Austin Harris: NASCAR's Appeal to Young People, the Rise of Podcasts, and How To Watch a Race

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Austin Harris: NASCAR's Appeal to Young People, the Rise of Podcasts, and How To Watch a Race"

Podcast Title: Herm & Schrader
Hosts: Kenny Schrader and Ken Schrader
Guest: Austin Harris
Release Date: May 1, 2025
Duration: Approximately 50 minutes
Platform: SiriusXM, Dirty Mo Media

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Introduction of Guest (01:02 - 01:46)

Kenny Schrader welcomes Austin Harris, highlighting him as a rare 24-year-old actively engaged in the NASCAR community. Austin is not only a dedicated racer but also works at Checkered Flag Auto Sales, specializing in high-performance aftermarket car parts.

Kenny Schrader [01:02]: "You are looking at the rarest 24 year old in America."

Austin's Deep-Rooted Affection for NASCAR (02:31 - 03:49)

Kenny delves into Austin's longstanding love for NASCAR, emphasizing the unusual enthusiasm of a younger fan in a predominantly older demographic.

Kenny Schrader [03:16]: "I just thought it was really odd that you liked nascar."

Austin shares his childhood experiences attending NASCAR races with his father and grandfather from the age of ten, visiting major tracks like Michigan, Chicagoland, Daytona, and Bristol.

Austin Harris [03:27]: "I started going to NASCAR races with my, my dad and my grandpa when I was, gosh, probably 10 years old."

Working at Checkered Flag Auto Sales (04:40 - 07:07)

Austin discusses his role at Checkered Flag Auto Sales in Crystal City, Missouri, where he focuses on rebuilding compact car engines. He explains the technical processes involved, such as fixing blown head gaskets and timing chains, and emphasizes the value added by refurbishing these engines.

Austin Harris [06:50]: "We'll sell that vehicle as a kind of like a rebuilt top end. You know, it's brand new."

Kenny appreciates Austin's meticulous work ethic and dedication to maintaining high standards in engine rebuilding.

Racing in the SCDRA Series and Future Prospects (07:16 - 09:37)

Austin details his participation in the SCDRA (Specialty Compact Dirt Racing Association) series, racing compact cars for significant prize money, including a $100,000 race in Kokomo, Indiana. He highlights the commitment required to compete at this level.

Austin Harris [07:55]: "We'll be racing for a hundred thousand dollars."

Family and Track Ownership (09:37 - 12:07)

Kenny explores Austin’s familial ties to racing, particularly focusing on his father, Tommy Harris, who purchased and rehabilitated a racetrack in Doe Run, Missouri. Together, they transformed the neglected facility into an active, family-oriented track hosting various racing classes, fostering new talent.

Austin Harris [12:07]: "We got kids every week, every year that have never been in a race car."

They discuss the challenges of managing young racers and dealing with overzealous parents, which sometimes leads to conflicts on race days.

Kenny Schrader [12:02]: "What is the biggest problem? The young kids or the dads that want to be driving their cart?"

Early NASCAR Memories and Favorite Drivers (13:27 - 25:08)

Austin reminisces about his earliest NASCAR memories, influenced by drivers like Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Jimmy Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He shares specific moments, such as witnessing Carl Edwards' famous backflip at Bristol, which left a lasting impression on him.

Austin Harris [16:09]: "I really like Tony Stewart... and Carl Edwards because he did the backflip."

Kenny and Austin discuss how these drivers shaped Austin's perception and passion for NASCAR, highlighting the cultural shift within the sport over the years.

Evolution of NASCAR and Stage Breaks (26:08 - 35:30)

The conversation shifts to NASCAR's efforts to attract younger audiences through innovations like digital dashboards and stage breaks in races. Austin explains how stage breaks cater to younger fans' shorter attention spans by dividing races into manageable segments, allowing viewers to engage in other activities during pauses.

Austin Harris [34:32]: "I gotta sit and watch it for 120 laps that I can get up and... get something to eat or whatever."

Kenny speculates on the broader implications of these changes, including potential impacts on race dynamics and viewer engagement.

Experience with Touring Dirt Super Late Model Teams (40:45 - 48:55)

Austin recounts his brief tenure working with a top-tier touring dirt super late model team. He describes the high-pressure environment, demanding work schedules, and the intense expectations placed on crew members. Despite the lucrative aspects, Austin chose to prioritize his personal life and family, leading to his departure from the team.

Austin Harris [41:30]: "It's, it's tough...I didn't really like the scene like I thought I would."

They discuss the financial structures within dirt racing, noting the significant investments made by large companies that fund racing operations.

Austin Harris [44:02]: "Anything from plumbing companies, electrical companies... multi million dollar companies that, that fund all these racing operations."

Building a Race Car (45:39 - 48:18)

Austin provides an in-depth look into the process of building a compact race car. He outlines the steps from sourcing vehicles—often through junkyards or marketplaces—to stripping interiors, installing safety cages, upgrading engines, and integrating modern wiring harnesses to ensure reliability during races. The transformation of these cars demands both technical expertise and substantial financial investment.

Austin Harris [46:26]: "We do standalone wiring harnesses... nothing is, you know, when we get a car from 1995... we can't have that in the car."

