want and our competitors.

And so it's just very, very gratifying and very flattering. But it doesn't replace a trophy, you know, would have loved that. Would it love the love of a trophy, you know? But we didn't quite get it. You mentioned that some legends of the sport kind of reached out. And you may not want to share, but was there any one specific thing that somebody said or maybe one person that reached out that kind of really stands out? in your mind when you think about that?

You know, not to name drop too badly, but this is your chance. Mark Martin did text me, which was very cool. Ray Everingham came up to me. Jeff Gordon came up to me. So, you know, those are, they're just legends, right? They've done so much in this sport. And for them to take that moment and that time from their day to reach out to me

just means the world, to even know that I'm on, you know, I'm even, it's amazing to me, the nine-year-old kid who found this sport on TV, and was watching them race and thought, I want to be a professional race driver. And to have done that and then have them reach out in a moment like this, you know, as I said before, just met the world. But they all had similar things to say and just, you know, kind of what I went down, which was that the performance was there, right?

And barring a little different circumstance. And if that race is able to run green to the end, I think we had it. And, you know, that's something as competitors, we just have to rely on, right? Because there's so many factors in this. deal between winning and losing. There's so many moving parts that can go wrong. And, you know, at the end of the day, we just, as competitors, we've got to focus on our performance.

It's all you can do. You'd go insane if you think about all the other stuff. And a lot of them had great words of wisdom of how to do that from moments that they went through. And so, you know, that really helped me a lot. It sounds like you've really processed it through the week. And obviously, you're going to be moving on to Vegas. But realistically, only four races left because you recently.

announced that you're going to be stepping away from racing. And so I know there's a lot of people curious out there. Del Jr. is curious. Like, what are you going to be doing? Is this it for racing? I don't know yet. You know, I think a lot of people thought I had a grand plan. I didn't kind of took the leap, but it felt right.

And a lot of people were like, well, just make you want to keep going full time. Like, no. You know, I, what would my word be worth if I kind of one result changed it, right? That's not what my decision was about. My decision was far more personal and internal. And so I think, you know, for me, I'd love to, you know, scratch that itch a little bit. I'd love to do a little bit of racing next year. You know, I'd like to try to put together a Rolex 24 effort, which would be really cool.

Go do some sports cars. That's a bucketless item for me. And most of all, you know, I just, I love motorsports. I want to be involved with this sport for as long as I live. I just love it to my core. It's my favorite thing. It's my passion. I've been able to make it my career.

And I hope to be involved in some capacity, whether it's on the broadcast side, a little bit of driving, whatever, as for as long as I'm here. So, you know, it's, it's, I don't, I can't say exactly what it looks like yet. But I feel confident that, you know, things will line up that allow me to keep to be involved.

But if nothing else, you know, this last two years of big machine racing has been such a gift. You know, it was, I don't think three or four years ago, I was ready to come to terms my driving career at, and by any means. And having gotten back full time and been at the front and raced into the playoffs and been able to experience this at the level I have with this race team, you know, we've done everything but get a trophy. Um, you know, it's, it personally was so gratifying for me and allowed me to come to terms of my driving career and be a piece of that. And I am at peace with it. So I'm looking forward to what's next. I have things I want to do. I have plans,

but we'll see if I can put them all together. We'll see. Nothing I can say right now. Okay. Well, we'll keep it on the download then. You mentioned broadcasting, though, and I know you've kind of talked about this in the past before, but where does that fall in your life for you? And does that kind of supplement racing in a maybe strange form because there's still an adrenaline rush when you're doing live television? Yeah, I think a little bit. I think a little bit. think it's why so many of us end up in it, right? Because it is a bit of adrenaline rush. It gives you that same live TV. I like to say you got to be ready for anything and everything. And that's similar to driving. Like it comes down to your preparation. It comes down to your,

you know this just from doing this show. Like it's, it's the same level of effort and the same level of execution that's required to do live TV. But I also, you know, I've done things in entertainment world. I love to host a car show for three seasons on NBCSN that I really enjoyed. I've been a part of the automotive world. I'd like to do a lot more of that. That's a real passion of mine. I'd like to see the world and see different forms of motorsports around the world. So, you know, I hope to, I was saying to people, I hope to educate and form and entertain with motorsports and cars for as long as I can. So hopefully that's on offer. Hopefully I can put those things together. But yeah, definitely it's a part of my plan,

hopefully. And if it all comes together, that'd be great. If it doesn't, we'll keep figuring it out. That's how it's always been. You know, racing is, it's not something you can depend on in any respect. It's a very volatile business. And I'd like to tell people, if you want to be a professional race car driver, you've got to be comfortable in the uncomfortable. And that's kind of the broadcast role, too. So we'll see what happens. But I do want to keep doing it for sure. Your passion is certainly in racing. Would you ever consider doing something outside of racing in broadcast? Oh, I don't know. Cars for me is something I like and I enjoy in the automobile. world. I've done that and it's a bit outside, although, obviously, tangently connected.

