Elliott Sadler: The Championship Opportunity He Still Can't Get Over, & The Ups And Downs Of A NASCAR Career

Summary

Herm & Schrader Podcast Episode Summary

Title: Elliott Sadler: The Championship Opportunity He Still Can't Get Over, & The Ups And Downs Of A NASCAR Career
Release Date: May 8, 2025
Hosts: Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader
Guest: Elliott Sadler
Duration Covered: Approximately 2:14 to 66:47

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1. Introduction and Welcome

After introductory sponsor messages, Kenny Wallace welcomes Elliott Sadler to the show.

Kenny Wallace (02:51):
"I really like Kansas Speedway. Such a nice layout. Beautiful place."

---

2. Life After Racing: Retirement and Family Priorities

Elliott Sadler opens up about his decision to retire from NASCAR to focus on his family, highlighting the emotional struggle between pursuing a racing career and being present for his children.

Elliott Sadler (03:30):
"I looked at my friend, I said, dude, I'm done. I miss my kids. I want to watch them grow up. My heart and my love is not here at the racetrack anymore. It's at home."

Kenny Wallace (06:34):
"I'm with you 110%. It hit me like a ton of bricks, just like you're saying."

Elliott discusses his involvement in coaching and running a travel ball organization aimed at helping children with tough home lives and providing opportunities for college sports.

Elliott Sadler (05:58):
"I'm trying to help give kids an opportunity to go play college ball at the next level or make it to a college to kind of break that, you know, one parent home has."

---

3. Reflections on NASCAR’s Evolution and Retirement Age

The conversation shifts to the trend of drivers retiring younger in the modern era compared to previous generations.

Kenny Wallace (11:02):
"My notes say you're 48 right now. Is that right?"

Elliott Sadler (11:32):
"I think it's stress has a lot to do with it."

Elliott expresses concerns over the increasing stress and lack of longevity in drivers' careers, contrasting it with older, more resilient generations.

Elliott Sadler (11:36):
"They were a different breed of tough guys. They could race to 50, 51."

---

4. Challenges with Sponsorship and Team Dynamics

Both hosts share their experiences with being phased out by sponsors despite fan popularity, highlighting the disconnect between team decisions and fan support.

Elliott Sadler (19:28):
"The fans have spoken. They love me."

Kenny Wallace (19:41):
"They were done with you. They were done with me."

Elliott recounts a critical moment in his career involving sponsorship conflicts with Robert Yates and Jack Roush, emphasizing the difficulty of maintaining personal integrity amidst corporate pressures.

---

5. Personal Highlights and Tragic Moments in Racing

Elliott shares poignant moments from his racing career, including a near-championship at the Daytona 500 that coincided with the birth of his son.

Elliott Sadler (37:46):
"If I had won the Daytona 500, I would not have been home to be with my wife through the tough times when Wyatt was born."

This story underscores the personal sacrifices made in pursuit of racing success.

---

6. Building Relationships Outside of Racing: The Rat Pack

Elliott discusses his friendships with country music stars like Blake Shelton and Clint Boyer, illustrating the crossover between NASCAR and the music industry.

Elliott Sadler (50:17):
"Blake was a huge race fan. His PR people sent mine messages to invite me to concerts, and we just hit it off."

These relationships helped popularize NASCAR among broader audiences and provided a support network outside the track.

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7. Memorable Victory at Bristol and Team Camaraderie

Elliott vividly recounts his first Cup Series win at Bristol, highlighting the team effort and community celebration that followed.

Elliott Sadler (54:23):
"We won the race. Eddie goes, look, we're having a party at the shop tonight. The whole town was there."

This victory remains a high point in his career, symbolizing teamwork and local support.

---

8. Critique of Modern NASCAR and Future Directions

Elliott provides critical insights into the current state of NASCAR, expressing concerns over the emphasis on aerodynamics over mechanical skill, predictability of races, and stringent regulations limiting driver creativity.

Elliott Sadler (58:45):
"We all have to create some speed differences in manufacturers of cars or what have you. If we all run the same speed, I don't see a lot of passing."

He advocates for a balance between safety and allowing drivers more control to maintain the sport's competitive edge.

---

9. Safety and Technological Concerns

Elliott emphasizes the importance of safety in racing, especially with the introduction of new car models, sharing personal experiences of concussions and advocating for continued safety improvements.

Elliott Sadler (61:29):
"Safety should be a top priority. We shouldn't be sacrificing that for our drivers."

---

10. Fan Engagement and Marketing in NASCAR

The discussion touches on Jeff Gordon's views on fan loyalty towards teams rather than individual drivers, with Elliott defending the importance of driver-centric fan support.

Kenny Wallace (64:15):
"Do we want the fans to be more loyal to Hendrick or more loyal to specific drivers?"

Elliott Sadler (64:17):
"Drivers are what make the sport. People follow drivers, not just manufacturers."

He believes that driver personalities are crucial to NASCAR's appeal and success.

---

11. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with Kenny Wallace expressing gratitude to Elliott Sadler for sharing his experiences and insights, encouraging listeners to engage with the podcast on various platforms.

Kenny Wallace (65:17):
"Elliott, I appreciate you very much for doing this. Thank you so much."

Elliott Sadler (65:57):
"Thanks for having me, buddy. I've always really enjoyed it."

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Elliott Sadler (03:30):
  "I miss my kids. I want to watch them grow up. My heart and my love is not here at the racetrack anymore. It's at home."

• Kenny Wallace (06:34):
  "I'm with you 110%. It hit me like a ton of bricks, just like you're saying."

• Elliott Sadler (11:36):
  "They were a different breed of tough guys. They could race to 50, 51."

• Elliott Sadler (19:28):
  "The fans have spoken. They love me."

• Elliott Sadler (37:46):
  "If I had won the Daytona 500, I would not have been home to be with my wife through the tough times when Wyatt was born."

• Elliott Sadler (58:45):
  "We all have to create some speed differences in manufacturers of cars or what have you. If we all run the same speed, I don't see a lot of passing."

• Elliott Sadler (61:29):
  "Safety should be a top priority. We shouldn't be sacrificing that for our drivers."

• Elliott Sadler (64:17):
  "Drivers are what make the sport. People follow drivers, not just manufacturers."

---

Conclusion

This episode of "Herm & Schrader" offers an in-depth look into Elliott Sadler’s life post-retirement, his heartfelt reasons for stepping away from NASCAR, and his candid opinions on the current state of the sport. Elliott shares personal anecdotes that highlight the emotional and professional challenges he faced, his dedication to fostering youth sports, and his ongoing passion for racing. The discussion provides valuable insights for fans and those interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of a NASCAR driver's career and the evolving dynamics of the racing world.

