Hocevar's Met Gala Moment & Ryan Blaney's Life As A Dad

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download — "Hocevar's Met Gala Moment & Ryan Blaney's Life As A Dad"

Podcast: The Dale Jr. Download
Host: Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM
Date: May 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

This lively episode brings together Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Davis, Kevin Harvick, Amy Davis, Daniel Trotta, and Jordan Bianchi to cover two major topics: NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar's unexpected appearance at the Met Gala, and Ryan Blaney's candid discussion of becoming a new dad. The crew uses their distinct mix of humor, candid storytelling, and insider perspective to explore NASCAR's need for broader cultural relevance, the emotional journey of new parenthood, fan reactions to drivers, and the ever-evolving playoff bubble drama.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Carson Hocevar at the Met Gala — NASCAR Meets High Fashion

Timestamps: 01:30 – 06:18

• Hocevar’s Met Gala Invite:

  • The team dives into how surprising—and cool—it was to see Carson Hocevar at the Met Gala.
  • Mike Davis celebrates the visibility:
    • “I would have never expected a driver to be invited to that. I don’t even know what it is... but we need drivers in these unusual spaces connecting with people that aren’t connected to our sport.” (01:35)
  • The Met Gala is characterized as “a celebration of fashion and art” and an opportunity for drivers to reach new audiences.

• Cultural Crossovers:

  • Dale, Mike, and Kevin recall their own moments of breaking into pop culture, emphasizing how appearing in mainstream venues (like Rolling Stone magazine, MTV events) elevates NASCAR’s profile.
  • Mike Davis sums up the value:
    • "It's not so much to promote yourself, but really introduce the sport to a new audience. And it adds a little credibility to the sport where it had none." (02:08)
  • Reference to Jeff Gordon hosting 'Saturday Night Live' as the kind of mainstream opportunity drivers should seize.

• Fan Backlash vs. Growth:

  • The panel notes mixed social media opinions: some fans love it, others don’t. They encourage individual drivers to follow their own interests and not take fan pushback personally.
  • Dale Jr.: "Let the guy do what he wants to do, let him go promote and be where he wants. He had a lot of fun... I was really proud of Hocevar." (03:19)

2. Fan Reactions & NASCAR’s Need for Mainstream Attention

Timestamps: 06:18 – 09:42

• Media Coverage & Outreach:

  • Frustration over inconsistent NASCAR coverage in mainstream sports media is mentioned (e.g., ESPN coverage lapses).
  • Emphasis on how drivers (like Hocevar) doing high-visibility, non-racing activities can help energize the brand and bring in new fans.

• Hocevar’s Popularity:

  • The group discusses whether Hocevar could challenge Chase Elliott for the “Most Popular Driver” award.
    • Dale Jr.: “I don’t know that he’ll ever—I don’t know anybody’s ever going to dethrone Chase, but if anybody’s ever going to come close right now, I think it’s him.” (09:36)
    • Kevin Harvick sees the influence of Hocevar’s social-savvy friends and the “Cletus effect” helping his popularity. (09:01)

• Memorable Fan Moments & Quotes:

  • Colorful, offbeat listener calls (the “Reaction Theater” segment) poke fun at race strategies and NASCAR personalities:
    • “That’s about as cool as taking a shower with your dad.” — Mike Davis (07:09)
    • “I don’t know nothing about the waxing crescent or the waning gibbous… but my wife does because she is a Chase Elliott fan and brother, she is gripped up to not hell yeah.” (07:21)

3. Ryan Blaney as a New Dad — Parenting Challenges & Family Dynamics

Timestamps: 13:27 – 20:43

• Adjusting to Fatherhood:

  • Mike Davis asks Blaney (voiced by Kevin Harvick in this ep) about the biggest changes since his child was born.
  • Blaney/Harvick: “Charlie’s never been a great sleeper... That’s the challenging part. You’re used to this style of life, you know, no kid, you can kind of do what you want… and then just the shock of, like, oh, wow, this is just a huge 180.” (13:58)

• Work-Life Balance:

  • The pain of leaving home for race weekends is real: “Way harder to leave the house for the weekend... But it makes up for it when you do come back, and you see them, and they light up.” (14:54)

• Witnessing Milestones:

  • Joy at witnessing “firsts,” like trying foods and a child’s first big laugh:
    • “First belly laugh was kind of fun… I started cracking up, man. And we had it on camera, so that was kind of sweet.” (16:53)
  • Lighthearted aside: Blaney admits baby peaches are “good” — “if you put it in a smoothie, it’s fine.” (16:34)

