PMS 2.0 1345 - Tom Cruise Wednesday With Jamal Crawford, Tom Cruise, Kyle Larson LIVE In The ThunderDome, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Pat McAfee Show – PMS 2.0 1345 - Tom Cruise Wednesday

Release Date: May 21, 2025

Hosts: Pat McAfee, AJ Hawk, the Toxic Table, and Tone Digs

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Introduction and Jersey Day

[00:00 - 01:20]

Pat McAfee kicks off the episode by welcoming listeners to "Tom Cruise Wednesday" and announces the tradition of wearing jerseys for the day. He highlights Connor's enthusiasm for jersey day, noting the scrambling to don team apparel just minutes before the show began. Pat shares light-hearted banter about jersey selections, emphasizing team spirit and camaraderie.

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [00:31]: "Connor was certainly the motivator and the driver behind this."

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NFL Updates: Mason Crosby vs. Aaron Rodgers

[00:31 - 04:04]

The conversation shifts to NFL updates, focusing on the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback dilemma. Pat discusses Mason Crosby's unforeseen early presence in practice, expressing hope that Crosby will remain the starting QB over free agent Aaron Rodgers. The hosts debate Rodgers' commitment, citing his personal life pressures and reluctance to commit before OTAs (Organized Team Activities).

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [01:25]: "I'm 41 years old. I got a lot going on in my life and I don't want it to become a big scene like it was for the Jets."

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ESPN's College Game Day and Emmy Success

[04:04 - 11:15]

Pat congratulates ESPN's College Game Day on winning an Emmy, appreciating the show's long-standing dedication to showcasing college football. He lauds Coach Saban for his seamless transition from coaching to television, praising his work ethic, leadership, and ability to engage both on and off the field. The team acknowledges the entire College Game Day crew for their contributions.

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [06:29]: "He became one of the best people on all of television very quickly, and it was an honor sitting next to him."

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NHL Eastern Conference Finals Recap

[11:15 - 22:13]

The hosts delve into the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, focusing on the intense Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. They analyze a controversial incident where a Panthers player allegedly attempted to hit a Hurricane teammate with a puck, leading to a fight and subsequent penalties. The discussion highlights the physical nature of hockey and the strategic implications of such altercations in a playoff setting.

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [15:14]: "What this is, is the Florida Panthers are a team that is very scrappy."

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NBA Conference Finals and Jamal Crawford’s Insights

[22:13 - 30:00]

The conversation transitions to the NBA, spotlighting the Oklahoma City Thunder's dominant performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Pat praises Jamal Crawford, who joins the show to discuss the evolving nature of the NBA, particularly the increase in physicality and strategic flopping. Crawford defends the current state of the league, emphasizing player performance and the role of referees in maintaining game integrity.

Notable Quote:

Jamal Crawford [20:15]: "You shouldn't hate it. Because, look, if you took out all his free throws, he would still lead the league in scoring."

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Exclusive Interview with Tom Cruise

[30:00 - 73:00]

In a surprising and highly anticipated segment, Pat McAfee and co-hosts conduct an exclusive 35-minute interview with Hollywood legend Tom Cruise. The extensive conversation covers Cruise's passion for filmmaking, dedication to performing his own stunts, and insights into his latest project, Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning.

Key Highlights:

• Early Passion for Movies: Tom Cruise discusses his lifelong dream of making movies, traveling the world, and performing daring stunts. He emphasizes his self-taught approach to filmmaking, lacking formal education but driven by an insatiable curiosity and work ethic.

• Leadership and Teamwork: Cruise draws parallels between coaching in sports and directing in film, highlighting the importance of understanding each department and fostering a collaborative environment to bring out the best in his team.

• Commitment to Quality and Safety: He details the rigorous training and safety protocols involved in performing his stunts, illustrating his meticulous preparation and respect for the craft.

Notable Quotes:

Tom Cruise [31:30]: "I've always been a student, I'm always studying, I'm always learning."

Tom Cruise [37:12]: "It's just natural to me. And I encourage artists to go out and not wait to get a job. But you gotta train."

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Reactions to Tom Cruise Interview

[73:00 - 78:16]

Post-interview, the hosts express their amazement and gratitude for Cruise's in-depth insights. They humorously reflect on the unexpected length and depth of the interview, appreciating Cruise's candidness and motivational messages about leadership, work ethic, and passion.

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [78:16]: "This was one of the most ridiculous... And he gives that first answer and it's like, like, oh, Tom's giving us answers right now."

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NASCAR and IndyCar Insights with Kyle Larson

[78:16 - 138:54]

NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson joins the show to discuss his experiences racing in both NASCAR and IndyCar. The segment covers:

• Dual Racing Careers: Larson explains the challenges and excitement of competing in both stock car racing and open-wheel IndyCar events, emphasizing the differences in vehicle dynamics and race strategies.

• Race Strategy and Engineering: He delves into the technical aspects of racing, such as aerodynamic adjustments, fuel strategies, and the importance of teamwork and engineering in achieving success on the track.

• Personal Racing Philosophy: Larson shares his dedication to continuous learning, pushing the boundaries of his craft, and maintaining a strong work ethic to stay at the top of his game.

Notable Quotes:

Kyle Larson [86:38]: "My whole life is dedicated to it. How do I train my car so that I can do this for the rest of my life?"

Kyle Larson [130:50]: "I feel like it's pretty similar. But, yeah, just with spec racing, like, yeah, our cars are pretty similar. So, like, any little advantage that you find could be worth, you know, a decent amount."

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Final Sports Discussions and Closing Remarks

[138:54 - End]

The episode concludes with light-hearted discussions about upcoming races, team strategies, and playful banter about jersey day mishaps. The hosts express their excitement for ongoing sports events, including the Indy 500 and NBA playoffs, while maintaining their signature humor and camaraderie.

Notable Quote:

Pat McAfee [138:26]: "This is going to be a fun series to be a part of and can't wait to watch it get started tonight."

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Key Takeaways

• Sports Analysis: Comprehensive coverage of NFL quarterback decisions, NHL playoff drama, NBA conference finals, and dual NASCAR-IndyCar racing careers.

• Exclusive Insight: A rare, in-depth interview with Tom Cruise provides listeners with a closer look at his filmmaking philosophy, dedication to stunts, and leadership style.

• Guest Expertise: Kyle Larson offers valuable perspectives on racing strategy, vehicle dynamics, and maintaining peak performance across different racing disciplines.

• Community Engagement: The show highlights strong community ties, with hosts and guests sharing personal anecdotes and fostering a sense of camaraderie among sports enthusiasts.

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This episode of The Pat McAfee Show masterfully blends sports commentary with exclusive celebrity interviews, delivering engaging content that appeals to a diverse audience. Whether discussing the latest in the NFL or delving into the intricacies of filmmaking with Tom Cruise, Pat and his team provide insightful, entertaining, and relatable discussions that resonate with both dedicated fans and casual listeners.

Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello, beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode. The Thunderdome on this Tom Cruise. Wednesday, May 21, 2025 this program starts now. Sports are happening and decision was made to wear jerseys on this particular program about four minutes ago. So everybody has scrambled. Connor was certainly the motivator and the driver behind this. That is the talk to table at Boston. Connor wearing the Will Campbell jersey, obviously left tackle. And that is Ty Schmidt wearing the left tackle.

[AJ Hawk]

Of ye is the 2024 Debone Murphy Stag Bull champion official jersey.

[Ty Schmidt]

What?

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. Stag bull is the D3 national champion. That's right. For those that don't know game worn. What?

[Connor]

So he didn't put.

[Pat McAfee]

We need to put that into that. There's no scuffs on that. There's no dirt. Obviously he was, he was the alpha that entire game. D3 Football player, obviously committed to the game. That's right. D3 Left tackle, very committed to the game. I think he had to wash that jersey and he also had to wash his own pads. And I don't, I don't know if they had a loc. He tells me they did. I've never seen it, but I am incredibly proud of you supporting Debone, especially after the things that you guys have been saying about Debone over the last couple of weeks. You've been saying, actually Bruce got in on today, took a picture of him eating as if it was a zoo animal and sent it into the group text today.

[Connor]

That's because he was eating bacon. And that's cannibalism. You got. You got to kind of grab that when you can't.

[Pat McAfee]

I am disgusting. I didn't say that one. I didn't say one. Half of the hammer died. Cowboys AP 10. Love what you're doing at the jersey, brother.

[Connor]

Yeah, it's not.

[Pat McAfee]

A lot of people think it's a Pat Friarmuth jersey.

[Connor]

It's not. It's just a moose costume.

[Kyle Larson]

Moth.

[Pat McAfee]

Moth, yeah. Friar Muth, obviously. Absolute dog for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who's going to be his quarterback? Is it going to be Mason Crosby or is it going to be Aaron Rodgers? Hopefully. Hopefully it's Mace dog. I don't want Aaron anymore.

[Kyle Larson]

Wow.

[Ty Schmidt]

What?

[Pat McAfee]

Tony, we are live. I mean, Mason showed up a week early. He was making note cards forever. All right? All of his teammates writing down plays. He's, he's, he's just the leader of the team right now. And what's Aaron doing squirting squirt guns? It's concerts. What are you talking about? And where, where was you Talking about Don and Mike Studs. You're talking about Donna. Mike. I believe that's where I saw it. Okay. One of them's focused on football. One of them's at a contest. Squirt and squirt goods. One of them is in Mount Rushmore. Football players, one of them.

[Connor]

I don't care.

[AJ Hawk]

Sweet goatee.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, great goatee. Great goatee. It'll get all sorted. Didn't a biographer come out and say this week, yeah. That Aaron's gonna make a decision this week. That would make no sense for everything that Aaron has said. Aaron, I'm not committing to OTAS for anybody. I'm 41 years old. I got a lot going on in my life and I don't want it to become a big scene like it was for the Jets. I was at 98% of their workouts and I had to go to Egypt, I think had been planned, obviously. June 12, 2024, 6, 12, 24. Had to go over to Egypt. And that just so happened to be whenever this was happening. Everybody said I was a terrible teammate, even though I was at all of them before that. So I wasn't going to commit to any team and tell them that I was going to play for them, make a big scene out of it and then miss the entire OTAs, which was going to happen because of things going on in his personal life. And then everybody said, well, this week he's gonna make a decision. This week he's gonna make a decision. Biographer says he's gonna make a decision. It's like Aaron has said, he's not making a decision till after OTAs. That is what he said. Now, maybe he lied, which is what a lot of people think, or maybe he just said exactly how this is going to roll out and he doesn't know if he's still playing. I think that is all to be determined as well. To be honest, my real motivation for Mason to be a quarterback so I could shove that.06 up Dan Orlofsky's ass this week, this season. You think so?

[Connor]

So they're going some Mason root.

[Pat McAfee]

So. No, Dan said with Mason Rudolph, the Steelers are going to start. Oh, and six. Oh, so you want them to prove Emmy Award winning.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Dana Orlovsky wrong with Mason Rudolph.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So if Aaron signs, I don't get to dunk on Dan as heart. Congrats to Dan Orlovsky, baby. Daniel, hard work always, always, always pays off.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's not true.

[Pat McAfee]

This represents a lot. Can I finish?

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, sorry.

[Pat McAfee]

Not your NFL vet Danny State Butler.

[Ty Schmidt]

Is you but I love fans. UConn Pratt Marchand as well. But I love. I love.

[Pat McAfee]

We will get into the Marchand conversation because it feels as if there is a chance that the Kaniaks just started something with the Panthers that is going to make game two electrifying from puck drop. I do believe there's a chance a 5 on 5 fight is about to happen in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the NHL which is a beautiful thing. It's great for hockey. Hopefully nobody gets hurt. Hopefully the boys are able to survive. But Dan Orlovsky and NFL Live when the outstanding Daily show Emmy sports Emmy. Very happy for Dan. Dan put out a tweet in the morning and we hand up our fault. Had no idea those Emmys were last. They did it. Did. Nobody knew.

[Connor]

No, I didn't tell them.

[Pat McAfee]

Nobody said a thing. Big game. I don't think it was meant. Yeah, exactly. The conference finals are happening here. We. It was not mentioned one time in this entire Thunderdome. I don't think.

[Kyle Larson]

Nope.

[Pat McAfee]

Kind of bummed out about that because I was kind of looking forward to because, you know, Coach Saban was up for an award and I was incredibly pumped for him. Congrats, Coach Saban. Now outstanding emerging on air talent Coach Saban. I sent him a text way after he won because once again, I had no idea. So it's hours later, which is why he might have seen it because I couldn't even imagine how many things and I just told him, like, I don't think I've seen anybody that has been portrayed as a stiff be able to transfer into a television legend as quickly and as smoothly as he was able to do it. And I told him, like, the resume only gets you a few weeks. Like, hey, it's greatest of all time. Got to listen to what he says. This is greatest of all time. Got to listen to what he says. This is greatest of all time. It's like when celebrities go and do like a stand up tour, like their name gets them like the first couple shows. People will buy it, but at some point you gotta be good. At some point you got to keep them there. It's not just your resume. It's not just what you're able to do as a coach. You got to be a TV person and you got to be able to be good at giving your message. You got to be good at having a message and you got to have moxie. And I'll tell you what, the thing that set this man, oh Saint Nick up the greatest of all time in college ball. His moxie was stupendous. His amount of swagger, his confidence, his ability to just kind of let loose a little bit more than people thought, while also being able to deliver messages that I think all of college football was wanting him to say. And all of college football is listening to him say. He became one of the best people on all of television very quickly, and it was an honor sitting next to him. Congrats, coach. You did it.

[Connor]

He's passionate.

[Pat McAfee]

He's very passionate. Yeah. Loves college ball. Loves college ball. There's sometimes where I think he wants to say something. He's like, I. I don't know if I want to burn it down, you know, like, he. Like, he's watching him, like, pick and choose what he wants to. It's been. It's. And so prepared. I mean, like, of course, overly ridiculously prepared because his entire life he spent watching film. So now he just watches film for, you know, college game day. And it's like, we all get to benefit from it. I don't know if we need to do 100 film sessions with him, but I do love whenever he is talking ball, you know, like, for sure. I think in letting him just kind of do his thing, he has certainly earned that. Put a lot of work in it. And I assume that's the first of many that are coming to Coach Saban's trophy case, which is so awesome.

[Connor]

You've seen it, right?

[Pat McAfee]

His house. Yeah, He. He's got that wing. He's got a wing of his house that they built for recruiting, so they would, like, host, basically. So he's got this beautiful home. Beautiful home. And Miss Terry is a phenomenal cook, and they have a. They have, like, the perfect setup to, like, host. Like, it was very clear that this house was set up to, like, host. And then they added an entire wing, basically, for, like, recruiting trips for families. That's where you see him doing.

[Connor]

Yeah, the two step.

[Pat McAfee]

The two step. And whenever he's doing the ent. Electric Slide. I saw somebody on the Internet doing the electric side the other day. I thought for sure they would know the electric Slide. I'm not gonna say anything, but I watched the video, and I was like, I don't think I've ever seen that style. But, yeah, that's the room. They have all the jerseys of guys around the room. Imagine with that room, it was trophies everywhere. So cool. I bet. Yeah. And then he got a card table over here. He's like, I play cards over here now, dude. Everybody see Me dancing.

[Ty Schmidt]

Big time spades player.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think he's a good player too. I think he felt like he obligated to be great too helped in. So let me get it straight. If I'm good at spades, this is good for recruiting. Yeah, sounds good. Somebody needs to teach me how to play spades. And I assume that this is the first of many for coach Saban. And speaking of first of many, congrats, College game day. Congrats, College game day. Obviously that show is an institution. That show shows up at campuses and every person there feels obligated to go show up for their school and represent for their school. And what college game day has done for so long is in their eyes, I think the way college game day says it is like just showcase college football. Like that is basically the goal is to showcase the sport that they are obsessed with. And I've talked about this numerous times after getting a chance to meet the people behind the scenes who've been with game day a long time. So they've been with ESPN a long time and they've been with college football a long time. So those are two groups that, you know, I don't think are the biggest fans of Mike. Those people have, you know, like, if you just look at the people been around ESPN a long time, probably not the biggest fan of ours. Old school college football people, whenever I got in college, hated my guts. So both those people were the people that were running college game day behind the scenes. So it was an interesting dynamic, them trying to adjust to me being dropped into their world because that hiring came above them. So I'm just dropped in the middle of the season into their world. So the way they have treated me and like kind of adjusted to me has been very cool. But watching them just be the wagon that they have been for 30 years and how they do things and their passion for college football is just very real. And I think that's why when people get all pissed off at ESPN for things that happen in the college football world, oh, ESPN is doing this. ESPN is doing this. It's like, I know you love college football and that's why you are passionate about it, but the people that are working in the college football world at ESPN are obsessed with like, the people that are actually making decisions. They like literally eat, sleep and breathe college football. So it's nice to see them get acknowledged by their peers for all their hard work. And shout out to Daniel and the Vance. Yeah, shout out to Daniel and the vans. What a moment.

