Sad Reflections, Bright Future

Summary

Herm & Schrader Podcast Summary

Episode: Sad Reflections, Bright Future
Date: January 7, 2026
Hosts: Kenny Wallace & Ken Schrader (with Allen Dietz)
Platform: SiriusXM, Dirty Mo Media

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Overview

The first Herm & Schrader episode of 2026 is a bittersweet blend of somber reflection and hopeful outlook. Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader, along with new producer Allen Dietz, tackle the recent spate of losses in the racing world, discuss the latest industry news, and look forward to a promising year of racing. Despite the heavy subjects, the show's signature humor, candor, and camaraderie remain in full force, setting a tone of resilience and optimism for NASCAR and grassroots racing in the months ahead.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Year, New Producer, Same Spirit

• Introduction of Allen Dietz as the new producer (01:57).
• Banter about the ever-changing producer role and Allen’s racing background.

Notable Quote:
Dale Jr.: "We've gone through two producers and now we're on our third producer. Would you like to meet him?" (01:57)

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2. Personal Losses and Reminiscences

• Schrader shares the recent passing of Ray Marler, his longtime friend and partner at I-55 Raceway. (03:45 – 05:54)
• Heartfelt tribute to Marler’s life (“he had a soft landing, went out peacefully in his recliner”) and impact on the racing family.

Notable Quote:
Schrader: "He had a soft landing. I see, went out easily, peacefully... I'll take 87. You sign up for 87 right now with a soft landing." (04:32; 05:46)

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3. A Brutal End to 2025: Industry Bereavements

(06:22 – 15:15)

a. Greg Biffle’s Plane Crash

• Loss of Biffle, his wife, kids, and others in a tragic accident.
• Reflections on the risks of constant air travel in racing.
• Discussion about parallels with past aviation tragedies in the sport.

Schrader: “When you take out a whole family like that...it doesn't make any difference why it happened...it's happened. We lost seven souls.” (07:21)

b. Michael Annett’s Passing

• Acknowledgment of his close connections in the community, especially with Rusty Wallace and Dale Jr.’s teams.
• Details kept private, with speculation about illness.

Allen Dietz: “I think I heard it was an illness, but I don't want any details.” (09:20)

c. Dennis Hamlin (Denny Hamlin’s Father)

• Died in a house fire; Denny’s difficult year recapped—loss of championship, court case, father’s death.
• Anticipation that fans and the industry will rally around Denny Hamlin.

Allen Dietz: “I think it'll totally change the way that the fans react to him next year. And it's going to change how he reacts to the fans, too, and how he looks at things.” (13:22)

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4. Looking Forward: NASCAR’s New “Hell Yeah” Campaign

(17:12 – 27:16)

• NASCAR launches a bold marketing campaign to reclaim its "redneck badge of honor."
• First ad set in a bar featuring Zane Smith and hyped Daytona 500 energy.
• General approval from the hosts for NASCAR tapping into its grassroots roots.

Schrader: “Our sport’s changed a lot, but that’s what started our sport...you’ve got to create some excitement.” (26:47)

Wallace: “Now everybody's using the word redneck because it is a badge of honor. We are rednecks.” (25:42)

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5. NASCAR Settlement: The Charter System and Lawsuit Aftermath

(19:07 – 25:42)

• Recap of the ownership/legal battle between NASCAR and team owners.
• General agreement that the settlement brings stability—teams have more money, permanent charters, and franchise-like value.
• Noted shift in power dynamics, with high-profile owners having public disagreements.

Wallace: “The teams got full time charters...those charters have went from maybe $40 million to maybe $100 million.” (21:14)

Allen Dietz: “I look at the charters like franchises in the NFL or NBA...if Jack Roush and Brad Keselowski want out, they can sell it to anybody—even an OEM, and that keeps teams in the sport.” (23:00)

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6. Grassroots Racing: A Positive Surge for 2026

(29:32 – 35:42)

• Record-breaking entry numbers at the Tulsa Shootout (over 2,000 cars).
• Despite “sky is falling” narratives, grassroots racing is still strong.
• Stories about local tracks (Dylan Motor Speedway, etc.) holding tradition-driven races with hefty car counts.
• Humorous banter about racers not being the "smartest" but the most persistent.

Schrader: “You can’t argue with numbers...there are more cars at Tulsa Shootout. Never… Everybody’s got the same amount of points. Everything’s perfect. Let’s go race.” (31:42)

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7. Upcoming Races & The Year’s Racing Calendar

(36:05 – 50:08)

• Anticipation for the Chili Bowl, Rolex 24, Clash at Bowman Gray, and the Daytona 500.
• Schrader headed to Casa Grande, AZ and Volusia Speedway.
• Emphasis on the “Positive Mental Attitude” (PMA) to start the racing year, with references to legends like Alan Kulwicki.
• Discussions about the unique grind and tradition of year-round racing.

Wallace: “We want to start this show off PMA. Positive Mental Attitude, everybody. That’s the way we are right now.” (37:12)

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8. Insider & Historical Commentary

(54:00 – 56:02)

• History lesson: Daytona 500 wasn’t always the season opener—Riverside used to be first and last race of the season.
• Lighthearted “quiz moment” where Schrader schools Wallace on racing history.

Schrader: “For years, Daytona wasn’t the first race… it was Riverside.” (54:22)

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9. Old School Meets New School: The Fans, The Industry, and Changes

(52:36 – 62:24)

• Discussion on the “everything is no good anymore” sentiment among leaders in sports.
• NASCAR sees slow, steady increases in attendance/viewership; even small gains are celebrated.
• Talk about balancing old and new fans, and if the formula that built NASCAR could still attract a new generation.

Schrader: “You just can’t make anybody happy… but they’re making changes and they’re damn trying.” (53:20) Allen Dietz: “Maybe the formula that worked when we were growing up could still work with new fans… with adjustments for attention spans.” (61:50)

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10. Mark Martin’s New Podcast and Role as an Industry Voice

(57:12 – 61:41)

• News: Mark Martin launching a show on the Kenny Wallace Media platform, with son Matt and Charlie Marlow.
• Observations on Mark’s increased bluntness and engagement on industry issues.

