Jon Wood: Twitter Antics, Made Up Job Titles & Paving WBR’s Future

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download – Jon Wood: Twitter Antics, Made Up Job Titles & Paving WBR’s Future

Episode Date: October 1, 2025
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Guest: Jon Wood (President, Wood Brothers Racing)
Producer(s): Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM

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Overview

This episode features Jon Wood, current President of Wood Brothers Racing (WBR), who dives candidly into topics spanning his racing career, his family's legendary NASCAR legacy, the realities of family business, social media antics, and steering WBR into the future. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. leading an unfiltered conversation, listeners are treated to a blend of humor, nostalgia, honesty, and business insight, highlighting Jon’s unique personality and perspective.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Memories & Growing Up a Wood

• First Exposure to Racing: Jon recounts his early days at the track, sharing a memorable story about accidentally hitting Dale Sr. with a tennis ball at Martinsville.
  • Quote: “A friend and I were throwing a baseball... and your dad, of all people, walks past and, and we hit him with the ball...and like, boom, there he was” – Jon (04:00)
• Ambivalence to Racing at a Young Age: Initially, racing wasn’t Jon’s passion; he dabbled in various sports and only developed a drive for motorsports after karting became competitive.
  • Quote: “It was a passion for being competitive. And then that turned into, yes, I really like this racing thing.” – Jon (06:43)

2. Family Legacy & Learning About the Past

• Grappling with Family History: Both Dale and Jon discuss the challenges and surprises of uncovering lesser-known family stories—and how both legends, Dale Sr. and Glen Wood, “shouldn’t have made it” but did due to a string of close calls.
  • Quote: “All those things had to go just right.” – Jon (10:43)
• Fragility of the Racing Business: Jon stresses the precarious nature of NASCAR success and the importance of personal relationships (e.g., Edsel Ford, Jim Farley).
  • Quote: “It’s mind boggling, like how we've made it this far and the close calls we've had and just somehow figured it out and made it.” – Jon (13:15)

3. Jon’s Driving Career & Sudden Transition

• Rapid Ascent and Abrupt End: Jon moved quickly through racing ranks (karting to trucks) but felt unanchored, lacking a mentor from a driver’s view due to the family’s engineering focus.
  • Quote: “You’re only as good as what you’re driving…everybody in my family were mechanics or crew chief of some sort.” – Jon (21:03)
• Losing The Dream: The downturn in sponsorship and increased role of veteran drivers like Bill Elliott edged Jon out of a Cup opportunity, leading to bitterness and self-reflection.
  • Quote: “I wasn't gonna try to be a starting parker and still just limp along...I spent a lot of time after pretty aggravated and you know, mad at myself, mad at everybody…” – Jon (23:28)
• Turning The Page: Jon deliberately chose to walk away from driving entirely rather than keep chasing sporadic opportunities, comparing it to “an alcoholic drinking occasionally—you either stop or you don’t.” (24:38)

4. Family, Responsibility & Personal Growth

• The Weight of Fatherhood: Becoming a dad forced Jon to mature swiftly and find a new sense of purpose, both at home and in the race shop.
  • Quote: “I needed that responsibility…I became responsible overnight.” – Jon (28:21)
• Family Dynamic in the Business: The Wood Brothers maintain equal say and compensation among family branches, fostering trust and stability over generations.
  • Quote: “We all had the same say, made the same amount of money, were treated exactly the same...that just works.” – Jon (42:06)
• Balancing Heritage and Progress: Jon desires his kids to appreciate their legacy, but recognizes the challenge of indifference that comes from growing up immersed in racing. (32:22)

5. New Role at Wood Brothers Racing

• Creating (and Owning) Job Titles: Jon confesses to inventing a string of impressive-sounding business titles for email signatures before officially becoming President.
  • Quote: “That was a self-made title...I made that up just to have something on a business card...” – Jon (36:55)
• Difference in Leadership Style: Jon contrasts his “back of the office” disposition versus his father’s and uncle’s skilled relationship management. He admits to struggling with small talk and networking, which he sees as areas to improve as President.
  • Quote: “I'm a back of the office person...I like getting stuff done, but I'm not somebody that's good at ‘how's your mama and them?’” – Jon (40:22)

6. Running the Business: Challenges & Vision

• Learning “How the Sausage Gets Made”: The business side is both enlightening and overwhelming; Jon sometimes misses the days when he could just trust his father to fix things.
  • Quote: “I never wanted to know what I know now.” – Jon (45:12)
• NASCAR’s Charter Dispute & Uncertainty: Jon is candid about anxieties surrounding the ongoing charter dispute, noting that day-to-day the changes aren’t noticeable, but a reckoning is looming.
  • Quote: “If there’s not a settlement, everybody’s going to lose.” – Dale Jr. (48:51)
• WBR’s Relationship with Penske and Ford: These partnerships provide business confidence despite industry flux.

7. On-Track Success & Team Culture

• Recent Triumphs: Jon reflects on milestone wins with drivers Harrison and Josh, highlighting the emotional variance between a surprise Daytona victory and an earned Vegas win.
  • Quote: “Josh’s win...I felt like it was earned from start to finish...that was the first one where I really felt like I’d helped and contributed.” – Jon (55:34)
• Grounded Approach: The Wood Brothers avoid extravagance; Jon still drives an old SUV with 312,000 miles, finding pride in simplicity.
  • Quote: “I’m not ashamed to be in the same parking lot with the biggest pile of junk.” – Jon (57:14)

8. Social Media Antics & Industry Personality

• Twitter Fame (and Trouble): Jon brought personality to WBR’s account, often toeing the line and occasionally getting heat from NASCAR or other teams.
  • Quote: “I’d never even used Twitter...so I created an account for myself and then took over that one. Just trial by error...I’d come up with a phrase or a sentence or words that got the message across.” – Jon (63:33)
  • Notable incident: Tweeting about an on-track incident before knowing someone was hurt, leading to backlash—Jon insists it was innocent.
• Changing Tone Over Time: He notes dialing back after realizing the potential to harm the team, sponsors, or his job, but his authentic voice still shines through—especially during big races or controversies.

9. Pessimism as a Coping Mechanism

• Both Jon and Dale admit to pessimistic tendencies, using low expectations to cushion disappointment, especially in racing’s volatile environment.
  • Quote (Dale): “If I’m thinking that this bad thing is going to ruin this day, then I’m offering it the opportunity to come in and do exactly that.” (69:26)
  • Quote (Jon): “It's a coping mechanism. It's a way of softening the blow...” (70:01)

10. The Wood Brothers’ Vision & Preserving the Soul

• Jon’s Growth as a Leader: Dale challenges Jon to “come out of the back office,” and Jon agrees that exposure (immersion therapy) is helping him step up.
• Balancing Modernization with Tradition: The team must evolve, but never lose the essence that defines WBR.
  • Quote: “If you're not growing, you're dying...But by the same token, what makes the Wood Brothers, the Wood Brothers, has to stay.” – Jon (74:29)
• Historic Artifacts & Storytelling: The museum in Stuart, VA, is full of artifacts and stories, but Jon emphasizes that the real value is having elders on hand to provide the history's context.
  • Quote: “What makes that museum what it is isn't so much the artifacts…it’s being lucky enough to have Leonard or my dad or Lynn there to tell the stories...” – Jon (77:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Anybody in good equipment can probably do a decent job...I didn't really have anybody to ask those questions to about the driving side because everybody in my family were mechanics or crew chief of some sort.” – Jon, discussing the unique pressure of being a Wood who drives (21:03)

• (On leaving driving behind)
  “Whether it’s right or wrong, I felt like continuing to try to race is maybe like an alcoholic drinking occasionally. You either stop it or you don’t.” – Jon (24:38)

• “That was a self-made title. I made that up just to have something on a business card…” – Jon, on inventing his job title for emails (36:55)

• (On social media irreverence)
  “Anything where you’re like, ‘whoa,’ that’s me.” – Jon, on his best tweets (66:27)

• (On racing optimism)
  “I'm a little bit more negative...It's a protective mechanism because I don't want to get my hopes up.” – Jon (67:46)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:06] – Jon’s earliest racing memories
• [09:00] – Discussion on learning about family legacies (Dale Jr. & Jon Wood)
• [14:49] – Getting started in karting/racing career beginnings
• [21:03] – Being a driver in a mechanic’s family
• [22:01] – Why Jon’s driving career ended
• [28:21] – Becoming a dad and its impact
• [36:55] – The truth behind Jon’s succession of job titles
• [45:10] – Realities of running WBR; business challenges
• [52:24] – Comparing Daytona and Vegas wins
• [55:34] – A rare hug with his father at Vegas after the win
• [57:14] – Jon’s battered company car as metaphor for the team's grounded mindset
• [63:33] – The evolution of WBR’s Twitter persona
• [70:01] – Admitting pessimism as a coping mechanism
• [74:29] – The necessity (and dilemma) of change within tradition

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Closing Thoughts

Dale wraps up with appreciation for Jon’s honesty and humor, and expresses optimism about the Wood Brothers’ future with Jon at the helm. Both note that the enduring, grounded approach, coupled with a willingness to modernize, ensures WBR’s legacy is in capable hands.