Kenny admires the dedication and craftsmanship involved, noting the significant costs associated with preparing compact cars for competitive racing.

Conclusion and Final Insights (37:16 - 49:56)

In the concluding segment, Kenny commends Austin's exceptional work ethic and dedication to both racing and his professional responsibilities. Austin shares his optimism about NASCAR's evolving strategies to engage younger audiences, citing closer race finishes and enhanced viewer experiences as key factors driving his renewed passion for the sport.

Austin Harris [37:53]: "I think it started probably a couple years ago... the finishes, how close the finishes are, that's really, that's what does it for me."

Kenny emphasizes the importance of positive mental attitudes within the racing community and encourages listeners to support and appreciate the contributions of young talents like Austin.

Kenny Schrader [48:46]: "Austin Harris, everybody. Austin, thank you for being on Kenny Conversation."

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Key Takeaways

1. Youthful Enthusiasm in NASCAR: Austin Harris exemplifies a younger generation passionate about NASCAR, challenging the sport's traditionally older demographic.

2. Technical Expertise and Dedication: Austin's dual role as a racer and technical expert at Checkered Flag Auto Sales underscores the blend of passion and professionalism required in the racing industry.

3. Family Influence and Community Building: The Harris family's commitment to rehabilitating and running a racetrack highlights the importance of familial support and community engagement in fostering new racing talents.

4. Adapting to Modern Audiences: NASCAR's introduction of stage breaks and digital dashboards demonstrates strategic efforts to retain and attract younger viewers by catering to their preferences and viewing habits.

5. Challenges and Personal Choices: Austin's experience with high-pressure racing teams illustrates the demanding nature of professional racing and the personal choices athletes must make to balance career and family life.

6. Future of NASCAR: With drivers like Austin advocating for closer, more exciting race finishes, the future of NASCAR looks promising in terms of increased engagement and evolving competitiveness.

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Notable Quotes

• Kenny Schrader [03:16]: "I just thought it was really odd that you liked nascar."
• Austin Harris [06:50]: "We'll sell that vehicle as a kind of like a rebuilt top end. You know, it's brand new."
• Austin Harris [34:32]: "I gotta sit and watch it for 120 laps that I can get up and... get something to eat or whatever."
• Austin Harris [37:53]: "I think it started probably a couple years ago... the finishes, how close the finishes are, that's really, that's what does it for me."

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Conclusion

This episode of Herm & Schrader provides an insightful exploration into the life of a young NASCAR enthusiast and racer, Austin Harris. Through engaging conversations, Kenny Schrader uncovers the factors that sustain Austin's passion for racing, the technical and familial commitments involved, and the evolving landscape of NASCAR aimed at capturing younger audiences. Austin's journey offers a fresh perspective on maintaining tradition while embracing innovation within the racing community.

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For more insights and stories like this, you can listen to the full episode on Dirty Mo Media or follow Herm & Schrader on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Transcript

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[Kenny Schrader]

Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation, brought to you by jegs, the leader in high performance aftermarket car parts. Remember to go to JEGS.com for everything you need to fix your everyday vehicle up or that hot rod sitting in your backyard in your garage. All right everybody, you are looking at the rarest 24 year old in America. He's not just a racer. But listen to this. This is something we want to highlight. Austin Harris is a NAS CAR fan. Austin, how are you doing?

[Austin Harris]

I'm good. Thank you for having me on, Herman.

[Kenny Schrader]

So you know, I always come out with this thing called a disclaimer and here is the disclaimer. Austin Harris races a compact car every weekend at Federated Auto Parts Raceway park right here, about 15 minutes from my house. He's a young racer, he's 24 years old. But more importantly, we're going to start like this. Austin and myself were talking a handful of days ago and Austin, you said that you arrived at your house in your pickup truck and you caught yourself running in to watch the NASCAR race. Tell me about this Sunday afternoon.

[Austin Harris]

And I think there was like 50 laps to go and I just ran inside and went straight to the living room and I had to turn on the NASCAR race. I, I had a couple other things I could have done but there was only 50 laps to go so it was getting good.

[Kenny Schrader]

So you, you told me through our conversation because we are friends and I thought this would be a great look inside a 24 year old kid's brain because let's face it, we're in an area right now where we look at our demographics and these NASCAR fans are 40 to 75 years old. I just thought it was really odd that you liked nascar. I know you were kind of, you kind of grew up in racing but you, you took this path where I'm gonna go dirt racing. But you've never really hated nascar or tell me about your, your affection with nascar.

[Austin Harris]

I started going to NASCAR races with my, my dad and my grandpa when I was, gosh, probably 10 years old. I think the first track I ever went to was Michigan and then from there Chicagoland because we lived up there and I've been to Daytona and Bristol and I just love nascar.

[Kenny Schrader]

Makes me happy. It does because you're so rare. We're going to dig into this really deep because we've been talking about why don't young kids like cars. Why don't they like NASCAR as much as we think they should? On one of the coffee with Kenny's lately we talked about the ability for your age group to work on passenger cars nowadays. In my day it was very easy for me to change the oil, change the spark plugs, put an air filter on. I know that you work somewhere right now. Tell me about your working environment with Joey Laws. You work for Joey Law. Tell me your dynamic right now.

