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12 Questions with Jimmie Johnson (2018)

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The series of 12 Questions interviews continues this week with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The interview was recorded as a podcast, but is also transcribed for those who prefer to read.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

I don’t dream all that often, but I do remember one when I was getting ready to race for the Herzogs in ’96 in my very first off-road truck race for them. I had a dream that this brand new beautiful truck he built would only do wheelies — and I couldn’t compete, couldn’t make a turn, couldn’t stay with the pack because every time I touched the gas, it just did a wheelie and I couldn’t turn.

Was this a dream that happened more than once?

No, it was just that one dream, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It’s probably the only one I remembered through all the years of having different dreams.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

Yeah, it does. I think there’s also an unwritten code out there when there’s just incidental contact that happens. And then there’s that next level of, “Wow, that probably looked bad. I should apologize, I didn’t mean it.” And then you have to see if the guy believes you or not.

And then there’s the insult of all insults where you just completely dump somebody and say, “Oh yeah, sorry.” (Laughs)

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

The simple term that you’re a racer. That’s always meant the world to me.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

I just had a flashback of meeting Vince Vaughn in our transporter a couple years ago. First of all, he was so tall he could barely fit in the transporter. And then he just of course was rolling the humor and dropping one-liners. So I love to have those opportunities to see people and show them around the transporter and through the inner workings of what goes on in a race team.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

Man, I tried it. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but I was just curious and had a three-month run at vegan.

So you made it three months?

I did. I made it three months. Not easy — a lot of planning involved. And I’m sure the first month I made plenty of mistakes because you just don’t know any better. You don’t realize how hard it is to be a true vegan.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2007 Atlanta Spring race. Do you have any idea where you finished in that one?

I don’t remember ’07. Nope, sorry, I don’t. I hope I won.

You actually won that one.

OK!

I was hoping to stump you on one that you won, since you’ve won so many races.

You usually remember the ones you lose. Like losing to Carl (Edwards) at the line or something like that. I wouldn’t know the year off the top of my head, but the ones you lose leave a much bigger mark than the ones you’ve won. (Laughs)

You started third on this one and you led the first 36 laps. There was a debris caution with 10 to go. You took the lead with three to go and you beat Smoke. Does any of this ring a bell?

Yeah, I remember getting by Tony off of Turn 2. We had a little contact, which I know didn’t make him happy. He had a little bit of a tire rub after that, and we were able to get the race won. I remember that now. I just need a little snapshot of what it looked like.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I’m not all that versed in rap. But I guess I would kind of lean also the old school with Snoop and Ice Cube. I go back to when I was in high school and some of the big names back then, and that’s about as far as I can go. 50 (Cent) is kind of in there, I guess he’s kind of more recent.

But for whatever reason, I remember NWA when I was in high school. That is what all the cool kids listened to for awhile. My parents were like, “This language is unacceptable in the house.” (Laughs)

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

I always think of characters. We were just at Disney World not long ago, and I don’t know why, but I felt like I needed to punch or tackle one of those characters.

One of the mascots?

Yeah, one of the mascots. In general, they have such a punchable face.

Sorry, Mickey!

Right? (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. Choose one to be your chew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

I would say Hanks as the spotter, he’s such a good talker. Taylor Swift — I’d much rather look at Taylor Swift than Chad Knaus. And we’ll have LeBron drive I guess. Our bus driver does a lot. You need to know the inner workings of the tracks and help work with crowds. With LeBron’s size, I think that he could definitely help with crowd management.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

Experience makes all the difference in the world. Some tracks, it’s just port-a-potty, other tracks there’s a suite that you know nearby, or Goodyear’s tire building — there’s always a bathroom in there. And that is always a high priority when you hop off the truck. You can imagine when you’re gonna sit there for four hours and not have access to a bathroom, that last stop is very much on my mind.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

It wouldn’t be too much. I always loved jumping off things and I was on the dive team and also swam and played water polo. Most of my dives were forward-facing, but I think I could get the rotation around, especially into the grass. I’d be very comfortable going into the grass.

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Simon Pagenaud. His question is: When you win No. 8, how will you celebrate differently than your other ones, and what was the most epic moment of your first seven celebrations?

The most epic moment would be Snoop Dogg playing the championship party. That was just the coolest experience ever, and we still talk about it over and over. So that would be the first highlight that pops in mind.

Do differently? Thankfully with winning seven, I’ve learned how to pace myself over the banquet week, so I think I would be yet again more experienced on how to manage the four or five days of continuous partying. (Laughs)

I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with. Do you have a general question I can ask?

Do they wear underwear under their fireproof clothing in a race car?

Oh, is that a thing?

I don’t know. That’s where it all came from. I’m like, “Well, I don’t know.” I’d like to know.

Other 12 Questions interviews with Jimmie Johnson through the years:

— Oct. 13, 2010

— Sept. 14, 2011

— July 9, 2013

— Sept. 10, 2014

— July 29, 2015

— Feb. 18, 2016

— Sept. 27, 2017

 

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12 Questions with Simon Pagenaud

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Simon Pagenaud stands on pit road prior to qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. (Photo: Action Sports Inc.)

The series of weekly driver interviews continues with Simon Pagenaud, who drives for Team Penske in the Verizon IndyCar Series. These interviews are recorded as a podcast, but also transcribed for those who prefer to read instead of listen.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

I just had one last night, actually. We’re doing some experiments and I dreamt that I was driving it. When I was a kid, I used to dream of driving a lot — almost every night. I used to put myself into the thinking mode as well, hoping I was gonna dream about it.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

For me, personally, I don’t talk with the others. I know we’re all different. I feel like if I did something wrong and I know it’s completely wrong and it was my fault, I always apologize. Because I want to others to know that when I’m going for it and I’m in my right, I’m in my right.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

For me, the biggest would be the dedication. When someone tells me that they’re impressed how dedicated and professional I am, that’s the biggest compliment I could take.

4. IndyCar comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

There’s a lot that I’d like to host. I think one I really would like to meet and have come to the race is Jimmy Fallon, actually. I really enjoy his show and his personality seems like we could get along pretty well, so I’d love to have him here.

Have you ever gotten to go on any late night talk shows like that?

