Another Week, Another Hocevar Debate...

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download – "Another Week, Another Hocevar Debate..."

Date: June 12, 2026
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Featuring: TJ Majors, Justin Allgaier, Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, Tyler Reddick, and others
Podcast Network: Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM

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Episode Overview

This episode centers around the ongoing debates and controversies involving NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar after another headline-grabbing incident. Dale Jr. and his co-hosts candidly break down the incident at Michigan, discuss Hocevar’s growing fan base, and share personal insights into broadcasting, racing rivalries, and career decisions. Additional segments touch on resilience in the NASCAR grind, video game parallels in race preparation, career crossroads, and the camaraderie among drivers and crew.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Carson Hocevar’s Michigan Incident: Fan Debate & Broadcasting Realities

• Breakdown of the Crash:
  Carson Hocevar causes a significant wreck at Michigan after attempting an aggressive move. The hosts analyze the replay and the fine line broadcasters must walk between honesty and diplomacy.

• Broadcasting Challenges:

  • Dale Jr. reflects on the difficulty of criticizing a popular driver and the immediate backlash from passionate fans.
  • Hocevar owns his mistake post-race, admitting, “I was moving left and it spun him. I hit him and wrecked him.” (06:00)

• Quote:

  • “If I believe that he [expletive] up, I’m going to tell y’all on a broadcast…I don’t care. You can tell me I’m wrong all day long.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. (06:33)

• Entertainment vs. Safety:

  • Earnhardt admits he doesn’t want Hocevar to stop being daring, noting NASCAR needs risk-takers to maintain excitement:
    • "If we don’t have somebody…willing to take the kind of risks that might get themselves into…trouble every now and then,…we’re not going to like what we see. And our fans aren’t either.” (07:26)

Timestamps:

• 02:07–07:57: Michigan incident debate, broadcasting honesty, Hocevar’s fan base, and racer mentality

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Camaraderie, Mentorship, & the NASCAR Grind

• Giving “Flowers” to Teammates:
  Bubba Wallace praises Riley Herbst’s attitude despite setbacks:

  • “Best teammate I’ve ever had…He could be doing whatever he wants. And he’s here with us, at the shop every day busting his ass.” (08:03)

• Teammate Dynamics & Mental Toughness:

  • Riley credits learning resilience and mindset from Bubba and Tyler Reddick: “I’ve actually learned quite a bit of my mindset from Bubba, so I appreciate that.” (10:24)

• Driver Development & Perseverance:

  • Discussion on the difficulties new drivers face, the value of mentorship, and learning from experienced teammates.

Timestamps:

• 07:57–10:44: Bubba Wallace’s praise for Riley Herbst, team chemistry, and lessons on perseverance

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Simulators, Navy SEALs, and Racing Prep: Humor and Training

• Use of Simulation:
  • Drivers debate the value of simulation work versus real track experience.
  • Bubba jokes about it with Navy SEALs:
    • Quote: “Do you guys play Call of Duty before you go to war?” – Bubba Wallace (12:26)
  • Laughter ensues, providing comic relief and connecting the rigor of preparation in racing to other demanding fields.

Timestamps:

• 10:58–12:34: Simulator debate & Navy SEALs “Call of Duty” story

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Career Turns: Reflections from the Driver’s Seat

• Justin Allgaier’s Career Decisions:
  He opens up about his time at Chip Ganassi Racing, his move to Gillette Evernham, unexpected career disruptions, and the uncertainty drivers face:

  • “I had an option to stay there [at Ganassi] for three more years. And probably should have. But...I thought the decision to go to Gillette’s was right.” (15:59)
  • Describes the disarray and struggle when teams fold or rides vanish, and how returning to the lower series restored his confidence.