Transcript

[Kenny Wallace]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kenny Wallace]

Hello everyone and welcome to Kenny Conversation brought to you by jegs, the leader in high performance aftermarket car parts. Remember to go to JEGS.com for anything and everything you need to make your car truck better than what it is right now. I am super excited to have a long time friend a fan favorite. Everybody loves the great Elliot Sadler. Elliot, how you doing dude?

[Elliot Sadler]

I am doing great. How are you doing?

[Kenny Wallace]

Well I'm doing really good. I'm learning to be 60 years old now. It just flew by and I'm like man, I'm 60 so I'm running their car and having a good time.

[Elliot Sadler]

Well it's funny when you say, you know Kenny Conversation presented by Jigs. Yeah, it just you gotta have Jigs and Kenny in the same sentence. It's just, you know, we always watch you run your dirt car and I love the clips that you put on social media but you and the jeg's name and paint scheme have been going hand in hand for a long time. So I'm glad to hear you say that. They're part of your Kenny Conversation as well.

[Kenny Wallace]

Thank you Elliot. That's really nice. Well I remember you know you were the Eminem's guy and you know, ultra popular, winning most popular driver a lot. So let's kind of, before we get.

[Elliot Sadler]

Going.

[Kenny Wallace]

What the hell are you up to? You, the fans, the, the reason I asked you to be on Kenny conversation in this is me saying this. You are very famous in nascar. You had a great fan base and man, you just turned it off and you went home, I guess. What are you doing?

[Elliot Sadler]

So that's a great question to start with. So I am retired from racing. I do watch it from time to time. But it hit me like a turn of bricks to kind of go back to that day because you, you will understand this and you can relate this to your fans. I was sitting in my camper in mid Ohio with my best friend in the world who was there spotting because you know, we have multiple spotters for road courses. He's been my best friend since kindergarten. And both of my kids were in a All Star. One was in an all star baseball game, one was in an all star softball game in the state of Virginia at the same time. And I was trying to find it on social media, we were trying to find it on radio stations, all these things and we couldn't find it. And I had been to every one of my kids games and I had watched them and I was actually coaching both of their teams. But when you play in the All Stars you play on the weekends, which is of course when we race. So it hit me, Kenny, like that. I looked at my friend, I said, dude, I'm done. I miss my kids. I want to watch them grow up. I want to be a part of their life. My heart and my love is not here at the racetrack anymore. It's at home. So it just hit me all of a sudden like that. So when I retired, I wanted to retire, to come home, to be a part of my kids lives. You know, one of my best friends in racing and yours too, Dale Jarrett, when we were teammates, listen to him talk on their phone every night, getting updates from his wife Kelly at the time about all the stuff that his kids were doing. But man, you could see it on his face. He wasn't there to be a part of it. And I learned from that. And Kenny, when it hit me that man, I needed to be home and I wanted, you know, I had lived my at that time when it hit me, I had lived my dream long enough. I had chased my dream to try to be a NASCAR champion long enough. It was time for me to put my dream aside. I had tried to. Now it's my turn to help my kids go after their dreams. So I retired. I do a lot of coaching now, Kenny. I run a travel ball organization. We have about 350 kids in it. We do after school programs for kids that have a tough home life, struggling in school. We're staying very, very busy. I'm trying to help give kids an opportunity to go play college ball at the next level or make it to a college to kind of break that, you know, one parent home has. Can't, can't. Don't have the right or don't have the opportunity to go to college. So that's what I'm doing. I'm also helping, I'm also coaching my high school, my local high school as well. So doing all that. I'm a part of my kids dreams and watching them succeed, but also a lot of other kids in our area. And I'm gonna tell you what, it's very rewarding, it's satisfying and I am letting. I heard you say this the other day. Sometimes you feel like you're living your best life. I feel like I'm living my best life right now.

[Kenny Wallace]

Two things. I always remind everybody that this is a conversation so, you know, we can go back and forth. Number one, I'm with you 110%. A little embarrassed to say I was in the shower and I'll never forget saying, I'm done. It hit me like a ton of bricks, just like you're saying. So I gathered my family up. Number one, Yes, I agree with you. The only thing I do want to comment on is not just are you a good family man? But this to me seems like it all matches up because when I was in nascar, I remember the two sportsters, the guys that could hit the hell out of a golf ball were you and Dale Jarrett. And so you were always a real sportster. I mean, it was even talked about, you know, Elliot Sadler could have gone on and played in real sports. Were you like that from day one in your life?

[Elliot Sadler]

I was, I was really fortunate to be athletic and I think, Kenny, that helped me in my racing, you know, stamina and being built and athletic and all. I went to play college basketball and got hurt, actually went to, had a college scholarship to play basketball and had some opportunities to play college baseball. So I was always around the sports thing. So when I retired it was good that I came back and being a part of it and now creating opportunities. I'm on the phone with college coaches on a weekly basis now, trying to give kids opportunities to give them a chance to make it to the next level. That can not only change their lives, but their family also as well. So it's just stuff that I love to do. Now, the secret to this is, you know, that competition, competitive bug, we all got it. I couldn't turn that off. Nobody can. You can. You know, all these guys have a hard time if they ever get to the. You know, to that retirement age, turning that off. When I went straight into travel ball and coaching high school sports, that competitive bug, I got it through that. Kenny got it that preparing for the weekend. Who we playing? Who am I pitching? Who are you pitching? Strategy. What do we have to do to win? You know, all these things, just like we did for racing, trying to break a race down, pit stops, short, pitting, long, pitting, too tired, you know, who are we going to draft with this weekend? Who spent all those things. I turned that into coaching so I could still scratch that competitive itch. And that honestly helped me get through the retirement part. But I will tell you the coolest thing, because I know you're really good friends with Dale Jr. So am I, when we live together in Charlotte. Neighbors and all of that. And Kelly are. They are some of the best people in the world. When I made up my mind, I'm done. I came home from mid Ohio, I met with my wife the next day, and I'm like, look, you know, I'm done this, this and that. We went through the whole thing. I drove to Charlotte and I met with Kelly and Dale Jr. And I told them, and they were just so supportive. Not, oh, my God, don't leave or don't sponsorship. It was. They were so supportive of the whole thing and understood. Just. It all felt right. And they made my last times and those race cars and being a part of their organization. Kenny, I could not have asked for a better situation to be in.

[Kenny Wallace]

You know, I've done my study. I always show everybody my notes because I take. I take it serious. So we're gonna stay on subject matter here, but this question I was gonna ask you down the road here, but this is the perfect time. Seems like, you know, we. We had the great Harry Gant. You know, we lost Dale Senior, my brother Rusty. Seemed like there was this. This group that we loved that was racing at 50, 51 years old. Then come along, your group and all of you, you know, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labani, Tony Stewart, everybody started retiring it at 42. Now, my notes say you're 48 right now. Is that right?

[Elliot Sadler]

That's exactly right. 48.

[Kenny Wallace]

So you got Your fill. And you were out at what I say an early age. Maybe just give me your opinion. Maybe not so much about you, but this new era that we're in now where all these drivers are done at 42. What's your thought on that? You know, it seems like you're taking 10 years off. I'm retiring at 42, 44.