Schrader: “We’re going to have to up our game because Mark’s going to make us sound really stupid.” (59:32)

Wallace: “If NASCAR sat down with Kelly Earnhardt and Mark Martin… you’d have to put more seats back in. Those two are passionate about the sport and can help it.” (61:01)

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11. Banter, Deep Cuts, and Jokes to Wrap Up

(63:19 – show close)

• Allen Dietz rolls out rapid-fire dad jokes while Wallace and Schrader provide irreverent commentary.
• Final reminder to check out the show on YouTube and Dirty Mo Media, and a nod to all the "forehead" present in the video stream.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “He had a soft landing...peacefully in his recliner.” – Ken Schrader’s tribute to Ray Marler (04:32)
• “Our sport’s changed a lot, but that’s what started our sport—drinking in the bar.” – Schrader on NASCAR’s new ad campaign (26:47)
• “PMA: Positive Mental Attitude.” – Wallace on how racing legends approached setbacks (37:12)
• “Now everybody’s using the word redneck because it is a badge of honor. We are rednecks.” – Wallace on fan culture (25:42)
• “You just can’t make anybody happy… but they’re making changes and they’re damn trying.” – Schrader (53:20)
• “We’re going to have to up our game because [Mark Martin] is going to make us sound really stupid.” – Schrader (59:32)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:57: Meet new producer Allen Dietz
• 04:27 – 06:13: Tribute to Ray Marler
• 07:09 – 08:15: Greg Biffle’s plane crash & aviation safety
• 09:17 – 10:06: Michael Annett’s passing
• 10:51 – 13:22: Dennis Hamlin’s death and Denny’s tough year
• 19:07 – 25:42: NASCAR lawsuit, charter system, and industry structure
• 29:32 – 35:42: Massive grassroots turnout (Tulsa Shootout, regional races)
• 41:52 – 46:15: Chili Bowl, Gateway Indoor Dirt Nationals, streaming impact
• 47:42 – 48:40: Rolex 24 stories
• 49:23 – 50:28: Clash at Bowman Gray, rise of short tracks
• 54:00 – 56:02: The history of season-opening races
• 57:12 – 61:41: Mark Martin’s podcast & industry commentary
• 63:19 – 66:47: Dad jokes and episode wrap-up

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode typifies the Herm & Schrader show: part eulogy, part roast, part deep-dive racing roundtable. Even as Wallace, Schrader, and Dietz wrestle with a devastating string of off-season losses, they put racing culture, industry business, and fan experience under the microscope—with no shortage of zingers along the way. You'll come away caught up on the state of NASCAR, filled with new trivia, and, just probably, with a smile on your face.

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Next episode tease: IHRA’s new direction, more banter, and stories from the 2026 racing season. Stay tuned!

Transcript

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[Dalen Hart Jr.]

The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. I'm looking at Kenny Schrader right now.

[Kenny Schrader]

Is he a drink during the show?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I mean. Yeah. How in the world did we agree to do a podcast?

[Kenny Schrader]

I like spending time with you.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

That makes me happy.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, it's all about making you happy.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

We're always honest.

[Kenny Schrader]

We don't know that we're not in trouble already. And sometimes truthful. What makes you think you're not? A little.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You're weird, too. Herman Schrader. Herman Schrader on the Dirty Mo Media platform from the middle of America in St. Louis, Missouri, starts right now on January 5th.

[Kenny Schrader]

That's early in the year to be starting.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And here we are back for a second year. How did we do it? How did we come back a second, second year?

[Kenny Schrader]

Why did they let us? That's more the question. Why did they let us come back?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And we. We've gone through two producers and now we're on our third producer. Would you like to meet him?

[Kenny Schrader]

Would love to.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Mr. Allen Dietz. Allen, I've known you for a long time. You've been in the racing industry forever. Good to see you, my friend.

[Allen Dietz]

Yes, it's good to be here. And hopefully I can, you know, last more than a week or two.

[Kenny Schrader]

I hear you should last quite a while.

[Allen Dietz]

Well, as long as I stay, I'll just say grounded.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You are grounded.

[Allen Dietz]

Thank you.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Just a couple more things about Alan. Alan, you've been around NASCAR for. I feel like as long as me and Kenny have.

[Allen Dietz]

All my life. As a fan. As a fan, absolutely. But now, as far as in the business? Definitely not as long.

[Kenny Schrader]

How long is all your life?

[Allen Dietz]

Well, you know, a lot of people say I look 60, but I'm 47. So that's it.

[Kenny Schrader]

You're. And you're from the South? I'm a gas.

[Allen Dietz]

No, no, no, no, no. I'm actually born and raised in Connecticut, but I went to school down south.

[Kenny Schrader]

You hide it good. You. You hide it very good.

[Allen Dietz]

No, I. I grew up in South Carolina. I grew up about halfway between Darlington and Myrtle beach for a little perspective.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, well, all right.

[Kenny Schrader]

Beautiful country.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, everybody, like Kenny said, 20, 26. It's January 5th. Kenny, before we get into the news and what's up? How have you been, my friend? What's. What's been up?

[Kenny Schrader]

It's been busy. You know, the holidays. Didn't race in December. That was ugly. You know, a whole month not racing. Didn't race in December. Did the Christmas stuff. Went to Marco island for a week with a bunch of friends. Good time got back Sunday night, Sunday morning, two o' clock tomorrow. So we could do visitation and funeral today for my partner at i55, when we still owned it, Ray Marler, who. I drove race car for Ray Marler. We figured it out in 1978. Right. Is when I first started driving for him.

[Allen Dietz]

That was the year I was born.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, well, thanks for pointing that out. No, no, it was him and his wife sue, great people. We bought the racetrack in 95. We sold it a year or so ago. And he just, he. He had a. He was. Start slowing down. He's 87. Start slowing down. And we. The funeral was today and it was at one of Reed Millard's funeral homes. And buddy Reed, good racer. And he said. Well, the thing is, I never heard it before. He said he had a soft landing. I see me went out. Went out easily, peacefully in his recliner. And he just. Just didn't wake up. So it was just good see him have a good soft landing. But we still got sue with us, so she's here living on the. On the property and, and my mom's old place and. Just take care of her.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Well, let me just say this. I'm so sorry. I know that you and Ann, of course your wife is a nurse and she is the best at dealing with these situations and she's taught me a lot to stay strong. Kenny, I'm sorry about Ray.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, it happens. I'll take 87. Yeah, you sign up for. Well, you sign up for 87 right now with a soft land. With a soft landing.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. Just like you said, passing away in his recliner. But anyway, Ray Marler, what a great man. You and I. You and him, what, 30 years you owned.

[Kenny Schrader]

30 years we had I 55 Federated out parts Raceway.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

So, sure, a lot of fun together.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Sure gonna miss him. And my prayers to not just you and. And Anne, but Sue and the family I love.