[Ty Schmidt]

Congrats to you though, man, you got to. Obviously you play a huge, huge part. They've been doing it for a long time. College football has been around forever. Football obviously has to evolve, but the coverage and the shit that we watch has to evolve. I know at least my age group, my friend group. And down for sure, like huge grow. I don't know the numbers and what they have been highest rated seasons last three years.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

So, yeah, yeah. Big, big part of that. Not only those moments, but what you guys do, you and Sabin working together. I think you had a big part of, you know, teammates, it's all dope. And the whole crew. Kirk, everybody that does their thing, Desmond, Des Reese, Reese, everybody.

[Pat McAfee]

Step for Steve Coughlin, Pete, Jen Latta, Jess Sims. I mean, you start rolling through the people that are on camera for that show. I think Marty even did some stuff for us. McGee did some stuff. Right. For the. It's like a really talented group of people. And then the crew, the truck drivers, the camera people, Ruleman Mike.

[Connor]

Johnny.

[Pat McAfee]

Mike.

[Connor]

Johnny Violence Mike.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Johnny Brocio. Obviously behind the scenes, his entire crew. There's a lot that's a whole. That is a village of people that kind of pick up and move all football season. So congrats to college game day. Way to go. Congrats, Saban. Congrats to NFL Live winning. That's where Dan Orlovsky won. The People. I don't want to undersell it. I'm not going to do that. A friend of the program, Peter Schrager. Yep. Came on the day after Good Morning Football won an Emmy a few years back. And it was like when Alexander Ovechkin won Stanley cup, first time, best day of his life.

[Connor]

Marriage, kids, Emmy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. For real. And I think it's just because I didn't grow up in the TV world and I don't think I went to any tv. I didn't. Never really had the. Didn't know this was going to be life. So I don't think I fully understand and comprehend. People get really pumped up about those. Oh, yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

It's like a career defining thing.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, they get really, really pumped up. So congrats to everybody that won last night. Shout out to Molly. Remember from NBC.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

The Olympics.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Legend. Absolute legend. We got a chance to meet her. She came out here. Yeah. She wanted to come out here and talk to us. She really did. It was before we. Before I ended up licensing my show anywhere. Molly came and pitched for us to be a part of like the Olympic coverage and she was like we need you in the Olympic coverage. And I'm like, I don't know if that's gonna be possible if we end up going anywhere else. And she was like, well, let me show you why we need to make it happen. Gave a full. She had a full presentation. Yeah, she's a dog.

[Connor]

Sold us.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, she definitely did. We're like, all right, we're gonna try to figure that out. So assume that we would do something with the Olympics at some point as Molly continues to run it, if we are still welcome. But watching her give a speech, I was like, thinking to myself, like, that's a lady that is fully committed to the Olympic coverage and she wins. It's like, congrats to all of them over there. That was a big night over there in New York City, I think. Yeah.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Think of the amount of humans over there that despise us. Could you imagine we walk into that place, we walk into this place. The suits would just. Everything would just. The ties would just get super tighter over there. What an interesting world. Interesting world. Orlovsky, though, Emmy award winner.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Love it.

[AJ Hawk]

Well deserved.

[Connor]

Damn right.

[Pat McAfee]

You think it was for that virtual reality they did?

[Ty Schmidt]

No, they were up for one, too. I'm not sure if Hawk won. I know he won. He's a part of NFL Live, too, but Andrew Hawkins.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, Hawk.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, but I know they were.

[Pat McAfee]

Hawk has Emmys, bro.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, because of the. Was doing with the. With the status Pro on air.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's talk about sports that took place last night. Conference finals started for the NHL Eastern Conference, the kayaks and the Florida Panthers. This one started out as a physical fight, didn't it, con man?

[Connor]

Yeah, they were kind of going at it right off the bat. I believe there was one shot in the first 8 minutes and 17 hits. Something along those lines. And it was incredible hockey. Last night was a great reminder that this week and next week, hopefully, you know, God willing, that these sports continue to go and that we don't have a lot of. What was last night continues on. But you love the conference finals. The Cats were just dominant. They scored early on the power play, and their power play hadn't been good. I'm pretty sure the Hurricanes had the number one penalty kill in the playoffs, and the Cats, I think, were 10th. But yeah, that backhand right up the top. Ekblad. Top right. Piping into there shortly there after. Filthy goal. That's actually the Cane's captain, Jordan Stahl, turning it over. And then Eggplant. How you doing? Right where mama hides the Cookies. That was wonderful. And it continued. Carolina got one at the end of the first period, but that was basically all she wrote. The Panthers continued to roll. Three, one here. Beautiful. One timer on the break. Another one on the power play in the third, and that was basically it. And what you're not really seeing from these highlights is that once the Cats got up, they said, okay, Cats, who.

[Pat McAfee]

Are The Florida Panthers.

[Connor]

Florida Panthers. They basically said, yeah, time to hunt. We're not really going for the puck. We're not really going for the goal. Let's hit some people. Marshy goes into Shane. Gossipier almost takes his head off, but that's what they're trying to do. Gossipier fires a wrist shot at Marcy. It was disgusting.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's a clapper if I've ever seen one.

[Pat McAfee]

That is not clapper. Much stronger than a wrister, I'll tell you that much.

[Ty Schmidt]

120Ft away from his net.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a textbook wrister. That's how they teach it. Yeah.

[Connor]

A lot of people saying clap on. A lot of people saying, rooster. But they dropped the mitts immediately. And Marshy, I think he got the last laugh, to say the least.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, not only the last laugh, he ends up getting a 4 minute 5. He gets. Ends up getting kicked out. But like a lot of people in the hockey world, including the Panthers locker room, were asked about old Buddy clearly just firing a puck at Marshawn. Oh, yeah, this is not happening. Like, this is not a thing that just happens, especially that far back in their own end or whatever. That guy was clearly trying to hit Marshy with a puck. And Marsh. What? I don't think so. This is not how this is going to go. And decides to go fight him. He's like, I don't think that's how it works. All the Panthers were talked about or asked about this afterwards, and they all just basically said, no comment, no comment, no comment. And the Florida Panthers are a team that is very scrappy. This guy is not the guy for the Hurricanes. He just, you know, he just got a little bit in his feelings, I guess, and thought he was going to do something. And it's like, I think game two is going to start with the Panthers saying, what was that? And then Marsh, you let the refs know that they don't know ball either. You're gonna kick me out for what this guy did. This guy just disrespected the entire game. Darius, I know all of South Florida has been following hockey a long time, a long time.

[Ty Schmidt]

Obviously the team's Only been on there for 31 years but we've been pretty successful and been on a good run here. We got some good history down there and we love the makeup of the team. They're physical. Con man talked about how physical the game was. I mean that plays right to our wheelhouse and then we're also skilled enough to put the puck. Now they outshot us but that doesn't matter. Bob was on his thing as well and they took a little dirty shot at Bob I thought and he was very unbothered as well when they talked to him after the game. So I can't wait to see how game two starts off. And to your point when they were asked I believe it was Greer asked immediately from the TNT broadcast he said got no comment on him Paul Maurice and we know how vocal he can be about some things. He said I definitely have thoughts but. But you know won't speak on it so they'll handle it's going to be.

[Pat McAfee]

A national anthem type thing out of Kentucky with the Canada thing. You don't normally see that because nobody wants to take any penalties because it's this far along in the playoffs and it's Eastern Conference finals so if you fight you're going to take a penalty. But if it's five on five they're going to have to figure out who's all yeah, who's all going to get the penalty. Here is how it's going to be. Who's the goalie for the Kacs, Nick? Freddie Anderson. I'll tell you what, gloves side high seems to be the tape and that is where everybody was going with the it was clearly where they were headed. And we talked to Patty Maroon and we talked to some of the other hockey lads and they talk about how during the playoffs in a seven game series how much film study you're doing on your opponent. Mostly on the goalie high Glove side appears to be where they think they need to pepper and it was certainly working last night if I'm what's the buddy's name for Carolina? Oh, the goalie Freddie Anderson. Freddie Anderson needs to figure out how to play catch. Yeah, I think that is going to be a pretty high targeted area if I had to guess. Also NHL tonight we have the Ponters. Yes, we have the Oilers taking on the Cannot wait to watch Connor McJesus continue his run to hopefully his first ever lord Stanley Cup. And on the other side in the net American Otter has been standing on his head. Can't wait for the NHL Stanley cup playoffs to continue Last night in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Minnesota Timberwolves. Although that is not how the game started out at all. Timberwolves had a lead. Looked like the Timberwolves are going to win. That game in Oklahoma City set the tone. And I was feeling like I was a genius because I was starting to think to myself, like, who is going to stop Ant man? He's gonna be able to. He rolls his ankle pretty bad, goes to the back, comes back out later. I don't know how these basketball guys are able to roll their ankles and then come back so quickly, legitimately. I don't understand at all. That happens to me. I'm out three, four days. My ankle is the size of a beach ball. He's jogging back out with a smile on his face going out there. But by that point, Oklahoma City had turned that thing around. This guy, sga, he's good.

[AJ Hawk]

He is good.

[Pat McAfee]

He's a good player.

[Connor]

No doubt.

[Ty Schmidt]

Mvp.

[Pat McAfee]

He is.

[Connor]

He ain't better than Yoke.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, legend in the basketball world. 20 years, he was in the NBA. Former 8th overall pick. He's now a head coach. Okay. He knows ball. That's right. He's coastal. Elitist as well. Don't forget it. Lives in Seattle. Ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Crawford.

[Connor]

Yeah, Jamal.

[Pat McAfee]

How you doing? Crossover.

[Bruce]

What up, y' all? How you doing?

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, I was about to say sga. I'm gonna say.

[Bruce]

What you gonna say? You're kicking. I see that foot moving. What you gonna say?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, a lot of, you know, and there was a couple, and there was a couple not even touching them, were falling on the ground, getting the calls. Because with how physical the NBA has been, not only this year, but certainly this. This playoffs, there's been a lot more banging. Seemingly getting back. He's like a throwback to, like, five years ago, four years ago, when everybody was flopping all over the place. Place. Is that a skill? Is that, like, how should I be viewing this? Should I not. I hate it. I shouldn't hate it.

[Bruce]

You. You shouldn't hate it. Because, look, if you took out all his free throws, he would still lead the league in scoring.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Okay.

[Bruce]

Yeah. You can't hate it. And he's not. It's not like we're playing the summer and it's 14. 14. He's calling all these bad calls at LA Fitness. Like, the refs are actually calling the calls. And people. It's a narrative out there about it. Excuse me. That's my coaching boys. And people are still calling It. So it's not his fault. He's just playing the game. Yeah, but he was still at the league and scoring.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So I appreciate that stat and understanding that. So I need to appreciate everything that he does on the court, not just this shit. That is tough to watch.

[Ty Schmidt]

Foul, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Yeah, it is tough to watch. I think the world told the NBA that was tough to watch whenever that was happening over the last couple.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Hey, this is not what we're looking for. SGA's taking advantage of the rules. I guess we show them blue. I guess we shouldn't blame him. Congrats to Oklahoma City. Get a big win now. With that being said, they're down early to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and then they come back and demolish in game one. Okc. Is this their year? Is this expected at this point with how great their season was and how great they've been throughout the playoffs?

[Bruce]

Well, think about it, Pat. He.

[Pat McAfee]

He.

[Bruce]

They lost 14 games the whole year. Like, they're something different. And they're young most of the time. You shouldn't be this good. This young. And their coach, like I said before, he's a star on the sideline. He's so in tune with how they're playing. But they're like a really, really good college team. All their boys stuck together and they just went on to the same team. That's how they're playing. They have no jealousy. You know, we used to clown them. Like, why is there eight dudes in an interview? Like, there are eight dudes in an interview because that's how tight they are. And you see it now. They're my pick to win the finals, man.

[Pat McAfee]

In Oklahoma City, too. It feels like the perfect place to have that type of team.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

That, like, leads to the conversation about tonight here in Indiana. This Pacers team matches the city perfectly. The way they play, the way they operate, how they talk. Coach Carlisle, the way he operates. Tyrese, like, perfect superstar for Indiana because he's. Yeah, he's kind of a nerd. He talks about Catan.

[Connor]

Yeah, yeah, he plays Catan.

[Pat McAfee]

He's a mark WWE match. But when he gets on the court, he's a dog and he's a showman, and he. He has the ability. And they run and they play physical. They play great defense, and they're having great success. This Pacers team fits our city perfectly. And it feels like the Knicks team fits New York perfectly. How pumped are you for this Eastern Conference finals and what are your expectations out of it all?

[Bruce]

I think it's going to be great. Like you said, Indiana's playing fast, they're playing physical. And like you said, Halliburton's a magician. He sees things on the court where he's no looking. He looks. He locks eyes with this defender, throws it over here, locks eyes with both defenders, jump passes past the last second, and they're feeding off of that. And he has a tenacity and nature of hitting the big shot. If it's a close game, we talk about clutch Brunson and how good he is in the clutch, which he is. Halliburton, you know, he can do his Sam Cassil big, you know what, walk as well, because he. He has some heart and he. Yeah, you know what? You walk. I'm talking about Pete. Yeah, he has that in him.

[Pat McAfee]

Sorry about these balls. They keep hitting off my legs. That's what he said. I think he's talking about basketball. Yeah, yeah, he's talking about basketballs there. I think that was basketball. Middle of Cleveland there. But it's not just him. And I think I hear every NBA person on television that talks about it. They're like, the depth of the Pacers. The depth of the Pacers. You never know who it's going to be. It might be Nemhard, might be Neesmith, might be Miles Turner, might be Pascal Siakam. Shit, TJ McConnell might come in there and put up some points. And obviously it might be Tyrese as well. Is that what you need for a deep playoff run? Obviously, because injuries are going to happen, guys are going to have off nights. Do you think that's the most important part of it? And do the Knicks have the same thing?

[Bruce]

You definitely need that, for sure. But you also need the guys who don't regularly play to be engaged the whole time, because you can win two minutes when you go in that change the whole course of a game. So it's not like you have to go in the whole game and play well the whole game. If you can play well for two or three minutes and that spurt to get your starters back, to give them some life, to give them some rest as well, give your coach a little bit of confidence. That's where the games are won. When those other guys step up, that's when the magic happens. And Indiana is rolling. New York is rolling as well. They figured it out. New York is at its best when five guys are in double figures. Indiana, kind of same thing. And I think Carlisle's doing an unbelievable job. Like, he's been there before. He's Won a championship. He's not afraid to go zone. He'll do whatever it takes to win. He's a genius on the sidelines, so. And Tibbs has done well with New York, so I'm ready for this. Could go seven guys.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, I like that. Sounds like he likes what the Pacers are doing. Go ahead, D. Bud.

[Ty Schmidt]

I like what the Pacers are doing, too, so.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we all do, don't we?

[Ty Schmidt]

Damn right. Playing these. I want to ask you about the market. So kind of the outside noise, especially at this time of the year with the playoffs, you playing, you played, played a handful of years in New York, so you know a lot about it. How different is that playing in the city with a fan base like New York and that media market compared to other places, especially on this stage. It's been so long since New York has hung a banner, it's unbelievable.

[Bruce]

It's been 25 years since they've even made the conference final game. I think five of the last series, when they're playing Boston, I think it was the game Tatum got hurt, myself, Vince Carter, Reggie Miller, Mike Tirico. We're in New York handling business on the NBC up fronts. And we're watching the game. And when they're playing, well, the whole room is going crazy. And it wasn't us. We're not biased, but you can tell that the city is electric on all fronts right now. So it's going to be a great series. I know Halliburton loves playing there. Obviously, the Knicks feel like they're on a mission and both these series right now could go seven games. And that's what we want as fans, because the whole world is watching. You're putting your best product out there.

[Pat McAfee]

You're at the up fronts, huh?

[Bruce]

Yeah, I was up. I graduated. I graduated to the up fronts.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. Big money in those. Up front.

[Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Shake some hands in there. Crossover. Shake some hands.

[Bruce]

Frosting. People, they ask about the handle. They ask about the handle at all times. Yep. They don't make that face when they do it, but they ask about the handle.

[Pat McAfee]

Mr. Jamal Crawford, how you doing? He goes, oh, I still got it.

[Bruce]

I still got four. Party fly. Still got it.

[Pat McAfee]

Those 55 year old suits that control like $100 million worth of advertising. Like, I'll tell you what, Juicy Cross, everybody crossed me up earlier today. I thought I had them, though. Yeah, you're making dreams come true over there, Jamal. It's good business. Smart idea. You know ball, too. You're great at talking about it, which is why we're thankful you're here. Connor has a question for you.

[Connor]

Yeah, Jamal, you played during kind of the dynasty eras almost, you know, with the Lakers and then the spurs, then the Heat. Yeah, warriors, of course. Yeah. I'm trying to think of them while there's. But how do you feel about the. You know, the difference, the parody now? I think this is the seventh straight year with a new champion. It's kind of a different NBA. That's kind of a conversation people are having now. Is. Is the dynasty better? I know during the dynasty, people don't like it. And then when there's not a dynasty, people kind of want it. Is it one of those situations? And also, I hope your pinky's okay. It looks like you got crossed up.

[Pat McAfee]

Up.

[Connor]

Possibly fell on your hand and broke your. Broke your pinky there.

