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Ricky Carmichael: The Motocross GOAT
01:07:52
Two wheels or four wheels, doesn’t matter, Ricky Carmichael could race anything
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- [00:00]
Jeff Bridges
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
- [00:02]
Dana
Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?
- [00:05]
Jeff Bridges
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.
- [00:11]
Ricky Johnson
So Dana.
- [00:12]
Dana
Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at t mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.
- [00:24]
Jeff Bridges
Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
- [00:31]
Ricky Johnson
Nice.
- [00:32]
Dana
Je free.
- [00:32]
Ricky Johnson
You heard them. T Mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.
- [00:37]
Kenny Wallace
Us with eligible traded in any condition.
- [00:40]
Jeff Bridges
So what are we having for lunch?
- [00:42]
Dana
Dude, my work here is done.
- [00:44]
T-Mobile Announcer
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- [01:02]
Kenny Wallace
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- [02:49]
Ricky Johnson
I appreciate it. Love your work. Love coffee with Kenny in the mornings. And, man, I'm just. I'm glad to be on, brother. Glad to be on. Had a little. I. You know what? When I sent you my email, I. Did you write. Did you send it to your. The wrong one? To your producer? I'm wondering. You said it was in there.
- [03:08]
Kenny Wallace
But I did something wrong, that's for sure. Hey, you know, when I moved from St. Louis, down in North Carolina, I met a lot of country people.
- [03:18]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [03:18]
Kenny Wallace
And they had a lot of phrases, and they said, wallace, you done did two things wrong. I said, well, what's that? They said, you thought, and you thought wrong, so. Well, well, Ricky, listen, we. We started talking a lot before we even got started.
- [03:38]
Ricky Johnson
That's right.
- [03:39]
Kenny Wallace
First of all, compliments to you. I. I said to you, when I look at you right now, you're a look of health. Your face is chiseled out. So let's start like this, my friend.
- [03:51]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [03:51]
Kenny Wallace
I see you out on the road still on your Triumph.
- [03:54]
Ricky Johnson
That's right.
- [03:56]
Kenny Wallace
How are you looking so good?
- [03:57]
Ricky Johnson
You still.
- [03:58]
Kenny Wallace
Still in shape?
- [04:00]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. You know, after I quit racing, man, I blew up like a damn tick. And honestly, you know, I just. It's all diet for me. I work out a. I ride road bikes a lot, and I'm fairly active. But, dude, what I see the most results from is straight up dieting and consumption. It's not as much as what I'm eating, it's how much I'm eating, and it's always been that way. You and I were talking before we started the podcast, the Conversation, and it was that way when I was burning all those calories when I was racing motocross. I mean, I still had to be on the nail with my diet or I would see. I would see a little gain on the scale. And I. And I. I've never really said this to anyone, and I. But I truly believe this. When you have a slow metabolism and you have to be accountable for what your. Your intake is or. Or lack thereof, I think that instills discipline in other forms of. Of the sport. I really do. Because if you got to be on the nail with the diet, then, you know, it treats you to be strict on other things and whether it's practicing or what have you. So, yep, that's. That's it, man. Just lack of eating and eating the right Stuff as well, man, I tell.
- [05:20]
Kenny Wallace
You what, you said that so eloquent. I'll add to that. I have one nerve, and you just stepped on it. Because I am the same as you. You know, I'm sitting here around 165, 167, but, buddy, I can get the 189, 190 in a heartbeat. And like you said, the discipline that, I mean, I. I fight with my. Myself and I got places around my hometown of Arnold, Missouri.
- [05:49]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [05:49]
Kenny Wallace
Where I go eat, you know.
- [05:51]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [05:52]
Kenny Wallace
To make sure I eat good.
- [05:54]
Ricky Johnson
I know. I'm telling you, it's, you know, not to sit here and. And cry about this and. Oh, what a bummer. We got a slow metabolism. Things could be a lot worse. But I tell you, I mean, you look great, too. You've lost a lot. And I'm exactly like you. I really have to be on it with my diet. And unfortunately, man, I love anything bad for you as far as eating. I love it. I love freaking. It's crazy. I love sweets, I love fried food. I love chips. Anything bad, I love it. And if there's one thing that I struggle working out, whatever, I am down for it. But the hardest thing for me and always has been is my freaking diet, man.
- [06:35]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, well, I'm with you. Listen, Kenny, conversation goes everywhere. And just a quick preview, you know, we're going to start off with your motorcycling, but I want to remind everybody later in our conversation, we're going to talk about you coming to NASCAR and everything you did. So, you know, I. I do this, and it's kind of rhythmic. I do it with everybody. And the reason I do it is not just to remind you, but to remind the young kids nowadays. You know, brother Rusty says, herman, there's a generation gap, and you got to remind people because people remember what they want to. So let. Let's do it like this. I mean, this is the. This is the way I started out with Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, everybody. So you're gonna have to give me about a minute, because you were that damn good 15 time AMA championship, of course. 10 outside, you know, motocross, five supercross indoors. Now, Ricky, you stop me when any of this is wrong.
- [07:42]
Ricky Johnson
No, that's. You're exactly right.
- [07:43]
Kenny Wallace
Okay. Total 100, 150 wins.
- [07:47]
Ricky Johnson
That's right.
- [07:47]
Kenny Wallace
102 in motocross, 48 supercross.
- [07:51]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [07:52]
Kenny Wallace
This next one is just paralyzing.
- [07:55]
Ricky Johnson
Just.
- [07:56]
Kenny Wallace
It made me stop two perfect seasons in 125.
- [08:01]
Ricky Johnson
250S, actually. Yeah. 450. Yeah. The premier class. Yeah. Oh, 2002 and then 2004.
- [08:09]
Kenny Wallace
You were never beaten. You were never beaten in two years.
- [08:13]
Ricky Johnson
No, that.
- [08:14]
Kenny Wallace
That's insane. Five time winner of AMAs writer of the Year.
- [08:22]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [08:22]
Kenny Wallace
I mean, Ricky, that's insane. And there's way more. We can go to the, you know, the X Games.
- [08:29]
Ricky Johnson
Right.
- [08:29]
Kenny Wallace
Things of that nature. But I think that paints the picture. So when I read all that to you.
- [08:35]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [08:36]
Kenny Wallace
Where does that take your brain? What do you think?
- [08:39]
Ricky Johnson
I. You know, Kenny, it happens so fast, you know, but the first thing that I think is I'm thankful for the opportunity that I got. And I still look back and it doesn't seem real. And honestly, things were going by so quick, like I just said, that I didn't have really, really time to grasp it and it really didn't set until later on, many, many years after I had retired from racing. But I'm just thankful for it. You know, I don't, I don't like a lot of attention. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but I never set out to do that. I just, you know what? I was raised to go out there and do it 100% or don't do it at all, and always do your best, try not to make the same mistakes twice. And this is just where we ended up. But I got to give it to the people that I had around me that set me on the right path. Obviously, I had wonderful, supportive parents that sacrifice everything like a lot of good parents do. And then, of course, my sponsors and mentors along the way. And like I said, I mean, there were no magic answers. There were no magic answers. It was just straight up hard work and outworking the competition. If my competition were doing 100 laps during the week of practice and repetitions, you know, I'm going to do 150. That is straight up what it was. It wasn't always easy, as you know, winning is never easy and doing your best is never easy, but just, it's simple. Just out trying to outwork and, and learning from the mistakes that you make. But it was a hell of a ride.
