Austin Dillon: The Revival of RCR & Reaction To The 2026 NASCAR Schedule

Summary

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Herm & Schrader Podcast – August 21, 2025

Episode: Austin Dillon: The Revival of RCR & Reaction To The 2026 NASCAR Schedule

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Overview

This episode of "Herm & Schrader," hosted by Kenny Wallace, spotlights the recent resurgence of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), fresh off Austin Dillon’s pivotal win at Richmond. The conversation dives deep into the familial bonds fueling RCR, team dynamics, the up-and-down journey of the 2025 NASCAR season, and immediate reactions to the newly released 2026 NASCAR schedule. As always, the tone is candid, hilarious, heartfelt, and occasionally irreverent, with Wallace and Dillon opening up about racing, legacy, family, and the ever-evolving NASCAR landscape.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. Living the Moment: Dillon’s Richmond Victory

[02:51–07:13]

• Austin reflects on his Richmond win, calling it “the biggest of my career,” even bigger than the Daytona 500, because he now shares it with his wife and kids in Victory Lane.
• Emotional stories about his daughter Blaze celebrating (“She's a little Whitney Dylan already... For the last two, three days, I'm the king.” – Austin Dillon, [06:46]).
• The special feeling of having family in Victory Lane: "When you're single, you're out there racing... then you want people to experience it with you, because that's the fun in it." (Austin Dillon, [05:45]).

2. The New RCR: Growing Pains and Turning Points

[17:08–33:56]

• The team’s struggles earlier in the season, highlighted by Richard Childress’s post-Dover comments: "We got drivers, we don't have race cars!" sparked candid internal conversations and reenergized the organization.
• Key hiring decisions last November (Richard Boswell, John Klausmeier from Stewart-Haas) are now bearing fruit (“We made some really good hires... we’re finally getting to a point where you’re starting to see some of that.” – Austin Dillon, [21:58]).
• Candid internal conversations between Dillon and his new crew chief improved communication and led to stronger teamwork.
• Austin describes RCR as “blue collar... we're fighters over here,” likening the team to Monty Python’s Black Knight—refusing to quit, no matter how battered.

3. Racing and Legacy: Family and The Last of the Mohicans

[23:34–38:14]

• Wallace and Dillon discuss how Richard Childress and Richard Petty are the “last of the Mohicans”—the remaining old-school racer-owners.
• Dillon on Childress: “I look at him as like an Elvis of the garage... when he walks in there he's going to have that white button up, those Wranglers.” ([25:12])
• Emotional insights into the evolving grandparent-grandchild relationship as Austin and Ty take on more responsibility at RCR.
• RCR’s heritage is protected by deep-rooted family values: “Nobody is gonna love RCR like you and your brother Ty and your dad.” (Wallace, [30:36])
• The presence of RCR lifers like Danny Lawrence and “Chocolate” Myers underscore the team’s continuity.

4. Building Team Culture

[39:37–41:38]

• Wallace highlights the crew’s rare bond, noting that Dillon’s crew sticks together in good times and bad.
• Dillon: “We signed them up early on, and they committed to us, committed to me. I mean, through some struggles and stuck with us. And they're a good crew.”
• The crew is compared to Earnhardt’s legendary “junkyard dogs,” with a playful nod to how their antics occasionally destroy lawnmowers and golf carts during post-win celebrations.

5. Reflecting on Achievements

[41:38–44:41]

• Wallace lists Dillon’s impressive career stats, from Truck and Xfinity championships to Daytona 500 and Coca Cola 600 wins.
• Dillon humbly reflects: “You forget about a lot of that when you're just in the grind out here... The commitment to being solid as long as you can. When you get a win like this past weekend, you think, well, maybe we can get a couple more.”
• Emphasis on continued motivation and the hunger for future wins.

6. NASCAR’s New 2026 Schedule: Rapid-Fire Reactions

[53:56–62:46]

• First reactions to the schedule’s unveiling, as Wallace calls for Dillon’s real-time insights.
  • North Wilkesboro: “Best repave I’ve ever been a part of. Pumped that it’s a points race. It’s close to home. There’s so many positives about it.” ([54:45])
  • Dover as All Star Race: Dillon and Wallace crack jokes about the difficulty of racing into the All-Star at Dover (“Could you imagine, trying to get in at Dover, getting aggressive at Dover?” – Dillon, [59:08])
  • Chicagoland Return: Dillon is excited, noting the track always produces good racing and is glad to have “one less road course.”
  • Naval Base Coronado: Dillon lauds the military tie-in: “I love when our sport ties to military and patriotism. This could be a really patriotic moment for our sport.” ([58:32])
  • Schedule Flow: Dillon appreciates back-to-back West Coast races to reduce travel jetlag and the addition of another off weekend.
  • Rotating Championship Venue: Dillon is thrilled NASCAR will move the championship away from Phoenix: “Homestead is a great place for a championship, always has been... Vegas might be one of them, which would be pretty cool.” ([64:43])

7. NASCAR, Fans, and the Future

[61:39–64:17]

• On NASCAR hiring a firm to “bring back core fans”—Dillon: “We need all the fans we can get... I don’t know how they do it. Is it like Instagram where you can buy followers?” (lighthearted jab, [61:44])
• Both acknowledge NASCAR’s ongoing identity struggles (“Somehow we pissed all the fans off”), and debate whether one race per track is best to guarantee sell-outs.
• Dillon suggests playoff points could be awarded only among playoff drivers, not the entire field.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's the biggest win of my career... I've won the Daytona 500, but… you want people to experience it with you."
  — Austin Dillon ([05:36])
• “Richard Boswell… he carried an old Dale Earnhardt hat in his backpack all year. He pulled it out in Victory Lane and that’s what he wore.”
  — Austin Dillon ([18:45])
• "I look at [Richard Childress] as like an Elvis of the garage ..."
  — Austin Dillon ([25:12])
• “We're fighters over here… come on over here, I’m gonna bite your knee off.”
  — Austin Dillon, referencing Monty Python ([33:37])
• “We made some really good hires ... finally getting to a point where you’re starting to see some of that.”
  — Austin Dillon ([21:58])
• “I love when our sport ties to military and patriotism. This could be a really patriotic moment for our sport.”
  — Austin Dillon ([58:32])
• “One more off weekend. Thank you, Jesus.”
  — Austin Dillon ([60:22])
• “You can fry a cat turd and it halfway be... you get enough grease in it.”
  — Austin Dillon ([56:28]) — in a hilarious discussion about his grandpa’s food choices at Dover.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Austin on Richmond win/family in Victory Lane: [02:51]–[07:13]
• RCR’s struggles, RC's radio comments, and turnaround: [17:08]–[21:57]
• Hiring Boswell & Klausmeier + internal resets: [21:24]–[23:34]
• The legacy of Childress and Petty, RCR's blue-collar identity: [23:34]–[33:56]
• Dillon and his team’s unique camaraderie: [39:37]–[41:38]
• Reviewing Austin Dillon’s career stats & perspective: [41:38]–[44:41]
• Reactions to 2026 NASCAR schedule: [53:56]–[62:46]
• NASCAR’s quest for core fans, proposed playoff ideas: [61:39]–[64:17]
• On moving the championship race away from Phoenix: [64:43]–[65:37]

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Tone

• Authentic and humorous: Both men display their trademark dry wit, with banter about paint schemes, fried food, and family hijinks.
• Sentimental and candid: The love for RCR and its legacy is palpable throughout, especially in moments discussing family and the future.
• Technical when warranted: Dillon and Wallace geek out over the racing line at Richmond, pit strategy, and what it takes to succeed—both on the track and in the boardroom.