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, so we sell used cars. So we're in a used car business. So I'm working on cars every day. Not so much the newer cars, but new enough, you know, new enough to where you or the average everyday person couldn't really work on them if you don't have the right tools and knowledge.

[Kenny Schrader]

I've been to your place about a year ago and I was shocked to see you tell me about this specific car. Now what we're doing, everybody is we're digging into the mind of a 24 year old. Why does he like cars? Because right now we have these young kids that they think they're car people. If they're drifting, you know, they buy the by, they buy the Yokohama tires, they drift, they buy a headlight and a spoiler and they go, man, I'm like no, no, no, you're not taking the motor apart, you know. But I watched you last year. Tell me about that. How many cylinders were going on your Specialty I think is blown out head gaskets. Tell me about this.

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, so we get some equinoxes. They have the two, four Ecotech motors, and coincidentally, that's the same motor that's in my race car. So I already knew a lot about them. But they'll jump time. They have a timing chain and it'll bend the valves in the cylinder head. So we take the cylinder head off, take the timing set off, take the cylinder head to the machine shop. They'll put new valves in it, resurface it for us. I'll set down a new head gasket, you know, tighten the head bolts, torque them down and everything, put the new timing set on, and we'll sell that vehicle as a kind of like a rebuilt top end. You know, it's brand new.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, it is kind of funny when people, you know, go, hey, your motor blew up. You know it's going to be $6,000 to fix it. They're like, the hell with that. I'm buying a new car. You, you take this motor and make it like brand new because the, the bottom ends are normal. It's the top end that is volatile. Is, is that what you find?

[Austin Harris]

Yep. Every time. I think we just had one recently where the bottom end, it got overheated, so it's warped a little bit. I do have to replace the motor on that one, but very rare. Been here two years now, and that's the first one.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay, everybody, so we're digging into Austin's mind, okay? He likes cars. What's the name of that used car dealership there?

[Austin Harris]

Checkered Flag Auto Sales in Crystal City, Missouri.

[Kenny Schrader]

Man, what a name. Crystal City, Missouri, and Joey Laws. Joey himself is a good race car driver. Tell me about your boss.

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, so I got hooked up with him two years ago now and actually drive for him. My race car, he owns it, he races as well. Very, very good race car driver we got. We've been traveling with the SCDRA series, which is the compact series down south. And next week here, we'll be racing for a hundred thousand dollars.

[Kenny Schrader]

Wow. These compact cars. Listen up, everybody. We're going to end here in a minute. We're going to go back to the start of Austin's life, try to get a look inside why he likes nascar. But let's finish this up. What is going on with, with the compact cars? Why are they paying so much money to win all over America?

[Austin Harris]

Well, I think it's just all of racing. You know, you look at the late models, they're paying the Most they've ever paid. They just raced for a million dollars a couple years ago. And then you go to the modifieds, they're racing for 100,000 so it kind of, it's just trickling down the grapevine here and finally got to us. So racing for some big money and just here in February, we raced for $21,000.

[Kenny Schrader]

Where do you got to travel and in what state and how many cars show up?

[Austin Harris]

So mostly we go to Georgia, some in Tennessee and Kentucky, South Carolina. That's most of our big races. This hundred thousand dollars is in Kokomo, Indiana.

[Kenny Schrader]

Mm, I like Kokomo. I've been there one time. All right, we have, we have done our investigating. We know what he's doing now. And you yourself, you race. Tell me your weekly program with your race car.

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, so I raced a Chevy Cavalier. It's just a four cylinder car that we turn into a race car. Race weekly at Pele, a little bit at Tri City and then I'll be at my parents track sometimes down in Del run.

[Kenny Schrader]

Tell me about this your parents track. We're digging even deeper everybody. Why does the 24 year old race car driver, why does he watch NASCAR? Why does he take the time out to watch NASCAR? Okay, we're digging deeper. Your dad tell me about this racetrack in Doe Run, Missouri.

[Austin Harris]

Yep. So in 2019 Covid year, I think it was like March. We were down in Florida I think when he bought it. Me and you were Kenny.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, I remember.

[Austin Harris]

Yep. So he bought that in 2019 and it was shut down for five years. We completely rehabbed the entire facility and now we race every Friday night.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. Your dad, Tommy Harris, what a badass, what a tough guy. So the original owner died I believe of heart issues, some type of situation. It was considered a small tire track. Go karts, maybe B mods like you're running now. And this place was junk and I mean I'm just calling it, the way I saw it, it was junk. You went in there and I mean you brought this thing back from the dead and everybody so excited. How many race cars do you guys get on a weekly average down there? On Friday nights in Doe run Weekly we're around 80. Yeah. And these are go karts. What, what are, what type of car count car cars do you run?

[Austin Harris]

We run the go karts which is like the kids ages. I think it starts at 5 to 14 somewhere in there. And then you move up into the junior sprints in the micros. Restricted micros. A class outlaw. We run the Compact cars and BMods. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few classes, but all small tire car. We're not running late models and a mods, none of that. So.