Dale Jr.:
“I'm also a big fan of yours and I love the progress that you've made…your perspective and personality is going to be a valuable one for NASCAR going forward.” (78:45)

Jon Wood:
“I just got to keep out of trouble. Keep my filter on… I count my blessings every day that I made it out.” (79:16)

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Summary Table

| Segment | Time | Topic | |---------|------|-------| | Early Days & Family Legacy | 03:00-14:49 | Childhood stories, racing roots, legacy impact | | Racing Career & Transition | 14:49-28:21 | Ascending the ranks, career end, fatherhood | | Wood Bros Business Structure | 36:55-45:10 | Titles, succession, family trust | | Social Media Antics | 60:57-66:42 | Twitter controversies, personality | | Business Challenges & Playoffs | 45:10-73:00 | Charter disputes, financial realities, performance | | Team Vision & Future | 73:00-77:49 | Leadership, tradition vs. innovation | | Wrap-Up | 77:50-End | Museum, legacy, Dale & Jon mutual respect |

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For anyone interested in the intersection of family heritage, the harsh realities of motorsport, and the evolution of a NASCAR powerhouse, this episode is a candid, often funny, and always insightful listen.

Transcript

[Trailer Voice]

Tron Ares has arrived.

[John Wood]

Hostiles.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Repeat, we have hostiles.

[John Wood]

Mayday. Mayday. Oh, my God. There's hundreds of them.

[Trailer Voice]

On October 10, we came here from the digital world. The war for our world begins. What in God's name is that? You and I, Max. This is the end to this world.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, it's not.

[John Wood]

But I can help you.

[Trailer Voice]

Tron Ares treated PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. Only in theaters October 10th. Get tickets now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Community coffee just came out with news. Great tasting coffees. Their first light blend and ice coffee K cups. This is a family owned coffee company that's been around since 1919, and they are now the official coffee of Dirty Mo Media.

[John Wood]

First Light is bright, delicate, and a light roast with notes of honey and brown sugar. Their iced coffee k cups are rich and refreshing and they stand up to ice so your coffee isn't watered down.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Available in classic black and vanilla sweet cream. Get 20% off these new community coffees by using the code [e-mail] that's code DALE D A L E20 for 20% off [e-mail] One of the things that I think you're really well known for is managing the Wood brothers social media account. I can't believe that they let you do that.

[John Wood]

Can't either, honestly.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You still have the login?

[John Wood]

I do, I do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Who runs it now?

[John Wood]

My sister does a lot of it. But like all the crap you saw at Loudon. That was me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That was you?

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Wood]

Anything where you're like, whoa, that's me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think we can tell. The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. All right, here we are for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download. And we got a great one for an interview today. It's John Wood. John has, you know, obviously grew up in the family, the Wood brothers that we all know about, and he sort of found his way into a role, a prominent role of managing and running this race team. John was a driver himself, had a relatively successful career racing in the truck series. Had some great runs in the Xfinity series as well. Made some cup starts, and then immediately, somehow, his career came to an end. In terms of driving, we want to get behind that and see what happened and also learn how the process came together for him to find his way into a new role and a new chapter in life. So this will be a lot of fun. I've known John for a long, long time, but it's been from a distance. He has a very, very fun personality, and I Think we're all going to enjoy this, so let's get started. John, I appreciate you. It's good to have you on here. Son of Eddie Wood. Eddie is the oldest of Glen Wood's children. You began working at the Wood Brothers at the age of 12, is that right?

[John Wood]

You must have found it somewhere.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know.

[John Wood]

It sounds about right. I was there at 12. I won't say I was working.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You weren't working. So what's your earliest memory of.

[TJ Majors]

Of.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Of racing and what your families was. What your family was responsible for?

[John Wood]

My earliest memory. This is a. It's crazy how things stick in your mind when you're a kid, but. The earliest thing I remember was being at Martinsville. It was two. Two different times, but one of the times a friend of mine and I were throwing a baseball or a tennis ball or something, and your dad, of all people, walks past and. And we hit him with the ball. Like, I mean, hit him in the nuts. I wasn't gonna say that, but I mean, he just popped around a hauler and like, boom, there he was. And that just stuck in my mind. Cause it's like I'm at a racetrack and here's this like. Like, almost imaginary figure, and we just hit him with a ball that was kind of wild. And then the other one was maybe the same racetrack or North Wilkesboro, something like that. But getting to. Because back in those days, our trailer or our hauler had a ramp in the back. It was. There was no lift gate. It was. You would hook a winch to it and then they would pull it up a ramp in the back. And I always got to sit in the passenger side and winch, like right up as it's being winched into the hauler. So can't remember what track, but those are the two things that stuck out.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Were you in love with motorsports as a kid? Did you play sports? Did you. Were you, you know, distracted by some of the things as a regular kid might be distracted by in school, or was your every thought of every day driven by being able to get home, get around your dad, get. Get around the race cars?

[John Wood]

Yes and no. It took. So I. My mind is in a million places at once, and it's like ADHD times a billion. So channeling that energy into one place was difficult. So one minute it's baseball, one minute it's golf, one minute it's basketball. So I played sports growing up. I did the racing part wasn't a passion at the beginning because I wasn't really it was there. The race shop was there, the business was there, but I wasn't really a part of it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

So. So I didn't. It was just. And then coming from a small town where racing is not a big deal like it is here, your friends are not in was just a business, basically. So, no, I wasn't. And then as I started to race and as I got into karting, it did become a passion. It become a serious thing. And the competitive side of me was like, all right, I want to do this and I want to win. I don't know that it was a passion for racing. It was a passion for being competitive. And then that turned into, yes, I really like this racing thing. And it. When you've. When you've been that way about it and when you've felt that feeling, you kind of see it in other kids, if they have it or not. And I guess what I mean by that is, like, you go to a. I remember going to a hotel one time with Brian Bickers. So we were roommates and really good friends. We went to Clearwater, Florida, of all places. And at the hotel room that night, we went and found a store that sold RC cars, like just regular RC cars you put double A batteries in. And we made a little racetrack with cups in the hotel room that night. And we're racing the cars. Just this is what we did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And then, like, I didn't think about it at the time, but looking back, when you have that passion, you find a way to make a racetrack. You find a way to. If it's sidewalk chalk and bicycles, you know, you find a way of doing it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Make a race out of something.

[John Wood]

Yeah. And then it becomes a passion. It's something that you really, really enjoy and you want to be good at it. So.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Starting out. No. But then as I got a little older and I had a more involved role. Yes, I did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I wonder what it's been like for you to learn about your family's legacy. You know, I.

[John Wood]

How would you answer that for yourself?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I mean. Well, I can say that it's been a bunch of fun for me to really dive in deeper to every little decision I can learn about that dad made for all of my life. It was articles, statistics, picture books, photos, or what experience I had with him in real life. But now, these days, and my vision of him, and maybe similar for you, was the same that everyone had, Right. The intimidator, the man in black, tough as nails, very intimidating. He was that way at home. That Way everywhere. And I saw I was so. I was also nervous around him, the same way a fan may be. I had the same visceral sort of reaction to being around dad that anybody that was adored him would be right. And. But as I've gotten older, I've sort of wanted to know. I've learned that I can find more information and more, you know, more stories and. And things that I can't find in a picture book, things I can't see in a statistic or rundown or. Or in racing reference. And that's been fun getting to know more what. What. What little things you can glean from the surface or from history around Ralph. But also, there's been a lot of things that I learned about dad in the 70s. One of the things. And I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but no, no, no.

[John Wood]

This is like therapy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

One of the things that triggered this was my mom got sick, and we knew she was not going to be with us much longer, and she decided she kept a lot of to herself around. She did not want to say anything bad about dad and change. Even though she had her own opinions about dad, she didn't want to change ours. And we got down in those final couple of weeks, and me and Kelly were saying, hey, you know, if there's something you can share with us, even if it sucks to hear, we kind of want to. We don't. We kind of want to hear it. And so mom dove into what life was like with him when he was running dirt tracks in 73, 74, when he didn't. When he wasn't anybody, and making a bunch of decisions, you know, getting drunk with his buddies and coming home late and running into the truck, into the hitch of the trailer that they lived in and moving the trailer and knocking over the oil drum on the back that heated the furnace and that he just spent 20 bucks filling up. But it was. It was. That was the. What made me go, man, there's a side of dad that's not so glamorous, but it's who he was, and it's what he was. And I don't know. I don't. I don't want to know. I haven't asked to know about that. I've always wanted to hold him up here and think, man, you know, he's this amazing thing, and, man, I really kind of want to know more about this guy. This guy didn't have together, right? And I. What it did for the stuff that's.

[John Wood]

Not in race and reference, that's Right. Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What it did for me was it taught me that. It taught me that dad shouldn't have made it. You know, he shouldn't have made it. Like he barely made it. Right.

[John Wood]

All those things had to go just right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just right.

[John Wood]

Hit the oil drum just right to where it didn't catch on fire. Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So he barely made it. And he shouldn't have made a lot of bad decisions and all that. But, you know, it's part of the story that I hadn't heard. You are, you know, you grew up in this. I grew up in that. You're around it and you don't know it. You don't know anything.