[Kenny Schrader]

Carry on.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay. Okay. Well, you're not gonna like what I have to say now then, but this. Listen, everybody, this is the first show and, you know, the end of the year was brutal. Kenny. The end of the 2025 year was brutal. And we have not done Herman Schrader in quite a while. So it's sad for me to say, but we do got to bring it up before we move on. Greg Biffle in a brutal plane wreck. We lost Michael Annette. We lost Denny Hamlin's dad, Dennis Hamlin in a brutal house fire. And then, of course, Ray Marler. Let's start with the Biffle.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Give me your thoughts, Kenny.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, Greg, his wife, two kids and three others.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know, we lost seven there. A plane wreck. You know, we're lucky. We're lucky in our industry. You know, when something like that happens, it's huge. It's not like a car wreck, which they have every day and kill people every day. But we fly so many hours a year. Our whole industry does that. You know, we've had. We've had it happen before with Davey and Allen and the Hendrick plane, but just hits. It's hits. Hits home, man. But when you take out a whole family like that and it doesn't make any difference why it happened. I mean, yes, it does. And they'll find out. They'll get to the bottom of it, which, I mean, they already got pretty good ideas what. What happened. But bottom is. Bottom line is, it's happened. We lost. We lost seven souls.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You know, I do want to talk about that a little bit. I've talked to some pilots, and they. They say to me, kind of. Kind of like we do in the racing industry, because they're pilots and some of them fly that exact type airplane. The first thing they want to know is what happens so it doesn't happen to them. So it is an industry. You know, a lot of our friends fly citations. So that is very much, you know, on everybody's mind, what happened. And we know that that will come out the next 30 days, they're saying. So our prayers to, you know, everyone there. Michael Annette, very close to Rusty Wallace, my brother, and Steven Michael Annette drove for, you know, Rusty and Steven. And then of course at the end there drove for Dale Jr. Jr. Motorsports. Don't know much about that. Do either of you know anything? What happened to Michael?

[Kenny Schrader]

I, I don't, I, I, I have not heard what happened.

[Allen Dietz]

I think I heard it was a illness, but yeah, I don't want any details doing that.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, it's been kept pretty quiet. Yeah, I think I got to, I stopped in on Michael's daddy a couple times. This is Michael's daddy, you know, his herald, I believe as a big open wheel guy, you know, big racing guy. Grew up right around, you know, close to Knoxville Raceway. And he just stopped in there, you know, Market Island. He had his bus parked in one of them fancy RV places and I was out on my bike and wiggled in there and let go in his place and talk to him. Just quite a, quite a tradition of racing in that family.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And everybody says the same thing. Michael Annette, who we just lost quiet, but so nice. What a sad loss. Okay. And then the hits just keep on rolling here. Denny Hamlin's father, as we know he was roughed up. And Denny told us dad doesn't have a year left. And then he always said that's why I want to win this championship. But boy, none of us seen this coming. A theory home fire just, you know, really sad deal. And when we, when we look on the Internet we see some of the crew members, I think Wheels Wheeler.

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He.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Was a crew chief for me for one race he was helping Dennis move some of the old cars that Dennis had had some really good looking vehicles. So all hands on deck for Dennis Hamlin. Denny's dad, mom, Mary Lou is recovering. What is your thoughts, Kenny?

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, I don't know all the details about it. Did he get smoke in him? I mean because they, he had lung problem anyway, right?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Don't know, but fair to say.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. So I mean, I don't know if it's physically burned or what. Don't know. And that's why I hate talking about stuff you don't know about what actually happened. Bottom line is that, you know, the situation took his life, which is bad. And I, you know, feel so bad for Denny. Yeah. You know that that means championship was right there. Yeah. But he didn't get it, you know, through obviously. No fault his and nothing anybody did. It was just a situation. Something happened, a tire blew out and the yellow came out and he wound up not winning it. But then, you know, wanting to be there, wanting it so bad like everybody does but wanting it and far as Daddy, which understand, you know, much, and, and then for this to happen, it's like, hey, you gotta be pretty strong, man. You know, keep coming back.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I, I saw a comment, a quote by Kyle Larson that made me just sigh. You know, although Denny had a great year, he had a horrible ending, as you said. Loses that championship on the last couple laps there, goes through that court case, father passes away. You know, they, they say God will only give you what you can handle. And I'm sure whatever your opinion is, I think Denny had all he could handle. And his last thing about a week ago was listen, thank you, everybody. I see your messages. We just need a little privacy right now and.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, yeah, but, you know, wouldn't surprise you one bit. See Danny come back and when, when the shootout or whatever they call it now, but when Bowman Gray and go Daytona and win that again. So no doubt he's, he's, you know, he's, he's that good and he's obviously tough. So, you know, everybody's behind you.

[Allen Dietz]

I hate to interrupt, but the thing too about it is, is, you know, he's kind of embraced this, this bad guy building. It's almost like a villain with quotes. But, you know, that started to change when he won at Las Vegas and he talked about his dad and everything, and then the, the way that everything ended up at Phoenix. And, and I think the way that he will handle this based on his personality and how strong he's perceived to be anyway, you know, personality wise, that I think it'll totally change the way that the fans react to him next year. And it's going to change how he reacts to the fans, too, and how he looks at things.

[Kenny Schrader]

We can see, we can see a day, one, one day change somebody. Your brother and DW at. Yeah, Winston. Yeah. At Charlotte, you know, all of a sudden DW is the good guy and your brother's the bad guy. And that changed in a day. And here we got people, you know, Denny's playing that villain, but he, he shows all his emotions at Vegas, like, like you say, and then championship didn't work out when it was right there, just had to close it. And then for this to happen, I think you're going to see a tremendous amount of support.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And then, of course, listen, there might be more, but, you know, Greg Biffle, Michael Annette, Dennis Hamlin, and then of course, Ray Marler, there might be more in the industry, but this is enough. All of this happened at the very end of the 2025, and just a brutal time.

[Kenny Schrader]

Stuff happens.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Isn't that something? Everybody's traveling, I guess.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, that. But it's just, it just, it seems to. I don't know, but it happens a lot.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

In, in a crazy way. Biffle is going to celebrate his birthday. They got the plane full. They, they're, they're going down to see Cletus McFarland and then of course, Dennis Hamlin. You know, it's cold. Everybody's turning the heat on and you know, that's not the downplay. People start firing up fireplaces and heat and so you bring up a good point, Kenny. It's hard to say, but a lot of bad accidents do happen around the holidays and obviously it's what we just saw. Hey, this is Dalen Hart Jr. And for the latest Herman Schrader gear, you need to go to shop.dirtymomedia.com We've got plenty of options for everybody and we're adding new stuff all the time. So go to shop.dirtymomedia.com Everyone deserves to be connected.

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[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, let's take a deep breath, everybody. Shake it off. Okay. Man, oh man, that was tough. All right, everybody. I think we all did as good as we could, everyone. And prayers to everybody. Okay, let's start the 2026 year. We had to go back just for a minute, everyone. Kenny, NASCAR told us this was coming. This is fun. At the end of last year, NASCAR said we are going to make a right wrong. We bringing out our hell yeah campaign. And I know you've been, you know, on vacation, but NASCAR and the networks just released their first hell yeah commercial and they're all in a bar and this guy says, what's the big deal with the Daytona 500? And of course this Earnhardt fan starts screaming and he gets louder and louder. Let me tell you what it is about the Daytona 500 and he's screaming. And at the very end, there's Zayn Smith, one of our NASCAR cup drivers, and he says, yeah, I get it. So have you seen the commercial?

[Kenny Schrader]

No, I haven't seen it.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

D what about you? Have you seen the commercial?

[Allen Dietz]

No, but it sounds wonderful.

[Kenny Schrader]

Go. Goes back to. It was when ESPN did all those ride along commercials back in the day.

[Allen Dietz]

You did one, didn't you?