But, you know, I don't know other sports. I'm a terrible American male in that I don't want other sports. I follow the giants loosely. That's about the closest thing. Which is dangerous. Yeah, it's not going well. It hasn't been since the first time I followed them, they won the Super Bowl, and then from there, it's not, it's been a bit of a drought. But yeah, I don't, I don't have other, you know, I tell people all the time, they're like, do you have hobbies or whatever? Like, no, it's all motor sports and cars. That's all I know. It's all I care about. So if it was something else out there, I'd have to take a serious leap of faith and do a lot of studying. So we'll see. But for now, I'm pretty focused in motorsports world and cars. Back to the 48. And I know this might be a

difficult question to kind of think about, especially stepping away after this season. Is there a driver out there? Like if you had your pick to put in the 48 next year, who might that be? Well, I really like who they've chosen, you know, Nick Sanchez. He did a couple races with them back in 2022 at the end of the year, and he did a good job. And obviously, he's done a good job in the truck series. And I think, you know, for me, it's when I came here, this was a team that was really young, right? Really, really young. And they had a little bit of success.

But there was a lot of, you know, things internally we had to work through in terms of processes and building this organization into something that over the course of 33 weeks could compete. at the highest level in the Xfinity series against really stalwarts of the series, from Joe Gibbs racing to junior motorsports to Stuart Haas racing. You know, it was, it's been a real building process. And I'm proud of where this race team is now. I'm proud that, you know, I played a major role in that. And hopefully Nick can take it to the next level and, you know, go out there and win races and take it further in the playoffs than I did.

That'd be great. It'd make me very happy, very gratified for Scott Borchetta, who's put so much behind this for the next. all the guys on the race team, you know, I can truly say that I'm leaving here with it in a better place than when I arrived. And to me, that's a very gratifying feeling. So I wish them the best of success. I'll be one of the biggest fans on the sideline for the 48 car. And, you know, I've told Scott and everyone there, if there's anything I can do, you know, to continue to help, let me know. I think, you know, Scott and I are going to be friends for life. I hope to, you know,

be involved with Big Machine Racing and Big Machine and in their, whole platform for for as long as I can. And I think they really, you know, we've built the base that they can really build on. And like I said, we've done everything but winter race. So it's primed and ready for Nick to take over, take it the next step, and nothing to make me happier and seeing them be very successful. I'm sure Nick and the rest of the team would appreciate hearing that as well. You mentioned after the Roval and kind of through some of your other reviews this week that really the way that that ended actually made you more hungry for a win in these last couple of races that you have on the schedule. What does that look like for you this

weekend in Vegas? I think this is a big opportunity. I think Homestead's a big opportunity. Martinsville, one of my worst tracks, something I've worked that's very incredibly hard. That one, it would be poetic justice if that's the one we're able to break through with because that would be about the craziest thing that happened to me. And then obviously Phoenix, but the championship on the line, that becomes a really tough place to be play spoiler. But yeah, I think we look at these next two as serious opportunities. You know, they are, they are tracks that we have run really well at. They suit us.

We have great records at these race tracks. So I think it's made me hunger. I felt it. You know, people always asking, they were like, hey, when you finally win an exfini race, what looks like going to feel like? What are you going to, what emotion will come across you? And I was like, I don't know until I do it. I've now experienced it for 30 seconds.

So I can tell you how gratified it is. And I can tell you that it meant the world. And I would love to be able to experience it longer than 30 seconds. So that's my motivation. I think we can still finish fifth and points. We've got the performance level to do that. And that would be a huge achievement to improve on what we finished 10th last year. So still a lot to play for, but definitely getting a trophy at one of these next two, I think, is a huge opportunity.

And I think we can do it. Well, I know there's a group of people and a group of fans out there cheering for you, especially after the Roval. I think they would think it was poetic justice as well if you got to win before you were done. But we wish you all the best this weekend out in Vegas and over the next couple of weeks. We appreciate you joining us. Thank you, guys. Appreciate again, have me on. And thank you to all the fans out there, as you mentioned, that reached out.

It meant the world. This has been a very unique week, but you know what? I'm very thankful and grateful to have been in the position. But I'm put on a performance like that to drive the best 10 laps of my life. and I hope I can reward everyone with a trophy in the next couple weeks. We'll talk about some breaking news this week. Joe Gibbs Racing announced another Xfinity series lineup

with Taylor Gray going to be taken over the 54 full-time for the next season. We have Taylor Gray here joining us right now, and this is a huge opportunity, Taylor. I know that you've kind of been around, obviously running some Xfinity Series races full-time in the truck right now, but this is a big deal. First full-time season for you. How excited are you for this opportunity?