[Bruce]

No, no, no, Connor. I finally played defense, and I don't know why. And that's where it went. Bad thing. Putting on the show. Play some defense and broke it. Don't worry about that. But I. I think I like it better like this. As a kid growing up, I love the Celtics dynasty. I love the Lakers because they had magic. And Kareem and Scott Worthy. I could identify. The guys were staying, you know, one team for eight, nine years. But I like it now having one or two stars and guys around them because you feel like everybody has a chance. You feel like it's parity. You feel like you don't know, you know, who's going to step up. And that's where stars really write their greatness, when they have the least amount of help and still find a way to get it done. So for me, I love having the purity right now.

[Pat McAfee]

I think it's great for the NBA to see more teams winning, more success, more cities experiencing championships, more cities experiencing parades. Okay, conference finals here. Who's going to be. Who's going to continue? Who's going to continue?

[Bruce]

I knew you're going to end with this, but with all that Indiana stuff you have on and around you and just the aura you have right now. The Pacers, I see it, but I got to go with the Knicks in this one.

[Pat McAfee]

All right.

[Bruce]

Do I need to blow the whistle on that? Is that. Is that a whistle?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. All right. All right, ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Crawford. Coastal elitist, like I thought, but going with the big city. How about in the West? How about in the West?

[Bruce]

In the West, I got okc.

[Pat McAfee]

All right.

[Bruce]

I think they've been the best team. I think if. If they just win their Home games the rest of the way. They'll win the championship because they have that home court advantage. So I got OKC winning it.

[Pat McAfee]

We appreciate the hell out of you. Ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Crawford. All right, ladies and gentlemen. He's the best. Yeah, yeah. He should be on TV more. I don't know if he wants to be because he's coaching and doing all that with his kids and everything like that. He is always so cool to us. So very thankful to Jamal Crawford. With that being said, we had the opportunity yesterday, last night, to be exact, to find some time within the greatest actor's schedule and what was supposed to be a 10 to 15 minute conversation, because I believe he's doing. He was in a different country, obviously. He was in a different country. He was in New York, I think, two nights ago. Then he flew. He was filming, I think, again, he was. We'll get into it. He's in different countries, so we're able to find. Supposed to be 10 to 15 minutes. Strap in. Okay. Because not only is Mission Impossible about to be insane tomorrow, Final Reckoning, but also we just. We got a 35 minute conversation with Tom Cruise here and I think he. I think dives into some stuff he's maybe never chatted about. Yeah, I think that's no doubt. We're incredibly thankful and lucky for this. And let's get to it. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies, gentlemen. Mission Impossible Final Reckoning is in theaters tomorrow and we have an exclusive from Paramount. Jeez.

[Kyle Larson]

With low level flying, there is absolutely.

[Pat McAfee]

Zero margin for error.

[Kyle Larson]

At altitudes between 5 and 20ft above.

[Pat McAfee]

The water, above the rocks.

[Kyle Larson]

Skip 30 is a downdraft. There is no room for correction.

[Pat McAfee]

The plane is going in. Jeez. Ladies and gentlemen, the man who is dangling from that wing. The man who has been captivating audience for decades and decades and decades. The man who has $12 billion in box office, the greatest actor on the Earth, the man who Spielberg said saved the acting and movie industry. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, Tom Cruise.

[Kyle Larson]

Thank you, Tom. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, Tom. Oh, can we get a shot of the boys here real quick? Just the pure joy.

[Kyle Larson]

Great to be here, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's go.

[Kyle Larson]

It's great to be here. Hey, guys.

[Pat McAfee]

Tom, it is an honor.

[Kyle Larson]

Great to be here.

[Pat McAfee]

It is an honor to have you.

[Kyle Larson]

It's an honor for me.

[Pat McAfee]

You look amazing. You look like you're glowing. And for good reason. We had a couple of the boys check out Mission Impossible Final Reckoning this morning. They've been hovering above Earth. They'll ask you about that in a moment. I want to dive in to a conversation about you. And every time we see you do a promo or a video, you're jumping out of something, you're flying something, and it's always, see you at the movies. See you at the movies. In our world, the sports world, all the goats talk about their love of the game, their love of the sport. It feels like you love the movies. You love everything about the industry. When did that start? Was that. Were you a kid? Did you know this was going to be it? How did you kind of get into this? I.

[Kyle Larson]

Look, honestly, I hoped that I would be able to make movies. My goal. I remember when I was four years old, I wanted to make movies. I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to fly jets and airplanes. I wanted to visit and work in different cultures. That was just a lifelong dream of mine. I've always been. Had an adventurous spirit and, you know, just that kind of life I wanted. So it's. And it is, it's something that is not what I do. It's. It is who I am, and my whole life is dedicated to it. How, you know, I look at a body as like kind of a car, and how do I train my car so that I can do this for the rest of my life? Had that opportunity and I didn't go to film school, I didn't go to acting school, but I. I studied movies. And when I got onto a movie set for the first time and, you know, I just studied every single department and really started to understand, you know, what the culture is and how to create a culture of that where people can really flourish and do their best work. And those are the kind of things like, as a kid, I learned a work ethic. I always had jobs when I was growing up, you know, we all, in our family, I just worked. I was. I had paper routes and cutting grass. And it's very interesting. I kind of reflected upon this as I was making movies and kind of always ran my own business. And just knowing that the better I was at what I did, it made it that, you know, if I didn't cut the grass right, I didn't get the job. So I better learn how to understand how to do the best I can with cutting that grass. And, and that would ensure, you know, that I was able to do a great job for the neighborhood, for the person, and they were happy, you know, and then they wanted me back to do the job. And so I, you know, those kind of basics of discipline, of learning a Craft of my interest in life. I'm not just, you know, it's movies encompasses cultures, encompasses engineering, and, you know, I fly jets, aerobatics and aircraft, and I sing and train and dancing. And I'm constantly studying engineering and mechanics and history and architecture and also studying to be what it is to be a leader, you know, and, and so all of these things, it's just, it's. It's life. And I love it.

[Pat McAfee]

It.

[Kyle Larson]

I love it. I absolutely love it.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, I think you found the right place. I think you found the right performance. I think they all, all those, you.

[Kyle Larson]

Know, beforehand when I started, it was like, look, you get, you know, what it takes, you know, and my door is always open to everybody. Like, I'm. I'm always a student, I'm always studying, I'm always learning. And my door is always open, everybody to go, like, look, these are the things that I did. Because knowledge, there's so much knowledge out there. But what knowledge can you learn that's going to improve your ability for your goals? So that I'm looking for knowledge that I can apply, that I can get the result every single time. And how do that. It's effective. So those things that I evaluate for myself and, you know, I'm very much looking at what. What works for me, what. What is storytelling for me. But it takes a kind of passion and real discipline and relentless pursuit of, of. Of this field. And you know that from what you've done in your life. I mean, we talked about it earlier of what you've accomplished in sports and then what you did, you know, to get to where you are with your show right now. It. There's. You have that mental state. And I tell people, it's like, you want your goals. You just have to think about how. What you need to know to get there.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think work ethic is the most important thing that you can have. I. I have a daughter now, 2 years old. And, And I just. Yeah, you too. I think you were thinking the same thing.

[Kyle Larson]

It sounds like, yeah, same thing. And it's character. You know, with success, it does reveal character and your discipline and, and also it's. It's understanding. You know, my movies are not me, it's all of us. It's a, It's. How do I. How do I help every single person? And when you're producing films and I produce movies, it's understanding every single department. You know, you have to be able to do those jobs. You got to have. Understand what everyone's going through and how to help them and align everyone so that you can create the best possible film for audiences. And my goal is I make movies for audiences, whatever. However, the wide range of cinema that I make, you know, I have a wide range of interests and so I'm constantly studying that particular genre, whether it's a thriller, action, comedy. I'll go into it and go, how can I entertain the audience that's going to love that? And that is my goal. My goal is, is that global audiences. And how do I do that?

[Pat McAfee]

Well, mission accomplished.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Amen.

[Pat McAfee]

Some would say the mission was impossible at the beginning. Mission accomplished.

[Kyle Larson]

Is it possible? Many times I've been told that.

[Pat McAfee]

So I appreciate that. Many times I'll do the low hanging fruit right there, especially on the eve here of final reckoning. So you talk about the work ethic and wanting to know every part of the business and obviously the full team that goes into everything and the team effort to make these massive, massive movies that obviously do numbers and, and entertain the entire world and make people escape from life, which is a very important part of our society. But I feel like you.

[Kyle Larson]

That's what I want to do.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, and you do that. I just want to let you know that as a person who has been a fan of yours for a long time, you certainly make us all forget about life and also realize that there is an alien walking among the amount of things that you can do. You just talked about it. I'm learning engineering, I'm learning how to be a helicopter pilot. I'm flying jets, I'm hanging off there. When did you decide? Is that just your view? View of what an actor is supposed to be when you do all your own stunts and because there's not a lot of that, right? I mean, that's not a very normal thing. I've seen the clips of you running, breaking your leg and continuing to do it. Like, when did you decide you were gonna do everything? Like literally everything?

[Kyle Larson]

Always?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, always.

[Kyle Larson]

You know, always I just. My interest in life and things that I want to know about and how. How can I accumulate the derivation of art is skill. And I've always just kind of wanted to live my life like that and develop skills in many different areas. I have a wide ra of interest in life. So whether I'm parachuting, skydiving, flying aerobatic helicopters or airplanes, or I like to dance and sing and you know, I love music. So I take time to study these things. It's always been my whole life. But if you look at the history of movies, movies they used to take an actor and they would say, here. Here are these abilities. And if you look, my films are. When I'm working with people, not just. Just actors, but people in all different aspects of filmmaking, what I'm looking for is that ability and to utilize those abilities, increase those abilities. And when you look at cinema, they used to take actors and train them in singing and dancing and elocution and different languages and. And they taught them about acting and lighting and, and. And lenses. So all of these things that I was just doing, naturally, I didn't. I didn't quite realize what I was doing. I just. My natural curiosity to know things, you know, to. And not just. Look, I'm not someone who just reads things and does it. I want to experience it. I'm looking at it and I'm ex. I'm kind of viewing what's true for me, what are, what are storytelling for me personally, not just what someone says it is. So those things that are just natural to me. And I. So what I've also done is as I'm learning these things, and I studied film in every department, then I studied the studio system, then I studied distribution. And my ultimate goal was really understanding culture and life and how I can make my movies to engage in those different cultures, celebrate them, and also to understand them and go to see their movies in different cultures, and how can I communicate in that way? So if you look at way Hollywood was, and that's how I structured, like, I get actors and crew and I'm training them, I'm teaching them. And I encourage artists to go out and not wait to get a job. But you gotta train. Like, what kind of movies do you want to make? And if you want to do musicals, like, go train on musicals and tap. And I'm. I. I look at an actor and I'm. I'm not just having a script. That's. There's the character, and let's find the actor can play this character. I'm looking at. I'm looking at the actor and going, boy, look at the light that this actor has. Look at the ability that this actor has. And I'm looking to take a light and shine it on that and then let it grow. So if you look at movies, like when I'm hiring, you know, Renee Zellweger for Jerry Maguire or any cast member that I'm doing, I spend more time on their performances with the camera on them. And then I. As we're exploring the story and developing it, it's very much, you know, like, I think the great coaches there is the relevance of someone looking at the ability of the talent you have and how do we. How do we structure the defense or offense for that? But I'm looking at. Here's the story, emotional story I want to tell. Here's the enormously talented artists that I have in every area, and how do I maximize that talent with this story and what is that story? So that it's that kind of engagement for everyone and that I'm. I'm celebrating these artists. I have a thing where I want people to do better after working with me. I want. I want them to go out and be able to, you know, have a broader sense of. Of the craft, have. Have greater, you know, opportunities. So that's always been kind of a quiet, quiet goal of mine.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, listening to your passion, not just in, obviously, this conversation, anytime you speak, I mean, your promo tour right now, going around to these different movie theaters, talking about your passion for. For the popcorn in the movie theaters is certainly something that'll be brought up. That's going to be brought up. There is quite a discussion happening on our show about that.

[Kyle Larson]

I love popcorn.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, we've heard and we've seen too. We. That'll get. That'll. That'll definitely get brought up. But your passion is obviously very evident, and it radiates through the screen whenever we watch you. No matter what you're doing, whether you are Jerry Maguire or you're a pilot American made, or you're collateral bad guy, or you're Fatso and Tropic not. Or any of these like you, it radiates, okay, through the screen. So whenever, like, Spielberg comes out and says, like, hey, this guy saved the industry, and that's obviously something that I assume you want to deflect to the entire team. And obviously you talk about your team in a way that any great leader would. Any great coach would. You're talking about wanting to draw the best out of people and what is the talent we have. And then let's make the movie around that. That's a football coach. That is a sport coach. I love to hear your leadership, but whenever that is bestowed upon you during COVID when they thought the movies were going to be dead, like everybody was going to stream, did you take that upon yourself? Did you feel a little bit of weight of the industry? And how have you kind of navigated that?

[Kyle Larson]

Well, what I did was, is basically, yeah, I did. Because, look, my friends, it's not just about the films. I'm making the difference in movies. I Guess in other sports is I've never felt competitive with other people. I'm like, I want everyone to do well.

[Pat McAfee]

And.

[Kyle Larson]

So, yeah, I did. I just made sure that that mission got made. That when everything shut down, I really worked and had to take it on. And, you know, I talked to McHugh, who writes and directs and produces these films about. I was like, we're gonna have to. We're gonna have to really do this, and I'm gonna stay in. Are you in? And so what I did was I just worked with the governments. I had to. I called one studio, and.

[Pat McAfee]

This is.

[Kyle Larson]

What I really did. I called the student. I was like, yeah, you guys shooting? He's like, no, no, we can't. We're all shut down for that. I said, oh, wow. I said, you know, we're shooting our movies. And they're like, what? I said, yeah, yeah, we're making our movies. And then so I called back a week later and I was like, how's it going? They said, oh, yeah, we're shooting our films. I said, because we're coming out next summer, you know. I said, so, you know, we're on this date. I hope you're not on this date. They're like, well, you know, we're making our movie. We're coming out next summer. And then I called the studio that I was working with. I said, look, all these guys are making movies. We gotta make movies. So. And I just kept everyone working throughout, so they were like, okay, we gotta make movies. So then I was like, you know, we had to finish Top Gun Maverick in post during COVID And I was basically. Everyone was kind of like, no, you can't do this. No, you can't do that. I was like, always going, nah, I don't take no for an answer, Pat. I'm like, okay, well, there's got to be a solution. So I was calling like, we have to set up the rules. Let's make agreements so that we can get back to work. And then I was calling governments and getting agreements with them. And then I was telling. Sharing it with the other studios and my friends saying, this is how we're doing it. And then just kind of saying, my crew is going to get paid during this time. I just kept everybody working. And then slowly, and not so slowly, before you know it, we're able to just make sure that we're creating even our orchestra for Top Gun Maverick. We were able to get mics to people's apartments all over the world where they're recording their instruments and then combining those instruments to create a live orchestra and just showing people, look, we can do this. We can do it safely. Let's create whatever rules so that we can move forward. And that's what I did. And I ensured the Top Gun Maverick did not go to streaming, that it was held for distribution. I was calling all the theater owners globally that are my friends for decades and the studio heads and all of this kind. I said, look, this movie's coming out, period. It's coming out in theaters and. And just kind of worked with everyone and said, look, we're all going to get through this. We're going to get through it. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. And just working with friends and how to do it, how to navigate these channels and just keep people moving in the most efficient, creative way possible. And, you know, just kind of night and day, it was. It was seven days a week, night and day, and creating these things. And you look at the film today, we made it through Covid and Two strikes and, you know, just be relentless about it and just make sure that people had jobs and that we were moving forward. And that's. That's what happened. And it was very nice what Stephen said. I. I've known Stephen since I was a kid, you know, and very grateful and grateful to everyone that everyone kind of picked it up and everybody got back to work. But. But I was definitely kicking some doors through and kind of helping people to understand that. That this can be done and we can. We can move forward and that the theatrical experience is very special.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And we needed it, too, as a society. Top Gun Maverick. I. I want to let you know that Top Gun Maverick is one of the moments I look back, I think there was an old Men Miss baseball home run that I remember. It was the first time there was a crowd and Ole Miss hit a home run and the crowd went crazy in the outfield. I remember going to see Top Gun Maverick.

[AJ Hawk]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

That's like one of my rollouts of COVID here, like, changing my. And I'm sure there's nowhere. I'm not the only one. This is a lot of people. So we are incredibly grateful for what you did. And I assume the movie industry echoes what Spielberg says in that entire thing. Now, speaking of the movie industry, we have somebody. Aren't. No. You're very nice, Tom. You're very nice, Tom. You're a spark plug, brother. For everything. You make everything better. You're an igniter, a trailblazer, a dog in Every sense of the word. Cannot wait to watch Mission Impossible. Final Reckoning tomorrow. The world is going to watch alongside of us and I can't wait to see what you put out next. But we have a guy on our show, film major at Iowa, graduated, has studied your basic entire life, life. One of your biggest fans. Ty has a question for you. Tom.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, Tom, first and foremost.

[Kyle Larson]

I know you, Ty. Thanks, man. Hey, Tyler.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow, Ty, Good for you.

