603 - Kasey Kahne: Why I Disappeared

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dale Jr. Download – Episode 603: "Casey Kane: Why I Disappeared"

Introduction

In Episode 603 of The Dale Jr. Download, host Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with former NASCAR driver Casey Kane to delve into Casey's unexpected hiatus from NASCAR racing and his compelling return to the tracks. Released on February 12, 2025, this episode offers listeners an intimate look into Casey's personal and professional journey, exploring themes of resilience, family, and the evolving landscape of motorsports.

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1. Casey Kane’s Return to Racing [00:00 – 04:59]

Casey Kane begins by explaining his decision to return to racing after a six-year hiatus. He reflects on his extensive 16-year career in NASCAR and the physical toll it took on his body, particularly dealing with dehydration and heat-related issues during long races.

Notable Quote:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. [03:28]: "I wanted to ask you how... why are you doing it now?"

Casey emphasizes his enduring passion for racing and his desire to reconnect with the sport he loves, especially at Rockingham, a track he feels a deep connection with. He discusses the support he received from his engineer Keith Rodden and the partnership with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), highlighting the collaborative effort that facilitated his comeback.

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2. Overcoming Physical Challenges and Health Concerns [05:23 – 17:50]

Dale probes deeper into Casey's difficult decision to step away from NASCAR, focusing on the physical challenges he faced. Casey candidly shares his struggles with dehydration and how it adversely affected his performance and recovery during the NASCAR seasons. This period forced him to detach from the sport, leading to a temporary withdrawal from NASCAR.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [05:29]: "It was kinda hard for a little while, and... I stayed away from it."

Casey discusses his gradual reintegration into racing through sprint cars, describing the physical demands of sprint car racing as less taxing compared to NASCAR's long races. He highlights the importance of balancing his racing schedule with family time, ensuring that his passion for racing does not overshadow his responsibilities as a father and husband.

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3. Balancing Family Life and Racing [17:50 – 21:10]

The conversation shifts to the significance of family in Casey's life. He explains how incorporating his family into his racing lifestyle—traveling in a motorhome and spending quality time at various destinations—helps mitigate the stress and competitive pressures of racing. This balance allows Casey to enjoy his time both on and off the track, fostering a supportive environment for his children.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [20:10]: "I take Amy and Anna, and Tanner comes, you know, not all the time... It helps."

Dale relates this to his own experience, sharing how involving his children in his racing weekends provides a form of emotional relief and perspective, reducing the pressure to perform solely for personal or professional gain.

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4. The Competitive Landscape of Sprint Car Racing [23:05 – 28:54]

Casey provides an insightful analysis of the current state of sprint car racing, noting the high level of competition and the influx of talented young drivers. He underscores the importance of experience, dedication, and continuous improvement in staying competitive. Casey acknowledges the challenges posed by younger, aggressive drivers but remains optimistic about his own performance and the support from his team and sponsors.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [24:02]: "They're talented, they're young, they're good... young people are talented people and risk takers."

He discusses the strategic aspects of racing at Rockingham, emphasizing the significance of track position and adaptability to changing track conditions following the repave. This technical insight showcases Casey's deep understanding of the sport's nuances.

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5. Reflections on NASCAR Career and Retirement [28:54 – 40:42]

Dale and Casey delve into Casey's NASCAR career, reflecting on his decision to retire in 2018. Casey expresses some regret about not extending his racing career further, citing physical health concerns and the emotional toll of racing at a top-tier level. He discusses his departure from a well-resourced team to one with fewer resources, highlighting the challenges of maintaining performance without extensive support.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [29:13]: "I do feel like I could have raced much longer... But the other stuff had a bigger toll."

The conversation touches on Casey's interactions with other drivers, including brief feuds with Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. Despite these conflicts, Casey maintains a respectful stance, emphasizing professional growth and the importance of moving past disagreements.

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6. Addressing Head Injuries and Personal Health [40:42 – 54:25]

A profound segment of the episode addresses the impact of head injuries on Casey's life and career. Casey reveals that he suffered multiple concussions during his racing tenure, which he initially underestimated. These injuries affected his cognitive functions, leading to poor decision-making both on and off the track.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [42:46]: "I learned a lot about it after I left NASCAR... I was questioning my head."

Dale shares his own experiences with concussions, underscoring the importance of recognizing and addressing head injuries promptly. They discuss the role of medical professionals like Dr. Mickey in mitigating long-term effects, emphasizing the significance of seeking expert care and being transparent about one's symptoms.

Notable Quote:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. [44:01]: "If you get it, if you get yourself into a situation... trust it 100%."

Casey elaborates on the safety measures he has implemented in his sprint cars, such as reinforced seat belts and advanced headrest systems, to enhance driver safety and prevent future injuries.

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7. Current Involvement in Sprint Car Racing [54:25 – 79:46]

Casey discusses his active role in sprint car racing, maintaining a rigorous schedule of approximately 70 races a year. He highlights the sustainability efforts by racing organizations like High Limit, which focus on supporting owners and enhancing the sport's viability. Casey praises the competitive spirit and high standards upheld within the sprint car community, noting that both major racing series are thriving.

He shares anecdotes from his early interactions with NASCAR legends like Richard Childress and Bill Elliott, detailing how these relationships shaped his career trajectory. Casey reflects on the camaraderie and challenges faced while racing for different teams, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the motorsport industry's inner workings.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [57:50]: "I think the competition's very similar on both sides. The racing is very similar."

The episode also touches on Casey's personal growth and evolving relationship with the spotlight. Initially uncomfortable with media attention, Casey has grown more at ease, finding enjoyment in sharing his experiences and interacting with fans.

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8. Future Plans and Legacy [79:46 – 85:11]

Looking ahead, Casey expresses enthusiasm for his return race at Rockingham, anticipating a warm reception from fans and the racing community. He contemplates the possibility of participating in additional races based on the success and fulfillment he derives from these events.

Dale and Casey reflect on the significance of being named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers, celebrating Casey's achievements and enduring legacy in the sport. The conversation underscores the mutual respect and longstanding friendship between the two racing veterans, highlighting the positive impact they've had on each other's lives and careers.

Notable Quote:

• Casey Kane [81:55]: "It was still, it is just a huge honor... some of the best years of my life for sure were, you know, a lot of those years racing in NASCAR."

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Conclusion

Episode 603 of The Dale Jr. Download offers a comprehensive and heartfelt exploration of Casey Kane's racing journey, his struggles with health, and his triumphant return to the sport. Through candid conversations and personal anecdotes, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the resilience required to navigate the highs and lows of a professional racing career. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s insightful hosting complements Casey's honest reflections, making this episode a must-listen for motorsports enthusiasts and anyone interested in the personal stories behind the sport.

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Notable Quotes Summary:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. [03:28]: "I wanted to ask you how... why are you doing it now?"
• Casey Kane [05:29]: "It was kinda hard for a little while... I stayed away from it."
• Casey Kane [20:10]: "I take Amy and Anna, and Tanner comes, you know, not all the time... It helps."
• Casey Kane [24:02]: "They're talented, they're young, they're good... young people are talented people and risk takers."
• Casey Kane [29:13]: "I do feel like I could have raced much longer... But the other stuff had a bigger toll."
• Casey Kane [42:46]: "I learned a lot about it after I left NASCAR... I was questioning my head."
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. [44:01]: "If you get it, if you get yourself into a situation... trust it 100%."
• Casey Kane [57:50]: "I think the competition's very similar on both sides. The racing is very similar."
• Casey Kane [81:55]: "It was still, it is just a huge honor... some of the best years of my life for sure were, you know, a lot of those years racing in NASCAR."

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This episode not only highlights Casey Kane's dedication to racing but also emphasizes the importance of personal well-being and family support in sustaining a long-term career in motorsports. Dale Jr.'s empathetic approach ensures that the conversation remains both informative and emotionally resonant, providing valuable insights for listeners.

Transcript

[Casey Kane]

For me to get to race Rockingham is just, you know, I took six years off of NASCAR racing and why.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, so we got Casey Kane right outside the door waiting in the lobby. And he's been very gracious with his time, but I'm excited to bring him onto the show because the last time he was here was many years ago. A lot's happened since then, and I'm thinking maybe he wasn't, as, you know, he wasn't eager to maybe to share some of the things that I want to ask him about back then. Now he's a little further removed from his cup career, a little more wiser, a little more comfortable in his life as a family man, and maybe he'll open up a little bit. So we got some. We got some things we're going to touch on. But I'm excited to see him. He's always fun to be around, always a great dude, great teamma, and I mean, I'm looking forward to the conversation. Let's just get it going. Bring him in here. Casey Kane on the Dale Jr. Download. All right, man. Here on the Del Jr. Download with Casey Kane. And it's been a minute. You haven't been in here. You know, the last time you were on the show, we were in that little booth. Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

I was wondering.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Things have changed.

