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Jordan Bianchi joins me once again to dive into the wild and controversial Martinsville finish and analyze what it means for the rest of the playoffs.
Book Review: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s “Racing to the Finish”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new book, Racing to the Finish, has a list price of $26.99. It’s a quick read — maybe about four hours — so you might be wondering: “Is it worth the cost?”
Well, let’s put it this way: If you had the chance to pay $26.99 to read Earnhardt’s previously top-secret notes from his iPhone — the ones he wrote to leave a trail in case something horrible happened — would you do it?
Because that’s a lot of what you’re getting in Racing to the Finish. Earnhardt reveals all sorts of details about his battle with concussions, including information he writes would probably be new even to his own sister.
Co-author Ryan McGee is able to smoothly weave Earnhardt’s words with the actual notes the driver kept on his phone, which were updated with every new symptom or development. McGee also talks to key witnesses like Rick Hendrick and Brad Keselowski, using their memories to supplement Earnhardt’s account while retaining the driver’s voice.
What’s eye-opening is this book goes far beyond the previously reported concussions, like the ones that kept him out of the car in 2012 and 2016. These include concussion symptoms even from years he kept racing — including his final season last year.
As it turns out, Earnhardt also experienced symptoms in 2014 and 2015 — well after he had become the sport’s unofficial spokesman for head injuries. During the times when he was publicly urging other drivers not to hide any of their concussions, Earnhardt acknowledges he was a hypocrite by not telling anyone — even the people closest to him — about what he was experiencing.
That underscores what a difficult and ongoing fight this is for athletes in a tough-guy sport that revolves around individuals, many of who don’t have good job security.
Despite being a relatively easy read, Racing to the Finish is not a fun one. This is a heavy topic, and those who are familiar with Earnhardt’s career don’t need foreshadowing to know what’s coming in the pages ahead. It’s uncomfortable and unpleasant, but it’s also necessary to understand the reality of concussions.
And Earnhardt lays it all out there this time; it’s hard to imagine any details he decided to keep to himself. What’s the motivation for writing this? The primary goal is to help encourage others with head injuries to get treated — and Earnhardt makes it clear there is treatment and help, which didn’t seem to be the case a decade ago.
On a personal note, it was a bit difficult to learn the reality about some of the incidents Earnhardt describes. One of the notable events in the book is when Earnhardt starts to experience problems with his vision during a visit to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. I happened to shadow him that day for a USA Today story and interviewed him, yet I had no hint he was ailing. Perhaps that goes to show how good he got at regularly hiding symptoms, a ruse which he says extended even to his wife, Amy.
But that also highlights why it’s so important for NASCAR to get better at diagnosing concussions and making drivers spend extra time in the infield care center after crashes. If Earnhardt kept covering up his concussions — even in recent years when he was in the spotlight for them — who knows how many other drivers continue to do the same?
The bottom line on this book: There’s zero chance you’ll read it without learning something new about what Earnhardt experienced in recent years. You’ll also walk away with a greater understanding of an important topic that continues to be relevant not just in sports, but society in general.
How I Got Here with Daniel Norwood
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Each week, I ask a member of the racing community to shed some light on their career path. Up next: Daniel Norwood, who heads SiriusXM Radio’s NASCAR channel. This interview was recorded as a podcast but is also transcribed for those who prefer to read. Full disclosure: I occasionally do some work for SiriusXM Channel 90, so this could be viewed as a conflict of interest (but that’s not why I did the interview).
What falls under your purview for the NASCAR channel at SiriusXM?
First of all, thanks for inviting me to do this. I got my hair done. I hope I look good on the podcast. When you write the transcript, make sure I look this good, OK?
I’ll put in parentheses: “(Has nice hair).”
Thank you. I appreciate that. Make me look taller, if you would.
I am the Senior Director of NASCAR Programming, which is really a big fancy title. In radio terminology, it means I’m the program director. I always boil it down to say I do the hiring, the firing and decide what goes on the air.
So when shows come on like “Happy Hours” with Kevin Harvick, you’re the one that’s going out and got that and decided to put that on the air?
Yeah, you know, everybody has a boss. I have a great one, Steve Cohen. He has bosses, the President and CEO (of SiriusXM), and so forth. But yeah, it’s largely myself and my team working with Steve Cohen, and we just try to find something that’s unique and creative.
And in those particular cases (with Harvick), they actually came to us and said, “We have an idea. We’d like to see if you would be interested.” Of course, we were immediately interested. Then you’ve got to go out and try to find some sponsorship and find a way to pay for the show, and that’s kind of the genesis of how those things begin. It’s usually just with the passing of a conversation, usually at the garage or something.
That one came about because of the success of Tony Stewart Live. Tony used to do a show with us. He did a weekly program back in the early days, maybe back in 2007 when the channel first started, then dropped down to a handful of times throughout the year. But we got a lot of attention. I think they saw that, and of course Kevin is working on his broadcast career for the future when he hangs up the helmet and thought this might be a good place to go.
That’s pretty interesting. So obviously, there’s only one job like yours where you’re deciding all the NASCAR programming and all the hosts and all the shows. How did you get to where you are today? Did you grow up wanting to be in radio at all?
No, it was never in my mind in the early days. I wanted to be a psychologist, which in some ways I actually am today. “Sit down and tell me about your problems,” that’s a lot of times what we have to do in a managerial role. But that’s what I wanted to do for as long as I remember, I wanted to be a psychologist.
Secretly — and I never really said this to anybody other than my wife — I always wanted to be a comedian. That was my dream. To this day, if I could get over my stage fright — I never told anybody, I don’t think, but I’ve been writing comedy for 25 years. I write it every day, and it might just be a line, sometimes it might be a couple of pages, but I write stuff and I put it off to the side. I don’t know. One day, maybe. A friend of mine, I used to write, he used to perform, and it was a lot of fun.
Like stand-up material kind of thing?