[John Wood]

Right. It's all. It's all you've ever known.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And it's to me, looking at the Wood Brothers, I'm like freaking David Pearson.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, getting to know Leonard and how. Getting know your dads and seeing the history and how y' all have persevered and still successful today. I have you way up here on this mountain. Right. And I'm wondering where, where they. Where are. Where is your legacy in your mind, you know, and what is. What have you. How much have you enjoyed being exposed to it? And as you've gotten older, more mature and appreciative of really, that hard work they've done to get there and the part that you've been a part of it, like. Like, how has that process changed?

[John Wood]

Well, now that I've got my together and. Because for a while I didn't.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

The thing that fascinates me the most is similar to what you were just saying about how your dad shouldn't have made it. Like we shouldn't. I shouldn't be sitting right here right now talking to you about how our race team is going to be fielding a car this weekend in Charlotte like we should. I don't know what I would be doing, but I look at all of otherwise. But I look at all the things, the close calls that we've had over the years, and in 75 years, there's a lot. But every little one of those things had to go exactly the way that it did. You know, you're at a. You're at a stop sign, a fork in the road, and this time, this left hand turn was the right way to go. The next time, the right hand turn was the right way to go. But every single one of those instances had to be just right. You know, I look at all the really low times when we didn't get the charter in 2016. Like that was a. That was a scary, scary time, and we barely made it. I mean, it's a. It's just a miracle. But the way. And I try to figure out how we did it, how this story continues. And it's the way that. That my grandpa, the way that my dad, the way they treat people, it makes people want to help them. It makes Ford Motor Company say, you know what? I like these guys. Let's help them keep going. Edsel, Ford, Jim Farley. Those are not just key figures in our history, in our business. They're friends. They're great friends. Great friends of my family and my dad. And it's extraordinary to think about. Just. I mean, it's mind boggling, like how we've made it this far and the close calls we've had and just somehow figured it out and made it. And I don't. I don't. That's what. That's what I, you know, reflect on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I think that's healthy because you're. I feel the same way. I did a lot. That's what I mean about. I guess, you know, dad shouldn't have made it. And had he not made it, his making it, you made changes, changed everything for everyone. And, you know, connected to him down that line and myself included. And so you have this real crazy understanding of how delicate things can be.

[John Wood]

This is a fragile business. Fragile. It's. You're here until you're not, and then you're scorned and you're mad and NASCAR sucks. You've seen it. When you're in the business, it's great. And then when you're out, it's like you get this mindset that you were done wrong. And I wonder, will I feel that way one day whenever that time may come. Hopefully never. But, you know, when I'm on the outside looking in, will I be bitter and say, you know, I hate them guys or whatever, they left me, and I hope not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I hope so, too. You talked about go kart racing. You got your first go kart from Dale Jarrett.

[John Wood]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why do you want to go? What. What was the catalyst for you racing? Was this something that your dad said, hey, we could do this? Was it something that you were asking for?

[John Wood]

It started one weekend. There's a local track in Madison, North Carolina. It was a go kart track. It probably. It's probably a housing development now. All those dirt, all those go kart tracks are now housing developments. And I went one weekend, drove another kid's cart. Liked it, but I did. I liked It. But I didn't. It wasn't like, oh, my God, I gotta do this again. It was just, yeah, this. I like this. Let's try this. And so my dad never encouraged it, but he allowed it. And the reason that he gave for allowing this was he was never given that opportunity. He didn't have the choice to race. My grandpa said it's either the big ones or the little ones. We can race the big ones or we can race the little ones, but we're not doing both or something. Something. Something along those lines. And so he was always motivated and enabled it for me to be able to race the way I did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And, you know, I won't say that he encouraged it. He didn't. But he, you know, let me go as far as I wanted.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And what was your, you know, what was your success in carts?

[John Wood]

I. I raced a lot of. So I moved up quickly. Like, I never. I look at how my niece races now, and Wyatt even, like, they. They stay at Millbridge for years. It's like, you. You. You're there forever and until you get good and then you move on to Late Models or whatever. But I feel like the way we did it was karting for one year or two years, then an Allison legacy car for one year, then Late Models for one year, then who just broke up for one year. I never really was in something long enough to master it. As soon as I got pretty good at it, it was on to the next level.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What did you enjoy? What level?

[John Wood]

Late Models were probably the best.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where did you race?

[John Wood]

Motor Mile. Okay, so it was New River Valley Speedway at the time, but, like, being the hometown guy, because being from. From Stewart is that close. Very close. Well, I say very close. It's 45 minutes. I mean, there's 100 tracks around here, but it was. It was the closest one for us. And so, like, I could go there, and I felt. I felt like somebody because in the. In that environment, people are like, man, I really pull for your family. I really, really like you guys. And so it's like I established a fan base overnight that I didn't really earn, but it made me appreciate it nonetheless. And so those were the. Those are the good times.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I think so, too. I tell guys I enjoyed cup racing, but I honestly. Pure fun. Like, just being there for the sole reason of wanting to be there and loving. It was Late Models and that grassroots level. And I tell guys, like, I tell Josh Barry, I'm like, you're never. You're never going to have More fun than you're having right now, like the rest. You're wanting to go up and. Going up. Yeah, by all means.

[John Wood]

It gets. It gets serious, and the fun goes away really quick.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, it does.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, I never. I don't know that I really knew too much about your racing until you got in the trucks. You made your debut. Debut at Martinsville in 2001. God, is that true?

[John Wood]

Yeah, I think it is. I think it's for Billy Blue.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

That I'm sitting here thinking about it, and that thing was. It was. It was a. It was a. It was a challenge that day.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, going to Martinsville in anything to. To be your debut in. In the top three series. Martinsville, I was always thinking, man, I'm gonna go to Bristol and I'm gonna get chewed up. It's just the way it's gonna be for a while. You know, them short tracks and just trying to finish a race and put it. But I could run like hell for 100 laps, but I was going to destroy something after that.

[John Wood]

The crazy thing for me at Bristol. I don't know if you ever did this, but the first time I went there, I, like, I got lost. I couldn't. I couldn't figure out if I was on the.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Like, it's. Because they're identical.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

You see the flag stand, and that's it. Everything else looks the same. So I'm like, which side am I on here?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I used to say that going to Bristol felt like putting the VCR on fast Forward for about 40 laps, and I was way behind everything going on until I got acclimated. It took me about 20. Even. Even now, like, if I go there, I need about 30, 40 laps before I.

[John Wood]

You're hanging on before.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm figuring I'm finally up to speed with what. What's processing you. You had some good success, though, in. In the trucks, and I did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

So I won two races in 2003. Yeah. Carl was my teammate. That was for Roush. It was a competitive time back then. I mean, you. You were there, you know, like, it. I don't. I don't know if. If it's always like this once you retire and you're like, well, it was a lot harder back then. Maybe that's just how people are.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

But I do feel like it was tougher in the. In the early 2000s. I remember in my Xfinity rookie season, there were 20 guys that were racing cup on Sunday. At least 20.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And so if you finish 12th, 11 of those 12 ahead of you.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Work up, guys. And so it was a. It was a tough time to. To come into it, but. Yeah, you know, it only makes you stronger, I guess.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But you were able to win races.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, where I. I mean, I don't know. I guess I don't know how to articulate it, but I had always looked at the Wood Brothers and everybody involved in it, you know, Glenn, Leonard, Eddie, everybody involved as mechanics. Ingenuity, building cars, owning cars. And you were the first. I know that, you know, Glenn drove, and I don't know that history as well, although I know that they did compete and he was behind the wheel back in the day. But you were breaking the mold of what a lot of people felt like they had, the Wood Brothers, you know, in their mind. For you to be out on the racetrack and competitive and having ability, talent was surprising. Did you surprise yourself?

[John Wood]

A little. I mean, any. Anybody in good equipment can. Can probably do a decent job. And I kind of learned that maybe the hard way, that, you know, you're only as good as what you're driving. I didn't really have anybody to ask those questions to about the driving side because everybody in my family were mechanics or crew chief of some sort. So that part was. I'm not gonna say challenging, but it was just different.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, we didn't have the Josh Wise program.

[John Wood]

No, that didn't exist.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you were.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You were kind of on an island, maybe.

[John Wood]

Yeah, it was. It was different. But, I mean, my dad knows, surprisingly, a lot about a lot of stuff, and. And so I never felt like I was under. Prepared, underdeveloped. Never really thought about it until you just mentioned it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you. What's your opinion about your racing career, your driving career, and why did it end?