[AJ Hawk]

And, well, I just. I wanted to start by saying, I think you just gave a quote that said, like, hey, listen, I'm still going to be doing this when I'm 100 years old. I'm not going to stop making movies anytime soon.

[Kyle Larson]

I think 110.

[AJ Hawk]

Exactly. I just personally want to say thank you because I don't want to live in. In a world where you're not making movies anymore. So, you know, when you're done, I'm gonna be done. I may. I may never go see one again. But I do, I do want to ask you, when it comes to the Mission Impossible franchise as a whole and then this film specifically, how. How difficult has it been kind of raising the bar with these set pieces that just get more massive and more massive like that, you know, it becomes the. The big part of the promotion of the movie. How have you kind of continued to push the envelope with each of these while also making it make sense within, like the story of the film.

[Kyle Larson]

Listen, that is really the collaboration with Christopher McQuarrie, his storytelling ability. And you know, he and I have been working together for almost 20 years. A guy's genius. And it's also, look, it's. I'm always setting goals for myself. My whole life, even as a kid, I had goals. And you know what it's like. Like sometimes you don't share your dreams, your goals with people because sometimes it's so outrageous that they. They. It's okay. Like, you don't want to hear their comments. And I always have many goals. So when I accomplish something, I already have a list of goals lined up there. Like, I have so many other sequences and things that I can create for various films. I've already finished a film with Alejandro and Yaritu constantly pushing the bar. It's always something that I know that's. It's. It's just. I take one sequence and I look at and I go, how do I improve it? How can I do it better? You can always do things better. And I remember as a kid when I was making this movie, Taps, I was laying there and I was like, man, I. I realized there I was working with these great cinematographer, great filmmakers, great actors. They knew so much more about everything than I did. And I was trying to absorb everything. And I thought I was so tense because I was trying to just remember everything and remember it and remember it. And I just laid there. It was like literally in the middle of the night and I wasn't sleeping. And I just started laughing. I was laughing till tears came. I said, man, you know what? I can only do the best I can. And I don't know what I don't know. And that's okay. And there's always, like, I can always learn. And I met her, I thought, I'm gonna dedicate everything. That's it. Like good or bad, whatever people think, I know that I did everything I could. And that's how. What I've dedicated my life to. So when you look at Mission for me, there's always another mountain or cinema. There's always another mountain. There's always a. A new story. There's always something that I can do better, bigger, in different ways, shift into different, different genres. I never think, you know, that I can't. And that doesn't mean I'm not. There's things that I don't know. Know. I just don't mind not knowing. I don't mind feeling that fear or that anxiety of I don't know. And I use that to pursue knowledge. I use that to pursue pushing myself to create something special and all of us, you know, and it's not just me, it's the whole team. So it's this. It's just that interest in the next goal. It's. And it's. We're just pursuing it, pursuing it, pursuing it. And when you're working with such talented people that are, you know, know that are there kind of throwing it all in. It's. We're going for, you know, I want to entertain that audience. And that's the goal. So it's just. It's an interest. I. You know, it's like people go, why? It is a passion and an interest in life, a pursuit of excellence, a pursuit of knowledge, a pursuit of. And not just excellence for excellence. It's like I'm defining it by my. By for the audience. I'm doing this for the audience. And I don't know, I get real passion.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's obsession at this point, I think, for you to entertain people.

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah, it's like.

[Pat McAfee]

And that's a giving mindset.

[Kyle Larson]

It is. It is a passion. It's just it's literally like. It's just. As a kid, I used to write stories and characters just to make my family laugh, and I'd create characters. And I was jumping off buildings when I was 4 years old. You know, I was that kid who climbed the tallest trees, you know, I was like. I think I was like two and a half years old, where I climbed out of a window onto a roof, you know, to look at the stars. And the neighbors would call my mom out, she'd be like, where is he? You know, he's on the roof. I think there's a child on a roof at 2am in the morning to.

[Pat McAfee]

Look at the stars.

[Kyle Larson]

You know what I mean? And I just had that natural sense of adventure that I guess carries over into my passion for people in life and cinema.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, we're appreciative of those things combining because when you just decide, you know, I'm gonna jump. I'm gonna jump motorcycle off a cliff here, and I'm gonna do it 20 times to see how it goes. I'm climbing at the bird with no and just sit on top of that thing I'm gonna do. I'm gonna fly on the wing of a plane that is 5 to 15ft above the ground over a creek. And it's like, we appreciate the fact that you do that. I get nervous for you. I have no. I. I get scared for you. Now, we know you're a very busy person.

[Kyle Larson]

I get nervous too.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you. Okay, so you get feelings or no. Do you have, like, fear?

[Kyle Larson]

Oh, yeah. It's. It's. I just don't mind it. Look, here's also the thing that when you're looking at that plane flying five feet over, we're doing things. I'm not just hanging off that plane. I'm also the amount of time that it took to develop understanding the aircraft and how it flies, understanding the airplane when it gets into a place where it's no longer going to fly. Me training the pilot to do it. We're developing knowledge and we're developing technology. So also when I'm there on the wheel, I'm worried about these downdrafts that are coming in. I'm. I'm perceiving. I'm perceiving the bumps. I know what that pilot is going through. Because also when I'm flying in between the two wings and I'm zero G in there, I also have to know my body position because I'm creating drag and reducing the airflow over that wing. And I have to know what that pilot is doing. What is he going through? Are we in the middle of a stall when. When that airplane's going and doing a loop and we're right on the top? I have to know where I need to be in position wise, so that this airplane doesn't start falling out of the sky. We get into a spin.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So.

[Kyle Larson]

So he has to. And I'm training him. And I have to know where the camera is, and I have to also know where the helicopter is and where. And I'm acting as I'm moving through it. So there's kind of different spatial orientations and perceptions that I have to have.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Kyle Larson]

So that as the airplane and that airflow is going over and we're traveling anywhere from, you know, 95 to 145 miles an hour, hitting G's. So, of course, I don't know if you've ever taken your hand and stuck it out, out of a window at that speed.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah, dolphin.

[Kyle Larson]

So how do I train my body? How do I train my mind? How do I train myself spiritually? And McHugh and I are working on ourselves, on the story. And what does that lens say? So there's. There's layers upon layers. You know, it's like when you see a quarterback come up to the line and they're quick perceiving everything, you know, where. They have to know where everyone's moving. You have to have that spatial orientation of the guys coming around you. I have to. That's what you have to have. And I have to know how close is that airplane to the side, the battle mountain? Where's the downdraft? What's happening? It's split second precision. And if I make a mistake and I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know, and I have to be able to perceive, if I do that, I'm going to put the pilot and the airplane into a bad position. So. And if I'm thrown into a bad position, I have to know as a team, like, where. Where we need to go. So all of these things are happening with all the stunts we're doing and that kind of training. And it's. It's not just years that it took to develop these sequences. It's decades of knowledge that I've accumulated even on how to hire the people around me to do this. And so that's. And that's what McHugh and I like, even I'm talking on the wing to him. We have hand signals at times where he's in the helicopter and he's opening the helicopter and he's talking to me. But we have hand signals so that we can move very quickly. And on that wing, you have to understand it is the toughest weight work you've ever had. So you know when you have a brutal weight workout and you literally cannot move.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Kyle Larson]

You just can't. You can't even get up. That's what this being on the wing for a couple of minutes is from a hard aerobatic workout, traveling the forces, and I have to just rest on the wing to the times where I'm almost like in a different state of exhaustion where. And I have to rest to let my. My body, my muscles refuel so that I can get just from the wing to the cockpit. Because also we're limited in fuel. So. And the guy, you know, my pilots cannot land with me on the wing. And the way I start is I go from the cockpit out onto the wing, Then we start our maneuvers. And I'm also hand signals with the pilot. So all of these things and the amount of training and drilling and safety procedures and step by step moving up to these procedures because also when the airplane goes inverted, of course the engine stops. It does stop because it's not fuel injected. So while I'm hanging and you'll see stuff of me hanging upside down in that airplane and how do I hold it and how do we do it and understanding the maneuver and how that plane moves around down and putting myself into a position because I'm being flung and also understanding what happens so that I'm putting myself in a position on the wing or the fuselage. You'll see me take hard hits. Very, very hard hits on that wing. And it's just like. Oh, you can't take many of those, you know. Yeah, it's like going across the middle, you know, a receiver going across the middle. I'm gonna catch the ball, Tom, and I know it is gonna hurt.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. You said hold on. He said it's like a quarterback having to check an audible. Yeah. There's a chance to get blindsided. Yeah. I guess in your world there's a chance you're falling off of a plane into. Into earth. So. Yeah, I guess it is. Like a quarterback. Yeah, I guess so. Physics, brother.

[Kyle Larson]

Physics.

[Pat McAfee]

Listen to you talk. Is both inspiring and also like, with an understanding that you're one of one brother. There's never going to be another. Yeah. Never going to be another. Now speaking of never going to be another. Another Boston. Connor got a chance to watch final reckoning this morning.

[Connor]

Yeah. After that promo, tc, I wore my goat shirt today because you are the goat. And it's very nice to be able to show that right after you said all that. But, yes, I was able to see Final Reckoning this morning at 7:30am thank you to your team for setting it up. I did, in fact, get popcorn for you. And just so you know, coffee and popcorn are a fantastic combination by the end of the movie.

[Kyle Larson]

That right?

[Pat McAfee]

Oh.

[Connor]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

7:30Am I gotta try that.

[Connor]

Yeah. Yes, you do.

[Kyle Larson]

I gotta try that. I gotta say. I gotta say, the other day when I was in New York, I woke up and I did eat some more popcorn.

[Pat McAfee]

Hell, yeah.

[Kyle Larson]

I didn't try it with coffee, but chocolate popcorn's good, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah.

[Kyle Larson]

I'm gonna try coffee now.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Kyle Larson]

I learned something new every day.

[AJ Hawk]

Boom.

[Pat McAfee]

It's evolving. I can't wait to see what a coffee popcorn scene's gonna look like. It's energetic.

[Connor]

I want to know what that's like. It's a lot of juice. You'll eat even more popcorn probably because of it. But, you know, with it being the final reckoning, and all of us have been a massive fan of this entire franchise, did you become nostalgic, you know, during certain scenes after filming certain things because of it being the final reckoning? And when everything was wrapped in, filming was done. Did it get emotional for you once, you know, Ethan Hunt was finished with this mission and possible.

[Kyle Larson]

I'm very much. You know, we didn't finish the film until the day before we released it in Japan. You know, we were in Japan and we had three days. Yeah. The day before the subtitles got done, literally the day before we premiered it. So we haven't had a chance to take a breath. And I'm already. I'm working on so many other films, and I have, like, there's. It's never. You know, we're just constantly on the next. I did a movie with Alejandro and Yari, too, and McHugh and I are. We haven't had a chance. It's like, we're just. We're on a bullet train and we're. We're prepping, you know, so many other films right now. It's just been a bullet train.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. You're standing on Twitter.

[Kyle Larson]

I'm just enjoying right now. I'm enjoying every moment right now of sharing it with people. And I'm going to try that coffee and popcorn, and we're gonna see.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, last question here. Tom, I know you're very busy. Darius Butler Has a question for you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Speaking of sharing moments with.

[Kyle Larson]

This is fun. How are you, man?

[Ty Schmidt]

Let's go, man.

[Pat McAfee]

How you doing?

[Ty Schmidt]

This is fun. This has been an awesome conversation. And I saw you with the people in the theater. Eat some popcorn. Now, this is a big journalism show, so I gotta get to the bottom of it because there are questions. And now you're Tom Cruise. You do everything a little different. I've never seen anybody eat popcorn like this. Are you actually eating popcorn or are you full of shit right here? Tc, I gotta know. Gotta know, man.

[Kyle Larson]

I mean, popcorn. When I. They know when I'm going to these movies that I'm watching and I'm eating popcorn.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so is that. Is that is your love of popcorn? Because it is like a movie theater thing is. You think that is why?

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah, Movies. I love, I love going to a movie and getting popcorn. I love, for me, it's just like, comfort, you know, I love the comfort of a movie theater. And I, I love, like, you know, setting it up. And I'll see some. Several movies, you know, on the weekend. I'll kind of chart my weekends for the movies. And, you know, I look forward to it, you know, like, what these guys are throwing down. And it's inspiring to be seeing these movies, you know, like, you see Sinners, I'm like, I seen what those guys did. I'm like, I'm pumped to see that you got Brad Pitt, you know, with Formula one coming, and, you know, all the guys like Jerry Bruckheimer. I can't wait to see those guys, what they're creating. You guys got Keanu, you know, with the Wick series that I love, with Anadarmus. And these guys are laying it down this summer. And I'm just, you know, and I, I, I get really excited and inspired by what these guys are doing. You know, they're, they're, they're going after it. And so, And I love getting popcorn. Everyone knows, the theater owners, I get there, they got my popcorn ready for me. You know, I get with my friends and we get in the back, I've got the seats, you know, I show up, I see the trailers. You know, Pac Cinema. And I'm watching the movie, and I like watching other people, you know, as we're doing it. And that's what I love. I love seeing people's response to it and seeing what people are doing. I love it.

[Pat McAfee]

God, you're the perfect representative of the movie industry. We can't thank you enough for joining us. Quick tip. If somebody's to make an acting debut in a couple months, maybe. Me?

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah. What's. What's up? What's it. What do you want?

[Pat McAfee]

Like, what should I think? What should I think? What's my mindset be? What should my mindset be?

[Kyle Larson]

What should your mindset be? Well, it depends the kind of movies.

[Pat McAfee]

War movie. War movie. War movie.

[Kyle Larson]

Oh, good. Well, first of all, just try to understand what the tone of the film is. You know, what's happening on set. Show up early so that, you know and you feel comfortable, you know, the surroundings. I'm always early, and I always leave late, and I'm constantly kind of working on it. I work on things seven days a week and usually working on several films at the same time. But I think the most important thing is to just be there and present. Like, be present and perceive what's going on. You know, what's happening right in front of you and reacting to it and just understanding what the tone of what the directors are going for and just responding, just being in the moment, you know, I'll prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare. Sometimes for years. Some of the films that I've made, you know, Rain man, it took two years. Born in the 4th of July, over two years. You know, mission movies, or samurai spent two years preparing for them. And sometimes, like Les Grossman, whatever, it's months and months. And, you know, so these things just be present and just find things that interest you with that character. And all you got to do is listen and respond to the people there and just kind of feel, you know, when you're a kid and children are. They're great actors. They're just so free. You know, you're playing with your. Your toys, and you're that truck, and you're doing all this, and it's. You know, you are that character with those toys or, you know, whatever you want. You want that cookie, you know, that you're that. But it's not. You know, it's dessert after dinner, you know, and you can always see the kids, and they're like, well, you know, you can't have the cookie till later. And we're gonna do it. No, I want it now. I want this cookie now. Or the toy. You can see that they could just generate the tears, you know, and you just start looking at them, and they're looking over that eye like, are you paying attention? I really got the tears going now. They're creating that. They're making it happen right now. And that's acting where, you know, you kind of create a character. You understand the world and then you're just present it in creating those things and it's just use your imagination. Have fun.

[Pat McAfee]

I appreciate the hell out that's helped, man. It is going to be fun. And I can't wait to get to the movies tomorrow to watch your latest work and Mission Impossible. Final Reckoning. Thank you for the time. You're the greatest of all time.

[Kyle Larson]

Hey, thank you for the time. You guys are awesome. Have a great summer, you know, enjoy.

[Pat McAfee]

Hell yeah. You too. Enjoy your life, Tom. Yeah. You're making all of ours better.

[Kyle Larson]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Cruise. Huh?

[AJ Hawk]

Unbelievable.

[Connor]

How about that, huh?

[Pat McAfee]

Huh? Tom Cruise.

[Connor]

I'm real.

[Pat McAfee]

35 minutes. 35 minutes we had Tom. I don't know how everybody in his team sure felt about the 35 minutes.

[AJ Hawk]

Probably didn't love it.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, what were we supposed to do? Yeah.

[Connor]

Yeah. Wasn't playing. But that was not the plan.

[Pat McAfee]

It was not the plan at all. And then he gives that first answer and it's like, like, oh, Tom's giving us answers, right? Yeah. Feels like. Feels like Tom is giving us answers right now. And then just one thing leads to another, yada, yada, yada. I don't. I look up and I'm like, we are 25 minutes into this thing right now. No end in sight in my eyes at all. In my. There was no. I love stocking film. There was no smooth exit at all. So we got another 10 minutes. And that last question there about the tip for acting and, you know, maybe for me, but also maybe for those who want to get into acting. Like, sure. I often. You get to hear Tom Cruise give a. You know.

[Connor]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Full breakdown of what you need. You need to be. You need to be.

[AJ Hawk]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Is what he was saying. Basically, in a roundabout way, after the conversation ends, he wanted to stick around and say thank you to us.

[Kyle Larson]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. And There was another 10 minutes. Yeah. Ten minutes of, like, diving into. Is it you that is acting? And then, like, true passion in telling me how I need to think, what I need to think. The questions I'm allowed to ask, what I'm not allowed to, what I shouldn't think about, what I should like. Everything, like, broken out. I am nothing short of. Yeah.

[Connor]

Truly impressed.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I mean, I am nothing short of impressed with that man. And he's one of one. And I don't like you.