Yeah, first of all, thank you for having me on. But yeah, I know I'm really excited to get going. Obviously, still chasing a truck championship, right? That's number one goal right now and number one focus. But really excited to get going. I'm excited to get to Daytona next year and get fired off. Are you friends with Ty Gibbs? We've been best friends for past eight years, probably.

Well, that's good. That's good because I hear he is now your car owner as of yesterday as well. How is this going to work? Like, what's the dynamic of, like, like, with having a best friend now as being your car owner as well? Yeah, I mean, it's cool, right? It's funny. Like, we'll call each other and just kind of make jokes about it. And I refer to him as boss man now.

So it's just funny, right? Like, we just joke around about it. But, yeah, that's cool. I mean, it was a cool kind of backstory to it. I had just got on racing Talladega. I'd get wrecked early. And I went over to his bus after the race, and we were kind of talking about next year. He was asking me about some number stuff.

And at the time, I was supposed to be the 19 for next year. And one thing led to another, and he said I was running the 54. So, yeah. So he's the one that actually offered you the job then? Yeah, no, he, I was like, man, like, don't worry about it. Like, it's your number. Like, I totally get it. You want to keep it retired or whatever.

and he said no he wanted to he wanted me to run it so yeah it's also the 54 you mentioned that being his number but that's a pretty historical number for joe gives racing in the exfinity series how important is that for you to to now kind of be taken over that flagship yeah it's definitely a lot of expectation behind that number right a lot of success behind it the last time he was on track he won a championship so and he made time made sure to let me know know that too. But yeah. Is there another driver that ran the 54 that comes to mind when you think about running it? I think KV, right? I mean, like, that's pretty, like, I think that's the first one that pops in the mind when you think about 54. I think it was pretty iconic, right? I think that's,

you think 54 and you think KV. So, yeah, I think Kyle. And obviously, Ty, right? I mean, he had so makes success with it and Xfinity and ran it. So, yeah. Going back to next season and kind of your future plans, your crew chief is going to be Tyler Allen, who's already won seven races so far this season. The expectations are going to be pretty high for you, too. But what does it mean to have him as a crew chief this season? Yeah, it's super exciting.

I'm really excited to get going with Tyler. We've worked together a few races this year, and I've had a lot of stuff. speed every time we've shown up to the racetrack. So I'm excited to get going with Tyler and to be able to continue to build that relationship over the offseason and be able to have a full 33 race schedule with the next year. And yeah, just excited to get going. What does that look like in building chemistry with a crew chief for you? Yeah, I think just spending time together, right? You know, we have a decent understanding of each other and how we both work in terms of that.

I think just overall spending more time together is the biggest thing, right? For me, a crew chief and driver relationship is so important. For me, it's 50, 60 percent of my success on track is being able to, being able to, you know, get on a personal level with my crew chief. You're also going to be coming in with a pretty strong rookie class in Connor Zillich and Carson Quaple. Is there pressure coming in with those guys next season? I mean, no, not really.

I mean, obviously, really talented race car drivers, but at the day, like, I don't really try to look at that stuff, right? I'm focused on me and my team, and, you know, I know if we go execute like we should and, you know, put together races, then, you know, I know we can go out and win races in the championship. Kind of outside of the world of NASCAR, I was reading that your dad and grandpa were actually a part of NHRA. Why did you not take that path? I'm just kind of curious. Yeah, so my grandfather raced in NHRA for a long time, and my dad obviously followed his steps, and even Tanner, my older brother, did the same thing. I grew up around it, right?

I was at the drag races every single weekend as a kid growing up. But I just never took a lot of interest in it. I was always fascinated with NASCAR and the oval side of things, and just never really took a lot of interest. I worked in it, like, whenever I was a kid, I traveled around with the, with a race team and lived in Indiana during summers and worked on race cars then, but never really took any interest in driving them. When you were a kid who was your favorite NASCAR driver? So my brother actually posted a picture of me not long ago. I had a Dale Jr. shirt. It's pretty

funny actually. But I had a Dale Jr. shirt and used to wear it around all the time, but I would go between him and Jimmy Johnson. And Jimmy Johnson's still like probably one of the main people I kind of I it's my idol right I I really love the way he approaches the sport and approach the sport at one time mentally and yeah I think he gave a lot of a lot of good insight on the for the younger kids coming up right yeah definitely a lot of an idol for a lot of different people out there you mentioned earlier you're still got the truck championship that you're fighting for currently sixth and points and we were asking Parker cligerman about kind of his mindset heading into Vegas. What's yours? Going into Vegas this weekend, right? I mean, I don't really have anything points-wise that I'm fighting for. So obviously hope to have good speed and be able to contend for a win. But when you're not points racing, it makes it a lot different. Like you approach weekends a lot differently. You just, you know, you put yourself in in spots that you probably wouldn't do if you were point tracing.