[Casey Kane]

Things have changed. I was hoping it was still here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[Casey Kane]

When I got up this morning and was thinking about it, I'm like, man, where is it? Where is it at? But it's gotta be right here, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I. I've been looking forward to this. We have a good friendship, right? I think you. You trust me, I trust you. We've always gotten along really fine. We didn't ever really hang out, hang out during the week. You had things you're doing, I'm doing. We got families and all kids and all that stuff. But, man, I don't know if I ever need anything. I could text you. And I felt like you had the same appreciation for our friendship. And I just hadn't talked to you in forever, man. I missed you and, you know, you. I always pay attention to what you're doing, like when you're racing, where you're racing, how often you're racing. I know you have your race teams that are doing things and I'm trying to keep up with them and how they're. How, how, you know, how they're having success and all that. Drive by your shop on the way out of Junior Motorsports every day and always kind of peek in there and See what might be new. And then when I learned that you and I teased with you, I saw you at the restaurant talking about racing the cars tour or something like that, and. Because we can do that now, right? At our age. And then I see you're gonna go race a learned series at Rockingham, and I was so excited about that, you know, because, I don't know, man, things. We get older and things change, and I, you know, miss the old days or. Or feel nostalgic about the past. And so when something from the past, like something from, you know, years ago, like yourself, gets. Gets behind the wheel of anything, I get excited about that. And so I kind of wanted to ask you about that. I wanted to ask you how. Where. I know you're probably going to tell me you've always had some interest to do it, but you didn't now. Why are you doing it now?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, and I appreciate all that. And I feel very similar, you know, with you. When I see you out, if I see you here and there, I don't see too often, but when I do or if we, you know, send a text or something. Cause, you know, something happened, maybe on TV or wherever it would have been, it's. Yeah, the response is quick and we're always figured out and it's cool. I always like that. I always enjoy that. I like when you go and race at Bristol or Florence, you know, I'm like, how do you do, you know, you know, so I keep track of that and it's. I think that's kind of. Kind of similar to what you're saying. And. Yeah, it's a cool respect that I have for you and have for a long time also a friendship. But, yeah, for me to get to race Rockingham is just, you know, I took six years off of NASCAR racing and. Why? Well, I needed to. I needed to for myself and just kind of get away and dude, you know, do different things. I. I put a lot into that for 16 years, you know, and just put. Put everything I had into it. And I feel like at times I got everything out of it that I needed, and at other times it was difficult, just like racing is for. For most, you know, the ups and downs of racing. But, yeah, I loved racing in nascar. And I want to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm gonna interrupt you, so I'm gonna apologize, but why? How hard was that to make that choice? I know you. You made the choice. You had a purpose and a reason behind it. But it's not like just. You don't just stop, right? You got how hard was it to wake up and watch that. That series keep going? I've experienced that. Right?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so watch. How hard was it to wake up and watch them continue on and going down the road without you?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And it's. It doesn't slow down. They're doing. You know, it just keeps going. So that was actually pretty hard for a little while, and it made me not pay attention to NASCAR for a little while, you know, and I. So I tried to really get hurt.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Pay attention to it.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. Because I felt that I should still be part of that. Yeah, I needed to get away because of, you know, personal health and things like that. Like, my body, it was struggling with those long races.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why?

[Casey Kane]

It just went down that path. Did you ever learn of dehydration? You know, it just went down that path and I couldn't fix it. The longer the seasons went, the harder it got to recover, the longer the week was feeling terrible and the quicker. I mean, by the end, like, I was done in practice. First practice at Darlington, I was sopping wet. If I stood in one area, it was a puddle underneath me halfway through practice.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Wow.

[Casey Kane]

And my body just, you know, I don't know why it went that direction, but they say, I mean, you can't control those things. And off of environment and a lot of different scenarios is, you know, your body goes certain directions, but mine went that way with heat. And. Yeah, so it was. It was tough. And then the series just went on and it looked good without me, so that was, you know, it was kind of hard for a little while and. And I stayed away from it. And as time went, I was like, man, I want to watch this closer and see where it's at and things like that. So, yeah, I got more into it, and I've been really into NASCAR for a while now, but when I saw Rockingham go on the schedule, I was like, man, I love that track. I've always felt like I understood the track pretty well driving and had decent results there over the years and just saw an Xfinity race was going to be there, and I really wanted to be part of it. So I started reaching out and figured out how to. How to make that happen. And who did you call first?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you get to rcr?

[Casey Kane]

So I got to RCR through Keith Rodden, who is my engineer.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You called him ever? You eventually called him or he learned of this?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I eventually called him, text him, and Keith was just all in, I bet. And obviously had to take it to the right people at rcr and Richard being one of them. But yeah, between Brian Johnson and Keith Rodden, we just kind of got the whole deal going and it took some time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But who are the partners that are helping?

[Casey Kane]

So the partners. Hendrickcars.com Mr. H brought it up to him and he was. He actually was probably as excited about it as anybody to this point, which I thought was. Was really. I didn't know how he would. What he would think about it. And I mean, he's. We were texting during the. During the test. Like a couple days later, we kind of recapped again. And I just haven't talked to him a lot. I talked to him, you know, whenever HMS does a, you know, 40 years or some of their deals in May, you know, I'll support that or be part of it. Glad to have the opportunities to join him. But other than that, I don't really see him, you know, I don't talk to him, but he's kind of feel like I race for him right now, you know, like with some of our, you know, just texting again, which was, you know, pretty cool. He's a great guy. And so he supported in a big way. Hendrickcars.com and then Mike Curb and Curb Records. Yes. Mike's been with me for 20 years on the Sprint car side. We've done all of it together as ownership and having partners there. So that's been great. And he wanted to join us on that. And then caravan trailers, Scott Boyd with caravan trailers and someone else who's supported the Sprint cardio for many years. So, yeah, between those three, put it all together and RCR is, you know, taking it with their third team and ran with it. Great group of guys. Like, it was. It was a lot of fun to get back in the car and get to feel that, you know, feel a stock car again. And especially at Rockingham track that I. That I really enjoy. It's smoother now and grippier with the repave, but it still has all the same characteristics. It's just at a higher speed.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I heard that you didn't know they had repaved it until you got there for the test.

[Casey Kane]

So I actually learned like two weeks before the test when we were getting the car ready and stuff, and they're like, yeah, it's gonna be, you know, much faster. And I'm like, I wonder why, you know. So, yeah, when I was going through it all, working on it all I had. I thought it was the old rocket. Mm, for sure. Hell, yeah. But the new ones, similar, you Know, a lot of the similarities, it's just, you know, back to throttle sooner and way more aggressive.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. What's the lateral grip like? You tested? Is it pretty comfortable?

[Casey Kane]

Pretty comfortable, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What balance issues do you kind of struggle with? Is the car just locked down, kind of turning, trying to get it to turn?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. I mean, we really were on both sides of it for a while. We started turning really good and kind of on the freer side, which I didn't want to overstep, so, you know, wanted to. To be aware of all that. But we were probably the most competitive in the first couple practices when we were that way. Then we got slower as we got tighter, which kind of goes with how I always was racing. The tighter I was, the slower I was compared to the field, and that's where we ended up. But we were really on both sides of it. Felt like we learned a lot. We ran like maybe close to 300 laps in six hours or four hours, whatever it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's a lot.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I was on track a lot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. All right. So was there any surprises or just kind of fit like a glove?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, the surprises were spotting, like, listening to my spotter and like working around a car and listening to the spotter and when it. Basically when he would talk, just what that meant, you know, like right now, what did that mean? And where was that other car at? You know, and just trying to understand that new spotter. Yeah. But not nothing on him. I would say it's more just something I hadn't done in a long time. So just, you know, just as it. You know, just being really aware of it. Yeah. On what was going on, but just little. Littler things like that, the actual driving and the feel of the car, I felt I was surprised as can be my first down the back stretch, through three and four, coming to the green, I was like, wow, that actually felt really good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, and it wasn't too crazy at all. It felt really normal.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's badass. Yeah. So I know you haven't even run that race yet, but, you know, 44 years old, how much more is in the tank? Everybody said, damn, he don't look like he's aged at all. You know, you gotta love those compliments. Yeah. When they were watching your. Your social media stuff from the test, but you. You do appear to be in really good shape. And where are you? I guess you're racing. I know you know, you're running sprint cars, and in my opinion, racing dirt cars is as physical as it gets. So you've you've, you've gotten yourself in a good place physically, would you say?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I'd say physically I'm still in a really good place. I, I've never really slowed down. I played basketball, baseball growing up through high school and had coaches and.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But in terms of like the things you struggle with, with the heat in the cup car.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You've moved on from that feel pretty good.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. I mean, I don't do anything for a long period of time anymore.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And nothing in heat for a long period of time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So the sprint cars don't put on, don't put you through that kind of same thing that a three and a half hour cup race would.

[Casey Kane]

Not at all. Because my body never gets worn down. So just like in the, the cup stuff, it wasn't early in the year when those things would go on. It says the year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Later in the year, later in the.

[Casey Kane]

Year and I couldn't recover and catch back up. So then the next week was that much worse.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you, do you set your sprint car schedule based off of how comfortable you are in terms of like, how often is it a, is it a particular schedule or a particular amount of races or would you run more?

[Casey Kane]

No, I think like 70 races with sprint cars is a good schedule and that seems like a lot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is that how many you're going to run?

[Casey Kane]

That's what I'm going to run.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And that's what I ran last year. 72. The year before, I think I was 71. This year I'll be around 70 again. But we like, you do that and you come in, it's in and out, you know, like, like if we had to do 70 NAS cup races.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, God, yeah. No way.

[Casey Kane]

No way. Yeah, but in a sprint car, you know, it happens quick and it's just afternoon, evening, and then on to the next one and, and we can do three or four in a week for two weeks straight and then take two weeks off, you know, so it's easy because of how the schedules are and when the bigger races are and how they kind of clump together. Yeah, it's Easy to do 70 races and sprint cars and actually still have a lot of weekend or not a lot, but a few really solid weekends off.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The last time you were here years ago, you talked about getting back into the sprint car and you, you were telling me, you're like, man, it's, it's, it's hard because I need to be doing it every week to get to where I think I can be success wise. Running one every three or four months wasn't conducive to success because it's just like anything, you got to be doing it all the time. Well, now you are. Now you're doing it all the time. Yeah. You know, are you realizing the. The performance that you want to achieve? Where. Where are you. Where are you in terms of being satisfied with how that's going?

[Casey Kane]

I've never really been super satisfied with performance. Over the years, I've. I think there's. There's times when I'm really happy. Win a race or whether it's in, you know, whatever I'm racing. There's times when I can be really happy but satisfied. I just. I was never really that satisfied with performance and still am not. And I just. I don't know why that is, but I just. Even when good things go on before, it's. I mean, it hasn't even hardly been over for very long, and I'm already thinking about what could have been better. Like, that didn't seem good enough, you know, and that's just how my mind's always been. So that hasn't changed. And so, no, I'm not. Not, you know, and I don't feel like my performance in the sprint car is. I think at times it's really, really good. And I don't know why it can't be more often, but it's just. It's like a. You know, it's like a small window. It seems like when that. When I hit that window, like, I feel like I can perform and do anything I need to do, but if it's not in that window, it just seems way more difficult than what it used to be.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Are you happy? Are you as a race car driver? Are you happy?