[Connor]

Amen.

[Ty Schmidt]

I feel.

[Pat McAfee]

And Bubba. Yeah, Bubba Watson.

[Connor]

Watson, you son of a.

[Pat McAfee]

So loud. Even at the WNBA game, he was like.

[Ty Schmidt]

Showed you how to eat popcorn.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's not hard, is that how you're going to eat? No, you're not eating. We know you're not eating. We know you're not eating.

[Connor]

Clearly faked by you.

[Pat McAfee]

You don't have popcorn. You don't. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Connor]

See, this is my mission impossible.

[Ty Schmidt]

I'm a rookie.

[Connor]

Popcorn like this for the rest of my life.

[Ty Schmidt]

I haven't been acting before you.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, thank you, Tom.

[AJ Hawk]

Thank you, tc.

[Connor]

Love you. Love you, tc.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's awesome, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was. It was incredible. We did not expect that. We had no idea. Idea what to expect. 10 to 15 minutes they said going in. And I don't know whether that's on us for being unprofessional. Hopefully Tom is okay with it. Hopefully everybody else is as well. There was a couple because he's in a different country. Foxy added some pictures to kind of spice some things up because we didn't know where the conversation was going to go. Foxy, great work on that, bro. Thank you. Awesome B roll to use in there. It was sweet. Yeah, they were a cool team to work with, too. Oh, yeah. To be clear, they had it all. Hey, here's some B roll if you want to make it for any of the clips. Here's a teaser you can use. Nobody else has. It's like, thank you. And it all makes sense. Whenever you hear him talk, he's a leader. Like, I think he views himself as like the coach, obviously. He says, when I'm producing a movie or I'm doing this, I'm trying to. There's a lot of like, leadership lessons in there. There's a lot of like, work ethic lessons in there. Obviously we're talking about acting. He's talking about acting. But if you apply a lot of the. He's saying about how he goes about his business to your particular life and whatever you do. I think that is a. I mean, that was a quote machine. That was like a quote board machine right there with Tom Cruise. What an honor. Ty, you've been a big fan. Massive fan. You've been banging the drum obviously since the beginning. He was superb, I think. And I don't know, I don't know. I don't watch enough of his interviews and everything like that during his press jungans. But he was so kind to us. He blessed us, man.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah, he really did. Did for sure. I mean, I. I wouldn't say I watch those press junkets a whole lot because typically for those movies it's just the same thing over and over again. You know, like, they get asked the Same questions by these outlets. And by the end of it, it's like, you can tell they're done, but they need to promote the movie. But you mentioned it, like, he's. He is one of one we will never see. There will never be another actor. There has never been another actor, and there will never be another actor. Actor who's doing these kind of stunts. And then for this kind of stuff, like, you talk about being a leader, like, for a movie like this, like, and you're doing these type of stunts, like, they need to make sure that this stuff goes off without a hitch. Because if it doesn't, like a movie like this, like, the more days you tack on, that production budget goes higher and higher and higher. And you hear that about movies getting made all the time. It's like, well, the. The production process was hell because they went 45 days over what they were supposed to. And that added another 75 to $100 million to the budget.

[Pat McAfee]

Licensing, renting, working, all that.

[AJ Hawk]

All that kind of stuff. Yeah, getting the, you know, I mean, these are massive set pieces that they're doing. And obviously, like, the. The production budget of this movie alone was like $400 million. This is one of the most expensive movies ever made. So you don't really have the luxury of like, oh, we need to go another month. I mean, it's just TC's the guy goat. You know, I've been saying it and I'll continue to say it until I'm blue in the face.

[Connor]

Yeah, and it's sweet, too. Like, learning how he knows all those aspects of the film. Like, him understanding, like, he's always studying, he's always learning. And to your point, about the people that work for him, the person who showed us the movie yesterday morning, super nice. I assume it's someone from his camp or Paramount or, you know, from Mission, as Tom says it. But it is the greatest film. I'm not joking. If you're American, Mission Impossible fan, it's the best one. You are going to love it at the end of it. I thought there was going to be another half hour.

[Pat McAfee]

Hour.

[Connor]

I was hoping for more time after. Just because you don't really want it to end at any point, and especially if you're into the entire, like, you know, nostalgic throwback, you know, some kind of callbacks, if you will, to the earlier movies. Because I'm a sucker for those. When it comes to any, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

Big franchise feels smarter, and it feels like big brain. It feels like you're bringing your people.

[Connor]

In that and it's like, you know what? It was worth watching. Like, it. It's not like I was just watching those movies because they were trying to make another like they are. There is a legitimate long term storytelling in these films. And the final reckoning, it truly was one of my favorite ones. The movies they called back to in it were some of my favorite movies in the entire series too. In the cast, the cameos. He mentions on. On during the interview. You know, the commander for the submarine. And there's another commander in the film as well who is just magnificent.

[Pat McAfee]

That's not how he eats popcorn. Yes. No.

[Connor]

He eat.

[Pat McAfee]

No.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, he's actually. He's actually eating the popcorn.

[Connor]

Don't do this, man. I'll rip that jersey off your back.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't care. Yeah, then Marshy will come beat your ass. Yeah. You just missed bad. That was a bad miss. You can't be doing that. Tom didn't do that.

[Kyle Larson]

It's gonna happen.

[Pat McAfee]

So. Yeah, and how about whenever he said in 2020, he calls the other production companies. You guys making movies over there? No, we can't. Oh, we're doing it. All right, we'll see you then. Call back next week. How's it going over there? Oh, we're making movies over here. Okay. When are you guys launching? We got a date next summer. This is when we're going. Are you guys going the same date? Yeah, we'll do it this summer or whatever. Okay, cool. Then he calls Paramount. Hey, other people are making. Okay. Other people are making. Making movies.

[Connor]

Brilliant.

[Bruce]

What a work.

[Pat McAfee]

What a work. In that thing. And he's. The way he explains is because he didn't want his people to lose jobs.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

He's like, hey, if there's gonna be other people that are doing it, and in my eyes, there is an ability to do it. I don't take no for an option. Many times he is obsessed.

[Ty Schmidt]

Have you ever been around, like, you know, I, you know, play with Tom, you know, and you play with Peyton and like, you know, I'm sure like Jordan and like, you see like these guys, Tiger, like, you get obsessed with that shit and you tell, like, talking to him, you could tell Sometimes he just caught himself, like, oh, shit.

[Pat McAfee]

Like me, I'm doing it.

[Ty Schmidt]

I could talk about this one question for 35 more minutes. But it's great to see somebody, especially who's been at the top of the game for so long and still have that drive and obsession about their craft.

[Pat McAfee]

And how awesome is it you said playing with Tom. I obviously Got a chance to watch Peyton do his thing. It's like. And he mentioned it, he was like, I want everybody to be better. Better after they work with me and with us. It's like me watching Peyton made me better. Yeah. At this job, at every job, at life, at punting at. You know. I assume you the same with Tom. Yeah, with Tom Brady. Yeah. And it's like that he's. There's not many of those ever gonna exist again. Nope.

[Connor]

No one on one.

[Pat McAfee]

110 years old, though. Ty, you said once you're done, I'm out of here too, Bob. Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

And I stand by that.

[Connor]

All right, start reading.

[Pat McAfee]

That was one of the most ridiculous. As you were kind of unravel. And I was hearing you talk. I'm like, okay, I'm excited to hear what Ty says to Tom here. I'm excited for the opportunity. And then you say, hey, Tom, when you're done, I'm dying too. Okay. He said he's Gonna Live to 110. I believe him. I believe he's got another 48 years. He says, I think if we're doing math right, he's absolutely jacked. Looks young. He was glowing. Oh, yeah. How cool his hair was. He looked incredible. He did look incredible. He looks so good. And shout out to Aiden. Shout out to Kevin. Kevin was really good. Shout out to Eric. Eric figured it out. How to. Eric was under pressure a little bit there about two minutes before everything went live, before Tom got there, because it was obvious that he was coming from one thing into. Because we watched it all in full. So we were. We were waiting. Eagerly waiting. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Connor]

We were so juiced up, we were.

[Pat McAfee]

10 minutes early for what it was supposed to be. Sitting in the zoom call. Okay. That is very rare for us. Pre recording. Very rare for us. But whenever it's Tom Cruise, he said, I get so many other films right now. I haven't even really thought about Mission Impossible being over. Like, that was basically his thing because he was in the middle of, like, so many different jobs. So us getting a chance to squeeze into the. Is a big deal.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

First of all. So we're very thankful, especially as a sports stude show. So we're just waiting because first of all, just like the LeBron situation, just like the Tom Brady when he was on. And just like this, I thought it was all rib. I thought, there's no way Tom Cruise is coming on our show. There's no. There's no chance he's doing this. So as we're watching his team kind of piece it together, and they're, like, setting up the. And the lights and the seed and the connection, because it's a different country, obviously, so you got a lot of stuff going on. We meet them as they're sitting down, and we just take that as an opportunity to kind of learn what's going on there. Kevin had good lettuce.

[AJ Hawk]

Great.

[Pat McAfee]

He was guy sitting in for Tom Cruise.

[Connor]

Moxie.

[Pat McAfee]

He did have good moxie. He had no idea we could see him for about the first 90 seconds, I think, as he was sitting there and hear him, which we certainly could. So is this stage staring down a guy who's in a different country who doesn't know? So obviously our reactions were off. Awesome. To that. He had great. That guy, great mox. He was a great troubleshooter. Troubleshooting was his thing. Yeah, he said. He said, we're troubleshooting the issue right now. Eric's gonna figure it out right over here. And then Aiden pops his handsome ass in. Aiden was the driver behind this entire thing. And shout out to Mike Foss. Yeah, Faso. Got the email. Found the email. And Fosso, you're the man. And, sir, are you Tom Cruise? All right, let's take a break. We have Kyle Larson joining us in studio here in.

[Ty Schmidt]

I might eat too much this popcorn.

[Connor]

What do you mean? What do you mean, too much popcorn?

[Pat McAfee]

15 minutes, obviously. 500 a week, Indy 500 week. Kyle Larson's looking to do the double yet again. Run the Indy 500 into the Coca Cola 600 diner. I don't know how many drivers have done it. I know nobody's really been successful. And last year he was trying to do it, and the Indy 500 got delayed because of weather tough. So really, I mean, it really. He flew down to Charlotte after the Indy 500 ended much later than it ever has, probably. And then he hopped in a car that. Because the race was already started. So it was. It wasn't smooth at all.

[AJ Hawk]

No.

[Pat McAfee]

But during the Indy 500, Kyle Larson was learning how to drive an Indy car. And it was cool to watch. And he was doing well. It was like, oh, this guy, like, 75 laps in. You hear him in the radio basically say, like, oh, I didn't know I could do that. And they're like, you, yes, you could do that. And he's in the biggest race in any car. And he just kept getting better. Kept getting better. They're saying this guy might go down as the greatest driver of all time. He can race anything, whether it's Go karts, dirt cars, sprint cars, you name it. Nascars cars. What's that?

[Ty Schmidt]

F1.

[Pat McAfee]

I think he would be a guy that. I think race community in America would be like, yeah, we would like to see Kyle Larson go over there. He's a driver, though. Like those sprint cars, you know, those things are like rubbing. They're. They're dangerous. They're. They're rubbing. They're spinning the back end. Just. They're literally drifting around in this thing and then going around the track, they're flipping. People are dying. I mean, that's, that's where he. That style racing he comes from.

[Connor]

Yeah. Just ask him about F1.

[Pat McAfee]

He doesn't. He doesn't come from. He doesn't come from Rolex. No. You know, sponsorship. Sure. His whole life. He's a driver.

[Connor]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll talk to him about 15 minutes or so. This Indy 500 weekend here in Indianapolis is going to be alive, obviously. Knicks and Pacers tonight. Good luck to all parties in all conference finals. But boy, it'd be sweet if Indiana Pacers went on a run to the finals.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yes, it would.

[Pat McAfee]

For the city, for our show, and for a friend of the program, Tyrese Albert. I love that Knicks team, though. Yeah. I enjoy the way they play.

[AJ Hawk]

Fun to watch.

[Connor]

Don't love them, but.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I. I actually kind of do love the Knicks. I like. You're right. Love that they exist in sports world. Cuz we talk about sports. So I like that the Knicks are very good because just all the. That comes alongside of it when it.

[Connor]

Doesn'T get too much. The scenes outside MSG are really awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Like there's so many good things that come from their team being good. Their fans. With Hans Knock.

[Connor]

Exactly. When it becomes too much, that's when it's with Wendy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. But it's a huge end with Wendy. I didn't even see that video until later. You.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, he's really going through it.

[Gumpy]

He's really going through it.

[Connor]

Damn.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's get to a break. We'll be back on the other side. We hope D Butcher's okay. Yeah, that looked like a tie jaw.

[AJ Hawk]

I know, I know. I've been there.

[Pat McAfee]

That looked like a. Yep.

[Connor]

And we saw him eating the BK flapjacks.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. During the. All right. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. Say a prayer for old D Butch. Yeah. We'll be back in about three. Thank you, Tom Cruise.

[Connor]

Thank you, Michigan.

[Pat McAfee]

Possible final reckoning tomorrow. In theaters. Only in theaters, obviously.

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Tom might be in your theater tomorrow could be wherever you may be.

[AJ Hawk]

That's right.

[Connor]

Eyes peeled.

[Pat McAfee]

Have a good one. We'll see you in three. Thank you, Tom. This episode is brought to you by Chevy Silverado. When it's time for you to ditch the blacktop and head off road, do it in a truck that says no to nothing. The Chevy Silverado Trail Boss. Get the rugged capability of its Z71 suspension and 2 inch factory lift, plus impressive torque and towing capacity thanks to an available Duramax 3 liter turbo diesel engine. Where other trucks call it quits, you'll just be getting started. Visit chevy.com to learn more. This episode is brought to you by Stay Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want want is a great feeling. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Summer's here and Nordstrom has everything you need for your best dress season ever. From beach days and weddings to weekend getaways. In your everyday wardrobe, discover stylish options under $100 from tons of your favorite brands like Mango Skims, Princess Polly and Madewell. It's easy too, with free shipping and free returns in store order, pickup and more. Shop today in stores [e-mail] or download the Nordstrom app. If you want tools that stand the test of time without testing your wallet, it Harbor Freight is the place for you. Expert engineers design and rigorously test Harbor Freight tools to bring you top quality. Whether your next project is big or small, Harbor Freight carries a wide selection from hand tools to power tools to.

[Connor]

Automotive tools and welding equipment.

[Pat McAfee]

And with prices lower than other top brands but with the same top quality, you're getting more for your money at Harbor Freight. There are over 1,500 Harbor Freight stores in the U.S. so come see for yourself. Whatever you do, do it for less at Harbor Freight. Sports D Botch is shitting his pants right now. Yeah, it's bad docs at tables here at Boston Connor at Ty Schmidt. One half of the Hammer Cowboys AP Tone is here. And joining us live from an attic in Ohio. In an attic in Ohio is a man who maybe manifested that Tom Cruise interview back in 2022 on our program we were chit chatting. We were just a small little, tiny little show. Had a pretty good studio though. And because our studio was so big, we Were actually able to continue through the COVID times. You know, because we were able to get the spatial distancing and because we were on radio at the time, Westwood One, while also being on the Internet, we were deemed like a necessary something. Just in case news had to be in there. We had a certificate. Yep. It was a big deal. We had Indianapolis Health department coming in and checking to make sure we had signs in enough places, enough hand sanitizer around the building. Oh yeah. Enough space amongst all of us. They could randomly pop in whenever they wanted to. What's that tone goggles. Because the eyes were. At one point, at one point there was a dull look at each other thing. That was at the very beginning. Also the cardboard boxes from the delivery. Don't touch them for two, three weeks. Correct. Those things outside, what's that?

[Connor]

The APOC burgers.

[Pat McAfee]

We ate a lot of burgers because they came in a massive box. Once again they sat outside for two, three days, which not good because they were frozen burgers. But somehow the Apoc burgers were able to survive. We had new handshakes. We did in anyways. We did it through all of COVID So AJ started joining us during it. Because AJ's at his house, four kids. I certainly think he probably just wanted to escape or whatever. Yeah. You know, probably just. Just wanted this game. He started joining us and that's really where this whole thing kind of really started going. And AJ said in 2022, he said, we need Tom Cruise on the show. And I go, tom Cruise is not coming on our show. What you've. Yeah, let's just. Yeah, we'll have Tom Cruise on the show. And I go, how's that going to work? You need. You're going to call him. He goes, this is my plea right now. And then Boston Connor immediately afterwards goes, yeah, and we'll just get LeBron James on the show too. Yeah, let's just start. So now that LeBron James has had the LeBronversation here and we've got a chance to talk to Tom Cruise, we can solidify the fact that we are living the dumbest lives of all time. We're so incredibly thankful. And the fact that this man with a massive face, massive head and he's the all time leading tackle for the Green Bay packers, potentially put that in the universe and ever responded. Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. hawk. We appreciate. I like got your jersey on.

[Connor]

Yeah, I thought it was Jersey day, so I ran down my, my 12 year old's closet, got my Devonte jets jersey on. So Yeah, I know he's not there anymore but it's a little bit tight. But yeah. Tom was amazing, man. Dude, what an inspirational whole situation that was.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And that is a little tight. Is that game worn? Little tight.