• Handling Setbacks:

  • “You really start doubting everything about yourself. But that 2010 at Braun...helped reverse some of that.” – Justin Allgaier (19:25)

• Sudden Team Changes:

  • Allgaier recounts losing his ride mid-playoff run and the emotional toll on him and his crew: “Oh, I was in tears…those are my guys. Like, what do you mean you’re gonna…” (23:03)

Timestamps:

• 14:10–23:50: Justin Allgaier’s career ups and downs, transitions between teams, and dealing with setbacks

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Kevin Harvick: Longevity, Social Media Criticism & Chasing Milestones

• Perspective on Legacy:
  Harvick reflects on reaching win No. 63:

  • “It’s just significant because…for all of my cup career, it was like, Cowboy’s wins…And it’s like, wow, I was able to win that much…” (28:20)
  • He credits his longevity and addresses critics who called for his retirement:
    • “I’ll never forget everyone on social media wanted me fired. And 2018, they thought I was washed up eight years ago.” (29:40)

• Dealing with Doubters:

  • “What I love the most, they have no idea what they’re doing…It’s making me more confident. So I love it.” – Kevin Harvick (30:12)

• Remaining Humble and Driven:

  • Despite talk about catching Dale Sr.’s win record, Harvick downplays the chase:
    • “I like to under promise and over deliver. That is my mantra.” (32:19)

Timestamps:

• 28:09–32:19: Milestone reflections, handling criticism, and chasing legends

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Personal Side: First Meetings & Family Dynamics

• Dale Jr.’s Family Recollections:
  Anecdotes about Dale’s first meetings with his now-wife’s family, including hiding out in a bedroom out of nerves, show a different, relatable side of the superstar.

• Quote:

  • “He needed some liquid courage, you know, to come out and, like, meet all of us.” – Katie (Dale Jr.’s sister-in-law) (33:55)

Timestamps:

• 32:26–35:37: Family stories, meeting in-laws, and life outside of racing

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Notable Quotes

• “If we don’t have somebody or multiple guys out there willing to take the kind of risks that might get themselves into some trouble every now and then, like Hocevar does, we’re not going to like what we see. And our fans aren’t either.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. (07:26)

• “Best teammate I’ve ever had.” – Bubba Wallace, on Riley Herbst (08:03)

• “Do you guys play Call of Duty before you go to war?” – Bubba Wallace (12:26)

• “I’ll never forget everyone on social media wanted me fired...They thought I was washed up eight years ago.” – Kevin Harvick (29:40)

• “He needed some liquid courage…to come out and, like, meet all of us.” – Katie (33:55)

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Summary Table of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | Key Speakers | Notable Moments | |------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 02:07–07:57 | Hocevar controversy & fan reactions | Dale Jr., TJ, Justin | Debate on crash, broadcaster bias, excitement vs. risk | | 07:57–10:44 | Teammate praise & mentorship | Bubba, Riley, Tyler | Resilience, support, learning mindsets | | 10:58–12:34 | Simulator prep and Navy SEALs joke | Bubba, group | "Call of Duty" quip | | 14:10–23:50 | Career setbacks & transitions | Justin Allgaier, Dale | Honest recounting of team changes, emotional fallout | | 28:09–32:19 | Kevin Harvick’s legacy & critics | Harvick, Charles, crew | Win 63, longevity, handling doubters | | 32:26–35:37 | Personal stories: meeting the in-laws | Dale Jr., Katie, Josh | Humorous, vulnerable recollection |

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Tone & Language

The episode features candid, unfiltered, and sometimes humorous discussion—true to Dale Jr.’s down-to-earth style and the insider perspectives of his guests. The talk swings easily from technical race breakdowns to personal anecdotes, offering both depth and relatability for race fans and newcomers alike.

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For Listeners

This episode is a must-listen for NASCAR fans interested in the real stories behind the headlines—on-track drama, career highs and lows, and the camaraderie that binds the garage together. Whether you missed the Hocevar incident or want genuine reflections from racing’s biggest personalities, "Another Week, Another Hocevar Debate..." delivers insight, humor, and heart.

Transcript

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[TJ Majors]

All right, let's get with it, Michigan.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it. Carson. Hosar,

[TJ Majors]

Take him to his home track.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Hey, he wanted that bad.

[TJ Majors]

He did.

[Justin Allgaier]

He did.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's fine.

[TJ Majors]

He should. I mean, I don't blame him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, so this is what's funny, man. When a driver wrecks somebody or wreck causes a crash and you're in the booth and you're like, you know, you get a couple replays, get a couple looks at it, and you're like, man, he calls that. But I'm trying to soften it.

[Justin Allgaier]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But I got a. I can't say he didn't do what he did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, he had practice from the week before, so it was good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You got to soften it a little bit, but you can't not say what happened.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

So are you saying that, like, as you mentioned, that you wondered if Larson and Elliot were helped?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Cause that look.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yes or no?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, well, look, so the, the thing. The wreck happens on the front straightaway. Carson, multiple times this year, we've seen somebody get spun out. When you give them a push and you're moving left to right, you. If you, if you make contact with a back bumper of a car, you cannot be moving left or right. You can't. This car is out of control getting pushes, and you can't be moving around on the back bumper. The guy in front of you, you can't.