[Casey Kane]

So when I get those good feelings of whether it was at Rockingham two weeks ago and you get that feeling, or the main event at Volusia county the first night, you know, eight days ago or six days ago, the first six laps, like, you have that feeling of this car is capable, and it just. At that point in time, I'm so happy. And I love driving race cars still when I don't have that stuff, maybe the next night at Volusia county, and it was not doing what I would want it to do at all. And because of that, the car just feels. They don't feel right at all. No, I'm not that happy. And so I go, like. And I'm. I mean, I'm on a roller coaster a lot of times these days because of performance and so that makes it difficult.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why do you still let that happen? I mean, so I listen all the things that I'm talking about, I'm absolutely guilty of today, right? I do the same thing in my cars. But I mean, maybe I'm asking you to be educated, but like I was watching this clip of this guy on social media and he's like, how come? He was talking about how baseball players have a hard time reconciling with their careers. There's a lot of players, right, that make it through minor leagues. Some get to the major leagues. But even some major league baseball players, like, they retire away from the sport and they go on and they find a job and they find life and they find roles and things that they want to do, being a dad or whatever it may be. But then they have to, they have to come. They have, they end up coming kind of, they end up missing or wanting to do it over, right? And I do that with my own. I'm like, man, I wish I could go back. I wish I could go back and do this over. I think not only try, not that I can do it better, it's that I put so much pressure on myself that I didn't enjoy it, I didn't have fun and I made myself miserable, worried about performing. And now me and you are, you know, in this, we're in this extra credit part. We're doing these, we're doing this racing you're doing now. And the racing that I get to do, yeah, it's like bonus racing. We ain't supposed to get it right, but we can. We're lucky, right? And still, even though this is this blessing, I still get competitive. I still make myself miserable. There are great moments like my car driving through the field at Florence and the week and you're having, you have, having your good day. Evolution, right? You know, there's, there are those moments where you're like, yes, this is it. This is why I'm here. But a lot of the time you're like, this thing won't turn in the middle, you know, and you're working on it all day long. And it's, you're, you know, you're mid pack on speed. You're like, ah, I'm better than this. You know what's going on. And we can't just enjoy the game and love the game. We, even though we're getting this little extra bonus racing that we, you know, not a lot of guys get. Yeah, we still can't allow ourselves to just have fun, just love it. Every minute of it. Do you feel that way?

[Casey Kane]

I do feel that way. I feel that way often, yeah. And that. It's a tough thing. It's a tough thing. I do. I need to think about that stuff. One. One thing that's helps me is I take Amy and Anna, and Tanner comes, you know, not all the time, but he comes as much as he can. And we have motorhome. Anna's just turned 2. Tanner's 9, third grade. And so it's a great, you know, perfect age for traveling. And so we have our destination, we have our spots that we go and have fun, whether it's water parks or amusement parks and campgrounds, different things like that. So that part of it is really fun. And those are kind of set throughout the year. We know when we're going and what we're doing. So that helps. You do that for three days, then go to the next track. And maybe it goes well, maybe it doesn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But it doesn't matter as much then, because you've been able to kind of weave the family part of it into it. We had a race last year. The first race of the CARS tour series was at Jacksonville, and it was on the coast of North Carolina. And Amy brought the girls, and they went out to the aquarium. So I was like, I was able. I didn't feel as much pressure. When I looked at the chart and saw myself in 15th or 20th.

[Casey Kane]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was like, yeah, whatever. The kids are at this aquarium having a great time. Everybody's fine.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But if they're not there and I'm there by myself, I'm like, gritting my teeth, right. How mad I am that I'm not in the top 10. You know, it's weird, but. So that's a great point. Like, trying to drive. Trying to weave that family into it as often as possible. And they gotta want to be there, Right. They gotta want to go.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And they enjoy it. So at this point, it all's working. All three of them enjoy it. Being at that stuff, you know, as soon as that doesn't work, I'm done racing for sure. But, yeah, it's. It's good when. When they're with me and, you know, they're enjoying it, having. Having fun on. On their end, I think something else that makes it tough, and this is across the board. When I was younger, whether I was just getting the cup, whether I was learning to drive a midget, a sprint car, any of those times, Xfinity, you just. It just happened, and you figured it out quicker. Things were just easier to make sense of. And, you know, I think that's people. It's, you know, listening and learning from the right people and things like that as well. But I feel like that's something that, like, today I'm 44, and I have my ways. And you look at these guys in sprint cars, whether it's younger guys coming in, the fields are tough.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

They're strong. Right. Like, the cars are good. The cars are better today. There's more cars that are at a, you know, more teams at a higher level, and the drivers are all capable and young. And like in sprint car racing, you have a couple guys that are the best, and it takes them a long time to get to that point. And once they're there, they just like every. They just understand it all and they're gonna be good no matter what race it is all year long. That's just how it works in sprint cars. The, you know, the experience and I think their dedication and things get them to that spot, and there's just a couple, and then everybody else is really damn good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And so you're going against, you know, you're not going against. Yeah, I've had a good career and done cool things here and there, but you're going against really good, younger, aggressive kids who want it really bad. You know, so it's not. It's not easy. By no means.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, and I think it's the same in Xfinity trucks. You know, I don't know some of the guys names in some of those series anymore, but if you start digging into them, they have a lot of laps and they're good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, and they're. They're putting the effort in and working with the right people and putting, you know, doing. Whether it's sim, whether it's, you know, the data they're looking at and learning from, With. With the right people, like, all that stuff matters. And, you know, they're. They're progressing really quickly because of, you know, their dedication and the effort that they're putting in. So now you're going against that. And they're talented, they're young, they're good. Like, young people are. Are talented people.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And risk takers.

[Casey Kane]

And risk takers measured Very, very much.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So when you get.

[Casey Kane]

For good reason.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, for sure. When you raced, when you race at Rockingham, do you. Do you have any idea, like, what a satisfactory result will be? And it doesn't have to be a position on the field. It's like, what. What do you want to accomplish. I. You know, I will say this. I might help you here. When I run the. When I ran the one XFINITY race, I, number one, wanted to run all the laps because it's like if I was. If I wanted to run every single lap because I. That was all I was going to get. And I would be so disappointed if something happened or I didn't finish the race. Like, I didn't even get to finish. So, like a. All the laps, finish the race. And like, man, if I finished in the top 10, I was more than satisfied.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I think definitely need to run all the laps, but I already think about qualifying and just, you know, how that's gonna work, you know, and try to remember the last time I was to qualify one of those cars. 7. I think 16 was the last time at that type of a track, you know, so those kind of where my head is my mind, and the feeling that you're gonna get taped off and just trying to go as fast as you can for that one lap or two laps. So it's. Yeah. And I know that the car that I'm driving, the team that's part of it, like, it's a really solid, like, really good team, really good car. So it's gonna be, you know, good stuff. You can. I just feel like. I'll like to feel really good about my weekend will be finish all the laps and then, you know, be. Be in the top 10 for sure. Like, I need to. To be in the top 10. If not, I'll just be like, man, I just didn't do this right. Or that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's absolutely doable, like, without question. Like that. That's an ex. That's a. That's a fair expectation. Right. Is to. Is for you or me to get in there having not done it or just doing it once a year, not doing it in several years. Get in there and go out there and finish top 10. The car is good enough, and you're good enough. And I think also our ability to, like, not screw it up right in the first three quarters of the race, like, a lot of guys, they're young, they're maybe a little faster, but they also get in over their head a few times. Right. And that eliminates a few guys and makes that top 10 more reasonable. But I'll be. I won't be surprised if you're up there running even in the top five at portions of the race.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I think it's going to switch to, you know, the track position is going to be pretty key you will.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, I don't think the track is going to open up, unfortunately.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I think it'll. It'll get wider, for sure. It'll get at least halfway up at both ends, but when it does that, every. You're gonna be. Everybody's gonna be doing the same thing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

Because that's where it's gonna go, and then it's gonna come back to the bottom or whatever it may do. But I don't think you're just gonna have a really good line here. Really good line up here, you know, it's not gonna be like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No.

[Casey Kane]

Sure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What does this mean? Are you gonna run. Do you want to run more? Do you wait on that to figure out how this goes?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I want to just do this one and see how it goes and really enjoy it. I think I have a little bit of family and friends who want to come back from Enumclaw, Washington, and come back and do a race. It's been a long time since they were part of it, so. Yeah. So I want to really have fun with it. I'm going to drive my motor home over there and park in the infield. I think you can do that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. I have to talk to the right people. But the. But that's. My plan, is to treat it kind of like I used to. Yeah. And. Yeah. And just enjoy the. Enjoy the weekend, because it's been a long time since I had one of those. And. And then after the fact, look at it all and be like, man, I want to do another one. Put something else together or. That was perfect.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. Yeah. When you look back at your cup career and I guess how. How you decided to retire at the end of 2018, you actually made that announcement before the end of the end of the season. So, like, you knew.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When you go back and look on. Look over that kind of part of your life, is there anything you would have done differently?

[Casey Kane]

I mean, when I look at a lot of those years, there's things I would have done differently, but I wouldn't say. I mean, like, at that point, I didn't have a ton of control over some of the things that were going on. And. And it wasn't my. I mean, I would way rather finish the entire season out, you know, or raced, you know, more seasons in nascar, because from a. You know, like, from. I just feel like I could have raced much longer as far as the racing part of me, the. You know, in my mind, and how bad I enjoyed or how much I enjoyed driving the cars and racing. But the other stuff had a bigger toll on what was going on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Physical.