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Conclusion

This episode celebrates the revival of RCR with heartfelt stories, technical insights, and plenty of inside-shop banter. Listeners gain a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a historic NASCAR team in transition, balanced by sharp, immediate reactions to the sport’s next evolution. The episode is both an oral history and a current events roundtable—a must-listen for fans vested in the heart and soul of stock car racing.

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Transcript

[Kenny Wallace]

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[Austin Dillon]

I'm doing good buddy. I'm. I'm pretty excited obviously now getting to compete in the playoffs. But that was a huge win for RCR and our company and it's been a great week.

[Kenny Wallace]

I. I'M just smiling. I'm so happy for you. And I go back to. To the movie. You know, down south, they got Sundrop, and I always replay my Matt.

[Austin Dillon]

You're.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're jacked up on Sundrop, you know, because you replace it, they say Mountain Dew. But I know how excited you guys are, and we're gonna get to it. But before we do, I always go to Instagram. And I think the reason I'm laughing is because you made me laugh yesterday. You said, happy National Whitney Day. Tell me all about it.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, yeah, well, you know, I was getting ready to do some sappy happy birthday post to Whitney, and she said, nope, that's not what I want. She said, I want you to say, happy National Whitney Dylan Day. And I was like, perfect, babe. And so I posted the most fun pictures of Whitney, and she's doing good and, and she's special. So I. I'm glad that it was Happy National Whitney Dylan Day. Took her to dinner last night. We had a great dinner and just us two. The kids stayed at home, so you don't get many of those anymore. But it was great for her birthday.

[Kenny Wallace]

I'll tell you one thing, her and her friends are awesome ladies. And they were cheerleaders. And I recognize when you win. I mean, she's dressed up to the, to the tens, and all her friends are in Victor Lane with her and some of those pitchers. She really supports you, doesn't she?

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, she's amazing. And now that we have the two kids, she's having to wrangle them, and that is tough. And it's late like that on Saturday night. No naps for those kids, Ace. He was really excited because he had Captain and Oakley in Victory Lane, which is Ty's kids. And when they left, he went into full meltdown mode. I mean, crying in Victory Lane, I said, hey, there is no crying in Victory Lane. I said, I'm going to take all your stuffies away if you don't stop crying. And he kind of got it together, had had another milkshake, and he was back good to good. But he didn't want his cousins to leave Victory Lane.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, so let, let's kind of do a soft opening right now. You win the cup race and, you know, every driver's dream is to have their child in Victory Lane, whatever Victory Lane it is. So here you are now. Your. Your kids are a little older when you look back on it. What did it mean to you to have, you know, all the kids, you know, relatives? What did it mean to You.

[Austin Dillon]

It's the biggest win of my career. And, you know, I've won the Daytona 500, but I told Whitney when we got married that, you know, when you're single, you're out there racing. It just doesn't. It. It hits different for a while, but then you want people to experience it with you because that, that's the fun in it. And I told Justin Alexander a year ago, I said, man, I just want to get to Victory Lane one more time so Blaze can go to Victory Lane. Like, that was the whole goal. So that win at Richmond meant a ton to me then, even though it went down the way it did because I got to take Blaze to Victory Lane. Well, you know, fast forward to now to this year and it go down the way it did and get to celebrate. It was more fulfilling. And then Blaze, she was a little. She's a little Whitney Dylan already, because she's just one finger up going. And I'm like, let me tell you something. Exactly. And it's. And it's funny. Like, she's been a mama's girl this whole time. And like, Ace is a sweet kid. Cuddle with me, whatever. Hang out. Just nice. Blaze is very, like, pistol. Like, no, I'm going to do it on my own. There's a ladder in our bus. I can't help her up the ladder. Like, serious about being very Miss Independent. Well, Daddy won. And for the last two, three days, I'm the king. Like, she comes to me, daddy, Daddy. And she wanted to go see the car at the museum. I'm like, now you love me. This is cool. It's kind of like, you know, when you win, I guess even your own kids like you a little bit more.

[Kenny Wallace]

You know what? That. That is not really the conversation, but let's add that in there. I think God makes it that way because. How old is Blaze?

[Austin Dillon]

Blaze is. She's two. She just turned two. And Ace is five.

[Kenny Wallace]

So two years old and already knows that if you win, you're special.

[Austin Dillon]

You're.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're the king. Hey, off the cuff here, that W in the back, I have this in my notes. What a badass paint job. To me. To me, the best paint job I've ever seen on any of your cars. With all due respect, the black number three Winchester Deer Season Bass Pro. Is that W? Is that new for Winchester? Man, it popped.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, that's their Winchester. You know, it was the XP brand of bullets for them. Winchester XP and Deer Seasons right around the corner. So they had an epic painting of that Big whitetail on the side of the car and the red and the way it all flowed together. It was cool.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, I really like that. Okay, everybody, we're going to go into this race, but we are going to celebrate Austin Dillon. We're going to talk about his career, but let's just go with the story at hand. You're looking at Saturday nights NASCAR cup winner from Richmond. You were convincing. You led 107 laps. But what I was most impressed with was you found my honey hole. Turn two. Rip it and grip it, baby. You passed three wide for, for that awesome pass for the lead. Just walk me through those laps right there and that, and that corner that you, you got them on.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah. You know, I think you, you talk about Richmond. This was literally my worst track in racing. When I started there. It was most confusing, didn't make sense. I don't know why I can't figure it out. Like a lot of those words were used and, and for rcr, we've had a lot of success there in the Xfinity series back in the day with Harvick and Boyer. And Harvick was really good at Richmond in the cup cars. And at a test one time, Andy Petrie was there and I kind of just found a rhythm and it was like, man, this is working pretty good. And this is the line that I'm going to do whatever it takes to run this line and build the car to it. And when we left there, Peter's like, man, I think you got something figured out here. Well, we should have won an old one of the old car races. We were really good in it. Got to the lead and I sped, ended up finishing sixth. And every time I'd go there, I'd finish in the top 10 there for a while and things just kind of momentum built. But I've got a kind of unique line. I feel like down there and one and two, I enter pretty low and straight and try and hook that yellow line. And then in three and four, I'm the same way. I don't even like using all the straightaway. I run a little off of that wall, that big radius. And I just, for whatever reason in my mind I feel like I saved the tires doing that. And that's just what I do.