[Kenny Schrader]

I don't think so. I don't remember it. I don't. I don't think I did.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, well, yeah, here. Here's my take, everybody. This is a new year. It's 2026. NASCAR, go ahead.

[Kenny Schrader]

We gotta go back.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Let's go.

[Kenny Schrader]

You brought it up, but it was at the end of 25.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Oh, gosh, hold on, let me think here.

[Kenny Schrader]

The lawsuit. Well, I mentioned it.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay. You know, Denny, but I'm glad you brought it up because I was kind of confused. Did we do. We did not do a show and. Okay, let me set it up.

[Kenny Schrader]

We did a lot of shows talking about it, but we never did anything after it was settled.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

So let me serve it to you. We get. Right at the end of the second week of the lawsuit, NASCAR is clearly in trouble. That's my opinion. And they say we need to settle. So, Kenny, they settle, NASCAR settles. And, you know, here we are. I want to hear your opinion. Then I'll give you mine.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, I have an opinion. I think it was good that everybody settled and we don't know anything about what they settled for. But the only thing that were safe to guess. We all guess what happened is NASCAR gave the teams more money. Yeah, you know, I mean, that. That had to be what happened. So it's settled. It doesn't. It wasn't. I mean, it might have wound up good for the teams. We for sure. The teams. NASCAR tv. Nobody needed it to. We needed it to be done and go into Christmas and then start talking about Daytona. We didn't need any lawsuit conversation. It didn't mean it needed to be behind us. I agree.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I will add that the team's got full time charters and all the teams are talking about how these charters have went from maybe $40 million to maybe $100 million. And those are figures that people are saying. So, yeah, meet you halfway there. The team's got more money and they got full time charters. So now if you own a cup.

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Team.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You'Ve got something that is worth a lot of money.

[Kenny Schrader]

A cup team with a charter. Yes.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Just a little Bit more on this. What do you think the fans feelings are when they saw it getting really dirty? You saw your old boss, Mr. H. Come out in public and, and he said, and I'm going to paraphrase this everybody. Rick Hendrick year old boss says, jim, love you like a brother, but you got to make this right. You're not staying up with inflation. And Roger Pinsky says the same thing. Both of these people kind of scold Jim France. Was that shocking to you? What do you think the fans thought about that? I, I was like, wow, this is big.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. I don't, hey, I see both sides of it. I see both sides for sure. You know, I've been involved with the ownership of some racing associations and I've had a race team forever. I see, I see both sides. Regardless, they did come to common ground and agreed. So that's it. Yeah, that's all we needed.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Alan, my thought is that, and I'm not dramatic, but I'm just saying the fans always thought maybe, but oh my God, there it is in writing. I think the fans are forever changed. They'll move on. What is your thought from. You say you've been a fan your whole life. From a fan's perspective, even though you're in the industry, when you saw that come out, how did that change you?

[Allen Dietz]

I think from being inside it, it kind of reiterated some things to me. But I, I think that it, for fans, it probably did illuminate some things that they didn't see. And I saw, you know, on social media, you had fans that were very fearful of what it could do to nascar. And I think that that's, that's the biggest reason why they settled it is because you didn't want to judge. Going in there saying you're going to have to sell racetracks. You're, I mean, whenever you start literally busting up a monopoly, you're getting into a situation that, that is totally out of everybody's control. But you know, you think about when, when a lot of this started in the, in the late two, late 2000s, you know, the, the car counts were, you know, kind of hovering there around 38 to 45 somewhere along in there. And, but NASCAR could kind of see the writing on the wall that the owners were getting older. So do we need to get, make them franchises or do we need to give them charters or what do we need to do? And to me, I look at the charters like franchises in the NFL or the NBA and I think NASCAR kind of looked at it like that. Like we're we have awarded you this franchise like the Panthers, you know, came to Charlotte and Jacksonville got the Jaguars. But the biggest thing that it's done is with making them permanent. You know, if, if Jack. Jack Roush and Brad Keselowski, rfk, if they want to get completely out of it, they can, they can go to somebody, even if it's a, you know, OEM like Volkswagen or, or. Or whoever it is, and say, here it is. You got it. You're going to be in the sport. You can purchase this franchise. And it's no different than when, when Jerry Jones bought the, the Dallas Cowboys. They knew the next year that the Cowboys were going to still be in the NFL. And I think it's the same way with these charters now. And the, the whole thing had to. They just, they. They had to make it fair because you had money going to the racetracks and money going NASCAR and a certain amount of money going to the teams, and it looked disproportional. And just like you guys said, I think now they put this behind them and everybody, instead of being at odds with one another, can kind of have a common goal and say, you know, just like you said, let's. Let's go forward, let's move forward, and let's get this thing straightened back out.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay? So, Kenny, thank you for reminding me of that. We did need to touch on the lawsuit, okay? So now we're moving forward and we're all big NASCAR fans and we're happy. We're all fresh now. NASCAR said, Steve o' Donnell said, we're going to make this right, whatever it takes. And so they come out with, listen, it's pretty simple. They're trying to get all of our. Now everybody's using the word redneck because it is a badge of honor. We are rednecks. And the hell yeah comes out. And NASCAR just says it's going to be called Hell yeah. And so now these line of commercials are going to come out. And the first one, I mean, they, they were on the gas right away. We're in a bar, we're drinking. They even had bush beer on the counter. And I like it. Some people say, well, it's insulting my intelligence. But I'm like, no, we're all in the bar. And so what do you think, Kenny? Is that scene okay? I painted the picture for you.

[Kenny Schrader]

Our sports changed a lot, but that's what started our sport is that kind of stuff.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Good point.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know, I say that not always, but it's always been a, a. It's Been a part of it, a big part of it. So yeah, and you know what, you gotta, you gotta do something. You, you gotta, you gotta create some excitement. More power to them going back grassroots to create some excitement. I like it.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

One, one thing is for sure, little birdie told me there's gonna be some great announcements coming up. They did the first one today. We're back on this January 5th. They announced that Chip Weil, who was my old PR guy who was the president of Daytona, he said like a month ago, Chip while said I'm leaving, I'm done. I don't know if his buddy Ben Kennedy dragged him back in, but now Chip Wild is back in NASCAR representing the safety driver council. So in other words, Jeff Burton is representing the drivers and he's talking to Chip While at nascar. That was the first big announcement today. I know you've been busy, Kenny, but you know, Jeff Burton, I think it is Michael McDowell, some other drivers, but they're going to work with NASCAR and try to keep it safe, you know, like walking the racetracks. The drivers don't like this soft wall here. So that's an announcement. That's just. And we're going to start seeing these every other day for sure. No doubt in my mind.

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[Dalen Hart Jr.]

This one might catch you off guard. Kenny the Tulsa.