No, I haven’t. I haven’t had that opportunity, unfortunately. I hope I will someday.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, IndyCar offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

I mean, anything for a little advantage. But it would be very hard for me because I do love my chicken, my meat. It’d be a tough month. But I’d probably do it, yes.

Is the No. 1 pit stall a big advantage in IndyCar?

It is an advantage because you get a straight out. You can go straight out, you don’t need to swing around somebody. So there’s a bit of an advantage to that, yes.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished.

That might not be easy for me. (Laughs)

This is the 2014 Long Beach Grand Prix, since we’re here at Long Beach.

I was with Schmidt. I’ll try to remember the color of the car, that helps me. ’14 —was that the Lucas Oil? No, it was the Charter car, I think. Yeah, it was the Charter car. I think that’s the race I got into it with Will (Power), so I finished fifth.

Yes, you did finish fifth.

(Laughs) Which was a really good recovery.

You started sixth. You finished fifth. Mike Conway won and Juan Pablo Montoya finished just ahead of you.

Yes, we got together with Will at that race. If it wasn’t for that, I think I could have won the race. That’s why I was pretty upset. (Laughs)

Sorry to bring up a bad memory.

It’s OK. Part of it.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

Eminem. No question, in my mind.

8. Who has the most punchable face in IndyCar?

Punchable? Woah! Punchable…who would I punch for pleasure? Let me think…(Alexander) Rossi. (Laughs) He’s gonna hear that and be like, “Oh yeah?” (Imitates monotone voice)

9. IndyCar 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. Choose one to be your head mechanic, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

I’d put Tay-Tay as my head mechanic so she can send me on track. She can do that really well, I’m sure. LeBron James, I’d put him as my bus driver because then we could have a little chat afterwards.

And some motivation?

Yeah. He would be really good motivation before the race, too. He could massage me, too. My bus driver actually massages me. He’s a chiropractor.

LeBron knows about sports science.

I’m sure LeBron could do that. It’d be good preparation.

And then yeah, so strategist would be Tom Hanks. I think he’s a really smart guy, so terrific.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

I always make sure I know where it is. It’s funny; I don’t even think about it, but I always check where is it depending on my grid place. It’s second nature. But there’s also another thing — when you step off the truck after the parade lap, just follow another driver.

Just draft off them.

Yeah, exactly. We’re usually all going to the same place.

11. As you know, Carl Edwards used to do backflips in NASCAR.

Is he still doing it, do you think?

I don’t know.

Maybe in his backyard.

On the farm? Yeah. So IndyCar wants their own backflipper.

By the way, my mother-in-law was really upset he retired.

She’s a fan?

Oh yeah. She was really upset.

Who did she move on to?

She moved on with me. That’s it. Nobody else. (Laughs)

So IndyCar decides it wants its own backflipper after a race. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

Pay me? Several hundred million. Because I could really hurt myself and I’d probably land badly, so yeah. So several hundred million would be a good payday. I’d take that. (Laughs)

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Ty Dillon. His question was: “Why does it seem that NASCAR drivers can come to IndyCar and run well, but when IndyCar drivers come to NASCAR, the learning curve seems a lot steeper?”

That’s a shitty question. (Laughs)

He said he might be the most punchable face after asking that.

Yeah, he’s become the most punchable face. Exactly. Let me punch him the next time I see him.

I actually would agree with him. I think because we have so much grip on IndyCars that finding that limit is a little easier than NASCAR — where the limit is so early on for them, they always have to always drive under. And it’s very hard for a driver to drive under the limit, because we always want more. I do think it’s easier when you have wings to find that grip level and extract the best out of it. When you have very little grip, you’re always on the edge. So I think that’s the reason.

Also, their cars are heavier, so it’s harder to manipulate, and they have very strong competition — which we do, too. But that would be the reason I think: the grip levels of the cars, the tires are skinnier on a NASCAR, heavier car. It’s a bigger machine to move around.

My next interview is with Jimmie Johnson.

Jimmie Johnson! Do you know he’s one of my favorites?

I did not know that.

Wow, that’s cool! And his brother is one of my best friends. But I do not know Jimmie.

You don’t know Jimmie personally?

No, I don’t. Yeah, I do hang out where he grew up actually because Hailey (McDermott), my fiancee, she’s from El Cajon. They all know each other there, and Jimmie used to live in El Cajon when he grew up.

Do you have a question I can ask Jimmie?

So Jimmie’s got eight championships, right?

Seven.

Seven? I thought he had eight.

He’s going for eight.

Foreshadowing! So, “For your eighth championship, Jimmie, what are you gonna do different when you celebrate, and what was the most epic moment during your celebration of your first seven?” I’d like to know that.

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12 Questions with Ty Dillon (2018)

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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues with Ty Dillon, who is in his second season driving for Germain Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. This interview is recorded as a podcast, but is also transcribed for those who prefer to read.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

I don’t now as much as when I was younger. I used to have the worst dream and it stressed me out so bad. The race would be firing off, cars would be rolling off and I was trying to still find my gloves or my helmet. Like, I’d be in the hauler scrambling. And then the race was going and I was missing the race and I just had that recurring dream all the time. That was the worst dream ever, I’d wake up sweating and stressed out.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

If you make a true mistake and you’re honest with the person, I think it’s worth going and saying something. I think if you’re racing hard, it should be understood.

I tried that a couple years ago with Regan (Smith at Watkins Glen). I told him when he came up to me, “I made a mistake, man. You deserve to be mad.” But he continued to get more and more mad and then it led to what it was (a skirmish on pit road). But I will always be honest if I make a mistake. I always tell the person and we’ll go from there.

So in the Watkins Glen situation, you were like, “Dude, it’s my fault” and he’s still getting mad?

I told him, “Hey, you are 100 percent right to be mad at me,” and he continued to get mad. Then I was like, “OK, now we’re into another realm of getting mad.” So that’s when I flare up. 

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

The biggest compliment someone could give me right now would be just a compliment that I’m being a good husband and a father. That means more than anything to me in life. And then probably third on the list would be that people see that I’m working hard and just appreciate the work that I’ve put in to trying to be a good race car driver and all around good for the sport.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

Migos was really cool. They’d be high on the list. Like sports star-wise, probably Cam Newton. I love the Braves, so any of the Braves players.