Yeah, that’s what I enjoy the most, and when I’m away from the racetrack you’ll find me, if not in the movie theater, then in the comedy club or something like that. I just love to live in those environments. I find the more I’m around it, the more ideas that come my way.
But nevertheless, I was exposed to NASCAR as a kid. My dad is an architect. He works in Charlotte for a company called Metrolina Builders. And they were instrumental in doing some designs here at the (Charlotte) racetrack. They did things like the condos that were going up here at Charlotte Motor Speedway, they put on the siding and they put on the roofs and things like that. They also built the original Jeff Gordon shop — the 24 shop — they built the museum and a whole bunch of stuff over at the Hendrick campus, the original.
I would go to the racetrack because my dad would get tickets, and I remember vividly sitting at the track one time. I was not a NASCAR fan, didn’t know anything about it, but I remember very clearly this car going off around the turn, and the next thing you know he’s bumped someone and he bumped somebody behind him, slowed up, bumped somebody behind him, and he made this space. And I remember thinking, “I’ve never seen something like this.” But I couldn’t pronounce his name, I couldn’t remember it. It was Earhair or Airhart, Amelia, I don’t know – it was Dale Earnhardt, of course. And I never forgot how cool that was. But I never thought I would be doing something in the NASCAR world.
You asked specifically about radio. I never thought that I would be working in a NASCAR radio environment, but I started as an intern. If anybody is reading this and trying to figure out how to get into this business, I highly recommend an internship. It’s certainly easier when you do it like I did when you were pretty young.
Who were you an intern for?
In Charlotte, there was a program that originated from here but it was nationally syndicated, it was called Allan Handelman Show, and I started as an intern with Allan. It was so cool because I got to meet people like AC/DC, Jay Leno — he got the most interesting guests on that were relevant to the rock culture, but not specifically just rock and roll. He would have presidential candidates, but he would also talk about subculture things like pot or aliens or whatever he could do to entertain an audience late at night in the middle of the night.
And I found it fascinating, and from that, I got a part time job running a board. An interesting connection — it’s one of those six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of things — the guy who gave me my very first paid job in radio was a guy by the name of Chris McKee, and Chris now runs the Motor Racing Network, MRN Radio. He paid me $7 an hour to come in and run the board and that spurred off into a full time job at another station — I worked in all-sports (radio) — and it kind of kept going from there. So it was all from an internship and who would have thought I would be here today? It’s been 22 years now I’ve been in radio.
As your career is progressing, what did your goals change into? Were you starting to think, “Wow, I’m moving up. Now I know how a show runs, now I know how a station runs.” How did that evolve as you were moving up?
It’s funny. I think most people that get into our business want to get on the air. And that’s obvious. That’s what you know. When you’re listening and you’ve never really thought about this business, you just assume that’s all there is to a radio station. You don’t realize that there are accounting people and there’s a receptionist at the front desk and there’s somebody that has to make all the commercials happen and the production department and there’s a ton of people behind the scenes, producers and board operators.
I wanted to be on the air, and I was at 99.7 The Fox here at Charlotte, it’s the heritage rock station in town. There’s a flagship morning show there called the “John Boy and Billy Big Show,” which is huge throughout the Southeast. If your readers haven’t heard of them, TheBigShow.com, you can check them out. They’re really a unique morning show and they do a lot with the NASCAR community.
So I started at The Fox and ran the board and worked my way up to being on the air and I thought, “Man, I’ve made it.” There was never any thought of going beyond The Fox. That was the dream.
Got on the air and it was the worst train wreck you’ve ever seen in your life. I was horrible. Awful. Terrible. The worst radio that’s ever happened. People love free stuff, and they would call in and if you’re giving away pencil erasers, they would just go, “Please give me a pencil eraser.” I was doing the middle of the night (shifts) and I tried to give myself some sort of consolation that maybe it had something to do with the time of day, but I think it was just that I was horrible.
I had a pretty good prize, it was like concert tickets or a CD or something like that, and “Caller No. 9 gets the package and we’ll tell you about it next.” We go to break. I didn’t get one single phone call. Not one. It told me that night, there’s not one person listening to me right now. Because if there was even one person listening, they would have won.
But it kind of put it into perspective that I was trying too hard. I was trying to be the guy that knows everything about rock and roll, when in actuality, right before we would come on the air, I’d be scanning through a book trying to learn about the song. I don’t know anything about The Cars or Eddie Vedder, so I’m going to read about it and see what I can say to make this a little bit more interesting. And it was not good.
But I found out by failing at that that I was good behind the scenes. I’ve told people many times when they try to get into this business and ask me for advice: “It’s OK to chase your dreams, but try really hard to listen to the universe. It will tell you what you’re supposed to do, and if you’re willing accept that, I think your life could be a lot better.”
Had I continued to chase that dream of being on the air, I probably would not be in radio right now. But I accepted that I was good behind the scenes and built a career out of it. And I’m really proud of the fact that after 22 years of being in radio, I’ve never once applied for a job. Every single time, I’ve been recruited. I like to think that’s because my work speaks for itself, and certainly I’m not doing it by myself — there’s a lot of people that are here to make me look good. But you asked about sort of the trajectory, and that’s sort of was the path that I took.
How did the Sirius thing come about? Was the NASCAR thing starting up and they’re looking for someone, and maybe you had a good reputation?
Yeah. 2006, I got a phone call, I was standing at WFNZ radio, I was working the all sports channel here. Mark Packer was the host, his dad is Billy Packer from CBS Sports, and we had a little bit of a regionalized sports show, syndicated in probably five markets in the South. I had made kind of a name for myself within that little world. Your listeners, your readers, they don’t know who I am, but in that community, it was kind of a big fish/small pond scenario. And I was really happy. I wasn’t looking for much else. It was just kind of like with The Fox: “Hey, I never thought this was going to happen, but here I am. I’m going to ride this for as long as they let me stay on board.”
