← Herm & Schrader
Herm & Schrader
Overcoming Cancer, Writing Books, & Covering NASCAR For 30 Years
00:43:43
Holly Cain is used to telling stories, not being the story. That changes today in the latest edition of Kenny Conversations
Loading summary
Transcript106 lines
- [00:00]
T-Mobile Representative
If you love your phone but not your carrier, just switch to T Mobile. You can keep your phone, keep your number and we'll help pay it off up to $800 per line. You can also use our savings calculator to compare our plans and streaming benefits against Verizon and AT&T. So switch and keep your phone, keep your number and keep more of your moolah. @t mobile.com up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card.
- [00:22]
T-Mobile Terms and Conditions Announcer
Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [00:33]
State Farm Advertiser
Let's say your small business has a problem. Like maybe one of your doggie daycare customers had an accident. You might say something like, doggone it.
- [00:44]
Holly Kane
Hey, Chihuahua. Holy schnauzers.
- [00:47]
State Farm Advertiser
But if you need someone who can actually help, just say, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And get help filing a claim from your local state Farm agent for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [01:02]
Kenny
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 vehicle up. And as always, they are reminding me that they have truck parts and Jeep parts in stock. You were looking at a beautiful lady motorsports journalist for 30 years, Holly Kane. Holly, how are you?
- [01:35]
Holly Kane
I'm good. How are you, Kenny?
- [01:37]
Kenny
I'm doing fantastic. But you're down there in Lakeland, Florida, so you're probably doing a little bit better than me.
- [01:45]
Holly Kane
It's hot. It's so hot. I wish it would get a little cooler so it'd feel like Christmas time.
- [01:51]
Kenny
Well, let's. Let's start right there. Before we get to that book. I see the book in the background and we'll have Charlie drop a picture here in a little bit. But Florida, I follow you on all social media and it seems to me that you love Florida, which is great. Everybody does. But are you from Florida? What is your early beginnings?
- [02:15]
Holly Kane
Yes, I'm actually a native Floridian. There are not many of us around, but I was born in Jacksonville and I was raised in central Florida right outside of Tampa. Went to, obviously high school here. Then I went to the University of South Florida in Tampa. My first job out of college was for the Tampa Tribune newspaper. So I'm as Florida as you can get.
- [02:36]
Kenny
And it's so rare because, like, when I talk to other journalists like a Bob Pockrass, you know, he's from somewhere and he's been there and here, but you never left. And so that's got to be fun. So when you go to the Daytona 500 or Miami, Homestead, I mean, it's in the same state. It's got to be pretty cool for you.
- [02:59]
Holly Kane
It really is. And to be fair, I did leave briefly in my career. I worked at the Dallas Morning News. That newspaper uncovered Texas Motor Speedway. Then I worked in Seattle, and that was a cool time because that was when Casey Kane and Greg Biffle were just starting out in nascar. So. So I got to do a lot with them. And then I moved back home to Florida when I had my children. So I've been here for a little over 20 years, but I did have that middle part of my career where I moved around. But I do. I'm so fortunate and, you know, obviously, to have the great. Daytona International Speedway is kind of my home track. I've always taken a lot of pride in that.
- [03:38]
Kenny
I think of Felix Sabattis when he was teaching me when I was a young man, he would talk about being worldly, and I know what worldly means now. And so you've traveled around a bit. Yeah. Way up there in the Northwest, huh? Is it. Is it. Was it different up there?
- [03:57]
Holly Kane
Well, for Floridian, yes. More different, of course. I will tell you, though, I go up and visit all the time. Both my kids were born outside Seattle and I. I love it up there. It is. I don't know if you've been. Had a chance to spend time in Oregon and Washington. Spectacular. You've got the beauty of the ocean, you've got the mountains. There's even a rainforest up in upstate Washington. It's absolutely magnificent. And I try and go up there once a year if I can. It's. It's just beautiful. The Pacific Northwest.
- [04:31]
Kenny
Kim and I went to the. We just got back actually, in end of August. We went to the Canadian Rockies. So we were in Vancouver, just a little north. You know, you just caught me off guard there. You said you're. You had a couple kids that were born up there. Were they. Were they part of the Nirvana grunge? Did they grow up with that music or was that.
- [04:52]
Holly Kane
They're young. They. I had my son in 2000 and my daughter in 2002, so they weren't part of it. Their mother appreciates the grunge music. Yeah, I pass it on to them. I don't know if they fully get it yet, but they're part of the scene. But they didn't realize it.
- [05:10]
Kenny
All right, let's have a good time. I want to start with your health. I have good friends. I just got off of a cruise, and I have a buddy that's been roughed up, and I went to his room and I said, eddie, your health is number one. If you don't have your health, you cannot go where you want to go. And all of us, all of them, all of the world, Holly, we've been following your journey with your cancer. And on X, you just said your last visit of the year. How is your health?