Sometimes they work out. Sometimes they don't. But it's my job to make them work out, I guess. Yeah, for sure. Well, before we let you go, the last question I have for you actually deals with your Twitter bio. Kind of interesting. So I need an explanation behind this.

I need to delete that. Do you? You might because it says a tall, thick young man. So I've got to know where this comes from. So if you'll look up, it's on YouTube or anything like that, but Jamie, on one of the Fox broadcasts. Jamie Little, yeah. Yeah, actually to the Fox broadcasts. Like she was trying to, she was like talking about my brother and then she started talking about me.

And then she was like, started, I don't know, like really were, I don't know like why she thought of that. she was like trying to like tell the difference between me and tanner yeah um and then it became like kind of blew up i think it was Milwaukee qualifying in the truck that's what it was and uh it kind of blew up and uh the social media team at tricons said that would be a good idea so nice well maybe you shouldn't delete it maybe you should leave it up and maybe just repost the video honestly pin the video next to it and then people know the explanation well i actually completely forgot that it was that was still up. I meant to delete that like months ago and I just forgot. That's a pretty funny story. We love Jamie Little around here and that's, yeah, I'll have to go

look up that video here shortly. But we appreciate you stopping by today. And of course, we want to wish you all the best out in Vegas this weekend. Thanks so much. Yeah, thanks for us. We also want to make mention that on Wednesday, NASCAR filed a response to 2311 and front row motorsports motion for expedited discovery purportly related to their motion for preliminary injunction, which potentially allows them to keep their charters while this antitrust lawsuit plays out. Of course, there's no one better to say up to date on all of these developments than Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic. So be sure to follow those guys on social media. And be sure to check out the tear down this Sunday for all the latest news on that.

We got more coming your way. But first, we're taking a quick break. When we come back, it's time for Ash Jr. That's next. Hey, everybody. It's Dale Jr. and this is the Asch Jr. portion of the Dale Jr. and I am here with my co-host, T.J. Majors, and also Andrew Dalton, Alex Tim's in the room. Alex Tim, he's got two first names. The guy with a long eyelashes. So we've had a hell of a show, and I'm glad to be back in the studio. I'm recharged, refreshed.

We talked about everything in our show that we have missed since I've been out, which was pretty much everything over the last two or three weeks. So you'll have to tune in because we've had fun today. But we are here to answer your questions that you've sent in to Xfinity. We want to thank Xfinity. Xfinity mobile customers now get exclusive access to Wi-Fi speeds up to a gig and millions of locations nationwide. And with this nationwide coverage, you know that it always come through in a clutch.

And we need it. We've got all these opportunities to watch races and football and I'm doing everything. The cars tour on the flow. All this stuff on my phone. Everywhere I go. And Exfitting Mobile's always available and allowing me to stay connected.

Take NASCAR on the go with Xfinity Mobile. So let's get going. Let's get with these questions, man. Yes. Let's get going. Sorry, I'm a little bit behind. He's had some braiding fog today, folks. He's recovering from a little bit of a...

This one's kind of random. A little bit of sinus infection. Eric wants to know, do you have any new reading material in the bathroom? We've talked about that. Have we? Yes. Oh, okay, that's right. So, like, have you found anything new?

New reading material. Yes. Oh, yeah. So for my 50th birthday, a friend of mine gave me, and he'll love, he's going to love that I mentioned this, a friend of mine gave me a coffee table book on saloons. And so it's just a bunch of pictures. of saloons mainly from the 1900s. There's exterior and interior,

and it'll be like, this saloon is in blah, blah, blah, Montana, and it's pretty much it. I wish there was more information. I wish there was basically like this closed at this time, this year was the last, you know, it closed or it's still open.

There's like a couple of them that are still open because shit, I'd put that on my list to go-to places. No kidding. Yeah. So that was a cool, that was a cool, gift that I got and it's in the it's in the main bath if any of y'all come over to the house

and need to use the restroom it'd be there um I also have probably about six um six programs from like 77 78 81 82 um Charlotte I've been reading those good advertisements and some of them yeah yeah there's some funny advertisements I will um you know one thing that I like to do and this is just random as hell. I will get a program. Let's just pick any program, right? 1979 Daytona 500. And I will go into the program and look at the ads for the businesses.

The local businesses spent tons of money in every page. There's like a local business ad. And I will go and try to Google Earth that location and see if obviously the business is likely not there, but the building may still be there. and in some cases it is. And that's kind of like Amy making fun of me going as we driving down the road going, yeah, this used to be farmland, Amy, this right here.

None of this was here 20 years ago. You see that Best Buy? That wasn't there 25 years ago. You know, and so that's kind of what, that's me. I'm turning in a freaking old man, dude. And so I, yeah, I like to, I like to see if, you know, what I can learn about what's in that program, what might still be like relatable today.