[Kenny Wallace]

The racer and me cannot let this go. You know, we do Kenny conversation, but it's just kind of fun. It's kind of like what Dale Jr. Does. And I found success with going down that front straightaway and I found that if I made the big Arc it was hard to get the ass in to stay underneath me. I'd go down that wall and I go, okay, I'm going to peel off this wall now. I'm going to head straight to the corner and I'd hook that left front on that yellow line. Now when you just said you entered the corner straight, I said, I'll be damned. That's what I, that's what I found. Now does that keep the car comfortable for you on entry so you can turn the wheel left?

[Austin Dillon]

For sure. You know, everybody complains like Richmond is also very confusing on when it, when it gains rubber it and it shifts from day to night and you'll make adjustments. And over time, what I started to realize was whatever the hell I was telling them was the wrong thing that the car needed. So I literally started going, okay, I'm loose. Do the opposite. Loose it. Like, I think I'm loose, so loosen me up more. And it started working for me telling them the opposite of what my ass was telling me at Richmond for whatever reason and. But yes, the entry part of it, I feel like when I square up my entry and or straighten it up, it just doesn't load that right rear as much and I can keep the balance a little freer. And if, if I start getting free and I straighten it up even more, I'll start heading toward the infield faster. I love, I Love this Shane McDowell. I talked to him after the race a little bit and I said, man, for whatever reason, Richmond reminds me of Volusia. Super slick. No grip anywhere running around that rail, you know what I mean? When we used to have to run right against that inside wall and you miss it by a foot with your left front and you just sit out there and hang and you can't get back left fast enough. So it's like maybe that correlates for me some reason like those, all those races at Volusia when it would be super dry slick. And I didn't really. I always liked it wet and fast. At Volusia I wanted to rain it out with a water truck. But we'd have those races where you had to park around the inside rail. And that kind of reminds me of Richmond a little bit.

[Kenny Wallace]

Let's bring everybody up to speed. One thing that Austin Dillon and myself have in common is we became dirt racers. And you started dirt racing and grandpa and your dad sent you dirt racing to get you up to speed and learn car control. So you and I would race a couple weeks before the Daytona 500. You and your brother Ty, those Were some. Not just fun times but I mean here you are talking about it. Let's just go right there for a couple minutes. Whose decision was it to send you and brother Ty dirt racing?

[Austin Dillon]

You can hear the train in the back.

[Kenny Wallace]

I love it. The famous train tracks right there at RCR and it's the real deal.

[Austin Dillon]

That's exactly right. We cross those train tracks every day for this place. But yeah, I think it was my dad, it was my dad's decision to go dirt racing. Really. You know at the time my grandfather was like probably nervous as heck that some more of my dad's jeans were trying to get into race cars. He knew it was going to be expensive. But my dad, he really was the one that pushed for us to go dirt racing. And then once we kind of got going in it, RC started enjoying it too and coming out to the track. And Shane and Dale McDowell were so big in our development as drivers and the future of the direction that we would go. But yeah, I think running big horsepower, small tires with the modifieds was huge. And then yeah, the car control that you gain from dirt racing and having to change your line kind of constantly and chase grip, I think it's, it's been beneficial for me at the cup level with the way now rubber lays down and different things like that.

[Kenny Wallace]

And we're going to get to your stats and they are incredible. Your your block building process. You did not take any shortcuts and going to talk about that in a minute.

[Austin Dillon]

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[Kenny Wallace]

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[Kenny Wallace]

You win this race and you know, racer to racer here there's no doubt and and I don't want to hurt your feelings and I don't think I'm going to. But RCR was struggling mightily to where grandpa makes national news. He comes on the radio after Dover and he says we got drivers, we don't have race cars. And it's like whoa. So I'm just going to ask you straight up, you know, what happened? How did you turn it around so quick? Or did you get lucky?

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, no, when R.C. came over the radio and said that, you know, Ty and I, you know, from the business side, we've been trying to help a little bit more. And Ty was like, man, he can't be saying stuff like that. You know, I was like, well from the driving standpoint I was really, really excited for him to say that because we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as drivers and you never hear that from rc. He never talks bad about his equipment, his motors. You don't really hear that side of it. He's always going to protect that. But he really felt that after Dover. Now historically Dover is a terrible track for rcr. It's just not. We've not been good there and so that was kind of we weren't that bad. But you go to Dover, then it shows bad and it need to be needed to be set. So good conversations were instantly had off of his comments with myself and Kyle on the plane ride home with him and like hey, what do we need to do to get better? So we started opening up different things and talks and I think everybody's mind Just started. Hey, we gotta, we gotta make it happen for RC because we, everybody has so much respect for him. You know, Richard Boswell came here to bring a win to rc. His dad was an old racer and he wore, if you saw in victory lane on Saturday night, he had an old Dale Earnhardt hat that his dad used to wear. He carried in his backpack all year. And he pulled it out in victory lane and that's what he wore in victory Lane. He didn't put any other hat on. He wanted that hat on, which was cool. But the process to get to Richmond started, I would say Indy. Both our cars are pretty solid. We scored stage points for the first time all year. And then a stack up happened. Knocked the radiator out of both of our cars, pretty much out of mine. I was done. Kyle's day was ended because it was too much damage. We go to Iowa. I had a car capable of winning Iowa. We ran in the top five. Cautions fell terribly. Ended up finishing 10th, coming back from 19th to 10th in the last run of the race. So really fast car there. So that kind of built some confidence for me. The guys, the pit crew got to make competitive stops around competitive race cars. In the top 10, we go to Watkins Glen. Worst track on the schedule for me. Historically. We go there and we know we have to have a good run to set up Richmond because Richmond has been a track that we can win at. We were fast enough to win it last year. We got to go run good at Watkins Glen because if you run bad at Watkins Glen, it puts you behind in qualifying. You're not going to qualify good because the rubber, you're just such at a deficit going out early. At Richmond, we run 15th and that was like a win at Watkins Glen. So we put us mid pack going out at Richmond. We lay down a good lap. We can see the front. We qualified 11th. Our long run pace was good there. So there was two weeks leading up to Richmond and that's how tight it is, man. You've got to like pick your target, prepare for it, and then like attack. And that's kind of how everything went down for us now. And then the execution was the. My favorite thing is because we didn't miss anything on pit road. We pitted at the right time, no penalties, and we were just kind of flawless. And those things don't happen every day, you know. Our first pit stop wasn't great. We came in fourth and went out ninth, I think. But the guys got it together and were super solid after that point. And man, it was a special night, but that. That's what I've been thinking about the most, is everything leading up to Richmond got us that win.