- [05:46]
Holly Kane
Well, Kenny, first of all, it has meant the world to me that you have sent me encouraging things on Twitter and reached out. You know, I'm so grateful that I have people that have supported me in the industry. My great friends here, my mom, my kids. My health is pretty good. My doctor was. Was really proud. My lab work still isn't perfect, but I'm not perfect. So if it was perfect, I'd think something was wrong. I've never been perfect in my life about anything. But I'm healing up. I missed about six or seven months of the last year going through chemotherapy and radiation for cancer, and it's the second time I had cancer. So it kind of threw me for more of a loop, maybe, than the first time I had it several years ago. But I am good. I'm optimistic on Twitter. You are not going to see anything negative for me, because I don't have time for anything negative. You know what? I see the good in people. I see the good in the world. And I may sound silly, but that's how I try and live my life now.
- [06:49]
Kenny
You're very inspiring to everybody in NASCAR and pma. Positive mental attitude. Does that come from you, or did you learn that somewhere?
- [07:04]
Holly Kane
I would say I've had a pretty solid PMA all the time, but I've been fortunate enough to be surrounded by others that I feel only contribute to that more. And, you know, Kenny, you're definitely fit into that. What I see you post, the way you deal with people and certainly the positive way. You've always supported me and your family. I mean, I go back to covering Rusty, and, you know, I know Mike, and I met your parents. I absorb all of that, and I try and pass it along. And I'm really proud of my kiddos. Like I said there, my daughter is a senior in college. My son is 24, getting his pilot's license. And both of them, I try to convey that you get more out of this world being positive. And I think people Respond to you better. It's a good choice.
- [07:56]
Kenny
I have some things I want to get to, but let's. Let's early right now, let's talk about this book. You have a new book out, co. Authored. Is that Herb Brannon?
- [08:08]
Holly Kane
Herb Branham, huh?
- [08:10]
Kenny
Yeah. And it's called NASCAR Mavericks. We're gonna have Charlie drop that in right now. Charlie's putting that picture in, and it is a beautiful book. I. You know, we all like to read about things we love, so I love this book because it is about people that revolutionized nascar, but, boy, that's a pretty cover. Tell me a little bit about the book and the COVID Well, I'll tell you what.
- [08:36]
Holly Kane
We are so fortunate to have that cover. The photographs, I think you would agree, are amazing in there, and most of them came from the NASCAR archives and various things like that. And many of them are photographs that you can't just find anywhere that they're new. But I. I love the photograph of the Wood brothers pitting a car because people forget they were actually Mavericks. They upped the game. They brought things to a pit stop that people don't realize. And one of the things that I'm really proud about the book is it talks about people, but it also talks about things like pit stops. It talks about the cars that made our sport so wonderful. And for somebody like me, one of the things I really appreciate, and maybe people that, you know, hopefully it appeals to people that love nascar, but also people that aren't completely into it yet, is the chapters are all really short. They're all like a page or two. Because it's about different subject matter, we tried to approach it in ways that made it interesting, but you don't have to read 100 pages at a time. You can literally go to the decade that you may be interested in after looking at the table of contents and say, oh, I want to read a little bit about that. It'll take you 10 minutes to read it. And the photographs that go with it are absolutely amazing. And hopefully everybody learns a little something new in it. I did writing it, and frankly, every time I read it, I might find something that I didn't know, whether it was the interviews that I did with people or the parts that Herb wrote. It's really kind of a cool thing. And if you love the sport, I bet you're going to learn a little something from it.
- [10:13]
Kenny
Well, I love it. I'm 61 years old. I'll be 62 August 23rd. And I am a huge Wood Brother fan. So much to where, you know, my brothers, you know, I'm the youngest of the Wallace boys. There's three of us. Rusty, Mike, myself. So I was the tire changer. There are pictures out there of me. And I would try to emulate the Wood brothers. So one thing that they did that I liked was they would put this hose in their mouth and they would bite it and they would have spare lug nuts because if they lost a lug nut, they couldn't find time to look around, so they just grabbed it. And there was, there was an era that the woods, you know, like, if they lost a lug nut and they could, and they're in a pit stop, where's the lug nut? And they would just, you know, it would be like this Hollywood, like that. And. And the lug nut would be on here. So anyway. Oh, and so that's just a story from my point of view that I wanted to share with you.
- [11:18]
Holly Kane
Smart.
- [11:19]
Kenny
Yeah, they're all. And you know, all this. But, you know, the Wood woods, you know, going to the Indianapolis 500, pitting a car. So I love this and I love how you put it. You know, people that revolutionized nascar. Okay, so where does everybody find the book?