But like entertainment, I really like (rapper) Logic right now. I’ve been bumping him quite a bit, so if he were to come to the track, I’d like to show him around and show him our world.

That would be very cool. That would be very big for NASCAR.

For sure. Another one would be (entrepreneur and social media star) Gary Vaynerchuk, I’d like to take him around.

And he’s doing stuff with NASCAR, right?

Yeah, Vayner Media is doing a lot. I actually had worked with him when I went to Austin for South by Southwest with a vlog and spent a lot of time with him. I’m kind of developing myself outside of racing and inside of racing. I think what they’ve got going on is pretty special.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

For sure.

You would?

Oh yeah, I could do it. My wife (Haley) is a real good cook, and I’d just be like, “Alright Haley, let’s make this stuff taste good.” We’ll go for it. So I could do it.

I think you’re the first driver all year to say yes. I finally found somebody.

I don’t think the other drivers have qualified as bad as I have all year. (Laughs) So I really understand what the bad pit selection feels like. I’d do it for the whole year. It’d probably make me look better, too.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2015 Spring Xfinity race at Kentucky.

That’s a tough one. I had to be decent…I’ll say eighth.

The answer was P15. So you started second and you must have gotten the lead on the start because you led the first 15 laps. And then I don’t know what happened after that.

I’ve led so many laps at Kentucky. I think we got a speeding penalty or something that might have gotten us a lap down. There’s been a lot of Kentucky races where we started in the top five, led a bunch of laps. The last one might have been the fall race of ’15 or fall race of ’16, where we led the whole race and got beat on the green-white-checkered by Blaney. So I was confused between that one and that one.

Are you good at remembering races?

Somewhat. I can remember the good ones.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I think I gave myself away earlier with Logic. I like everything he’s got going on. Migos has some cool content. I just like the way they mix it up. But I’m gonna go with Logic.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

(Laughs) Do people answer this?

Some people do. I’ve gotten a couple answers.

I will just say, out of pure facts, it’s Kyle Busch because I think he’s had the most punches thrown at his face in our sport.

That is a factual answer.

Him and Brad (Keselowski), they both have had the most punches thrown at their faces.

So you’re going for a data answer here.

Data answer. That way I can back it up.

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. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

I’ll take LeBron as the crew chief just because he’s a good team leader. He’s not as good at (Michael Jordan) though, but he’s the best leader in sports right now. Tom Hanks, I love his voice, so he can be my spotter. And then my wife and Taylor would probably get along well, so she can drive the motorhome.

Do you spend a lot of time with your motorhome driver?

Yeah, we could sit around, we could grill out and she could play the guitar and sing, which would be nice.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

That’s a major key. Just the closest port-a-john, really. We’re doing something on the vlog about that, like the best way to find your favorite driver is stand near the port-a-john nearest to their car before the race. That’s the easiest way to do it.

I feel like all tracks should have more port-a-johns. Some tracks really throw us a curve, like Martinsville, I had to run all the way to the backstretch to use the bathroom between the national anthem and “Gentlemen, start your engines,” which there isn’t a whole lot of time there to also get in the car and get all your stuff on.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

Whatever my medical bill will be to fix my neck when I break it. I’m just not a big acrobatic person.

Daniel Hemric can do backflips. He’ll probably do it when he wins one day. I’ll do something cool, but I can’t do a backflip.

But all they’d have to pay is your medical? You wouldn’t want extra fees on top of that?

I’d be generous because I won the race. Just pay my medical bill.

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Martin Truex Jr. He wants to know: Did it surprise you just how much harder Cup is than Xfinity? 

Yes. When I was a rookie in Trucks and Xfinity, I was racing for championships and winning races right out of the gate my first year. Going to Cup, yeah, our team wasn’t at that level yet, but we had a really good step in the right direction. But to even be better at the Cup Series, it’s not another step — it’s like five steps to be much better.

I would like to mirror my career a lot off of what Martin’s done. To grow Furniture Row from what it was to what it is now, that’s definitely what we want to do at Germain. Yeah, it’s definitely a lot tougher than I expected. I was able to make a lot of starts to get a little bit of a feel for (Cup) to help, and we had our best year statistically that Germain Racing’s had, but it’s definitely a major step that I think a lot of people don’t realize.

The next interview I’m doing is with an IndyCar driver. Do you have a question I can ask a driver in the IndyCar Series?

Why does it seem that NASCAR drivers can come to Indy and IndyCar racing and run well like AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart in their cars, but when they come to ours, the learning curve seems a lot steeper?

That’s a really good question. I’d like to know that answer myself.

See, I might be the most punchable face in IndyCar after that, so we’ll see.

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Ty Dillon:

— Aug. 3, 2016

— Oct. 18, 2017

 

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12 Questions with Martin Truex Jr. (2018)

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The series of 12 Questions interviews continues with defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing. This interview is recorded both as a podcast and is transcribed in written form. Truex has participated in a 12 Questions interview for every year of the series (2010-present); an archive of his past interviews can be found at the bottom of this page.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

Do I ever dream about racing? Yes I do. I can tell you in your dreams, you always win. (Laughs)

Do you ever have a winning dream and then it comes true for that race?

Eight times last year. (Laughs)

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

I think it matters. There’s a line there where you kind of know if that might not have been intentional and might have been an accident. And then when you hear somebody say, “Man, I’m sorry, I really feel bad about blah, blah, blah,” it kind of makes you feel a little bit better. Like “OK, I think he’s not lying.” But you can usually tell when they’re completely full of crap.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

I think the biggest compliment is just somebody that respects who you are as a person. If somebody says, “Man, he’s a good guy.” In my opinion, that’s a pretty big deal to me, you know?

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

I’m not huge on celebrities. Like I don’t get starstruck or anything.

By anybody?

It’d have to be somebody old school, like some old (guy) like Hank Williams Jr. or something like that, like a legend. It couldn’t just be some guy that’s on TV or a movie star. It would have to be somebody who is legendary. Hank would do it.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

Heck no! That’s insane. Who doesn’t eat meat? How could you live? How could anyone live? I don’t know. Like Sherry (Pollex, his longtime partner) tries to do it somewhat because it’s good for her and stuff, but she can’t even do it. She tries, but she has to eat meat, too. It’s impossible. If you don’t eat meat, there’s something wrong with you.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2014 Spring Dover race.