[Connor]

Little tight. Not game worn. This is a youth large or youth xo, I believe.

[Pat McAfee]

I appreciate you doing that. Love it. Hawker. I was. This is big. Connor. Connor's been pushing this one hard this morning. Wanting it to be Jersday Wednesday. I was kind of torn cuz I haven't worn this ever and the Pacers are on quite a run. Yeah. But I wanted to support the team and do Jersey day and I put it on and it was literally a full time. I hate wearing these. These in my head. Then also did I just ruin it because I put this thing on? So I decided it post Tom Cruise interview. Don't have the jersey on before Tom Cruise interview had it on. Feel like I am celebrating with you guys. Sure. But also potentially not ruining it for the Indiana Pacers tonight.

[Connor]

Yeah, exactly. Now we know. You know, we. We'll judge it off tonight. If they win, guess what? See you for Jers day on Friday. And then if they lose.

[Pat McAfee]

No, that's not where this is going.

[Connor]

It feels like that should happen if they win.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no, no. That is not.

[Connor]

You and Cole have a good bet.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Michael Cole and I have a good bet on the Knicks and Pacer series. Which is if the Knicks win, I have to wear a full suit, which would suck. I could wear one with a tie. Tie and everything. Tie. He wears the full clown suit every. Every day.

[Connor]

All day, every day. I feel like that dude wears it for 18 hours straight.

[Pat McAfee]

He does. He shows up at the arena or the stadium dressed in full suit, tie. Has the tie all the way up to wild. Not going to be out of place at all at any moment. So I'll wear his little clown suit full thing, which I don't. I would have to buy. I don't know. Suit pants. What are. Those are just sweatpants that people say are nice. Right. That's basically what people say. I'll do that whole thing. And then if the Pacers win, when the Pacers win, Michael Cole will wear a tank top for addition Monday night Raw. Now I don't think either of us got that cleared by anybody. So I'm excited to see Michael Cole in a tank top on Rod. How quickly that is like we did it, right? We did the whole. We did the little gimmick, we did the little game here. But nonetheless Pacers Knicks this evening. AJ did you see hockey game last night? Did you see Florida pound fireworks coming?

[Connor]

Fireworks coming, huh?

[Pat McAfee]

You're reading it the same way we are, right? You're reading it the same way we are.

[Connor]

Oh, my goodness. Yeah. I mean, how many people are going to tune into the start of this next game?

[Pat McAfee]

Like, I, I will. The fact that the Panthers are even like kind of alluding to too, like, hey, yeah, by not answering and not saying anything. They are basically saying, yeah, noted. This is all very duly noted. Guy wants to take a cheap shot at our new guy. Okay, okay. Our guy who has become one of us so quickly, a guy that was meant to be on the Florida Panthers, you're gonna take a shot at him because I feel like they're gonna have to showcase the marshy that they got his back too. Like, there's so many things that kind of go into this in the hockey culture world that indicates. Indicate that very rarely in an Eastern Conference finals. And I might be speaking out of pocket here, but I just from watching it my entire life, basically, I don't know the ins and outs. Okay, I can dump the pocket there. I can't skate. So I never, you know, not my thing. But very rarely in the Eastern Conference finals is anybody trying to fight. Okay. Fighting has been a part of hockey for a long time. It kind of disappeared for a little bit. Now it's kind of making a comeback a little bit and commission. We just don't want the staged fighting. We don't want the stage fighting. We want the bullshit fights. Like, if somebody wants to get somebody back, stick up for a teammate, wants to fight somebody, that's okay. But we can't just have like a staged fight happening anymore, is what the commissioner of the NHL said, because they were kind of trying to get rid of fighting is what everybody thought. In each conference finals you fight, you get go to the penalty box. That is quite an advantage for the other person. Feels like this is going to be a massive brawl to start it. And very rarely does that ever happen happen in an Eastern Conference finals game. The NHL, I know they're not going to say publicly that they're happy about it, but to your point, all eyes are on that opening puck drop. I mean, just like whenever United States took on Canada and at four nations up in Canada and they booed our national. Get choked up thinking about right now, booed our national anthem. It was like you knew that the United States team didn't even have to say anything to each other. It was just like, oh, is that.

[AJ Hawk]

Okay, now we go.

[Pat McAfee]

That's how this is going to go. And hockey is one of the only sports where that's possible. Hockey is literally the only sport where that is still a thing in 2025. And I have so much respect for it. And that is why hockey is awesome and I absolutely love it.

[Connor]

Well, and there's no need to, like, give the Panthers more fuel. Like, if anything, the. The Kacs are probably looking for some sort of, you know, some. Some momentum to carry in to the next game, whether that be someone on their team, you know, having a huge hit and then fighting someone for the Panthers. But it was completely flipped. This gives the Panthers all the momentum. I don't love how you said Martian was born to play for the Panthers too. That's not true, but I understand what you. Fits their culture perfectly. He fits exactly everything that they are about. He was born to be a Bruin. He's a Bruin for life.

[Pat McAfee]

But again, he wasn't Bruin for life because you guys said, don't be Bruin.

[Connor]

He'll move back to Boston. With Martian being the guy too. Like, it's. Of course, he's the new guy, but he's like the elder statesman too. Like, sure, he doesn't have the assistant captain or the captain, you know, marking on his chest, but he is the vet, the guy that kind of sets the tone for this team. So it's one of those things where it's not even like a Shane gossip, where he's not, you know, the tone setter on their team. We were talking before the show. He's a finesse offensive defenseman. Not really.

[Pat McAfee]

He's got his feels a little bit.

[Connor]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

I love what he did.

[Connor]

He's got a little. He's got a little soft. Yeah, don't. I don't know, I don't know how many, many hockey people love what he did, but I do appreciate that some people, I'm a football guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, it's dangerous. Yeah. Pretty dangerous there to be doing that. And there is like lines in this entire thing. I think there is like a code that people would say. And it's very rare that you see somebody from their own blue line shooting it directly into somebody, hitting them in the arm, too. Not a lot of pads there. Yeah. And it's, you know, a lot of people that I know from Canada were saying, this guy takes a slap shot from his own blue line right into a guy. Disrespectful. Respect the game. Not a slap shot. People from Canada said that people can't for people from. I've been watching hockey my whole life. I've never seen somebody do something like this.

[Gumpy]

And I'm not being egregious.

[Pat McAfee]

I haven't. You find somebody who does this in game one of an Eastern Conference finals, when your team's down 3:1, the Canes have no hope the rest of the series. And you've already shown.

[Kyle Larson]

You're like, you're down 3:1.

[Pat McAfee]

You're losing your mind already taking slappers at guys on the other team. Well, I wasn't a slapper. Whatever you guys say it was, it's bush league. Shouldn't have done it.

[Kyle Larson]

And you're done.

[Pat McAfee]

It's over. Cats are gonna sweep them. Really? Because. But you're already. You're down 3:1.

[Kyle Larson]

And you're doing that to Marshy already.

[Pat McAfee]

And then Marshy ragdolls the guy. There's no answer from your team. Yeah.

[Connor]

No one coming to his aid is tough. I do believe. And I might need to be fact checked, I know for a fact that they have lost eight straight straight Eastern Conference finals games. Or nine straight.

[Pat McAfee]

Thirteen.

[Connor]

Yeah. So it was three. They've been swept in three straight conference finals.

[Pat McAfee]

You know why that is? From what I've been told, Nikki Skates told me that they run a system. Basically the Hurricanes run a system. They don't care who they're playing. This is how they're going to play. So when you get to the Eastern Conference finals, you're playing a team that can probably adjust and do different things. So they figure out a way to beat your system and then it's over. Right. Nick, isn't that kind of the.

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And this has kind of been Brindamore's M.O. the coach there, he was a great player for Carolina. Won a Stanley cup with them. Played multiple years in the league. Twenty plus years, I think, close to it. And now he's the coach there. And this has kind of been his M.O. is they can make it to the second round. Maybe they make it to the conference final like you've seen here a few times. But they can't get over that hump.

[Connor]

And they're.

[Pat McAfee]

That's because they're playing great teams at that. You're playing like great teams at that point. So they can like maneuver around what you're trying to do. You need adjustments, I think is what people are saying. And they just play the way they play and they keep it moving. It's like the Panthers now they're at a point last night. AJ I don't know if you heard this where they're mic'd up and they say, all right, let's go beat the hell out of these guys. Basically, yeah, we're up 3:1. Basically what Pat Maroon said. Thank God. Let's get some hits on these guys. Let's run these guys a little bit now that we're up in this thing. That's an actual plan by the Panthers.

[Connor]

Yeah. Paul Maurice, a clip was going around of him, and I think it was from last year's playoffs where they were winning 3:1 and they were trying to get a little fancy. And he basically just said, hey, pound their demon, which I'm sure Q Rich would love to hear that as well next time we have him on. But they were just yelling. I don't know why you're, you know, getting all fancy out there. Go pound their D. So they got nothing left for game seven. And that's exactly what started to happen. Like, that's why Marchand was going after Gossas beer later on. I think it was a fourth liner for Florida. He got a roughing penalty because he hit one of the. I think it was actually Gossip's linemate, one of the defensemen for the Panthers, and he gave him a couple extra shots. Just something to feel.

[Pat McAfee]

Wear them down.

[Connor]

Yeah, wear them down. And it's legit. Like, that's. That's a great style and that's why the Panthers have won. And it's great to watch.

[Pat McAfee]

You talked about being fact checked earlier on the 13 straight losses in the Eastern Conference finals for the Carolina Hurricanes. A lot of people on the Internet, I read while we had our three minute break there, were saying that I should have fact checked Jamal Crawford a little bit. Jamal Crawford said that if you took away all of SGA's free throws, he'd still lead the league in scoring. I don't know if anybody was fact checking, but I saw 30 responses that were like, that's. That's Cap. That's.

[Connor]

I guess I believed him. I believed him when he said it.

[Pat McAfee]

He sold it to me. Me too. As I was listening, I was like, okay, yeah, respect. Yeah, respect Gen. Yeah. You know, I mean, it was amen big time.

[Connor]

Respect, general I understand.

[Pat McAfee]

I. I understand what you're saying, but I guess a lot of people on the Internet are saying that's not true. I assume that'll get figured out by somebody. Crossover. Yeah. Jamal Crawford. So Internet or Jamal? Oh, I don't know. Well, also. Yeah. Would Jamal just say that with no reason at all? No. Yeah. But I believe he is six, unfortunately. Okay.

[Connor]

Yeah, I was.

[Pat McAfee]

So, yeah, I did fix it. This is.

[Connor]

This is what?

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, it's not on you. It's what he. It's. It's on all like, because it's believable because the guy is getting to the bucket all the time. He is electrifying to watch. And then the flop and stuff, it's.

[Connor]

Like, man, Kind of weird, isn't it?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Because I guess it'd be really tough as the ref because it does. When you're watching it as fast as it is, you're like, okay, that could be a foul. And then you watch it back like, no, the dude. Like they just fall down a lot. All the time.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. But the reason why you fall down a lot is because there's a lot of feet in a very confined space. Like, it's a. It's an off balance sport. I think especially whenever you're around. I would do it too.

[Connor]

I would do it too, though. I wouldn't blame. These rats are calling. I guess what Jamal said, like, hey, these rats are calling. This isn't a rec center game where dbut's getting his lips split open or, you know, Gary Vee is falling dudes from behind. Like, these are professional referees making the call.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's not his fault that he's getting the calls. And it's just like when Patrick Mahomes was on the sideline and he was doing the shit and he was getting the calls, it was like, I guess you can't blame Patrick Mahomes. We don't want it to look like that. We don't want that to be what it is. But in Patrick Mahomes, I was like, I can get 15 yards right now. I'm going to take 15 yards right now. Yeah. And they probably view it as like outsmarting the game. Game. And this is a part of the game. And I. LeBron said that. LeBron said I'm the least called fouls in the league or whatever. Not. Somebody told me to fact check that. I guess there is people with less fouls than Ron James, but whenever he was flopping it was like, they're calling. This is giving me two shots right now for my team. Like, I don't know what you want. Tell them to change the rule then. If that is the case, if you don't want me doing it, tell them to change the rule or stop calling it. And it feels like the NBA has gotten to a tougher brand of base basketball, which I think is why whenever you watch SGA it's like he's like an outlier right now. When that used to be what all of basketball was. I did look it up. Points per game, minus free throws made. He is still number one in the league. And.

[Connor]

Yeah, so I assume he meant like.

[Pat McAfee]

When everyone gets at the most points per game. Free throws per game this season. Oh, you're saying most points per game. No, that's. That's points per game, minus free throws made. So the dash is not an explanatory. That is an actual minus. I think they should have spelled that one out. But I appreciate what they're doing at the top of this. Who's this from? This is from Statmuse. Statmuse. Great. Hey, yeah, great. Love them all sports. Yeah, we. We appreciate the. Out of Statmuse. I don't know how many of them are back there behind there either posting or doing the research, but. Statmuse, you're a good group over there. Yeah. Yeah. We are very grateful for you. So he's right. So what Terence Crawford said was right. Yeah.

[Connor]

Jamal, I think that's sweet science.

[Pat McAfee]

Might be total points, not points per game. I could be wrong. Anyways, the. What's going on with that Crawford Canelo fight?

[AJ Hawk]

I have no idea.

[Pat McAfee]

So it's very interesting. Yeah. What is going on over there? That's sweet science, baby. Dude, that business we learned, we got a chance. Really be. Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Dropped in.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Get a PhD for like a weekend. And it's like the business by. It's like, this is a wild world over here.

[AJ Hawk]

It is the wild, wild west.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It genuinely is.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Which is why I think they view it as a great opportunity for that entire thing. And if Canelo Crawford's the first one, I mean, that's. Is that what's happening? I don't know. Good luck.

[Connor]

I hope so.

[Pat McAfee]

Right. Crawford was cool to us.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Both.

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm sure there's other Crawfords that have been cool to us as well.

[Kyle Larson]

You bet.

[Pat McAfee]

Carl joining us now, ladies. SGA is so good. Oklahoma City City looks unbelievable. Jamal brought up another stat. He said they've only lost 14 games all year. Yeah. You know how many games NBA play teams play? All of them. They play 100 and some games. Yeah. Whatever it is. Whenever you get to the end of this thing. Yeah. And it's like they've lost 14 of them. So you start thinking about this team. It's like they have it figured out. And he talked about the coach a lot. Everybody talks about the coach a lot. They're like this Guy's the guy. And I think it's just viewed as like, a college team, college atmosphere. But if you have a great coach with that college atmosphere, it feels like the NBA is a league you can take over, Especially with superstar.

[Connor]

Yeah. And he's worked his way up from the G League. The thing with SGA is, like, he is so good. One of those highlights you just ran, he beats a guy and then he does a spin move through the lane. They lace it in. It's like, you don't need to do all that extra. And because of the fact that they haven't been calling it for everybody, when you're calling it for just one guy, I think that's why people get so frustrated. Like last night, he had 14 free throw attempts and had the next most was seven. And. And I'm not saying, like, Ant was getting fouled a ton. They weren't calling it. It's just the small, small things that it felt like the NBA was getting away from when it came to fouls is, like, still happening with SGA Tonight.

[Pat McAfee]

We have Oiler stars, Pacers, Knicks. Massive conference final Wednesday night here on this Tom Cruise Wednesday. Still crazy to even think that that guy was on our show. Oilers with McJesus taking on Otter in the Stars. Gumpy was walking around earlier with an otter mask on. Yep. It's awesome. And then he was saying he can't take a clap bomb at a guy and, you know. Yeah, there he is. That was Gumpy this morning. Good luck to Texas hockey. Gump. Boys are ready. It's our time. It's our time. It's otar time. There it is. He wants to represent for the United States of America. Hurt. Absolutely. I like that. Should be number one of the Olympics. No doubt. At Biotoo.

[Connor]

Win the cup start for USA.

[Pat McAfee]

Those are his dreams. Good luck, Otter. Got McJesus coming right down the pipe.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Got McJesus coming right down the pipe. I can't wait to watch. And then obviously, Pacers, Knicks. Knicks favored by four and a half in the Garden. That doesn't. That doesn't matter. We know that. I agree. But I would like to say this game goes how. However it goes. Yeah. Okay. This game goes, however it goes. Yeah. Yes.

[Connor]

It will be what it'll be.

[Pat McAfee]

It'll be the situation. Will certainly be the situation. I'm not worried about nothing. No matter how this game goes, we win one steal one. The first one in Madison Square Garden. Possible. This Pacers team has done that before. Cool. We'll be pumped tomorrow. Certainly we'll see how. We did a little gardening, didn't we? Just like we did last year in the playoffs against the Knicks. If the Knicks win, which, hey, favored by four and a half in Madison Square Garden. They've been locked in. This is the run. Everybody on espn. Knicks, Knicks, Knicks, Knicks, Knicks. Everybody saying it. If they win, there'll be no panic because Coach Carlisle will have the boys ready for game two. Without a doubt. And then game three on Indy 500 Sunday here in Indianapolis. Are you kidding me? That's going to be. This is going to be a fun series to be a. Of. Part. Part of and can't wait to watch it get started tonight. Now, Speaking of Indy 500 Sunday, there is a man. Okay, we got some stats here. Got some stats here. I don't know who wrote the stats. Okay, sure. Could be Bruce. Sure think it is Bruce. Okay, I think they sent stats to Bruce. Bruce put a little pizzazz on it.