And then it turned out that the phone rang one day in 2006 and a guy by the name of Steve Cohen, who was the senior vice president of sports programming at SiriusXM, he called and he said, “Hey, listen, we’re about to launch an all-NASCAR channel. XM currently has the rights. Sirius is taking over the rights.” This is before their merger back in 2009, 2010, something like that. And Steve calls and he says, “I already have the guy that I’m going to hire for this channel, but two people have told me recently you’d be smart to talk to Daniel Norwood before you pull the trigger.”
One of them was David Poole, who was a long-time writer for the Charlotte Observer, who went on to be the first host of “The Morning Drive” on what was at the time Sirius NASCAR Radio. David was highly respected in this business, I think you would probably agree with that. So he got Steve’s ear. It just so happened that David was one of my co-hosts on “Primetime with the Packman” on WFNZ, so there was some overlap there.
The other was a guy named Chris Weiller. Chris Weiller worked for the Charlotte Bobcats at the time, they’re now the Charlotte Hornets. It just so happened that Weiller is Steve Cohen’s best friend. And so two people that I knew recommended me to Steve and he made a phone call.
He said, “I already got the guy, but I’m just talking to you.” Before the end of the phone call, he said, “Would you like to come work for us?” I don’t know what I said or what I did, but for some reason it changed his mind. He said, “Before I can officially offer this to you, you’ve got to meet with NASCAR.” There was a vice president with the name of Paul Brooks, had to go meet with Paul. Met with Paul, and before I got back to my car, the phone was ringing and Steve made an offer and I was able to accept it.
So was there any hesitation at the time? Sirius now is a household name and satellite radio is clearly a dominant force. But at the time, was it as clear-cut for you, the decision?
Not at all. I was scared to death because, like I said, big fish, small pond. I felt like I had carved out a little niche for myself, and I was gonna jump outside of my comfort zone big time. I was worried about being exposed. To this day, I don’t consider myself a NASCAR expert. My hosts are experts. Our producers are experts. It’s not really part of my job to be an expert on the sport, that’s why we hire good people.
But I met with my uncle, who passed away right before the job started in February of 2007. And he told me at the time, “You’ve gotta do this.” He was a big NASCAR fan. He said, “You gotta do it.” He was a great mentor, he said, “Even if you do it for a year and the whole thing falls apart, you’re gonna have that on your resume for the rest of your life.” And he said, “National. Think of all the people that you could meet.” And I thought boy, I don’t take chances very easily, but there’s something about the way he said it.
And I had another mentor, Terry Hanson at the time, who was great with business, he was Ted Turner’s right-hand man and he sat down with me, we went through it. He helped me negotiate my salary — which by the way, thank you Terry, you did a great job. It was one of those kind of deals, where fake it ’til you make it, and I think that’s what we were able to do and now hopefully I’m not embarrassing myself too much and people like what they’re hearing.
So on a day-to-day basis now, you have your hosts, your have your regular shows that you’re putting on, and then people need to fill in so you’re looking at that. You’re trying to figure out what’s next for your channel and your hosts and your shows. What goes into your day-to-day job?
I spend a lot of time at the computer. To me, that’s not really what radio is all about, and that was kind of one of the problems with transitioning into this role. I’ve always been in a studio, and I’ve always assumed that that’s where you had to be in order to do radio. But I spend a lot of time in front of a computer doing email. I work remotely.
One of the things that a lot of listeners may not know is that our business model is such that the majority of our hosts work from their houses. Our producers and board operators are based in Washington D.C., and as the program director, I’m based in my home just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina in a small place called Lake Wylie, South Carolina. And so I work in a little small office at the house constantly creating schedules, listening to the channel, offering suggestions.
What I was able to bring to the channel was that I cultivated relationships over the years, I had about 10 years under my belt before I came to SiriusXM, and so those contacts have helped us to start the channel. If a new producer comes in, they don’t have those contacts, I have an open Rolodex. Usually they go, “What’s a Rolodex?” because they’re all so young. But we share resources. We’re always looking for new programming, we’re always looking for new talent, we’re always looking to take somebody who maybe isn’t an established name and hopefully create someone that can be our own. That’s the dream.
It’s a little bit more challenging in the world of NASCAR than it is in a stick and ball environment because NASCAR is in so many ways still a niche sport that you’ve got to convince people. They come to the track, they’re sold. They’re instantly sold and they’re coming back for life. But if they’ve only experienced it over the radio or television, some of them are apprehensive, and they don’t build that huge fan base, it takes them awhile. So it’s harder for us to find people. They’re already tied up with MRN or PRN and FOX, NBC, whatever the case. NASCAR.com, you know. But there have been a handful of success stories. People … that are willing to take a chance and get out of their comfort zone a little bit. You bring the NASCAR knowledge, so maybe let’s all work together to get you up to speed as a broadcaster. It works the other way as well. Bring me a seasoned professional as a broadcaster, and we can probably teach him the NASCAR stuff. But I always say, bring me someone that knows nothing about radio or about NASCAR and I’m very busy.
You mentioned earlier in the interview about internships and the importance of doing that. If someone has a dream of, “Wow, I’d love to decide who’s on ‘The Morning Drive’ 10 years from now or who replaces Moody in 20 years,” there’s a kid out there in college or something…
We are actively looking for the person that will help us replace Moody. Anybody listening, just in case he’s listening, I just want to make sure that that’s known.
So what advice would you have for somebody who’s looking to get their start and maybe follow in your footsteps one day?
Well, like I said, internships are certainly the best way. Some people are able to skip over that. But anything entry level, just get your foot in the door. Spending the time there, I can’t tell you how many times, whether I was being paid or not, how many times I’ve worked a night, a weekend, a holiday. I remember eating Thanksgiving dinner, sitting right there at the radio control board, and my family brought down a plate of food.
That’s sad.