’14, that was a pretty rough year. But we did run good at Dover both times. I’m gonna say sixth.

Wow, that is correct! Sixth.

We finished sixth in both races at Dover that year.

How do you remember that stuff?

I remember everything.

So you can remember most races?

I remember a lot of races and what I did and what happened. I can remember racing my Modified and what setup I had and what springs I ran in at what race and this and that. It’s pretty crazy.

But I can’t remember people’s names for crap, just so you know.

Is that a trade you would make?

Not yet. Not until I’m done racing. (Laughs)

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I don’t know.

You don’t know any rappers?

I don’t.

You’re not into rap at all?

Not really, no.

You don’t strike me as a rap-type person.

No. There’s some songs that I think, “That’s not terrible.” Like I don’t turn it off, but I’m not really into it much.

So that’s the highest compliment you can give a rap song. Like, “Yeah, I won’t turn it off.”

I won’t change it.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

Man, I love this guy, but Joey Logano.

So it’s not like you want to punch him, it’s just his face seems punchable, is that what you’re saying?

Yes. It’s just sitting up there on that long neck, just right there for the taking. And he’s always squinting so much, it’s like he wouldn’t even see it coming. (Laughs) I love Joey, he’s a great guy, so I would never do that. There have been a few times in racing that I wanted to punch him, but that’s pretty much for everybody out there at one point in time.

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. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

Tom Hanks is definitely gonna be the crew chief. He seems like the smartest of the bunch to me. He may not be, but it seems like he would be. Motorhome driver, I’m gonna have to go with LeBron, just because it would be hilarious.

Your motorhome driver takes you around in the golf cart and things?

Absolutely.

So you get to spend time with them?

Yeah, that’d be fun. 

But then Taylor would be your spotter.

Yeah, I mean, I listen to half of what my spotter says anyway, so it’ll be fine. (Laughs)

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

Honestly, I just go to the closest one. I got a new PR guy (David Hart) this year and he’s kind of been scouting them out for me. Over the years, I’ve always had to go and find it by myself and I always see Kyle (Busch’s) motorhome driver standing there holding the door for him and waiting and I’m like, “Seriously?” But now my guy, he actually scopes it out. When I see him after I get out of the pickup truck, we do the ridearound usually, he’s like, “There’s a bathroom right there,” and I’m like, “Sweet, man! Thanks!” So it’s working out pretty good so far.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

Well it depends on what there is there to land on — or in. If there’s a foam pit or a swimming pool, I’d probably do it.

I don’t think there’s gonna be that.

But on the grass or asphalt, no. They couldn’t pay me enough, because I won’t be able to go race the next weekend, because I would have damn sure busted my ass.

Well if it was Homestead, you have the whole offseason to recover.

I can’t do a backflip at all. Period. I can’t do it into a pool. I can’t do a backflip.

What if they give you $50 million bucks?

I would just fall on my face and then put $50 million bucks in the bank. And then I wouldn’t do anything different than I do right now, so what’s the point?

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Noah Gragson. He wants to know: Does NASCAR need more road courses?

I think there should be. I think two is not quite enough. Maybe four would be good. There’s so many good road courses around the country that we could go to. It’d be fun. I love road racing too, so I think it would be fun. Four would be good. I don’t think we need any more than that.

The next interview I’m doing is with Ty Dillon. Do you have a question I can ask him?

Did it surprise you just how much harder Cup is than Xfinity? Because I think everybody kind of gets surprised. I just want to see kind of how he feels about it.

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Martin Truex Jr.

— Aug. 18, 2010

— May 18, 2011

— April 25, 2012

— May 15, 2013

— April 1, 2014

— Feb. 25, 2015

— March 16, 2016

— March 1, 2017

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12 Questions with Noah Gragson (2018)

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The series of 12 Questions interviews continues with Noah Gragson, who drives for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. Gragson is currently fifth in the series standings after the first four races. This interview is recorded as a podcast, but is transcribed below for those who prefer to read.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

Probably six out of seven nights.

Really? That’s a lot.

A lot. I’m always dreaming about racing. Like daydreaming, too — I always am daydreaming. Like that’s 24/7. I’m thinking about racing all the time.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

Yeah, I think so. I mean if it’s intentional, then you just throw them the bird out the window and keep on digging. And if it’s not, then I’m the first to come up and say that I made a mistake and just own up for my actions and my mistakes. So yeah, I definitely think owning up for what you did wrong is definitely crucial. 

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

That they thought I did a good job. That’s probably a good one.

That’s not that much of a compliment.

It is to me, because I try my best and I want to do my best. So if somebody’s saying that I do a good job, then it’s coming off good. So that’s key.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

Travis Pastrana. 

Really?

I’m a huge fan of his.

You never met him when he was doing NASCAR?

Well I wasn’t in NASCAR, I was racing Bandoleros.

Didn’t he make a Truck start last year?

Yeah, I met him last year and I got to ride in the van with him to the autograph session. I was fan-boying the whole time, so that was really cool. And then probably if I could meet him again, I want to, just to hang out. I’m a huge fan of Travis Pastrana.

Could you not get the words out last year or something?

Nah, I was just trying to not say a whole lot — just listen to him — because I was just in awe. I just look up to him and try to role-model myself after him.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

Hell no. I’ll take pit stall No. 2 all day. No vegan for me. I love my junk food and everything.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2016 K&N West race at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. Where did you finish?

Third.

The answer is third.

Hell yeah. I started second.

You started second. You led two laps. Chris Eggleston won. Your buddy Gracin Raz was second, and you finished ahead of Todd Gilliland. What do you remember about that race?

I remember missing the pole barely to Ryan Partridge. And then I was on the outside of the front row; it’s a real tight racetrack. A lot of cautions. I was on the outside on like pretty much all the restarts and then Gracin got me there at the end.