[Elliot Sadler]

You know, that's a great question. I think it's stress has a lot to do with it.

[Kenny Wallace]

I agree.

[Elliot Sadler]

Is so bad and it's tough and some of us know how to cope with it with different ways and things like that. I think your time is. You're getting pulled in so many different directions all the time. And I just think some of these people now can retire at an early age and there's so many different opportunities. They can do tv. Some of them. I think Harvick and some of these guys are going to go back and race. Saturday night racing. We see Bobby Lobani and Ryan Newman. They actually run the modified with my brother. You know, the fun stuff. Show up race. I seen you. You know, you did it sound Boston this year and all. Your dirt car is so much stress at the cup level, in the NASCAR level that I think people don't understand that. I think people get tired of it. Your. Your brother and Harry Gann and Dale, Jared and Bill Elliott. I just think they were a different breed of tough guys. They could race to 50, 51. I just don't know if we have anybody wired that way that can go to that age anymore. Harvard was to me, it was the last of the Mohican. Gritty guy, you know, and he went a long ways to. I think he's 48 as well.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Elliot Sadler]

Well.

[Kenny Wallace]

I feel like you were part of a group whether you thought you were or not. When I was, you know, I've always been a fan of yours. You've always been pretty cool. I feel like, you know, you had the rat pack going on there for a while. You know, you and country music superstar Blake Shelton and Clint and I want to talk about that later. But you always seem to have it going on. And now I realize after talking to you that. And it kind of dawns on me, you know, we have like three or four chapters to our life, Elliot, where you just explained it. Okay. I've raced hell. I'm in my 40s now. I'm gonna go do this.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah. And I'll tell you something. This. It's Nietzsche brought up too. I love that you Dale Jr. Jamie, Mary, you know, when you see some of these podcasts and stuff that you guys are doing. I love listening to them because I can relate to them. And I tried to explain this to my wife the other night after the Jamie McMurray Story podcast. I don't. I don't see a race car driver every day to talk to that has the same feelings and thoughts that maybe I went through the Rat Pack, all of my good friends, I don't see them all the time. So when I see a lot of you guys doing these podcasts in different drivers and they start saying things and I'm thinking, hey, man, I'm thinking the same thing, or I was thinking the same thing, or I didn't know he was going through that. But you talk about being a popular guy. I got to tell you quick, the reason I'm leading up to this, being a popular guy, being a part of a certain group. My last four years in Xfinity series. Yeah, the last three years, I won most popular driver, which gave me the record for voting most popular driver in Xfinity series history. I think me and maybe Brad Keselowski both won it four times. So the funniest part about that, being a part of that age in my group, NASCAR hated it. NASCAR and Xfinity hated it because they had the. I was too old. I was too freaking old. And they had this. Names made here. Right? Names made here.

[Kenny Wallace]

You was already made.

[Elliot Sadler]

I was. Screwed the whole thing up, Kimmy. So, look, we go to the first banquet. The first year I won it, and they let me talk during the banquet. The second year I won it. Don't think we got time for you this year at the banquet, Elliot. We might let you talk after the banquet, but you won't be on tv. And I'm sitting there going, well, this the fan. I thought nascar.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's the only damn reason you went. The only reason we went. Damn it. I didn't have the championship trophy. At least let me talk, right?

[Elliot Sadler]

The last year I won it, they're like, no, we're not even going to bring it up this year at the, you know, at the award ceremony. So I'm going here. I mean, if I've ever felt like being pushed out of something not by my team. And I get to NASCAR and the Xfinity and they're trying to do all these promotions and they want all these young kids coming up. But the freaking fans voted for me, Right? They love me and maybe my Rat Pack age group that we were all a part of, starting with your brother and kind of trickling on down. They like that. Maybe they like the blue collar guy. I can't help but that these young kids are coming in and all they know how to do is boring. Freaking phone.

[Kenny Wallace]

They're boring.

[Elliot Sadler]

They don't have a person. I push me out pretty good.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hey it's Dale Jr did you know that we've got brand new merch from.

[Elliot Sadler]

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[Kenny Wallace]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Creativity is at the heart of everything you do, and Adobe Creative Cloud helps you take your projects to the next level. No matter what you're working on this semester. Build pro level skills and create your best work with Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and over 20 other powerful creative apps. Students save over 65% on Adobe Creative Cloud. The go to toolkit for everything from class projects to standout portfolios. Make your ideas shine in and out of the classroom. Visit adobe.com students to save big today.

[Kenny Wallace]

I gotta tell you, I want to make you feel better. I you already feel good. I'm just joking. But I called Mike Helton. This was a rough this is where the Rusty Wallace comes out in me. I called Mike Helton and I said Mike, I said I don't see you using me anymore to advertise. You know, the Xfinity series. I think at that time it was nationwide. You know, we went from Bush series and nationwide to Xfinity and there, there was this long pause and our, our boss at that time, Mike Helton, he says, well basically you're getting, you've been there and you've done that and I Thought to myself, they're done with me. And that. To me, that's what you're telling me, that they were. They were. They were done with you. They were done with me. You. You could keep racing, but we're done advertising you. We're looking for the 22 year old.

[Elliot Sadler]

That's right. It was. I was pissed at the time.

[Kenny Wallace]

Absolutely.

[Elliot Sadler]

I was. I was upset at the time. And now look back on. I was like the van. The fans still voted me most popular trophies in my house. You know, I related with the fans. So the fans have spoken. Is kind of way I looked at it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay. In a strange way, you accidentally told me exactly what happened to me. So I'm, I'm much older than you. You're 48. I'm 60. That happened to me. You were a more popular driver four times. I was three. The last one, they didn't let me talk. I was all, not on tv, not on stage. They just let me go up there. And Mike told me, Mike Helton told me they're not going to advertise me anymore. So I learned something from you just now. So I want to go to just five minutes ago. You talking about you and I both learning. I watched Dale Jr's podcast. I think it's by far one of the best in America. I don't care what sport you are. Dale Jr and his Dirty Mo Media are number one. But did you like me when. When Jamie McMurray was asked by Dale Jr would you change anything? And it was incredible to me. It shocked me. Did it surprise you when Jamie McMurray agreed with his wife? His. Jamie Murray's wife said, we were not happy when we raced in nascar. I agreed with him because there was a time I was happy, but most of the time I was miserable. What about you?