- [11:40]
Holly Kane
Well, certainly if you Google NASCAR Mavericks, you'll have a lot of choices. But I know NASCAR.com is selling it. Amazon is selling it. I Walmart.com target.com it's, it's pretty much everywhere. And I've been, you know, you'll. You'll get this. Maybe it's. It makes me laugh. My mother, who is almost 85 years old, all of her friends are buying the book. They love it. And again, it's because they will read it and be like, I didn't know that. Or that's actually pretty interesting. Who knew? That's how you did it. And it's the story that you just told about the lug nuts. It's those kind of things that are in the book.
- [12:18]
Kenny
Yeah. And there's something about us competitors, pitchers, and paragraphs. But, you know, I. I've grown up around a lot of airplane pilots and the pilots that used to fly us around a lot, boy, they were readers. We'd get into those FBOs, they'd land at the NASCAR tracks, and every time I'd see those guys, either they'd be drinking coffee, but there was a lot of readers. So I like that you said, you know, there's paragraphs. You know, that's another conversation. Holly, we're in a new world. Is everything fast paced now? Even in journalism, it really is.
- [12:57]
Holly Kane
It's a whole different landscape. Kenny, you're, you're correct and you know, it's like that now. And the next generation, you know, my kids, your kids, your grandchildren, certainly the way they get the news is going to be different. And the amount of news that they want, I mean they want it quick, which we're so fortunate with social media to get news out quickly. But it's shorter and our book is kind of like that too because it's very short chapters. It's good stuff told quickly but well. And you're right, the whole landscape now has changed so much and people aren't sitting down and reading thousand page books anymore for the most part, right. And they're getting their news in faster, easier chunks. And that's the way of the world now. It's certainly changed from when I started covering the sport in 1990 to what it is today.
- [13:58]
T-Mobile Representative
If you have a locked AT&T phone, we're here with bolt cutters. T Mobile will help pay off your locked phone and give you a new 5G phone for free. All on America's largest 5G network. Visit t mobile.com carrierfreedom via virtual prepaid.
- [14:13]
T-Mobile Terms and Conditions Announcer
MasterCard in 15 days. Free phone up to $830 via 24 monthly bill credits plus tax and a $10 device connection charge. Qualifying port and trade in service on Go5G next. And credit required. Contact us before canceling entire account to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on required finance agreements. Do you have bill credits? And if you pay off devices early.
- [14:32]
State Farm Advertiser
If your small business is booming and ready to expand, you might say something like it's happening.
- [14:40]
Holly Kane
Crushed it.
- [14:41]
State Farm Advertiser
But if you need someone who can actually help protect your growing business, just say, like a good neighbor, State Farm, he's there. And just like that, your State Farm agent can help you get the coverage you need for your new space for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [15:01]
Kenny
I'm lucky to have you on Kenny conversation. So I'm going to take full advantage of you. I, I read a beautiful paragraph 10 years ago or maybe longer. It said, the art of going to the library and you know, finding the book you need, which was an artwork in itself, right? I need, I need a book. And then the art of finding what you need at a library. You know, people look back on it my age or in their 70s. It is a missing art, isn't it? Because now, now I just take my phone and I and I push Siri and I and I Say something. I say, give me info on Holly Kane. And. But, I mean, it used to use. It used to take hours to do that, right?
- [15:51]
Holly Kane
Oh, remember when we were in school, we had to learn the Dewey Decimal System, right? We would go and pull out the card. Then you'd have to go look up some complicated number to find your book. I will admit I still go to my public library just because I appreciate it and I like it. But it's funny. I mean, you're right. From when we were growing up. Kids don't even know what the Dewey Decimal System is anymore, for goodness sake, much less have to memorize what it meant.
- [16:21]
Kenny
It makes me happy. Okay, I finally got that off my. Out of my head, actually, because I've never talked to anybody about that, but I thought that was really cool. All right, moving forward, I want to go to your social media for a minute. You're a beautiful lady. You posted a picture, and Charlie's gonna drop that in right now. This is a picture of you at the NASCAR awards ceremony not a month ago. So Charlie's putting that in here right now. And you. You said, I usually don't post a picture of myself, but you wanted to celebrate your life after your health. Tell me about that night, and tell me about that picture and you posting that.
- [17:05]
Holly Kane
Well, I felt very weird to do it, but I will tell you in all honesty, I loved it. Well, thank you, Kenny. It was such a triumph for me, because at the awards ceremony last year was when I knew something was wrong and that I thought my cancer was back, and I hadn't gotten it confirmed yet, but shortly thereafter, I did. And so, after all I went through this year, to be able to come back to the awards ceremony and know that it was gone, I thought, you know what? I'm going to take a picture of this significant moment in my life.
- [17:42]
Kenny
Yeah. And I love your dog in the background.