Ryan Partridge was also up front with Chris Eggleston. I think it was Ryan Partridge, Chris Eggleston, then me. And then there was a lapper, Rich DeLong Sr., we were lapping him and Ryan Partridge went low, Chris Eggleston went high, and then Ryan Partridge got taken out for the lead. So that was a big points implication deal for that race. I think it was the third or fourth race of the season.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I don’t know.

You’re not into rap?

I’m into rap and I like listening to those rap songs, but I don’t know any of the rappers’ names. I just listen for the beats and the songs. I don’t know. Like Drake’s pretty good. I don’t know all those guys.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

I’m gonna get in trouble for saying this, but probably Austin Cindric.

Just his face, or do you actually want to punch him?

I actually want to punch him. I just don’t like him.

No, I take that back. Austin, he’s not P1. Justin Haley is. I would rock him. And I about did, after he talked a bunch of trash on me after Phoenix (when Gragson wrecked and Haley crashed into him in November). And then I saw him last year, like in person, because I don’t like to get into it on Twitter. I like face to face. And so Justin, if you’re gonna be reading this, it’s coming one day, buddy.

Wow.

I’ve still got one on him. It’s coming. That’s the only person I’ll ever say that about, too.

I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.

I’m dead serious. I do not like that kid with a passion. Sorry, fans, if you like him. I can’t stand him.

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. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

What does Tom Hanks do?

He’s an actor. A movie actor.

Oh. Like what movie?

He was in Cast Away, where he was on the island with the volleyball.

Not a clue.

He was in Forrest Gump!

That’s him? OK.

I don’t know. Definitely not LeBron, LeBron can drive the motorhome cause he won’t know what the hell is going on. Taylor Swift has a nice voice, so she’d be the spotter. And she can sing to me.

During the race?

During the race. And then Tom Hanks can be the crew chief. He seems like a pretty smart guy. (Does Forrest Gump impression) Jenny!

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

The closest one. When you’re going to driver intros, you’ve kinda got to scout out the land and see, “Alright, there’s one right there. But if I’m getting out of the truck after we go around the racetrack for the wave lap, we’re gonna end up here. So there might be one closer down there.” So it’s crucial. That’s a big deal. If I gotta pee an hour before the race, I try and save it as long as I can for that one last hurrah.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

Probably none.

You’d do it for free?

I’ve tried it. I used to race Bandoleros, and I started winning a few races out in Las Vegas. I got pretty ahead of myself there, and I’m like, “Man, I’m winning all these races, I’m the guy at the (LVMS) Bullring.” But they’re racing Super Late Models there and Bandoleros are nothing. So I’m like, “I’m gonna learn how to backflip.”

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Christopher Bell. He wants to know: What drives you to race? What motivates you?

Just all the hard work that everyone puts in, and when you can have a good run and people notice that and the team notices that. I like seeing all of the joy and smiles on everyone’s faces, and that’s what I love about it. It’s an addiction to be racing. We all do it for one reason and that’s ultimately to win. But for me, I like seeing all that hard work pay off. I know how much time and effort goes in to building these race cars, how much time these crew guys are away from their families, away from their kids, away from home. So I feel like that’s the magic here to all of this, is if you can get into victory lane, everything is worth it.

Do you have a question I can ask the next driver?

Does NASCAR need more road courses?

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12 Questions with Kyle Larson (2018)

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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing. These interviews are recorded in podcast form, but are also transcribed below for those who prefer to read them.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

I would say when I was a kid, I had them almost every night. I would dream of races and racing. Now I might have quick flashes of it, but not like deep dreams. They might happen every so often, maybe once a week or so. I guess probably leading up to the weekend or right after the race.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

Yeah, if I feel like I’ve done something wrong, I feel like I’m good about making sure I at least text them or come up to them right after and apologize. At times too when it’s not my fault, I seem to apologize for something that I may feel like I did to put both of us in that situation or whatever.

But yeah, for sure you need to apologize, because there’s some sensitive people in our sport.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

Now our race cars are fast all the time, but when somebody would say like I’m carrying the race car on a certain weekend or something like that, I think that means a lot to me. When you’re doing more than maybe the potential of (a car), I think that’s always a positive.

And I feel like I’m versatile, but when somebody else can see it and thinks that I’m good in any type of race car, that means a lot to me.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

I don’t know. I’m not that into celebrities that much.

You don’t get starstruck?

I don’t get too starstruck. NASCAR will come to me, or to Davis (Schaeffer, his public relations representative), and be like, “Do you want to meet this celebrity?” Davis will ask me, and I’m like, “No, I don’t really care.” I usually turn all those down unless he gives me the politics speech and then I have to do it. So yeah, I don’t really care to host any celebrity.

Is that because when they ask you about these people, you’ve never heard of them? Or have you heard of them and you just don’t care?

No, I’ve heard of them, I just don’t really care. I don’t know, I feel like they’re not gonna be that excited to meet me, so I don’t really care to meet them. Maybe that’s just jumping to conclusions or judging a book by its cover, but I don’t really get that excited meeting people, so I don’t think they would get that excited meeting me.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

So I really like salads. What foods are vegan?

You would not be able to have any cheese, nothing from an animal at all. Nothing with butter. You can do soy stuff or the fake meat stuff.

I mean, I feel like I could do it, but I don’t think the No. 1 pit stall is that important to suffer for a month. But I do like salads, I could survive off salads. Like chicken’s not even vegan, huh?

No. And no buttermilk ranch dressing.

Yeah, I like any type of salad. I could probably do it for sure, but I don’t think I need to do it.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished.

NASCAR career?

Yes, because that’s all that’s on Racing Reference.

There’s like Knoxville Nationals stuff on there.

But you would remember those too easily. I need to make this one harder. So this is the 2015 Pocono spring race for Cup. Do you have any recollection of that whatsoever?

2015 Pocono spring race. Oh…I feel like we struggled at a lot of places in 2015, but I’ve always been OK at Pocono. I want to say eighth.

Are you serious? Did you look at my sheet?

No. Eighth.

Yes!

Perfect. I was gonna say eighth or 12th.

You started 15th, you finished eighth. Jamie McMurray was seventh, so you guys were seven and eight, and Martin Truex won that race.

I was all over Jamie at the end, but I couldn’t get by him. I got tight. But yeah, I think most all my finishes at Pocono were like fifth to eighth or so.