[Elliot Sadler]

So that you know, Jamie was my next door neighbor in Charlotte, so we knew a lot about each other. Oh. And there were times in the sport in my career that I didn't appreciate the ride and the support in the team. That I had enough. Example, the 38 car with Robert Yates. Then there was times that situations I was in and I'm going, man, this just can't get any worse. I am miserable. We're miserable at home. It's just tough sport. And I'm going to give you a couple examples. One of the worst days of my life in racing. One of the worst in racing. Robert Yates calls me and I love Robert Yates. Robert and Doug Yates to me are some of the finest human beings there are. Robert calls and says, look, I need you to come meet me this morning at the shop. So I drive to the shop and come in and says, look, I'm gonna have to sell my racing. I'm thinking about selling it to Jack Roush wants to buy it. You know, Dale Jarrett was leaving, taking UPS going to Michael Walters with the Toyota deal which was a great deal for D. Derek, but that left us with one team with just me. Eminem's was a sponsor and that was a tough meeting to have. But when he said he was going to sell it to Jack Roush, Jack and I did not get along at that time. And I hate to bag up on and get really long winded with this story because it's, it's, it's going to show kind of how it all happened.

[Kenny Wallace]

You were fine. Be long winded.

[Elliot Sadler]

Okay? Robert said, look, I know your situation with Robert Smith and Jack Roush. I will let you go look and do something else so you don't have to stay here. If I do sell it Jack Roush, just do me a favor, do not take my sponsor. Please don't take Eminem's because UPS leaving. If you take Eminem's with you, I'm not gonna have anything. I'll have shut down. I said, Robert, I'll give you my word, I'll give you my promise, I will go meet with M and Ms. And tell them not to go with me wherever I go. So the reason I didn't do the I didn't want to go be a part of the Roush deal when I drove for the Wood Brothers and I love Eddie and Lynn to death. The Roush actually did their contracts. My contract wasn't done with Eddie and Lynn. It was done with Jeff Smith at Ralph. She was the head guy. So sign a contract where they came to me and said, look, we need you to sign another four year deal. If you don't sign, Motorcraft is not going to sign. We had Ford Motorcraft at the time. My car with the red and white 21. I said, Eddie, I can't sign a four year deal. I something was coming. I kind of knew it was coming down the pipeline. I was going to get another opportunity. And Eddie said, listen, please sign. If, if you sign, if something comes up and you want to leave, I will let you leave, no problem. I said, but we need you to sign to keep the sponsor. So I said, eddie, yes sir, I will. So anyway, I signed a deal in the middle of 2002, Robert Yates and M&Ms. Come calling. We want you to drive the 28 car, which they changed the number to the 38. So I went to Eddie Wood. I said, eddie, listen, I'm sorry, but look. Look at this. This is a great opportunity. But he goes, I understand. Me and you have a deal. No problem. Well, he. When he went to Roush to get me out of my contract, they wouldn't let me out of the contract.

[Kenny Wallace]

Man, they were bad at that. Roush was mean back then. Mean.

[Elliot Sadler]

So they were mean as hell. And I'm like, eddie, we had a deal. And they were like, what? The contract's with us, and we're scared. You're taking dewalt from Matt Kenseth and going there. I'm not taking dewalt. I'll sign a contract that says I'm not taking dewalt. But I couldn't tell him who I was taking because M&MS.

[Kenny Wallace]

Was.

[Elliot Sadler]

Was on a different car at the time. So, anyway, I had to forfeit my winnings for the rest of the year. In 2002. It was over a million dollars. To get them to let you know how racing is. There's a small window. Sponsors, team Kenny. You know, you only got a month. We can't wait around. We're going to move to the next guy. So I had to do all this stuff, pretty much forfeit my winnings for the rest of the year to have an opportunity to go drive a 38 car. So that was my beef with Rallis. So when Robert brought me in and we had the conversation about him probably having to sell his team and what was going on, he knew I did not want to go back and get in the middle of what I was just in the middle of. So that's when I ended up at the 19 car for Ray Everingham. He and Jeremy had had some stuff going on or what have you, and I don't know a lot about that, but I got in a 19 car. I went and met with M&MS. And told him, look, love y' all to death. I love me and the Candyman and the Eminem's guy, but if y' all go with me, then Robert will have to shut down. They were upset with me, and I have a great relationship with them from day one. Victoria and Pamela Mars are two of the nicest people in the world, but I had to tell them, please don't come with me. Stay. And they ended up, you know, sponsoring David Giddeland. And I think they actually added a second car that Eminem's paid for, but it kept Robert Yates Going it gave him something to sell to Ralph and. And keep the doors open and keep those guys employed. And then ultimately they found Kyle Busch Championships later, wins later. It all worked out great. We're still good friends at this point. But Kenny, when I ended up in that 19 car, I had no idea what I was getting in the middle of. I didn't realize what was going on with Ray and his personal life. And then he was selling his team to the Gillettes and the Gillettes never paid anybody. And it was just. It was a mess all the time. I mean, that one year I was running used cars, show cars, used parts a lot of. And Doug Yates has the patience of job. We would never could pay our motor bill. So we wouldn't know on Mondays and Tuesday and Wednesdays where the wheel racing that weekend because we hadn't paid our motor bill yet. They were actually. They were actually blocking us in the trucks in until we paid our motorbuil for us to leave. That's how we had to try to race.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well.

[Elliot Sadler]

That was tough for us to kind of go through that, those. That couple of years. And I felt like, Kenny, I was standing on the edge of a cliff waiting for somebody to push me over the side. I mean, it was absolutely miserable.

[Kenny Wallace]

And when we listened to Jamie McMurray tell Del Junior that the way my career ended was, you know, Chip Ganassi, he's. He's broke, he needs money, and Kirk Bush is gonna come with monster energy drink, take my ride. Yeah.

[Elliot Sadler]

I'm listening.

[Kenny Wallace]

No, you're good. You're good.

[Elliot Sadler]

Hey.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hey, Charlie, don't edit that out.

[Elliot Sadler]

So.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, and. And the reason you brought that story up is because what you're saying is when you were listening to Jamie McMurray.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

It was like, you know what. What ended your career? What really happened there? And Jamie tells the story here. Jamie McMurray, Daytona 500 winner. I know you almost won the Daytona 500. He's won the Brickyard. He won Charlotte.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

And here Chip Ganassi says, hey, sorry, next guy on the other line here, his name's Kurt Bush, he's bringing monster energy drinks. So I think later in life, what you're saying is that we're giving the fans a look at the way it really is.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah. I'm gonna tell you, Kenny, it was. It was so miserable, so bad. I remember laying in bed crying half the time because you're so frustrated as a driver and you want to just like you, you want to compete. You want to show up knowing you have a Chance. And it was just a bad deal. We won't get paid. And we was all suing each other. And, you know, Menard was my teammate then. Then Casey, and Casey finally got out to go to the Red Bull car. And I'm going to take the day that changed Elliot Salah to give me a second chance at race. And I'm driving 19 car. We suck. I suck. I'm not doing a good job either as a driver because I got all this other stuff, you know, going on in your mind, in your head, and I'm running a show card. Frickin Bristol, one of my favorite tracks. But Kevin and Delana Harvick given me an opportunity to drive their truck at Pocono. It was the inaugural truck race at Pocono, and Harvick was going to leave. That's back when they used to fly to Iowa. Remember, we were at Pocono with the cup cars. But then he'd go to Iowa to run his Xfinity car.