You know, it feels like it was, but I was having the time of my life because I was where I wanted to be. And, you know, honestly, if you can find people to support you, that’s a big deal.
I’m not embarrassed by this, but I’m not super proud of it either. So I don’t talk about it much, but I didn’t go to college. I was in high school when I got my internship, I was in my senior year, and it’s too long of a story to tell you here, but there was a program at school where they wanted you to do a project and a friend of mine did his on radio; I went with him, and that’s how I met the host that I got my internship from.
But I was going to be the first in my family to graduate college, and there was a lot of pressure: I’m an only child, and I just assumed I was always going to do it, especially if you’re gonna be a psychologist, they’d kind of like you to have a degree, right? So that’s what I thought I was going do.
When I found radio and decided that’s really where I wanted to go, I went to my folks, specifically my dad, and I said, “I’m loving this. And I had a conversation today that I never thought I would have.” Jeff Kent was the program director at WRFX in Charlotte and I went to him and I said, “Hey look, I’m going to be going off to college here pretty soon, my goal is to go to Carolina, I’d like to get a degree in communication and broadcasting.” As a matter of fact, John Boy and Billy had a scholarship program back then and I thought, “Maybe I could come back and work for you later on.” And he said, “Well, I have a job for you right now.” And I said, “Well yeah, but I’ve got to get this degree.” And I’ll never forget how he said this. He said, “Why would you leave a job that I’m offering you right now to go off to get a degree for you to come back and ask for the job that I’m offering you right now? Because this is what I would be offering you!”
And I’d never thought about it that way, so I’m back talking to my dad and he said, “OK, let’s not lose sight of school” — because at that age, the first shiny thing that you see, that’s what you chase after, and I think he was worried that maybe that’s what this was. So let’s go do this for a year, let’s not forget about school, then go get that degree. And that was 22 years ago. But the fact that I had my family’s support, without that, all the other opportunities that were presented to me really wouldn’t have meant anything.
12 Questions with Ryan Blaney (2018)
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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Ryan Blaney of Team Penske, who won the recent race at the Charlotte Roval. This interview was recorded as a podcast but is also transcribed below for those who prefer to read.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
It depends. I dream about races that never happened sometimes that you really don’t understand what’s going on. I’ve dreamt about bad races before, reliving wrecks or something. I guess you could call those nightmares. So yeah, those really are the only two times I’ve dreamt about racing, if it’s just a random occurrence or something that’s never happened before and I can’t really make any sense of it. Or the wrecks, there’s a few bad ones that you sometimes dream about I guess.
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?
I definitely think it does, especially if it was unintentional. I think you should apologize for sure if it was your fault, and you hope the other person understands. Now if it was intentional, I don’t think you go apologize. You did it intentionally, you’re not gonna go be sorry for it. If it’s an accident and I screw up and I get loose under somebody and spin them out or we both spin out, I’ll try to find them as soon as I can or call them and say that was obviously my fault. But yeah. Different answers for intentional or unintentional stuff.
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
Something that’s really cool to me is when parents tell me that their kids look up to me. That’s a super cool compliment because they’re talking about how their kids are huge fans of me and they love racing, they want to be just like you on and off the track. Like man, that’s pretty cool. I don’t know if I’ve met you guys before, but this kid wants to be like me and he doesn’t really even know me, he just knows me from around the racetrack or from racing and the social stuff that’s out there. That’s really cool and makes me feel good because that’s part of the reason why we do it.
You want to be as good of a role model as you can. I remember I was a kid who loved racing and was running around the garage and wanted to be like this driver or that driver just because I liked what they did. So to kind of have the roles now, me being in that spot, that makes me feel really good when parents tell me that or their kids come up to me and are wearing my shirt and they’re super happy to see me, because that just shows they’re big fans and they look up to me. It’s like a big brother moment, I guess. I think that’s the best compliment I can be paid.
4. NASCAR comes to you and says they’re bringing a celebrity to the track and they want you to host them. Who is a celebrity you’d be excited to host?
I’ll do a male and female version. I’m a big, big Ryan Reynolds fan, I think he’s an awesome actor. I’d love to have him. Did you say who’s the person or what would we do?
Just who would you like to take around?
Ryan Reynolds, that’s the guy. And the girl…ooh that’s tough. A lot of celebrity crushes. I’m a big Daisy Ridley fan. Do you know who she is?
Yeah. Well, you met her. She didn’t know who you were at the Lakers game.
She had no idea. But yeah, maybe that can be a second meeting. She probably doesn’t remember the Lakers thing, but I always will. But yeah, those will be my two.
Just next time be like, “Hey, by the way, I’m a NASCAR driver. Just come on out.”
Invite her out, yeah.
Life’s made. pic.twitter.com/0kTE8Ax4ol
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) March 22, 2017
5. In an effort to show this is a health-conscious sport, NASCAR decides to offer the pole for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for one month. Would you do it?
It’s only one race for the first pit stall? One month of vegan? That’s a hard one, that’s a good one. My sister is vegan, and I don’t know how she does it.
Which one?
The little one, Erin. And she’s in college and being in college and being a vegan, that’s tough. And I’ve seen what she has to eat, and it’s not pleasant. But I don’t know. I feel like I could only do the vegan thing for two weeks. I like meat too much and I eat way too much of that stuff. So I don’t know if I could do the vegan thing. I would try, but I just don’t think I would succeed.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I’ve picked a random race from your career and you have to tell me where you finished. This is the Kentucky Truck race from 2014. Do you remember this race at all?
Yes I do. I ran third. Kyle (Busch) won the race and Bubba got second.
Holy crap! Wow! That’s impressive.
It took me a second to think about but yeah, I remember that race. We had a shot to win, and the last restart didn’t really work out. Yup, I remember that. That was the old Kentucky.
Are you good at remembering races in general, or does that one just happen to stick out?