[AJ Hawk]

Okay, that's.

[Pat McAfee]

Bruce didn't write him. He said Bruce did. No pizzazz from Bruce. That's what he's saying. Is he not kidding? Care.

[Connor]

No pizzazz.

[Pat McAfee]

This first one, you did not put any pizzazz on it.

[Connor]

No, no, it was as. As given. He's all business with that Knicks jersey.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, good luck to your Knicks team, bub.

[Connor]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you love or hate that everybody on TV is picking the Knicks?

[Connor]

There are a lot of Knicks fans on the morning lineup at espn, for sure. But I. I think due respect has been given to the Pacers. I don't think anyone's just chalking it up like we already won. That is a former Knicks player, a Jets player, and then two Knicks fans on that graphic.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's exactly all on tv. A lot to do whatever they want to do.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean, say whatever they want. Green.

[Connor]

They are in the epicenter of Western civilization, New York, filming their show.

[Pat McAfee]

Greeny, born and raised in New York City. Yep. Massive Knicks fan. I appreciate him Multiple days now, now doing things like. Hey, I don't know if he's trying to do it to reverse.

[Connor]

He is. That's exactly.

[AJ Hawk]

Without a doubt.

[Pat McAfee]

I think so, too. I think he really wants the Knicks to win this. So he's doing like a. A kind of a. Let's not take the. Please, let's not nervous.

[Connor]

I think. Yeah, just like Bruce probably a little bit nervous that everybody's picking him.

[Pat McAfee]

But he's been doing his real. He's been doing real journalism on the Pacers. He's been doing his Mikey Monologues. You know, right at the ranch camera. Here's the one from today.

[Kyle Larson]

Say it again.

[Pat McAfee]

Underestimate the Pacers at your own risk. Let me count the ways. First, Indiana has won 21 of their last 26 games.

[Kyle Larson]

That dates back to March 17th. That is the best record in the NBA over that span.

[Pat McAfee]

During the same time, the knicks are.

[Kyle Larson]

Just 17 and 11. The Pacers are a four and a half point underdog. Tonight. They are plus 125 in the series as an underdog. In these playoffs, The Pacers are 5 2.

[Pat McAfee]

They eliminated Cleveland as an underdog in their last round.

[Kyle Larson]

They eliminated the Knicks as an underdog last year. And finally, while the Knicks have Jalen Brunson in clutch time, Tyrese Halliburton has been equally spectacular. In fact, even more so.

[Pat McAfee]

He's 10 of 11 in the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter in overtime time on shots to tie or take the lead, which is the highest.

[Kyle Larson]

Percentage in a season since at least 1997.

[Pat McAfee]

And we say it that way because that's when we started keeping track of these things with that level of specificity. I love that. Thank you, Greeny. For the journalism. Right, AJ thank you for that.

[Connor]

Yeah. When Greeny has his glasses in one hand and his papers in the other, you know, like he means business. Like, this is something you need to listen to.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, absolutely. And it's just him. And then we even got a big led D board right next to him that's going to amplify. Hembo is going to get a little showcase in there with some things. And I like the Mr. Clutch question mark at the top. That was a good graph. That was a good graph. Their debone over there, you know, did his thing or her thing for sure. Okay, ladies and gentlemen joining us now, he's a man who on May 11 just won a race in Kansas. Wow. Super duper cup out there in Kansas.

[Connor]

Boom.

[Pat McAfee]

This guy, if he's driving it, he's probably winning. He's raced on parking lots. What? And go karts. He's raced on dirt in sprint cars. What you put him on maybe one of those little kid cars, he's going to win. Ladies and gentlemen, NASCAR superstar rookie of the year in IndyCar last year. Ladies and gentlemen, Kyle Larson. D. It's supposed to be a very awkward walk. Y' all ready for this? How you doing, brother?

[Connor]

That was good.

[Pat McAfee]

You already. Hey. It's supposed to be a really back door bed. I like that. I like what you did. Hey, that's dry.

[AJ Hawk]

I was going to say inside. Exactly. Take the inside.

[Pat McAfee]

Everybody goes this way. You said balls.

[Gumpy]

I didn't know where to go.

[Connor]

No, it's a.

[Pat McAfee]

You made the right play. You made the right play there. You got the corner there.

[Gumpy]

Went right for once. So respect.

[Pat McAfee]

I like that. Good driving joke. Okay, let's talk about it, Kyle. So last year when you were doing the Indy 500, the double, how many people have done it in the past?

[Gumpy]

Five have attempted it. Only Tony Stewart's the only guy to finish all 1100 miles.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, 1100 miles in a car one day, obviously, the Indianapolis 500, the biggest race on earth every single year. The greatest spectacle on earth every single year. And with so much history, tradition, this city and state, like, it's the biggest thing that happens in the world, basically. So you attempting that as a NASCAR driver and then going and doing a 600 mile race, which is long, right? Isn't that a long race for you guys?

[Gumpy]

It could be four to five hours, probably, depending on cautions. Yeah, it's long.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so. And you're a thin lad. I don't know where all the sweat's coming from while you're doing this and everything like that, but when you were doing it last year, there's been some F1 guys that have come in and tried the Indy 500. Obviously, there's been some rookies. There's a rookie this year on the poll that everybody's excited about. But whenever you came in to do this last year, there was people that were flocking from all over the country to come here. People were showing up at our. At our. Out here, and they were like, hey, we're coming to Indianapolis. First time we're here. We're from North Carolina. Hey, we're. First time we're here. We're from Virginia. Hey, we're from Illinois. And they say, we just want to come take a picture of Thunderdome. And we asked, we're like, what are you here for? They're like, kyle Larson. We're here to watch Kyle Larson do his thing. They call you a man who's the best driver of cars, maybe in the last two, three generations or whatever. How. How does that make you feel whenever people say that? And if you just committed your entire life to racing, when did you start? Like, with the dominating of folks in a car?

[Gumpy]

Well, starting off with your first question, it. It does make me feel really good, you know, when people compare me to, like Tony or Mario, AJ Foy, guys like that. But I try not to pay much attention to it just because I'm still only 32, and I feel like I got a lot of racing left in my career before I should be allowed to be in that category. But, no, I started when I was really young. I grew up in California racing, go karts and dirt track stuff. All really dirt track until I got to NASCAR and always wanted to do the Indy 500 too. So it's pretty neat. To get the chance to do it and get to do multiple races in the same day is pretty awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you have? You have a no fear thing, obviously. And I think there's a couple different speeds, I guess over 200 miles an hour. I guess now you guys are 235, so over 220, probably. I think there's a separator between drivers is what I've heard from living here in Indianapolis. It's like, hey, there's difference people that can go over 220. It's like people in baseball. People that can hit the curveball and people that can't hit the curveball. It's like whoever can control themselves at a higher speed, there's like a certain group of people and everybody else is below that. For the Indy 500, for IndyCar, much faster than NASCAR.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And it felt like last year, as I was watching, you were learning what you were doing basically throughout the race, I actually put a tweet out about it. It was like, it feels like Kyle is literally learning his car in the middle of the Indy 500. Is that true? And how much more prepared are you for this year's?

[Gumpy]

I would say so. Last year, you get so much practice time during these two weeks at Indy. Like, you learn your car, you know, pretty well. But it's like, I've never raced in an IndyCar race. So, like, the race procedure is a lot different. The restart starts, just the drivers, the. The pit stops, like, all the little details that are different for nascar. But I did have some mistakes on one of the earlier restarts and fell back and then had to overcome that. So that was. That was cool.

[Pat McAfee]

It was a shifting thing, wasn't it?

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Yeah. I like you. I restarted, I think, in like, first gear, and I hit the rev limiter right when I shifted. So then I, like, maybe overreacted and grabbed another gear and fell into third. And then I was just bogging and yeah, it was bad deal, but. But learn from it. So hopefully this year is a little bit different.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So with the driving, the racing, have you raced against these guys or everybody in their own little worlds?

[Gumpy]

Just. Only in the Indy 500 last year. A lot of these guys, you know, have a totally different background than me, you know, racing in Europe and stuff. So you know me coming from dirt tracks and stock cars, like. Yeah, the only time I race these guys is on Sunday.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So what's the difference? Robin's ricin's Nashville.

[AJ Hawk]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Robin's rice he here. There's not a lot. There's a lot of racing but there's not next to no rubbing. Right.

[Gumpy]

Cuz the cars open wheel. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

You've already. We've already seen a lot of cars or a few cars turn over upside down.

[Pat McAfee]

Colton Hera McLaughlin.

[Gumpy]

Yeah. Yeah. I spun out on fast Friday thankfully didn't flip but no, we don't want.

[Pat McAfee]

To do PTSD here. But I believe this is you.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah that's me. Yeah I got lucky. That was, that was pretty generous wreck for the speedway. But honestly too like going back to the, the stock car versus IndyCar stuff like I think there's more similarities than there are differences. Like the. I know they look different and you're going way faster in at Indy than you do in NASCAR. You know we probably go 195 at Indy there but the overall feel of the car, the downforce, the. Our new NASCAR cars are much similar. Like independent suspension, the underbody of aero effects. So what I feel behind the wheel is pretty similar. So I feel like it makes the learning curve not as, not as steep as maybe it would for others.

[Pat McAfee]

How much you weigh?

[Gumpy]

135.

[Pat McAfee]

Is that, that's an advantage, right. Like horse jockeys, the lighter they are obviously the better for the horse to run. A lot of racers that I've met smaller body. Connor Daly's built like a middle linebacker. I always thought that was potentially working.

[Gumpy]

He looks like he's thinned out though. I, I seen him this week.

[Kyle Larson]

He's.

[Pat McAfee]

He's.

[Gumpy]

No, I would say it's an advantage but it's not like an extreme advantage because we all have like our cars weigh the same. So like even though I'm light and Connor or and he's not even the biggest guy there, say there's a guy that weighs 200 pounds. Like I just have to add more weight to my car to make it equal so.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, so you have to kind of.

[Gumpy]

Position that weight, you know, balance where you'd want it. So that's where I think the advantage comes from.

[Pat McAfee]

Got it. Ty has a question for you.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah. Just curious like because you're not full time and I think like the race community as, as A whole, you know, I mean, I'm not like a huge race fan, but when you come here, like, what is your relationship like with the other drivers? Like, do they kind of scoff? I mean, everyone knows what you've done in nascar, but I assume none of these guys want to see you come in and win the Indy 500 your second running.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Do Indianapolis people want to see?

[Gumpy]

I think, I think indie Indianapolis fans and stuff do. And, and honestly, I don't know. Like, I, I, I haven't really personally asked them, but I would feel like, at least for me, coming from nascar, when guys have come in like Shane Van Ginsberg and he came and ran a Cup race in Chicago a couple years ago and won. And although it's like not the coolest thing, you know, because it, not that it makes you look bad or anything, but you have an immense amount of respect for all competitors. So when they come into a new form and do a good job, I think it's really cool. So I would imagine, you know, maybe not all the guys want to see me do great, but I think there's a respect level there. That, that, yes. You know, you, you'd be, you, you'd be happy to see somebody do good.

[Pat McAfee]

You do any dirt racing in Indy?

[Gumpy]

I raced at Kokomo last Monday, cuz. But growing up, but yeah, yeah. So I grew up in California, and then my path kind of followed Jeff Gordon, so I moved to Indiana in 2011, ran USAC. So I ran around a lot of these tracks here.

[Pat McAfee]

2012, you're up in Anderson up there.

[Gumpy]

I, I, that's pavement tracks. I didn't do much pavement racing.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

So I've never raced there, but Gas City, Kokomo, Putnam, Bill, Lawrenceburg. I'll be at Lawrenceburg next Friday. So I do a lot of dirt racing around Indiana, so I feel like the fans love me.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, I think so too. Like, I think it was a very welcome thing. Like, you mentioned him coming in, winning the Indy 500. I think that's the only reason why they would be okay with it is because they feel like he's cut his teeth. He's got his teeth here in the racing state, you know, because that's how people in Indiana genuinely view it. Is it different, the Indy 500?

[Gumpy]

That energy, it's huge. Yeah. Like, not only just the race, but like all the days of practice that you have. You know, I'll go practice, like, we'll have a practice, say, in NASCAR, and there might be 5,000 people there at Indy. There's like 75,000 people, you know, every day. So it's kind of crazy that the event is that big spread out over two weeks and there's fans there all the time. So yeah, the amount of pictures, autograph and all that you sign is crazy. But it's fun, it's cool. It makes you just feel like the event is just unlike any other, which it is. So it's cool to be a part of.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, you're immortalized forever too. You win an Indy 500, right? Yeah, I mean that's like the racing world.

[Gumpy]

I mean you get a, you get your face on the trophy.

[Pat McAfee]

So.

[Connor]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Connor has a question for you.

[Connor]

Yeah. So when did you like know, hey, I'm going to be a racer? Like, obviously moving was a big deal, but before you even moved, was it something where, where you were in California? No. 1 just beating the, out of a bunch of surfers. Like, oh, I'm gonna be really good surfing fast.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, I was Northern California, so I didn't do any surfing.

[Connor]

Okay.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah. For me, for me, obviously I'm not built to play other sports, so thankfully, I think, you know, my family had a big passion for racing. I did too. And it was just something I was good at and, and you know, made a lot of friends. Friends and memories and all that. And then just wanted to chase, you know, heroes of mine like Jeff and Tony and, you know, guys like that. So just fortunate to have a passion for something.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. So you said you started go karts?

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Out in California on dirt.

[Gumpy]

Dirt ovals. Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

How fast were you going? How old were you?

[Gumpy]

So the carts that I grew up racing, they were. They have like a two stroke, 500cc engine on them. They weigh back then like 400 pounds. So the power to weight ratio is crazy. Like they're, you know, popping wheelies and spinning the tires. So no power steering, no suspension. So they were be.

[Pat McAfee]

How old are you? How old were you?

[Gumpy]

Oh, I was probably 11 then, you know, when I got to that class. But I started in like, you know, box docks, which would be like a Briggs and Stratton engine, like a lawnmower style engine from like 7 to 9. But then you go like a big step to the next, you know, division, which is crazy.

[Pat McAfee]

And then you go from that.

[Gumpy]

And then I went from that to sprint cars, which, which is another huge step.

[Pat McAfee]

Dangerous.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Like those are super dangerous, right?

[Gumpy]

Yeah. Oh yeah. 950 horsepower, 1400 pounds. They're crazy. Yeah. Drifting around sprint cars and midgets and. Yeah. Dirt Track and then. Then got into stock cars.

[Pat McAfee]

You ever do like smoke right now is doing the drag racing?

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. He's a ne. He's a fun. Top fuel.

[Gumpy]

He's top fuel. He's kicking butt.

[Pat McAfee]

He.

[Gumpy]

This weekend.

[Pat McAfee]

But I feel like he's getting the hang of it.

[Gumpy]

He's. I mean, he's the go. He's the best. So he can figure anything out.

[Pat McAfee]

When you were a kid, you were just get seeing better lines, better reaction time.

[Gumpy]

I don't. I don't know what goes into it, but just like what you did right here. I think when you're.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Can just see.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

I think when you're young, you just kind of have a natural talent. But then when you get older and you're racing, it's all good, you know, adults and kids and. Or whatever. Not kids, but adults. That's when you kind of have to work at it more. So. But yeah, I would say in the beginning. Beginning and probably still now, a lot of it's natural, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I would say. Yeah. There's a reason why people are here. Yeah.

[Gumpy]

It's probably most athletes, you know, everybody works hard at it, but you gotta have some sort of natural ability.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, definitely.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

But you have to work hard, though.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Oh, like tc.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Tom Cruise has natural ability.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

That he works his ass off. Bingo. And then he says, you know what? I think I can stand out on this wing right here. Yeah. Yeah. And then I can flip it upside down and then I can flip a plane with my foot. He's got a great NASCAR movie too.

[Kyle Larson]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Yes, he does.

[Pat McAfee]

And Brad Pitt's got an F1 coming out, which. We will continue this conversation with Kyle Larson on digital YouTube, ESPN plus Disney plus and more. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. All right, we're off espn. We're still on digital. We're still live.

[Gumpy]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Very live. Yep. F1D butt literally is pooping his pants because. Yeah, we had some. Yeah. I don't know if we should. We. We found some popcorn that had been in our office. The office for maybe a couple years.

[AJ Hawk]

Extra salt, extra butter.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's not bad. But he's massive F1 fan. Yeah. You guys probably have seen. Especially in the NASCAR world because NASCAR used to be. You know, the thing I think still is. Obviously still sells out tracks.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Still sells everything. Like NASCAR's still a big deal. F1 had that reality show and just became like, yeah, it did blow. Blow up. I, living in Indianapolis, Indiana, did not grow up in the race community. But I did watch the Indy 500. Got to meet a lot of the drivers, like, kind of started learning about it. And I watched the Indy racing, and they're racing. Yeah, okay. It's a lot of racing. I watch nascar, and it's a lot of, hey, we're trying to win. I watch these F1 races, and, boy, I'm pretty bored. Sucks. They're big cars. They got a lot of money around it, a lot of superstars around it. The reality show was obviously awesome, but as somebody that was, like, kind of just dropped into Indianapolis and then given, like, full, like, hey, you can go down the pits. You can. I can literally, like, learn about this however much I want to or however little I want to. How do you guys feel about F1 driving? And have you ever been asked to go drive in F1?