[Kenny Schrader]

Everything you've said so far has caught me off guard. I haven't been around, haven't been exposed to much in the last two weeks.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Well, this one you kind of know about, but I'm going to spin it in a positive way, you know, in life lately here and let me just be dramatic for a minute. Oh, racing's too expensive. Look, there's nobody in the grandstands. What's going on with our sport. However, we just watched the Tulsa Shootout in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A record amount of cars. You know, okay, 1,009. Okay, 2,000 cars. All right, we're not going to go 1,987. But Flo said there's 2,000 cars here. This is a record. Kenny, you're, you know, you're really good with money and, and I think I am, too, but a little bit of a comedy here. If everything's so damn bad, where the hell's all this money coming from? Gas prices are down. Stock markets up. 2000 cars at the Tulsa Shootout. Everything seems good right now.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, well, I mean, that's first race of the year. I don't. You know, we had the Ice bowl this weekend. How that go down towdag? I don't know sure how many cars they had. There was Arrowheads Raceway in Oklahoma. I saw they had. They had a whole ton of B mods, like 19Amods, bunch of mods.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You know, K. Dillard, 1. Tony Jackson flip, but go ahead.

[Kenny Schrader]

Did he. Tony flip?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Oh, Tony flipped. Horrible.

[Kenny Schrader]

Not in. Not like in late mo.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah. He did not tip over.

[Kenny Schrader]

He did not tip over.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

He did not tip over.

[Kenny Schrader]

He flipped. Yeah, style. No racers. And I'm throwing myself in this category. We're not the smartest.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Me, too.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, Yeah. I. Yeah, I want to brag on.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Me being dumb, too.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, I, I had you in there. But, you know, it's a new year. We're ready to go. Everything's going to be perfect. But you can't. You can't argue with numbers still, you know, I mean, there are more cars at Tulsa Shootout. Never. At the last I looked, There was over 350 for the Chili bowl, which is still almost two weeks away. I don't know. You know, I think. I think inflation in the stock market and all that stuff, fuel prices, that factors in big. It does. So we just have to see. It's. Hey, it's a new year. We're. Everybody's got the same amount of points. Everything's perfect. Let's go race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, man, I'm jacked up on Sundrop. Oh, by the way, listen, you know the, the movie, you know, the little kid says, I'm Grandpa or dad. I'm jacked up on Mountain Dew. Well, I changed the Sundrop. Just having fun with Dale Jr. Kenny Schrader and Alan Dietz. Did you know? This is unbelievable. Sundrop was made right here in St. Louis, Missouri, and sold. Sold to Southern Distributors.

[Kenny Schrader]

Wait a minute.

[Allen Dietz]

I thought it was made right down the road here in Charlotte's where it came from.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Hey, as trader would say, Google it.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, yeah, maybe that's where it started. And it probably made different places. But did it start in St. Louis?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, St. Louis. And that's your job now. That's your first investigation. Deets. Where was Sundrop made?

[Allen Dietz]

That's not actually my first investigation because. Oh, I actually went and looked at, at the council members. You correct on Malcolm McDowell, Jeff Burton. The others were William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logan.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Good stuff. Champions. Yeah, champions, right, Kenny?

[Kenny Schrader]

Not Chase yet. I didn't hear Chase, Briscoe, yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Joey Logano.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, Chase will be. I'm banking.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

William Byron, Daytona 500 champion. Joey Logano, was he three?

[Allen Dietz]

I'll get the Sun Drop information.

[Kenny Schrader]

The other two producers, I mean, they, they'd get that stuff so quick.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Never mind.

[Kenny Schrader]

You, you go ahead. You just. We got 45 minutes or so.

[Allen Dietz]

I do want to say that to go back to what you guys were talking about with car counts and stuff like that. So this past weekend I was at Dylan Motor Speedway in South Carolina that Ron Barfield owns. You know, he used to race, race for Bill Elliott and stuff like that. And he owns it. And they have this race every year, the New Year's Bash. And he had the, the main division. There are the street stocks. They paid $2,000 to win for the street stocks. And he's had his, you know, close to 60 before and this year I think he had 36. But when you combine all the divisions, front wheel drive, crown vix, you know, mini stocks, all that, they're not late models. This is a grassroots deal. He had 150 cars on the property for that race, most cars he's ever had, and a good crowd. And you get these races and they get a little tradition, you know, like you guys were saying with the Tulsa Shootout and Ice bowl and things like that. His race has done that. And I think if the fuel prices go down, that means the petroleum prices are down, which makes tires cheaper, which makes transportation cheaper. And, and like Kenny said, it's, you know, it's the beginning of the year. So people think they've got money whether or not they do it.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah. And we're jacked up on Sundrop.

[Allen Dietz]

Okay, I'm going to give them that right now.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, Kenny, I'm just gonna name off four races and I know you're gonna fill in one because I, I think you're getting ready to shove off, as you would say. This is just glossing over. We are all excited. The Chili bowl here in a couple weeks on January 17th. That's a Saturday night.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yep.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Rolex 24 hour clash at Bowman Gray and then the Daytona 500. And I brought this up for you because you're the one that always reminds me we race year round. Those are four. What do you got and where you shoving off to and what do you got to say about all those races?

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, this show comes out on Wednesday.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Wednesday. Everybody knows we're taped.

[Kenny Schrader]

So we're shoving off Wednesday morning for Casa Grande, Arizona. Oh, Wild West Shootout run Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, come back, run down to Volusia County Speedway. Yeah. Run 28th. Don't have a calendar in front of me. 28th, 9th, 30th or 9th. 30th. 31st. And then the following, like the 1st through the 7th. Something like that.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

March.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. So that's what we're looking at now. And then hopefully, basically every weekend after that. And we'll miss a few, but hopefully every weekend. Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

The reason I brought this up, everybody, is this is a new year. And positive mental attitude, everybody. We want to start this show off pma. And it was Alan Quickie, Lonesome Pine, Virginia. Alan Quickie was getting ready to win his very first ASA race. And it was Paul Andrews. It held a chalkboard up. Alan was like, I got a vibration. And Paul Andrews puts p. M A. And holds the chalkboard up. Positive mental attitude. Let's, let's finish this restart off. So that's the way we are right now, Everybody, with the 20, 26 year positive mental attitude.

[Kenny Schrader]

So, Kenny, we were at Dallas, Texas at the dirt track for a. Have a Tampa or NDRA race. 19 oh something. Yeah. And it was rough and Saturday night for the cup race. And Joey holds up pickboard. Oh, it says 12 PO Q16.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, this is good stuff, everybody.

[Kenny Schrader]

And Scott Bloomquist guys are side Joey and says, got no Idea what does 12 POQ 16 mean? He said, you're running 12th. You want to get pissed off and quit. You're going to finish 16th. So we stayed out and finished eighth. But yeah, you got, you got letters for everything.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, we have breaking news in the garage here, everybody. Alan Dietz does have this information about Sundrop. Go ahead, Alan.