[Casey Kane]

Physical. And I just needed to be done. So I don't like the way it ended at all. And that's why I just kind of disappeared for a little while and Because I just didn't want any part of it. You know, that was like the easy way to move on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This is me not knowing about what was really going on. But I want to ask the question. So you'd raced with Rick. You'd been in this organization that was like top end, all the things you needed. And now you were with a team that had less resources. It was harder to make that car do things that you wanted it to do. How much of the enjoyment, I guess had you lost? And going to the track knowing, God dang, man. To work my guts out to get this thing to do anything. Because you had been in these other cars, right, that would perform. You went to the track expecting this car to perform. And this one that you're in toward the end of your career was. Was not responding that way. Right. And it was not, you know, it was just the way. Just the way it was was. Was that it was.

[Casey Kane]

It was harder. But I. But I was. Truthfully, I was actually very okay with it because I knew that I think there's. You understand where you should be running. And if I felt like I should be at that time, I think, I mean, like, I knew where I should be resulting. And if I was. If I finished 25th. And I thought I should have easily been 18 to 20 that day with what the team brought. Because the guys did a really nice job and it was a fun team and I enjoyed driving for lfr. I was disappointed, upset. We would work on it. But when we got 18th and I knew that was like, I did the best job I could. The team did like, 18th was our spot today. I was perfectly fine with it and very happy with it. But you just have to understand that if I was thinking I could still, like, I should be winning races, that wasn't gonna be good. But it was pretty easy to understand that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was it easy to adjust that? Expect.

[Casey Kane]

I don't know if it's ever easy because you always just. You want to win and run up front. But it was. But I knew what. But I was okay with it. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

It wasn't so bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How often are you at your shop?

[Casey Kane]

I go to the shop pretty often. Like, probably if I'm in town. I have a really hard time just being at home unless I'm Cleaning up, you know, doing things outside.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Something productive.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. Otherwise, I need to be at the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Shop and hands on with your. Your. Your dirt stuff.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, a little bit hands on with the dirt stuff.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Who runs that?

[Casey Kane]

So each crew chief.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep.

[Casey Kane]

You know, Eric. Eric, the. He's been the crew chief for Brad Sweet the last six years. Seven years. And he. Now he's basically the team manager, so he's looking over both teams. And the. The crew chief on the nine. Yeah. Brad has his. His car chief has moved up to the crew chief spot this year, which is kind of a new. It's. It's kind of fun and new again, you know, for those guys. Ty's young and excited, and so it's a little different for Brad because his roles changed a little bit, you know, bringing Ty along and then. But Ty's also put the time in, you know, he's put the effort in, and Eric oversees all that. So between the crew chiefs, they just pretty much handle everything. I mean, I'm part of certain things, but not too much.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you remember the first time we met?

[Casey Kane]

First time?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you remember coming down to the Western town?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I remember coming down to the Western town.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was that. So one of the very first times.

[Casey Kane]

I don't think that was the first time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That might not have been the first time. We met at the racetrack.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, we met at the racetrack, but.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That was like the first time we hung out. Hung out? I think so.

[Casey Kane]

I feel like the first time we hung out was when you lived across the street from dei.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, really?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where'd you came over?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I was at the house.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, we have a party.

[Casey Kane]

We had a party. You had a party?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I had a party and you showed up. Oh, man. All right. You wandered in.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right. Do you remember coming over to the Western house or Western town? Yeah, I remember the night you drove your car through the woods. Do you remember that?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. You were riding chalk.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know it.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So was that the night that Larson was there too?

[Casey Kane]

Because I think Larson was later on. That was probably like a year later or even two, maybe.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you came. There's really not much of this story.

[Casey Kane]

Like, when Larson was there, it was just about kind of the end of the Western town. It was of those.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Those years. Yeah, we slowed way down.

[Casey Kane]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

One night we're at my Western town hanging out, and you came over and you had this. I don't know what the car was. It was company car. You remember what time kind of was Mercedes or something?

[Casey Kane]

The Mercedes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was it a Mercedes? And it was rear wheel drive.

[Casey Kane]

The thing was so nice.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I was like, how did we get in the woods with the Mercedes? Was that your idea?

[Casey Kane]

Probably. But you. I don't know for sure. I don't remember. But that was a good. It was a good time car didn't get hurt.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you serious?

[Casey Kane]

It did not get hurt.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So that had these four wheeler trails on this little 70 acre part that's kind of where the race car graveyard is. And you drove your Mercedes through. Through the woods? Like a lot. Like. It was. It was a brief trip, but it was.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

In my head I remember like branches just going down the side of this thing. But it wasn't that bad.

[Casey Kane]

No, it wasn't that bad. Oh my God. I would. We never talked nice to like. We never talked see what it looked like. Right. You know, the next day.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Casey Kane]

You know, today. Yeah. But I don't. I mean I had it for a while after that and I would. It wasn't scratched up or anything.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Unreal. I'd always wondered.

[Casey Kane]

So it was a E55 and at the time, as a. It was a four door E55. And it. So it had, you know, all the. I think that was like the Formula one pace car at the time or close to it. It was a.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You hot rodded it through the woods.

[Casey Kane]

It was a good car. Yeah, it made it through no problem.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Unreal. I was wondering if you remember that.

[Casey Kane]

I do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. That was a fun night. Yeah. And then I guess the. When he brought Larson over, we were just kind of hanging out, shooting pool and stuff and listening to music. And I remember him coming around and just being like, head down, quiet, wouldn't talk to nobody, and that y'all were running around having a good time. Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

That was so. It was Kyle, Caitlin, Brad Sweet was with us. Clint Boyer was with us. And we'd been at my house for. I think it must have been like. I feel like there was. Oh, maybe it was the Masters. Yeah. And we were at my house all day watching the Masters and everything and then ended up at your place that night.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's the first time I met Kyle.

[Casey Kane]

Met Kyle. Yeah. So the first time we met at Vinny's, me and you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You remember Vinny's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Casey Kane]

So we were over there and then Josh Snyder and the guys, all my buddies and I just hopped in with you guys and we went back to your place across from Di.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Ah.

[Casey Kane]

So then we were there. It was like a. Probably a Wednesday night.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep.

[Casey Kane]

Whatever night. I think those were Wednesdays.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And Wednesdays.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And then Josh took me home the next day.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Man, those were the days.

[Casey Kane]

That was a good time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Casey Kane]

Was that an Infinity car?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think it was an Infinity card, yes.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I do remember that. Yeah. So it'd been coming for a little while and we would always talk after something happened after each time and get back on the right page and understand, you know, like he would explain why it happened, you know, how whatever that, whatever it was. But I feel like it, you know, there's three or four that I remember and then that one just was kind of the last one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You handle business. Have you had any, have you ever had a driver that just. You just didn't see eye to eye with?

[Casey Kane]

Not too often. I mean it's. I mean there was A few times here and there. Kyle and me and Tony Stewart there. We couldn't really see eye to eye for a minute about something, too. And y'all wrecked it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Kansas. He wrecked you at Kansas.

[Casey Kane]

Chicago or Chicago? Chicago. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And then the fight in the pits and all that.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you got out and they were like, yeah, your mentor. And you're like, I don't know about that. I don't know about him being a mentor these days.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I just watched that video the other day.

[Casey Kane]

Oh, really?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I think it was 2004.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tony Stewart had a wild 2004. He was in a lot of stuff. He ended up getting penalized by nascar.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, it was wild. Like, he was the guy who tried to help me get to the cup level.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, like, I remember when I was driving the great Clips car or the channel lock car, he'd be over in a corner once in a while and just start talking on my radio. Like, he'd went down to the pit and found a headset and trying to help me through the corner at Dover or these tracks. You know, he helped me a ton. And then soon as 04 started and I was like, we were running good right off the start. Rockingham, Vegas. You won Atlanta. I think I ran third to you at Atlanta. Like, we were rolling right off the start. And every time I raced him that year, the first half until Chicago, every time was, like, difficult, really hard. Like, he was just, you know, I think he was just showing me maybe like that, you know, like he was being tough.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And it was what it was. We just move on, try to pass him or he passed, you know, whatever it was, and you move on and go to the next one. And then finally that happened at Chicago, and none of us or I didn't know what was really going on. And next thing you know, the teams are fighting, and Tommy Baldwin was all wound up. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you and Tony ever have a conversation about it then or even later?

[Casey Kane]

I'd imagine we did because we've been, you know, fine after that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. You see him around?

[Casey Kane]

I haven't seen him around in a while, but I see him at Eldora once in a while and. And then I think we probably got into it another time or two later on down the road, too. But that's all kind of part of it. But I'd say Tony and Kyle Busch may be the guys, the only guys I've really had any small feuds with over the years. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The other thing that. And we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, Casey, because you've never really publicly talked about it. But head injuries. I think me and you've had some pretty nasty wrecks and I've been open about mine, but I was wondering if you thought that any of that ever had an effect on you personally.

[Casey Kane]

I think that it definitely has. I learned a lot about it after I left nascar. Before that, I didn't really pay attention to it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And when I crashed my sprint car hard and knocked out and took a little break and realized.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. Didn't you have to step out?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I tried to race and basically I was entering the corner. When I thought I was entering the corner at the right time, it was like 100ft late and I had no clue other than when I would get there. I was in a different spot than I really thought I was in. And. And that's when I realized. I mean, I, I was questioning kind of my head.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But let me ask you this. So do you. That's interesting to me because there's like. When I had, when I got. When my, when I would have an issue, right. If I'd crash and I'd have it, I was like, I knew, like, yeah, I messed up. This is, I'm. There's a problem now when I, It. Give me a second here. When we're, when we're in our 20s or when we're young.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. I didn't, I had concussions and crashes and, and rang my bell, we'd call it. That I didn't think were a big deal. You know, we would. I wrecked it in 98 at the Xfinity race at Daytona. I flipped and hit my head on the door. On the door top and was dizzy and thought it was funny because in my mind I was going to. It was going to go away a couple days. One day, two day, whatever.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And no big deal. I didn't think anything about it being a long term problem or should I race next weekend? No, it was just fine. You know, and that there were other crashes that I was probably messed up and didn't know it. And then when I got older, it was real easy to tell there's a problem. And there are guys, there are other guys that I know that it's not as obvious to them when there's a problem. Right. There's. There's been other racers that I know that have crashed and they're like, man, I felt fine. I felt totally fine. But then I got out there and this happened and I was like, oh, that's not right. But I felt fine. I had no clue.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so. And it sounds like you kind of fell into that boat. Like, you had this crash, you got knocked out, you thought everything was good. And then you drive in the car and you're like, hmm, that's not quite what needs to be happening. But otherwise, walking around, talking every day, getting up in the morning, doing your thing, living life, you had. You were oblivious. He had no idea that there was going to be this issue till you put yourself in stress. Right. And are in duress.