- [10:19]
Kenny Wallace
You know, this is such a deep conversation for a lot of competitors. You know, Father John, when Kim and myself got married, he looked at me and he said, what are you going to do, Kenny, when you grow up? I said, I'm going to be a race car driver. And of course he said, be careful, competition will kill you. So, you know, Ricky, you're way up here. There's just no doubt about it. And then when you look at other competitors, they're always, they're always trying to figure out why they're not like you. You know, same with me and Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon was just damn good. I mean, really gifted by God. So do you believe, and I did ask this question to some of the other greats. Do you believe that you have a little bit of God gifted talent?
- [11:10]
Ricky Johnson
I, I don't. There are people on a motorcycle that have way more God given talent than I do. As far as riding ability, where I feel like I was given a gift is I was able at a very, very young age to learn the sacrifices that my parents were making for, for me to make it to someday being the best ever or make a living at riding motorcycles. I was able to recognize that at a very young age. I would say probably 9 to 11 years old was when I recognized, like, man, I can see what my parents are doing. And honestly, I hated racing. I just didn't want to let them down. Straight up. Yeah. So listen, I loved racing. You know, like at the end of the day I loved it. But, but there were times going to practice during the week, I was like praying for rain or, you know, so I wouldn't have to practice that day or, or, you know, hoping God, you know, I hate this for my father, but I'm like, man, I wish his bike, something would go wrong with it today. I hate that for my dad, but.
- [12:17]
Kenny Wallace
I think we've all been there.
- [12:19]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, it was so redundant, you know. You know, you go back 11 years old, 12 years old, I mean, it got better. Those days kind of went away when you got 16, 17, you can learn to kind of hone in on your skills, but you see your other friends out there having a good time, playing with their buddies. And I had to go out to this track and just sweat my tail off. And it was miserable. And of course my equipment always sucked. It was ragged, wore out, vibrating, all that crap. But nevertheless, going back to your original question, I think I had a God given talent to recognize what my parents were doing for me and then their mental ability to kind of be, to help me get to where I ended up. Kenny, not so much on the motorcycle because there were guys that could do things a lot better on motorcycles than me, but I had the mental fortitude and I think that's something that I was born with, I truly believe. And Kenny, you know this and you have probably seen this. There are some things you cannot teach, there are some things you can. One of my Great mentors. Johnny o', Meara, he was a Supercross champion in his own right and he's worked with the best in the business. And he took, he used, and he used to tell the people the same thing that he told me, but it seemed like those people never would learn from what he said. And I would ask him like, dude, did you not tell them like, hey, be mindful of this. He's like, dude, I told him the same things I used to tell you. And I just think it's stuff that you're born with. So that's what I think that I was born with, the mental side of things.
- [13:53]
Kenny Wallace
Ricky Johnson was kind of my teammate when he came to NASCAR and ran some truck races.
- [13:59]
Ricky Johnson
Oh, I didn't realize that. Really?
- [14:00]
Kenny Wallace
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I got to know him. What a, what a clean.
- [14:04]
Ricky Johnson
Oh yeah. God.
- [14:06]
Kenny Wallace
Godly man. And I will never forget talking to him about his heydays and how great he was. And he, he would say that he would find the guy that was the best and he would try to get on the track and practice behind him without that, that great racer knowing. Try to time, time, you know.
- [14:28]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. The course.
- [14:30]
Kenny Wallace
In other words, you know, how many whoops can you clear? You know, sometimes not sometimes, but when he said that to me, and I'm just going to ask you, and you, you'll clear it out of my head.
- [14:43]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [14:44]
Kenny Wallace
Is, is Motor Motocross, Supercross, Is, Is it about being aggressive or is it about being technical? Because he would say he would just try to be technical and follow the best early in his career.
- [14:57]
Ricky Johnson
There are, there's a certain aspect where it's tech. If you can be technical and aggressive, you got the best of both worlds. For me, I couldn't get, I couldn't get to that technical level like some of my great competitors that I raced against that like they relied more on their, their, their technical side of their ability where I relied on frickin just hanging it out, dude.
- [15:20]
Kenny Wallace
Balls to the wall.
- [15:21]
Ricky Johnson
Yep. I wasn't worried about being perfect. Yeah, I wanted to try to be perfect. And I, and, and I, There was some precision there. If, let's just say I was at 8.5 and the guys I was trying to beat was at a 10, but my aggression would take me to a 10.5 and essentially. And my hard work would essentially put me over, over the top. And that's how I would get the results and get the wins that I would know. At a high level, you can only rely on your ability for so long and Then at some point, the guy that works the hardest is going to, you know, he's going to surpass you because of his hard work and dedication. So I. I wish I had the precision. I did work on it, but at the end of the day, in my back pocket, I knew I had the aggression, and I was willing to hang it out, you know, I was willing to hang it out. You know, you see Kyle Larson, guys like that, they ain't scared to get a little sideways. We go back to Vegas, you and I were talking about that race, but I think it was that race. But anyhow, you got to be willing to get out of that comfort zone. You got to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and that was. That suited my style.
- [16:30]
Kenny Wallace
You know, you are worldly. And you. You did text me and said, what about Ryan Blaney?
- [16:36]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [16:36]
Kenny Wallace
You know, they said he was illegal after the race. Now, a full day, almost two days later, they gave it back to him. You are. When I say you're worldly, you wanted to know. You said Kenny. Yeah, they roughed him up about the length of his shock was at an advantage. And your question kind of made me have a peek inside your brain, because you really. You were thinking competition, you know, did that really make him better?
- [17:06]
Ricky Johnson
Right.
- [17:07]
Kenny Wallace
I like the way you think. Are you. You know, now that you're not really racing competitively, you're still thinking, like, oh, absolutely, 100%.
- [17:16]
Ricky Johnson
You know, what do you ever get, like, the older you got, did you. Did you ever feel like you found more of a passion and setting your race car up and you could win just basically how you set your race car up? I mean, and race car is different than two wheels. I shouldn't even.
- [17:33]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
- [17:34]
Ricky Johnson
Really not a fair question to you.
- [17:36]
Kenny Wallace
Competition. We all still do our idiosyncrasies, Right?
- [17:40]
Ricky Johnson
Right. So that's where the odor that I got that I could win kind of on a technicality, or I could win just knowing, like, okay, well, the track's going to get like this, so I'm going to change my ride height to rely more on front end grip or rear end grip or, you know, I want the bike to mechanically turn for me. A lot like car racing. You know, you want as much mechanical grip and that thing to turn on its own so you don't have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. And that's what I really enjoyed the late in the later stages of my career and could win a lot of races just on being aware of what the track and forecasting what track is going to be like. And that's, that's kind of the difference. So, yes, when I was asking you about Blaney, I was, I was just curious, you know, because when they were talking about what the, you know, it being a little bit lower. Okay, well, like, how much are we. We looking? Like, what is that advantage? Is it like a quarter? I think I asked you, was it a quarter, a second average, a lap, you know, or is it, you know, a tenth of a second? What, like, is it a substantial gain? But doesn't matter now it's a moot point because they, they, they retracted the penalty.
- [18:52]
Kenny Wallace
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- [22:01]
Ricky Johnson
I mean, ditto man.
- [22:03]
Kenny Wallace
Anytime anybody does something like you did, you know, it's like a dog. All of a sudden you wake up, your ears go up, you're like, Jesus, this guy went unbeatable. You know. And you know it, you know, it's hard. So motocross, you're forced to race at an extremely early. Early age.
- [22:23]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [22:23]
Kenny Wallace
As to where in auto racing? I'm 60 and I'm retired. I retired at 58, quit NASCAR at like 53. But with you, you were in a sport comparable to. Well, I don't know if there's a sport like yours.