[John Wood]

I mean, I. I don't know. I ask myself that sometimes. It. It. I probably didn't take it the most serious. I mean, if I'm sitting here being honest, it was, again, a time when it was very competitive. One of the catalysts was the. The downturn when sponsors started leaving, and I was. I was sharing the ride with Bill Elliott at the time, and he kind of. Well, actually, it was Ken Schrader. And I think it was my idea, in fact, to try to get Bill to come along to help make the races, because we were. We were so far off having Bill there with the past champion provisional. Kind of. It was like cheating, but it worked. And as time went on, he kind of took over more and more races because he was Able to make them. And then before you know it, it's just you're all outside looking in. And I wasn't gonna, wasn't gonna try to be a starting parker and still just limp along like it was either be there, be competitive or stop. And I spent a lot of time after pretty aggravated and pretty frustrated and you know, mad at myself, mad at everybody, not really taking full responsibility for it. But a lot of it was my own fault. And then I woke up one day and said, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna embrace this role with the race team with, on the, on the administrative side, on the ownership side, and I'm gonna do it right.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And that's where I'm at right now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You were tagged to go full time cup racing and it didn't happen. The truck team shuts down at the end of 08. And you haven't raced in a national series since then. Had you had any interest in. I know that there, I know that the answer to this is yeah, if it's not a, you know, if the. I'm not just going to go drive anything. But you could have, you could have put together a late model. You said you enjoyed late models. You could have put together a car and went and tinkered and played and piddled. What was, what were you. How did you handle turning off that, that route and that route being turned off. Right. That because you've raced you race trucks, you won, you had great flashes in the Xfinity car that produced this opportunity, that man, this, my, this guy's going to go cup racing. You got your family behind you and then that comes to a screeching halt.

[John Wood]

So whether it's right or wrong, I felt like continuing to try to race something is maybe like an alcoholic drinking occasionally. You either stop it or you don't.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And I didn't have, I didn't have the means. I didn't have the ability, not ability. I didn't have the opportunity to say, let me go drive your stuff for a weekend. Like, I just didn't really. I wasn't going to ask anybody and put anybody in that position. And so just being done with it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you have anybody call you and say, hey man, we got much come.

[John Wood]

Drive this thing occasionally and like some modified stuff here and there. I had a couple that, that had modifieds. I'm struggling to try to remember. I mean I even get it to this day. There's a couple, couple of guys that had a legends car that asked last summer about racing that and it's zero interest. No, I won't say zero interest, but I know that if I do it, I'll probably be like, damn, I missed this.

[TJ Majors]

And then.

[John Wood]

And then it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Then what's wrong with that?

[John Wood]

Well, nothing's wrong with. But if it's something that you can't do every weekend and do good.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think, you know now that like, hey, man, I've got this real big responsibility. I'm not going to take away anything from that. You've made good choices. You're in a spot today that you have the ability, I think, to pedal. Like, I ran for a while, one Xfinity race a year, and I don't do that anymore because I'm good. I'm good. I don't have any interest any in going running an Xfinity car.

[John Wood]

You're going to talk me into this.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is what's going to happen. And wait. And then I ran some late models and that was fun. And you know, I'm kind of. I'm kind of midway through that, you know, and I know like, one of these days I'm just gonna get up, go, Eh, that was it.

[John Wood]

I'd like to do it to show my kids. Like, how old are they? It changes every year. 9 and 13. 9 and 13.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I love that question. And that answer is even better.

[John Wood]

But I coach both of them in baseball. Well, I had coached one team. I'm assistant coach in the other. And that one of them is a travel team. The other one's going to be a travel team in the spring so that people don't realize, like, that's a lot. That's a. That's an ass load of responsibility. It's a. It's like every day.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

So that. That takes. And maybe that's. Maybe that's my excuse. Like, I can't go racing. I don't have time.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

I don't know. I don't want to explore that because I'm happy. I'm happy where I'm at. I'm happy, you know, helping them and. But I would like one time to just go do it and say, all right, I told you. Like, I knew this.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Maybe you just need to take a legends car somewhere and test by yourself.

[John Wood]

And I would be that. Yeah. But. And I've also. So, like, there's. There's videos of. Of the races that I've won. Yeah. I could find them, but I'm not gonna show them that until they are old enough to appreciate it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah. Yeah.

[John Wood]

You get one shot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I've Showed. I've taken my girls to races and. And I've shown them races, you know, and it just. It doesn't register.

[John Wood]

No, and it's in. The reason I feel that way is I grew up at your first question. When you grow up in it and you're exposed to something early on, you become sort of, like, cold. Yeah. Like indifferent. That's a perfect word. Indifferent. It just doesn't. Meh. Whatever.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

So, like, I won't. I don't want them seeing this stuff until they're old enough. And I'm like, all right, look, here's what happened. This is pretty cool. Here's my trophies. You know, I did okay.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And then that'd be the end of it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When you got done driving, was this a long decision? Was this something that happened overnight? What was your conversations like with your dad?

[John Wood]

Oh, I thought you meant having. I thought you meant, like, when I got. When I became a dad. No, because that was like a. That was like a last minute oops, kind of. Yeah. But it turned out great. You know, it. I needed that. I needed that responsibility. That. Can't believe we're talking about this. But, yeah, it happened. And. And so that was the best thing in the world. And, you know, I became responsible overnight.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Back to your question.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What was it when you were deciding to. When you were done driving?

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What was the conversation like with your family, with your dad?

[John Wood]

I didn't really have a choice because we had lost those sponsorship opportunities. The cup team was on life support. Like, literal. We're in bad, bad shape. So I never. Even if I could have been like, hey, can you help me out here? Keep this going. I wasn't going to do that because, like, we just weren't in a. In a place.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How hard was that for you to. I mean, I guess maybe the fact that y' all were in such dire straits was such a distraction, you didn't even get to think about your own feelings.

[John Wood]

That's when I said, you know, I went through a period where I was bitter and aggravated and frustrated. It's just like. And I see why people get that way when.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where did you go? What'd you do for. Before you got it figured out?

[John Wood]

I don't know. I mean, there was. There was a lot of days where I was. I was not happy. I mean, I don't. I don't even know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where did you work? What did you do?

[John Wood]

I was at the shop. I was. I was at Wood Brothers, but I wasn't doing anything. Yeah, like, I mean, I was just hanging out. Yeah. Like, just had my head in my ass. I mean, it was not fun, but a lot of that was my own doings.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

But it. I can't change it. I can't.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

I can't rewind and redo it. As I said at the beginning, every decision you make and every. Every close call that we had led us to where we are today. And I wouldn't. I wouldn't trade anything for where we are. Like, it's a really good place for the race team. I'm in a really good place with my family. Like, whatever happened, whatever course I had to go down.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did your dad. Was your dad, you know, getting on your ass and saying, hey, when are you going to figure this out?

[John Wood]

He was mad.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You said becoming a father changed you.

[John Wood]

It did.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's. I mean, I think it has that effect on most all men. I just had Tony Stewart in here the other day, and he's a new dad. And it's awesome because I knew how.

[John Wood]

Much you felt it, you know?

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I myself had a lot of things that I needed to get better at as a man, as a person, and becoming a parent, you don't have much of a choice in some of that. And it teaches you, I think you're instantly sort of flung into this new relationship and you love this thing with more than you thought you could love anything. Right. So I guess talk about how becoming a dad has been an adventure and improved you as a person.

[John Wood]

It's probably made me more patient. I don't really know how it's changed me. It's just. It's made me realize, okay, I can't sleep in today. I can't do. Like, there's so many things that I used to be able to do that I no longer have the opportunity or ability to do because I have two kids that I have to make sure they stay alive. And like, when you. When this first happens and you first have that or that baby is alive, you're like, how do I keep it this way?

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And it's. It's a little bit scary.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

But kids have been turning into adults for tens of thousands of years, and they've made it. So surely I can not screw this up.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And it's. It's. It's been great. I mean, I. I feel like my two get great. They have. They have a lot of opportunity. I want them to have the opportunities I had, but I want them to maybe appreciate their family lineage more at an earlier age than maybe I did. And I don't know how to do that because again, as we talked about, when you're exposed to something and you're that young, you just, you can't help but become indifferent to it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And I don't want that. I want them to see what they came from and realize what a big deal it is and the accomplishments that my dad and my family have made.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, man, that's tough. I don't really know how to. I don't know how to do that better myself. So you, you. We just kind of gotta hope. I feel like the more I try to share, the more indifferent they come, the more indifferent they become. And it's like, all right, this is just gonna happen in its own way. The NASCAR playoffs are here and so is your chance to bring the intensity home. Celebrate every pass, pit stop and photo finish with a collectible car from Lionel Racing, the official diecast of nascar. Built for fans who live for the chase, Lionel Racing diecast is the ultimate trophy. Each car is precision crafted featuring authentic paint schemes and hand applied decals. Plus each one 24th scale die cast is part of a limited edition run, making every piece a must have for true collectors. Whether you're riding with team Larson backing team Halen or team cheering for an underdog to take it all, Lionel Racing has the die cast that reps your favorite playoff driver. Follow along with us throughout the playoffs to see which drivers advance and which ones don't. We'll feature these diecasts on the set here at the Dale Jr. Download now through the end of September. Get free US shipping. When you purchase the Cup Series die cast of a NASCAR playoff driver, just go to lionel racing.com and use promo code Playoffs. That's promo code playoffs@lionel racing.com when you're.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You would serve as the Vice president and the director of business development for the Wood Brothers at some point.

[John Wood]

That was a self made title.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was it?