[Kenny Wallace]

So you saw me doing a little wiggling around here. I went into my Herm and Schrader notes and I knew I had it here. You said something that I thought was interesting. November last year. You brought in Stuart Hoss Racing old employee Richard Boswell John Clausmire last November, and you said it took time to see results. Do you feel like Richard Boswell, John, Klaus Meyer that these are key to turning it around there at rcr?

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, no. We made some really good hires with those guys and others that I think we're finally getting to a point where you're starting to see some of that. Our relationship from the driver, crew chief standpoint, after Nashville, there was a big conversation between me and Richard, like, hey, we got to sit down and talk man to man. And we shut the door, closed door conversation to try and understand each other. And I. And I said, hey, man, I think we're a lot more similar than we realize because we were at each other's throat on stupid stuff. And he realized what he could push my buttons on and I realized what I could push his buttons on. And it was distracting from our goals. We both wanted the same thing, but we needed to know how to approach each other. And we had that meeting, man, and we've been brothers ever since. It was just like, hey, we need to understand each other, that we're both putting out maximum effort every weekend for each other. So when we ask each other to get more or do more, it's taken us over the edge. And so that conversation needed to be had and it happened early enough or ever since then, we just been grinding together, clicking, and things didn't work out at the track where we wanted them. From a strategy standpoint, a lot of these races could have had better runs, but now things are starting to fall the right way. And it's fun to see, you know, the communication pick up after that conversation.

[Kenny Wallace]

So there's a reason that your grandpa, Richard Schilder sticks with you. And we're going to remind everybody in a little bit here, your stats are unbelievable. And everybody will want to please be patient because we still got a little bit to talk about. But you're going to understand in a little bit why the man you're looking at, Austin Dillon, is driving that black 3 car. I want to stay right there. Now, this is my opinion and I want you to comment on this. Richard and Richard. Richard Petty, Richard Childress. Richard Childress, your grandpa, the owner of rcr. Seems like Richard Petty and Richard Childers are the last of the Mohicans. They are the last two at that racetrack. And you know, Richard Petty, your grandpa's kind of taken over now. You know, Richard Petty's getting a lot older, but these guys are of age now. You mentioned it, you mentioned it after the win. I just want you to comment. I mean, I don't know if there's anybody left. Are these, are these two Richards, the, the last. Is there anybody older? I mean, when they're inspiring you because you said something about it.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, no, I mean I look at RC as one of the last guys that raced and got to this point and there's no other business that he had to get to build this place that we have here at rcr.

[Kenny Wallace]

They're both racers by the way. Everybody, Richard Petty, Richard Schillers are drivers, right?

[Austin Dillon]

And the 20 taxi cab at Bowman Gray and to take it and now have, you know, two charters, some successful Xfinity teams, engine shop, a valve spring shop. It's really cool to look back at and say holy cow. Like he built this from a like ten dollar investment in a taxicab or twenty dollars investment. So you know, his leadership has got us to this point and it's, it's fun to try and keep him fired up about it because he goes through lulls because the sport, you know, he's old school, he doesn't, he doesn't want to see certain things happen or change or, and doesn't understand why NASCAR does certain things. And he's not afraid to, to come out and say those things. So I'm in the background like, hey, we don't need to say that, but I know you feel that way. So trying to monitor him and, and, but he's just that guy and, and it's special because I, I look at him as like an Elvis of the garage because I think he looks at himself as that way too because when he walks in there he's going to have that white button up. Those Wranglers. He's, he's since taken the cowboy boots off to get a little more comfortable. So I'm proud of him, of that.

[Kenny Wallace]

Feet gotta be. Feet have to be hurting.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, I don't care how many insoles you can wear at that age. Walking through the garage in those cowboy boots and that. Then pressed Wranglers. He is, he's Captain Hardo when it comes to that. And then he could be in any suite or his bus, watching these races. But he's going to be out there on top of the trailer, sun beating down, he's getting that neck sunburn. Make sure you wear your sun. Sun gear today.

[Kenny Wallace]

Skin cancer.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah. I mean, just he, he. That's how he's going to do it. And it's. It's cool to see that he is that committed to it, to the sport, and that's what makes it special.

[Kenny Wallace]

I want to bring up something that's very emotional for me. I lost my father. Russ Wallace October 30, 2011 But I always feel like there's this breakthrough in family. You know, I'm. These are your own words. I'm going to your press conference after the race and you said what you said just a little bit ago, but, you know, you're afraid of Grandpa Richard. And then all of a sudden, you know, the student is now teaching the teacher. And I say that very respectfully. I know he's the man. I don't want this to come across wrong. Are you. Are you now at a relationship with Richard Childers where you can go, hey, Grandpa, you know, I think this. And he goes, well, I think you're right. Are we there yet or is he still defensive?

[Austin Dillon]

I. We are. We are very close. And, and this is the funny part is I'll bring something up, a suggestion, and he might not agree with it off the bat, but I give him this, a week later, he'll come to me and it's usually like, hey, what do you think about this? And I said, oh, that's a great idea. So.

[Kenny Wallace]

And that was your idea.

[Austin Dillon]

Whatever, whatever way we gotta get it across, I'm good with it. And I think what's been cool is, you know, Ty's stepping in here more too, and his perspective has been from some other race teams. And, you know, one thing he rc, the one probably thing that he preaches to us is how much time and effort he has had to put into rcr has taken away some of his time with us, his daughter and family because he's here every day. And that burden of that, he doesn't want that to happen to Ty and I and he's scared of that. But what we've kind of preached to him is Ty and I are close enough where, you know, one, one example is like the Wood Brothers. They're able to share the load somewhat of what their business is. And if Ty and I can help him share that load, well, we're different than him even. Like, I'm not going to be Standing outside in my regulars and my button up one day, sitting on top of that truck and trailer, because that's just not me. But I, I want to help move RCR forward in the future and keep it what it is for him because his brand is so special to me and our family. But I think us showing, each, showing him that we're working together, willing to work together and drive RCR forward and, and we're pretty smart. You know, he's starting to say that. I think you guys are pretty.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, you know, that's gotta be hard on him. This is great. This is awesome.

[Austin Dillon]

And it's, it's cool to, to be in that process right now, but we're gonna support him and in whatever he wants to do because in the end, this is his and whatever direction he goes with it, you know, he deserves to do whatever he wants. And we're here, we're here for it.

[Kenny Wallace]

But nobody is gonna love RCR like you and your brother Ty and your dad. Is there any other employees there? I mean, I know you guys are old school and, and you know, Richard made national news by saying we're a blue collar team. NASCAR hates us. And I laughed when he said that because if any, if NASCAR loves anybody, they love Richard. But he's like, nascar hates us. We're blue collar. And I, I, I got it. He was just so mad, you know, that they picked on Austin Hill and anybody else right there. What employee is, stands right next to your grandpa?