[Allen Dietz]

Well, this is from Wikipedia, so you know it's true, but I'm, I'm shocked. Sundrop was developed in Missouri or Missouri by Charles Lazier, a salesman of Bay beverage concentrates. His son Charles Jr. Worked as a lab technician, began to work on the formula, took it to Washington, debuted at the American Bottlers Carbonated beverages conference, and it was headquartered in Gastonia, North Carolina for 50 years. But everybody, and I would say, including Dale Jr. At least thought that like it started right down the road, which I'm pointing to nowhere for you guys but like down the road around Salisbury. So I know that's where Pepsi started. But I'm, I'm totally, totally shocked. I thought it came out of North Carolina.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I'm a lover and me and Kenny shred we will share with you. But it is a southern drink, there's no doubt. But that is interesting, isn't it?

[Kenny Schrader]

I had no idea it came from St. Louis.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Allen Dietz]

Here's the thing. Is it Missouri or Missouri?

[Kenny Schrader]

Missouri. I say Missouri.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Missouri.

[Kenny Schrader]

It's got an irony in, I don't.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Know, Nashville or Nashville.

[Allen Dietz]

Nashville.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

That's good stuff.

[Allen Dietz]

That's like, that's like Lancaster up in New York, you know it's Lancaster in South Carolina. It's Lancaster.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Lancaster.

[Allen Dietz]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Concord.

[Kenny Schrader]

Concord.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Concord, New Hampshire. Concord, North Carolina.

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Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits. Plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

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[Kenny Schrader]

On your data so you can live better, longer.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Join Anytime Fitness today. Kenny, I like doing this with you. Give me 30 seconds on these four races. 30 seconds on the Chili Bowl. Go ahead.

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, huge. 350, 400 cars. People from I don't know how many states. States and countries. Little, maybe a six mile dirt. I don't know what they call it. They might call it a fifth.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

It's in a building.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, it's in a building. Which was the largest free spanning building in the United States. I don't know if it is anymore. We're talking 350 cars, a whole lot of trailers, seats, let's say, let's say I don't know the real number, but it's got to be 12, 13,000 people seats for maybe 10 of them. Unbelievable race. And it's actually a race. A lot of those things are events. Yeah. And they don't have the track to race on or just, you know, not big enough or not. This place is a race and the cream always rises to the top. You don't just start in the front at Chili bowl and wind up winning because it wasn't a racetrack where you couldn't pass or something. It is actually a race. And that's something that makes it unique from some of the other races. One thing we did, we, we skipped over too, but you know, it's just, it's a race. Talking about indoor and big events, we had the indoor race at the Dome this year, which I have never been to a race there and it's right up the road. But I watch every one of them on tv. Probably. You know your numbers. Everybody can tell you whatever they want to. But it sounds like a, you know, a good solid 30,000 plus. I've heard up to 38, but let's just say 30,000 plus is possibly the biggest dirt track race attendance ever. I would think it is. I don't know what would be bigger. And you know, it's, it's, you know, it's hard to pass, but the good cars always wind up up there and it's an exciting event.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You know, I want to comment on both the A mains for the Chili bowl and the Gateway Dirt Nationals. You know, everybody, you know, you'll get going in the Chili Bowl Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, all these qualifiers. Same thing with the Gateway Dirt Nationals. And everybody's like, oh, they're wrecking too much. And I always say, listen, wait till the amain. They will go green flag. And as you say, or is when Jimmy, you know, it's cream rises through the top. As you said, Jimmy's Metro. He's live on speed with us. You know, buddy got a cigar in his mouth when the, the cream always rides us through the crop to the crop.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know, that's, that's like in, in ninth, you know, early whenever. The ARCA race always caught a bad rap because they always wrecked their butts off at Daytona.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

But guess what? We've proven that it doesn't make a care difference of his market. Truck O'Reilly's tour this year.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, good job.

[Kenny Schrader]

Are our, the, the cup series. We're going to wreck. We're going to wreck big. When we all get running three abreast down the back straight away, 12 rows deep and bumping each other, there's going to be a problem. And there always is.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I mean that, that Chili bowl, you know, I think are they going back to 55 laps this year.

[Kenny Schrader]

55 laps this year?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, I think they went to 50. And everybody's like, we want the 55. So I don't know. But anyway, you know, they'll go green flag. The track's fresh, it's sticky, and you're thinking they're never going to wear it out. And halfway through that thing, it's slippery. They're climbing the walls.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And it is just so good. And.

[Kenny Schrader]

And every night, just like when we're out at Arizona, when we're out there, which is this basic. Same week as Chili Bowl. We start week four, but then same week as Chili Bowl. Both those races are live on flow.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

And we'll have spectacular races. We're out there with a little modified but late miles be out there. And the first and the last night, they can potentially win $50,000 both nights. Chili bowl doesn't pay that much, but it's. It's the. You want to win in the Chili Bowl?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Hey, I want to throw this in here. This is not on my notes, but Flow and Michael Rigsby have bought the Lucas Oil 8 model series. So that is a big deal. I think it's good. I think that, you know, we lost Mr. Forrest. He passed away. The owner of Lucas Oil, Kenny, was that a natural move when we lost him or what is your thoughts there?

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, I mean, it's. It's good. I mean, the Lucas Oil series, you know, puts on phenomenal racing just like the world outlaw late models. We'll just have to see. Yeah, that. That whole streaming industry. I've learned a lot more about it and still got a lot to learn about it, but I know that whether I turn on Dirt Vision or Flow. Yeah. You can see a lot of good races from home.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

From.

[Kenny Schrader]

It's not like being there, but, you know, you can't go to all of them.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

When Kenny Schrader and myself both go to Volusia. Watch us on Dirt Vision, everybody. World of outlaws. It is a lot of fun. Gives you something to do in the winter time. I've learned that. Boy, it's cold back here. It's nothing better to turn on Dirt Vision and of course, Flow. Okay, Kenny, My God, we've been going. This is awesome. Okay, 30 seconds. That was more like five minutes. 30 seconds on the Rolex 24.

[Kenny Schrader]

Got to run it one time.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I thought you did.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. Ran it maybe 86. Wow. A long time ago with. We went around one of Jack Roush's Mustangs, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty, Ricky Rudd and myself.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Good stuff.

[Kenny Schrader]

We had a engine failure in the middle of the night about two in the morning when a lap car run Ricky to the outside, to the outside wall coming out of the chicane and lower control arm went through the side of the block. That was engine failure.

[Allen Dietz]

Whoa.

[Kenny Schrader]

But broke a lower suspension. Yeah. Neat race. And what you know, used to be you just finished that race. You just finished it. Now them guys, you know, it's like the Cup Series. They run their butts off the whole race. The pit stops have changed and everything. They're really up that program and guys are winning by just seconds and stuff. So it's phenomenal race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I was in it two times. I was the one, the first time that chucked the dry sump pump belt off and the oil pressure light came on going through the back straightaway chicane. Sorry, boys. Then I ran with one of the Porsche teams once as a celebrity driver. You know, they had three or four other great gentlemen paid a lot of money and that was in obviously the second class down Daytona prototypes. Boy, are they exciting. Those. Those are bad boys. And okay, 30 seconds on Clash at Bowman Gray, NASCAR's first race of the year.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yes. First off, the guys don't have to tow out to boy California, so they like that better. But I watched it last year. You'd think it'd get a little rough, which it can. And they all get rough no matter where what track there are at times. But good race. I mean, it just more racing than I thought there be. Thought there would be. Chase's car was nice and clean.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Blamey Blaney came from dead last to second.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. To run second. Yeah. Good race. Which just shows that. I mean, those guys are good. They can put on a show and just give them anything to call kind of call racetrack and they can put on a show there.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

De. Let's include you, buddy. That's the South. That's your home. It does. Is it sentimental for you when they say Bowman Gray? And by the way, I see that. See, they're looking for a stadium sponsor. They're looking to get Bowman Grace sponsored. What's your thoughts?