There'll be some articles in the, there was one article in this old, like mid-70s Daytona race program where somebody wrote an article about what the nightlife was like around town during race weekend, like, oh man, you got to go to this steakhouse. Oh, everybody goes to this lounge to have drinks after dinner. And Saturday night you had to stop. buy lose uh you know and so i'm like oh shit i got to look you know i got to see if these places are still around or where you know where these locations still are and so oh and there was one there is

one business and i think it's a transmission shop in detona that is still there still owned by the same family that's all generations later yeah and it's still the building looks the same 50 plus years yeah is there like a sign up sheet at your house to use the bathroom that main bathroom you know no okay i could come he's good He's going to need to use the bathroom. He's going to drive all the way to your house. Put my name on the sheet so I can read the coffee table. I was in there yesterday and Alan knocked on the door and she's like,

you've been in there for hours. I'm like, you don't have no concept of time. How do you know? You're only six. It's six minutes. She probably had to go. I'm in there reading, mom. She's signing a name on the sheet.

That was got the hands in there, the whole of the towels and you're right? Oh, I don't know. I haven't been. I think so. There's these hands that are mounted to the wall. They're like porcelain or white. Oh, okay. They freak me out.

Look like they're going to be moving at you? Yeah, you're a towel for the sink. I'm like, if that finger moves, it's like, I'm telling you. It starts flying them. I'm leaving. That's funny. What color are they? They're white.

Oh, I was going to say, you should put them in like the refrigerator. They match the sink. They're freaked people out. Oh, nice. They're mounted to the wall. They hold. They're a towel holder. You get close to it and the finger goes.

Yeah. This next question. is from Nolan. It's a two-parter. What is the best driving car you've had that never won? And then flip it. What's the worst driving car you've ever driven that has won a race? I don't know if this car never won.

But, I mean, we've talked about it. It's on this shelf over here. That number eight with the right front fender missing, we raced at Martin Zille. It's probably 2004-ish. First lap of the race, I got in a crash. I might have started it. I can't remember.

But it was a big wreck. And we get down, we're hit. I ran into somebody, get ran into from behind. And I'm like, oh, crap. My immediate thought is, I've got to ride around in this, you know, this turd. Five hundred last of the day. Just to, God, it's going to suck. And so, yeah, we come down pit road and we're running over parts, you know, underneath the

car brake lines and break cool lines and stuff like that and I'm thinking man we're in big trouble we're trying to cut this stuff and get it clear and cut the right front fender off the car and get back out on the racetrack and I'm running you know we're 38th or something back there in the back and driving my ass off and I ain't going nowhere and can't pass anybody in front of me and and they're the back markers and so I'm sitting there realizing my fate that maybe this is just going to be a long day and we ran and ran and ran and like 20 laps into the run we're driving by people like flying and drove all the way up to the front I get underneath Ryan Newman for like 12th or something

maybe it was in the top 10 and Ryan dime in the corner so I shot under me in the middle and he came back down I've got no fender on the right front I can't touch his car it's going to bend my toe and ruin my day and so I'll drive up on the curb and spot fun out, go to the back, drive all the way back to the front and finish fourth or fifth. Yeah. And so, amazing car.

And it was a good car. We ran good at Martinsville back then. But because I had the fender gone, it kept all the temperature out of the right front tire. And so my car was normalized for 20 or 30 laps. But after that, I flew through the field because my car turned so good. good because that right front tire out there in that air. And, you know, we've seen Martin Trex Jr. and a couple of the cars have front damage where they would lose some of that body

body panels and that tire getting that temperature, getting that cool air, keeping that temperature down and that tire keeps that tire working. It kind of finds a happy little temperature to be at and it doesn't expand in air and all the, all the things that happen to a tire when it gets hot that are bad don't happen. And man, it makes your car haul ass. And so, and we didn't have stages, you know, we'd run 180 laps sometimes. Yeah. Just, you know, I loved it.

Just driving through the field on an old-ass tires. And you could burn the tires off it too. Oh, yeah. Like the rear tires, you could. Martinsville before stages was fun as hell. And, you know, you knew you were going to have to take care of the tires because you might have to go 180 laps on the damn bad boys. So you'd have comers and goers.

It was really cool. I have an anonymous question asking, how did T.J's national championship game go? I didn't answer the other. I think there was a... Oh, that's right. The worst driving one? Yeah.

Let's go there first. Worst driving win. Any race I won driving the COT? You really like that card, didn't you? Car drove terrible. It's an awful race car. I mean, I'm not... I'm a hater of the COT.

Yeah. But I'm also being honest that it drove awful. I couldn't tell. Yeah. I'm trying to see which one you did. He had to hear most of it. Oh, my gosh. When did you guys start?

We're driving. Hendrick. We had these cars before the COT that were fun as hell to drive. And they had a ton of, you know, they were twisted up and had great arrow and great tires. And everything was dialed in. And we went to the COT that looked like a shoebox and drove. Drove awful. Just awful.