[Kenny Schrader]

And do run is very important for the people that are just starting out. It's, it's almost like a, a racetrack where you can go and get going, get your career going.

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. We got kids every week, every year that have never been in a race car. Maybe they run the yard cart around their parents yard or whatever. But yeah, we got new kids coming in all the time. And that's, that's really what it's about. A family oriented track.

[Kenny Schrader]

What is the biggest problem? The young kids or the dads that want to be driving their cart?

[Austin Harris]

Oh gosh, the young kids, they don't care. They get out of the cart and they'll run off and they'll go play with their friends and then we're still dealing with the parents.

[Kenny Schrader]

What is it about the parents? Boy, they, they think their kid is Kyle Larson right now, don't they?

[Austin Harris]

Well, like you always say, my son's won eight championships and he's only six years old.

[Kenny Schrader]

How's he going to get a sponsor? And I said get in line. You all are lined up. You know, the Jeff Gordon, the Kyle Larson day is that line is a mile long. And I find that the parents fight. You know, the kids are over there and they're like, what? And the parents go to fighting each other because your kid ran into my kid and have you had to break some fights up?

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. It gets, it gets pretty intense. You know these, like you said, the, the dads want to be driving the race car, but they can't. So they put their kids in it. And when they run over each other, the kids are like, oh, you know, whatever. But the dads, they get mad.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. All right, I think I've done my due diligence here. We're at 13 minutes. We know what you're all about. So this is kind of like one of those movies where we, we kind of tell the ending at start. Let's go back. Why is a 24 year old a NASCAR fan? All right, where were you born?

[Austin Harris]

I was born just outside of Chicago, Illinois, in a little town called Dekelb, Illinois.

[Kenny Schrader]

How are you born in Chicago? I mean, what about Dubairs? What about the Chicago Cubs? Chicago White Sox? How did you become a NASCAR fan growing up in Chicago?

[Austin Harris]

You know, we just started by my dad taking me to the dirt track, Sycamore Speedway, the, the summer nationals run.

[Kenny Schrader]

There Now, I've raced there.

[Austin Harris]

Yep. So. Started there, really? And then I guess started by going to Chicagoland, and Michigan was the first couple NASCAR tracks I went to.

[Kenny Schrader]

What is your first memory? So you're 24 years old. How old do you think you were when you attended your first NASCAR race?

[Austin Harris]

I believe I was 8 to 10 somewhere in there.

[Kenny Schrader]

Which. Do you remember what track it was?

[Austin Harris]

The first one that I. I don't really remember Chicagoland very much. I remember Michigan quite a bit.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. Yeah, all the way. No, your dad. I know your dad. He's a man's man. He's a tough guy. He. We all look up at him. He's probably. I don't know. What is your dad? Six, five? He's not like that. And you don't mess with him. What made him. Have you ever talked to your dad? Like, why are we putting all this effort in. Why are we packing our family up? Why are we spending the thousands of dollars to go. I mean, it's a lot to go to a NASCAR race. I mean, if I go down to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play, I got to go down. I got to find a parking spot. I pay for the parking spot. I got to pay to get in. I got to get in and out of my seat to eat, you know, because I can't always. I mean, it's a lot of work. Have you ever talked to your dad? Like, dad, why are we going? Why are we doing this?

[Austin Harris]

I think we. It was kind of like our family vacations. I don't know for sure, but that's kind of what I would assume. You know, we pack up the family, and we're going to. We're going to Daytona. We're gonna go to the beach for a little bit, you know, go down the strip and everything, and then go to the NASCAR Trek.

[Kenny Schrader]

Did you. Did you look up at NASCAR as the big boys? Like, this is the. This is the biggest there is. Did you look at nascar like, oh, my God, this is. This is it. We're at the big time right here.

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. And still do today.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay. What drivers were you attached to, you know, early in your life in nascar?

[Austin Harris]

I really like Tony Stewart. You know, he had the. I believe. What was it, the Home Depot car back then?

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Austin Harris]

And then I always like Carl Edwards because he did the backflip. I believe. When we were at Bristol, it got rain, delayed, turned into a night race, and he actually won, so we got to see him do the backflip. Super cool. Jimmy Johnson's a big Lowe's car. Yeah, and obviously Dale Jr. Everyone looks up to Dale Jr.

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[Kenny Schrader]

So when we look at getting kids into sports nowadays, you know, NASCAR came out with this, this stat. That said, and it was a silly one to me, they said we find that kids like the digital era. Right now we're going to change the dashboard on our NASCAR race cars. So when the young kids look at the dashboard, it's all digital looking and I thought that was odd. But now you're telling me, hell, Carl Edwards backflip for you as a young kid really made you go wow. So the backflip, besides Carl being a good race car driver, was it the backflip or Carl Edwards winning that drew your attention to him as a young kid?

[Austin Harris]

It was the backflip. He was the only one that did it. So I think anyone could say that, you know.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. All right, so here you are right now when you look back on those days, what track you said you went to? Michigan, you've been to Chicagoland, you've been to Bristol, you've been to Daytona. As we'll get to you and I. But as a kid, what one of those tracks, besides all of them, what one of those tracks is embedded in your brain for the rest of your life?