[Allen Dietz]

Well, I mean, you know, I could say 10 or 15 years ago, but five years ago, would you have thought that there'd be a Cup Series race and it's an O'Reilly Auto Parts race and a Craftsman Truck race in the same year at Bowman Gray, Rockingham and North Wilkesboro like last year, and it'll be like this this year, you know, and that goes back to this campaign that NASCAR is doing. Where they kind of get it now. And a lot of the old fans, frankly, they're gone. Like my granddaddy. I mean, they've literally gone. They passed away. And some of the other ones have left the sport, too. But I think if you look at the formula that made NASCAR work, why can't it work again the same way with a new group of fans?

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, you know, it's. It's not like. It's just a problem we NASCAR has. You look at those stadiums, those other ball games. You know, we're not a ball game, obviously, but it's some of those other sports, they're not filled up like they were at one time. Now, there's some of them that are, but, you know. And we have some of them that are. But the thing about our sport is, from everything that I gather from people down there, is we've been gaining slightly on viewership and attendance. Okay. I don't care how much it goes up a year. Just let it keep going up a little bit. Just show us we're on a little bit of an incline.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, so listen, I'm going to need 30 seconds on the Daytona 500. But before we go to that, you just said something. So this is good for me to slide this in here. And this was big on my notes there. There is a new phenomenon out there where everything is no good. College, of all things. Rick Patino, one of the great college coaches. That's college basketball.

[Kenny Schrader]

No good.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

They're doing it all wrong. Well, I felt. Well, he's just. He's upset. Possibly one of the greatest coaches. I mean, this guy fills in for Bear Bryant, Nick Saban with Alabama. He gets on the big show and says, college football is no good. So you got two of the greatest coaches of all time. These sports are headed in the wrong direction. And I'm thinking, where have I heard this? So is this a phenomenon? What the hell is going on?

[Kenny Schrader]

Everything.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Nothing's no good anymore. What is. What the hell?

[Kenny Schrader]

I don't know. This is way past me.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, me, too.

[Kenny Schrader]

I just signed up. Talk about racing.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Schrader]

I'm not sure I know everything I'm talking about there, but that's just our. Our country. You can't make anybody happy.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[Kenny Schrader]

And I just. But you know what? What? They're making changes and they're damn trying.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And they just keep trying and keep trying and. Yeah, okay. I wanted to bring that up, not necessarily to discuss, but to remind everybody. I think it's a phenomenon, and I don't like it. Just Stop. Okay, let's get back. Kenny. 30 seconds and maybe it take five minutes, but we. We run our super bowl at the beginning. The Daytona 500. God, what a great race.

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, man, I got to run it for a lot of years.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yes, you did.

[Kenny Schrader]

We've run every spot you can finish, except when we run second, third, fourth, fifth. But it is. I mean, it's a Super bowl, and we start out with it, you know, for years. Daytona wasn't the first race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, come on. Come. Well, hey, listen, a little bit better. Do your history a little bit better. Yeah. Where was our first race for years? Come on, Kenny.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Hold on. Our first race.

[Allen Dietz]

Look it up. Don't look it up.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, you go ahead and look up. See. What was the last year? It wasn't our first race.

[Allen Dietz]

Oh, me?

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Allen Dietz]

I'm going to guess, and then I'm going to look it up, but it's Riverside. And I think the last year was not the last. The last time Riverside was not the first race, I would say was maybe around 1982.

[Kenny Schrader]

It was. It was. It was in there. It was somewhere. I was going to say late 70s, but yeah. Kenny, Riverside was the first and last race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I never knew that. I never knew that. No, I knew the last race. I didn't know it was the first race.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Wow.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. Because it was last race. When you. When you were in a Levi Garrett car, crew chief in our net, that would have been last race in 84.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Have you been taking your vitamin B12? Because you're really smart today.

[Kenny Schrader]

No, no, no. I just. Because I was at that race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You're right. I was the crew chief for the Levi Garrett team, Joe Rutman, and. But I just.

[Kenny Schrader]

85. It was a. It was Atlanta.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I'm so embarrassed that I did not know that.

[Kenny Schrader]

I'm embarrassed that you didn't know, too, Kenny.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And you even know that Ray Haroun won the very first Indianapolis 500. You taught me that.

[Kenny Schrader]

1911. But that wasn't the first race.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, keep going.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, I don't. I can't go into all details, but I think first race was 1909, but it wasn't the 500.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

God, that's good stuff. I love that.

[Allen Dietz]

You want to know what technically it was? Yes, it was a hot air balloon race.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, yes. Yeah, I remember that. I mean, I don't remember it. I was sick that day. Didn't get to go. But there was. There was an automobile race there, I believe, before the Internet was 500 there was.

[Allen Dietz]

And I think they were both in 1909, I believe.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, man, that is good stuff. That. That's not even funny. That is. I mean, at hot. Hot air balloon. Hey, did you see where they repaved Indy a little bit. And they. Now, I don't know if it was pr, but they're like, oh, look, old bricks.

[Kenny Schrader]

We've got some bricks. We've got a couple bricks from the brick. I used to throw them in the creek outside turn two. They used throw them in there we go test, and we go down there and get some out of the creek. Hey, off subject. Yeah. I hear there's a new show coming up with one of the hero guys, Mark.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Oh, yes.

[Kenny Schrader]

Well, you got Mark to do a show.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yes. Okay. Well, I did not. Let me tell everybody about this. So on X, one of the social media platforms, somebody said, hey, Mark Martin, why don't you have your own podcast? And Mark Martin responded, I guess there's no demand. And at that time, I knew it was coming. I was like, three, two. My char. My Charlie Marlo calls me. I'm downtown St. Louis, showing some friends around. And I said, well, let me. I. I was able to grab like five minutes, formulate a nice text to Mark. I mean, we worked it out. I said, okay, Charlie Marlowe is going to call you. Then Mark calls me with a 8 inch nice text. And. And Mark Martin and Matt Martin and my Charlie Marlo, they are jacked up on Sundrop and it's going to be the Mark Martin show on the. This is another fun.