[TJ Majors]

And it's like Nashville.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. So the, The. The thing happens, and I'm trying to figure out how in the hell to. To soften this right? Because it's just like, I'm like, well, maybe there was some team orders up there. Why didn't they.

[Tyler Reddick]

Why.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why didn't Hendrick Carrs line up on the outside together or something?

[Justin Allgaier]

You know, why.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why were they not. Why were they both on the front row? Maybe they were some, you know, they do at Daytona, Talladega, where they're like, hey, man, I'm going to start beside you. So. But I'm trying to, like, give Carson the benefit of the doubt and all he's got. His fan base is getting big and they are vocal. Like, if you say Carson did something wrong, they were like, oh, hell, no, brother. Carson don't do any wrong. They was checking up. They was.

[Justin Allgaier]

This.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There was. That was, you know, John Hunter Nemechek's fault. You know, whatever. They just, they don't, you know, it's so, it's interesting because I'll be honest, man, Maybe made me have a little bit of a. Maybe had a little bit of a soft spot in my heart for all the broadcasters that were broadcasting when I was racing, because when I was out there up, they had to call me out. And there's no telling the. That they got for it from my fans when they were like, oh, no, Dale didn't do that wrong. No, he didn't mess up. You got it Wrong. You're blind. So that was an interesting experience because as soon as we got done talking about the crash and saying, well, it looks like Josevar turned. When they. When he contacts John Hunter Nemechek, he also is moving down, and that's what spun John Hunter Nemeshek. It did.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And all his fans on social media were like, God dang, quit blaming him for that. Quit blaming him for that. That's.

[TJ Majors]

That's what's his fault.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, dude, but his. I know his fan base is, like, oblivious to it. They are. They are, like, not having it. And I'm like, wow. All right, well, so, you know, Carson. We got to talk to Carson. And he basically said so he's like, hey, I was moving left and it spun him. I hit him and wrecked him. I hit him, spun him out. He said this multiple times. And, you know, the. In. It ain't. The inside line wasn't checked up.

[Kevin Harvick]

The.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The outside line just got a better jump. The inside line wasn't checking up. They.

[TJ Majors]

Carson got a better jump.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Carson got a run, like he's trying to do. He's trying to go three wide.

[TJ Majors]

Absolutely.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And he mistimed it. And. And so, I mean, he. He owned exactly the right amount of what happened. When we talked to him down at the post race, he was like, yes, that's. That's what. That's how it went down. And I didn't mean to do it. And so, you know, I. And then I told him. I'm like. I'm like, hey, man, if he up or. And if I believe that he up, I'm going to tell y' all on a broadcast that I think you up, and you can say whatever you want to say out there in social media land about my opinion. I don't care. That's fine. You can. You can tell me I'm wrong all day long. But the other side of that is. And I was talking about to Amy about this last night, I was like, I don't want him to not up. I don't want him to stop doing this. And I know you're not going to love this, tj.

[TJ Majors]

It's fun until it's your car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, but it ain't my car.

[Charles Krall]

I know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't have a. I don't have.

[TJ Majors]

That's what I'm saying, everyone. You don't mind it. I don't have nobody out there 100%.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so I'm. I'm a race fan in this moment and a broadcaster, and that Wreck on the front straightaway is as it was for everybody involved, was a big moment. Oh, yes. And our races need those badly.

[TJ Majors]

I agree. No, I agree 100%. And it sucks when you're in it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And if we don't have somebody or multiple guys out there willing to take the kind of risks that might get themselves into some trouble every now and then, like host of our does, we're not going to like what we see. And our fans aren't either. And you know, we're going to have. The only cautions we'll have will be the stage break cautions and we'll have guys winning races by 11 seconds every week.

[Bubba Wallace]

I was thinking about this last night and you know, Riley, this is your second year, right?

[Riley Herbst]

Yep.