[Austin Harris]

Probably this Bristol, the last great coliseum.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Austin Harris]

You know, you, you, you get there and now it's changed a little bit, but still kind of the same. I, I believe we parked across the street. Maybe I was young, but you take the golf cart and you go up the hill and you know, they kind of got golf cart shuttles. And then when you get in there, it's down in a hole almost.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. So that when you saw that racetrack for the first time, when I was a kid and I went to Bush Stadium where the Cardinals play, I remember when I was a kid, I walked in there and it was the first time I seen, you know, a stadium and all these bright lights. Did that affect you? Do you remember the first time you walked into the Bristol? I mean, when you walked into your seat?

[Austin Harris]

Yeah. Oh yeah. Like I said, it was down in a hole.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Austin Harris]

And it was a day race, but rain delayed turned into a night race. So they did turn the lights on. Super cool.

[Kenny Schrader]

When you, when it was rain delayed, people are upset nowadays. They feel like it's NASCAR's fault it's raining. Why did NASCAR let it rain? Was it like that with your family? Or did you understand that? Now this is a little bit of a joke, okay? But you hear this. NASCAR needs to be prepared. It's raining. And that's where the rain tower came from right now. So instead of getting into these particular tracks dry, like say Richmond or Loudoun, they're not even drying the track completely. They're going green flag two hours early and they're racing on a wet racetrack. When it rained back then, did your family just enjoy the rain? Were they aggravated? What did you do as a family when it rained?

[Austin Harris]

I think, you know, we went under the grandstands or walked around the souvenir trailers. All that stuff was still open. They didn't care whether you just weren't racing. It's kind of like the pre race activities, you know, where you walk around and get some food maybe or whatever. But yeah, not NASCAR's fault. We're in the mountains. It's Bristol.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. What, what year? So you're 24. We take off 10, you know, that puts you at 14. You you told us, I guess, you know, your drivers, you know, were Tony. I mean, if you knew Tony Stewart, you know, that is that era, was that about 2006-16? I mean, around that time, 2006, 2008, would. Do you believe that's the era that you were in?

[Austin Harris]

Oh, yeah, for sure. I'm 24 now. My age pretty much goes with the years. So if I. It was 2008, I would have been eight years old. And then, you know, we. All the way up until 20, I'd say probably 2017, we were going to the NASCAR tracks.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay, let's do. Let's. I want to get to where everybody wants me to talk about here. All right. 2006 was for sure the height of NASCAR, so we lost Dale Senior, but the sport kept growing because we felt like Dale Jr. Was going to be his. His dad. We thought, Dale Jr. Is going to wreck people for the win. Crowd's going to be on their feet. But you're. You're saying you all just after 2006, you kept going to the racetracks?

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. Didn't really. I was too young to even know Dale Senior, I believe, you know, I knew of him, but didn't get to watch him race or anything like that. So I didn't really have any knowledge of that.

[Kenny Schrader]

So that's the generation gap that we talk about. You, you know, you didn't know. You didn't know Dale Senior, you didn't know Bill Elliott. So you attached, right, about Tony Stewart, but Carl Edwards stood out with the backflip. Do you think right now, what driver is there anybody like Carl Edwards? Is Everybody. What do you think about today's drivers?

[Austin Harris]

They're definitely different. I wouldn't say they're different in a good way, though. You know, everybody's like, got their own character. You could say, you know, T. Sue, he was kind of the mean one. Let's turn the cars around backwards and wreck the whole field. That type of thing.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, that's what you remember. You remember that quote as a young kid?

[Austin Harris]

Yep.

[Kenny Schrader]

They were wrecking so much at Talladega that he got mad. He said, all right, he told Steve Burns, let's take all the cars, run them backwards and smash them in each other. And as a child, you remember that?

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely.

[Kenny Schrader]

Love this. Okay, so today, who is our villain in nascar?

[Austin Harris]

Who's the villain? Used to be Ross Chastain, but he kind of calmed down a little bit now. You could say it's, Gosh, what's his name? Carson Josevar.

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, yeah. So. So he's very young. He's your age. Yeah, I was, I was expecting you to say Denny Hamlin. Do you feel like you're young? That so? Denny Hamlin aggravates people. Does he aggravate young people or old people?

[Austin Harris]

I, you know, I kind of, I really like his podcast. I, I didn't like him so much before this, but when, when he came out with that podcast, I just seen it maybe about a year ago, I started seeing and I told you, I was like, I've become a Denny Hamlin fan because I like the tone of his voice. You know, when he's on the racetrack, it's different, but when you hear him talk on his podcast, I really liked his tone of voice. It kind of soothing a little bit, oddly enough. But yeah.

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[Kenny Schrader]

What is it with podcast and young kids your age? I do see these kids with the earbuds in. Are you all listening to music or podcast?

[Austin Harris]

A little bit of both, but I lean toward more towards podcasts. Now I'll be driving in the truck and you know, I was just down in Georgia yesterday and probably if it was seven hours I've listened to a podcast. Five hours music, two hours. That's my kind of percentage.