[Casey Kane]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right behind the wheel of a car. Is that kind of.

[Casey Kane]

So I'd say that's partly correct with me. So I just know of two concussions. One was the one that was in sprint cars, you know, four years ago, five years ago, and learned a lot about it since then. And after that, I was like, man, I bet there was other times and didn't put it together.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Casey Kane]

There was another in 13. I crashed at Loudon, New Hampshire. Hit the inside wall.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. You gave this really crazy interview. Do you ever. Have you ever watched?

[Casey Kane]

So I've seen the interview, and I'm just. It's very confused.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes. Do you.

[Casey Kane]

And I caught myself after that. I would be driving down the. So I'd be driving from. I lived in Sherrill's Ford. I'd be driving into Mooresville and just be happy as can be running 25 miles an hour down the road. 35 miles an hour down the road.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

50 mile an hour zone or something.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. Slow and have no clue.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

Right. So I caught myself doing things like that after that one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

But I never felt off in the car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But did you.

[Casey Kane]

But when I look back, I know I had to have been off in the car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[Casey Kane]

But I didn't feel it. You know, the only things that were off to me was, you know, I'd catch myself doing things that I was surprised I was doing on the roads.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

So that means, you know, in the car, I might have been as well, but always raced through it. Prior to that, I never felt anything different. Weird, Nothing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's so frustrating because there are people similar to yourself like, that have an issue, but don't recognize it or don't. There's. It's not that. It's not obvious. And I think, you know, I just watch drivers and I go, man, I. I wonder if he knows. Maybe he's not okay. Right. And they're just like. It was. It became a. It was easy, I guess, for me to tell yeah, like, I got a problem, man. I need to pay attention to this. And. But other people, it doesn't. It's just weird how it affects people differently.

[Casey Kane]

And I would say in some situations, they might know something's off, and then others, they may not at all. Because I feel like I was on both sides of it. And I've looked a lot, you know, I've looked at it, you know, a lot since. Since I learned more about it. I went to pa, Learned a lot about concussions and how to help myself.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you see Mickey?

[Casey Kane]

Mickey?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's like the man.

[Casey Kane]

The man, like the best doctor I've ever. He just. He makes you feel really good and understand what we're looking at, you know, and it's like, wow, that clicks. Like, it was. It was really good, you know, visits up there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I think I remember you going up there. I. So let me ask you this question. When you get. So you get past that crash in the Indy, in the sprint car, you take the time, you do the right thing. Everything Mickey's telling you to do, right. You do the homework, you're back at. You're back at full song. 70 races a year, three years in a row. How do you measure? Like, I have girls. You've got kids. How do you measure the risk at this age? Right. Like, we're doing this bonus racing. Right.

[Casey Kane]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, I, I. My idea of. My idea of playing it safe is pretty silly. I'm like, you know, I just don't need to race every week. I can race a couple here and there, and that really lowers my odds of getting myself in trouble because I don't need to hit anything. Right. And now could I hit something and be fine? More than likely. But I don't need to test that theory. Right. And so that's why I race. Very minimal and. But you're back at it. Hard at it. Seventy races a year, you're in the throws, putting yourself at risk like any other racer in the sprint car world.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How do you justify that?

[Casey Kane]

So I talk to Amy about it, you know, and make sure that we're on the same page with it. I think about it probably more than what I should.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, that's okay. But you're 44 years old.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know.

[Casey Kane]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You have to.

[Casey Kane]

I have to. And I feel like I want to. And because of that, like, every single time I learned from that last wreck that. Well, that wreck where I hit my head hard, that I just need to be more, like, really do a much better Job of understanding where I'm at and who I'm around and, you know, and their tendencies, you know, and just how maybe they race and just do a. You know, just basically use my head more than just going out there and going as hard as you can.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

So I look at everything a little differently now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you change anything?

[Casey Kane]

I feel like I'm more aware of the situations I'm in, where I'm at, what I'm trying to accomplish and do it in that. In that scenario.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And did you think about anything physically with the car, the headrest, the helmet, or what you could be doing differently?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I mean, I've. John Padillac, he came by our shop from NASCAR and spent a good bit of time reviewing some wrecks with me. And I learned way more about what the seat belts are going through. What seat belts are going through, what. Because certain ones really aren't doing a whole lot, and other ones are depending on how you land. So I learned a lot about that and have fixed our cars to be better off of that. And most sprint cars are that way now. I've also worked on the headrest stuff. John has helped me with that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What were some of the things you did? Like, if maybe a guy driving got a sprint car, he can pay attention and learn something.

[Casey Kane]

So to me, the biggest thing is, or the two biggest things I've done, and I won't race a sprint car without it, is we put a second that the center belt between your legs goes over a steel bar, basically, so it can't tear the seat back. That was one thing that I had.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tear the seat back.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. So like where the center belt comes up and goes through the seat, usually that hole's a little further in front. So when you wreck hard upside down, it. I tore my seat once through there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Jesus. Is it aluminum?

[Casey Kane]

Which instantly made the belt looser. 3 inches longer.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it.

[Casey Kane]

So now you've lost that center belt. So the next time I landed that way, I didn't really have a. The center belt. And that's the only belt that pretty much holds you or it holds the highest percentage by far when you land on your top.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it, dude, that's important.

[Casey Kane]

So that's important. So that. That is a. Something that's, you know, changing a lot. Like Maxim cars or that's Sprint car. They've. Their cars are built that way. Other brands are as well. And then the Chasm systems, the latest. I started doing it after, you know, when the. When our cars land on the frame rails, just land straight down the pressure of that just goes. It's just all into the driver's body and bodies just can't handle it. And we've learned that that's the biggest to me the easiest way to get hurt in a sprint car and can cause the most damage in my opinion. So we run this system called a chasm. It's like has pucks that when the car hits that direction it squishes into. You have different stiffness of pucks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where are these located?

[Casey Kane]

Absorbs the seat bar sits on top of the pucks and then they're welded to the chassis. So that comes through Maxim as well and through Kasm's the one who created the system. And I wouldn't race a sprint car without both of those systems these days. And that's to me I've crashed one time since where I landed on the rail and could not believe the difference. The difference. And I look at it as more of like landing in a pillow compared to landing on a. Yeah. You know on the cement.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it.

[Casey Kane]

Like a massive difference. So that. That's been my. The couple things that we've done to. To make our cars safer. There's still. Still racing and still you know things can happen. But sure that's where it's at.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When. Where is. What's the state of sprint car racing?

[Casey Kane]

I think it's pretty good. I like it. I like what to me from an owner standpoint what high limit racing is doing. I just to me they dug into it to help the owners and to make it more sustainable, you know from as many different directions that they can help in those areas. And I mean money is always one of them, you know and payouts and things like that. But that's you know there's a lot of other things that go along that can help. So I just really like what they're doing for the sport and so it's been nice to follow that series the last couple years at a more of a full time level. They're doing a nice job. They're working on that. Their shows are you know their shows are fast, quick like try to. They're more time oriented. If you are watching on flow you know the times are closer to what you expect at 9:30. You know it's going to. The main's going to be you know like some of the things that can just. Yeah they're just making it a little bit updating from where sprint car racing has been and so I like that a lot. The competition, the drivers, teams. There's as many Teams out there, as I can remember, especially at a high level, like there's. It's tough a lot of the shows. So yeah, I think sprint car racing's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

In a really good spot World Outlaw and High Limit. So how do they. Do you see a world where they, they kind of consolidate? Or do you think it's good that there's sort of two different competing series? Or think there's a way that they hold each other accountable and drive, drive everything in the right direction? Because it's not, it might not be a bad thing that they coexist.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And I don't think it's been a bad thing. I think when it first came out, people had their opinions and thoughts like, man, this could maybe be really bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Casey Kane]

Or maybe this could be good. And I was unsure because I kind of felt like just need to see what happens in a way because, you know, you never know what, what's going to happen in a lot of what the fans are gonna think, you know, what the teams are gonna think. Are they gonna have. Are you gonna have enough members here or there? But to me there's, I mean, there'll be 40 outlaw cars running over there and 40 over here with High Limits and both put on great shows and the fans, you know, had a great night. So depending, you know, wherever you're at. So I think both series seem to be doing really well. It's kind of pulled some of the competition. You know, for example, Brad was winning all the outlaw championships there, Brad Sweet. And now he's, you know, on the High Limit. So they took one guy, the top guy from there and you know, David Gravel won this last one. But Gravel's always been, to me, he's been, he's put the effort in, he's put the time in and he's been right there in line, you know, to win a championship. And you know, it was his turn and he did that and Brad won the High Limit. So when they all race together, you just, you never know. But they're still going to be up in the front.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

So I think the competition's very similar on both sides. The racing is very similar. I like what High Limits is doing though, for the owners and trying to, you know, make the sport more sustainable as it goes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you take ownership year by year or do you have like a 5 year, 10 year vision? What is, what is, you know, how do you run your operation? So I asked that question. So like our late model stock program, typically we have a driver turnover once every two or three Years out of our A car and then we're trying to like groom some other guys through the second car. But it, it literally is like a year to year. We run a year stop, figure out the sponsorship money, choose the driver lineup, and then fire off again. Right. Yeah, there's not. And I have no idea where that thing's gonna be in three years or five. You know, in terms of just owning a car. Right. That goes out and races at a grassroots level. So. But you're. You're team. Right. Has operated successfully for a long, long time.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you have. Do you. Do you have other.