[Bubba Wallace]

And you've been dealt an incredibly difficult hand. But I'm going to give you your flowers and people are going to run with this and take it and whatever Bub Wallace says, you know, sucks. Best teammate I've ever had. And this isn't on Riley or Tyler or best teammate I've ever had because Riley's had a lot of bad days and you would never know it. He's like, well, on to the next one. And I'm like, I'm, I'm pissed off that he's not even there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm like, I mean, I don't think

[Josh Schneider]

he stopped smiling the whole time he's been sitting here. So I like, that's him, that track.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yes. And so it's like, so it's helped you.

[Amy]

Which way has that helped you?

[Tyler Reddick]

Not at all.

[Bubba Wallace]

Not at all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not at all.

[Bubba Wallace]

I'm like, you're doing it.

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I just wish I could

[Bubba Wallace]

get him

[Amy]

that people have every right to break his balls.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's, it's incredible to see just how he can just let things go and focus on the next week and try to be better. And I mean he could be doing whatever he wants. And he's here with us. He's, he's, he's at the shop every day busting his ass, trying to get better, paying attention, asking all the right questions and you see the improvement. I mean he came into when. When 2311 is continuing to climb. Here's a seat, rookie. Figure it out. Yeah, it's, it's so hard, man. We look at, we look at the 88. It's so hard. He won 10 races last year and right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

10 or 11 and spun twice in training.

[Tyler Reddick]

He's had consecutive last place finishes.

[Bubba Wallace]

I think he's had 10 DNFs like, it's. It's hard no matter who you are. It's so hard. And so to see the efforts come through and to see the hard work pay off for. For a good kid, it's. It's really cool to see. So I'm gonna give you your flowers, dog.

[Justin Allgaier]

What?

[Bubba Wallace]

Everybody else, thanks, Bubba.

[Justin Allgaier]

Appreciate you.

[Tyler Reddick]

And Riley, why is Bubba the biggest you've ever worked with?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, he's not.

[Riley Herbst]

He's not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's not.

[Justin Allgaier]

His worse off.

[Tyler Reddick]

I've worked with it for a long time.

[Riley Herbst]

No, I. I've appreciated working with Bubba and Tyler. They been in this seat a long time, and. And they know what comes with 39 weeks. When you're running the O'Reilly series and you run 33 weeks, you think, oh, what's six more? Six is a lot more. For some reason, I don't. I don't understand.

[Amy]

More miles, too, just to grind.

[Riley Herbst]

And they've taken me under the wings, and I. I appreciate the help that both of them have given me, but especially Bubba, and he likes to say my mindset's always right, but I've actually learned quite a bit of my mindset from Bubba, so I appreciate that.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's his problem.

[Riley Herbst]

Now, just about how to race people and the toughness of last year and the rookie season is. Is extremely difficult. So, yeah, we're going to work hard and hopefully things continue to get better.

[Amy]

Do you do sim?

[Tyler Reddick]

So, so spot on, spot off.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah. Yeah. Hey, as soon as we stopped running SIM last year, we racked off a couple good finishes and we won the Brickyard.

[Riley Herbst]

So it's a true story, actually.

[Bubba Wallace]

Just saying.

[Tyler Reddick]

It's a true story.

[Bubba Wallace]

Just saying.

[Amy]

But Tyler lives on it, right?

[Bubba Wallace]

Yes. And Riley does, too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Riley Herbst]

Got a second home there.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Now I'm a part of sim. I go. I do post sim.

[Amy]

Okay. Make sure to tire and model and whatever I felt yesterday, you want to make sure for next time. But you still. Then you don't still do it next time.

[Justin Allgaier]

Bingo.

[Riley Herbst]

But it helps us next.

[Tyler Reddick]

It helps us tremendously.

[Justin Allgaier]

What he does this.

[Tyler Reddick]

I'm going to tell this story. Like, I don't know, three or four weeks ago, we had a meeting and there was some Navy seals in the meeting with us, and they were just there to, like, you know, listen to the meeting and, you know, then they, like, like, give their feedback on listening to the meeting and, like, how we could approve. Like, we were. Yeah, we were, like, going in the weekend, but they were just there to, like, listen in and, like, try to help us improve how we do our meeting, communicate leadership.

[Amy]

They left that room above and go,

[Tyler Reddick]

so this guy needs some idiot says like, so they were talking about sim work and how do you prepare without so much practice? And Bubba's like, Let me ask you guys.

[Riley Herbst]

No, with the straight face.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's like, these are real Navy SEALs.