- [17:45]
Holly Kane
I'm sorry.
- [17:46]
Kenny
No, no, no. Don't. Don't ever be. Hey, there's an old joke, Holly, don't ever be sorry. There's already too many sorry people. I've had Brian Deegan on Haley's dad and his kid come in with his shirt off, and I'm like, have that boy sitting down next to you. So I love that. What kind of dog is it?
- [18:07]
Holly Kane
She's a Labrador retriever, and I thought I had her put away, but she's a very crafty, smart dog, so I apologize.
- [18:17]
Kenny
Yeah, but that dog's got some good bass. That's a good bar. There's no doubt okay, let's have some fun now. You cover everything in motorsports. Yes, I. I see you covering Formula One, F1, as we say, as much as you cover NASCAR. And, and of course, you're a NASCAR girl. I think you are. Are you a NASCAR girl? What are you?
- [18:47]
Holly Kane
Well, I would say I am. That's my primary job. But to be honest with you, I love all racing. And that's one thing I am so grateful. I get to cover the Formula One race in Miami every year. I cover the Indianapolis 500 every year. The IndyCar season opener is in St. Petersburg in my neighborhood. I cover the season opener there and then primarily nascar. Over the years of my career, I covered a whole lot of NHRA too. So I love all of racing. And my very first race that I covered to start my career in this genre was the 12 hours of Sebring. So I love some IMSA, some Rolex, 2412 hours of Sebring. I love it all. And, you know, Kitty, you will appreciate this. It is very interesting how different the scene and the feel is with each kind of racing. Wouldn't you agree? And it's fun to pop in and, and do those things. And I will say this. I would. I would argue that, that you race car drivers are typically. Your heart and soul is the same no matter what it is you're racing and the motivation that you carry. And I feel like I learn a lot. I think it helped me with cancer that I covered auto racing, to be honest with you, because I learned it's more of a solo sport. I apologize about the dog.
- [20:12]
Kenny
Don't worry about that dog. That dog's awesome.
- [20:15]
Holly Kane
Well, it's more of a solo sport.
- [20:18]
Kenny
Yeah. So it's funny that you address that because, you know, as Larry McReynold say, I did my notes, you know, got my notes right here. And. And one of my questions was something that you talked about. And I'm just going to read you what I wrote. Out of All Motorsports, how do you feel about them? And. And I want to set you up with this Monday. Maybe somebody said that F1 is selling a party, not the race. And. And they didn't. They did. They meant that in a positive way. They. They didn't mean it in the mean way. And I understood because, you know, here's Max Verstappen. He goes flying by. And then four seconds later, here comes the other car. And in nascar, if these cars, if our cars are not on top of each other three wide, the fans are mean. So what do you think about what I just said, is, is Formula One, is it selling a party, is that false? Or is it about racing or what is it?
- [21:26]
Holly Kane
Well, you know, I have two answers to that. I think it certainly sells a party because when I'm at the racetrack and you know, I used to go to Cota to the races there, and I've been overseas to Silverstone and to a Formula one race there, there definitely is a party atmosphere. And a lot of you've got, I feel like the crowd there, some of them are fierce Formula one fans that can tell you every driver on the grid that are wearing red for Ferrari or blue for Red Bull or green for Mercedes or Aston Martin. But, you know, I do enjoy the competition. And these guys, if, if there's a four second gap, they're pissed that that's not good and that's not what they go in. It's so heavy with the engineering and things like that. The technical side of Formula one is just absolutely insane. I mean, it's just crazy. And I know NASCAR and IndyCar and sports cars, certainly it's like that too. I just, I feel like there's a slight, slight difference with it there. I mean, it's so heavy for that. But the drivers, as you mentioned, that's unacceptable for there to be a four second gap. That is their reality. But I will tell you, those guys are as fierce competitors as it is anywhere. And, and how often, you know, it's not like the races, the pole sitter wins every race and leads every lap. It might have been like that, you know, just a few years ago. But, you know, in my interviews and in my dealings with the teams, these guys want to beat each other. And there definitely is that sense of competition, even in the qualifying. I would argue that is huge to them. And the sprint races that they have on a race weekend, I really enjoy it and I think it's more competitive than maybe people give it credit for being. And I don't know if I'm picking up on that because I'm actually there and see their faces and I see how mad they are when they aren't succeeding like they expect.
- [23:24]
State Farm Advertiser
Let's say your small business has a problem, like maybe one of your doggy daycare customers had an accident. You might say something like, dog gone it.
- [23:35]
Holly Kane
Hi, Chihuahua. Holy schnauzers.
- [23:38]
State Farm Advertiser
But if you need someone who can actually help, just say like a good neighbor, State Farm is there and get help filing a claim from your local State Farm Farm agent for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is There.