• Grandparent Dynamics:

  • Reflects on his dad transforming from ‘stern’ racing coach to a “mushy teddy bear” as a grandfather:
    • “My dad was kind of, you know, stern guy. And then with Charlie as a granddad, he’s like a mushy teddy bear.” (17:53)

• Growing Family Roles:

  • Appreciation for his father’s evolving support:
    • “Instead of calling me first, like, I’ll kind of call him first about some stuff... I think that’s just the... transition.” (18:52)
  • Observes that his parents are experiencing grandparenthood for the first time—as much a learning curve for them as for him.

4. NASCAR Playoff Bubble Drama: SVG's Road Course Prospects

Timestamps: 27:40 – 32:41

• Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) Playoff Outlook:
  • SVG’s points situation is dissected. The panel debates whether SVG can earn enough points on road courses to get into the playoffs.
    • “So how do we feel out of 16? Like, is he gonna be able to gain enough on road courses to get in there?” — Jordan Bianchi (27:48)
    • Panel agrees it’s “going to be close,” with room for strategic moves, but acknowledges the unpredictability of stage cautions and bubble drivers.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hocevar at the Met Gala:
  Mike Davis:
  “We need drivers in these unusual spaces connecting with people that aren’t connected to our sport.” (01:35)

• On Pushing NASCAR into New Realms:
  Mike Davis:
  "You’re trying to take the sport where it isn’t and get it in front of people that don’t watch it and don’t see it. That’s what this is all about." (04:10)

• On Mixed Fan Reactions:
  Dale Jr.:
  “Let the guy do what he wants to do, let him go promote and be where he wants.” (03:19)

• On Parenting:
  Kevin Harvick (for Blaney):
  “I think the toughest thing for me… is leaving. Is way harder to leave the house for the weekend, even during the week… but it makes up for it when you do come back and you see them.” (14:54)

• On Grandparent Changes:
  Kevin Harvick (for Blaney):
  “My dad was kind of, you know, stern guy. And then with Charlie as a granddad, he’s like a mushy teddy bear.” (17:53)

• Big Laugh Moment:
  "That’s about as cool as taking a shower with your dad.” — Mike Davis on bad racing advice (07:09)

• SVG Playoff Math:
  Jordan Bianchi:
  “My guess is… we’re going to be talking seven days from now. He’s 10 points above the cut, maybe 15. But gosh, that’s just... You’re running out of bullets. You’re running out of bullets.” (31:56)

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Additional Highlights

Fan Day Announcement

Timestamps: 10:46 – 11:37

• Details about Fan Day at Junior Motorsports, live podcast tapings, and guest appearances.

The Great Bee Adventure

Timestamps: 22:23 – 27:35

• The crew shares an entertaining, unexpected story involving a swarm of bees invading Dale’s back porch, ultimately requiring a beekeeper’s intervention.

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Segment Timestamps

• Carson Hocevar at Met Gala: 01:30 – 06:18
• Fan Reaction Calls/Reactions: 06:30 – 10:27
• Hocevar vs. Chase Elliot Popularity: 09:42
• Ryan Blaney’s Life as a Dad: 13:27 – 20:43
• Bee Swarm Story: 22:23 – 27:35
• SVG in the Playoff Bubble: 27:40 – 32:41

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Conclusion

This episode is a perfect encapsulation of The Dale Jr. Download’s style—mixing insider racing talk, personal storytelling, laugh-out-loud moments, and a focus on NASCAR’s place within the broader pop culture landscape. Fans are treated to thoughtful debate, good-natured ribbing, and a few unexpected turns (like a bee swarm) along the way, all with the relaxed camaraderie and authentic perspective that make the show popular.

Transcript

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Mike Davis]

Hey everybody, I'm Dylan Hart Jr. And this is the Dirty 30. The best highlights from all of our podcasts this week. 30 minutes every single Friday. The Dirty 30 coming at you. Let's get right to it. This episode of the Dirty 30 is presented by Arby's new Meet in 3 box. Get more meal for your money at. We have the meats.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

First question A few people wondering what'd you think of Carson Hosavar last night at the Met gala?

[Mike Davis]

Listen, I think that was fantastic. And the reason why I would have never expected a driver to been invited to that. I don't even know what it is. I think it's a little bit of a celebration of fashion and art. Doesn't matter. We, you know, we need drivers. Not all of them. We don't need them all going to this thing. We need one. We need one over here, one over there, and one doing this thing and one doing that thing.