[Amy]

Like real.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

What he's at straight eyed, straight face

[Riley Herbst]

says, do you guys play Call of Duty before you go to war? I was like, daryl, Daryl like his mom, dude.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Come on, dude.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How would your time at CHIPS come to an end?

[Justin Allgaier]

So we ran three years and kind of more or less ran the same all three years. Like I said, there was glimmers of good running and Chip always treated me great throughout the whole time and never, never a bad time between myself and him other than we both wanted to run better. Yeah, but I think you know, any team that's not running well has that. So, you know, we did get the pole at Indy, which was, I think we could have had two years in a row with the same car. But I wrecked and I guess it was 06. I wrecked. Speaking of Jimmy, this in memory. I'll never forget this. So you remember I used to have the shift lights.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Justin Allgaier]

So at Indy we're doing our mach runs and we were already top five on the board. I was a little tight. Just a little. So I come to 3 and 4 haul and ask my shift light comes on like 15 car lengths earlier than the lap I'd already posted. I'm like, all right, it's gonna be badass.

[Riley Herbst]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, I went off into one and just came out, backed it in, destroyed the car. Well, he had let, if I remember correct, like two and a half pounds out of both left sides. And I remember afterwards, I'm like, damn it, Jimmy. I was like, I just needed a little bit.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, that's a bunch.

[Justin Allgaier]

So we, the next year, that was a place that we had to rebound and that's the year we got the pull. Yeah, it's actually, I'm pretty sure it was the same car. Yeah, we wrecked that car a few times and it was so fast every time. I don't understand that. Still never will.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know you always have those cars. No matter how bad you treat them, they're always good.

[Justin Allgaier]

It was good for Casey too. It gotten beat up all through the years. But going back to my time with Chip, we, you know, at the end of it, a lot of people don't know I had a option to stay there for three more years.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

And probably should have. But I thought the decision I made to go to Gillette's was the right one. That was supposed to be a three year deal as well. It ended up being one. But a lot of people don't know. I had a chance to stay with Chips for three years and like I said, Chip, Chip always treated me extremely fair.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You had options on the table and you, you decided to go a different route, correct.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And, and let's remember the Gillette Evernham deal was promoted as this like, man, this, this Gillette piece of the puzzle. They've got success in all these other things. Right. This is really going to take raised deal to the next level.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I mean it's, it probably looked great.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

And it was strictly from a performance side in my head because we had struggled for three years at Chips and like I said, it wasn't I didn't think we had bad people or Chip didn't want to win. Like, it was nothing like that. I was just like, this team seems to have maybe better potential to run good. So it was strictly a competitive mindset to make that choice, which, you know, ultimately was maybe not the right one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. That team merges with Yates in 2010 and you were released. How'd you hear. How'd you hear about the news when. How'd that go down?

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, I knew it was happening the year before. Yeah. I mean, it was just the end of the year was a disaster. I mean, they switched teams and they were going to shut down the team actually. And I would have not finished that year off. But they, you know, basically didn't pay me for portion of the year. But it kept all the guys employed. So that was the main focus for me is, is to keep. Keep everybody their job, at least to the, to the end of the year. So we finished out, but yeah, it was kind of the last third of the year kind of a disaster. Really?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Really?

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you scrambling to try to figure out what to do next?

[Justin Allgaier]

Yes. Yeah. I mean, at this point, you know, you're. You're lost because it's like, I was just here, now we're here. It's like, what do we do next? And, you know, I didn't have really an idea what was going to happen next, you know, and then as far as, like, good rides open and things like that, it's. There wasn't a lot of options.

[Bubba Wallace]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you end up sharing a rally ride with Vickers at braun.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

In 2010.

[Justin Allgaier]

Um, you get.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'd eventually take over the entire season in that car. Having runner up finishes at Nashville Gateway, and there's an opportunity for you to get to Red Bull.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah. With Jimmy as a crew chief nonetheless. Did you know that? Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah. So going back to the Braun thing, I was very appreciative Todd Braun, and I'd known him for a while and that the opportunity he gave me like that year in 2010 kind of brought us, brought me back to, like I told you, we expected to be top 10 every week. It brought that mentality back. Yeah, I know it's a series down, but it still got your confidence back. You know, I was racing against Carl Edwards and Keselowski. I'm like, I'm right there with those guys. So I'm like, hey, you know, I can still race with these guys and these guys are winning on Sundays. So that kind of for me was a booster in Confidence, where it was almost down in the dumps.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