[John Wood]

I mean I made that up just to be able to have something on a business card and at the bottom of my emails because like the way we do things, it's all just family decisions. Like we don't. We delegate. We. There are things that Lynn does that he's, that he excels at, you know, the financial part numbers, he's great at that. But we all kind of chip in and do what needs to be done. But we're in a world and in a business now whereas 20 years ago, well, it's different now. You gotta have a corporate title. You've gotta have some structure because racing is different. You know, it's just not the same. It's a business. And so I felt like we all needed titles, we all needed to look fancier, and so I just made all that crap up. But now. Now as president, that's real. Like that. And that wasn't my. I didn't make that up.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you learn about that?

[John Wood]

My dad just up. Because I. I had been fighting and fighting and fighting to try to get all of us having, like, real on paper roles. And, like, this one does this. Yeah, this one does that. So he knew that I was really pushing for that, but I wasn't. I didn't want to go that far. And then one day he's like, hey, I'm thinking about talking to Lynn, and we're gonna. We're gonna. I'm gonna resign. It's not the right word, but you're going to take my spot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[John Wood]

Okay. So.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So your uncle and your dad, like, carried on the Wood Brothers legacy perfectly. It was almost like. It was perfect. It was destiny that they would be raised and. And almost bred to take over as the next generation. Right. From. From Leonard. And.

[John Wood]

And your grandfather, he made them my grand. I didn't mean to interrupt you, but. No, I don't. I'll forget. My grandpa, he was in it. Until one day he wasn't. Well, how. He just was like, y' all take this over. I'm done. And it. I don't mean that one afternoon on a Friday, he says, okay, I'm. I'm going to garden. Y' all take it over. But it was a very quick transition. So my dad and Lynn were under his and Leonard's control. And then one day he's like, y' all are doing a good job at this. Go. Go run it. And I don't really see that happening now. And it's not that they don't trust us. It's that NASCAR ownership. Look at Roger Pinsky. Look at Richard Childer. It's like you. You go until you just can't go anymore. It's not like you're punching a time card or a. Like you. You. You're the owner, and you. You're the shot caller until you. Just. Until you decide you're not anymore.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And. And. And they're getting a little older, but they're still doing it. So I don't really see that happening where one day Lynn and my dad are like, yeah, y' all go take it over. Yeah, I think they'll. And I want them involved.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, The.

[John Wood]

The.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, lean on them.

[John Wood]

Yeah. I mean, they're they're incredible at relationships, and, I mean, it's just unreal.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

At how good they are at this stuff. And I'm terrible at it. I hate talking. Like, it's. I won't. I won't say that. I won't say that. I hate talking. I. I'm not. I'm a back of the office person. Like, I like getting stuff done, but I'm not somebody that's good at. How's your mama Nim? Yeah, that type of.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just a. I'm. Same way.

[John Wood]

Okay. So you kind of relate. Like, it's not that I'm standoffish. It's not that I'm. I'm just not good at it, and I shy away from it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Me too.

[John Wood]

It's. It's just a personality trait, and, I don't know. It's not insecurity.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm not good enough at remembering the details. Whereas, like Rick Hendrick, my sister. There's other people that I know that will learn something about somebody and their family, their child, or somebody's graduated or somebody just got married and they got that up there, and, man, next time they see that person six months, a year down the road. Oh, hey, how they doing? How's this?

[John Wood]

Yeah, that's. That's not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can't. I can't ability.

[John Wood]

I do good to remember people's names.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And again, it's not that I don't appreciate him or respect them. I just. My mind doesn't work that way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I get that.

[John Wood]

I don't know. But it's right or wrong, you know, I got. I got to get better at it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And. And is what it is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You have Lynn's son, Kevin is your first cousin. He was named executive vice president. Your sister, Jordan Wood Hicks, was the chief marketing officer. I guess at one point. I'm not sure what everybody's roles are these days.

[John Wood]

That's close enough.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But it's a big family operation still, and everybody's still. Everybody's still there together.

[John Wood]

Yep. And I think part of the reason that it works is one of the great things that my grandpa did is he instilled a mindset of level playing field. So my dad, Lynn and Kim, even though my dad might have been the older sibling and on paper, ran the show or whatever, they all three had the same say, and they made the same amount of money, and they were treated exactly, exactly the same. So Jordan, Kevin, and I are in that same tier amongst ourselves, and it just works. I mean, we don't. Every. Every family has Their squabbles, every family. But to be a family business that's thriving and has thrived for 75 years, and I'm not going to sit here for an hour and trash one or the other. You know, it's probably working okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There's a, there's some similarities here at Junior Motorsports. And the one thing that I'll say about family, there's a ton of things that are positives to working with family, but the trust is the one thing. I know that no matter what, we may not. We may not see eye to eye on a certain decision, but I know they're still going to be there tomorrow. The other, you know, the other individual has all the opportunity to go decide, hey, this isn't for me. I don't agree with this direction. I might go over here and do that job for another organization. But when with family, you have a sense of security, I think that we've. I've gotten used to, you know, I take, I've tried not to take for granted, but it certainly, you know, insulated me, I think, a lot from what someone else might deal with in another organization where you're working with people that aren't family, you know, there's a trust and I know that we, we'll figure it out. And you're, you're, You're. You'll be here tomorrow just same as me, and we'll figure it out. We'll come to a compromise.

[John Wood]

And yeah, I mean, like, I, I might, and this is just a hypothetical, but, like, I might be mad at Kim right now, and then I'll be spraying her turf this afternoon, you know, working on her yard.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

So that's just like, that's how we do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's right.

[John Wood]

It's, you know, it's family first and then business second. But, yeah, we're a family business, and so it works.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

As you've been put into this role as team president, you talked about how touch and go it was back in the day trying to get that charter feels like six, eight, ten years ago when the charter agreement came around. The, you know, as you've learned more about the way the business works, what, you know, it's kind of like getting a peek behind the curtain. A Wizard of Oz, so to speak. There's some things that are awesome. There's some things that scare the out of you. Like, like now you know too much.

[TJ Majors]

Right.

[John Wood]

I never wanted to know what I know now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[John Wood]

Yeah. Like, I always trusted my dad to go and fix it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Like, don't Tell me, don't tell me the bad stuff. Just go. Just go fix it and we'll go right along. And it's. You're right. Like the higher up pecking order you go, the more you're exposed to and the scary stuff you see becomes real.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And it's. It can, it can make you, make you worry.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What. What about, what about the business today gives you confidence?

[John Wood]

I think our, Our. I'm not going to call it a relationship. It's more of a partnership with Team Penske. Our great relationship with Ford, with, With, as I said, Edsel and Jim Farley, like, those, Those things are as strong as they've ever been. And so it puts us in a. In a really good position. Beyond that, I mean, there's a lot of uncertainty right now where things are going to go.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

But we've done what we can do to make ourselves as strong as possible.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you. I imagine, you know, like everybody else, you watch the current dispute between 2311 and NASCAR, hoping things get sorted out. What would be the best outcome, in your opinion?

[John Wood]

A settlement?

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

I mean, I don't. I don't know. I don't. This is, this is a. It's a scary time.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

I mean, it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I wonder how. If it is scary, like, I'm. I don't know what. I don't have a charter, never have had a charter. I don't know what that would actually truly feel like. I can assume, but I wonder sometimes, is it. Do the teams that are, that have, that are sitting on the sideline idly watching this go by, watching this play out, are they. Do they feel insulated, protected? Is it nerve? Is there some anxiety? Because, like, And I know I don't want to dive too deep into this because I know you got to be careful about what you say, but.

[John Wood]

Me, careful?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I know. I want to.

[John Wood]

You help me with that because, you know, I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But when they stupid, when they talk about, you know, when the judge says, man, things could be completely different if this goes a certain way.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. What the frick does that even mean? Right? And I can't imagine. I can't imagine this not going down the road the way it's been going. Right. I can't imagine NASCAR in any other way than I've experienced it all these years. Right. But you have a little bit of a better peek behind that curtain than I do, so. Yeah. How. I guess. How scary is it? How much anxiety is there around what. The eventual outcome of this deal?

[John Wood]

I think a lot of this moves at such a pace, it's almost like watching grass grow. I don't know what analogy to give, but it's so slow, you don't really notice where it's going because it's there. Yeah. Like it's, if you, if it's almost like watching a kid grow up, if you see him once a year, it looks like he's really growing because you've only seen him one other time. If you see him every day, you don't notice. So I think there's a lot of that here where we, we get little updates every day. And so it doesn't really seem as, as troubling or maybe it doesn't really seem as good, but you know that we're heading toward a showdown.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

You know, that's coming. And I don't think unless there is a settlement, somebody's gonna win and somebody's gonna lose. And that's, I don't, I feel like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If there's not a settlement, everybody's gonna lose. I just don't feel like if the, like, I wish they would settle. I wish that there would be a give and take and everybody could walk away and go, hey, you know, sorry about all those text messages. Sorry about all the we said about you back and forth from both sides.