[Kevin Harvick]

I agree.

[Mike Davis]

We need our drivers in these unusual spaces connecting with people that aren't connected to our sport. Back in the day when it was badass to be in the Rolling Stone magazine, Right. I mean that was a great opportunity for me and it and it and I reached so many people, got to showcase who I was to so many people that were not watching races on Sunday, MTV Cribs. I went and got to introduce Linkin park during the MTV Music Awards. Those were fantastic opportunities. Terrifying. But it but at the same time, the door was opened by Budweiser to be able to go to these different things and do a lot of fun stuff. Go to, you know, walk a boxer down the aisle at a boxing match. I was a huge boxing fan. Doing those kind of things are real. A real privilege, you know, and a real opportunity to get out and not so much promote yourself, but really introduce the sport to a, to a new audience. And it adds a little, you know, it adds a little credibility to the sport where it had none.

[Kevin Harvick]

Absolutely.

[Mike Davis]

You know, so it's good. And there may, there's a. Listen, I've read the social media. There's a lot of fans that are like, hey, that's cool. He went and did that. You know, whatever. There's a lot of fans that think, why see over there? And doing that. I don't like that. It doesn't matter. Let the guy do what he wants to do and let him go promote and be where he wants to be. He had a lot of fun. I watched his interview. He did a great job, represented himself well, spoke well, knew what the hell he was wearing. Seemed to have a real understanding of why he was there and what he was supposed to accomplish. So I was really proud of, of, of host of our. You, you throw these guys into those scenarios where they're totally a fish out of water. And sometimes it doesn't go that well. But I think he did a good job. So I was good.

[Daniel Trotta]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What was your reaction when you got that Rolling Stone request, like when they brought it to you?

[Mike Davis]

It was, it was, it was badass. So, you know, it was. I was proud to be able to take our sport where it wasn't getting access. You know, we talk about, you know, they'll. I don't want to, I'm not complaining here or trying to put anybody on blast. And I might be incorrect in some of this statistically, but there are times when, you know, we get coverage on some networks and then there's times when those networks don't mention us, right? There's times when we're front page news and some newspapers and sometimes those newspapers totally ignore our sport, right? For years, dependent upon relationships we have with different networks, right? Forever. ESPN was a leader in sports, right? And so if you weren't getting coverage on espn, you know, what the hell, right? We would always complain that, man, this badass thing happened in our race Sunday and ESPN didn't even talk about it. And so, you know, you're trying to, you know, you're trying to take the sport where it isn't and get it in front of people that don't watch it and don't see it. And that's what this is all about. So we need more of that. You know, we need guys hosting Saturday Night Live or whatever it is. Right. That's a big deal when Jeff Gordon got to do that, you know, and we need, you know, when motion pictures are made about our sport, whether it's a comedy that's poking fun at us like Talladega Nights or a more serious movie, it doesn't matter when those things are being even considered. It says a lot about the where our sport is and the value of it. So we need more of that. We need those type of things happening. We can't just do what we want to do in our little bubble and think that's really going to be enough to get us back to the numbers that we all want to get back to, you know, back to, you know, when the peak of the Sport in the 2000s. We're way far away from that. We've got to be putting ourselves in front of these folks to showcase what we're doing.

[Kevin Harvick]

Do you think there's a day that's unders too?

[Mike Davis]

Oh, yeah, there's. It's happening.

[Kevin Harvick]

Is it?

[Mike Davis]

Oh, yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

Nice.

[Mike Davis]

I'm. I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen.

[Amy Davis]

Well, it is time for reaction theater

[Mike Davis]

where fans can call in and voice their opinions from this weekend's race.

[Amy Davis]

All right.

[Mike Davis]

I'm excited. We'll hear from the fans. Yeah. Watching the truck race and listening to them tell Geo to listen to Freddy. I listen to Freddy every Monday. There's no way I'm trusting that idiot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I somebody else text me that. I was like, yeah.

[Mike Davis]

I don't know why they say then the next time. Next, next.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why the hell they listen?

[Mike Davis]

Why did he listen to Freddy finishes 14. Yeah, he Listen to me straight to the back.

[Kevin Harvick]

Hell yeah.

[Mike Davis]

Go horse next week. That's about as cool as taking a shower with your dad.

[Kevin Harvick]

Jesus.