- [22:43]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, I mean early. Definitely not. Definitely not on the auto side of things. And that was the tough thing. We'll get into it in a little bit but, but before we, we close the door on, on motocross and supercross racing, I think what people don't understand, a lot of people, as you know, our great fans and people that follow both disciplines, you know, on the four wheel side and the two wheel side, especially motocross, dirt bike racing, you know, you start riding at a very, very young age and you have the ability and the resources to go ride during the week. Can't really do that on the four wheel side, so. And you don't have a roll cage around you and one thing that never changes is gravity. And so the risk that you're taking during the week and you're always looking for that frickin tenth of a second. And it ain't if it's when you're gonna bust that ass on, on two wheels, 120%. It's just you keep going.
- [23:37]
Kenny Wallace
Mark Martin would say it all the.
- [23:39]
Ricky Johnson
Time, you know, you just, it's gonna happen. So the burnout factor is, is big. It's a little less now. Just the world we live in, the generation we live in. You know, those guys are happy. They're making great money. They're happy with running up front rather than. I mean, they all want to win, but they're happy with a third. You know, like, ah, it's a pretty good night. We're back in my day. Like, damn it, if we didn't win, we were pissed. And we're gonna go work our tail off the next week and try to get that. Try to get that win. So, yeah, the, the burnout factor is a lot more. Because you're riding hell three, three times a week. You race on Saturday, fly home Sunday. I would ride Monday, Tuesday, take Wednesday off, ride Thursday, fly Friday, race Saturday.
- [24:28]
Kenny Wallace
Oh, my.
- [24:29]
Ricky Johnson
And you're doing race simulation and, you know, or if you. You need, you would do. You'd practice some corners, kind of like football and baseball. You're able to hone in on certain aspects of the, of the craft. You know, I'd work on corner entry, corner exit. I'd work on momentum through the corners. I'd work on rhythm lanes, like trying to stay lower, drive through the face of the jumps, just get better. Then, like I said, I do race simulation to get my, you know, keep my base, my cardiovascular base good and on top of things. So, yeah, the burnout factor is a lot more. And, you know, obviously, you just can't. You can't physically can't race at a high level on motorcycles like you can on four wheels, unfortunately.
- [25:09]
Kenny Wallace
And what do you. What do you think? Now, we've seen this in nascar, and this is the reason I asked the question, you know, Harry Gantt, my brother Rusty, that, you know, 50, 51. Now we're seeing Jeff Gordon and everybody. They're done at 42 because, you know, with all the technology, you know, kids were getting into racing. They starting so much earlier. So in, in motocross, what do you think the age is right now where they're going? I've had enough.
- [25:36]
Ricky Johnson
It's. It's a little bit older. Just because. Yeah, just because the grind, like, they're riding less during the week. So you're going to get a little more longevity because of that. I feel like the intensity is there. It just may be the mindset, like they, like I said, they all want to win, but they're happy with the podium, you know, and it wasn't like that back in our day. The bikes are a lot better, but, you know, the stakes are higher because they're going faster and. And they hit the deck. When they hit the deck, it's A lot harder because of the speeds are so much faster but I think because it's the intensity and, and not the lack of grind but the, the longevity is just a little bit more because of. Yeah maybe that maybe the mental side of things of them just being happy and not being so hard nosed like back in the day. I guess so the longevity is a little more so the age Kenny would probably be. They probably bout around 30, 43 where my day like 27 was. I mean 30 was just like you're on the, you're on the back end now. Guys are going like they're having good years at 31, 33.
- [26:50]
Kenny Wallace
I feel like it's my opinion and I'm talking to the greatest right here. You know, I think in, in baseball, you know Jimmy Edmonds, one of our great outfield.
- [27:02]
Ricky Johnson
I know, I know Edmonds. Okay.
- [27:04]
Kenny Wallace
Jimmy went to 38 and I mean he was running his ass off in the outfield.
- [27:08]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [27:09]
Kenny Wallace
So in my opinion you guys are probably one of the only sports, I mean, you know, motors and tires.
- [27:17]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [27:17]
Kenny Wallace
I'm not talking about being gymnasts. But you guys quit, you probably quit the earliest of anybody because yeah, 100.
- [27:24]
Ricky Johnson
100 that us and I feel like Moto GP, you know, that's a pinnacle of all two wheel road racing, world racing. Yeah, it just, it just, you know, it's a, it's a younger person sport and you just physically can't. Physically can't do it. But to your point, you start so young and it's, it's so much easier to go ride. Injuries are a lot more as well. And yeah, it's a bummer. That's the negative part. So I mean lucratively it's so important to go out and make as much money as you can if you never want to work again when you're, when you retire from racing, which is, which is hard to do if you're not winning multiple, multiple championships. Because that's where you know you win in those championships. That's where those championship bonuses rack up and you can put a lot away, you know.
- [28:15]
Kenny Wallace
So you brought it up. So I'm going to strike the iron while it's hot.
- [28:19]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. Brother.
- [28:20]
Kenny Wallace
Brother. Rusty always taught me. Or the great Dick Trickle or Dale Earnhardt senior. I listened. Although I'm hyperactive, a little, little rough around the edges. I, I do hear Rusty always had this saying. He goes Herman, that's my nickname. He says get your head in the carburetor, you know. And what he meant was pay attention to your equipment. So with that being said, you are the greatest of all time. There's just no doubt. It's, it's not even a nickname. You are.
- [28:48]
Ricky Johnson
I don't know, man. I say that the winning is still claim. But there's so many great guys. I mean, like McGrath.
- [28:55]
Kenny Wallace
Hey, it's my, it's Goat.
- [28:59]
Ricky Johnson
Sorry, dude. Sorry. Well, I appreciate that.
- [29:05]
Kenny Wallace
That would remind me. Rusty would say, Rusty be telling a story. We'd be drinking beer and his name lying. And here I am seven years younger than him and I said, that ain't the way the story went. Rusty and her. Or Rusty would put his hand in front of my face, he'd say, shut up, Herman. It's my story.
- [29:25]
Ricky Johnson
I love it. I love it. I appreciate that.
- [29:29]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, I mean, you really are. Same same. I mean, I guess it's all kind of the same year. When I, when I look at motocross and I look at you won 10 championships, motocross, five supercross. To this, to this day, right now, I mean, I love turning that TV on and watching you guys run indoors on supercross. In your mind, what do you think is the one that got motocross, supercross, where it's at indoors or outdoors?
- [30:07]
Ricky Johnson
I think indoors. Did you know?
- [30:10]
Kenny Wallace
Gnarly.
- [30:10]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. Yeah, it's gnarly. It's easier to comprehend. It's in a big stadium. It's like a show, you know, our promoters did a fantastic job. Like, I always thought this for, I always thought this for, for four wheels when I kind of dipped into the, to the NASCAR side of things. Man, if you had a hell of a promoter that could rent a stadium and, and have a really good format, I don't know why you wouldn't pack the damn house, you know, I mean, that's what we're doing at Supercross. You know, you make it entertaining for when there aren't cars on the track. But yeah, I think supercross is what progressed. It progressed. It made it more pop, made dirt bikes, dirt biking more popular. I think the X Games certainly helped, brought some notoriety because I see people and to give you. Why, why I feel like that is true, because I would. Well, this is when I was still racing actively in motocross and supercross. I'd be at the gym and someone say, hey, I think I saw you on tv. You do that X Game stuff? Oh, my God, no, I don't do that. You know, I, I, I'm, I, I do the racing side of stuff, but it just, you know, brought people to like, man, I've seen that I've seen that on, on TV before. And then they. And then they become fans of all motorsports and. And two wheel racing. That makes sense.