[John Wood]

This is, this is the time that I go and get on my aerator and work on a yard and disconnect. Yep. And just, just forget about it because it's, it's a, it can, it can wear you out. Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, T.J. you know that I got my own Chevy dealership down in Tallahassee, Florida. We're part of the Hendrick Automotive Group.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I bet you'd be surprised on what type of Chevrolet vehicles we specialize in.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

If I had to guess, I'm going to say it would probably be Chevy trucks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, we definitely sell plenty of those, but actually we're really big in commercial vehicles. We actually sell a lot of crane trucks for the number one seller actually in crane trucks.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Okay. I definitely did not see that coming.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Pretty neat, huh? So for any of our listeners shopping for commercial vehicles, here are some things you need to know about us at Dalenhardt Jr. Chevrolet. We have hundreds of trucks in stock, so you can find what you need fast. And we have people there that can help you with custom orders. So if you want to build the exact vehicle you need, we can do it. We offer complimentary delivery anywhere in the continental U.S. plus, Hendrick Automotive Group is The nation's top rated dealer group. For online reputation, visit dalejrchevy.com and click Commercial to explore the wide range of available commercial vehicles. Our team at Dillon Hart Jr. Chevrolet will give you a world class experience. Chevrolet together. Let's jump.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You guys have found some good success this year on the racetrack. Last year you got a win with Harrison, worked really hard with him for a couple years. Things, you know, you change drivers, but some other things as well changed in the team. New crew chief just, you know, just come out of the gate with, with a bit of a lot, a lot of new variables. Not just from behind the seat with Josh.

[John Wood]

We did, you're right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, you went to, you went to the first couple of races, led laps at Atlanta, you know, had, had some, saw some things that were like let's, this is neat. And then you go to Vegas and run good all day, run up fun all day and dialed it in and got it done. Do you, do you remember how that felt?

[John Wood]

Oh yeah. Oh, I absolutely remember that one. The, the Daytona win was more, it was more like a, like a, like an out of body experience because it happened. You know how Daytona's are and speedways. Yeah, you, you're like we're gonna wreck. We're like, yeah, we're gonna wreck. Like how can I get out? Can I get to the plane quick enough to get a, get a, get a single row seat? Like I'm counting how many cars have crashed who might be on our plane and am I going to get a single row seat? Yeah, that's what you're thinking, and all of a sudden this dude's leading and there's only two laps to go. Like, at what point do we wreck? At what point does this become the reality that it always is, where it's snatched away from you at the last second. And so time goes on that, you know, one lap becomes two laps. He comes off turn four and he's still leading. And even at that point, I'm like, I'll be seeing both headlights facing me here in just, just any second.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And then he won it. And I'm not. This isn't a critique of Harrison. I'm. That's just plate racing.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And. And so I remember looking at Jefferson Hodges. Yeah. So Jefferson's two seats over and he's like going nuts and Jeremy's going nuts. And it was. I walked over to Jefferson, I said, am I supposed to feel conflicted? Like, I mean, this hundred win thing, we. Everybody's played it up. Like, it's like confetti is going to fall from the sky and, you know, there's going to be a ticker tape parade. But it's over and done now and like it just happened. Am I supposed to feel like weird about this? And he goes, no, that's just, that's just how it goes. Like, you, tomorrow you'll feel different. And I did, you know, the next day it's like, damn, you just won that race. But at the time it didn't. It just didn't feel right. I don't know why, because it. Maybe because we just. We spent the whole race average, the whole year, the whole prior two or three seasons, not really in a position to win. And then all of a sudden, in a snap of a finger, it happens. So that one was different. Not bad, not good. It was great. But it was also just different. Josh's win, that one was. I felt like it was earned from start to finish and was just a. Like, we're gonna, we're gonna win this thing. Unless there's a caution it. He's gonna win it. And it was just a different pace. So my dad was there with me for that one, which was really, really awesome because it was just the two of us. It. I don't know how to explain it, but the two wins were so different. But they could not have happened to two better guys. Having Harrison get that win, propelling him into a better place moving forward because that also really sucked. You know, knowing that, you know, at the end of our season last year, he would need to go somewhere and it just never Felt complete. It never felt like he had done enough to where he could move on and start his next chapter. And so that really made it good.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Did you. Do you remember any moments with your dad in Vegas, maybe in the car?

[John Wood]

We don't hug. We don't like, but we did that one time and it was on. It was on tv, too. So there's proof.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's not a hugger.

[John Wood]

No, I'm not either. Like, I feel like it's. I don't really know, but, like, I'm just not that person. And. And we. That situation made us. I don't know, it was. This is like therapy. I said that once. But, you know, it was. It was really, really, really special because. Because it just was like that. Just. Just having him there, me being in a new role with the race team, like, that was the first one where I really felt like I'd helped and contributed. And so it was. It was a neat deal.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When you, you know, you know what that does to your team and your organization to be able to thrust yourselves into the playoffs, that's the difference in millions of dollars for your team.

[John Wood]

Absolutely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I know you're counting the bottom line. At the end of the day, you probably operate very similarly to our program. And if we can do this and break even at the end of the day, that's a good day. You know what I mean? Making money is great, but if we can do this and not lose money, even, you know, that's kind of the worst we can do.

[John Wood]

We. Our. Our sole objective is to continue on. It's not to make a pile of money. We don't have motorhomes. My company car, my company provided car that I Drive is 18 years old. It's a 2008 Expedition. It's got 312,000 miles on it. And I've driven that. I've driven the guts out of that thing. Yeah, like, but that. That's what I drive. Like, tomorrow we'll have a team owner council meeting in the parking lot. You'll have Jeff Gordon with some like, brand new Chevrolet suv.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

My dad will be in his new Explorer st. And then I'll come to clunking up the. There's. There's no windshield washer fluid. Like, you push the button, nothing happens. I can go on all day about the stuff that doesn't work with that car, But I'm not ashamed to be in the same parking lot with the biggest pile of junk. Compared to, like, it's something that makes me. Yeah, it's Just. It's who I am, and I embrace it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know I'm the same. I do that with. I do that with stuff, too, where I'm like, no, I don't want the newest. I kind of like this because it's what I know, but it's also like, I feel grounded, like I'm grounding myself.

[John Wood]

I spilled 50 pounds last night. So a bag of fertilizer busted in the back. 50 pounds of fertilizer in the back. And I'm on the phone with my dad, and I'm like, I gotta go. I got. I gotta clean. Clean the car out. And he's like, you can clean that thing out for. I said, what's 50 pounds of fertilizer just busted? So I get a leaf blower and blow the car out like that. But it's okay because it's mine. And it's a piece of junk, but it's mine.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So the season carries on. Y' all had some other. You know, y' all had some tough luck, some bad runs, some. Some unfortunate things, but also some other moments where you're still seeing the. The potential in this team. The new. The new potential. Where are we today? Josh has just come off of a tough crash at Kansas.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know.

[John Wood]

Two weeks ago, that's what started. This whole outfit was yours. And my text because, you know, Josh was doing really well.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's right.

[John Wood]

Almost came. Came close to winning that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's right. So where. Where are we today with. With the race team?

[John Wood]

There are times. So I don't. I don't really look at our results and say we're this or that. We're an A team or a B team. I look at. Where are we at any given point in a race. Were we fast or. Or were we just. Did we just luck into a 10th place finish and more races than not this year. We've been fast. We've been among the faster cars. Now there are. There are a lot of races where we struggled. Road courses. That's. That's. That's not fun. This weekend won't. Will not be fun.

[TJ Majors]

No.

[John Wood]

But like, you look at these. Any of these short tracks, Josh is a contender.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And. And. And Miles gives him a great. A great car, a fast car. I didn't really know what to expect when Jeremy parted ways with us and we got Miles because Miles had no prior crew chiefing experience. Not just cup experience, but no crew chiefing experience. So we kind of spent the whole off season with the. We kind of knew what we were getting with Josh, but we didn't really know what we were going to get with Miles. And it's been great. I mean, you look at the Vegas win, I mean, that happened fast, really, really quick. So we've got some stuff we've got to work on. We've got some stuff that we need to. To dial in. We got to stop crashing. And that's not necessarily Josh's fault. But when you put yourself in a position where you're behind a lot of cars, if there's a wreck, you've got to somehow not be in it. It's easier to not crash when you're ahead of the wreck.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Other than that, I mean, I'm, I'm pleased with our first. We're further along than what I expected.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Let's just put it that way.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So one of the things I wanted to talk to you about was social media. One of the, one of the things that I think you're really well known for is managing the Wood Brothers social media account. You would admit, and own up to having managed that account, that account single handedly for what, the last decade?

[John Wood]

I would admit to it most times. There was, there was a time I got into hot water. I did with one of the former NASCAR executive. He was not happy with me. But like the way I approach things.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This guy might be the same guy that was not happy with me. I'm not sure. I'm just gonna assume, but it's possible. We don't have to just discuss that. But I may have made the same person upset.

[John Wood]

Okay, well then I'm in good company. I tried it. So the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can't believe that they let you do that.

[John Wood]

Can't either, honestly, because it's, you know, I don't know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But at the same time. At the same time. So one of the, one of the accounts that I like doing this, man. Because they deserve it. There's a lot of great accounts out there and we as an industry have learned that it's good when our accounts have personality.