And just drove terrible. Just true of terrible. And nobody could figure out how to make it drive great. Even the people that won races, I remember Kyle Bush won at Bristol and got out because this thing's crap. The guy that won the race won at Bristol is standing in Victor Lane instead of like, you know, jumping for joy. He's like, oh, geez, that was miserable. I remember Atlanta, the first Atlanta we ran with it and we were leaving the race. And I'm like, oh, sweet.

We're going to be, you know, we're going to maybe win the day. We're really good. gosh, you were angry. And we were leading the race. And I mean, you were screaming that the car was driving so bad. Yeah, it was terrible. I think you won Michigan 2008. Terrible.

Terrible car. That one. It's a Batman car, I think. That was the AMP one. The second Michigan was Batman. Oh, man. Back to that anonymous question. TJ, how did your national championship game go?

Hey. Hey. Yeah, let's talk about that. my second which I've got some Intel but you go first your intel's not probably not good

you can probably figure out who the synonymous my um my second national championship game didn't go as good as the first one um yeah I didn't play very good humble brag that he won the national championship the year before not only did I win but I made it

this is an NCAA 25 on Xbox we're all in this league it's about 17 19 19 of us like 20 a little over 20ish now I was like I was one off um Stephen Stephen Stephen

Our very own Stephen, Stephen, is the Gamecock, South Carolina, and he played Michigan Wolverines. TJ's been the dominant team. He's absolutely the best. He's one of the best, if not the best, player in our league, just straight up. But Stefan got the best of them. And sometimes that happens. I mean, you know, they say there's momentum. I don't know how the game is scripted to a point to where if you have.

mistakes or right? Oh, you can definitely impair yourself a lot easier. If you're like, if you're like, you know, on your, if you're on your, if you're in your territory and you're not, you're going forward on four down, the game will punish you for making a, making an unrealistic decision. It's not. I would not do well then. Oh, you play like that.

I threw more, I threw more touchdowns to Stefan's team than I did my own team. Right. There was a few, you know, when you throw the ball sometimes and as soon as you let the ball go, you're like, oh, I shouldn't have thrown out. And I normally don't do that, which is weird. You don't. I'm a running team, and I don't know why I got away from that. We were in Discord.

And I think, I got in TJ's head a little bit. I got in there and started yapping, running my mouth. During the national championship game. I lost focus. I started arguing with him instead of focusing. So I, me and Stefan, so I don't have, I'm not good. No, he's not, he's lying. I used to be.

He's lying. I used to be really good. And I built the, we were playing NFL. a long time ago, probably 10, 14 years ago, we were playing Madden. And I built the Washington team up to be really good. And I had all the players just like I wanted them. And I had these blocking tight ends and this really good running back and kicking some ass. And with this game, I'm not being able to, I'm using Charlotte.

And I'm trying to build the team that I want and get the players that I want. But it's hard. and so my offense is super limited and clunky and inconsistent as crap it's not as bad he's got he's figured out he's taking it from a low like he's ranked like he's yeah but you only play i play computer computer for the most part i did have five human games last season oh wow no he played some humans one yeah everyone he going into is like i don't think i'm going to win but i'm like no you're probably going to win so he's better than what he says he I don't feel very confident.

But anyways, I need a little more offense. And I had some stuff that was working, and it was semi-chease, not too bad, but, like, you know, EA keeps patching it. And we had these jet passes I was using a lot of, and they patch those that are not that great anymore. And I've got a custom playbook. I keep having to rip plays out of,

and I'm not putting any good ones back in. He knows what he's doing. I hate when that happens. I love it, though. It's a lot of fun. It's a, there's a lot of, it's good for your brain because there's a lot of problem solving and It's fun. You play the games, but you're also managing the team.

Managing the team is probably one of my favorite parts. I love that part. Yeah. I agree. Good stuff. That's, we'll wrap it up on Asch Jr. this week. All right, y'all. Thank you all for tuning in.

I'm glad to be back. Hopefully you're enjoying what we're doing here. And thank you for Kenny Wallace pitching in last week as a host. Well, as always, a lot of great stuff from Dale and Ash Jr. this week. Always love hearing his takes. But now let's go ahead and shift gears and dive into the betting side of things for this weekend. We know a lot of people are going to be betting on this race out in Vegas. But the guys from Dirty Mode Doe, they're here to break down the odds and give you the inside scoop on how to be smart and bet smart in Las Vegas this weekend.

We're going to a mile and a half, Las Vegas. If the predictor can't throw fastballs here, then this is going to be a three-man pod next week. So let's hear it, Professor. Larson, Byron, Hamlin, Reddick, Bell, Chastain sneaks in there. I got no disagreement, I have to say. Everything is exactly like I thought. And the guys that are just barely in Tier 2 is probably right where I would put them. Chastain has to sneak in after, I mean, the big run at Kansas.