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, I mean, there's, there's multiple guys. Is there Danny Lawrence?

[Kenny Wallace]

You know, he's still there.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, yeah. Danny's running the Xfinity shop. You know, he's the competition director.

[Kenny Wallace]

What a name. What a name.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, you got Danny, he'll say chalk Chocolate still gets paid, but he don't, he don't show up to the museum.

[Kenny Wallace]

He, man, he's, he's your brand. I mean.

[Austin Dillon]

Yep, he is.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, so those two.

[Austin Dillon]

Yep. And then, I mean, there's guys. Jerry Haley. Different. There's still a lot of guys that were around that old three team and around for a long time. Royce still in the shop. So there's, there's a lot of those, those names that are still around. But I think one of the big hires we had also in the offseason, our new president, Mike Verlander. You know, he's come from working at Stewart Haas, also working for Kyle Busch. And he's got a really good edge to him and a direction that he feels that RCR should be in the future.

[Kenny Wallace]

RCR has really weathered the storm, haven't they? I mean, we look back and we see Bud Moore shut down, Junior Johnson shut down. You know, basically Richard Petty Racing shut down. I mean, when we say these are the last of the Mohicans, I mean that is a, a group of Indians that are just badass. I, I, I know you got to think about that. You're, you're going to, you're going to carry this through that transition. You're not staying old school. You are turning the page and keeping that, that beautiful logo.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, we have to, you know, we have to, we have to compete and try and compete with the best, the benchmarks of the sport. Hms, the Gibbs, the Penskes, all those guys, you know, and, and we don't have another business that supports, you know, this thing. It's got to be the, the competition, the engine shop, the, the sponsorship. We've got to out market everybody and do a very good job of delivering to our partners like Bass Pro Shops. And, and we've got to figure out ways to keep up with these other teams. And I think we're scrappers, man. I like to think of us as like those underdogs or the dogs out there.

[Kenny Wallace]

Blue collar, baby.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, we're gonna figure out a way. You ever watch Monty Python?

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, gosh, yes. He's got no arms, no legs. That's it, fighting.

[Austin Dillon]

We're still here. We're digging. I love that, that analogy. Like, yeah, come on over here. I'm gonna bite your knee off.

[Kenny Wallace]

The torso is left. And that's all. That's it.

[Austin Dillon]

That's all that's left, man. We're fighters over here, so. And we like to be known as that. And I think people, we get good people because of that. And they know who R.C. is. And his, his loyalty goes a long way to a lot of people.

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[Kenny Wallace]

I hear everything. I do not have selective hearing and I hear you mention your brother Ty a lot in the last three days. So I'm going to ask you point blank, are you, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon going to take over rcr? Is that the plan?

[Austin Dillon]

Man, I. I don't know. I, I think it's up to rc. I think he, he, he over the last while, he's really excited about things and the direction that we're going and being able to work together and help him with the load that this is. It's a lot. And for him getting to the age he's at, any way we can help him, I think. And you want him to be able to enjoy this part of it, right, where it's not always a stress ball.

[Kenny Wallace]

For him until his death. Yeah, I mean, I say that respectfully. You, you don't want him to go to his grave, oh, we gotta win. Did we pit at the right time? Right?

[Austin Dillon]

That's exactly right. That's. We want him to just be able to show up and enjoy it and I think he's getting closer to that. So I mean we're willing to take that on and I think we would share it. Like we said, try and share the load. And I want to understand how the Wood Brothers have done it. You know, like they have, you know, chat with those guys that they're last. The Mohicans too. Like, you know, they've been able to make it work.

[Kenny Wallace]

So they took a big shortcut though, my friend. They moved everything to Penske Racing. You are the last of the Mohicans. You still got everything right there. And I love the Wood Brothers. I love them. They're badasses, but man, you guys are the last year. There's nobody like you anymore.

[Austin Dillon]

I think that's why the family part's so important because you can't. It's hard to run a business without you Know, a good sized family putting in maximum effort. You know, RC has been a like a one man show in that department for so long, but he has given it every minute of his life. Other than his hunts that he goes on. You know, he might take a hunt here and there goes, he goes to off in the wilderness to figure out what the next move is. Every time he goes on one of those hunts, everybody at RCR is like, oh, it's great, you got a week without him. But boy, when he shows back up, he's fresh. Oh man, he's bringing vengeance.

[Kenny Wallace]

This is very emotional for me because I'm. I'll be 62 Saturday. And I can hear the love in your voice. You love your grandpa. You know his history. You just want him to, to. You want to do good for him and you want him to be able to relax.

[Austin Dillon]

That's why that win is the biggest probably for me and my career because I know where he, he was, where RCR is. And it's just a, it's a game changer, man, when you can go and win like we did. And seeing him smiling and Victory Lane and getting to pop a bottle of champagne because no one quite can. Can celebrate like rc. You know, he, he likes Victory.

[Kenny Wallace]

Childress Vineyards.

[Austin Dillon]

Yep, Childress Vineyards. He's. He. He don't mind to have a party back in the day. And you've probably seen him party more than I ever have, but I know I've heard stories that he liked to have a good time.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, well, we can keep going. And just a reminder, Everybody, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gave me a call about a year ago. So this is going to be on Dirty Mo podcast and of course it's gonna be on the Kenny Wallace YouTube show. We got way further in this than I wanted to. And now we're gonna do it. Austin Dillon, 35 years old, looks good. And now we're going to read his stats and we're gonna. What's that?

[Austin Dillon]

Wife looks way better.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah. Oh, no doubt, no doubt. You know, I got a crush on Whitney. She's. She's a badass too.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, she loves you.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, she's a good looking lady, but she's. She reminds me of my wife. She's there, she supports you. She's got a girlfriend and you got. Hey, now you. Damn it. See, you got me. That crew of yours, they're your boys, ain't they? I mean, you guys swim together. You, your crew, they love you.

[Austin Dillon]

It's. It's a bond, man. And, and it's cool. You Know, I've even said it in the media center. I said, you know, some of those guys, I mean, the whole team, they're good enough to go wherever they want to, right? But we signed them up early on, and they committed to us, committed to me. I mean, through some struggles and stuck with us. And they're a good crew. I mean, it's hard to find a top 10 crew, and they are. And it's been fun working with them and.

[Kenny Wallace]

But they like you. They. I can see in the Instagram pictures, you guys do it all together. You dress up funny together. You swim together. That's rare.

[Austin Dillon]

It is. It's cool to have that bond. And I think that's what I grew up watching with. With Earnhardt and the junkyard dogs and the Flying Aces and all that. Like, we want that. We just. We just haven't won as much as them, but we want that same bond, and we have it. And I like to hunt and fish with those guys and trying to get more of them in the hunt. And we go golf together. But the party Paul, he's got my Xbox X Mark lawnmower out there doing donuts. Both front tires are flat on my lawnmower because he was doing wheelies. So my dad's buddy's like, the front tires on the lawnmower flat. The tracker off road, right front, rolled off the bead. The other one. Yeah, I see that. There's blood all over it. I'm like, I promise you, dude, I felt so bad. I didn't. I didn't drink or nothing. I had a cold. I tried to get all the keys out of everything. They just. They went out and ripped and tore up everything.