[John Wood]

Absolutely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And one of the really good ones out there right now is rfk. They do a really solid job. There's others as well. But there is a dirty mo. Media makes an effort to have personality and sort of play along with the storylines that are happening day to day. It's fun. It makes social media in the NASCAR world enjoyable. I would say that you inadvertently, maybe unintentionally, were kind of on the front end of that being an account that could be self deprecating, but also at the same time, call out some stuff that.

[John Wood]

Tell it. Like, it's funny.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tell.

[John Wood]

Like I said, just tell.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did you get away with that? Because I see the Wood Brothers, in my opinion, as very conservative when it comes to, you know, speaking out of class.

[John Wood]

That. That part I. I got no answers for, because it. So at the beginning, my dad was like, just don't get us in trouble. Like, don't. Don't make us lose a sponsorship. Don't say anything. That's a lot of pressure, you know, like, we're gonna get in trouble with the law. Just, you know, just be cool about it. But it started because my sister had to go to a wedding. So she was doing it prior 2012, she had to go to a wedding. So they gave me the login information. And I'd never even used Twitter. I didn't know what Twitter was. So I created an account for myself and then took over that one. And it was just trial by error. What worked was, I still don't know how to Photoshop. I don't know how to doctor up a picture, make these graphics. So that shortfall I made up with words where I couldn't post a really cool picture and say, here's my social media graphic for the day. Like it. And retweet it and subscribe, and whatever you do, I would come up with a phrase or a sentence or words that still got the message across. And it sort of turned into, well, I'll just tell it like I see it, because that's just the type of person I am. I don't really know why, but Motorcraft has always been trusting, maybe, and they were our only partner for a long time. So back when this started, we were part time. They were our only sponsor, basically. That and Ford, and they seem to be cool with it. And, yeah, go have at it. Do whatever you want to do. Just don't say cuss words. Bad ones.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And we'll see what happens. And I would push the boundaries. I didn't know it at the time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You didn't?

[John Wood]

But, like, there was one time when. So we're at Pocono and Bubba Wallace crashes with somebody, and we hit a piece of his brake rotor, so I couldn't see the crash. All I knew was what I heard on the radio that, well, we hit a piece of a brake rotor. So I did it tweet, I guess there was a crash or something, and we hit a brake rotor. I don't know what words it was, I said, but it came across as a little bit Callous because. Yeah, maybe because at the time, Bubba might have been hurt. I didn't know that. Yeah, like, if you were in my position, you would. Had no idea. So, anyway, whoever it was at the time, the scumbag that ran RCR's Twitter, here I am, like, doing it again. Called us out like, well, at least Bubba wasn't hurt. Dude, I didn't know. Like, you're on pit road just like I am. You see the same stuff I see. And I didn't know how hard he crashed. I got no clue. So give me an opportunity to be like, hey, sorry, I didn't know that. But they doubled down and, yeah, sure, you're sorry. Why do this to me? Like, I haven't. I don't even know who it was. To this day, I don't know, and I don't want to know. I don't want to hate him. Yeah, but that happened.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's hilarious.

[John Wood]

And, like, it was totally. No malice intent at all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[John Wood]

So over time, when those things happen over and over and over and over, you kind of get like, is this worth it? Is it worth me getting in trouble and losing, potentially my job? Losing. Hurting my race team's longevity, whatever, by saying something to keep people entertained? No, it's not. So I backed off some, but the tendencies are still there. If I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You still have the login.

[John Wood]

I do. I do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Who runs now?

[John Wood]

My sister does a lot of it. Like, all the crap you saw at Loud, and that was me. Yeah, yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Any.

[John Wood]

Anything where you're like, whoa, that's me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think we can tell.

[John Wood]

But, you know, again, I can't change it. It's just who.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Who I am, who we are. And it's. It seems to work okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, your. Your personality is very. Is very unique. You know, for example, the other day we were racing at New Hampshire, y' all were having a good day. And typically, when. When y' all are having a good day, we might end up in a conversation on. On. On the text chain or something. And you're. You have this very. You're. Are you pessimistic?

[John Wood]

No, Never. Never.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you. I. I relate a little bit to. All right, well, what's gonna happen to ruin this? Like, when something good's happening?

[John Wood]

That's me. Absolutely. Like, TJ Majors can tell you, like, before a race, he'll be like, this is Yalls weekend. Y' all got the speed. And I'm like, give it time. Let's have. Let's. Let's. Let's re. Let's let's, let's come back to this meeting at the end of the race and we'll talk again and see where things are.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

And he gets a big kick out of it, but I'm a little bit. A little bit more negative.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, do you think you're. It's a protective mechanism because of. You don't want to get your hopes.

[John Wood]

Yeah, that's a million percent what it is.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

It's like if you expect it and you're prepared for it and then it doesn't have, like, like, like last weekend I was ready at any moment for a late race caution or something or a flat tire or something dumb, and it didn't happen. So, yay. Great. You know, we're in good shape. But had it happened, I was prepared for it.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I have, I'm sure you've. You've, You've had this conversation or you've had these thoughts. I was exactly the same way. Still get that way sometimes about, like, going into things that I've actually wanted to do or signed up for. Just like you as a, you know, as the president of the company and going to the racetrack. You're, you're signed up to, you've signed yourself up emotionally to go through this process, and you get into it and you're like, man, I hope this don't suck. And it's supposed to be like a great thing. Right. And I do. I still do that, too. My wife, Amy says that I'm bringing on, like, I'm in control of my universe or the universe or my experiences in the universe through law of attraction, and that if I are, maybe that's our problem. Like, if I'm thinking that this bad thing is going to ruin this day, then I'm offering it the opportunity to come in and do exactly that.

[John Wood]

Interesting perspective.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She's told me that she believes in the law of attraction, that if I had went into it with, you know, expecting better or, you know, that I might more often than not experience a better experience. And so I have tried to steer myself in that direction, but I have the. I was like, I'm like you and similar to you and had been forever. Even my racing career, I'm like, here I am leading with 10 to go.

[John Wood]

When's the caution?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, the caution's coming. NASCAR's gonna throw it. There it is. I knew it. You know, called it all along. I knew it.

[John Wood]

Yep.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

I don't know. I mean, it's you, you, you, you hit it without me even realizing it. It's a coping mechanism. It's a way of softening the blow. Like I'm just expecting it any moment. And it's not that I have no confidence in the guys. Like, I got everybody ounce of confidence in the world. They're.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

They're there for a reason. They earned it. That's not that. It's just me. Like I'm just bad luck and unlucky. But I. I mean, I'm very. Let me back up. I'm very fortunate. Very, very lucky. I just expect the bottom to fall out.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think that that is also a sign of your wanting it to succeed.

[John Wood]

To like you want it so bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. You want it so bad.

[John Wood]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Especially now that you are in this elevated position. Right. You carrying more. You're carrying some responsibility for how it goes.

[John Wood]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We'll end with this. First off, what playoff format do you want? Keep it like it is for race final round or 36 race, full season points.

[John Wood]

I don't think. I think people are going to complain no matter what format. I think. I think a full 36 has the potential to less. Have fewer storylines. I think that it. You can have a runaway winner, but it doesn't matter what if. If they cared what I thought, I'd be on that panel. So whatever. Y' all, figure it out. Figure it out. Denny, Mark, Jeff, I'm on it. You figure it out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm pulling for the 36. Even though it's never going to happen. I'm pulling for the 36 race schedule or for a race final round.

[John Wood]

But I like, I like that like a more you have one bet. Like, is it. Is it really right to have one bad race?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I will not. And to the guys that have won under the current format, I believe that this is the most difficult way to do it. So like the guys that have won the championships doing it this way, the Blaney's, the lugano.

[John Wood]

More pressure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It is. It is absolutely insanely ridiculous how. What your odds are, right? Yes, but I don't prefer it.

[John Wood]

No, you're right. I mean it's, it's in the current format has benefited us the last two seasons. Last year more than this year, we went from making no money in in point fund and barely making. I'm not gonna say barely, but like it was. It was another struggling time to like, we just. We just. Another snap of the finger, turn things around overnight. And it depends on what. Not only if you win a race, but when you win that race. If we'd have won it Two weeks later, the first weekend and. Or. Nope, one weekend, it wouldn't have mattered.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

It was just been a win.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Winning it during the regular season totally changes everything financially. Yeah. And then. But then Josh won his. And that was a little different story. Like, it's. Yeah, we screwed up in the first three races of the playoffs, and it is a really bad time to screw up, but we're still as good or better than a third of those guys that made the playoffs. Like, we. If we don't keep screwing up, we'll eventually pass them and settle in somewhere. 12th or 11th or something like that. Where we should be.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I'll. I'll. I'll leave you with this. I. What is the. What is the vision? So as is. Is the vision for the company and the business to, you know, to. To continue as it is, your. You know, your partnership with Penske is. Is. Is important to performance. We have a similar relationship with Hendrick Motorsports, your relationship with Ford. All those things are very important. And I feel like for you personally, for this to succeed and this to win, that you're gonna have to come out of your shell just a little bit. You're gonna have to come out of the back of the office. You know that.