I’m pretty good at remembering races when people bring up what race it was, what year. I can usually remember that. But if I’m standing here, I’m not gonna be like, “Yeah, that race in 2015, so and so.” But if you bring up a race, I can usually think back and remember it. I don’t just think about races all the time. But when it gets brought up in discussion, I can easily usually think back on it.
7. Who is the best rapper alive?
I don’t really listen to rap music. I don’t know. I think Eminem is a good rapper. I feel like there’s only a few rappers I listen to, but Eminem, Notorious B.I.G., I listened to Tupac as a kid. Kendrick Lamar is really good. I saw a J. Cole concert a couple years back when he came out with that album, he was really really good. Post Malone’s good, I saw him in concert in Charlotte like a month ago, and I got to hang out with him for a little bit. Super nice guy.
Would you get the Post Malone eye tattoos under your eyes?
You know, that might be an offseason thing for me. And then laser them off.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
That’s an interesting one because I’ve seen you, heard you ask that question before. It’s not even really who would you punch, it’s who has the most punchable face. That’s almost like calling someone ugly, I don’t know. (Laughs) There’s certain people that sometimes I look at them after the race and I’m like, “God, I want to kick your ass.” And it’s really nothing against them, it’s just how they raced me, if they fenced me in or something.
But most punchable face, there’s one I would say but I don’t know how to say it. Have a lot of people have said Kyle Busch?
Yeah, he and Brad kind of get most of the answers.
OK. I guess those guys have punchable faces. I don’t know what a punchable face is, but I could say those two would be a tie. I’m just going to go with what everyone else says.
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks.
I would like to hear Tom Hanks’ voice on the radio all the time, so I would do the spotter thing for him. LeBron should be the crew chief because of his work ethic. And Taylor can be the bus driver, because who wouldn’t want to be in a bus with Taylor Swift? (Laughs)
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
I think there’s multiple people involved in this. There’s myself, so when we’re walking out to intros and you’re kind of figuring out where the car is staged, look around for some port-a-johns. Ian (Moye), my PR guy, he’s good for looking for some bathrooms. And then my interior guy is also really good. So it’s a group effort. If neither of us see one while walking out, I’ll ask Kyle (Belmont), my interior guy, and he’ll usually have a good spot for me to go.
Is that because he doesn’t want to have to clean up if you can’t find the bathroom?
Well, I’ll never do that to him. I’ll rupture inside before I do that to him. But no, he’s always just on the lookout because, you know, those guys are on the grid for a while, so they have to scout out all the bathrooms. Yeah, so it’s a group effort, teamwork. Teamwork in everything nowadays.
11. NASCAR decides they would like the highlight reel value brought by the former Carl Edwards backflips and want their own version. How much money would they have to offer for you to backflip off your car following your next win?
Not much. I just have to practice it. If I’m going out there green, I don’t know if I can do it. That’s hard. It’s hard enough to do a backflip on a trampoline. I can do plenty of stuff on trampolines, but off a car, that’s tough. If I could get like five shots at it off a car door into like a foam pit first, then I’d do it for nothing.
Just for the good of the sport.
Yup, for the good of the sport. That’s what we’re in this for.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was with Michael McDowell and David Ragan. Their question for you is: Why don’t you ever go sprint car racing?
The reason why I didn’t grow up sprint car racing, number one, was I grew up in North Carolina, and by the time I was old enough to drive, my dad was already racing NASCAR and there’s just really no dirt tracks around. It’s asphalt, Late Model stuff. And Legend cars and quarter midgets, but that was kind of the main deal in North Carolina and where we were.
But why I don’t do it now is I’m really not allowed. It’s not encouraged for me to go do it. I’ll tell you a story. It was 2012, I’d just signed with Penske, and we were at the Texas (Xfinity) race and I was doing that one in the 22 car. My dad, until 2011, 12, 13, was building his own sprint cars and was testing them and racing them. So I’d help him build them a little bit, and I go run some laps in them to go test it. And I was testing it in the week before Texas.
We got done with practice at Texas and Tim Cindric, president of Penske, comes in and we’re talking about the car. I’m just starting at Penske and he walks out and he turns around like, “Oh, by the way, no more driving sprint cars.” It was like, “Oh man. OK.” How did he know that I was testing sprint cars? That’s baffling to me.
And so I was telling my dad this story just a few weeks ago, and he was like, “Yeah, because you scared the shit out of me driving that sprint car and I thought you were gonna wreck and I told him to tell you that you can’t drive sprint cars anymore.” Like man, you threw me under the bus! I can’t believe him. Yeah. I just found that out. So much for trust in dad.
But yeah, that’s really why I don’t do it. I’d love to do it, it’s what my dad does full time right now, it’s what my family grew up on pretty much and I love going to the races and learning about those cars and absolutely love that side of racing, but it’s just not something I can go do really right now. Maybe when I’m done with this deal, I’d like to go do it just because it was a family thing, but not right now.
So Tim Cindric had to do your dad’s dirty work, basically.
Yeah. I know! Dad just should have come to me and told me, but no, he didn’t want to be that guy. He wanted to use a middleman. He was using Tim Cindric as a middleman. That’s pretty rough.
I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with. You can either give me a general question or I’ll try to double back with you when I know the next driver.
Yeah, just get back with me whenever you know. I’m gonna ask a hard-hitting question.
Previous 12 Questions interviews with Ryan Blaney:
The Top Five: Breaking down the Kansas playoff race
Five thoughts following Sunday’s Round 2 elimination race at Kansas Speedway…
1. Contenders narrow
It’s been 14 races since Martin Truex Jr. won. It’s been 10 since Kevin Harvick won. Kyle Busch has one win in the last 11 races.
And yet, regardless of how each team is running, the Big Three have to be thrilled with how the playoffs are shaping up at this point.
That’s because the drivers who would seem to be the biggest threats to beat them at Homestead keep getting eliminated. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin were out after Round 1, and now Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski are gone after Round 2.