- [31:35]
Kenny Wallace
No, it makes sense that I'm sitting here, I'm always looking at my notes, and my notes say, you know, some summer X Games, three gold.
- [31:44]
Ricky Johnson
Yep.
- [31:45]
Kenny Wallace
Two bronze. Are you saying that made you a little more popular than just normal motocross, Supercross?
- [31:52]
Ricky Johnson
Well, I never. I never made. I mean, you think. You know, the thing was, I mean, when you were younger, like, man, if I could ever be on Sports center, man, that would be awesome. And I never made Sports Center. For all of my accolades and racing, by God, I went into the X Games and jumped over a stupid pole for the step up and I made freaking X Sports Center. Like, dude, dude, this is way easier, right? And I've done all these things, accomplished all these wins and championships and all that. I couldn't even get a nugget on Sportsman or I go jump over a stupid pole and here I am.
- [32:30]
Kenny Wallace
Isn't that the way life is? Because Daryl Waltrip, you know, champion, over and over, Daryl said to me, you know, he would talk in depth to me because he was kind of a tutor to me goes Herman. He said, I've done it all in nascar. And he says, nobody knows me, he says, but I go on, damn, a Cars cartoon. And he's more Daryl Walter, more known in this generation as the movie. So sometimes we. Ricky some. Tell me your thoughts on this. Do sometimes in life we get things when we least expect it that are better than what we work for.
- [33:11]
Ricky Johnson
Sometimes I think when you're not looking for things, you find it. You know, it's like when you're going through life and, you know, you're trying to find a significant other, you know, it's like that. People always saying it's something to be said for it. It's like, you know, don't. You'll find it when you're least looking for it. And you just. We've. We've just rattled off two things. Me being on Sports center and DW being more popular because he's on a stinking cartoon.
- [33:34]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. Hey, that pissed him off too, by the way.
- [33:40]
Ricky Johnson
Really? Yeah. I hear.
- [33:43]
Kenny Wallace
Well, look. Look at us. We're already 30 minutes into this. So before I lose time, you know, before we go into nascar, which you spent a little time there, let's wrap it up on the motorcycle side because there's so many sides to you.
- [34:01]
Ricky Johnson
The.
- [34:02]
Kenny Wallace
When you were. When you were so competitive in winning everything, where was there Ever that rider that pushed your limits and you're like this son of a. And you, you had to lay the wheel to him every once in a while. Was there ever somebody that came after you on the track and even verbally off the track? And I don't want you to, you know, to not be mean, but who was that guy? And did it ever happen?
- [34:27]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, Never. Never verbally. And luckily for me, Kenny, I got to race against the best in the business just from how I was born and in the time that I came up through motocross and supercross race, and I got to race the king of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath. He's got 72 wins. Wow. I mean, it's just unbelievable. It's going to be tough for anybody to beat that. Jeremy was one of the kindest racers. And what I mean by that is he'd race you hard, but you never had to look to your left, you know, on the left hand corner or even right hand corner. You never had to look over your shoulder because he wasn't gonna, you know, he just wasn't that type of rider. You know, James Stewart, I had great, great battles with him, especially when he, you know, he was later in his career and he had learned and he had had the bumps and bruises. He's a little more wild, but never really would attack you, but he'd race you hard and give you a little elbow grease. But the one guy I will say, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for, for him, but I just, I, I could trust him in a way, but I knew he would sweep the leg if he had an opportunity, and that would be Chad Reed, the Aussie.
- [35:40]
Kenny Wallace
I'll be done.
- [35:41]
Ricky Johnson
That guy. What, what was, oh, what was so hard about him is, you know, I talked about earlier when we were talking is, you know, how I would, I would be willing to hang it out and he never would go out of his comfort zone, so. But his comfort zone was just fast enough to where if you wanted to beat him, you had to, you had to push that limit. So he was like a damn thorn in my side. He really was. Of all the people that I'm racing that I race, I knew, like McGrath, I could ride the edge and I was going to beat him. I knew, like, Stuart, all I had to do was match his speed and if I could just match him, I wasn't. Yes, I wanted to beat him, but I'm like, if I can just follow him, pressure him, he's going to make a mistake and I'm going to win. It, it didn't always work out like that, but if I tried to go faster, he's just going to go faster. So that was kind of my strategy for James Stewart. But Chad Reed, I mean he was just good. And I had to rely on a mistake from him because his comfort level was just enough to where I had to ride out of my comfort zone to beat him. And just he was so solid. You're like, oh man, this is going to be a great night. He got a bad start and he'd be second or third by the end of the race. So. But never off the track verbally or anything like that. But those three guys are the racers that kind of, kind of come to my head. But those are the guys that I raced hard for for championships for multiple, multiple years.
- [37:09]
Jeff Bridges
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
- [37:11]
Dana
Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?
- [37:14]
Jeff Bridges
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.
- [37:19]
Ricky Johnson
So. Dana.
- [37:20]
Dana
Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly AT T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.
- [37:32]
Jeff Bridges
Wow, impressive. Let me try. T mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
- [37:40]
Ricky Johnson
Nice.
- [37:40]
Dana
Jeffrey, you heard them.
- [37:42]
Ricky Johnson
T mobile is the best the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition.
- [37:49]
Jeff Bridges
So what are we having for launch?
- [37:50]
Dana
Dude, my work here is done.
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T-Mobile Announcer
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- [38:11]
Kenny Wallace
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- [40:06]
Ricky Johnson
Getting them back.
- [40:07]
Kenny Wallace
Getting them back. And isn't that unbelievable?
- [40:12]
Ricky Johnson
Oh, it's unbelievable. Like now I gave away all my. Dude, I, I mean, I say all of it. I don't have my first motorcycle. I don't have my second motorcycle. I got three championship motorcycles here that Suzuki gave me two and Kawasaki gave me one. I don't have any other motorcycles. I gave away helmets, gear. I mean, I don't have anything. And now here I am, you know, 20 years post retirement, post racing for, for, for a living professionally. And I'm like, damn, I wish I would have kept majority of the stuff. It would have been cool to reflect. But you don't know that at the time. And, and to be honest, I mean, we had to sell a lot of our stuff to get another motorcycle. You could keep on going racing at the amateur stage. So I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I can resonate with what you're saying.
- [41:01]
Kenny Wallace
No, no, there's no interrupting me.
- [41:03]
Ricky Johnson
You're.
- [41:03]
Kenny Wallace
You're first.
- [41:04]
Ricky Johnson
No, this is your show. This your show.
- [41:06]
Kenny Wallace
Brought it. Kenny. Kenny. Conversations where Kenny for once shuts up. And I wonder where Schrader's at. He'd say, oh, yeah, Schrader would say, oh, so you can shut up. Hey, let me go back to about 10 minutes ago. And I do want to talk about maybe are you looking for any of your old stuff? But remember that one. Are you looking for any of your old stuff? But let's cover this one first for all the kids out there that probably should have taken an economic class. And I'm not prying because you're the one that brought it up.
- [41:46]
Ricky Johnson
Go ahead.
- [41:48]
Kenny Wallace
Are you financially. Obviously you look like you are. You look incredible. But you were able to make enough money in such a short time span. You know, like we talked about how early you have to quit. I follow your every move on Instagram. I mean, you're getting it on with Triumph.
- [42:06]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [42:06]
Kenny Wallace
So because of all your success, I don't even know how to ask it. But you know what I'm asking.