[Kenny Schrader]

My son in law, Brody Pompey, he reminds me of you here I never thought I'd see another you. And here Brody is right at 30 years old up in that shop. He, he owns fusion carts and he's building these outlaw carts that Rico Abreu and Kyle Larson and. And I'll walk in there and there he is with them. Damn. Earbuds in. What do you think he's doing? Is he. He tells me. What, what do you think he's doing?

[Austin Harris]

He's listening to a podcast. I don't know which one, but he's listened to one of them. I got a lot that I listen to, whether it be Joe Rogan, which is. He's kind of neutral, I wouldn't say, you know, he has different type of guests on all the time, from doctors to comedians and just different people. And then I have true, true crime podcasts that I listen to. And then all the way into nascar.

[Kenny Schrader]

This could be the most important question I ask you as a, as we're looking at a 24 year old NASCAR fan, everybody, we're trying to figure out why he likes nascar. Because our demographic is so old in nascar. When, when you. I guess it's pretty simple just to ask, have you ever thought of why there's so many haters in nascar? Do, do you recognize that? Do you recognize that people talk badly of nascar?

[Austin Harris]

You know, I hear about it, but I don't really see it. Everything. All my friends online, they all, when they post about it, they say, wow, that was a good finish. You know, stuff like that. I hear about it, but like I said, I don't see it very much. I guess it all depends on who you surround yourself with. If you want to be around negative people, then you're going to see negative things.

[Kenny Schrader]

So you're telling me, look here, I'm going to do one of these. Are you telling me that if you want to find bad things and associate with bad, you can absolutely see all your friends? You guys like nascar?

[Austin Harris]

Yes.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay. All right. And, and this is what this has been all about. We're going to try to figure out when you got out of that pickup truck last week. The race was Darlington and you just said it to me and I said, hey, let, let's do a Kenny conversation. You, you know, I know you like nascar, but you said you like NASCAR more this year than last year.

[Austin Harris]

Correct. I've watched every single race this year. Maybe, you know, not the whole thing, you know, I turn it on in the shop or whatever, but I'm definitely watching the ending. And I think that's because, you know, it's just so good, you can't not watch it. I don't know how people don't.

[Kenny Schrader]

And when these races are unbelievable like they are, you got the old people, you know, my group, they're, they're mad that Earnhardt's gone. They're mad that the old days are gone, but your group, you don't know nothing about those days. And, and do you think, do you think that's why the ratings are so high this year? Do you think you're, you're younger? Do you think we're finally in a year where they young kids are maybe your group? Do you think your demographics starting to take over a little bit and you're seeing these races are so exciting?

[Austin Harris]

I mean, I don't know for sure, but I really hope so.

[Kenny Schrader]

Have you ever thought about a baseball game or a football game? You know, a football game is 4/4, right? A baseball game is 9 innings. Have you ever thought, as weird as I am, if everybody wants the excitement, why don't we just go to the last quarter? Two minutes to go. Why don't we play a football game? Only two minutes to go. They start the football game and it's only two minutes long. I mean, all sports are lengthy. Sports, I mean, there could be two minutes to go in a football game and it takes 15 minutes. You don't hear people complain about that.

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. Even if you go down to the Cardinals game, you know, you're there for, gosh, it feels like forever.

[Kenny Schrader]

So if all sports are lengthy, we know that all sports are lengthy. Do you feel like with the invention of Monster Jam, flipping the trucks, do you think, like the invention of the snowmobiles now? Flipping. Do you think we're in an era now that it's harder to entertain people? You know, in other words, what I'm saying is, all the NASCAR race is so long. It's so long. Well, hell, go to a baseball game, go do a football game. What is it with society? I'm trying to get inside your 24 year old brain. You like NASCAR, but you're saying, yeah, it's a long race. But what do you do during this long race, Austin?

[Austin Harris]

You know, like I said, I'll turn it on in the shop on Sundays. I'll be working on the race car and you kind of just have it as background noise. Something happens, you look up, oh, you know that it's spun out or you know, their pit stops. So. But then there's other times too. I'll be on the golf course, truthfully, I'll be golfing and I'll have it on my phone. And then other times I'll just be chilling at the house and I'll watch the whole thing.

[Kenny Schrader]

Kenny Schrader, you know, I want to talk about Herman Schrader with you in a little bit. But Kenny Schrader says it best. Just about every week I'll say, kenny, what did you do? He goes, well, we were in the shop on Sunday, we had the race on for background noise and all of a sudden the TV got real loud and we all went running to the tv.

[Austin Harris]

Yes.

[Kenny Schrader]

Is Kenny right?

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely. Like I said, when something happens, you look up, you know. You know, when something happens, like he says, they get loud.

[Kenny Schrader]

Is that the way it is in football and baseball when, when somebody scores a touchdown and or a home run gets hit or somebody scores it. Is that what happens with other sports? They get loud pretty much the same way.

[Austin Harris]

If you go down to cybergs up here, the Cardinals hit a home run.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know it in the restaurant.

[Austin Harris]

Yes.