- [23:53]
Discover Card Advertiser
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back when. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nelson Report.
- [24:22]
Kenny
When I grew up in NASCAR n 1984, I was a NASCAR cup crew chief for Joe Rutman in the Levi Garrett car. So I was a crew chief way before I was a racer. Award winning crew chief David Ift, he was Kaylee Arboro's crew chief and he was my crew chief when I started in the Busch Series. David said something to me I'll never forget. He said, boy, we got two races in NASCAR qualifying and the race. Yep, years ago. And the reason I bring this up, you just brought up how big qualifying is in Formula one. The, the art of qualifying in nascar. Have, have we lost? Have we lost what you know, qualifying means? Because we got the charters, everybody's in, the races are long. What is your thought on the art of qualifying in NASCAR now? Does it matter?
- [25:22]
Holly Kane
Well, that's such a good point that you raised, Kenny. I feel like some of the drivers will come back after qualifying and it does mean a lot. You, you know, and it also depends on the track, right. At some of the superspeedways they have a bad qualifying, they're not too upset if they're starting 35th or something. You know, they, they have the confidence in the pack style racing or whatever their car is or their manufacturer that they're going to be able to move up. But I do notice that and I think for some drivers it almost feels like it means more than others. And it means a ton for those crew chiefs and those teams. Those are the guys that are really, you know, sitting out there with the stopwatches, which I think they're still, you know, they're still sitting on the pit road. Maybe not with stopwatches, but, but it does. And, and depending on where the track is, and particularly at all the road courses that NASCAR goes to now. Right. I mean, that is a huge advantage to qualify. Well, so I, I feel like there is a lot of emphasis on it. It's just kind of how much you're going to see.
- [26:24]
Kenny
Yeah, I want to move to IndyCar. Our, our NASCAR friend Jay Fry runs IndyCar like that guy a lot I love the Indianapolis 500. I went up there this year a week before, and I hung out with A.J. foy.
- [26:44]
Holly Kane
Oh, wow. You can't do any better than that.
- [26:46]
Kenny
No, no, it was. It was unbelievable. And I remember AJ from my brother Rusty's you sack days. But I had to see AJ I watched a special on Netflix and I thought. I thought, that's it. You know, sometimes documentaries or movies change us. You know, John Force, the great NHRA racer. He's a. He's a movie buff. Yeah, people. And I am, too. We go to the movies every Tuesday night. Well, when I watch this. Netflix. Not Netflix. Excuse me. It was on Flow. It was a special on AJ so I go to the Indy 500, and, you know, I guess I've known it, but I've never thought about it. I want to get your take on this. You have the Indy 500, and they run the Indy 500, and they got a champion, and after the race, they got a banquet, and that's it. And then. And then some people say something that I agree with. They go, oh, you guys will keep. You have other races. It. It is like the Indy 500. That's it. And. And I look at some of the ratings and I talk to Michael Andretti about this. We don't even know there's races going on. They get180,000 people. Watch. Watch their races. In your opinion, what's the deal with IndyCar? Do they just not promote their races enough and comment on that?
- [28:12]
Holly Kane
Well, you know, I think what you're saying is something that, you know, people have raised that point for many years because the Indy 500 is so different from a lot of the other races that you go to. From my perspective, I cover the race in St. Pete. That is a sellout. All three weekends, over 100,000 people. It is huge. And I know Long beach is like that, and there are races in Detroit that are like that. And, you know, I have never been able to really put my finger on it because I've covered IndyCar for a long time. I think the races are great. I think there's going to be different this year because Fox, I believe, is really trying to do more with the drivers and with their personalities. And I think that's what needs to come out more for IndyCar. They're very interesting. And. And you know what people will be like, oh, well, they're from overseas. They're not all from overseas. But even if they are, who cares? They're still great personalities. Scott McLaughlin, fantastic. You know, Elio Castro Neves. I mean, for goodness sakes, you want Dancing with the Stars, you can't. Elio is a fantastic interview. Joseph Newgarden, who just won, who is from Tennessee. There are fantastic personalities, and I think this year I think Fox is pretty committed. I know that with their advertising, that's what they're going to do. I think that maybe we're going to see a little bit of a difference. I think that the drivers need to come through a lot more. People know AJ Floyd. I mean, what a personality do you have there, right? I remember I was working in Dallas when at the very first IRL race at that track when he thought he won. And then it ended up Ari Lyon Dyke did and AJ came and pushed Ahri down and victory at midnight save the day. Yep. And he's like, that's my trophy. And AJ still has that trophy even though, you know, it was later also awarded to Ari for winning the race. But the passion is there, the racing is fantastic. And I think the personalities are too. I just think it hasn't been tapped into. And I think we might see a big change with that this year.