[Kenny Wallace]

That is awesome. Okay, we're gonna give it a go again, everybody. Here we go. We're gonna remind you, and I do this with all the drivers. Austin Dillon, 35 years old. Now, listen, you feel free to stop me at any time, okay? But. And I know there's more before this. We're going NASCAR right now. No dirt stuff. 2008 K N Rookie of the Year 2010 NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2011 NASCAR Truck Series Most popular driver. 2011 NASCAR Truck Series Champion. 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Rookie of the Year. 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. Okay, now we. We've won the truck championship, the Nationwide Championship. Now we're going cup. 2014 Daytona 500 pole winner. 2017 Coca Cola 600 winner. That's a granddaddy. That's a marquee event. Now we're officially big time 2018 you keep adding on. Daytona 500 winner, 433 NASCAR cup races, 156 Xfinity races, 73 truck races, for a total of 665 NASCAR races in the top three series. Now, I can go on and on, but those are the Mack daddies. Do you feel that old? What. I mean, what does that make you feel like? I mean, my gosh, you're a Coca Cola 600 winner, Daytona 500 winner. You're champion over and over. You did not take a shortcut.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, it's. It's special, man. It's. It's really cool hearing those stats and the amount of time you spent in a race car and you. You forget about a lot of that when you're just in the grind out here doing it, you know? So one day, I definitely. Probably look back, but I think it's just that I look at. It's the commitment to it, you know, it's. It's the commitment to being solid as. As much. As long as you can. But it's very cool. And when you get a win like this past weekend, you think, well, maybe we can get a couple more feel. Feel pretty good about that, you know, and you just keep digging along, see what good Lord gives you. And, you know, my focus is I want to be as competitive as I can be for rcr. And when that day stops, I want to help them compete and be at the next level in any way possible. So it's a lot of fun. We just want to keep on doing it. Yeah, sometimes it's not a lot of fun.

[Kenny Wallace]

Let's go right there for a minute. Okay. You know, they say, you know, to be happy, you have to be sad, because you don't have happy without sad. You're just like, I'm bummed out. Oh, I'm happy. I just won Richmond. What place were you in? You know, you bring in the world's greatest driver, Kyle Busch, and you're running better than him and I. You know, you listen to grandpa Richard make that big announcement over the radio. The world catches on to it. We're no good. We got to get these cars better. Where were you? Where were you before this win? I mean, it seemed like you guys were as low as I've ever seen rcr.

[Austin Dillon]

I think that's probably what I'm most proud of, is being able to come out of, like, these valleys and still be able to compete and execute because, you know, it's just never given up. You can't ever give up. And it's A it's redundant statement. A lot of people use it, but it's. It's true. Like you go through a lot of peaks and valleys and family. You know, your life outside of racing has to be right, I believe to be good at the racetrack too. And I see, I've seen it with my own, you know, times where you get tough with different things going on and you know, the racing goes like this and it's just what are we doing? And when all that other stuff comes, comes together, it seems like moments like these happen and that's what's. What's rewarding about it and the time that you spend. I said something about this like I haven't missed a simulator date this year on a Tuesday. I think for the speedways I'll stay at home. Every Tuesday from 3 to 6:30, I'm in the simulator and sometimes you're in there beating your head off a wall, burning your eyes out of your head. What am I doing? You know what I mean, Thinking about it. But when you get a win, all of it's worth it. It's like, man, glad I never missed a a minute in that sim. Now I want to get back in it for Darlington. Going back today to try and get ready for that race two weeks out. So that's motivating and it's pretty cool.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, I know this is not a good logo, but maybe inside RCR we can go get you a Monty Python torso and put it inside the race shop. Guys, this is us. You know, Monty Python. I know we're repeating ourselves, but put.

[Austin Dillon]

Him right in the door.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, put him right in the door. The arms are gone, the legs are gone. And he's like, come on, you son of a. Let's go.

[Austin Dillon]

Yep. I love it.

[Kenny Wallace]

I love it too.

[Austin Dillon]

I got a bull rider on our Carolina Cowboys. By the way, I got to get you out to a cowboys event. Are you in St. Louis right now?

[Kenny Wallace]

I'm in St. Louis right now going dirt racing this week.

[Austin Dillon]

Okay, well, there's event coming up. They have one in Springfield, Missouri. Missouri. Yep. And there's one the Kansas City hasn't happened yet. Kansas City is not far, but our Carolina cowboys are a lot of fun PBR teams event you want to go? I'll get you all set up. But I got a bull rider and this guy's tough as nails. He's one of the last American champions named Dale and Swearengine. And he's really good at riding bulls, but he's terrible at getting off of them. Kills me Every time, because, you know, we got him under contract. And I'm like, man, just. I know it's good thing that you don't get off because you make it to eight seconds. But when you make it there, try to find a soft landing, or if you can. I mean, he always just slams himself in the dirt, so you don't want to be good at jumping off. But it's same thing. I want to preserve his body as long as possible. So I. That's where I came up with a Monty Python. I say, did you ever see Monty Python the next day? Like, we're like, all right, Dalen. You all right? You gonna be able to get on? He's like, four broken ribs, a leg dragon. Oh, yeah, I'm good. Put me on. I'm like, God, you are. That night in Monty Python that.

[Kenny Wallace]

That is a different breed. That. That movie 8 seconds just broke my heart. Those guys, they expect to get destroyed. That is. It just hurts me. They're a different breed, you know.

[Austin Dillon]

Gotta go watch them. You'll. You'll enjoy it. Like, I'll. I got to get you out there, get you behind the chutes and see them. It's a cool aspect. Now that we got the team. Part of it is five on five, and you get to cheer for your team. And it comes down to that last bull ride. And if the points are close, guys got to stay on. It's pretty special.

[Kenny Wallace]

Just want to add this in here. I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and. But I was raised in Rolla, which. Not 80 miles from Springfield, Missouri, in the home of Johnny Morris Bass Pro, your sponsor. It's so strange that these big NASCAR sponsors, they're right here, right next to me, and Anheuser Busch right there.

[Austin Dillon]

Andy's frozen custard.

[Kenny Wallace]

Andy's frozen. I mean, look at this. This is funny. Hold on. I gotta show you something.

[Austin Dillon]

You guys got a lot of the. The NASCAR sponsors right there. That's right.