[Kenny Schrader]

What, what do you think as a 24 year old, you know, we're going to, every time I say 24 year old, we're going to take a drink of coffee. What do you think of these stage breaks? Because here's, here's where I'm getting to with this. NASCAR decided to cut the race up in sections because they thought you, Austin, they thought Austin's 24 year old brain cannot sit here and watch this whole race. So we're going to break it up in sections. Do you, do you know NASCAR did that for you?

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, they did it just for me because here's the reason why I can't sit there and watch 500 laps straight. Maybe there'll be a caution every now and then, but I know if there's only, you know, the first stage is 120 laps, I gotta sit and watch it for 120 laps that I can get up and, you know, go, go to the bathroom and you know, get something to eat or whatever, you know, it's not 500 straight through.

[Kenny Schrader]

So for the old people that go, I don't like stage breaks. What, what, what do you want to tell them?

[Austin Harris]

It's just a new way. I don't, I don't have a very long attention span, you know, but I can watch 120 laps four times over.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, I think that's interesting. So you're saying you do like the stage breaks? You like what NASCAR is doing?

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, it allows me to get up and do something if I'm just sitting at home watching, allows me to get up and do something, you know, take the trash out while they're pit stopping or whatever.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know, my thought is that it allows them, you know, Tony Stewart was our very first, you know, guest on Kenny Conversation and I don't want to bring it up But I got to, to complete this topic years ago, they, they throw a caution, you know, to gather the field up. Do you think this, do you think the stage breaks kind of take over that? So in other words, hey, we're gonna throw a stage break here. It's gonna let the young kids get up, go to the bathroom, get a beer and, and it will help us with the show. Now we can gather everybody up.

[Austin Harris]

Yeah, competition caution. That way, you know, you're not in lap traffic no more. Everybody's juking and jiving. You know, we're not all spread out.

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[Kenny Schrader]

Okay, so you like NASCAR. And, and I guess, I guess the bottom line is, is, you know, you told me and I want you to respond to this and I want to know why you told me you didn't really care that much about NASCAR last year in 2004, 24. But now in 2025, you told me that, man, you just can't turn away. Can you give me detail to the old people that are listening right now? They're bitter. What is it that you like so much more this year about NASCAR compared to the previous years?

[Austin Harris]

I think it started probably a couple years ago. I just didn't really notice it as much. But the finishes, how close the finishes are, that's really, that's what does it for me. I'm watching just for the finish. Even if I gotta watch all 500 for the last two, that's what I'm gonna do.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, that's awesome. All right, everybody. I think that's a deep look in inside of a 24 year old, you surround yourself with positive mental attitude. All your buddies like nascar. You told me that if you want to find negativity, you, you told me this years ago. You said, herman, if you want to find negativity, you can go down that rabbit hole. You, you choose to be positive. You like racing. Your family grew up in racing. You own a racetrack. You did something a couple years ago that shocked the racing world because everybody knows you throughout the Midwest. The reason everybody knows you, and I'm sorry to be long winded here, but this, this allows more than just a question. I'm making a statement. Then I'm going to ask you the question. You, you worked for me for a couple years and everybody, Kevin Rumley, all the NASCAR teams, they would see you with me and they would all stare at you. I'm like, what. What the hell is the deal with this? Everybody, I'm telling you, everybody's listening right now. Whether you're on YouTube or Dirty Mo, they would all stare at you. I know why. But do you want, do you know why everybody was staring at you?

[Austin Harris]

I didn't know it at the time, but I know now. I'm rare. I don't want to brag on myself, but I will a little bit. I'm a worker and I love racing. So you put those two together, a lot of people, you know, it raises some people's interest.

[Kenny Schrader]

So Kevin Rumley, the great engineer, you know, whenever Kyle Larson races the dirt super late model, he drives Kevin Rumley's car. Kevin Rumley, the smartest man in dirt racing, even if he's not right now. He invented it. He invented. And now all the other crew chiefs are, you know, use. They're using it, they're making it better. He called me a couple, three times. He said, let me hire that kid. Let me hire you. So you ended up choosing to go with another race car driver. We're going to leave his name out of it. So you said, okay, I'm gonna do this in detail. Give everybody that's listening your experience. Working a handful of months with a. A touring. Touring Dirt Super Late by on team. Give me your experience.

[Austin Harris]

It's tough. It's not for the week. I would say it's. It's a lot of work, which doesn't bother me. You're away from home like you taught me. You're in the holler with a bunch of sweaty men. You know, there's probably four of you. Just didn't really like the scene like I thought I would, I would Just wanted something more in life, and there's nothing wrong with it. Don't. Don't think I'm going that way with it. But just didn't. I want to have a home, a family, and you can do it. It's just tougher. So I. I didn't last very long, we'll say that.

[Kenny Schrader]

So you quit. And then, of course, we. I call the dirt racing community a culture. So the cult, the thousands and thousands of people started talking about, oh, wow, Austin quit and you heard the rumors. So you put out a beautiful, well thought out letter to all of the dirt racing world, and everybody read it and everybody agreed with you. And, and in the end, when I read it, I thought, boy, this is really good. Every time you showed up, you know, you were pressured to have three sets of tires ready to go, and if they weren't ready by a certain time, you're, you know, you're packed in there, you know, you can't get away from anybody. So you're saying it's. Is it the hardest job you've ever done?