[Kenny Wallace]

Did a lot of that in the day.

[Elliot Sadler]

They did a lot of that in the day. So he needed somebody to drive his truck. Well, a couple weeks before, at a driver's intros, I said, hey, look, man, if you ever need somebody to drive your truck or something or car test it. I think he was having back issues at the time. Dude, I'd be glad to. I don't want any money or anything like that. Dude, I just want to race. So they let me get in that Pocono truck, and I sat on the pole and won the race, which puts me a part of a very elite group that has a pole and a win in all three of the top series in nascar. And that win in that. Winning that inaugural race at Pocono created a relationship when I knew the 19 was going to end bad. And that was my. Probably my time in cup racing. That Harvick let me come over there and drive his Xfinity car the following year, and that was to 2011. So winning that truck race, which was weird that Saturday, I won the inaugural truck race that Sunday. My own teammate spun me out on the long pond straightaway, and that's when I hit the inside wall and it threw my engine out. When I was driving the Air Force.

[Kenny Wallace]

Car that I hit a catastrophic wreck.

[Elliot Sadler]

Catastrophic red, man. I was bruised from. Bruised from head to toe. That was a hard hit. But that gave me life being around Kevin and Delena, and they gave me an opportunity. Then that fall, a couple weeks later, they let me drive their car at the Bristol night race and I sat on the pole with his Xfinity car and I finished third. I lost the Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, two guys that can fly.

[Kenny Wallace]

Not a bad third place, right?

[Elliot Sadler]

I finished third. Reem was my sponsor. It was a great night, the cup car. So I sat on the pole in Xfinity car. The cup car qualified dead last and ran dead last the whole night. That's when we had one of the show cars we had pulled out of the showroom floor for me to race. So you talking about being miserable and just, just everything could go bad and it really made it where, man, I didn't appreciate the Wood brothers enough or I didn't appreciate my time with, you know, Robert Yates enough. Now I'm in this situation. But then getting the opportunity to go draft for Harvick and stuff the following year back in the Xfinity series, man, that was a blessing at the right time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Creativity is at the heart of everything you do, and Adobe Creative Cloud helps you take your projects to the next level no matter what you're working on this semester. Build pro level skills and create your best work with Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and over 20 other powerful creative apps. Students save over 65% on Adobe Creative Cloud. The go to toolkit for everything from class projects to standout portfolios. Make your ideas shine in and out of the classroom. Visit adobe.com students to save big today.

[Unknown]

The new Huggies Snug N Dry are luxuriously soft and ultra dry. How soft are we talking? Unbelievably soft? Irresistibly soft? Doesn't your baby deserve a diaper that's oh so gentle on their tushy? Huggy Snug N Dry helps keep them comfy, cozy and protected. Experience the unexpected softness and up to 100% leak protection. More parents choose the new Huggy Snug N Dry softness versus the leading premium diaper Huggies. We got you, baby.

[Kenny Wallace]

I really feel like this is jaw dropping because we assume, you know, we always for me, you know, when fans come up, sometimes they say the wrong things. They're like, hey, man, I remember when you flipped it Pocono. I'm like, hold on, whoa, whoa. You're supposed to say, I remember when you won the night race at Bristol, right? To me, sometimes people, you know, you got the positive. People were going, man, Elliot, I remember when you won your first cup race, which we're going to get to. But then you got the fans that go, man, I remember when you flipped at Pocono. So when we talk about, you know, one's career and how was it to be big time. These are the things that is. Is must, must listen to. And sometimes it ruins the good times. But, Elliot, I wanna. I wanna do an audible here because this seems like the best time to do this. It's my time that I want to brag on you, and I do this with every driver on Kenny Conversation. I want to tell you your stats, and I want you to interrupt me anytime you want because I just did my best. Right. Elliot Sadler. 1983. 1984 Virginia state carding champion, North Carolina Gold Cup. 91. 92. This is where it gets fun for me, because I was just there. 1995, South Boston Speedway track champion. And buddy, that was not easy. There's some badasses at that track. All right, now, here we get up to the big time. 855, NASCAR starts. 855.

[Elliot Sadler]

That's.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's a lot.

[Elliot Sadler]

That's a lot.

[Kenny Wallace]

300 or no, not 300. Three wins in the Cup Series. Three. I'd cut that bad finger off to have one.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Eight polls in the Cup Series. Now let's go to the Xfinity. 13 wins in the Xfinity series. 18 polls in Xfinity. 4 time. You're telling me. 4 time most popular driver. And now. We're not done yet. Let's go to the trucks. And you just talked about it. One win in the trucks and two polls. Now I say the same thing to every driver. We've already talked a lot about the good and the bad and ugly. When you hear all that, and I started in 1983 with you just now, what goes through your mind? What kind of stands out?

[Elliot Sadler]

So a lot of. You're talking the same language I talk. As drivers, there's so many good and positive things, and it's always that you just all. They just got, you know, got by one cool stat. I'm the only driver in NASCAR that was a part of the first Chase in the Cup Series and the first Chase in the Xfinity Series the first year they had them. I'm the only driver that was a part of both of them. So that's a cool little tidbit. One race that stands out in my mind that I screwed up was a Daytona 500. Matt Kenseth passed me going into turn one. I know it start freaking raining off of turn two. 12 seconds. If I just held the lead for 12 more seconds, I'd be a Daytona 500 champ. But I'll tell you the other Part of it that no, probably nobody knows about to write in there. Kenny, conversation. My son Wyatt, who is 13 right now, had an atresia when before he was born. We didn't know if he was gonna make it. Okay.

[Kenny Wallace]

Right.

[Elliot Sadler]

So he was being close to being born during the time of that Daytona 500. I lost the race. I'm devastated. I'm heartbroken. If you win the Daytona 500, you have to stay overnight because you got to do all this stuff and they fly you to New York and LA and you do all this tv, you know, all of that. I flew home as disappointed as I can be. Heartbroken. I had screwed up and I let Matt Kinsley get under me. 10 seconds to go in the race. My wife went into labor the next morning at 4:30 in the morning. So I got to be with my wife who had to have a C section for my son who had had two emergency surgeries the day he was born to live. So if I had won the Daytona 500, Kenny, which have been great, right, that's every race car driver's dream, I would not have been home to be with my wife through the tough times that we knew it was going to be with Wyatt when he was born with the emergency surgeries that he had to have.

[Kenny Wallace]

So in a. So if you're gonna have a phrase, it's like I lost the Daytona 500.

[Elliot Sadler]

But gained a son 100 and I was there to support it and be a part of it in a major player in supporting my wife through that. So that one race that I feel like, you know, in my cup career was okay. I can. I'm okay with it now because I was here where my wife and my son needed me.