[Kenny Wallace]

Mikey. Waltron sent me these 50 for the Herminator, baby. But, you know, it. It is crazy, brother. Rusty had an opportunity to be sponsored by Anheuser Busch, and he turned it down because. It's a long story. Rusty did just fine, but, yeah, they're all over me right here. It just blows my mind that I've never. I've had great, great sponsors, but I've just never connected with some of the biggest sponsors in America. And they're all about. One's 10 miles down the road, the other one's 80. And you got a Great sponsor there, Austin. Johnny Morris, Bass Pro. What a badass.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, no, he's family, man. It's. It's awesome. And the heritage of the outdoors. And I had an interview just before this with Hook and Hook and Barrel, and we talked about, you know, just the hunting experiences I had as a kid that kind of shaped, I feel like who I am. My grandfather taking us out at 12 years old to British Columbia. And those. Those hunting experiences, like, toughened me up right off the bat, like to the point where you're like, I want my mama out here in the middle of nowhere in a cabin. Just me and grandpa trying to, you know, get a fire going to get some food. That type of stuff I think makes. It drives the competitiveness in you pretty quick. But we were just talking about that. But that's why I love our partners at Bass Pro, because we are hunting and fishing. That's what we love to do when we're not racing.

[Kenny Wallace]

And Johnny Morris, he helps the people out. What I. It's called the Ozarks. It's country people. They. They take knives and whittle wood, and then you get down around Branson, Missouri, and you got the. The black three flag flying above the big golf course. And the. I mean, it's. It is really, you know, Johnny has really saved that area.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh, man. Big Cedar Lodge and everything that they're doing with those golf courses, that's going to be the golf mecca of the world.

[Kenny Wallace]

It is.

[Austin Dillon]

It's. It's going to be awesome. I mean, I'm going there. Ty's put hosting a tournament at three of their courses there at Big Cedar. We're staying at Big Cedar right before the Kansas race. So I'm excited to get there.

[Kenny Wallace]

So strange because, you know, I was born in the city of St. Louis, but mom and dad told me when I was three months old, we moved to Rolla. And, you know, dad raced in Rolla, Missouri, which is, you know, 50 miles from Springfield. And I always said, you know, I'm an Ozark boy, but we moved back to St. Louis. Those are very close to me and our family. We do head to Branson a lot. And, you know, I think it's as good as Myrtle Beach. It's got all the, you know, the shows and all the country western people, they go and retire down there and, oh, yeah, it's a big time. And I know that's kind of home for you. Home away from home. So. Need to restock inventory, cover seasonal dips, or manage payroll. Ondeck's small business line of credit provides immediate access to funds up to $100,000 exactly when your business needs it. With Flexible Draw's transparent pricing and full control over repayment, you can tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. Apply [e-mail] and funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business.

[Austin Dillon]

Loan may be issued by Ondac or Celtic Bank.

[Kenny Wallace]

Ondac does not land in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

[Commercial Announcer]

Want to look and feel your best this summer? Don't just think skin deep, think cell deep with Prolon. Prolon is a plant based nutrition program featuring soups, snacks and beverages that nourish the body while keeping it in a fasting state, triggering cellular rejuvenation and renewal. With proper diet and exercise, Prolon can help target fat loss, strength, support lean muscle and reset your metabolism so you look and feel your best all summer long. Prolon is science backed nutrition that can help change your relationship with food in just 5 days. Get 15% off plus a $40 bonus gift when you [e-mail] PandoraPromo these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. See site for details.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, I gotta rough you up a little bit. I gotta have you comment on NASCAR and we do this to all the drivers. I'm not really roughing you up. You just, I, I would like to know if you will give me your opinion. So breaking news in the garage area. Let's take a, let's take a drink of coffee, Everybody. Okay. Dale Jr. Announced it on behalf of Wilkesboro this morning. The schedule is out now. Let's start with Wilkesboro. You cup driver, you're going back to North Wilkesboro. NASCAR has come full circle. You're going back to Wilkesboro for a points race. Just comment on that and we'll, we'll go down the line with the new schedule.

[Austin Dillon]

Oh man. North Wilsboro, best repave I've ever been a part of. Pumped that it's a points race. It's close to home. There's so many positives about it. Yeah, I'd much rather have that as a points race than Dover.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, let's go right there. Okay. So we knew earlier this year when we saw Marcus Smith and SMI putting in a two million dollar walkway bridge that some, someone's going to stay. We're like, they ain't spending a million dollars on the bridge. You get the people from over here to over there. So Wilkesboro's back. Okay. Now Marcus owns Dover, so now Dover is going to have the All Star race. We got Dover Air Force Base. We got Sambos Philadelphia.

[Austin Dillon]

I sambos this year, by the way. My grandpa makes us go to sambos every year. And I'm like. I'm looking through this menu, and I'm like, all right, something. I'm gonna take a cheeseburger. It's the only thing that's not fried. There's. There's. Yep, we'll go. Cheeseburger. I was like, oh, there's a crab cake. I'll roll with the crab cake. It's just a fried ball of crab cake, man. If you. It is all fried. I got done. I ate everything from you.

[Kenny Wallace]

I was just like, you and I are, you know, See, my. My dad, my brother Mike, they had massive cholesterol problems. I eat like a rabbit listening to you. Are you on the Mediterranean Tire? Are you doing your best?

[Austin Dillon]

I just don't eat fried food, man. I feel awful when I do it. And RC loves going and getting those. Every bit of it. He could eat straight fried food and oil. Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Wow.

[Austin Dillon]

Okay. So you can fry a cat turd and it halfway be.

[Kenny Wallace]

You get enough grease in it.

[Austin Dillon]

What?

[Kenny Wallace]

You're just, oh, oh, Boyer, he'll see me eat chicken. We're out at Sturgis, and he'll go, you know, of course, Boyer. You know his country. He's like, come on, man, you're leaving the best part out. I'm like, I'm not eating this stuff. So I'm. I'm peeling the fried off so I can just get to the chicken.

[Austin Dillon]

Chicken. Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

I. I want the chicken, not the grease and the fried. Okay. So we. This one did shock me a little bit. Of course, we. They've been preparing us, especially Carson. Hosar was. We're going back. You got. You guys are going back to Chicagoland. I mean, that's crazy.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah, I like that track. I think one of the best races we had was the last one there. It was epic. I think it was Kyle and Kyle Larson going at it across that bump. I'd say that bump in turn three and four is probably going to be aggressive. Got to cross it. And I mean, I'm excited. It's an oval. One less, one last road course. So I'm excited to get there, get after it, which I did. I tell you what, the Chicago Street Race is probably my favorite road course that we've been a part of, and I've been pretty fast there. I just never got anything to show for it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, so we're. The new schedule shows Naval base Coronado, Sunday, June 21, on Father's Day. What do you know about that? Were you out there?