[Casey Kane]

So I. The 9 car. The car I drive.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep.

[Casey Kane]

That car is. You never know what it's going to be doing next. Like it could be, you know, we could cut back and barely do any. We could do as many as you want. As far as the 49, Brad Sweet Napa's our partner there and have been for eight years now. And it's. They're just, they're a great partner.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Brad want to keep doing it and.

[Casey Kane]

That'S what it's completely up to, really. As long as Brad is. I've always told Brad, as long as he wants to race at a high level, being a Sprint car, he's in that car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And you know, like nap is our art is Brad's sponsor. You know, Brad is a huge part of why Napa's with us and why we've been able to keep Napa with us for a long period of time is, you know, because of Brad's suite. So that's Napa and 49 Brad, like that car can go, you know, as long as Brad wants. And if we, if Napa was to move on, that's still Brad's car until he doesn't want to do this anymore. So he's done enough for me and for KKR over the years that he deserves that. In my opinion, as far as the nine goes, you just never know on that car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What do you think about Brad in terms of being an owner in high limit, what that means to his length of his driving career? Right.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. I think he's probably looking at those things and you know, he has, you know, he probably doesn't want to race a Sprint car forever, but I know he still loves it. And you can see by his determination and his, his speed and things, he's still super into it. So it's tough to say how long he goes with that. I do know one thing with Brad is when he has a lot on his plate, to me he's at his best. So I've never been worried. I've never been worried that he's doing the high limits and also still wanting to race the car. And he runs a track out in California, Chico, Silver Dollar Speedway. He has a lot on his plate and I never worry about that affecting his performance at all because those types of things never have.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Your first NASCAR related phone call was with Richard Childress.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ended up going with Ford and working over there with I think Robert Yates and those guys and getting that pipeline. But when Richard called you, what were you doing?

[Casey Kane]

I was at my grandma and grandpa's. They had a horse stable, they had Tennessee Walkers. And I was walking beside their barn and my phone rang and it was this number I'd never seen before which was what would it be up 704. No, 336.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

336.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I think it was 336. And I answered and could not believe when he said it was Richard Childers. Could not believe that's who was calling me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so is there any coincidence that that's the car you're going to drive at Rockingham or is that just. I think it's happenstance.

[Casey Kane]

I think it's pretty neat.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It is pretty.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. I was pretty excited that it all worked out that way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you end up not going in that route and going to Ford route?

[Casey Kane]

So I was racing for Steve Lewis in midgets, the white nine midgets that are on TV back then. And we were doing really well. And that was all. Ford was behind that. Ford Motor Company was behind that. So I had a, basically I had a first rider refusal contract with Ford to go to whether it was NASCAR, whether it was IndyCar, it was just a first rider refusal. So when I, Richard called me out of, just out of the blue and he flew me and my dad to welcome North Carolina and we, you know, visited with him and went around the whole shop, could not believe it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And he was ready to hire you.

[Casey Kane]

And when we left that day, he said, you just tell Ford that you have an Xfinity car to drive and they need to step up and get you an Xfinity car. That was basically what he said.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so you went to Ford.

[Casey Kane]

So when I went to Ford and said, hey, like. And they said I wasn't ready. And I said, well, Richard says I am. And they said okay. And then they dug into it and then had a 16 race deal with Robert Yates.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you enjoy running that deal with Robert Yates? I think 98 car channel lock.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, it was all right. I really liked Robert and really, you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Know, and Doug, what state was their Xfinity program? Program in? It was like unlimited.

[Casey Kane]

So they just started this. Ford made them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They just come out of nowhere.

[Casey Kane]

So like this car just out of this little garage over here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And it was. But they did put an effort in.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And I got, you know, like 16 or 14 or 16 races that year that were crucial to. To. To learning, you know, because I hadn't been in a car, you know, I hadn't been in a stock car. And so it was a really good year. It was a learning year. Robert would show up.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you realize everybody was watching? Did you know that? You were like, there were. I remember people going, this kid's, you know, coming out of you kind of coming out of that pipeline, that Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart sort of pathway. And everybody's like, oh, Ford, Robert. Yeah, you got a lot of. I remember there being a lot of fanfare and just. And even I was like, wonder how he's gonna do.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I did.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You. Were you aware?

[Casey Kane]

I remember that year a whole lot. Like, as far as people watching stuff, like, I don't. I don't remember. I remember how difficult it was. The things I remember about 2002 was like showing up at Bristol and trying to get on track. Like, how do I get out there? The cars are going so fast and like, how do I get out there and merge in and don't get wrecked as soon as I get to the next corner or moved up the track. I mean, it was intense, like. And I could not, to this day, I could not believe how hard you could drive at that track on pavement. Right. Like, to me that because I'd raced a midget on flatter quarter miles and things where you could be aggressive, but not at that. At that level. Not to where the car loads in the track that hard. And you can just be that much throttle. So it was just very eye opening. A lot of different situations that year were very eye opening and yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Thrown through the woods.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And just had to learn. And yeah, they were very good races. Like learning, you know, that was a really good learning year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How'd they get you out of the Ford deal?

[Casey Kane]

So then at the end of that year or no, no, they moved me to Aikens Motorsports next the following year, which was great Clips, Akins Motorsports, Doug Stringer. And they had a team that had been racing that was. Mark Green had raced it, you know, that year or the year 02. So they moved me over there, you know, a team that was. Was put together.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, functioning. Functioning. And. And got in there, and we were just instantly up to speed and just. Yeah, it was actually really good. It got fun at that point.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you're still Ford at that point with that deal. Still Ford, yeah. How did the Ford deal come to an end? How did that. I mean, was that when Ray stepped in and said, hey, so then I'm.

[Casey Kane]

Still under that same contract? So then about halfway through that year, 03, which was going, you know, pretty good. I think we were. I think we finished, like, maybe eighth in points and. Which was kind of the first full xfinity season with proper team and not. I wouldn't say my team wasn't proper in 02 because I had really good guys. It was just thrown together last second. Like, this is a team that had been racing for a period of time and knew what. What they needed to do. So. Yeah. So about halfway through that year, Ray. Bill Elliot called me, and I'm like, a huge fan of Bill, really. Yeah. Huge fan of Bill Elliot. And first soccer race I ever went to was in Evergreen Speedway in Washington. And Bill had the weekend off, and he showed up to race. It was probably like a Winston west. And Bill showed up to race that race. So me and my dad took me. I was probably 10 years old or something, and he took me to that race, and we were there, and it was all to see Bill Elliot. So Bill called me that day, and I was at. I rented a building from Jerry Nadu off Lug Nut Lane down Brawley School. And I was standing out in front of that building. We just rented the end of it and had our sprint car, you know, had some sprint cars and stuff there. And Bill Elliot called me another. I answer the phone, can't believe it's Bill Elliot, you know, and start having a conversation, and he's basically telling me, like, we need to keep us quiet and stuff. But I'm, you know, I'm out. Like, I'm going to retire at the end of this year, and me and Ray want you to get in the nine. And I'm like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And that nine's good.

[Casey Kane]

That nine's really good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Bill's had an awesome year.

[Casey Kane]

Bill's flying.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And I'm like, I don't. I mean, I didn't know if I was ready.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[Casey Kane]

And that was my biggest concern, you know, do you think I'm ready? Like, I really. I don't have a lot of experience yet in these types of cars. And Bill was Like, I'll help you. You know. You know, the short of it all, like, he said he was going to help and be part of that first year in 04 with me and Ray. So then basically I took that to Ford, had an opportunity for Cup. They said, you're definitely not ready for Cup. And I'm like. I'm thinking to myself, like, yeah, I kind of agree with you, but these guys are saying, I am ready. So went with it and they didn't. They never had an offer for that. You know what you could match, you could leave. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did Bill help you?

[Casey Kane]

So then Bill was there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He was there and he was there.

[Casey Kane]

We'd go to Pocono and Bill's test because we had to test back then. So that was. We go to Pocono. Bill's in the infield in a car. He's over in turn one. He's in tunnel turn, go to Sonoma. He's, you know, we're out there together driving Dodge Vipers.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Casey Kane]

And then, you know, a week later, I'm testing the cup car there, I think. And then. So Bill was at everything and he helped me that whole first year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you.

[Casey Kane]

Just like he said he was going to, and it was. It was awesome.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you adjust to the east coast growing up in Washington?

[Casey Kane]

I've actually always really liked it. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was there any difference? No culture shock or nothing?

[Casey Kane]

I mean, Seattle, Washington is a different part of the country for sure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But.

[Casey Kane]

Not a. I just kind of felt like it always fit me pretty well.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, being out here and I've never went. Went back. I mean, I go back to visit, you know, once a year is about. Is about it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Who all's still there?

[Casey Kane]

Parents, brother, cousins.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Your brother's back here?

[Casey Kane]

No, Washington.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

Your brother, he's in Washington.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Really? He was here for a while.

[Casey Kane]

He was here for a while. And what's he doing out there? Just. He wanted to go back home and he has a seal coating company. Sweet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He used to come around all the time. He was always with you.

[Casey Kane]

He's still the exact same. He's. He works, you know, seal coatings.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm kind of surprised he went back.

[Casey Kane]

I was too, but now I'm actually not at all. I think it fits him really well. And he's happy to be there with his family and.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, he kind of. He kind of. He kind of seemed like he struggled to kind of find his base here, you know?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, he was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's a bit wild.

[Casey Kane]

He's a bit Wild. He hung out with some wild guys. Yeah, they all. They had their. Yeah, they did it all together. You remember times.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'll tell you this. The funniest thing I ever seen between you and your brother was when we got the Budweiser deal. You got the Bud deal? I was leaving Bud, but we both still had an appearance to do. I had one final appearance, and you kind of had one of your first appearances with them, and that was at the Buffalo Chip. And they had us in these campers that we were all staying in.