[Kenny Schrader]

This. This is. This is funny.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Kenny Wallace media platform.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And of course, we'll get into that another day, how that all formulated. But yes, it's going to be interesting, Kenny and Alan, because Mark and Matt are historians, and they just did their first show today, and they start off talking about Harry Gantt and Kurt Bush, you know, and they said they easily win an hour. So there are people that want to hear this. And it's going to start out, you know, it's. It's on the Kenny Wallace media platform. You can find it on our Kenny Wallace YouTube. And of course, we do have our own podcast, and it's going to gain in followers, but I. Thanks for bringing that up.

[Allen Dietz]

Okay, Alan, can I ask real quick? Was. Because I've noticed it on X again, as a fan, I. I don't remember Mark Martin being as opinionated as he had. Me neither in the last five. I mean, so I was going to ask y', all, is that A new thing or is that something that as fans we just didn't see or.

[Kenny Schrader]

I don't know. But I know one thing, Kenny. We're going to have to up our game because he's going to make us sound really stupid.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

And I'm going to tell you what. Mark, Mark's got his new coach being built. He does a lot of traveling. But I believe Mark Martin, I believe that Mark is passionate, he is a race fan. You know, he does pay attention to everything and man, he just felt so. Alan, to answer your question, my opinion, no. Mark was never like this, but he, but he just saw things that were.

[Kenny Schrader]

Going on in NASCAR and he, Mark was 100. Get my car to go through that turn faster. And that's what he worried about. You know, now he's got more time and watch stuff and see stuff and it's like he sees everything. It's like, this is screwed up. This is screwed up. That's good. This is screwed up. I mean, I think we listen to him a lot. We could make sport a lot better if it was.

[Allen Dietz]

If, and I've seen some fans say this, whether it's as a, whether the title is a commissioner or whatever, Mark Martin OR Dale Earnhardt Jr. If, if you get those guys input on, on the, the pulse of what fans are thinking and where this sports headed and needed to go, it would be a lot closer to the way it needs to be.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I can believe that I'm going to say it and it could be a little controversial, but I believe it. And in the TV industry they said say what you mean and mean what you say and is in my opinion that if NASCAR had a sit down meeting with Kelly Earnhardt and Mark Martin and they got them somehow on their cabinet at nascar, you, you'd have to put more seats back in. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but they just, them fans like Kelly Earnhardt and Mark Martin and I believe that those two are passionate about the sport and they, and they can help the sport.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay, but now when we say that, which I'm with you. Yeah, but when we say that that's older fans.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah, true, true.

[Kenny Schrader]

You know, and we're after the newer fans.

[Allen Dietz]

But again, like I was saying about Wilkesboro and Rockingham and Bowman Gray, maybe the formula that worked when I was growing, when we were growing up, that made it work. Maybe, maybe that's still the formula that can, can get newer fans. Now. I think you need to shorten the season, shorten races because of attention spans and all that kind of stuff, but I think you could go to the same kind of racetracks that. That you did. And. And it may work.

[Kenny Schrader]

Entertainment is what works nowadays.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I mean, the. These Monster Jam trucks are doing backflips. Snowmobiles. Snowmobiles are doing backflips. The X Games have almost come and gone, and now it's like that's what they do. But yes, I agree with Kenny, and I want to say this. We got to be careful because we run away the old fans looking for the new fans deets. And, you know, I know we want all the fans, and it's a fine line, but. Okay, everybody, there we are. Kenny, I got more stuff, and we'll save it for another time. Let's just tease it the next time. The next Herman Schrader show, we're going to talk about this new ihra. And so that will be next week. And. And he. For all of you that are listening on. On Dirty Mo. Kenny's taking a deep breath.

[Allen Dietz]

I think Kenny's thinking the same thing.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Let's save. Let's save it, and let's go to jokes. What do you got? Deets for jokes.

[Allen Dietz]

Oh, I thought you just wanted me to send them to.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Well, I got them, but me.

[Allen Dietz]

Oh, I can tell you.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah. Me and Schrader decide to laugh or not.

[Allen Dietz]

Okay, here they are.

[Kenny Schrader]

No matter what.

[Allen Dietz]

Okay, I got three. Are you ready? Yeah, I'm afraid for the calendar. The days are numbered.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

It's days are numbered.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. And I didn't even know I got looking that, like, today. Well, I can't look because my. This thing's laying on top of it. But it's got two numbers on there.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Amazing.

[Kenny Schrader]

It's got two numbers. Like, 31st January is 31, slash 334.

[Allen Dietz]

You know what that is?

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, yeah, I know what it is. Yeah. It's how many more days in the year? But it's like, huh. I was always doing the math.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Why did they do that?

[Kenny Schrader]

Because how many days are left?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay, February. Oh, February. There's only 28 days. Everything else is 31 to 30. Is February the shortest month of the year?

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah. What if you're born on 29th?

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

I'll be damned. Okay, everybody, we got two more jokes left. Hang on.

[Kenny Schrader]

Okay.

[Allen Dietz]

My wife said I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward for me.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Allen Dietz]

Okay, here's the other one. Okay, I like this one. Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Oh, That's a stretch.

[Allen Dietz]

Hey, and I got my Riverside answer, too.

[Kenny Schrader]

Oh, yes.

[Allen Dietz]

Do you. Do you either one of you remember what. What I said? I thought the last year was?

[Kenny Schrader]

I thought you said 82. You say two last.

[Allen Dietz]

The last year that the first race was at Riverside was 1981.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Okay.

[Kenny Schrader]

And I guess right there. You were right there.

[Allen Dietz]

I was three years old.

[Kenny Schrader]

I read a guy was telling me the other day about how he runs. Started running 15 minutes every day, and if he doesn't run 15 minutes, if he misses a day, he runs 15 minutes more the next day. Oh, damn. Tomorrow he's got to run for two weeks.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

That's a good joke.

[Allen Dietz]

I like to run for two years.

[Kenny Schrader]

Yeah.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

All right, everybody, we got a lot more to talk about, but that'll be next week. And remember, we. We say it all the time. If you want to see Kenny Schrader NowAdIt's Pretty Face Turn, tune into the Kenny Wallace YouTube show if you want to. Go ahead.

[Kenny Schrader]

I just looking at. There's a lot of forehead on this show.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

There is. We're old.

[Kenny Schrader]

There's a lot of forehead on this.

[Allen Dietz]

Show, but we're more here than anywhere.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

But we're awesome. And if you want to listen, if you're headed to Daytona for the Daytona 500, tune into you're early Dirty Mo Media and listen to Dirty Mo Media podcast Herm and Schrader show. All right, everybody, speak now or forever hold your peace. Kenny Allen.

[Kenny Schrader]

Felt good to be back.

[Allen Dietz]

It was fun. I. I hope I think we did okay on this part. Now the editing part. Yeah, we're gonna see how that actually turns out.

[Kenny Schrader]

You got two plus marks for today. You did good.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

You did.

[Allen Dietz]

That is. That is one of the greatest compliments my life, and I appreciate that. Thank you. I have a ton of respect for both of you.

[Dalen Hart Jr.]

Until the next Herman Schrader show, We'll see you all next time. Goodbye, everybody. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

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