[Amy Davis]

Yuck.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay, that's weird.

[Mike Davis]

Hey, now, I don't know nothing about the waxing crescent or the waning gibbous or any of them moon phases or nothing like that, but my wife does because she is a Chase Elliot fan and brother, she is gripped up to not Hell yeah. Go n. That was a good one.

[Kevin Harvick]

That was a good one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, wonder if, by the way, get your.

[Mike Davis]

I was going to say, I wonder

[Amy Davis]

if you bought the shirt.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Get your gripped up T shirt at shop. Dirty mo media dot com.

[Mike Davis]

Baby, can I get that Healing chase, sexual chase, Sexual healing.

[Kevin Harvick]

Feeling good today.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is that you, Kev?

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's my morning shower jam.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm glad the chasexuals are happy today. Yeah, they needed a good break to get off Alan's back a little bit.

[Mike Davis]

After a very boring Chase Elliott post

[Daniel Trotta]

race interview, I think I finally figured out the greatest celebration that can top host of ours when Shane Van Gittsberg

[Mike Davis]

and wins that road course this weekend. I think he needs the fart in a didgeridoo. What? What?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What did he say?

[Mike Davis]

Fart in a didgeridoo.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Fart and a didgeridoo.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It's like that Australian instrument.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's like ball.

[Mike Davis]

Ball.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay, that's interesting.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. Do you think.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I've not said this in a long time and I thought maybe Blaney could ever be the closest. Do you think josevar could challenge Chase Elliott for most popular driver?

[Mike Davis]

Yes.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah, there's a lot of Jose Var shirts in the glass. There's a lot of stuff going on. I mean, look, he. Again, it's. I think it's another Cletus effect. I mean, he's become friends with Cletus. I think Cleveland is. Cletus has sat. Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland, Cletus, Squirrel McNutt. I think they've all sat him down and go, man, you gotta like there's a big window of opportunity that you're missing. I mean, obviously they're really, really smart, what they do with all the social stuff. So, I mean, I think you've seen

[Mike Davis]

since he's really met Cletus, a whole

[Kevin Harvick]

different side of Jose.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's just I, you know, I don't know that he'll ever. I don't know anybody's ever going to throw Chase, but if anybody's ever going to come close right now, I think it's him.

[Amy Davis]

Yeah, I think he could.

[Mike Davis]

Doesn't that horn. Not my woman's gonna be doing the same thing. You damn. Skip it. Sound the horn. Go nine. I have no.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I heard three words.

[Kevin Harvick]

He's from Georgia.

[Mike Davis]

Should we listen to it again?

[Kevin Harvick]

He's from Georgia.

[Mike Davis]

If we can get anything.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I don't think. I mean, just put subtitles.

[Mike Davis]

Hey, girls, this is your friend Pickles here. I just want to let you know that I'm eating a chocolate chip cookie and thinking about Kevin Hamlin. Love you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm gonna guess that's one of your friends.

[Kevin Harvick]

I don't know a Pickles. I'm gonna guess he might be a couple deep right there. You sure you don't you like chocolate

[Mike Davis]

chip cookies or something?

[Kevin Harvick]

Who doesn't?

[Mike Davis]

But I'VE never eaten a chocolate chip

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

cookie with pickles so that you didn't know that was. No, you don't have pickles? No.

[Kevin Harvick]

I hope he enjoyed his cooking. Might have been a guy he met at the bar. Pickles and you ain't out for chocolate chip cookies.

[Mike Davis]

Fan Day Coming up here at Junior Motorsports May 21, Dirty Mo Media and SiriusXM they're gonna be hosting a handful of shows all throughout the day live and starting with Larry Mack, Daniel Trotta at 9am live on the RV stage. And then at 11am we're gonna kick off more Dirty Mo live with our crew. You don't wanna miss it. Kenny Wallace, Mike Davis, they're all gonna be up there. Some surprise guests as well. At noon we'll have Bless yous Heart with my wife Amy and myself and then Door bumper clear at 1pm Joining them will be Jordan Bianchi. Come hang out with us on Thursday, May 21st. We'd love to see you out here. A lot of other things to check out as well. A lot of booths, kiosk sponsors will be promoting all kinds of things. Jerky boys, all stuff, filter time, whatever. There'll be race cars to look at, tons of things to do. Come check it out.