[Kenny Wallace]

I want to say something, I want to comment on that. I didn't forget. I just had it out of order. Good number here because I'm number 36. You are one of only 36 drivers you've won in every series. You won in cup, you won in Xfinity, and you won in trucks. I want to add that in there. But I also want to say this. Your. Your wisdom now, I believe and I want you to comment. Does our. Our wisdom comes when we get older and when we can go, oh, I was too blind because it was all about me at the time. How long did it take you to put that together that you lost the 500 but you gained a son?

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah, I think once I got married and when I had my two kids, I started realizing that it was not always about me.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, me too.

[Elliot Sadler]

You know, it was about my family and my wife did such a great job. Just like your wife who's been with you and stood side by side through the good and the bad. And they fans have no idea what our wives go through and we vent to them and they see all of the ugly behind the. Behind the tarps, so to speak. But it got to the point where me leaving every weekend and leaving them here just. My priorities changed and my wife did a great job with it. She never complained, never fussed. She understood this was in my blood. This is what I wanted to do. But what I would do when the last four years of my career, Kenny on Thursday nights I would put my kids to bed for school or put them to bed. I would drive from Emporia to Statesville, North Carolina. It's a little bit over a four hour drive. I would sleep in my car. I had a mattress that I put in the back of the Taha.

[Kenny Wallace]

In your prime.

[Elliot Sadler]

This is when I'm driving for Junior Motorsports. So I'd sleep in my car. I would have my alarm set because like the planes will leave early Friday mornings, right, to go to the track, five, six o' clock, depending where we're flying to. And then I would get up, get on the plane and then sleep the rest of the way to whatever track we're going to. So I did that all the time to spend more time at home. And then when we landed back in Statesville on Saturday nights or Saturday evenings, I would drive all the way home through the night so I could be here, you know, Sunday morning. And after doing it for a while, my priorities, you know, change. Yeah, starting to change. But. But I will say this. I could never ever thank Kelly and Dale Jr. Enough for how they treated me at Junior Motorsports. And what I mean by that is this where some of the situations I was in in cup was just so miserable and it was tough. I'll tell you, driving for Junior Motorsports, they freaking have fun. Yeah, they have fun because they're just racers at the top, right. They're not business really people, they're racers and it trickles down and you're having beer toast and you. They just got stuff going on all the time. They're just real racers. It was so much fun finishing. I couldn't ask for a better place to finish my career at than Junior Motorsports.

[Kenny Wallace]

I was going to say that. Listening to you so intently here. Do you feel like Dale and Kelly helped you end what was, what was ugly early? They helped you end your career the way it should have been ended 100%.

[Elliot Sadler]

The biggest thing that it does still hurt or affect me some today was, you know, Kelly and Dale Jr. Gave me a great opportunity to drive their race car. Just, it was so many people in line that want to drive for Junior Motorsports. Right. Their ties to Hendrick, they're fast every year. The public loves you because who you're driving for. They gave me a great opportunity. But what. What hurts? I couldn't get him that championship. You know, they're meant to be.

[Kenny Wallace]

He never got a Cup championship, but it really hurt.

[Elliot Sadler]

And I'm gonna tell you what. I don't know if I've ever gotten 100% over it. That one year Kevin Mindren was my crew chief. We left too many lugs off at Phoenix, so they wouldn't let him be there for the cup race at home. I mean, for the championship race at Homestead. So the first time racing without a crew chief. The whole year, we're trying to win a championship. We finished second to Daniel Suarez, he wins it. The next year, we come back, we got. We're hitting on all cylinders. We're fast winning races. That's the Ryan Priest incident where I run down my teammate William Byron, with five laps to go. I am going to win the freaking championship just like you. We have worked our whole. I have worked my whole life to be in this position, to win a NASCAR championship. That would mean so much to my dad, who raced back in the 60s and 70s, and my uncles. Five laps to go, I passed my teammate. I'm leaving him five laps to go to win a freaking championship. And then I get racing wrecked by Ryan Priest, who's not racing for anything that cost me the championship. And I'll be honest with you, that next year, I couldn't get over it. Yeah, I'm like, what is the hell is the purpose? We race, you butt off. All year long, you're doing all this studying, you're working out, you're putting yourself in position. And then one idiot can change it all, not knowing what's going on around him. And we lose the championship and. And that hurts so bad because I couldn't give that championship to Kevin Mendering and Adam Wall and Tyler and all these guys that worked so hard for me all year long in Dale Jr. And Taylor, even though they won it with the nine with William Byron, I really wanted to reward them with. With me getting a championship. And that was. That was really hard. That was tough.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, I have so much to say. I'm going to shorten up real Quick. I am my own therapist. I did a Kenny Wallace show on my opinion on why Carl Edwards quit the sport.

[Elliot Sadler]

100% got.

[Kenny Wallace]

Got almost 700,000 views and NASCAR and everybody looked at me and. And come to find out I was 100% accurate. So my friend here. Here's a guy that tied for a Cup championship with Tony Stewart, come back the next year, had it won, and. And I'm not going to go there again. NASCAR never said anything to me, but they gave me the eye and the message was delivered because I was accurate. Yeah, I was 100 accurate on why Carl Levers.

[Elliot Sadler]

I mean, that last caution cost him a championship.

[Kenny Wallace]

As a driver.

[Elliot Sadler]

He did everything he could do to put himself in that situation. And it's taken from him, from an outside source. How can you not be frustrated for him? How could you not walk away if you're Carl Edwards?

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Elliot Sadler]

So I totally agree with you.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Elliot Sadler]

And.

[Kenny Wallace]

And I want to say a couple things, because this is kind of therapy for me, too. You know, my job is to listen to you, but it's me, and you are racers. You know, listen, I. I was going to win the 1991 Busch Grand National Championship over Bobby Lonnie and, you know, broke a trailing arm going into three at Loudon. Knocked myself out. I asked God why. My life was devastated. And then years later, my good friend Kenny Irwin got killed in that corner. Adam Petty got killed in that corner. You and I both know how dangerous turn three is at Loudon. When we were running all that rebound in the left front, you'd lock your left. Anyway, so my point is this. I hear you loud and clear. I thought I put that on vibrate.

[Elliot Sadler]

Man.

[Kenny Wallace]

Me and you all, man. We got the dog market. We got. This is funny.

[Elliot Sadler]

Perfect.

[Kenny Wallace]

So. So my point is, is that every driver out there listening to this right now, we all have our demons. And. And. But let me. Let me say this. You are Elliot Sadler. You've done so much, and, you know, you are the man. So let. Let's lighten it up now. Damn, I need a break. Hold on, let me get a drink because.

[Elliot Sadler]

Is that coffee?