[Austin Harris]

I would say probably, yes. There's a lot of pressure on you too, man. Is there pressure? Especially when, you know, I. I kind of jumped right off the deep end. I was with one of the top touring late model guys, so, I mean, leaving lug nuts loose just. It was the little things that really got to me because there's a lot of pressure on you to run good. Yeah, you know, you have to run good every single night.

[Kenny Schrader]

What kind of money? Not, not what kind of money you make, but when you look at the kind of money, what are they making out? What are crew members your age making in the dirt racing world? Not what you made, but both sides.

[Austin Harris]

Anywhere from 500 to probably 900 somewhere in there. Plus, they give you a place to live. They pay for most your food. When you're on the road and everything, you know, the hauler will be stocked for you. So really pretty good money. Plus you get benefits, too. Most of these late model teams now, they're employed through a big company, basically. So my check didn't come from, say, the late model driver. It came from his owner's company.

[Kenny Schrader]

Right. So we need wealthy people in dirt racing, right?

[Austin Harris]

Yes.

[Kenny Schrader]

So the wealthy people in dirt racing, they're. They're the ones that spend the money for, you know, these drivers.

[Austin Harris]

Absolutely.

[Kenny Schrader]

It's the same in nascar, everybody. It's just that because they run dirt and they run these smaller tracks, a lot of people think, oh, it's dirt racing. It's the grassroots. But it's, it's, it's these companies that run these dirt super late model teams. Is that what you're telling me?

[Austin Harris]

Yeah. Anything from plumbing companies, electrical companies, oil drilling companies, just massive towing companies, massive companies, multi million dollar companies that, that fund all these racing operations.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, that's really interesting. I think we've kind of gone everywhere and I think this is a look for everybody. We've never, we're taking a chance doing this. I thought, you know, let's do this. Let's talk to one of the youngest people that are just around. Charlie might have, but I don't know. But Charlie, we, we need to drop a picture in of Austin's race car right now. Tell me about your race car. I know a lot about your race car and it, it, to this day it amazes me what you all do with these compact cars. I'm like you, you all work hard. You know there's a false image out there that you take these things off the street and you race them. I know that's not true. I'm like, holy moly. You work harder on these compact cars than I work on my car. So I'm gonna let you take it right now. When you go get a car, tell me what you do to it.

[Austin Harris]

Well, it used to be kind of like the beginner class, but I think it's far from that now. My gosh, we'll have just as much money in a beam on as we will a compact car. And that's just the truth. You know, cutting it apart, putting the cage in it, the motors, they're expensive now, transmissions as well. We do standalone wiring harnesses. So nothing is, you know, when we get a car from 1995, that's a 30 year old wiring harness, we can't have that in the car. Especially when you're running for $100,000. You don't want a little wire to break in your car, you know, not start or what have you. So, you know, we're upwards of $20,000 into these little compact cars.

[Kenny Schrader]

I want to go here with you. You buy the car and then I noticed that instead of putting the cage in it, do you still do? Do you always do you all cut the top of this passenger car off and put the cage in. In other words, what I'm looking at you right now is tell me the process. You go, you go get the car. Where do you get it? A junkyard? Do you buy it? Somebody tell me from start to finish.

[Austin Harris]

My gosh, they're getting Hard to find. You know, between drag racing and dirt racing, street cars, they're really hard to find. And finding a good one that's not rusted out, but. Yeah, just kind of anywhere. Junkyard make, marketplace, you'll come across them if you're looking. So we'll start by taking all of the interior out of it. Nothing's left on the interior. It's just bare sheet metal. And then from there. Yes, we will cut the top off of them now. Man, they're going even as far as cutting frame horns off of them and down to the, to the firewall in the, the floor pan. That's all that's left. And then, yeah, we'll start from there. That's kind of our base. And we'll, we'll start putting the cage in and then once you get the cage in and the frame horns and it's a lot of tubing work. We just got done building one actually.

[Kenny Schrader]

How long does it take to build a compact car?

[Austin Harris]

If you really stay on it, I would say you can have one done in a month, you know.

[Kenny Schrader]

Wow.

[Austin Harris]

Sometimes even quicker. It really just depends, you know, we, we're kind of just working after work, you know, so, you know, I work till six in the evening and then I'll stay in the shop till 9 or 10 o'clock at night, sometimes 10 to. To get some stuff done on the race car.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. All right, everybody. We did it. We got to 45 minutes and that was my goal. I hope you all enjoyed this look inside a 24 year old brain. Why he likes racing, why he races, his work ethic. Man, you are a hard worker and you are rare. Austin Harris, everybody. Austin, thank you for being on Kenny Conversation.

[Austin Harris]

Thank you, Herman and thank you for being my friend.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, I taught you that, didn't I?

[Austin Harris]

Yes. Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. There's so much more to say about that. But listen up everybody. If you want to see Austin's pretty face, we're right here on YouTube. But if you just want to listen like Austin does. Austin listens to podcast. If you want to do that, you can listen to Austin Harris right over there on Dirty Mo Media on their podcast. Until the next Kenny Conversation or Kenny Conversation, we'll see you next time. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, Tick Tock and Instagram.

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