Is that really what moved the needle for Chastain? Well, and he's finished top five in four of the five next-gen races at Las Vegas, and 12th and the other. Larson plus 340, Byron 850, Bell, 950, but I know there's a conversation there, Hamlet, Reddick, all a lot of respect. Speak it up, Tampa, what are you thinking? So I love the Christopher Bell. I've already placed the win bet, but I got it yesterday at 10 to 1. When it opened, when the Lions first came out, he was 11 to 1 on Fandul.

Now he's plus 950. I've seen a couple books already have him at plus 650 and plus 500. That's about where I would have priced him. That's why I liked him at 10 to 1 and placed it. So he's moving quite crazy. He was the fifth highest, fifth favorite behind Reddick and Hamlin and Byron. And now he's climbing back up to two where I think he belongs. So people are taking some action on Bell.

That's probably the most movement I've seen in a while. Most disrespected driver in NASCAR, I think, by media. I blame myself and the books. No one ever wants to talk about Christopher Bell. And yet, you know, he wins. He runs great. He's up front. So kind of to your point, even the books may be a little disrespectful.

But some of that sharp money came in right. way and say who we're going to get on this bell action right away had to be part of it too i'm part of that movement you like to be the sharp money yeah i didn't have to look at this bad i thought sharp when i placed it i'm not going to lie all right i like it i like it um byron i think is a great bet what was the finishing order in the spring professor give us the top five from vegas in the spring larcen redick byron chastain tie gibbs okay so there you have it um spring finishers so i like the byron and I like the Byron at 850. I think, you know, as long as you're still getting it close to double digits, I love that one.

What do you make of Larson being that heavy of a favorite? I think Vegas is scared. They don't want to have a lot of action on him. I think when he's good, I mean, look, when he dominates, it's an ass kicking. Whipped everybody at Bristol, whipped everybody at the Roval. Now, it seems like the third raise of each round is his signature. It wouldn't shock me if Larson Rex. It wouldn't shock me if Larson wins.

The only thing that would shock me is something in the middle. He's won the last two Vegas races, and he's swept both of them, too. So he hasn't lost anything in Vegas. Last two fall Vegas races, or you mean last two times to Vegas? No, last two times, spring and the last fall. Tier two, Blaney, Elliot Wallace Bush, Tier two, Kyle Bush. Tier two, Kyle Bush. Yeah, he's moved up in the world.

And we want to talk about these because there's some value here. Blaney, 14 to 1, Elliott, 16 to 1, Bubba, 30 I was going to say I couldn't even get there 30 to 1 and Kyle Bush 16 so one outlier in Bubba he's run really well here in the past

yeah this is the wasn't this the site of the Larson Bubba push it was but then he's come back and he finished fourth last not this past spring but last spring he's lead laps here I love the Bubba top 10 I don't know who oranges on this sheet, but... I'm orange this week. I love the Bubba

top 10 at Plus Money. I love the Bowman top 10 at Plus Money. Those are two cars. Bowman would have been a play... I mean, I think plus money top 10, that's a great bet. I think Larson, Byron Bell probably wins this race. It's a guy who's going to move to Phoenix and it's a real championship contender. And then the

other playoff guys, like Ablaney and Elliot, they're going to round out the top ten. I don't think it's going to be a shocking race, but Bowman and Byron, Bowman's not the playoffs anymore, obviously, but Bubba, I mean, it was a great top 10 value at just plus money. The only guy that's laying in the weeds that, and I hate to say this, but DH, just still, there's nothing I've seen that says it should happen other than who he is.

And what he's pulled off, I mean, he was basically driving to an advancement last year when he had a flat or just wreck, broke, steering broke at Miami. You know, it's just, man, with all the stuff around him. him. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe he'll just stay just good enough to keep advancing, but I guess what I'm saying is if you're a Hamlet fan, I think 10 to 1 is about as good of values you're going to get on him once he wins. It's going to be like, but this round of eight, though, you can't just hang on. You're going to have to win. So math says you don't have to win, but I think attitude says you need to. If you aren't winning, you need to be a winning car.

Like to advance, you need to be a guy that like top three or four in each stage, top three or four in the race move on the next week what about uh mr joey lagano well the books love him at 15 to 1 the professor has them down i think the books are ahead of us here i think to bet joey lagano i needed to see a chastain number of 20 to 1 i'm not saying it's out of the realm i'm just saying when we talk value Tampa i thought i was going to see a sneak in 2025 to 1 action 100% the the books the top 8 playoffs are the top 8 guys on the board i mean this is they they they weren't going to get beat on a playoff driver. You got to find the value in there. And Joey's not one of them for me. Yeah, he's just struggled lately at Vegas and a mile and a

mile and a halfs. I mean, I think the winning car team comes out of a playoff driver. If I was going to bet non-playoff drives, it would be Kyle Bush, Chastain, or Gibbs. But I think Gibbs is kind of mailing it in for, not mailing it in, but I think Gibbs is, you know, he's got teammates who are in the playoffs. It becomes much more complicated for him. All right, top 10 parlades, there's a stack of them. I like Byron Reddick. I like Hamlin Reddick. I like Byron Bell. I like Bell Reddick.