[Kevin Harvick]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Mike Davis]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Mike Davis]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kevin Harvick]

The math demands it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Mike Davis]

All right, man. So got a chance to, to see you find the love of your life, get married, had a great ceremony. Now you're a father. What's the, you know, what's the, what's, what's the challenges today with fatherhood? I remember, you know, waking up every few hours in the middle of the night. I don't know where exactly you are on the path. It kind of changes.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah, it changes every week. Yep, changes. It could be seven hours straight. You get a little of the rest. Or it's every couple hours. You know, it just depends. And I would say Charlie's never been a great sleeper. He's been. He doesn't nap very good. He don't sleep very good. I mean, that's the challenging part. I mean, I think just getting out of your routine, especially right away, right? You're used to this style of life, you know, no, kid, you can kind of do what you want, sleep all the time, yada, yada. And then just the, the shock of, like, oh, wow, this is just a huge 180. It takes a little while to get used to. But then I think you get comfortable with that. Like, I don't mind, like, if he's having a rough night, waking up every couple hours, like, all right, that's fine. Like, I'll go hang out with you a little bit and try to get you back to bed. And I think the toughest thing for me, like, and it's going to get even harder when he gets as he's getting older. Is like leaving.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

Is way harder to leave the house for the weekend, even during the week. Like, if I have to go to the race shop for meetings, I'm going to be gone all day. It's hard to leave, you know, but it makes up for it when you do come back.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

And you see them and they haven't seen you all day and they light up. But yeah. I mean, everything has its challenges. And I'd honestly think the most. The challenging. Most challenging part was when Gianna was pregnant and getting close to giving birth, she had a lot of. A lot of issues she had to go through. So that was tough to watch and obviously tough for her to go through. But we're lucky. Everything turned out great. But it's been. It's crazy. I leave for the weekend for three days, and I come back and he's a completely different kid. Looks different.

[Mike Davis]

That is hard to explain.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Mike Davis]

To people that haven't never experienced it.

[Kevin Harvick]

Nuts.

[Mike Davis]

Because you're like, no. I mean, three days, how could they change?

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Mike Davis]

But they've got a new word or two.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Mike Davis]

And they've got a new smirk or a mannerism.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah. I'm like, when do you start doing this? She's like, oh, yeah, the day you left. Started doing this. I'm like, just like, no big deal to her because she's seeing it and she's like, had experience with this for a couple of days. I'm like, man, it's just overload. For sure.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. Have you been able to witness some firsts?

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah. First we're starting to get them on to some foods. So that's been fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mike.

[Kevin Harvick]

He likes peaches.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

You know, like ground up, mushed up, you know, not like, I'm not giving him a peach, but he likes peaches. Does not like bananas. So that's. That's fun. Those are the only two we've tried so far. I'll tell you, I don't know if you ever ate the baby food, the mushy peaches, dude, it's good.

[Mike Davis]

Oh, really?

[Kevin Harvick]

Dude, I.

[Mike Davis]

What?

[Kevin Harvick]

I. I never tried it.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. That's probably one thing I should have done.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's just mushy peaches. Like, it's. It's just like kind of liquid form. It doesn't. It looks like a smoothie. Honestly, like, if you put it in a smoothie, it's fine. But first laugh was kind of fun. Like, first belly laugh I got to witness.

[Jordan Bianchi]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

And we actually got it on camera. We were changing him in his crib, and we got the little camera, and so that was fun. We were getting ready to give him a bath, and, like, I was taking his stuff off, and he liked it, and, like, first belly laugh, and I started cracking up, man. And we had it on camera, so that was. That was kind of sweet.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

That was the coolest first, I think, man. You know, because he would kind of grin, smile, but not really make a ton of noise. And the first time he, like, cracked himself up. Yeah. I was like, oh, that's pretty funny.

[Mike Davis]

That's awesome. What's your. What's your dad like? What's your dad. I've been a big. I've been a big fan of your dad's. Yeah. Just love the person he is and just wondering what he's like.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah. As a granddad. Yeah. He. I mean, he's unbelievable. He's great. Like, it's funny to see my dad, like, I know how my dad was with me.

[Mike Davis]

Right.

[Kevin Harvick]

My dad was kind of, you know, stern guy. And then with Charlie as a granddad, he's like a mushy.

[Mike Davis]

Yes.

[Kevin Harvick]

Teddy bear.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah. It's funny to see.