Are you good a remembering races in general?

I used to be really good at it, and then I bumped my head a couple times racing sprint cars and my memory’s gotten a little bit worse. NASCAR races are so long, it’s hard to kind of remember everything about it. So sprint car races, I have a shorter memory, they’re shorter races, so I can recollect those ones a little easier.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I like all types of music. I like rap music. I don’t have a favorite artist out of any genre. But I would say for me, I like listening to Drake. I don’t know if he’s the best rapper alive, but currently I like him a lot. I can rap every word to Afroman’s “Crazy Rap,” but then again, I don’t think he’s the best rapper alive. So I’ll go with Drake for now.

I thought you might say Lil Wayne because of Young Money and you’re “Yung Money.”

I hate Lil Wayne.

Really?

His voice is so annoying. Like I said, I kind of like rap, but if Lil Wayne comes on, I have to change it. I don’t like him at all.

I don’t think he listens to my podcast, so it’s OK.

He might now, though.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

I saw that this popped up on my calendar that I’m doing 12 Questions. So I was telling Ricky Stenhouse, “Ah, there’s a question about who has the most punchable face, so I’m gonna say you.” Because last year at Knoxville Nationals, everybody hangs out all night and parties and all that and we’re all drinking and everything, and I end up getting really intoxicated and he was as well. We were like wrestling around and we’re just standing there and I quick-jabbed him in the face and he jabbed me back in the face. I jabbed him in the face again. He got me back, and then we like play wrestled. He beat me.

Anyway, I didn’t really remember all of this until the next day. I was like, “Man, my jaw hurts.” We’re golfing the next morning. I’m like, “We were punching each other last night, weren’t we?” And so yeah. So Ricky’s got the most punchable face in NASCAR.

You punched him and you didn’t even realize you were doing it.

I just don’t remember it. I was numb at the moment. So yeah, I guess I have the most punchable face as well.

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. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

I’ll just go basically off kind of what everybody has been saying, is Taylor Swift motorhome driver. I’ll say Tom Hanks is spotter, and LeBron is crew chief. I don’t really know much about Taylor or Tom Hanks, but LeBron would be a good crew chief because he’s basically the coach for all his basketball teams he’s ever been on. So LeBron will be the crew chief.

Wait, how do you not know much about Taylor Swift? She’s everywhere, you can’t escape it. How have you been able to escape it?

She departed from country music a little bit there, so I stopped listening to Taylor Swift as much. We kind of lost touch with each other. And I was never a big Taylor Swift superfan like a lot of teenagers were growing up. She just didn’t do it for me.

So if Taylor Swift comes to a race and they ask you to meet her, you’d say no?

I wouldn’t meet her. She was actually (sponsored by) Target and I was (sponsored by) Target and I never even got the chance to meet her. If I would have, I’d still wouldn’t have really cared.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

Usually Davis has one spotted for as soon as I get off the truck (at driver intros) with Owen. I get off the intro truck, I kind of pass Owen off to him and head off for the bathroom. So most racetracks have port-a-potties close by. There’s a few — and they seem to be our biggest racetracks — that you would think would have tons of room for port-a-potties, but they don’t have any bathrooms. Indy’s probably the worst. At least the care center or Goodyear I think has some bathrooms in it, like Charlotte I usually go there. But usually there’s port-a-potties kind of everywhere else.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

Well, I think if I got some practice, I could do it, but I would still need to be paid a lot because I’d probably end up hurting myself. But as of right now, I have never ever done a backflip. I don’t think I’ve tried on a trampoline. Usually when I do it off the side of a boat or into the pool, I don’t quite get the full rotation. So right now, there’s no way I could do it.

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Daniel Hemric. He question was about how there’s a lot of underappreciated or unknown drivers in the lower ranks right now that nobody really talks about, who don’t have a lot of hype. Who’s somebody from the lower ranks of racing that you think deserves more attention than they’re getting?

There’s a lot in dirt track stuff and they’re still really young, so they might get that recognition in a couple of years. I would say Logan Seavey. We raced go-karts together, and he was probably 4 or 5 years old. I think he’s maybe 19 now. But he’s done a really good job. He’s probably the best go-kart racer of the last seven or eight years.

He got some midget rides and some sprint car rides here and there, and he made good work with them. But now he got picked up by Keith Kunz Motorsports and Toyota. I think he’s still relatively unknown to everybody here, but he’ll be the next Christopher Bell. So that will be really fun to see.

And then, man, there’s so many, it’s so hard. But I’m trying to think of somebody who I’ve noticed in NASCAR. I would say Matt DiBenedetto. I mean, to see what he does in that 32 car and even the rides that he was in before the 32 car. I remember 2016, he passed me the first three or four races every week. And I’m like, “You know our budget might not be as big as Hendrick or Penske, but it’s a lot bigger than what he’s got, and he’s outracing me.”

So I would say in NASCAR, Matt DiBenedetto is that guy who doesn’t get enough recognition from the media, but also team owners here. I feel like he deserves an opportunity in some really good equipment because if he can finish top-20 in that thing, he can easily win in a good car. So I think he’s put in enough time where he deserves an opportunity for sure.

And you guys grew up racing together. Is it true he used to regularly beat you a lot?

Yeah. So Matt and I, he’s a year older than I am and he was always like a year ahead of me. We grew up racing at Cycleland and Red Bluff in go-karts. He was the guy. He had a super pretty go-kart, you know, like baby blue, number 44, pinstripes. It was a slick-looking race car. He was always really fast.

When I started, he won like every week. He was the guy that kind of set the bar and we wanted to beat him and all that. I remember when I finally won my first race, I think he finished second to me by a nose or something. That was a big deal for us at the time.

So it was fun to follow Matt’s career, because he left California when he was probably 11 or 12 years old and moved to North Carolina. That was a big deal for us, like, “Oh, it’s gonna be interesting to see how his career progresses,” because we all want to make it to NASCAR when we’re young. He was getting opportunities, ended up signing with Gibbs for a little bit, and he was the guy that kind of gave us a little bit of hope even though he had a totally different background than what I’d ever planned on doing. But at least there was just some hope for an opportunity for me to maybe make it someday. For sure, he was the guy to beat when we were young.