But at minus money? But they're almost even. Minus 105. I mean, five points of juice is like buying a cup of coffee. Tim's, what about year two that you do like in the parlay? Yeah, Denny and Chase, I kind of just covering my ass with co-playoff guys I haven't really bet on that I think could run well, top 10.

And then Chastain Truex, that's strictly numbers at that Vegas. I'm sure Russ can back me up there. Plus 185 is a pretty good number, too, betting-wise. Truex, top 10 to last eight, Vegas. We got matchups. We got a little orange in the match-ups. I'm going to go through these.

Larson and Byron. I actually think that's a Byron bet, plus $150 to beat Larson. I think that's an absolute bet. I think at the beginning of the year, that was a heads-up match. Late, it's been Larson with more speed. But I like Byron over Larson. Larson probably is going to win the race, but if he doesn't win the race,

Byron can beat him. I like plus $150 to beat one driver, although the professor is shaking his head no or which way no i i agree with you i thought you said you're going to say that one more time sorry hold on that that might have that might have just dumped on the internet one more time you do what i thought you were trying to bet it the other way i was like i no no byron plus 150 to beat one driver that's how i have that's what i'm going to say now i'm always beating the favorite but let's just talk about this again plus 150 to beat one guy i'll take it i would take byron oh let's just run the numbers season head to head bairn larson season

We've had 32 races. Let's just assume you're averaging plus 150, Tampa. So of the 32, you need to win this bet basically 12 times is a profit. 17 to 14 this season for Larson's. Let's stay in the matchups, Elliot Ligano, Elliot minus 105. It should be Chase Elliott. Those numbers are wrong. Chase Elliott should not be the dog to Ligano.

All right, we like Elliott over Ligano. Jimmy Johnson, John Hunter Nemechek. I knew it. I knew it. I'd hammered John Hunter Nemechek if it wasn't minus 1.30. I think you're on it anyway, bud. Probably. Nemechek 5 to Johnson 2. I don't think it's fair that anybody's going to come in in 5 or 6 starts and not run a full-time guy.

I don't care if it's Kamui Kobayashi at a road course, Joey Hand at a road course. I've said it. These damn things are hard to drive. And we can pick on John Hunter. But this shit ain't easy. This is an intramural football. Like, you know, we're not out here. Like, everybody plays along.

I'm not going to do it. John Hunter can run on Saturdays and whip their butts and win races. He's proven it. He's won on Fridays in the Truck Series. He's won on Saturdays and it's Finney Series. Cup is hard. Just because Larson makes it look easy or Byron makes it look easy or Denny at times makes it look easy,

I'm not going to slap John Hunter. Like, I don't agree. This is hard. So I'm going to give John Hunter. Hunter, the hat tip over his teammate or team owner, anytime they run together just because even as great as Jimmy was, he's not as young as he once was, he's not in his prime, and driving these cars are difficult and the guy that does it every week should get the nod. Top Chevy.

Boo. You like Chastain, 9 to 1. I do. That's his good value. Chastain's numbers are really good here. And I mean, Hendricks could be tough to beat, but for the best. That's non-hundred guy. 9-100, I'll take it.

A little sprinkle. If a non-playoff driver is going to win in the playoffs, chest ain't one of the fee that are going to do it. That is something to be said for. He doesn't have a teammate in. He could care less anymore. He's going to do his thing. One at Kansas.

All right, so now we're into the prop. Stage one in the race is about even money. Stage two in the race is a huge minus because it's happened a bazillion times. But I'm not betting that. Hold on. No. So, Russ, how many times is a stage winner at stage two one? Ten times.

Ten times. So I think whoever wins stage two, you just live bet them. Because you're going to get better than minus 260 odds, most likely. All right, ladies and gentlemen, what the man Tim said is don't take this stage two winner at minus 260. Just watch the race. Watch our wonderful coverage on NBC. And whenever we award the stage two winner, just go to your app and live bet them to win the race. It's going to be at least even money or better.

It's not going to be minus money at that point. And you're going to get the same bet at way better action. 35 minutes into the pod, Tampa has dropped a magical golden nugget on the listener. That's why you listen. It's a big time. All right, the round of eight is upon us. NASCAR, here we go. Get all your bets in and may all your bets pay off.

Once again, a big thanks to Dirty Mo Doe and their crew for the betting insights. They are always on point. And that's going to be a wrap for our episode of DJD Reloaded this week. Again, a huge shout out to Parker Kligerman and Taylor Gray for joining us this week. Thanks again, as always, and we'll see you back here next Thursday. Check out Dirtymo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.