And, you know, I'm sure you've been there before, too, and it's. It's like you really start doubting everything about yourself. But that. That 2010 at Braun, you know, it's like we finished. I don't know how many top tens we had. It was almost every week. And that kind of helped reverse some of that. And. Yeah, and then getting the opportunity to run the Red Bull car with Jimmy was a lot of fun. And they, you know, they were kind of up and down, too, as far as, you know, being competitive and whatnot. But we had some. We had some good runs. I remember Charlotte. That was one of our. One of our really good ones. And we qualified sixth or seventh, but I remember I nailed 1 and 2 and screwed up 3 and 4. Otherwise we probably could have the pole. But I messed up three and four. But, yeah, Jimmy was fun to work with. He actually helped get me into that car, and that was fun. It kind of like rejuvenated me on, you know, I was running good in the. In the Brawn car and then got to run that one as well.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You continued to. To race in the O'Reilly series. Turner Motorsports would acquire Brawn Racing. They'd switch to Chevrolets. You ran full time with them in 2011, the $32 general car that we all remember really well. One at Road America. Back to victory lane. Several top five finishes leading the points. With five races to go in the season, your third in points, Turner's gonna announce you no longer are driving the car.

[Justin Allgaier]

That wasn't good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How'd that happen?

[Justin Allgaier]

You know, from what I was told, he. And he, you know, passed away. So I can't speak of what he has said or didn't. He didn't like something I said about the car. At some point, it not being good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But if you could go back to talk to yourself during that year in 2011, what would you tell yourself?

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, I don't know, because.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you think there's things that you did that you shouldn't have done or said?

[Justin Allgaier]

I want to start back at the beginning of that year. So Trent Owens is a crew chief. That's right. He's a rock star. Yep. And he's still crew chief. Yes. He's on the 16th.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's right.

[Justin Allgaier]

I talked to him this week. But I put so much effort into that season because I was like, this is my chance to win a championship. And I was. You know, the shop was just right over here. Yeah. And I Was there every day. And, you know, Trent was excellent, and him and I got along.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We tried to hire him here.

[Justin Allgaier]

Did you. Yeah. And around the same time, for whatever reason, he's a super calm guy, and he understood for me, like, he understood what I wanted out of the car. And we ran so good the year before. Like, we were prepared for 2011 to. To have a shot at the championship, which we did. So I had the same guys as I had had the year before. Great group of guys. And, you know, even all of them, when that happened, were like, what the hell? Like, all my. All my guys I was with every week. It was very peculiar. I still to this day, don't fully understand it. So to answer your question, I don't know what I would have done different to make that not happen, but I do remember, you know, talking to him like, hey, what. You know, let me finish this year. You try to put so much work into this.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

And it just didn't happen. On saying that I didn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was there. Was the conversations tense? Were they. Was he.

[Bubba Wallace]

That.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, how did his voice. I mean, how does.

[Justin Allgaier]

It was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Casually did this. Made this decision.

[Justin Allgaier]

It was the oddest thing I've ever experienced. But in saying that, you had to been devastated. Oh, I was. I was in tears, to be honest, because, like I said, we had worked so hard that year to put ourselves in that position. And those are the guys I've had for two years. Like, those are my guys. Like, what do you mean you're gonna. They put Vickers in there, which was. He was fine, too. They all knew him. And I remember the next week, Vickers, like, came up to me, and he's like, man, he goes, I'm so sorry. He's like, it's not me. I'm like, I know it's not you. And I know Dollar General left the end of that year, too, and I think they knew that. I don't know. I don't think that had anything to do with it, because I had a great. You know, I had a fantastic relationship with. With Dollar General, but they weren't staying the next year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Hey, Everybody, it's Dale Jr. Guess what? We are coming to San Diego. We got two live shows for you. Friday the 19th, there's Dirty Mo Live, presented by the US Navy. We will be on the NASCAR experience stage at 10:45 local time. Ryan Blaney will be the headliner, so that should be a lot of fun. Then On Saturday the 20th, we're doing a live broadcast of the Delgener download presented by arby's and the US Navy right there in Victory Lane at 5:30pm local. Come hang out. Hope to see you there. We'll be having a blast. If you aren't going to San Diego, you can check all of this out on our Dirty Mo Media YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcast. We also have some new merch for you at shop.dirtymomedia.com Here's a new T shirt. This is for the San Diego weekend. The Dale Jr. Download. Got you a little airplane right there. It's time for a pit stop. Naval Base Coronado. And then for all you Arby's fans, beef. I just think that's fun.