- [30:15]
Kenny
And that's why you are a great journalist, because you just reminded me that Fox is now going to cover. You know, and speaking of AJ Fort racing, that's what I was doing when I was talking to you. I brought it up on my phone. I love this name. Centino Ferrucci, right? He drives for AJ. Man, that's a neat name. And Santino, he speaks 110%. It's like he's born in America.
- [30:43]
Holly Kane
He is. He is an American driver, Kenny. He actually is. But what is really great about what you're saying is of those drivers, I would argue Santino is a lot like aj. He has that Italian name. I'm sure his ancestors were Italian. But Santino races hard. He races everybody hard. He's going to pull out of the way because, you know, a bigger team might be coming by and expecting to challenge for whatever. Santino is a hard nosed racer and he isn't going to back off for anyone. He actually comes from the open wheel ranks and in fact he's done a couple of NASCAR races testing that out. But he came from the formula ranks overseas and he is, I would argue, as much AJ as AJ's had a driver in his car in a long time. So he's someone really fun to watch. And you know, AJ's team is smaller. He's not Penske or Ganassi or Andretti, but Santino has, I would argue overachieved sometimes in what he's been given because AJ's budget is not the same as some of those big mega teams. And he's definitely somebody to watch. And I think you in particular really would appreciate him.
- [31:57]
Kenny
And I did. And I hung out with him a lot. I just like saying the name Santino Ferrucci.
- [32:04]
Holly Kane
That's a race car driver's name, right?
- [32:06]
Kenny
Yes. So, yeah, like Ayrton Senna. Yeah, these, these names that are just awesome.
- [32:13]
State Farm Advertiser
If your small business is booming, you might say Cha Ching, but. But you should say like a good.
- [32:18]
Discover Card Advertiser
Neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [32:20]
State Farm Advertiser
And we'll help your growing business. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [32:27]
Discover Card Advertiser
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back when. Welcome to the now. It pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nelson report.
- [32:55]
Kenny
Well, we've talked a little bit about Formula one. We, we've talked Indy car. We brought up some hot topics. Let's move to our sport now. Nascar. We saved the best for last. I love nascar. The fans get on me. They say that I'm a NASCAR puppet. And I said, now, hold on. Why would I on purpose talk bad about the sport that has given me so much? Holly, we're in an era. And I know that you know this, but I just want to address this and I want to hear what you have to say. We are in an era in NASCAR where the older fans are just pissed all the time. Oh, where are we with these? These fans is, I mean, I know it's social media, but social media is good too. What, what do, what is the deal? Why do these old fans, why are they just complaining all the time?
- [33:59]
Holly Kane
Well, wouldn't you agree that's kind of always been the case? It's just now with social media, we see it a lot faster.
- [34:09]
Kenny
We see it.
- [34:10]
Holly Kane
Yeah, exactly. I feel like when I was just starting out to cover the Sport in the 90s, you know, people would be upset about different changes. Although for a while there weren't as many changes. But, you know, that's how a sport evolves. Right. And not everyone's going to agree with everything that happens. That's just the way it is. If it stayed the same People would be mad it didn't change. It's changing. People are mad it didn't stay the same. So I give you so much credit, and I have to say, if I want to sit down and smile, I read your Twitter feed, and I love the way that you handle things and the fact that you're not afraid to say, all right, let's talk about this. What do you mean by that? It's difficult to please all of the fans all the time. However, I would argue that one of the best things that I've seen from nascar, my time covering it in these three, four decades, technically, is the fact that they're willing to change. They're not just, like, dug into a hole and you can like it or lump it. They're willing to try different things, and sometimes when it doesn't work, then they revert back. And so I think going to these different venues, trying the different, you know, technical specs on the cars, they've got to find something. They have to evolve. That's what the sport is about. It can't. It can't just stay the same. And so you're always going to have people, some, and maybe I dare say it depends on how their driver or team is doing, how they've adapted to it. They're either going to be pissed about it or they're going to think it's the best thing since sliced bread. And, you know, I just. I do kind of smile about it, because you're never going to please anyone. But I give NASCAR a lot of credit for at least being willing to say, let's try this. Why can't we try this and see how it works? They're not stupid. If it's bad, they're going to do something about it. They don't want to put a bad product out there. What good does that do the sport? That's what I don't understand. Of course they don't want a bad product. People that act like they purposefully do this. No, they don't. They want it to be as good as possible. They want the competitors to think it's good. And, of course, so important that. Want the fans to like watching it.