Chase Elliott is perhaps the favorite to get the last Homestead spot right now, but can you really picture someone other than a Big Three driver winning the title? With apologies to the remaining five challengers, none of those remaining have the experience and history at Homestead that the Big Three brings.
Anything can happen, of course, and none of the remaining drivers are pushovers. It’s just that Homestead seems to require an extra level of speed and execution. Given the increased pressure and performance demanded by a championship situation, having been in that spot before — and achieving the ultimate goal — really does count for a lot.
2. What to make of Round 2?
Brad Keselowski won three straight races bridging the start of the playoffs, giving a false impression of how good his team really was. Keselowski himself was frank about the streak all along, saying he didn’t have the fastest car in any of the three races he won. But when a team goes on a roll like that, the momentum feels impossible to ignore. Suddenly, everyone had Keselowski penciled in to Homestead.
Then came a ninth-place finish at Richmond, a crash while leading the Roval and finishes of 14th, 27th and sixth in Round 2. Just like that, Keselowski was out.
Now Elliott has won two races in three weeks, and has seemed to be running better in general as the fall approached. That said, is Elliott’s recent run that different than Keselowski’s? Wins shouldn’t be ignored, but in terms of making a statement, it’s Harvick who was going to win both the races Elliott won — including on Sunday — without self-inflicted mistakes on pit road (one by the team, one by the driver).
So it’s tough to figure how seriously to take Elliott’s playoff hopes. He’s racing with confidence and his team is putting him in situations to capitalize on potential wins. Is that enough to put him in the Homestead conversation, though? I’m going to take raw speed over anything at this point in the season, and that still seems like Harvick every week.
3. SHR channeling JGR
All four Stewart-Haas Racing drivers advanced to Round 3, making up half of the playoff field heading into the last four races.
When is the last time such a feat occurred? Actually it was only two years ago, when all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers — Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth — made it to the Round of Eight.
Kenseth and Hamlin were eliminated after Phoenix that year, with Busch and Edwards advancing to Homestead. Edwards then was infamously in position to win the championship until a late caution, which reset the field, ended in a wreck with Joey Logano and ultimately turned out to be his final career race.
So how will this year unfold for SHR? Will more than one of its drivers get to the final four?
I’m going to say no. Harvick is a lock, but Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer probably need to win a race during this round if they’re going to make it. That’s because there’s such a large playoff points deficit to the Big Three, and you would think at least one of that trio will need to advance on points.
Bowyer could win Martinsville, but so could a number of drivers. The best bet for other SHR contenders might be if a non-playoff team wins one of the races and opens up an extra spot to reach Homestead on points.
Otherwise, Harvick might be riding solo into the championship round despite having three teammates in the semifinals.
4. Stale schedule hurts Round 2
Kansas was an OK race. It got exciting at the end, when there was a late battle for the lead. But had the playoff elimination scenario not been present all day, it would have been your standard, ho-hum 1.5-mile track race.
Logano dominated the early part of the race in clean air, until Harvick took over and did the same. Aside from the stage breaks, there was only one caution — for oil on the track when William Byron blew up.
It was just another reminder that NASCAR’s No. 1 issue isn’t personalities or tires or rules packages, but the tracks themselves — and where those tracks fall on the schedule.
The excitement and freshness of Round 1 seems like a distant memory after a relatively uneventful Dover race, a disappointing Talladega and then Sunday’s event at Kansas. This round’s watchability was masked by the good fortune of two popular Elliott wins, which pump up many in NASCAR. Overall, though, Round 2 promised more thrills than were actually delivered.
But remember the chaotic playoffs opener at Las Vegas? The first-time playoff event at Richmond? The hype and craziness of the Roval? The playoffs had gotten off to such a good start and were part of a string of great races that spanned a couple months.
Thankfully, Martinsville lies ahead next week and Round 3 also contains Phoenix’s new layout with the start/finish line in a turn (which might not change much with the racing, but at least it’s something new to talk about).
Maybe this is a wacky theory, but is it possible a stale schedule can leak into the on-track product at times? When a race gets hyped so much that even the drivers buy into it, is it possible they race differently? Perhaps it’s just coincidence, but Round 1 was a hell of a lot more compelling than Round 2 — and that seems backward for a playoff format that usually picks up steam as it goes.
5. Frustration continues for racing in U.S.
One of the year’s most-attended races in the United States happened on Sunday, and it wasn’t the NASCAR race.
Formula One and NASCAR went head-to-head once again this season — same day, same time — and it only figures to get worse next year when they run in the same state as well.
I understand the reasoning for both series — F1 goes all over the world and doesn’t really care what NASCAR does, and NASCAR doesn’t have much of a window to avoid F1 — but that still doesn’t make it productive for either.
Think about this: What if NASCAR held the Kansas race on a Saturday afternoon? Then it could have sent its drivers to flood the F1 paddock, where they would have been portrayed as celebrities to the worldwide TV feed, increasing the international profile of the stock car series. Conversely, F1 is trying to gain a foothold in the U.S. but can’t really do that without dipping into the NASCAR fan base, which is the largest and most receptive audience in this country.
It all seems so self-defeating when you think about the challenges all forms of racing face today. With so many smart people working in both series and the obvious crossover opportunities, a greater effort should be made to lift up both NASCAR and F1 — even if one has to give a little more than the other to make it work.
Post-Kansas podcast with Jordan Bianchi
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Jordan Bianchi is back for another post-race analysis podcast, this time to help me digest everything that happened Sunday at the Kansas Speedway playoff elimination race.
12 Questions with David Ragan and Michael McDowell (2018)
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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with a double edition: Front Row Motorsports teammates David Ragan and Michael McDowell are both included in this one. Given the format, it’s highly recommended to listen as a podcast — but it’s also transcribed below for those who prefer to read.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
DR: I have dreams every night in general, but I don’t really remember them. Sometimes about racing, sometimes about other things. But when I do dream about racing, it’s never really about the competition and trying to race and win, it’s always about trying to get to the racetrack or the cars being on the track on the pace laps and I can’t find my helmet or I’m stuck in the (hauler) lounge and I can’t get out or something weird like that. Or I’m late or I can’t get my window net up. It’s always things I’m worried about that.