I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with. Do you have a general question I can ask?

I don’t know. This is always tough. Like I prepared for all the other questions somewhat, but then we get to the last part of it and I feel like I do this every year for you and I always have you come back. So can you come back to me once you figure out who’s gonna do it?

OK, I will come back to you once I nail somebody down.

Note: The next interview is with Christopher Bell. Larson’s question for Bell is: “What year will he win his first World of Outlaws championship?”

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Kyle Larson:

— May 6, 2014

— March 18, 2015

— April 6, 2016

— April 26,2017

 

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12 Questions with Daniel Hemric (2018)

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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues with Daniel Hemric, who is in his second year driving in the Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing. This interview was recorded as a podcast, but is also available in transcript form below.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

It’s kind of self-induced when I do have dreams about racing. It’s probably the anxiety of not running like I want to run, where I really have to put a lot more emphasis on that racetrack on a given weekend, doing a lot more studying or doing a lot more simulation. Whatever it is, when I lay down at night and that’s the last thing I’m thinking about, that’s when I dream about racing.

It’s more frequent, in all honesty, at this level than what I’ve ever had in the past doing short track racing. In short track racing, I would go through spells where you’re one of the guys to beat every single weekend, you’re winning races on a constant basis. So when I’d have those dreams, it was about winning races.

It’s crazy — over time, I’d win a race after I’d dream about it. And then (the dreams) happened often and I would win often in those situations. I was like, “Man, that’s kind of creepy.” But it always worked out.

At this level, I’ve had one of those dreams where we ran good. You know how dreams are — they don’t make sense a lot of how it’s all tied together. But it’s kind of all correlated. When I have dreams about running well, it all translates, and when I have dreams about rough weekends, sometimes we’ll overcome some of that, but a lot of it plays out roughly the way the dreams do.

So kind of crazy how it’s all worked out over the past, but I need more of those winning dreams. That’d be good for this series.

You might need to go down to one of those psychic places  and if you need some extra income or something, just pop in the store front.

You’re exactly right. Honestly, I wouldn’t even tell my wife (Kenzie) about it for the longest time. But it was starting to happen more and more and I’m like, “I’ve gotta share this with somebody, because it’s a lot to hold in.” It’s pretty wild.

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

For sure. I’ve got a new spotter, Branden Lines, and he’s doing an incredible job. But during Atlanta qualifying, we thought Joey Logano was on his fast lap and he was gonna shut down at the flag stand after making his one lap in qualifying. And so I rolled off pit road, only to find out he was getting the green. So long story short, I ran the top of (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to green, Logano goes to the bottom and he was coming to the checkered, but it just worked out that he merged right behind me — I’m talking two or three inches.

It didn’t mess him up, it almost kind of helped him draft to the line and run even faster, but I made sure when I got out I was like, “Hey man, it was just a miscommunication.” That’s more of a driver ethic code, because if I didn’t say anything, if we’d been in the race running side-by-side, if I was him, I would have been like, “Hey, this dude pulled in front of me in qualifying, I’m not giving him a break.” So I think it’s good to knock that stuff out and get ahead of it.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

Coming from where I’ve come from and doing it the way I had to do it, often I’ll go back short track racing and because the parents of the kids that are trying to figure out how to get their kid to this level or even further, they’re always saying, “What is our next step? What should we do?” That’s always the question: “What do we need to do with our son or daughter next?”

That’s a huge compliment to myself without them saying it because (it shows) somewhere along the line, whatever you did made an impact on that level and they have enough respect andreally trust what you’re saying and how you can guide them.

And the answer to all that is there’s no right way. You just gotta make the most of every opportunity. That’s how I try to tell everybody what their next step should be with their children.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

I think some sports icons or coaches, because all of our deals are so team-related. I was watching the Carolina basketball game — I’m a big Tar Heels fan — and coach Roy Williams. The passion and everything he shows on the basketball court, good, bad, or indifferent, you see him throughout the season change teams and change players and how they approach and handle situations. So if I had the opportunity to host somebody, that’d be the guy. I think it’d be cool to hear his knowledge, his info of how he handles every team different every year. He’s having to conform to whatever makes those guys tick. I’d like to get a little background and host that guy for a week.

That’d be awesome — get him to talk to the team, come to the hauler and stuff.

Oh my gosh, if you couldn’t get fired up after listening to one of those speeches, you probably shouldn’t be here.

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

Absolutely not. No way. Would not happen.

I’m all meat, potatoes, and no, absolutely not.

Not one driver has said yes so far.

Well it’s still open. Sound to me like if nobody takes it, the No. 2 pit stall is just as good.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2016 Truck race at the May Charlotte race.

I would have been in (Brad) Keselowski’s truck. I remember this race now thinking back, because the race got rained out. It was supposed to be a night race, and we came back and raced earlier that day. Really hot.

How did I finish? We led laps early, me and Kyle (Busch) raced early in the race. I remember him running the top and me running the bottom. Probably the most fun race I’ve ever ran in a truck at Charlotte. It was so slick that day. Something happened, and we got off on pit cycle or sequence. So I’m gonna say…ninth to 11th. I can’t remember because we got off.

The answer is ninth.

Oh, how ’bout that? So the first one was right! Yes!

That’s pretty amazing. You started eighth, you led 15 laps, and you finished ninth. You finished right behind Christoper Bell and ahead of William Byron.

How ’bout that? I do remember that because that race in particular, it was cool because obviously Charlotte’s my hometown, and that’s where I got my breakout, really, was at Charlotte Motor Speedway. So moving into one of the top three series, being in a truck, you go there and it’s the first time to lead laps on the big track, it’s the first time to have a solid shot or run solid in front of the home crowd. So you picked a good one to remember.

So I should have made it harder.

No, that was perfect. At least you gave me some good memories, good vibes here as we start the weekend.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

The only one I can really know and recite as a kid was Eminem. I can remember getting into a lot of trouble for saying a lot of stuff that he was rapping about.

Your parents didn’t like that?