[Mike Davis]

Did you look at him, you know, when you were deciding to. When you were deciding to make these changes in your life? So, you know, you've. You've won races, you've done things in a. In. In the professional world where your dad was a witness to it. Right. And you've. You were. You know, you do. You'd win a race or you'd win a championship, and your dad would be there, and you would get to see his pride and his joyment in it, and you get really, really, really enjoy that. I'm sure when you're making these milestones in your personal life, marriage, you know, buying land and just trying, you know, doing general adulting. Right. Yeah. And now becoming a father, do you allow yourself to kind of, like, watch him and be proud, you know?

[Kevin Harvick]

Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I think, you know, I've been really lucky that my. I've had a great family, like, around me.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

You know, and, you know, my turn, my dad turning into, like, the. The race coach dad to, like, you know, he's still there a lot. I'll call him up, get his opinion on some stuff on the racing side. But, like, the last five or six years, I'm kind of more pulling on him. Like, hey, what you. What are your thoughts on this? What's your opinions? Like, he kind of took a step back of being. Instead of calling me first Like, I'll kind of call him first about some stuff. I'm like, where are you going? Like, I still need your help. Like, I want your opinion on this stuff, man. So I think. And I think that's just the. I don't think my dad has ever wanted to be too into. Like, especially now that I'm, you know, racing for a long time on the cup side, he doesn't want to be the guy, like, always there and in the. But. And earlier in my career, he wanted to be there to help.

[Mike Davis]

Yep.

[Kevin Harvick]

And now he's like, well, you don't need my help. Like, but I. Hey, I need it. Like, I want your opinion on this stuff and come to Martinsville, you know, go stand in one and two. And he came to Martinsville this year in the spring for practice, and I was like, hey, go if you want to go stand in one and two. Well, I asked him, I said, what corner you going to today? He's like, I might watch the entry to one a little bit. I might go watch entry to three a little bit. And I was like, all right, well, come talk to me after practice and see what you see. So I just think he enjoys me, like, growing my personal life because it's always been racing, racing, racing. That's all I ever cared about. And then, like, still being passionate about that, but also having this thing away from your job that you obviously love and the people that you love. I think he enjoys kind of seeing me go through that. So that part's pretty neat. And I always have to tell myself, like, it's my parents first time going through this too. You know, like, you think your parents have been through it all and stuff, but it's their first time that their kids are this age and this is going on for their kids.

[Mike Davis]

You just assume they know.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah, yeah. But, like, they're new at this side. They're new to me. Having their son, having a son, like, they don't know. So that part is. I think it's just neat because, yeah, you. Like you said, you assume they know everything and they know a lot, but when their kids are going through things for the first time, they're also going through these things for the first time.

[Mike Davis]

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[Amy Davis]

Okay?

[Kevin Harvick]

I have to tell you I was

[Amy Davis]

just looking on ebay, where I go for all kinds of things I love.

[Jordan Bianchi]

And there it was, that hologram trading card.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

One of the rarest. The last one I needed for my set.

[Kevin Harvick]

Shiny like the designer handbag of my dreams.

[Mike Davis]

One of a kind.

[Amy Davis]

Ebay had it.

[Kevin Harvick]

And now everyone's asking, ooh, where'd you get your windshield wipers? Ebay has all the parts that fit my car. No more annoying, just beautiful.

[Amy Davis]

Millions of finds, each with a story. Ebay, things people love.

[Mike Davis]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Mike Davis]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Amy Davis]

Can we tell them about our bees?

[Mike Davis]

So I go outside early earlier this week. Beautiful day. We leave the door open. It's about the same temperature outside as it is inside. And we just kind of open up the house a little bit. And Amy's sitting on a couch.

[Amy Davis]

I had just come in from wherever I had been all day, and I sat down.

[Mike Davis]

I come in from the front door after checking on the kids or doing something out there with the girls. And I look up and right over Amy's head on the back porch, through the back, back of the living room, you can see out into the backyard, the back porch. It is 15,000 bees.

[Amy Davis]

It was crazy.

[Mike Davis]

Just like a blanket.

[Amy Davis]

And they were all moving together. It was so bizarre. It felt biblical. It was like you could feel the vibration. You could hear the noise.

[Mike Davis]

They were huddled around this post and Amy put a picture of it on social media. I'd never seen a swarm like that. And I'm thinking, you know, oh, man, they're absolutely going to build a nest. They're figuring out how to get into this column because it's hollow.

[Amy Davis]

Yeah, we knew that they were.

[Mike Davis]

They are going to figure they're about to do this. We just had these columns re stained.