[Kevin Harvick]

Beef.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then this one's pretty cool. The Dale junior Download shirt. The official Dale junior Down Download RV shirt. We have the meets, you've got the airplane. The Navy represented Naval Base Coronado, San Diego. Just a neat shirt. Check them out on shop.dirtymomedia.com the biggest stage in world soccer is here, and every goal changes everything. And now FanDuel is giving you a reason to root for every single one. Introducing every goal pays. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored in that match. That's right, more goals means more bonus bets. Everybody loves bonus bets and all you have to do is turn on your token. You know how much we love throwing down some bets on FanDuel. We love it even more when there's a bonus bet offered. From the opening whistle to the final kick. Let there be goals on FanDuel. Visit FanDuel.com Dirty Mo to get started

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[Charles Krall]

back to win number 63. Though, have you had any more time to reflect on this number in the moments after leaving the track?

[Kevin Harvick]

Yes. I mean, certainly it, you know, moves you up the totem pole. Just another one position, right? You know, this is where, this is where it's gonna end. You know, I'll end end up ninth on the list when it's all said and done. But it's, it's just significant because, you know, for all of my cup career, it was like, cowboys wins, Cowboys wins, Cowboys wins, Cowboy wins. And it's like, wow, I was able to win that much, you know, and so the longevity of it certainly helps. You know, it. This is almost, you know, this weekend will be. It was almost, what, four days from being 20 years apart from my first win. So, you know, that's probably, to me that the Proudest accomplishment is just being able to honestly say in year 20 something, I think 21 or so, that it's as good as I've ever been. So that's. That's, to me, the most proud I am. I mean, I'll never forget everyone on social media wanted me fired. And 2018, they thought I was washed up eight years ago.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

They're lucky I wasn't around.

[Kevin Harvick]

I don't know.

[Charles Krall]

You might not have been around, Trav.

[Justin Allgaier]

There wasn't much.

[Kevin Harvick]

There weren't. There weren't many bros around 2018 when I wasn't winning or didn't win a race.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

So that's. That's why you can't let those folks get to you. What I love the. The most, they have no idea what they're doing. When I. When I look and that damn car's cheated up. There's no way on the lawsuit.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

That's why the car's so fast.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's. It's. Y' all are making me believe that I'm doing things that you think are impossible. That is awesome. And it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're just.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's making me more confident. So I love it. I. But what's crazy though is that like, Jimmy still got like 20 more wins. Where. Where the hell was your comments back then? Like, oh, that car ain't cheap. Like,

[Tyler Reddick]

there's.

[Kevin Harvick]

There's eight more guys on the list that have more wins was cheated up all the time.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I don't know when it was much easier to.

[Justin Allgaier]

I. It just.

[Kevin Harvick]

I think they've got fatigue. I. I get it. I. I totally get it.

[Charles Krall]

But just looking back on the last five weeks, right? Texas, you finished second to Elliot. You had a chance, darn it, you had a chance to win that one. Then we go to a road course. Might as well have been an off week. And then Coke 600 should have won. If they hold the caution for three more seconds, you probably win that in the rain delay.

[Kevin Harvick]

Be three in a row, right?

[Charles Krall]

All Star Race.

[Bubba Wallace]

Forgot that.

[Kevin Harvick]

Actually, four in a row.

[Charles Krall]

Four in a row. All Star Race Nashville and. And heck, Pocono next week.

[Kevin Harvick]

You know, I don't know what to tell you, bud.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

The next spot is dale senior at 76. But it's like you.

[Kevin Harvick]

If you just not enough time.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Okay, but why worry about 76 and not make the goal?

[Justin Allgaier]

70?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

You keep talking about 76. Like, yeah, you can still get higher up.

[Kevin Harvick]

I mean, God dang, that seems like such a far fetched number, but I. I get it. Not at the. That is not the Way things are going. I don't know.

[Justin Allgaier]

I just.

[Kevin Harvick]

This has gotta end at some point.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Does it?

[Bubba Wallace]

Nope.