[Kenny Wallace]

No, that's iced tea. But when I was listening to you, I heard you. But that's everything that happens to me. And a lot of drivers think of Mark Martin. He. He's the Dan Marino. He did it all, except he never won any championship. But he's a Hall of Famer.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Creativity is at the heart of everything you do. And Adobe Creative Cloud helps you take your projects to the next level, no matter what you're working on this semester. Build pro level skills and create your best work with With Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and over 20 other powerful creative apps, students save over 65% on Adobe Creative Cloud. The go to toolkit for everything from class projects to standout portfolios. Make your ideas shine in and out of the classroom. Visit adobe.com students to save big today.

[Unknown]

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[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, let's have a little bit of fun. I want to ask you a fun question. Let's have a little break. And then I want to go to your first one at Bristol. But I nickname you you guys the Rat Pack. There was a section in your life where every time I looked on social media, it was the hottest country music superstar of all time. Blake Shelton.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Clint Boyer. He's like. I asked Clint one time, I said, how do you know everybody? Ward is hanging out with Kid Rock and.

[Elliot Sadler]

Right.

[Kenny Wallace]

Tell me about that time and how did you all end up becoming a fun group there?

[Elliot Sadler]

So Blake was a huge race fan. Okay.

[Kenny Wallace]

I never knew.

[Elliot Sadler]

His dad was a huge Dale Jarrett fan. And they. They were just big fans of the sport. And they were in Atlanta the same time we were on for a spring race back when we raced Atlanta, like the third race of the season. Used to be like, Daytona, Rockingham, Atlanta, you know, somewhere near the end of March, Blake was there opening for Hank Williams Jr. In a concert downtown Atlanta. Well, his PR people sent my PR people some messages going, hey, look, we like Elliot. I was driving the 21 car at the time. It was like 2001. Will he come over and watch? You know, watch. Watch the concert with us? And I did. And we just. We just hit it off and we started calling each other, texting. And then he asked me to be in a couple of his music videos. And I remember when he first got started, he was making $12,500 a show, which he'd have to take that money and pay his band, pay travel, pay everything. Yeah, he made a little more than that.

[Kenny Wallace]

Sounds like racing.

[Elliot Sadler]

And I remember him going, ellie, listen, man, we. Man, we want to be on John Boy and Billy, but they won't return our phone calls.

[Kenny Wallace]

No way.

[Elliot Sadler]

Can you help us get on John Boy and Billy? Can you help us get on Claire B. Lane's country show? You know, all these people that were tied in racing. So. Yes. And it's funny how that started that. And then I got Bill's concerts, and he got to be huge. I mean, he is big, and I kind of went the other way, but we just have always just been good friends. He's just a good down to earth guy. He's kind of like you. The first time I met him, yeah, he was the same as the last time I met him. No matter what he's been through or success he's had, we just had a good group and we love entering each other. It was so much fun.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, I like that he married Gwen Stefani, because I guess I got a little girl in me. I like some of that her music and. Well, that's really cool because I just wanted to bring that up because I thought that was a magical time in NASCAR where, you know, you and Clint and Blake, you really brought a lot to nascar. And I don't want to go to the negative side, but that's what I think. Really, it's like, what's going on with NASCAR right now. I made a video that nobody knows any drivers faces. Yeah, you and Blake and Clint, you guys really put NASCAR out there with these.

[Elliot Sadler]

I just say it's a lot of crossover in the sport between country music and racing. And I think Blake and maybe my relationship with him or Clint or, you know, Mr. Hendrick has some good relationships with some other country artists. You know, Hootie, he's always had a great relationship with Michael Walter, you know, a lot of those relationship with those guys crossing over. Luke Combs is a huge NASCAR fan, and I think his and Ryan Blaney's relationship, you know, that that's all good for the sport.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah. Puts everybody out there, brings a new genre in. Yeah.

[Elliot Sadler]

So I think it is good for the sports. A lot of positivity around it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, we. We're getting close. If we don't get going a little bit, you. You're going to join Tony Stewart and Ricky Carmichael as being the longest.

[Elliot Sadler]

Sorry, I'm a little.

[Kenny Wallace]

No, no, it's great. It's great. So we are coming towards the end, though. I want to talk about your first ever cup win at Bristol, because I watched it intently and everybody pitted. The Wood brothers had you stay out, but you drove beautifully. I loved how you let off early. I always. Every time I see you, I say the same thing. I'm like, you let off early. Tell me about that day.

[Elliot Sadler]

All right, so I want to tell you something. That was my favorite track I ever raced on. The old Bristol. Yes, the old Bristol. And I'm going to tell you who I watch more take than anybody else at that track. He drove the 2 miller genuine draft car.

[Kenny Wallace]

He was so good.

[Elliot Sadler]

He was so freaking good at that track where his left front tire was at all times on the apron and how he used it to get his car to rotate. He never overdrove the corner. He was always good middle off. Like, I did everything I could to emulate Rusty style at Bristol.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yes.

[Elliot Sadler]

So now the truth about Bristol.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay.

[Elliot Sadler]

You know how the pit road starts really early there? The commitment line. So you got to make your mind up early.

[Kenny Wallace]

I think I know where this is going.

[Elliot Sadler]

And I'm like, hey, Pat, Tristan is my crew chief. Hey, are we going to pit or not? Talking about it. Okay. All right, I'm getting closer. Hey, guys, if you want me to pit, you need to tell me. Commitment line. And they were talking to me at the same time. They were telling me to pit. No, at the same time, I'm keying the mic, saying, hey, commitment line. So I just said I didn't hear anything, so I stayed out. So Pat's like, what the hell are you doing? You need to be pitting. I'm like, I didn't hear anything. Well, you need to quit talking when I'm talking. You need to stay up off the mic.

[Kenny Wallace]

So I got yelled at, got your ass chewed out, and then won the race.

[Elliot Sadler]

Got my ass chewed out, won the race. So, look, we win the race, you will appreciate this because I know you know the Wood brothers very well. We win the race. We pull up into victory lane, right? Eddie and Lynn Wood, Glenn Leonard, all there. Half of them have tears in your eyes. They had never won at Bristol. They have a lot of wins. They had never won at Bristol. And that racetrack is close to their house. So we won. So Eddie goes, look, we're having a party at the shop tonight. Come on back to Stuart, Virginia. So we all leave Bristol. We head to Stuart, Virginia. The whole freaking town is at the race shop.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, my God.

[Elliot Sadler]

This is a small town. You know, everything happens around the Wood Brothers shop. They had toilet papered Eddie's house and Lynn's house and their sister Tina toilet papered the shop and all the trucks I mean, I felt like the mayor of Stewart, Virginia for that night. It was a crazy good night. We had so much fun. It was a big win in my career because to win for the Wood Brothers and I'm based in Virginia, they had never won at Bristol before. It got us in the All Star Race. Like it was just a whole neat thing how it all put together. But the party at Stuart, Virginia, that night, and the toilet paper all over the houses and cars, cars, that was the, that, that was the, the climax of the whole situation. That was great.