- [42:12]
Ricky Johnson
Oh yeah. Go. No. So I made a great, I made a great living for myself. I won a lot of championships. And I'll give you. So my first year in 1997 was my first year professional. I signed a three year deal with Pro Circuit Kawasaki and it was a 30,000 the first year, 60,000 the second year and 90,000 the third year. I got about halfway through my second season. Then we started renegotiating and I signed a contract. But so, and my championship bonus. My first year in 1997 when I won the 125 pro motocross championship, I got a $120,000 and you get pro, you get, you know, you get per race win bonuses and also all that fun stuff. But then, you know, later on in my career, Kenny, I was for Supercross championship at the premier level. I was, you know, million dollar championships. So definitely it was a, I did, I did really well for myself along the way. And yeah, I mean I, for, for my, for my, for me personally, I work because I love doing it. I love my, my role at NBC as an analyst for Super Motocross World Championship. You see, you see us on there all the time.
- [43:38]
Kenny Wallace
All the time.
- [43:39]
Ricky Johnson
Yep. And then I stuck with that I do with Monster, that I do with Fox Racing, that I do a Triumph now that's the newest thing. I love it. Been with them for three years doing adventure riding and we are about to launch in February. They should be on the showroom fours. I'm hoping sometime around there Triumph is going to have a motocross supercross bike and enduro model as well. So I was a huge part of that, building that from the ground up with them, which is a really, really fun project for me. So just to keep myself busy, man, that's why I do It, I mean, obviously, yes, it's good to still be earning a few dollars. You know, I don't have to, don't have to touch my principles or my investments or anything like that because of that. And then, you know, I'll be 44 in November and who knows, you know, my wife, my wife is a part owner and a lot a firm here in Tallahassee. So I'm just going to keep on rolling. That's why. But yes, monetarily I'm. I was very blessed and don't have to work if I don't want to.
- [44:47]
Kenny Wallace
And I want the kids to hear that. I'm such a big fan of yours on Instagram that while my head was bopping and weaving. So here I am. And so I'm going to go to this picture. I really want to talk about this Triumph bike because you know Rusty, my brother Rusty and Steven, we, yeah, we know that those bikes are coming, Ricky, where you're on asphalt going down the road, then you jump on the dirt. They are this, this one here.
- [45:15]
Ricky Johnson
Yep. That's swing arm city. Yes.
- [45:18]
Kenny Wallace
So. And, and this is off the cuff.
- [45:21]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, go ahead.
- [45:22]
Kenny Wallace
Where you were going. Tell me about Triumph and, and I see you doing a lot of riding with, with that bike. And where are we with motorcycles nowadays?
- [45:31]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. So the, the adventure world was huge and I feel like it really took off and escalated when, when Covid came around people wanted to be outside. So those bikes, the Tiger 900, they got a Tiger 1200. I believe they have a 750 as well. But you can go on road and off road. They're very versatile, more geared towards, towards the road and like touring bikes. But you, they have off road capabilities like good, good gravel roads, jeep trails. Got to be careful with the single track. You know, you got to be choosy on the single track. A super tight single trap can be, can be challenging. Like we climbed Engineer Pass. For anyone that's ever been to Colorado, we did go up over Engineer Pass just right outside of your. On those, on those bikes. So they have the capabilities to do that. But yeah, it's been a lot of fun. You can go out, you can make great memories. But that off road riding or adventure riding is coming. That category has been absolutely massive as you know, with your brother and your nephew being on the road side of things. It's. You can't turn a blind eye to that adventure category because it is, it is growing. Absolutely. I mean it's so fast. So fast and it's a lot of fun. Like I said, you can go anywhere. And the great thing about it is, like, we do a. We do a summer ride each year, and you're not. You're not married to just one pass. You know, you can go. You can go off road. It's like, man, it'd be really cool to go over here. Boom. You hop on it. You hop on a dirt trail and you go. I mean, you guys go out to Sturgis every year. Imagine if you could hop on some dirt roads. Nothing too gnarly, nothing too crazy, but still safe and fun. You have the ability to do that. And that's what I think people like about it.
- [47:25]
Kenny Wallace
And I really do like when you get off your bike nowadays, you give a nice little wrap up on Instagram. It's a good way to follow, know what you're up to. And I think that's really what drew my attention to it. But be honest. You know, Rusty and Stephen are building these Harley Davidson daggers, and we got the saying that, hey, listen, it ain't all about riding your girl on the back. Now they're racing baggers.
- [47:50]
Ricky Johnson
And.
- [47:51]
Kenny Wallace
And then, and then.
- [47:52]
Ricky Johnson
That's cool, by the way. That is cool.
- [47:54]
Kenny Wallace
And I took that. And then I started seeing you, you know, run that, ride that Triumph, and I said, well, look at here. The. The motorcycle world is changing in every way. It's. It's not. You got to have this bike and you got to have that bike. Look at Ricky going down the highway and jumping on dirt.
- [48:11]
Ricky Johnson
That's right.
- [48:12]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah, I really like that.
- [48:14]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, it's a lot of fun. And the greatest thing too about it, Kenny, is, as you know, anytime you're on your motorcycles, you're making memories with some of your closest friends. And it's something that you can bring with you to the day you die. And it's where you go, it's the people you meet and. But you still get that fix. You get that need a little more different with the adventure stuff than the baggers, just because you're on the road most of the time, but, you know, you guys still have a great time. Just like we do on the adventure bikes. We're able to go off road if we want to, and if we want to stay on road, we can. And it's about building memories and having a good time and at the end of the day, being safe.
- [48:52]
Kenny Wallace
I went on the Cow petty cherry ride this year.
- [48:55]
Ricky Johnson
I saw that dude. I got to do that, man. It looks. And he's asked me so many times, and I just need to. I Just need to put it on the damn calendar. Is it, is it fun? I can't do. You got, you got straighter to do that. Oh.
- [49:08]
Kenny Wallace
So listen, since, since you like it, I'm going to tell you. And this is what made me think of it. You know, Kyle's been doing that a long time and he said to me very seriously, he goes, you know, I used to think this was about motorcycles. He says, it's about people.
- [49:22]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [49:23]
Kenny Wallace
And so he's been asking me for years and I said Kyle, I. I have something that, that God gave me that, that I don't deal with very good. I said, you put me on a motorcycle with it with a, a closed face helmet, I'll go nuts. I'll be talking to myself, you know. He goes, hold on. He says, the cow petty charity right now. You know, you know me man. I better have a microphone to talk to my buddy.
- [49:55]
Ricky Johnson
We do.
- [49:56]
Kenny Wallace
What are you doing there, buddy?
- [49:57]
Ricky Johnson
That's right. We got so on our rides we use, we use communication cardo. They make a great. Yeah, they make great stuff. And yeah, I mean we, it's always, we're always busting chops on, on our buddies on the rides and stuff like that. And it is, it's about the people and, and destinations that you go. We came across this place. You ever been to Darby Montana? It's for Yellowstone's film. Probably close but yeah, you all do. We stay at this killer little. They, they got these cabins on this old creek running through there. We get there early, have some adult beverages and enjoy ourselves and we go into town and we, we eat some good dinner and go the local bar there, shoot darts and all that fun stuff. But that's like a destination that we go to and it's stuff. Had we never been on adventure bikes or been on a motorcycle, we'd never, probably never had no reason to go there. But it's an awesome place. So it's a brick making memories. And then it's like you said, social media is everything and you do a great job on social media and I would say the two wheel world has done a great job. And not extreme sports but you know, dirt bike riding and stuff. We're kind of on the forefront of social media and it's, it's a way of business but everyone's allowed to follow along and even though you're not there in the flesh, hopefully you feel like you're a part of. We want people to feel like they're a part of the ride, the journey.