[Charles Krall]

I think he's hedging.

[Kevin Harvick]

Maybe I just get better.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I think the thing is, though, is you are a little, like, superstitious and that you don't want to jinx yourself because you kept saying you can't catch Reddick, but people can catch you. And that's what it is.

[Charles Krall]

That's exactly it, Charles.

[Kevin Harvick]

I like to under promise and over deliver. That is my mantra.

[Josh Schneider]

Honestly, I couldn't recall this memory. Like, I don't know when it was that you met Dale for the first time. Do you remember that?

[Katie]

Yeah, I remember, of course. Where were. We came to Victoria.

[Josh Schneider]

So you didn't meet him for the first time at a race?

[Katie]

Beechwood.

[Josh Schneider]

No, no. Okay.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

You met him in Texas.

[Katie]

Yeah, he came to visit in Texas, remember? And Josh Schneider came with him as his, like, security blanket.

[Josh Schneider]

Oh, so he came with a buddy.

[Katie]

He came with a buddy. He brought a friend, just. Just in case.

[Josh Schneider]

But I also came along with him.

[Katie]

Well, yeah, he didn't send him by himself.

[Josh Schneider]

Well, like, I didn't come first, and he came to meet me. Like, we all flew in together.

[Katie]

Yes, you came together.

[Josh Schneider]

I don't remember any of this.

[Katie]

Yes, we were. It was a Beechwood. We still had, like, the blue and peach couches. You remember those? No, no, we had the flowery couches. We had the real flowery ones. Yeah. And he stayed in the room for a good majority of the day. Eventually, he came out and he sat next to you on the couch the whole time. I mean, Josh. Of course, Josh. So he was hilarious and kept us all going and then eventually got some beers in Dale.

[Josh Schneider]

Yeah, I remember Josh being there at one point, but it was out at Raisin. It wasn't at the house.

[Katie]

Yeah, he stayed at the house.

[Josh Schneider]

So. So weird. I don't remember. It's weird what your mind will block out.

[Katie]

And Kobe was. And Kobe was there.

[Josh Schneider]

What does Kobe think of that?

[Katie]

I asked him this morning. I was like, hey, remember? And he's like, yeah. He just stayed in the room. And then he just sat by Amy.

[Josh Schneider]

He just hid in the bedroom. He just.

[Katie]

He needed some liquid courage, you know, to come out and, like, meet all of us.

[Josh Schneider]

This is a very, like, simple ranch home. The rooms weren't very big, and there's no TV in the bedroom. He had nothing to do. And I don't even know if dad had WI fi back then. Did they have WI fi?

[Katie]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Josh Schneider]

Was it like old School dial up?

[Katie]

No, no, we got WI fi in college.

[Josh Schneider]

I feel like I don't remember that either, but I just remember like there was no iPhone. It was just coming out.

[Katie]

Yeah, yeah, there was. IPhone wasn't out. I don't think I had a BlackBerry, so.

[Josh Schneider]

I know, but I'm pretty sure he had an iPhone. It's just so weird though that he just hid.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

What was your thoughts on meeting him?

[Katie]

I was just interested to see if he was like a normal human, you know, like the rest of us or if you.

[Josh Schneider]

How he was.

[Katie]

Obviously. Who is. Yeah. I mean our dad always watched NASCAR growing up, so obviously I knew who he was and like who his dad was, but I didn't really know what to expect, to be honest. I didn't have any preconceived notions.

[Josh Schneider]

Did you have a list of questions?

[Katie]

Oh, I'm sure. And that's probably why he stayed in the room because he probably met me the night before and was like, wow, she's getting interrogated.

[Josh Schneider]

Katie coming in hot.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Is Katie hard to impress?

[Josh Schneider]

Katie's hard to impress, yes. She's. Well, she's. She like wants to size you up immediately and then she'll be. Then she decides you're either. We're either going to be friends or you need work and I'm going to help you fix yourself.

[Katie]

Yeah, it's. I'm the middle child. I come by it naturally. It's not my fault.

[Josh Schneider]

It's not her fault. It's not her fault.

[Katie]

Everyone see. Couldn't be my fault.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

She's just innocent.

[Josh Schneider]

She's innocent little Katie. She's just trying to help.

[Katie]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right. That was another Episode of the Dirty 30 presented by Arby's. New meet in three box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meat.

[Sponsor Voice]

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