MM: It’s very funny he said that. I have dreams about seeing the cars start the race, too, and you’re not in it. And you see your car and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, what happened?” That’s crazy. But I would say maybe once or twice a month. Like David said, it’s hard to remember. I do remember last night’s dream. It was turkey hunting, not racing.
DR: You should write them down and see if you see a correlation to certain things that are going on in your life.
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize? I didn’t mean for this to be awkward right after you guys got into each other. (Note: This was recorded the week after the two crashed at Las Vegas.)
DR: It’s perfect timing. (Laughs)
MM: I don’t know if you picked up the audio, but my crew chief, Derrick Finley, was walking through David’s hauler and he just snickered as you asked that question. (Laughs)
DR: I’ll go first, being as I wrecked Michael last week and myself. I do think it’s important. Whether you wreck someone intentionally or whether it’s an accident, I think you should bring it up. If you wreck someone intentionally, you need to let them know you don’t like what they did and why you wrecked them. If you do it unintentionally, I think it’s important say, “Look, man, I’m sorry. I hated I did that.” Just to clear the air. Communication is important. We race with each other 38 times a year and the last thing we need are grudges on the racetrack that bring both teams down. Certainly that’s important with teammates, but even other people in the garage. I try to make it a point to reach out to someone if I wreck them.
MM: Yeah, I think it’s super important. Having been on both sides of it, the intentional part is hard, right? Because if you truly did it intentionally, there were things that built up to it. It doesn’t just happen. But a lot of times, those are the ones that are left undone. Like Ross Chastain and (Kevin) Harvick (in the Darlington Xfinity race). I mean, Ross hooked him. There’s no question and nobody can say anything otherwise. Harvick knows he hooked him. So then not having that conversation, that will be an issue down the road in their careers for both of them. So just being able to bring it up (is important). I had it happen with (Marcos) Ambrose— I intentionally crashed Ambrose at Martinsville. And he waited for me after the race. He came up to me — I’ll never forget it, because it was like the most awkward conversation ever — and he was like, “Well what happened?” I said, “Well, you chopped me two or three times and then I crashed you.” And his face, his jaw dropped. Because he’s like, “You’re saying you did that on purpose?” I said, “Well, I don’t want to lie to you. You chopped me off two or three times, so I crashed you.” And I think he said something like, “I should kill you” — it was something very angry and violent, which I get, because I get ramped up. But I remember the next week he’s like, “Most people would have lied to me. Most people would have said, ‘Hey man, I got in too deep, I locked up my tires and I ran into you.’ I didn’t know how to respond when you actually said you did it on purpose.” But just talking through it, what he said made a lot of sense. He said, “I figured you weren’t going to run the whole race.” Because at the time, I was start-and-parking, but Martinsville was always one of the places we ran because we could be competitive. So he said, “I chopped you because I figured in 10 laps you were going to come in, and if anybody could cut me a break, you could.” Well then all the sudden it made sense to me and I was like, “Maybe I overreacted a little bit because that’s fairly logical.” So what I’m saying is even though sometimes it intentionally happens, walking through it is an important step.
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
DR: Just saying I’m a good dad and a good husband is the most. The racing thing is my career right now, but it’s not going be my career one day. It would be flattering if somebody told me I was a great race car driver or really fast, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. So I think the biggest compliment someone could give me is I’m a good son or a good husband or a good dad.
MM: I don’t really care. To me, compliments…it is what it is. Racing in particular, you’re only as good as your last race. So when you get done with your career, nobody is really going to care. So for me, it’s the areas that matter. It’s my faith and family. Those are the areas I want to do well in. But honestly, whether someone thinks you’re doing well in those areas or not really doesn’t matter.
4. NASCAR comes to you and says they’re bringing a celebrity to the track and they want you to host them. Who is a celebrity you’d be excited to host?
MM: I actually got to do it. One of the authors and pastors and guys who have been really influential for me who I hadn’t met was Francis Chan. He was a guest of ours at California, which was really cool. I love racing and there’s lots of people I would like to host, like ex-Formula One drivers and things like that. But you can only talk about so much for so long. It’s cool to get somebody outside our circle who is doing other things aside from going around in circles.
DR: I’m at the racetrack to race. I would love to meet some different people outside the racetrack if we were going to sit around the campfire and tell a couple stories. But a lot of time, I feel like celebrities are kind of fake in whatever field they’re in, and I don’t care to hang out with anybody like that. I would say so no, I don’t have any interest in entertaining anyone at the racetrack, as long as I’m working. I don’t really care. I’m not big on celebrities.
I happened to know that.
DR: That’s why I don’t like being a “celebrity.” I don’t even like that. I want real people. I want the poorest person in the grandstands who had to borrow money to go buy their ticket. That’s who I want to hang out with.
MM: Yeah. And I think the reason some of us are like that is we know what it’s like to be in that role of celebrity. When you go to a dinner and you’re the person and all that, you feel this pressure to entertain. You feel like you’ve got to turn it on, like you’ve got to tell good stories and have good jokes. When David and I hang around, you can just be normal and have normal conversations. It’s hard when you got to a setting where people think you’re the celebrity. So you don’t get the authentic person — even myself — because you’re like, “OK, they invited me as the guest — as the race car driver — so you’ve got to tell race car stories and you’ve got to be funny and charismatic and all of these things,” and it’s like…eh. It’s not worth the pressure.
DR: Yeah.
5. In an effort to show this is a health-conscious sport, NASCAR decides to offer the pole for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for one month. Would you do it?