[Amy Davis]

We had the whole. No, we had them rebuilt.

[Mike Davis]

Rebuilt, stained.

[Amy Davis]

I mean, we hadn't had that done since the house was built. And because of the sun on the back of the house, they were in bad shape. So we had them rebuilt just like a year ago.

[Mike Davis]

Oh, man. Yeah, she puts the thing out, puts it on social media, and of course we get everybody's opinion. And everybody's a B expert.

[Amy Davis]

Everybody's a B expert.

[Mike Davis]

And the gist of it is basically,

[Amy Davis]

Dale, did Google or ask Chad.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. Oh, God, that's funny. The.

[Amy Davis]

So he goes, that sounds like a situation.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah. The queen bee has come from wherever they're leaving, wherever they were. They may be hibernating in a tree or something throughout the winter in the ground, who knows? But they're coming out to start to build whatever nest they're going to have throughout the summer. And she had just rested on this post. Yes, was most people's opinion.

[Amy Davis]

Yes.

[Mike Davis]

She just stopped on the post, take a breather, and the guys, the worker bees are all kind of like protecting her. And we're gonna protect her. We're gonna hang out, we're gonna see what the heck's going on. We got some scouts out there looking for a nice place to live. And so that's kind of what we hoped. Sure enough, in three hours, they were gone five minutes.

[Amy Davis]

They started to dissipate, like, enough where they. It was visibly thinning out. And so. And they're kind of flying around far enough away from the post now, some of them, where it felt like they might just be flying off. There's trees everywhere. So, like, we thought they were just finding another place to hang out, and we didn't think anything of it.

[Mike Davis]

Well, by the end of the night, they're gone. Gone? Yeah, completely gone. Nothing.

[Amy Davis]

You don't see any of them?

[Mike Davis]

Well, the next morning, we're kind of seeing some, right?

[Amy Davis]

Yeah, there's a couple flying around.

[Mike Davis]

A couple flying around. And Isla walks over there and goes, dad, they're coming out of the column up there. Right there, you see?

[Amy Davis]

She was wildly intrigued.

[Mike Davis]

I walk over there, I'm like, damn, they are. They're. They're coming out of the column, flying away, flying back in there and climbing back in. So they'd found a way to get inside this column. It wasn't sealed up properly. So we call a beekeeper, a friend of ours, and they come out there and they pry the column apart.

[Amy Davis]

They were smoking them out. She had her smoker with her, and she was trying to smoke them out before they tore the thing open. They have been in there for a day and a half, which is not that long, but when they. They used the smoke for a while and they got some of them out. But the queen, they never found her to be coming out. They were looking for the queen. They had the box. They were gonna put her in there, because if you do that, then all the others will get in the box. So they had to. They had to bust open the column and try to smoke her out that way. But they had already built three giant plates of the comb. Like there were pieces of honeycomb in there already.

[Mike Davis]

They took the combs out, put them in this nice, neat little box. They find the queen. They put her in there.

[Amy Davis]

They finally smoked her out.

[Mike Davis]

They put the box. They set the box there. And the queen being in there with the rest of the comb, all the bees are supposed to find it. Right. And hear her or be drawn to that, which some did, but a lot didn't. So over the last 24 hours, the bees are, like, not really going into the box. They're just kind of, like, wondering, where's the queen? Honeycomb's gone. What's going on? They're just kind of hanging out and confused. Confused. Some are getting in there, but not a lot. She came. The. The. The beekeeper comes back, looks at the box. Man, maybe we'd leave it here another day. Okay, that's cool. And I think she's coming by today to get the rest of it.

[Amy Davis]

But the girls got to put, like, the whole drape and everything. It was if they were fascinated. And it was neat because when she opened the box last night and saw that only part of the bee colony was in there, she's like, that's alarming. Like, where did they go? And so she checked to make sure that the queen was still there. She was there, but then she was, like, putting her ear against all the other columns. There's like, 12 columns on the back of the house. And just to make sure they didn't migrate into another one. And she's using all of her senses to try to figure that out. And we're having Dale turn off all the water fountains on the pool. It was a lot. It was chaos.

[Mike Davis]

Yeah.

[Daniel Trotta]

Svg finished 17th, but looking at the points here, he's only

[Mike Davis]

30ish.

[Daniel Trotta]

20ish.

[Jordan Bianchi]

So how do we feel out of 16? Like, is he gonna be able to gain enough on road courses to get in there?