[Casey Kane]

Oh, it's Sturgis.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, they had us in these campers and you.

[Casey Kane]

So he wasn't there, that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Who was it? You had some buddies there.

[Casey Kane]

That was my buddies from Enumclaw.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I know y'all were trying to turn that damn camper over. Do you remember that?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You were in a camper. Fifth wheel. I'm standing there, and out of the corner of my eye, I'm watching this fifth wheel literally about to turn over, and it's rocking back and forth and we bang on the door and y'all were in there running back and forth from side to side trying to tilt the thing over. Do you remember that?

[Casey Kane]

I do. Yeah. That was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You came very close to flipping over a fifth wheel camper from the inside.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. That'd be hard to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was. I was pretty surprised that you've got as close as you did. I think if we hadn't stopped you, you'd have. You'd have done it. You'd have got it.

[Casey Kane]

I'm glad you guys stopped us.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I am too.

[Casey Kane]

That's good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We had some fun. I was always, you know, that we're talking about you kind of getting into Ray's deal. I was really. I was glad you got the Bud deal. You know, the Bud deal couldn't. I couldn't do what I wanted to do with the Bud deal. And it kind of had come to an end and. And. But you kind of wanted to make sure it goes in to another place that you like. And I was like, oh, this is perfect cases.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, you're younger and younger than me, and you kind of could take them. You could kind of connect them to a younger demographic and. And kind of, you know, take them on a new route or a new trip. And one of the funniest. So the. One of the best. One of the funniest things I think was some of the commercials that they made with you, and they just. Those just started popping back up. Because when you started talking about going and running this car at Rockingham. NASCAR Chasm and a couple other people doing some fun stuff on social media. The video with the girls, the ladies.

[Casey Kane]

That are like, so that was Allstate Insurance.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you have fun doing that stuff? And when that stuff pops up these days, do your kids.

[Casey Kane]

They don't even see it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They have no clue.

[Casey Kane]

Tanner hasn't seen any of that stuff yet, but. So back then, I didn't enjoy any of that stuff.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You didn't enjoy it?

[Casey Kane]

No, because I didn't know what I was doing. You didn't like the nervous. I was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You were nervous.

[Casey Kane]

I was nervous. I didn't know what I was doing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why were you always nervous?

[Casey Kane]

The attention. I didn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You didn't like.

[Casey Kane]

Didn't like the attention. So all those things were a lot like for me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

I see that stuff today. I love it today. I think it was all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Now you're glad you did it.

[Casey Kane]

Yes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What about, you know, you did that magazine shoot, fitness or what was it you were.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, there's a couple different ones.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like you were in some pretty damn good shape.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Remember when you got the six pack and all that?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah. And that was for maybe espn.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That was ridiculous. You and Jimmy and everybody getting all in shape, man. And they were on my ass all the time because they're like, can you go out there and beat them in 100 yard dash? I'm like, no. They're like, why not? Why aren't you working out?

[Casey Kane]

I'm like, but then you got in shape too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I kind of did, yeah. We rode bikes together.

[Casey Kane]

We all were good. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. That was fun.

[Casey Kane]

That was fun riding bikes. Do you still think so? Not on the road.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not anymore.

[Casey Kane]

No. I still ride. I ride a peloton pretty often.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you? Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

And I have an assault bike that I probably ride more than the assault bike. So it's the arms. So you pull the arms and the legs at the same time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Machine guns on. What are you doing out there?

[Casey Kane]

No. So it's a. Thing is, I think, like, they use it a lot, maybe wrestlers, things like that. So I like that because I can get a lot done in a shorter period of time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And would it be fair to say that you've always been shy?

[Casey Kane]

I'd say probably, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What is that? Why don't you like. Why did the. I mean, look.

[Casey Kane]

So I don't. I wouldn't say I'm shy anymore. I would say I was always back then, pretty shy back then.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And just right when the peak of your. The peak of Your stardom. Right. As a NASCAR driver, you were totally.

[Casey Kane]

Uncomfortable, just uncomfortable with it. So that was the. Yeah. So I don't know why, if it was shy or just uncomfortable or if that's the same thing, but I was, it made a lot of those. When I got in the car on, you know, Friday morning or Thursday, sometimes like that I was so happy, you know, because back then we were doing. There was times you'd be. Or I would do appearances kind of all week and a test and some appearances and then in the car and like it was a different time back then as far as everything going on around you and all the partners we had. Evernam Motorsports had a ton of partners and I, I was fine with all of that, but it was just a lot for me. It was a lot for me to just. Because. Just wasn't normal, you know, like all the people and doing things that were uncomfortable, like on TV and we did a few different commercials and I actually, you know, I'm glad we did that. And I look at some of those things today, like, man, I wish I would have enjoyed some of that stuff more because if I would have enjoyed it more, you know, you could have done a better job at it as well. But instead I was like, what? You know, this is a lot. So it was just always kind of hard on me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was it because of your growth, you know, how you grew up and what you're exposed to and it was just such a absolute contrast to how life had been for you up until you started to have, you know, some success?

[Casey Kane]

I think so. But you know, like, growing up I was like, I was the kid that basically I had friends that were very outgoing and like wanting to do a lot of, lot of stuff. And I was the kid that like their parents wanted. We want you to hang out with Casey because we know you're gonna be like, he's, you know, things are gonna be calmer, like we're not gonna be doing too wild things, stuff like that. And then once we went on our way, like I could go to their level, but it was. So, yeah, I was just kind of under the radar a lot, I would say, you know, growing up.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Well, I've always thought that you had this, you know, kind of a unique personality and you, you did seem to always struggle with, you know, kind of the out, the off track demands and spotlight, if you will.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, I'd say the spotlight.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I didn't, I didn't love it. I mean, it's not comfortable, it's not normal. And sometimes like, you would be, I guess, some of the worst situations. And I saw you in these sometimes and I found myself in them as well, is when you're an unwilling participant to something. Like, you're like, I don't even want to. You know, there were a couple times when we get thrown up on a stage, right?

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And we're getting. You know, we're taking questions from an emcee and you're. There was one time where there was a. We won't name any names. There's a particular time we were in Vegas for the playoffs, and all the playoff drivers are on stage, and the MC went a little hard at you. And I think it was me and Clinton, a couple other guys were like, hey, bud, you know, lay off. And I remember that.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And it was. It was. It was. Those were the times when you're like, you just never knew when that was coming. And I knew that if there's anybody that's not happy right now, it's Casey, because he don't like this. But. And I was. And I was always on edge, too, because you never knew it was coming your way. You know, you'd be in some of these situations where you're not in control.

[Casey Kane]

And that's why I look back at stuff like that, and today I'm like, man, it just wasn't that bad. You know, I felt like it was at the time for nerves or whatever it may have been, but it wasn't that bad. And if I would just had a little different mindset, that would have never happened. That guy would have never messed with me because I wouldn't have been the guy to mess with.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Casey Kane]

You know, like, I would have been enjoying it with you guys and laughing or whatever was going on. And so it's just a different. You know, like, I kind of put myself in some of those. Those places because of just who I was, I guess.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you think that you're. You know, you think that's. The great thing about this is gonna sound bad, but the great thing about retiring, I think, is one of those. So when we're. When I retired, certainly there were a lot of things I was going to miss, but there was also some things I wasn't going to miss. And, like, kind of that being being able to step away and not have to be in that spotlight anymore was kind of nice. Refreshing.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. And now you can go to this other thing. Sprint cars for you, grassroots racing for me, where you. Your spotlight is not too hot, and it's never going to be you're never going to be asked to do anything you don't want to do or.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, and even when I started doing that, I was like, I'm not doing any interviews. That was my first year away from the NASCAR stuff. Like I wanted nothing to do with an interview. And I could control that because I was driving my own car, doing my own thing, paying for it out of my own pocket, you know, at times a majority of it. So I was able to do it that way. And today it's not like that at all. Today, like I was pumped to do interviews at Rockingham. Like that was enjoyable to see some of those, you know, just get asked different questions about whether it was racing or things I've been doing the last period of time. So it, you know, I just feel like you change as time goes on and, you know, look at things a little differently. And I definitely am fine with, you know, trying to enjoy life and enjoy interviews, enjoy whatever it is these days. Like, it's not that bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I think you're in a really good spot. You got, you know, two incredible children, you're in an amazing relationship, you're in good health. You're for a 44 year old, you're in very good health and you got a lot of, you know, a lot of years of activity and really kind of to be able to chart your own path. I want to tell you, man, you got named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers in 2023. That had to been a pretty incredible feeling to be put on that list.

[Casey Kane]

It was still is just a huge honor. And when Mike Helton called me, I just could not believe it. I knew some of that stuff was going on at the time. And then he called and I still didn't have a clue why he's calling me because I wasn't thinking 75 for myself. So it was a very big surprise. And, and just to go to Darlington and I actually sat by you for one of the deals we did and it was just, it was neat to, to be part of that and see all the fans that were, you know, excited for all 75 of the drivers and whether it's the accomplishments or what we've been part of in the sport, you know, like what we've put into it and been given during those, during that period of time was, I feel like some of the best years of my life for sure were, you know, a lot of those years racing in nascar. And yeah, I love it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, thanks for coming today and giving us some time. I've missed you. It's been a long time since we ever got to sit down and really kind of chew the fat, if you will. And I. You're. You're one of the good guys. I've always had a really, really good relationship with you. Never once in all the years I've been around you, especially when we were teammates, were you not gracious with your time? If I ever had a question or thought there was something you could tell me that might help what I'm doing or learn leaning on you and what you guys, what you guys were successful with. You're always an open book and transparent and like I said, man, you're. You're in really. You're in. You're in a good place to go on and Enjoy the next 15 or so years before you feel like maybe this time for me to start slowing down. Yeah, I'd get everything you could out of it. And I think people love seeing you race your. Your dirt car. We'd love you to come run some pavement stuff from time to time. People you'll. You'll know, you'll see this when you go to Rockingham. Since it's been a while since you've been in a car on the. On the. In the top three series, you are going to be. Be blown away by the reception and the welcome you will get, not only from the industry and folks that are. That are employed in the industry, but also all the fans that are going to be a witness to that race and the social media and all those things that you might see. You are going to really enjoy that because people like myself, miss you, want to know what you're doing, want to see you. You were a big fan favorite back in the day. You still are. And so it's awesome that we're going to get a chance to see you back out on the racetrack and hope you have fun with it, hope it goes well, man. And thanks for giving us some time today.