- [51:19]
Kenny Wallace
Well, well, you're really good at it because like I told you, I listen to your quick little videos when you get off the bike. But going back to Cal Petty, he's geared that deal more for the hyperactive world. You know, that's where we're at now. Everybody's hyper. Nobody can wait for anything. So Kyle's got that deal where I think our longest ride would maybe be two and a half hours. As to where back in the day, they really went across.
- [51:49]
Ricky Johnson
Right.
- [51:50]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah. And, you know, geared more to the older people, the hyper people. I mean, you'd be stretching it if we were on the bike three hours because we stop out in the middle of the desert and at a nice little gas station. You know, there's that one gas station in 100 and we got a nice box lunch. But there is so much. The Kyle Petty charity ride is, it changed my life and Kim and myself are going to do it again. So if you ever get a chance.
- [52:20]
Ricky Johnson
It'S, I'd love to.
- [52:22]
Kenny Wallace
It's, it's fun. Well, okay, look, I've done messed up. I got you already at 50 minutes.
- [52:28]
Ricky Johnson
So I, I mean, dude, you, I, I got, I don't have anywhere to be.
- [52:33]
Kenny Wallace
You know what? And, and you sound just like Tony Stewart. Tony's like, let's keep talking. So let's, let's go to this one sheet of notes I got here. You shocked the sports world when you came to nascar. Let's, yeah, take a drink because we're gonna go to NASCAR now, so I'll just kind of let you have the lead here. And I'm gonna say this. Why NASCAR? How did that happen?
- [53:04]
Ricky Johnson
Okay, so it was 2005 and I had already did my final deal with Suzuki, so I knew I was going to ride for Suzuki 2005. Six and part time in 07. Well, around 2005 or six. Casey Kane was a fan of Supercross and he had reached out to me, him and his management group and said, hey, man, would you ever like to try four wheels?
- [53:31]
Kenny Wallace
Casey King?
- [53:32]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. And I'm like, hell yeah. So we became buddies and, and, and one thing led to another and this is like the, the short version just from a time perspective. But he gave me an opportunity and I, I, this is when he was driving for Evernham and Evernham had that, I don't even know what that program was at the time, but he had a late model program coming up through there and I drove his late model car at Hickory. Never been in the dang car before ever in my life. But went up There. Yep, went there, had a great time. Casey was kind of mentoring me. One thing led to another and I guess Gibbs got wind of it and then Bobby Ginny got wind of it also. And this is. So then next thing I know, fast forward, like, like I said, this is a short version. I'm like a ping pong ball all over the place.
- [54:28]
Kenny Wallace
I am too.
- [54:29]
Ricky Johnson
So now like I'm getting towards 07 and then like I'm talking to, to, to JD I'm talking to coach, and at the time they're wanting to start motocross to supercross, you know, so like, I'll be just like, hey, you know what? But we'll give you an opportunity over here. Development program. We'll put you in here, but you're going to be behind these guys. But on the flip side, we want you to try to help us on our motorcycle deal. So I'm like, okay, man, sounds like a good deal. And then Bobby Ginn and Jay Fry and all them were kind of courting me and saying, hey, we're going to have this race team over here and we're going to have Mark Martin driving for us. So the reason that I ended up at Bobby again was being mentored by Mark Martin. I was going to be able to run his late model stuff for the first year and a half, like 07, get, get my feet wet and super late model stuff and then move on to the, to the E series. And then that's where I ended up going and racing for Schrader. And yeah, so I ended up signing with Bobby Ginn because my manager at the time knew some people over there. And so that's how I got into it all because of Casey Kane.
- [55:44]
Jeff Bridges
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
- [55:46]
Dana
Jeff Bridges, Why are you still living above our garage?
- [55:49]
Jeff Bridges
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.
- [55:55]
Ricky Johnson
So, Dana.
- [55:56]
Dana
Oh, no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at t mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.
- [56:08]
Jeff Bridges
Wow, impressive. Let me try. T mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
- [56:15]
Ricky Johnson
Nice.
- [56:15]
Dana
Jeffrey, you heard them.
- [56:17]
Ricky Johnson
T mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.
- [56:21]
Kenny Wallace
Us with eligible traded in any condition.
- [56:24]
Jeff Bridges
So what are we having for launch?
- [56:25]
Dana
Dude, my work here is done with.
- [56:28]
T-Mobile Announcer
24 month bill credits on experience beyond port. Well qualified customers plus tax and $35 device connection charge credit send and Balance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel Finance agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs $1099.99 and new line minimum $100 plus a month plan with auto pay, plus taxes and fees required. Best mobile Network in the US based on analysis by Ooklab Speed Test Intelligence data 1H 2025. Visit t mobile.com okay, I have to.
- [56:45]
Ricky Johnson
Tell you, I was just looking on ebay, where I go for all kinds.
- [56:48]
Dana
Of things I love.
- [56:49]
Kenny Wallace
And there it was. That hologram trading card. One of the rarest, the last one I needed for my set.
- [56:54]
Ricky Johnson
Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams.
- [56:57]
Kenny Wallace
One of a kind. Ebay had it. And now everyone's asking, ooh, where'd you get your windshield wipers? Ebay has all the parts that fit my car. No more annoying, just beautiful. Millions of finds, each with a story. EBay, things people love. So you drove for Kenny Schrader, Kevin Harvick, Turner motorsports.
- [57:22]
Ricky Johnson
That's it.
- [57:23]
Kenny Wallace
To awesome. Okay. You were the 2009 NASCAR truck series most popular driver.
- [57:30]
Ricky Johnson
Yep.
- [57:30]
Kenny Wallace
You ran. And this is just a reminder for all of our motorcycle fans out there.
- [57:35]
Ricky Johnson
And.
- [57:36]
Kenny Wallace
And you had a lot of them stand on the front straightaway at Loudon and cheer you on.
- [57:40]
Ricky Johnson
But that's right. I remember you came up to me. I had a. That was when I was raising the E series for Schrader. I thought we was going to win that damn thing. Right.
- [57:49]
Kenny Wallace
And I got something to say about that race. But let's finish this. 68 truck races. It ain't like you came in and left you. That's a couple years. 68 truck races. Here's what I really like. This tells me how good you are. Eighteen top tens, eight races in almost the big boys. Eight races in the Xfinity series, one top ten. That is extremely hard to do. And I want to say this about what we just talked about at Loudon. What really impressed me at Loudon was like motorcycle racing. Ricky, I've raced my whole life and I know all the idiosyncrasies. At Loudon, you were fighting for the lead. It's a flat track. It's a goofy ass track here. Running on the apron, you're straddling and you stayed with it and you did not. You did not spin out. You did not wreck. I was really proud of you at that moment. Tell me what you remember about that great race for the win.
- [58:54]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, well, I remember. So we went up there to test. And this is. I came in at a difficult time and of nascar, as you remember, like that, oh, seven time, that's when they stopped. You couldn't test anymore.
- [59:07]
Kenny Wallace
And so now I'm leaving.
- [59:10]
Ricky Johnson
Right. Like all of us. And so I'm like, oh, man. So now I'm coming in. And in the truck series that time, I mean, it was stacked. Right. It was sack and all. In all reality, I probably would have had better luck in the Xfinity series. I mean, dude, I'm racing against Hornaday, Skinner, Bodine. You name them, dude, they, they were there. Yeah. And it was tough, but I learned a lot from them. And, but go back to Loudon, I remember we were trying to write front coil behind.