[Austin Dillon]

I was not out there, but I think that's awesome. I think that right behind the way they stack the schedule, what I saw, I mean, I don't think it's fully released, but I saw what everybody else seen from media members that Sonoma's after it. So I think that's cool for, like, us to be able to stay out in San Diego, enjoy the beach and then go to Sonoma, have two road races back to back. I hope they build that road race out to something really cool. I haven't even seen what the layout properly looks like. But I think for. I love when our sport ties to military.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Austin Dillon]

And patriotism. So this could be a really patriotic moment for our sport. Giving back to military.

[Kenny Wallace]

So breaking news in the garage area with Austin Dillon. As we're doing this Kenny conversation. The schedule is out.

[Austin Dillon]

And there you go.

[Kenny Wallace]

It's on. It's on all social media right now. And yeah, what I'm looking at is the first big change I see Austin is, you know, the All Star week. May, Right. Yeah, that. That's the first Mac Daddy's like, whoa.

[Austin Dillon]

Thank goodness I won Richmond, so I don't have to be in there at Dover. My gosh, could you imagine? Can you imagine that? Trying to get in at Dover, Getting aggressive at Dover.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's a big wreck.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah. Like I'm gonna. I'm gonna wreck you to get into this All Star Race right here off turn two. We're gonna hit really hard. Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

And then. And then the. Obviously that. Let me go back here a little bit. Chicagoland. No, the next one. So the. The first big one is what we just said. And then Coronado, that's the second big one. And Sony come right after it. Yep, you're exactly right. Sonoma comes right after. Good point. They. They keep you guys out there.

[Austin Dillon]

That's nice. I mean, so we're not. This. We did a lot of this this year, like, all over the map.

[Kenny Wallace]

And then the third big one, it. So it's. It's Sunday, June 21st, you know, out there at Naval Base Coronado, then Sonoma, then July 5th, Chicagoland Speedway.

[Austin Dillon]

So.

[Kenny Wallace]

And then. And then, wow, Wilkesboro, July. So all the big changes are in June and July.

[Austin Dillon]

Yeah. And we got one more off weekend. Thank you, Jesus.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah. Praise the Lord.

[Austin Dillon]

We've. We gave. We gave us Easter this year, so.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Austin Dillon]

They did get Easter, but, man, one more off weekend would be nice.

[Kenny Wallace]

August 2nd, summer break 400 off week is what it said they need. It's funny, they write Sunday, August 4 second. Obviously still some sponsors. Wilkesboro, you know, things are to be announced. But Sunday, August 2nd, summer break 400 off week, there's no race. It's just the summer break 400. Okay, well, hopefully that was the right thing to do. We just. It's all over social media right now, so. Yeah, okay, different subject. Your opinion on nascar. Adam Stern, who everybody uses for quality announcements. So we all know that NASCAR and all the racetracks, they go, hey, Adam announced this. So Adam Stern says NASCAR is hiring a firm to bring back the core fans, the blue collar fans. What is your thought of that?

[Austin Dillon]

I. That's interesting. I think, I think we need all the fans we can get.

[Kenny Wallace]

So that's what I said.

[Austin Dillon]

Whatever method that we've got that they're. They've found a group that can bring those. I don't know how they do. Is it like Instagram where you can buy followers?

[Kenny Wallace]

Right? So, I mean, I, I said that was embarrassing. You know, somehow we pissed all the old. You know, we pissed them all off. And now I'm controversial right here. I'm not saying you need to go with me, but somehow we pissed all the fans off. Of course, Mark Martin, Dale Jr, Denny Hamlin, they've been doing a good job, too. So I don't think you can get any more trouble than they do. But, you know, everybody wants the point system changed. They want the numbers back to the middle. You know, we don't have 300,000. Listen, we can only fit a hundred thousand people in at the racetracks. They took all the grandstands out, so we can't fit any more than a hundred thousand people in anyway. So let's just go right there.

[Austin Dillon]

Your thoughts on that house at Richmond, by the way? Sold out.

[Kenny Wallace]

Sold out.

[Austin Dillon]

I think every track should have one date. No one should have to. If you can't sell out, you don't get a second one the next year. You get one. You know, go somewhere else because there's fans out there that want to see their home track get raced on. And we've proven we can go to short tracks, different types of tracks, and make it work. So I'm of the favor if you can't host two solouts, you only need one race. But yeah, I don't know, man. I don't get into the whole points thing because we, I won a championship in Xfinity series winning zero races. I was just consistent. We had probably six second place finishes that year and we won a championship. Now we did the best job of scoring points over the season. That was great. But the game changed and it went about winning. Winning was the goal. So I feel like that mentality changed and put more pressure on winning. And I do think in the playoffs. One thing I would like to see is when you're not in the playoffs, like the cars that aren't, they're still racing for points, but the playoff drivers are only racing against themselves for points, meaning there are 16 points to get. And so there's 16 guys in that first round of playoffs. If I finish fifth and Denny finishes tenth, there's only one point between us. If there's the other cars aren't in the playoffs. Does that make sense?

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, yeah. And, and, and this, you know, NASCAR announced, you know, that that is that. Okay, right there. Let's stay there. Again, you're bringing up great points during Kenny conversation. Let's go right there. NASCAR said this is the last year you all will, you know, determine the championship at Phoenix. What do you feel about moving the championship race?

[Austin Dillon]

Love that. And I feel like, truthfully, everybody beats up on nascar, but I feel like they do a good job of sitting there taking information in and trying to move the needle. Maybe slower than some of us want, but they move it. And Homestead is a great place for a championship, always has been. I think Phoenix, it did its job, but it's just not the place that you want to race at for a championship, in my opinion. So it needs to rotate to the tracks that can host a championship because weather is usually the issue when you get that late in the year. Yeah, there's only a handful of November you can choose. There's a handful of tracks you can choose. You know, Vegas might be one of them, which would be pretty cool having that atmosphere as a championship. But Homestead has always been a great place. I feel like it when I, I love going to homestead. So.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, 1984. So for the people on YouTube right now, there it is. 1984. Terry Labani wins only two races and wins it all. Man. We. We can go to the nth degree. Listen, you've been wonderful.

[Austin Dillon]

Thanks.

[Kenny Wallace]

And you know, I really appreciate you. You just come off the big win. Listen up, everybody. If you want to see Austin Dylan's pretty face, you can watch him on the Kenny Wallace YouTube show. But if you want to put your ears in, we are over there on Dirty Mo Media on Dirty Mo podcast under Kenny Conversation. Is that it, my friend? What else?

[Austin Dillon]

That's it. I've got two guys that I've put off for 20 minutes on interview, so.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, my Lord. Well, Dale Jr tells me, Herman, you got to get the 45 minutes for commercials until the next Kenny Conversation. We'll see you all next time. Goodbye, everybody.

[Austin Dillon]

Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

[Kenny Wallace]

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[Kenny Wallace]

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[Austin Dillon]

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[Kenny Wallace]

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[Austin Dillon]

Shoes are a huge part of that. They are the most important part of my style. You can like express yourself in the right shoes.

[Kenny Wallace]

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