- [36:25]
Kenny
And. And we'll. And we'll end that segment on this note. I'll go to a race. You know, I go to about 11, 12 NASCAR races a year because I do the trackside live, you know, with Marcus Smith. So I'm. I'm at most of the SMI tracks, right? And then my home NASCAR Track here in St. Louis, worldwide technology What I think's crazy about social media, you know, you'll have 60, 100,000 fans at this NASCAR race, and, boy, you're just having the time of your life. And then you go to your car, you get in the parking lot, and, you know, you're creeping out of the racetrack. You're like, well, I'm gonna get on my cell phone, just see what's up. And. And you learn on social media that what you just had fun doing, they're telling you that was no good. So it's an ox. It's kind of weird because, man, I'm having so much fun. The midway's awesome. The race was good. And then you get on social media, and they're telling you why you should not have liked it. I've always found that crazy. I found. I've always found it fascinating. I. I guess that's why there's so many different flavor ice cream. Because what I see, for example, the fans were livid, and I would not apologize. They hated Bristol. And I'm like, it was awesome. There's no cautions because I thought, you know, that was my. My day, man and machine. Oh, we don't want to caution. That means there's a wreck. But they want cautions, so.
- [37:56]
Holly Kane
But for a long time, they didn't want cautions. Yeah, it's. It's also not a good race when there's too many cautions. So when there's. It's. It's. It's. But you know what, Kenny? I am guilty of this. You may not be, but sometimes I feel like unfortunately, and it's not a good trait, I respond or I pay more attention when negative things are said. That's what I want to answer. Than taking in.
- [38:19]
Kenny
We all do.
- [38:20]
Holly Kane
The good or the positive. And I have. And I've tried to really be much better about remembering that. There's a whole lot of that.
- [38:29]
Kenny
Yeah. Well, thank you for talking about all three. I see that you are a great motorsports journalist, so I didn't want to pin you. Just a nascar, you know, is there any other. You know, you. You said it. You cover NASCAR, Formula One, IndyCar. Do you have any interest in any other open wheel or anything like that?
- [38:52]
Holly Kane
I do like it. And I. I should say that when I started covering racing in Tampa, we have East Bay Raceway, which I know you're really familiar with. And I would spend, I can't tell you how many days a week talking to the local promoters and the short tracks and the sprint car guys and the late model guys. I Appreciate that form of racing so much. And here in Central Florida, where I am, it's still absolutely huge. The grandstands are packed on Friday and Saturday nights here. And I do understand that. And it's been really cool to see a lot of those guys when they move to nascar. And also I appreciate the ones that don't want to necessarily. They love what they're doing. They love the Late Model Series and things like that. So I think it's all fantastic. And you will appreciate this. I remember the very first time. Very first time I went to a sprint race at East Bay and I didn't realize it, and I sat way too close to the track. I was an idiot that didn't know. Dirt all over me, all over the place. So I always remember that, everyone laughing at me. So that was kind of my introduction to it, to be fair. It was the first time I'd ever gone, and I hadn't paid as much attention prior as I should have. So I. I learned my lesson the hard way.
- [40:09]
Kenny
Well, sadly, East Bay Gibson in Florida, right out of Tampa, they just had their very last race about a month ago, and there is a big lime factory there on the back straightaway. They bought the racetrack out. It was the end of an era. I've raced a lot at East Bay, but, hey, we're gonna look forward. We got up. We got Volusia coming up.
- [40:34]
Holly Kane
Yeah.
- [40:34]
Kenny
And. And I'm gonna run volusia again starting January 30th through February 8th. So everybody come on out to Volusia for, you know, the. The dirt car nationals. All right. We're coming to the end now. And I like to talk a little bit about personal things. I see something that caught me off guard about you. There are people that. That make me turn my head. But you really. You loved John Lennon. Now, John Lennon, we lost him. He was killed. Tell me about John Lennon. I see you post about him a.
- [41:17]
Holly Kane
Lot on X. I am a huge Beatles fan, Kenny.
- [41:21]
Kenny
Me, too.
- [41:23]
Holly Kane
My son's middle name is McCartney. And. Oh, my God, yes. Which, as you can imagine, when you're a little boy, you're like, what? What are you talking about? As it turned out, he is a talented musician, just like Paul McCartney. Well, maybe not Paul McCartney, but level. But he's very talented. But I've always loved the Beatles. I don't know if it's because my mom was in the Beatles or what it was, but I have always loved their music. And John Lennon, especially, and Paul McCartney. I've seen Paul in concert. I can't tell you how many times? And Ringo, too. And you know, George Harrison was a huge auto racing fan. He loved Formula one, used to go to those races all the time. So I, I don't know what it is other than I'm a big music person. I play many different instruments. I've got a, Yep. I've got a grand piano sitting right over here. And so maybe I just appreciated the music that they played. And still today that people love it. Even today. If you were to sit in my car, that would be what would come on the radio.
- [42:26]
Kenny
Yeah, hold on, back up. What instruments do you play? That's amazing. You play the piano and what else?