- [59:38]
Kenny Wallace
Oh, yeah.
- [59:39]
Ricky Johnson
We couldn't get it right.
- [59:41]
Kenny Wallace
That's very touchy.
- [59:42]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. And I didn't have enough experience at the time to tell them, man, this is where it really needs to be. But what I did know is every time we went back to the conventional setup, the thing would just, it would roll the center so good, and I wasn't blowing the right front up. Right.
- [60:00]
Kenny Wallace
Yep.
- [60:00]
Ricky Johnson
You're saying that's what we went with. And I just, I just knew, like, man, I could just carry my momentum through the center of the corner, and it was relatively easy. So that's what we went with. Kind of old school conventional setup, not right front coil bind. And they did a great job with my setup. And I loved, I loved that racetrack. And I did always run, Ran well at Martinsville, and anything with timing, like some road courses, always did well there. Just because I feel like with the timing and the braking and the getting off the gas and not having to rely on Arrow really helped me kind of fill the gap of my lack of experience because of the timing. And it brought me back to supercross and motorcycle racing. So that's what I remember that race. I'm like, oh, we're gonna, we have a good chance to win. Obviously we didn't, but, hell, I think we got like, third or fourth.
- [60:55]
Kenny Wallace
It was a hell of a race.
- [60:57]
Ricky Johnson
It was great. It was great. I remember you came up there. Montoya came up there. Of course, Schrader came up there. But I, I, I tell you what, that was some of the funnest racing that I ever did when I got to, to, to drive for, for Schrader.
- [61:12]
Kenny Wallace
So the, for the fans that are like, what the hell is he talking about? Coil, coil binding makes the front end run lower down the straightaway, can create speed. Can, can you can gain a tenth or two coil binding because the front end is now very low and, yeah, conventional setup. The front end is going to be a little higher, but you got a little more consistency. It's always on the right front. And that's what you liked about that. And I just went through this. Dale earn our junior.
- [61:42]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. Yep.
- [61:45]
Kenny Wallace
I went and run the cars tour race.
- [61:47]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [61:47]
Kenny Wallace
Just two weeks ago. And I went through the exact same thing. All the young kids are running this, you know, on bump stops. And, And. And they put in the old man set up for me. And I said, oh, that's way better.
- [61:59]
Ricky Johnson
Right? Totally. I will tell you one. One time we went. This is when I. I think I went there in Kevin's car. He sent me to Kentucky one time. They had a. They had a test, and I went there in an ARCA car. Dude. And we tried a left front coil bind. Yeah. And I loved that. Oh. I mean, I felt like I. I mean, I just felt I had really good feel for the left front. And I loved. I. I absolutely loved. Loved that. Never ended up racing with it, I don't believe. But, man, I love. When we tested it. It was awesome. Like, holy crap, man. If I could run this, this would be. This would be great.
- [62:40]
Kenny Wallace
We. We're going through an era right now where, you know, this new next gen car is the same. And now. Now we've got drivers that have never won, coming to the top and winning.
- [62:54]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [62:54]
Kenny Wallace
My brother Russ, you know, Michael McDowell, you've got Ross Chastain. These guys are winning because all the cars are equal. So some drivers that you thought that were never that great, but Ricky, you just. You just touched on something when you were in nascar, it was about the race car. Now, Kevin Harvick was always great. I mean, there's no doubt about that. Kevin Harvick is great. But what made good drivers even great was what you just said. Those great teams back then, they could get an advantage and become unbeatable.
- [63:32]
Ricky Johnson
Right.
- [63:33]
Kenny Wallace
So. Yes. That love front coil binding, Kevin's team, they were on it.
- [63:39]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [63:39]
Kenny Wallace
And that's cool. You got to experience that.
- [63:42]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. I mean, my learning. My learning curve was so steep. There's some things that I was proud of, going back to the truck series. I mean, I had a great time in the E series. I sat on the pole at one of the races, had some good finishes, and. Yeah. And. And it was. Dude, it was stacked back then. It was. You know, that's when DEI had their development program. I'm racing against Austin Dillon, Trevor Bain. I mean, I mean, you know how fast those people are.
- [64:14]
Kenny Wallace
Trevor, Trevor Bainton.
- [64:17]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, look at, look at, look at him today. Yeah. Two Daytona 500 champions. So it was cool. I got, I got to race against a lot of good guys. I had an absolutely great time. Then we go to the truck series and I, I think I won the poll in Atlanta one time and ran.
- [64:32]
Kenny Wallace
Led some balls that tracks. You're running 200 mile an hour around there.
- [64:36]
Ricky Johnson
I loved Atlanta. You know, this was before the repay. But the reason that I liked it is because you could adjust to the truck when the tires were going off. You could, you know, you could. You. Yeah, you adapted to the, to the tires as they started to fall off. And I loved, I absolutely love that rate that, that racetrack I love Texas always did well at Texas. And then, you know, the smaller tracks were always easy for. Easier for me just because like we already talked about the timing and less. Less reliant on Arrow. The Arrow for me was the biggest learning curve. I wish I could have learned how Arrow works a little bit quicker. I think my results would have been a little bit better. But hey, you know what? I was still thankful for the opportunity about the time I got the Arrow figured out and, and how to use it towards my advantage. Yeah, the, my NASCAR ride was over.
- [65:34]
Kenny Wallace
So kind of closing this NASCAR thing out. We look at, we look at Travis Pastrana who came. Ricky Johnson came and raced with me in the Red Dog truck.
- [65:45]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [65:46]
Kenny Wallace
Not comparing you all to each other, but you definitely had the most success out of those three money. Was money just too catastrophic? Was it just so unbelievable to. To stay going?
- [66:03]
Ricky Johnson
No. What happened was. And, and this is a great question. So everyone wants to know, man, what happened? So everything was going great and Monster was going to leave Turner and, and they went to kbm. Everybody knows all that. And they liked Kyle and they wanted to go from the truck series to the Nationwide series. And so this is how the story went. They were going to take their, their sponsorship to. To kbm. And as they did that, I was going to drive part time. And now remember, KBM was just starting their Nationwide program and we had gotten everything. Remember that? And I was gonna drive like 18 races in 2012, I think it was, or maybe 13. 12 or 13. And Kyle was. Kyle was going to do the other ones and to be like, it was going to be great. Kyle was going to mentor me and I was going to learn. And so, you know, and he was gonna, I was gonna cut my teeth with him and the Nationwide, which is now at Sexfinity. So we're about ready to go this Was Texas. Okay. And I'll never forget this. We were sitting at. I was sitting at a Starbucks in my rental car, myself and my manager, and we were talking to Rick Ren, who was running the joint at the time, and we like, okay, got all the. Got all the specifics done. We'll fly up to Nash or Charlotte like. Like that Monday or Tuesday after Texas. Well, everyone knows what happened at Texas with. With. With Kyle and Horn.
- [67:42]
Kenny Wallace
Yeah.
- [67:43]
Ricky Johnson
So then things got on the rocks. Right. The next two weeks. Well, got it. Got him back on the tracks after Phoenix. And, you know, we go into Homestead, everything's good. Same type situation. Hey, everything's good. We're back on track. Eminem's still gonna sponsor me in the cup monsters. We're ready to rip. Okay. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna fly up. We've got the truck banquet on Sunday or Monday, and Miami. I'll fly up on Wednesday. Well, Kurt had some issues on Sunday at Homestead and then got let go by Penske. Right. I think that if my memory serves me right, and then that was around Tuesday. Did he get let go pretty quick? Didn't he. He.