MM: I haven’t really studied the vegan diet. But I’m on the Keto diet. And I don’t know if there could be a greater separation between vegan and Keto. I only eat fat and meat. So no. You can give me the No. 1 stall, but I’m sticking with Keto.
DR: I would go vegan for a month. I do eat a little steak and chicken and fish. It would be kind of a pain in the butt to do that, but if I had a chef that would help, I’d be OK with it. I wouldn’t want to do all the work — that would be a lot of effort. But as far as eating, I love vegetables and fruits. I could do it, and I would. I want it for Martinsville.
Real quick, for Michael: Does the Keto diet really give you more energy, as is billed?
MM: This would be a whole other 12 Questions, but it’s the best thing I’ve done in my life for my health. I’ve lost 35 pounds since doing it, and I’m stronger and better in the race car than I’ve ever been. I’m sure there’s lots of science behind both ends of it, but for me, I did it because I didn’t feel great after Sonoma. I was constantly fighting headaches and feeling depleted. I tried something different and it’s been amazing for me. It’s really been something that has changed my overall performance in the race car.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I’ve picked a random race from both of your careers and you have to tell me where you finished. In the spirit of this interview, I went back and found a race where you guys finished back to back. This was the Kansas race last fall. Any idea where you finished?
DR: I know exactly where I finished.
MM: I don’t exactly where I finished, but I know real close.
DR: It was 16th and 17th. I was 17th, you were 16th.
MM: I was going to say 18th for me.
It was actually 17th and 18th.
DR: Who was 18th?
David was 17th, Michael was 18th.
MM: Oh, there we go!
DR: I remembered I was 17th, but I thought you finished in front of me!
MM: That’s funny! You know, I don’t forget top-20s the last few years because you only have a handful of them. So you remember them for sure.
7. I know I’ll get a great answer here because you guys seem like huge rap fans. Who is the best rapper alive?
MM: Well, I am a lyrical gangster. Not a lot of people know that. Eminem is by far the best rapper to walk this planet.
DR: I know rappers, but I don’t know who the best one is. I guess whoever has still got a job and has got the new CD that is out. I have no idea.
MM: I think Eminem is unchallenged, though.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
MM: Joey Logano. He’s just goofy. He’s just silly.
It’s just his face? You don’t actually want to punch him?
MM: No, I love Joey Logano. He’s one of the nicest, realest guys in the garage. But he definitely has a punchable face.
DR: I think whoever is winning a lot. Back in the mid-2000s it was Jimmie Johnson, just being so perfect and winning all the time. Now it’s probably Kyle Busch. He just wins everything.
MM: Fans ask me all the time to punch him in the face. Fans are weird, they’re like, “Hey man, just do me a favor. Just crash Kyle Busch this weekend.” I’m like, “OK, yeah. That’s exactly it. I’ll do that. Thank you for the advice.”
DR: Kyle is a friend of mine. I think he’s one of the best drivers this sport has ever seen. I like Kyle. So I’m not trying to punch anybody. Well, I don’t want to punch anybody first. But yeah…Kyle. (Laughs)
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Pick one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.
MM: Tom Hanks would be the coach driver because I think he would actually be a cool guy to hang out with. He seems like an interesting guy. LeBron James would be a good spotter. He’s got a lot of energy. And Taylor Swift could be the crew chief.
DR: Well, we’re going to outrun Michael that race. (Laughs) I’d probably put LeBron on the pit box because he’s probably a good leader and a good coach. Taylor has been living in the motorhome on tours for the last 15 years, so I’d probably let her drive the motorhome. And then Tom, I’d let him spot.
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
DR: Good experience.
MM: You’ve got to have it scoped out before it actually starts. If you’re waiting until you get off the truck and you go, “Where’s the bathroom?” — you’re done.
DR: I usually look when we’re walking out to qualifying. Less crowded, a little more time. I’m pretty religious about going to the bathroom right before qualifying or the race. So you’ve got to know.
11. NASCAR decides they would like the highlight reel value brought by the former Carl Edwards backflips and want their own version. How much money would they have to offer for you to backflip off your car following your next win?
MM: Just whatever it would take to get proper training. I’ve always wanted to be able to break dance and do some flips. I don’t really have the physique for it, but if they’d train me, I’d do it.
DR: Yeah, if we could be trained, that would be awesome. I think a signature deal like that is really cool. If you get to win often during the year, it would be neat. I’d like to be able to do it if they provided a trampoline out by my car.
MM: Or a mat. Just a mat. My biggest fear would be if your toes hook the roof. Then it’s going to look real bad and feel real bad, too. That’s a lot of momentum.
DR: I’ll just do a cartwheel.
MM: I think David could probably do (a backflip).
DR: On a trampoline. I wouldn’t want to do it in front of everyone for the first time and fail, though. That wouldn’t be fun.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Timmy Hill, and he wanted to know: If you play fantasy sports, what is the name of your fantasy football team?
DR: I do play one league of fantasy football. With all the shenanigans in the NFL, I tried to back out of it this year, but I’m with a group of my friends so I stayed on board. I’m a pretty boring guy, so my team name is “Team Ragan.”
MM: Mine is worse than that. I don’t play at all. I did when I was at (Leavine Family Racing). One of the guys got fired and I took over his fantasy football team. I’ve never watched it. But that was actually really fascinating for me, because once I downloaded the app, I started to watch. Because I was like, “Ooh, I’ve got a guy running tonight.” So it made me realize how important that is for our sport. Because even if you’re not a David Ragan or a Michael McDowell fan, if you have us in your fantasy lineup for the day, you still want us to run top 15 and if you see us passing cars, it’s exciting. So it’s a cool element.
Do you have a question I can ask the next interview? It’s with Ryan Blaney.
DR: You want to ask a question the fans would enjoy. His dad and uncle are big sprint car guys. What’s the reason (he doesn’t) go back and run some sprint cars and dirt cars or something like that?
Previous 12 Questions interviews with David Ragan and Michael McDowell:
Ragan
McDowell