- [42:34]
Holly Kane
I play piano. It's a little embarrassing. And I know my fellow sports writers would give me a lot of. I play the flute, I played the bassoon, and I marched in a marching band on the drum line.
- [42:47]
Kenny
This is fantastic. We need to get you and Kyle Petty together. He'll play the guitar.
- [42:51]
Holly Kane
Oh, he's so good.
- [42:54]
Kenny
I love it.
- [42:55]
Holly Kane
I'll sing and I'll play the piano. We're good. We got a trio.
- [43:00]
Kenny
Yeah, a little Elton John with the piano. But no, I, I, I know a lot of the Beatles songs. I do love them. I've learned a lot about Paul McCartney, Blackbird. They would ask him what that was about and, but that, that's another conversation for another day. Last but not least, your family. You just commented that your son. Now listen, brother Rusty was a great pilot. Aviation is everything in NASCAR. I owned a King Air 200.
- [43:36]
Holly Kane
Wow.
- [43:37]
Kenny
Being instrument rated is a big deal. So your, your son just got his instrument rating. Meaning, Meaning that he can, he don't need to look. He can fly by his instrument, get through storms, things of that nature. Tell me, tell me about your, your, your boys or girls. What do you got? Two, two kids.
- [43:55]
Holly Kane
I have a, I have a son who's 24 and he just got his instrument rating. And next he's going to try and get his commercial pilot's license. He would love to fly, race teams around. That would give him the best of both worlds because he loves racing and he loves flying. So that's his dream one day is to have a team or a driver or somebody hire him to fly their plane. So he loves doing that and I'm very proud of him for working so hard on that. He actually moved back home with me and helped take care of me during my most recent cancer and taking me to appointments and bringing me things into the, into the room when I was in bed. So he is a great, wonderful Son, and I'm so grateful. And my daughter Sydney is going to graduate college soon. She's a marine biology major and travels all over the world and has. Has swam with whale sharks and all these different things. And I love her and I love her spirit. She's. She not only loves being underneath and in the water, but helping people in the places that she goes. She's just an amazing young woman and wants to make that her career and travel around the world. She's applying to get in graduate school now, so I hope she does. And she's at my alma mater, University of South Florida in Tampa. So I'm really proud of her and the things that she's been able to do. I'm a lucky mom. And you know about that. You're a lucky dad. Your children are fantastic, too. I follow them.
- [45:31]
Kenny
Holly, look at you. When the last thing you just said made me think how I talked about Felix Sabata saying about being worldly. So you are incredibly talented. You. You play instruments. That's very hard to do. I couldn't stroke a guitar. And I dream of being a guitar player. And everybody wants to be in rock and roll. And, and. And then your.
- [45:57]
Discover Card Advertiser
Your.
- [45:58]
Kenny
Your son does something very difficult, which is airplanes are no joke. You got to know what you're doing. And your daughter is worldly. You know, you got it going on and everybody loves you. Holly, we just celebrated you. And I hope. Charlie, let's drop that book in here one more time. So here's her book. Go out and buy it. Everybody Google it. NASCAR Mavericks, co authored by Herb Brannon. People that revolutionized nascar. Thank you, Holly.
- [46:33]
Holly Kane
Thank you, Kenny, so very much. I really mean it. You're such a great person. I'm so lucky. I really am. I'm a fortunate person and I love it. Thank you.
- [46:43]
Kenny
Well, you're welcome. Okay, everybody, that's it. And remember, our podcast is now on Dirty Mo Media. So if you get to see Holly and you're. You're that lucky to get on over to Dirty Mo Media. Just a reminder at the end of these shows here lately, you can watch this on YouTube just like we always do. Kenny Conversation is on YouTube, but Kenny Conversation is also over on Dirty Mo Media. Until the next time, Holly, we'll see you later. And we'll see you later, everybody.
- [47:17]
Holly Kane
Thanks, Kenny.
- [47:25]
Kenny
Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
- [47:31]
Discover Card Advertiser
Sometimes you have to choose between a great deal or a great experience. Other prepaid providers stick you with slow networks and price hikes. But with us Cellular Prepaid Getting a great deal doesn't mean sacrificing a great experience. US Cellular Prepaid offers great nationwide 5G coverage without any gimmicks or hidden fees. And now you can get a free Sams Samsung Galaxy A16.5G to make a great experience. Even better, stay connected without making sacrifices. Terms apply. Visit uscellular.com for details.
- [48:02]
State Farm Advertiser
Let's say your small business has a problem. Like maybe one of your doggy daycare customers had an accident. You might say something like doggone it.
- [48:13]
Holly Kane
Hi Chi Wawa. Holy schnauzers.
- [48:16]
State Farm Advertiser
But if you need someone who can actually help, just say like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And get help filing a claim from your local State Farm agent for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.