[Casey Kane]

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate all that and I've already felt some of that, you know, just crazy, like, more than I would have thought, you know. And then we just did a practice day, so, yeah, it's pretty. Pretty awesome feeling. Neat to have that feeling, for sure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I think we all believe you got a lot left in the tank, man. So hopefully you'll get out there, get the results and keep on doing it and have a few more good runs and yeah, we'll see you down the road. We'll have you come back after, after you get done with Rockingham. Have you Come back, tell us about it.

[Casey Kane]

Sounds good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Casey Kane on the Dale Jr. Download. All right, so a great interview with Casey Kane. Andrew, is, is our producer back there in the booth? Andrew, what'd you think about that?

[Andrew Curlin]

I thought it was really fascinating. I mean, some of the stuff he was talking about, you know, with the head injuries, like I had never heard his perspective on everything. New Hampshire, even the reason he stepped away and kind of disappeared for six years was all pretty interesting. I know people were wanting to hear that from Casey.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I took, you know, I told, I didn't tell Casey we were going to talk about that beforehand. I usually don't like to talk to a guest until he sit down, but I let him know after the show. I said, hey man, if you get to going home and thinking about maybe you want to pull some stuff out, just let me know, I'll take it out. I don't want anything in there that he isn't want to be public knowledge because I don't believe he's ever really acknowledged that particular interview, for example, from New Hampshire. If anybody in the industry that's been around a while watches that interview, they're immediately going to go, man, you don't look like he's doing well. He's obviously having an issue. And so I was kind of glad that he brought that up or that he acknowledged that moment because I think it's been a. It's not something he said publicly ever. I don't believe so. I think so. And I'd forgotten about his crash in his dirt car a couple years back that he took some time away from. And now I remember, I do remember him talking about going to see Mickey and I might have actually gotten had a conversation with him or something about that. But, you know, you can't go to a better place. That's exactly where he needed to go and I'm glad that he did that. Some people will go somewhere locally or see a neurologist in town and they're. It's just not as. Not that they are not qualified, it's just not as hands on and it's not as. I'm just telling you, if you get it, if you get yourself into a situation, and particularly as an athlete in sports, Mickey and his team, they are going to be the people to go see. But otherwise, man, outside of that, a great conversation, man. We touched on a lot of stuff. I know I was jumping around. We kind of started off, we started off talking about some things that had, that really weren't on my sheet. My Sheet was kind of in an order that we attempted to go to, but then I got to. I was like, all right, I'm just gonna go with whatever comes to the top of my mind. But I kind of like the conversation, just be a conversation. And it was fun, and it's really good to see him. I always enjoyed being around him. He was a great teammate, and outside of a teammate, we stayed in contact. There's not many drivers that I text, even new or past, but he's one of them. He's one of the guys I've kind of stayed in contact with, and we ran into each other at the restaurant the other maybe a year ago, and it was I's birthday last April, and that's the last time I think I've seen. Seen him in person. But, man, it's like, hey, you know, you're just like, God dang, it's awesome to see you, man. It's been a while, so it's kind of one. He's one of them guys. And he's just as happy, too, to, like, run into somebody he knows and somebody hadn't seen in a while. And he has a good. Has a good head on his shoulders, man. Just a good dude. A lot of fun to get him back in here. It's been a while. Starting to revisit some of the guests that we were interviewing way back in that booth over there, five, six, seven years ago. And he's had a lot happen to him over the last couple of years, so it was good to catch up.

[Andrew Curlin]

And just to add, I know you told Casey after the interview, tying it back to the head injury stuff, but he came back, and now he's racing his 70 race schedule in sprint cars. So, like, for people out there who are going through that, like, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you can come back from it, even if it doesn't feel like it. So just for people to hear that, I think is really important.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I will if I can expand on that. So, you know, the team at United Pittsburgh Medical center, they see individuals like Casey and myself that might get ourselves in trouble, and they can fix it in the moment. They also will see somebody whose injury was years ago that they've struggled right, to find a solution or figure out a way to get away from the symptoms or cure the symptoms, you know, and it. Some people. And I say that because there's people out there that are like, yep, I had that injury, and, man, life's different. And this is the stuff I have to deal with and this is just the way it is. And I've just had to learn to cope. And it's not necessarily always the case. I've seen people go to Mickey that have dealt with symptoms for years that they thought were just, that's just going to be part of life, that he's been able to give them a better quality of life and he's been able to fix those lingering long term issues. And so it's pretty incredible. Anytime I think there's, you know, somebody with a, with a, with a concussion and concussion symptoms in sports, particularly motorsports, man, I have 100% confidence every time that I send somebody to Pittsburgh, I tell them he's going to fix it. Like, buy in, trust it 100%. Do everything he tells you to do. Be completely transparent. Tell him everything you're feeling, thinking, telling, tell him all the problems, get it all on the table, give him all the information to help him treat you. And he will fix it, no question. And that's a great point that you bring up. Casey went through a couple instances that were pretty serious and now he's running 70 races a year for the last three years at 44 years old and completely comfortable and confident. And so that's what it's all about, you know, because that Mickey will tell you, look, man, I'm not going to tell you, you got to quit. Because I feel like you're as in good a shape as the other guys out there and at no more risk to another injury than they are. So if you love it and want to do it, go do it. All right? And man, you, you know, you manage your own personal risk, do it every week, do it once a month, whatever it is. But if you love it, go do it. And I can fix you. If you come back to me, I can fix you. And so that was what gave me the confidence to, to kind of continue running a race here in the race there. But it's wild to see a guy like Casey at 44 years old, like, tackling a 70 race schedule. That's a lot. Holy moly. But he loves it. You know, he loves it. And so you got to appreciate that and respect it. So let's get to the white flag. White fl. The teardown is going live today on dirty mo media's YouTube channel at the Daytona 500 media day. They'll be chatting with the full field before the Daytona 500. This is must listen to must listen to podcasting and content from Dirty Mo Media. It's on their YouTube channel. They will see every driver today and we'll be able to get the lowdown on just about every story going on in the sport heading into the Daytona 500. Then tomorrow, we'll team up with Sirius XM for three hours of live programming from the Hard Rock BET Fan Zone stage in Daytona. All right, that's going to be on Sirius XM for three hours. It's live. If you're in Daytona, come down to the Fan Zone at the racetrack and see us. I'll be on stage at 3 o'clock till 4pm for the Dell Jr. Download. Andrew Curlin is going to be there. Jeff Gluck, Jord Bianchi, those guys, I saw them over the last couple of days. They are pumped. Saw them at the hall of Fame deal. They're like, man, we can't wait.

[Andrew Curlin]

I can't wait.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can't either. I've never really sat down with those guys, done a show. And it'll be fun to talk about some of the, you know, stories going on in the sport and get their point of view because they obviously aren't shy about sharing their opinion.

[Andrew Curlin]

Oh, absolutely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

From 4:00 to 4:30 when we're done, SiriusXM, NASCAR radio and Dirty Mo Live happens from Daytona with Denny Hamlin, Mike Bagley, Pete, Pete Pistoni and Daniel Trotta, Alex Weaver and Andrew. You're going to stick around. So a lot going on from 3 to 4:30. Be there if you can. If not, tune in to SiriusXM live. Also, all of this will be on all of our podcast channels where you, where you already get this stuff. Dirty BO Media is launching a new E Commerce Merch line. So basically we're gonna be selling you some T shirts. We've got awesome New Dell Jr. Download merch on the site, plus a lot more. And we'll be adding things throughout the year. As silly crap happens around here, we might want to make a t shirt. Visit shop.dirtymomedia.com to check out all the new stuff. It's good looking stuff, man. And I'm gonna get me a rack. I'm gonna put a lot of that on it and I'm gonna wear it during the shows, right?

[Andrew Curlin]

Oh yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think that's one thing we're missing in here is a wardrobe section.

[Andrew Curlin]

Yeah, we've got three studios in this room. I mean we definitely need a word.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can wear my from home. I can wear my from home. But if you want to sell some of this Dirty Mo Media E Commerce merch, this is how we do it. I got to be wearing it during the show. So let's get us a little rack, couple of large XL sweatshirts, some T shirts.

[Andrew Curlin]

Have some options.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, we'll just wear something different.

[Andrew Curlin]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Every show. Do you know that Dale Earnhardt was absolutely 110,000% intentional with every single hat that he wore?

[Andrew Curlin]

Really?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes, sir. They would come to him and say, hey, dad. Would go to the souvenir haulers and say, what's not selling? Give me that hat. I'm wearing it this weekend. Brilliant. Yes, that. We got to have that kind of mentality, man. All right. Actions Detrimental is already out. If you hadn't heard Denny's take on, you know, everything going on in the sport, and he's kind of previewed the field talking about his competitors. You want to hear that? Actions Detrimental. And also, keep an eye out for Herman Schrader and Speed street coming out today. We've got a lot going on. It's, you know, we're headed to Daytona. We're in Daytona.

[Andrew Curlin]

It's here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's here. I mean, it just creeps up on you like Christmas.

[Andrew Curlin]

Cars are on track.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Cars are on track. Hopefully by the end of this day or by the time you listen to this show, maybe we're qualified into the Daytona 500. If not, we'll see you in the duels. Y'all take it easy. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.