[Kenny Wallace]

Charlie, our YouTube manager, I want you to clip that whole deal right there. Twenty years later, Elliot Sadler admits they mistakenly were gonna pit. Didn't help. It's. It's like. It's like when my brother Rusty, he would be telling a story and I'm a kid and I look at him, I go, that ain't what happened. And he'd say, shut up, Herman. It's my story. Oh, man, what a great story. Okay, so I just want to say that I was amazed with your discipline that day because, I mean, it was like you nailed it. Every single lap, floated that baby and flew through the middle of the corner.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

You just did one hell of a job of driving that day. That was badass. Congratulations on that. Let me see that trophy right there. There it is.

[Elliot Sadler]

It is still in my office.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's it, baby.

[Elliot Sadler]

Sweet little baby girl's picture on it. She is 12 years old today. It's her birthday.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, I. I love that. Well, that. I'm gonna tell you what, that is one hell of a trophy.

[Elliot Sadler]

It is such a big trophy. I know you won there, Bristol. It's just. I love the, the size of it. Yeah. So it's. The office is built around that.

[Kenny Wallace]

As it should be a wonderful time in your life. Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to do you the same. I do all the drivers. Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, they've all done this. This is where we come to the end. And I want your opinion on NASCAR today. Tell me what you think of our sport, of NASCAR today.

[Elliot Sadler]

I wish. Right. We all have an opinion, right? Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

And everybody's gave it.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah. I. I wish they could figure out something different with this car to put it back more in the driver's hands where we can race, where it's not so error dependent. It's the races again. I don't, I don't want to say boring because racing is not boring when you're from the inside looking at it, but it's almost predictable. It's like almost whoever gets off pit road first has such a huge advantage. You know, you don't have the Gu restart. 10th working his way to the front, you know, like, like he did years ago because of a setup or tire strategy or what have you. I really wish we could figure out something with this new car to where it raced better, which not so arrow. When you and I first started racing, we could be bang, but everything was mechanical grip. Whoever had the best mechanical grip in it could usually do good on long runs and tire fall off. But now it's gotten so arrow. We built our car so aerodependent. I mean, I remember my crew chief at the end telling me, look, don't knock the right side off this thing. That's two tenths. So when you get close to racing, you gotta stay away from each other. Or now since it's so arrow dependent, everybody's so arrow tight. I just wish they could figure that out. I really wish they could figure that part of it out.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, I agree with you. Jeff Burton said it right. Years ago. He said years ago when we pushed, we were, we were pushing. That was a push. I'm sliding up the track. Then the push became like, I'm pushing.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah, right.

[Kenny Wallace]

You know, everything became too, too tight. Tolerances are too tight. And, and like, you bring up a good point. You know, we saw Earnhardt, we saw Jeff Gordon come from 20th and blast through the field.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, so, and, and on that same topic, your opinion on this new next gen car. Where are we at with it right now?

[Elliot Sadler]

I, I didn't like the safety stuff of it at first with drivers getting hurt from normal contact. You know, the way they had it, too stiff. I know the teams were fussing about that long for it happened. I still got a bunch of friends in the sport, so I'm glad that they made some adjustments to that. But stuff like, you know, Kurt Busch and people like that shouldn't have never had to sit out as long as they did. Alex Bowman. So when you, anytime you make a new car, new generation car, whatever, you know, safety should be a top priority. We shouldn't be sacrificing that for our drivers. And that's just me having friends that drive.

[Kenny Wallace]

Right.

[Elliot Sadler]

I want them to be safe and feel like they can race and go after it and not feel like something's going to happen to them, you know, if they get in the wreck. So hopefully they will continue to go down that path of making the cars as safe as they can. I know they want them all on Top of each other. They want every race to be a Talladega style race. So by doing that, you got to make these cars as safe as you can. Because I've had my concussions. I know of a couple times I've had severe concussions from it. So you just want you guys to be safe.

[Kenny Wallace]

And finally, the way laser inspections, $400,000 fines, inspecting down to the thousands. What is your opinion on inspections and fines?

[Elliot Sadler]

My opinion is why are we making all the cars so much alike? Wow. I mean, I understand that we won't parody in our sport, but why do we want every car to be an IROC style race? You know, the Iraq series went out of business. Yeah. They never.

[Kenny Wallace]

They never. They couldn't race. They were side by side.

[Elliot Sadler]

So why are we trying so hard to take the mindset and the ingenuity out of our sport, which made our sport? I mean, that's what our true historians know is our sport was built off ingenuity and people learning how to make moonshine and running from the law and learning all these things. Now we've completely taken it out of their hands. And I think that's why we're all running the same speed through the middle of the corner and you can't pass. So I wish they would loosen it back up. And I'm sure that's an opinion that's not bright with a lot of people or popular, but we've got to create some speed differences in manufacturers of cars or what have you. It's all a full circle. It'll all go around and be good for everybody. Long run. But if we all run in the same speed, I don't know how we can expect a lot of passing. I just don't see it happening.

[Kenny Wallace]

I'm gonna throw an audible in right now, promise you. Last question. Because it has a lot to do with what you're saying. The great Jeff Gordon, he said basically, we need the fans to be more about the race teams. You know, like in Formula one, it's all about Ferrari or all about Mercedes Benz. Do we want the fans? I mean, I thought our sport was more about drivers, but Jeff says that he wants the fans to be more loyal to Hendrick. That way if Chase Elliott leaves, they. They don't go with Chase. They stay with. What is your thought on what Jeff said?

[Elliot Sadler]

Wow, that's an interesting point that I.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hadn'T thought of, but that's okay. You don't got an answer.

[Elliot Sadler]

I'm not disagreeing with Jeff, but drivers are what make the sport rusty. Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Terry Labani, Harry Gant, Kale, Yar, Davey, Allison. You know, the list goes on and on. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Whether he drove for Hendrick or DEI, he had the following. So I think there's a way to maybe make it work from a marketing standpoint simultaneously where they coexist. But I'm sorry, I really think people are going to follow Kenny Wallace to watch. They're going to watch Kenny Wallace at this dirt track coming up this weekend because he's driving the Jags 36 car and that's Kenny Wallace, not because of what manufacturer you have painted on the front of your bumper for that weekend. That's just my thought. Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, really, really good stuff. Elliot, I appreciate you very much for doing this. I know it's a big deal. I want to remind all the fans that we are in podcast folks. This is on YouTube. They get to see your face, but they can listen to you. This is long, so they're going to listen to you in podcast form on itunes. Spotify. Please listen to Elliot on your way to work and then when you come back and you're on your way home, listen to the rest of it and remember to please like and subscribe. Elliot, thank you so much.

[Elliot Sadler]

Yes, sir. Thanks for having me, buddy. I've always, I'm really, really enjoyed it, as always.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, well, you know, this was therapy for me too. All right, see you later, Elliot.

[Elliot Sadler]

All right, see you guys. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kenny Wallace]

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