My parents were not a big fan of that. I’m sure they have no idea how much I actually listened to it.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

There’s no way to answer this and not get criticized in some way or some sort. This is not necessarily because I want to punch him in the face, but it seems like the fans in the garage, Logano’s done it or tried to do it, and that’s Kyle Busch. I love the dude, I think he’s good as gold and he’s great for our sport, but a lot of guys take jabs at him. So I think from the fans as a whole, that’s probably the biggest answer.

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. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

That’s tough. I’d have to go with LeBron as the motorhome driver for the fact that he’s always in different cities, he knows the spots. He knows what’s going on, how to get there. If not, he knows the people to talk to to get us where we want to go so far for that weekend. So he’d be the motorhome driver, get everything set up. And he seems like a really diligent dude, like his stuff’s all nice and clean. That’s how he presents himself, so he’d be my motorhome driver.

Tom Hanks would definitely be the crew chief, without a doubt. I mean, you see him play any role or in anything he does, it’s incredible. So to know he’s got ability to just keep a group of guys working in one direction and pulling the rope in the same direction, I think that’d be a very interesting setup on top of the pit box.

And the Taylor Swift deal, would it be modern day Taylor Swift or early 2010s Taylor Swift? If it’s earlier Taylor Swift, I’d go with her being on the radio. Modern… not as big as a fan. I definitely need to know which one I have there.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

A great PR person. And luckily I have Jay (Pennell) over here. He makes it happen for me. He knows, as soon as I walk off the stage or get done riding the truck, he knows exactly where I want to go, so he’s usually got it picked out for me. That’s key.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. I’ve been asking people much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win, but backflipping is actually your celebration, so I don’t think they’d have to pay you, I’m assuming.

That’s exactly right. And actually from the time we do this interview to when we actually make that reality, we’ll give them from now to the end to draw a crowd, make sure everybody’s tuning in, because it will happen the first time I can break through victory lane in the Xfinity Series.

So we talked about dreams earlier. That’s a dream of mine, is to be able to do that off a race car at one of these top levels. Whether the fans like it or dislike it with me doing the same thing Carl did, Carl was a guy I legitimately looked up to in racing. To see him do that, I was obviously young, racing Bandoleros at the time, and I thought, “Man, that’s pretty cool.” And nobody else for the most part is going to be able to do that, so that’s something I latched onto because I’ve got tons of respect for the dude. So hopefully I can be the guy that can latch onto it whenever it does happen.

Are you confident in your ability to do one? I heard a rumor that a couple of years ago, during a FOX preseason shoot, your leg caught on something or you didn’t quite execute it and you fell?

I’ll tell the story. We’re sitting in the green room and it was a “Three questions about yourself” where you said two true, one false, and let the fans decide what’s what. (One of the true facts was) I can do a backflip, and two other random things. (The producers) were like, “Can you really do it?” I’m like, “Absolutely.” So I sit there, and they say, “We’re ready.” So I take one step back, and me taking the one step back when I jumped, my foot caught the drop-down green screen and I went on and hit the ground. Very embarrassing, to say the least.

But a couple buddies in the garage, they’ve seen me do it. I can stand on flat ground and knock it out. So being on top of a race car makes it that much easier; you’ve got way less rotating and all that stuff. So I’ve got 100% faith in myself to do it. I’ve just got to be able to get to the chance where I can do it.

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Alex Bowman.

I’ve never even spoke to that guy.

Yeah, he said he didn’t know you well. But he apparently used to come to Summer Shootout and watch you. So he was saying that he would see you kick some butt and your career was really on the rise and then he said it seemed like for a couple years there, your career sort of stalled out as you were trying to get this chance, and he could relate to that because his career stalled out, too. He was in a different level at the time when his career stalled out, but he was wondering how during that time, how you were thinking and feeling about what direction your career was going and were you worried and things like that.

That’s a great question. I’ve gotta make sure I thank him, that’s a great question. I guess thinking about it, our paths really sound similar in that aspect at two different points for sure.

For me, I was in a spot there after Legend cars, I was trying to break into the Super Late Model ranks. For the people that don’t know, there was no path. I didn’t know what was next, I had no goals of when I wanted to be at a certain point by when because I was already older than most of the people I raced against or been racing against.

There was a lot of stuff stacked against me, but as the years went by and I saw the people I’d been racing with over the course of time, they would either go take that next shot and fall short and give up on it, or they’d quit working for it. I didn’t know how to get there, but I knew that to stop working at it was not gonna get me there. I had to figure out a way to be in something if I wanted to get to this level.

Obviously, there was more people than I could ever begin to thank or even imagine to say their names on here to thank them for keeping giving me that next shot. But just staying in front of people, not really knowing what the end result was gonna be. It was just giving everything you had, no matter if it was going to sweep the floor for Jeff Fultz, because that was the only opportunity I had and he had Late Models in his shop that maybe I could get in one one day. Or going to work for Eddie Sharp and getting hooked up with the Gallaher family out of California that invested in me over the years and got me to the Xfinity Series.

It was so much stuff that all ties together. There were so many things that didn’t make sense, but I always just tried to put myself in that situation. So in the middle of the career stall, it was just staying hungry. Knowing that I really didn’t know how to do anything else, I had to put 100 percent effort into every single day of whatever that was, and that’s how somehow I was able to keep going and got to this point.

I don’t know who the next interview will be with. Do you have a general question I can ask the next driver?

Recently there’s been a lot of hype around top-20 prospects, or who’s gonna be the next guy (because of a list compiled by ESPN.com’s Bob Pockrass). Looking at that list, there was a lot of guys that either are currently still short track racing or trying to get to this level, but they’re still dabbling in some of that.

My question for the next person is, if they had the opportunity and they had made it, and they had their race team and they knew it was a successful race team and it was gonna run good regardless of who was in it, who’s that one driver at the short track level that you feel like could get the job done but they’d need that shot, whether that’s Alex Bowman or myself or anybody’s that got that shot and went on and prevailed. Who would that kid be, and what rank would he come from?

So like a kid right now that you see could have some talent that if you had a team, you would bring up?

Yeah, 100 percent. That’s the goal, is I want to get them talking about some other local short track kid specifically that they feel like may not ever get that shot. And he may get that shot, but getting the hype around his name would be a good thing for everybody.

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Daniel Hemric:

— May 10, 2017