[Daniel Trotta]

I think.

[Kevin Harvick]

Well, each.

[Daniel Trotta]

I feel like we're all going to walk in. Glenn, assuming that SVG is going to run top three, right?

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Jordan Bianchi]

You might as well budget a three, three, three day.

[Kevin Harvick]

Right?

[Jordan Bianchi]

So that's 17, 18 points. You know, between 16 and 18 points and then a good finish. That probably. Well, it depends when are the caution is going to fall if he wants to win the race. He's. He might have to flip.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let's be honest. It doesn't for him. It doesn't matter where the caution.

[Jordan Bianchi]

Yes, it does. Yes, it does. It does. If the caution comes out with three laps to go before the end of state, he has to flip and there is going to be a host of cars that stays out. You're saying in three laps he's just going to blow right by them all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm like, no, I don't think so.

[Daniel Trotta]

The odds under laps over the course of the race, Wasn't he like significantly faster last year?

[Jordan Bianchi]

Well, last year I think what happened was didn't he pit when he came back out, still drove back to the lead? Yeah, yeah, but that's because, just so you know, that's because all the people within a certain distance of him pitted to flip. And then it was the guy that was in 15th, 38 seconds back that says, all right, I'll be the first, I'll take the stage, win, I'll stay out. And then the person behind them stay out. And so that gap SVG was able to pit, come out. Oh, I'm five seconds behind. I'll just, you know, he goes up there and he re wins the stage. So it, it does have to play out somewhat perfectly for him to really have a 70 some point day. It does have to play out nicely.

[Daniel Trotta]

I wonder what the team thinks or what the analytics say, you know, how many points are needed for SVG at a non oval track or non road course track from here to the playoffs, how many points he needs assuming that they're going to get near max points at a road course.

[Jordan Bianchi]

I mean the issue is, is there's still some really strong guys. I mean you got perennial bubble guys right? Like that every year. You're talking about bubble, Suarez, Cindric. So if I put a question mark there, question mark there.

[Daniel Trotta]

I think it's realistic for us.

[Jordan Bianchi]

Reese is like so just, he's solid. He won't have a lot of DNFs, but he also is not going to smoke it in stage points. Logano's out. Jesus. Briscoe's on the cut and SVG is right behind that.

[Mike Davis]

Right?

[Daniel Trotta]

Yeah, right behind Chastain, one point.

[Jordan Bianchi]

I think he still needs some help. Even if he has a awesome day, I still think he needs help.

[Daniel Trotta]

I just think these drivers above 14th here. The only person that I confidently will say is going up is Briscoe.

[Jordan Bianchi]

Right. He's going to store. Yes, I would agree with that. And, and that's even the non biased side of it says, well, it's because he's he's going to score a lot of stage points. He's going to finish where he should eventually. Like, yes, you would say that one's going up.

[Daniel Trotta]

Let's just assume SVG wins two of the next three road courses in the regular season. Right?

[Kevin Harvick]

We got.

[Jordan Bianchi]

Is there three more in the regular season?

[Daniel Trotta]

Watkins Glen, Sonoma, san Diego. That's three. Yeah. Let's just assume he wins two of them. That's 30 points alone, right? 15 for each win. 15.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It's going to be close.

[Daniel Trotta]

That puts him at two.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It's going to be close. It's going to be close.

[Daniel Trotta]

So that's what I'm saying. What is the average amount of points you need at a non road course race to.

[Jordan Bianchi]

I don't know.

[Daniel Trotta]

Keep yourself around that 16.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It'll be close. We'll see. I, you know, we'll probably definitely have a closer picture after this one. I think we'll have a better understanding whether he's got a shot to make it or not. My guess is, you know, he'll probably come. We're going to be talking seven days from now. He's 10 points above the cut, maybe 15. But gosh, that's just. You're running out of bullets. You're running out of bullets.

[Daniel Trotta]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harvick]

Yeah.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It would be something if no Trackhouse Cars made the playoffs. I still think Chastain finds a way. But who's he going to take? Who spot he taken? I don't know.

[Kevin Harvick]

It's.

[Jordan Bianchi]

It's going to be interesting. We'll see.

[Mike Davis]

All right. That was another episode of the Dirty 30 presented by RB's new Meet in 3 Bucks game. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meat. Still waiting in line. Again,

[Kevin Harvick]

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[Mike Davis]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Mike Davis]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kevin Harvick]

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