[John Wood]

Yeah, I know. But it also helps when I'm forced to do that.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[John Wood]

Like, when. When my dad's there, he does it whether I like it or not, but when he's not there, I have to do it, and so not so bad. What. What is that word? It's something immersion. Like. Like immersion therapy or something. I don't know. But being forced to do those things will help a lot. But Cal Whales, of all people, said in a meeting, and he doesn't even remember saying this, and I've told this story a dozen times, but in that meeting, he's talking about something, and the first thing he says is, everybody here knows that if you're not growing, you're dying. And, like, I never pay attention to anything. Like, I'm always, like, on. On Amazon or whatever during these meetings, like, not even listening. And that one perked my. Like, I was like, what? Like a dog whistle? And I thought about it. Okay. Like, I get that. Like, if you're. If you just continue doing the same things, eventually time will pass you by. Eventually, the typewriter will quit. The desktop computer will become a laptop. The laptop will become an iPad. You will eventually be phased out. You. You can't keep doing the same thing. You have to grow. You have to evolve by the same time. By the same token, what makes the Wood Brothers, the Wood Brothers has to stay. That can't change. So you can grow, you can change, but you can still be what made you a successful 75 year race team. Yeah, I believe now how you do that, I don't know, but.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I think y' all do a good job of doing that by the enshrined, sort of, you know, the being able to go up there to the museum and see physically all of the years of work, success, accomplishment. Y' all have a. I haven't seen it yet. I haven't been there, but y' all have. From the photos that I've seen and the people that I've heard talk about it, Kurt Bush was just there a couple days ago. Y' all do. That's how you do it, right? All that stuff is a reminder of your DNA right now. You know, you gotta be tech savvy, you gotta be modern, and you're gonna go in that direction, but you're not gonna forget because all those things are there. You're in your face, you know, you're. You're reminded all the time. I think that's really healthy, to be a witness to all of that history any moment you need it. Right. If you need a reminder of some of the core values, you just go into that building and find them immediately.

[John Wood]

Yeah. And walk in with my dad and he'll tell you something. If you've been there, like me, if you grew up there, and then one night we're there looking for a baseball bat. I don't know, something like just scrounging around through junk, and he'll see something and be like, oh, this happened such and such. And let me tell you a funny story. And it's. Those stories never end. And what really, really concerns me is what makes that museum what it is isn't so much the artifacts that are in there, they're great. But it's being lucky enough to have Leonard or my dad or Lynn there to tell the stories that goes along with it. And that's what makes that museum different than the others.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do y' all do any content? Like, you know, the, The Petty's, they. The Maurice's family and so forth? They do that. They do a podcast where they sort of document a lot of these stories.

[John Wood]

We don't. And we. That's a. That's a whole story for another day. We're trying to figure out a way. Because what our museum is, what makes it different, is we have almost everything that ever mattered at some point in time. Now, it's not organized and it's not pretty. Like, the RCR museum looks like a legit, like you pay to go in type of museum at Dollywood. Ours is not that, but you will come away with a bigger appreciation for history in ours if you take the time to sort through the. The distraction. There's a lot of stuff there, a lot of stuff that means a lot, and there's stories to go along with it, but it's getting to know those stories is what's hard.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, man, I appreciate you coming through the day. I texted you the other day about coming on the show, and I'm glad you said yes. Of course. I'm a big fan of Josh and love what y' all are doing, but I'm also a big fan of yours and I love the progress that you've made and you know what you're going to continue to do going forward in your position with the race team. I think you got a lot to offer and your perspective and personality is going to be a valuable one for NASCAR going forward. Carrying on this legacy, man, you got a lot of responsibility, but I'd embrace it.

[John Wood]

I just got to keep out of trouble.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'll be fine. You ain't done.

[John Wood]

Keep my filter on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ain't screwed it up yet. I think you're out of the woods. The days of maybe possibly making that mistake are long gone.

[John Wood]

I hope so. I count my blessings every day that I made it out the other day.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Made it out.

[John Wood]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I appreciate you, man.

[John Wood]

Yes, sir. Thank you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

John Wood on the Dale Jr. Download. Hey, everybody. You want the latest Dale Jr. Download apparel? Visit shop.dirtymomedia.com we're always adding new stuff all the time, especially like when we say something silly on this show. We'll put it on a T shirt again. Check it out at shop.dirtymomedia.com Tron Ares has arrived.

[John Wood]

Hostiles.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Repeat, we have hostiles.

[John Wood]

Mayday. Mayday. Oh, my God. There's hundreds of them.

[Trailer Voice]

On October 10, we came here from the digital world. The war for our world begins. What in God's name is that? Unimax. This is the end to this world.

[John Wood]

No, it's not. I can help you.

[Trailer Voice]

Tron Ares fitted PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. Only in theaters October 10th. Get tickets now. Bubba Wallace here from 2311 Racing. You know what's slower than a pace car waiting at the car wash? That's when I fire up Jumba Casino. It turns these slow minutes into fast fun with New games every week. You'll never get bored. Next time you're stuck in the slow lane, speed up you when with Chumba, play [e-mail] let's Chumba.

[John Wood]

No purchase necessary.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

VGW Group void where prohibited by law.

[John Wood]

CTNC's 21+ sponsored by Jumba Casino.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, so that was John Wood on the Dale Jr. Download. That was a lot of fun catching up with him. I, I enjoyed the conversation and, man, I, I probably, I'm probably trying too hard, but I see a lot of similarities in our, our. Our outlook and on life and so forth and, and some of the ways he feels like we talked once he got up from the table, talking about his car that he drives.

[TJ Majors]

He's. He.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He doesn't feel like he deserves anything better. And, you know, that's kind of. We have, we have. We probably have similar issues that we probably should seek some more therapy for. But he's an awesome guy, man. A lot of fun to talk to.

[TJ Majors]

And.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I think we covered pretty much everything. So I'm glad he came through, excited about the future of the Wood Brothers and his role in that. I'm happy for him to have this sort of, you know, to have been able to sort of earn this trust and this opportunity to be a part of steering the ship. And, you know, I think that, that there's always there always. You know, you think about these team owners that are around forever, and they're always, you're always wondering, what is the. What is the plan for that program to move forward? And so it looks like the Wood Brothers have things in a good place for that team to continue to succeed and be a successful race team. Because I think we all felt, regardless of the performance over the years and ups and downs, a successful Wood Brothers makes NASCAR better. So we love seeing that 21 car battling for victories today and into the future.

[John Wood]

White flag.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So it's time for the white flag. And every Sunday night, as it was after the race this past weekend in Kansas, the tear down was live on YouTube and on Twitter. If you haven't checked in and done so, you need to go to the Dirty Mo Media YouTube page and subscribe and click on notifications so you don't miss a thing. Thank you to Jeff and Jordan every single week. Great content. There's a lot of storylines. Those guys are hammering it out, covering everything as they just saw it happen on every Sunday. Action's detrimental is out as well. Denny covers everything that went on at Kansas. His perspective from behind the wheel going for the win down there in turn three with his other with Bubba Wallace, his race car that he owns. He gave us his perspective and reasoning for what he did. And so that's a great take. A great listen every single week with Denny. He does an amazing job, really. He's really embraced the podcasting host role and does a great job with that show and keeping everybody in the room in the conversation. Just a lot of fun to listen to. Yesterday, Dirty Air with TJ Majors and me, we had a lot of fun going over the race as well and talking about a lot of topics that seem to be popping up in conversation on social media. Some real, some maybe not real, but some worth keeping an ear to the ground for. And then tomorrow we'll have another episode of Bless yous Heart with my wife Amy and Herman Schrader. Yeah, another episode of Herman Schrader as well today. Also DBC. Another episode of DBC came out this week. A.J. ahmedinger stopped by as a host. Always awesome to have AJ in.

[John Wood]

And.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hear his perspective on what's going on in the sport. He had a good run going in Kansas, some good speed, but ultimately got mixed up in some of the crashes happening late in the race. And then don't forget on Friday, the Dirty 30. It's kind of like a highlight reel, 30 minutes long. All the great stuff from this week. If you missed a few shows or whatever, you'll catch all the good stuff in that 30 minute episode every Friday.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I appreciate everybody tuning in. We also have a new merch contest going on and this one's we did one just recently where we had a lot of the folks in the office create merch for for DirtyMome Media and this one will be fan focused so the fans will get to get involved. We're going to pick some of the best ideas that you will provide. You go to shop.dirtymomedia.com yeah, you go.

[Commercial Announcer 3]

To shop.dirtymomedia.com and there's a tab. It's a Making Mo Merch contest tab at the top of Shop.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Dirtymomachito. Yeah, go there, click on that tab. It'll tell you everything you need to do. You're gonna be making merch for Bless yous Heart for the episode. You know, the show that me and Amy do every Thursday. And I think the winner is gonna get $500 also second and third, get a little cash as well. It's going to be a lot of fun seeing how this merch turns out. Everybody in the office had a lot of fun with that, and I think that the fans will come up with some even more creative ideas to be able to see, see what we can do. It should be fun. So, yeah, that's the show. We'll see you tomorrow. For bless your heart, check out Dirty Mo Media on Instagram, Facebook X and Tik Tok.