- [68:38]
Kenny Wallace
There. There was a. I know a lot, and let's just say there was a lot of drama there.
- [68:44]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be driving for. For Penske the next year. And as soon as that happened, they're like, hey, don't come up Wednesday. And as soon as. As soon as I didn't go up there on that Wednesday. And I. Maybe I'm a little confused on the specific days, but all I knew is when Kurt wouldn't be riding for. Driving for Penske the following year. I'm like, well, I know what. I know what this means. And, of course, yeah, the next thing you. You know is he's. He's driving for his brother, which I had. I'm not bummed at that. I'm not upset at that. Would I love the opportunity? Of course I. I would have. But I'm also, you know, I'm smart. I try to be smart about business. And I can't blame Monster. I can't blame Kyle for hiring his brother. I mean, blood is thicker than water and straight up facts. I mean, Kurt could run circles around me. So you want. I mean, Monster wants to win. Kyle certainly does. Kurt does. You have to hire Kurt over me, dude. I mean, come on. So I was. I was just thankful to even be in the conversation. But, yeah, they went with Kurt, which I would have done every single day of the week. And Twice on Sunday. So like I said, I'm not, I'm not bummed about it. And they made the right, the right, the right decision. So that's how my NASCAR deal ended.
- [70:14]
Kenny Wallace
Well, you know what, We've all seen the movie. There's a lot of ups and downs and. Yeah, hell, I, I never really even knew what happened. Thanks for telling us that, Ricky, because I mean, it always comes down, you know, when I talk. Well, obviously I had to get all my own sponsors and you know, in, in the Xfinity series, It was always $6 million a year.
- [70:40]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [70:41]
Kenny Wallace
Cup was always, you know, if you were Jimmy Johnson and Rick Hendrick, it was 20 million a year and it was, it's not easy, but man, you, you kick some butt and let's.
- [70:53]
Ricky Johnson
Thank you.
- [70:54]
Kenny Wallace
You. You know, I kind of, I mean, I always give my opinion and that's what I'm known for. I think NASCAR was very unlucky right there because the eyeballs. You were bringing a load of. Of your people eyeballs with you. And we, we talked about that. We, we remember all the motocross fans aligning the fences and cheering you on. So no drama. So it's all good.
- [71:24]
Ricky Johnson
Hey, and I, I want to say too, like a lot of people, I, I had a great. What I loved about NASCAR racing. Listen, every sport has their problems. You know what I mean? Like, it ain't peaches and cream anywhere as, as, you know, Wallace, but it's, it's, it's just like, you know, like I'm happy for the opportunity. I was always. There's so many great drivers that were willing to help me. Guys that I were race that I was racing against. I mean, that just happened. And we are. You. We don't. Yeah, we. That just don't happen in supercross, motocross. So that's, that's what I loved about it. I loved the fans. They were super, super gracious and. Yeah, I mean, I love it. I mean, NASCAR is a love of mine and it gave, it was a great opportunity. I picked up some great friends along the way. Yeah.
- [72:12]
Kenny Wallace
Like me.
- [72:12]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah. Amen. Amen. I love it. I can't wait. You know what I love about. You know. Love. Listen to you when you are on Fox Sports and now that you're not on the TV gig anymore and you're doing your own thing, it's, it's been a lot of fun. You can speak freely and, and, and you bring, you bring the real stuff to the table.
- [72:36]
Kenny Wallace
I am, I'm 60 years old now. I'M I'm retired.
- [72:40]
Ricky Johnson
Good for you.
- [72:41]
Kenny Wallace
I run the hell out of my dirt car. I stay young. I eat grilled chicken. I, I have. Me and Mark Martin talked about good omega fat, some salmon. I'm doing my very best, buddy. I want. I'm. I'm looking at you and hey, no, I see.
- [72:56]
Ricky Johnson
I. I look at you, want to be like you, man. Hey, I'm telling you, I want to. I want to be like you. But hey, I will say about racing dirt, some of the funnest times I've ever had in four wheels was doing the prelude to the dream, bro. I mean, it's just like this. A grin driving the whole time. And that's my claim to fame. I think I maybe want. I got set second to Ambrose in my heat race at the Prelude. And then I think I got six in the feature, but I got a. I got a picture. I was leading all the boys there early on in the feature, or might have been. Might have been the heat, but man, that was a fun event.
- [73:38]
Kenny Wallace
Have you, have you seen how dirt super late models have changed the racing world? They're paying $1 million to win. Davenport has won that.
- [73:47]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [73:48]
Kenny Wallace
You know, O', Neill, Hudson O', Neill, which is, you know, we call him the new deal. His father retired, but he makes a last corner pass on Sunday night. Last corner.
- [73:59]
Ricky Johnson
I didn't see it.
- [74:00]
Kenny Wallace
Wins the Lucas Oil championship and wins a hundred thousand dollars. These guys with, with, with the flow of stream, you know, with Flow. Flow Vision Flow. Dirt Vision streaming. I mean, every single race is paying 20, 000 to win. A hundred thousand to win. Are you paying attention? All that?
- [74:21]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah, yeah. It's massive, the streaming. I mean, you know, we stream all of our stuff on Peacock and even. Got it. I got, got a podcast title 24. It's on Peacock. Check it out. But it's right.
- [74:33]
Kenny Wallace
That was right.
- [74:34]
Ricky Johnson
There you go. There you go, baby.
- [74:37]
Kenny Wallace
Right there.
- [74:38]
Ricky Johnson
Presented by NBC Sports. We're very thankful for them. But, but yeah, the streaming is huge and I think it's done a lot for, for like you guys that are in super remote areas giving the respect that it's due. Like them dirt cars, you guys racing out in the middle of dang nowhere. And same for like. And same for the motocrosses. I mean, we're not in massive metropolitan areas, so the streaming packages have really done a lot of good for, for some of these race series. I'm happy for all of the drivers, athletes and sponsors. Everything. It's. It's perfect.
- [75:14]
Kenny Wallace
Ricky, you have officially became either the leader or second only to Tony Stewart. We are at an hour and seven minutes. Listen, you have been absolutely incredible. I. I gotta be honest, I've lost sleep the last two nights. I started last week when I called you.
- [75:31]
Ricky Johnson
Yeah.
- [75:32]
Kenny Wallace
Because I didn't want to mess this up and I.
- [75:34]
Ricky Johnson
You, you.
- [75:35]
Kenny Wallace
I've had a wonderful time.
- [75:36]
Ricky Johnson
Oh, I did too. I. Like I said, I'm. I'm happy for you man. I just love how happy you are. Thank you for, for having me on. Anytime I can talk to the four wheel world. I really did. You guys were always so gracious to me. Your. Your fans, my fans and the four wheel side. I love it. I. I truly do and appreciate appreciate you having me on. And anytime you need anything from me in my world, I'm glad to have you man.
- [76:02]
Kenny Wallace
That makes me happy. It really does have a friend like you will. Listen up everybody. We are in podcast form. Kenny Wallace show is showing up on podcasts. We are in itunes, Spotify. Check us out. Ricky, until next time buddy. Thank you so much and goodbye everybody. Check out Dirty Mo media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. Hey everyone, it's me, Andy Cohen. Buckle up because I have a podcast called Daddy Diaries where I take my listeners on an and recount of life as a daddy to two kids, dozens of housewives and the occasional fella. Listen to the Daddy Diaries to hear about my high highs and low lows of parenting, housewives, drama and so much more. Daddy Diaries available wherever you listen to podcasts. Hey neighbor.
- [76:54]
Dana
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