[Gumpy]

Never been asked to drive in F1. I think it's tough coming from my background of dirt tracks and ovals, but I've been. I went to Abu Dhabi lobby in 2021. It was sick. Like, the event was awesome. I mean, like, it was. It was incredible. But, yeah, the racing. The racing's not what we are accustomed to in America. Like, I think you're there. It's. It's crazy how big it is, because, yeah, you're right. Like, it's not super exciting, but I think it's the stuff outside of it. The celebrities that are there, the engineering, the money, just everything about that, you know, the big brand, you know, on the cars and stuff. But, you know, I feel like NASCAR and IndyCar here in America, like, you can't find much more exciting racing than what we have here. So I'm fortunate to get to run both of them, but I would definitely never turn down the opportunity to go.

[Pat McAfee]

And I think you are a guy if I'm getting the temperature of the race community. Right. Just because you've been here the last two years, I think you would be a guy that America racing would be like, yep, we would like to see Kyle go ahead and represent for us over there. So hopefully one day that's able to happen. Didn't they shut down an American team and then they. Yeah, yeah. I think they're like, European castle.

[Connor]

Cadillac's coming.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah. Haas is out there, and then Cadillacs come in next year.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, they're based out of here.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, they have a nice. Really nice facility right by our race shop in Charlotte. It's. It's. It's big. It's cool.

[Pat McAfee]

So Charlotte calls itself.

[Gumpy]

Charlotte's like the Indianapolis of nascar.

[Pat McAfee]

Nascar. Yeah. I know. Because I'll go down to Charlotte and they'll be like, it's the home of racing.

[Connor]

I didn't know that.

[Pat McAfee]

Nope. It is Indianapolis. Yeah. Charlotte is. That is the home. Hendrick Motorsports has a whole campus.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

It's beautiful. Yeah, I was there.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah. That's where you went to do.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that was where I went. You got like. They have ex college football players running the pits.

[Gumpy]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

They have like, weight room. They have gym in the morning, big food.

[Gumpy]

They're making a huge facility now for like a new fitness center. It's going to be. It's going to be legit. Like it's college, like, level campus, you know, like they. I think they went and toured Alabama, so it'd be pretty similar.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was a college campus. We literally, we went over to practice with the pit crew, then we went over to the gym to lift with some. Another team's pit crew. Then we went and had some food. There was a big. Obviously a diner. And it's like, it's kind of all encompassing down there.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And what a sport NASCAR's been. Moonshiners, right? Isn't that how it all started?

[Gumpy]

Yeah, I guess, yeah. Running. Running some moonshine back in the day.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you can build engines and I'm not.

[Gumpy]

No, I'm not. I'm not a car guy at all. I just hold the steering wheel, press the gas pedal. I don't know much about the car.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I like to hear that.

[Gumpy]

Stick me in the seat and go. And I'll try and make it go as fast as it can.

[Pat McAfee]

That's cool. A lot of drivers. A lot of drivers when it doesn't go their way. What I've learned from an extended period of time here in Indianapolis is it's the car's fault. Okay. A lot of the car getting blamed. Yeah, yeah. You've heard that in the race. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So that is. That's. Yeah, I gave it all I could today. The car, the car, the boys. All we had is bingo.

[Gumpy]

The car had.

[Pat McAfee]

Is that real? Is that a real excuse being said?

[Gumpy]

It. It is. It is a legit, you know, excuse a little bit. But I, I try hard not to, you know, do that too often because I do feel like, you know, the driver obviously means a ton, so. But yes, there's always only, you know, so much you can do with your car. Like, if you got a 20th place car, it's really hard to win with it. It's hard to crack the top 10 sometimes. But you know, if you get a car that you know is 10th, you can. You can do some things and execute out, execute your competitors and win.

[Pat McAfee]

So can you explain to people who maybe don't know the race world as much if you have a 20th car or a 10th car? What you're talking about is literally the fastest that this car can go is probably about the 10th fastest in this particular race. Because of some bolt being tightened a little bit more on some other car or what?

[Gumpy]

No, no, just like the setup of it. You know, the shocks, the springs, the. All the. All the mechanics and the engineering that goes on with making the most grip and speed and aerodynamics out of the car. Not necessarily just a bolt being tighter than. Than another's, but.

[Pat McAfee]

But that is, like, potentially something, though. Oh, yeah.

[Gumpy]

I mean, if you have something fall off, for sure. Yeah, you can.

[Pat McAfee]

But, like, what I've heard is you all get similar chassis or something like that, and then there's, like, changes to, like, one little thing. Like, we're gonna drop the front fender just like this a little bit, and.

[Gumpy]

Then, like, not even a quarter of an inch. You're talking, like, less.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And that. That can add like 3 miles an hour for downforce.

[Gumpy]

Whatever. Yeah, it's. It's finicky. Like, all the cars now, even indycar, Indy car is probably more so that. Pretty similar, though. But, yeah, just with spec racing, like, yeah, our cars are pretty similar. So, like, any little advantage that you find could be worth, you know, a decent amount.

[Pat McAfee]

And that's why these engineers are getting paid so much.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, and. And that's why you have, you know, hundreds of engineers, the guys on the.

[Pat McAfee]

Computers and girls on the computers during the race cases, they're like, reading how every part of the car is reacting.

[Gumpy]

Studying pictures of other teams cars and looking, you know, at little features they might have on there, tweaked from what you would have, or, like, trying to judge their tire pressures. And it's. It's.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's like. It's a very scientific thing that's going on. Super. I think back in the day, used to be a little bit more run and gun. Right. Like, have a pit crew. We're gonna build the engine. And I don't think they had regulations on how much. Like, if you could get more power. Power, you can get more power. So it's a little bit out of control now. There's regulations on it. It's like being able to win within it is a massive part of it. It's going on with the penske team right now, and they're saying it's not just the Penske team. It's been happening throughout the entirety. It's like that is racing as a whole, I think. Always trying to.

[Gumpy]

You're always trying to. Yeah, you're always trying to push the limits on everything, you know, so any. Any small advantage. And I'm sure it's the same in, you know, sticking ball sports. You're trying to, you know, find the edge of the rule and. And get your advantage within that. So it's. It's no different in racing.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, just super, super, super smart people. Yeah. With like, this guy's in professional sports. Yeah. He's lead engineer for a car that. Blah, blah, blah. It's like, what does he do every day? He tries to make the greatest, most. What's that called?

[Connor]

Aerodynamic.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Boom. Aerodynamic vehicle of all time while having. Having more power than any car has ever had. How fast will you go during the race?

[Gumpy]

Indy. Yeah, I would say in the draft. Yeah, we're probably still in the 230s, 235. Like, top speed.

[Pat McAfee]

You need Tom Cruise in there. Yeah, they need to drop Tom Cruise in there.

[AJ Hawk]

They're not going fast enough for TC.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. 405. When that gets to 300 miles an hour, let Tom Cruise now. Go ahead. So the situation happened last year with Newgarden, I believe. All right, so say it's the last lap, 8,500. Would you rather be in first or second?

[Kyle Larson]

Second.

[Gumpy]

That's a good man. Like, looking at where Poto was last year, I don't see how you do anything different, really. You know, like, new guard, and his car was so extremely good, and it was hard for others to build those runs on the back stretch. So I think, you know, he had his run on the front stretch, and he took his, you know, opportunity. And then you're just hoping that you have just enough, which he almost, you know, had just enough, you know, speed and distance before he got to turn three. So, man, I. I don't know. I'd be curious what Pato would think, but if you got the opportunity to take the lead on the last lap, you have to take it. Like, you can't. I feel like you can't wait until turn two and, like, hope that you're gonna have this run or not.

[Pat McAfee]

You guys are setting up the move, aren't you?

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think. Yeah. I think you gotta get to the lead, you know, is. When you can.

[Pat McAfee]

The weather made last year chaotic for. Yeah. Tough. It. Literally. Yeah, yeah, literally.

[Gumpy]

Midwest.

[Pat McAfee]

It literally pissed on your entire plane like that. That was actually what happened.

[Gumpy]

Same storm. This. Literally the same storm that delayed the Indy 500 got to Charlotte in time for me to get there. Literally. Right. Right when I got there.

[Pat McAfee]

It was such a sick plan, too. Plane, helicopter. We're in. McGee was following us on the trip trail. Obviously, that's great, but weather's a big deal for these cars, right? Like, this weekend, I think it's supposed to be 60s.

[Gumpy]

Yeah. It'd be colder. So that.

[Pat McAfee]

Is that good or bad?

[Gumpy]

I mean, drivers would prefer, like, hotter conditions, probably. Although it'd be tougher in the car because it'd be hot in the car. Like, the tires don't stick to the surface as good, so it would be sliding around more and more mistakes, which allows for more passing. When it's cooler, the track's got more grip. Drivers are making less mistakes. The speed speeds just kind of stay faster. So, yeah, typically, I prefer warmer conditions.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so when it's colder. You said more grip.

[Gumpy]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. More grip. I don't know why.

[Pat McAfee]

And you want less grip for more mistakes so you could take it.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

That's an awesome theory. I did not know that was. I assumed because they always said the weather and I always assumed hotter was faster, and that would be more grippy, because it would be.

[Gumpy]

I just think because the surface gets hot, your top tires get hotter, so it just becomes, like, slimy on top of the surface, and you're looking for.

[Pat McAfee]

All you're looking for is somebody to accidentally slime a little bit.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, right.

[Pat McAfee]

Just a little bit.

[Gumpy]

Miss a little bit.

[Pat McAfee]

What's the move? Hey, do people watch film on each other? Like, what is your move?

[Gumpy]

I mean, it probably depends on, like, track and. And type of car I might be in, but. Yeah, I mean, you're always studying, like, your competitors or previous races to see what moves worked like. Restarts especially.

[Pat McAfee]

What's a standard move move, you think, like, a setup, and then, like a duck.

[Gumpy]

I mean, at Indy, it's pretty simple. Like, you have to get this big run off of, say, turn two or turn four, and then catch the draft, and then, yeah, you just make your move. It's pretty simple. But restarts is where it gets crazy. You know, the field's bunched up. It's hard to pass, so you're trying to make the most of the restarts. And. Yeah, I mean, it'll fan out three, four wide. The draft. The draft is, like, crazy big in the IndyCar, which is weird to feel you know, compared to stock car, we have drafting, but like, any car, it's like you get in that pocket of air, and it's like a full boost.

[Pat McAfee]

You can feel it.

[Gumpy]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It gets quiet because the wind is now, like, you know, you're inside of this pocket of air, so it gets, like, kind of silent. It's.

[Kyle Larson]

It's kind of weird.

[Pat McAfee]

That's like out of a movie. Yeah, that's like, out of. You're feeling it for the first time. Oh, shit. I'm in here right now. Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Well, then you pull out, and then you have all the wind back on top of your car, and it gets, like, loud. You, like, your car starts moving around a little bit. It's. It's different.

[Pat McAfee]

Did it rattle you a little bit the first time you felt it in the race?

[Gumpy]

No.

[Pat McAfee]

No. You're a dog. Yeah. All right. Yeah. You understood what was going to happen there. You guys in NASCAR there for a little bit. Remember when you guys were doing the F1 style of racing where you guys were literally just nose on tail?

[Gumpy]

Oh, yeah. The tandem style. That was. That was before my time, thank God.

[Pat McAfee]

That was terrible. I. I turned that on and I'm like, how do they think this is. What. How do they think. And I was being told I didn't understand draft and all this shit. It's like, I just know that that looks stupid. You guys look like, literally caterpillars rolling around the entire race. Do you like what. The changes that NASCAR has made. What is it the three thing now? Yeah.

[Gumpy]

What's that?

[AJ Hawk]

The stages.

[Gumpy]

Oh, the stages. I don't. I could take it or leave it. I think for me, I would. I would like. I would like to not have stages because I think it's. It makes the strategy of the race way better because you don't know when the caution's coming. When you know that the caution's coming. It's so easy to plan your race and, like, all right, you know, we're going to pit midway through this stage, and that's going to get us. And then you never get to really, like, pushing the length of your tires to where they're, like, completely wearing out. So I think we didn't have stages. We would. You would see more drivers, like, pushing early in the run and falling back later in the run and things like that.

[Pat McAfee]

That.

[Gumpy]

So. But also, I think stages is good because where life is and, like, the attention span of. Of younger adults these days, so, like, the timed caution is probably better for them and. And tv, too. Getting Their commercials in and all that. So there's more that goes into it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but the play through, brother. You can have the.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

The way market.

[Gumpy]

I. I wish they would do more of that, but. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. I'm happy you said that. And I think you saying that we'll have a lot of say because all of us, not we're outsiders in this entire thing, but you'll turn on a NASCAR race or whatever, and it'll be like, we're in stage one. We got this many laps left, and it's like, I don't care. Stage one. Does that mean you win a ra. No, you don't win the race.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So they're having a quarter. They're having a period. I'm sorry. And then I. So I need to get to. I want to be here in the third period. That's where I want to be. So for me, that it's done that. Especially when you grew up, when it was just like, oh, you start on lap one, on lap 225.

[Connor]

The race. Race is over.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And they have to go. Yeah. And they like. To your point about strategy, gas is a big deal, right?

[Gumpy]

Yeah. Tires is a big tires more so than gas at a lot of the tracks.

[Pat McAfee]

But yeah, somebody won the 500 two years ago. They ran out of gas as they finished. That was. There's a gas strategy. You know the gas Strategy at Indy 500. Have you and the boys talked about the gas?

[Gumpy]

You've got, like, different fuel mappings to, like, lean your engine out, which cuts power but saves fuel. And then you're. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you can steal some first.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Laps. Yeah, you can steal some. Just stay out longer than everybody else. Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Like, people don't want to be leading the race because then you're burning the most fuel. You want to be in that draft so you can, like, be off the throttle, saving fuel. It just extends your runs and stuff like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So that's a big piece for us to know.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, there's. There's so much strategy that goes into every race, but yes, especially Indy with the fuel fuels. I feel like from what I've learned, earned.

[Pat McAfee]

Most important there, AJ. AJ's wearing a youth large Devonte Adams, New York jets jersey.

[Connor]

Yes, I am. Kyle, you talked about your 135 pounds. I wonder, like, your. What you have to do physically to get ready for, you know, a big race season.

[Pat McAfee]

I imagine there's not a whole lot.

[Connor]

Of time when you're actually out of the car for an extended period. But what Also, like, what is the most grueling racing that you, you think that you do on your body physically?

[Gumpy]

Yeah. So I'm, I'm unique because I do get to race a lot of different types of, of racing and I'm racing all the time. So I'm not really home at the gym all the time, but when I am home, I like to get in there and do, you know, gym. I really enjoy riding my bike. I feel like my, you know, cycling for the endurance of it is good for like nascar. But then when you, when I do my dirt track stuff, you know, those are 30 lap races and in the intensity, like my heart rate will spike, you know, right away. Where like in nascar, I, I, I wear this Garmin watch and I track my heart rate at all my races. Like in NASCAR, I'll be, you know, average of, you know, 140, 150 throughout the race. You might have your moments where it gets up there and whatnot. But sprint car racing, the 950 horsepower, 1400 pounds, you know, it might be a seven minute race, but my heart will be, my heart will be like 195 the whole time, just gassed. So I like, I like the intensity of that. So I think with the training that, that part of it's weird for me probably because, you know, I should do more like endurance, but then I also have to like be ready for intense moments too. So.

[Pat McAfee]

Don't you guys do a lot of this? I've been to a couple indie car like the Rolling.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, A little bit of that. That's part of it. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

The forearms.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And then shoulders.

[Connor]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

I've tapped out of one of those.

[Connor]

The reflex thing too.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, I have a question.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, yeah, we do a lot of that. Yeah, Hand, eye, kind of, you know, cognitive stuff. Stuff that's good for your brain.

[Pat McAfee]

Anybody smoke weed over there?

[Gumpy]

No, we're not allowed to.

[Pat McAfee]

You talking about the shoulders and stuff in both the crashes this weekend where they flipped over, their hands immediately went here you guys. Is that taught in just indie or nascar?

[Gumpy]

I would say mostly Indy is where. So like we never did that really in NASCAR and until Danica came.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

And I think it's because when you hit, like when you spin or hit the wall in IndyCar, like the wheels just, you know, spinning so fast. Fast. So like a lot of people break their wrists if you, oh. On the hand on the wheel too long. So. Yeah, like you've kind of just naturally got trained now. Like whenever you get ready to hit the wall. I Just brace and mostly just so I don't break a wrist or anything like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Then the sparks flying.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor]

I didn't know they both did that on purpose.

[Pat McAfee]

Didn't always have that top. What's that? Halo, I guess the top halo. IndyCar didn't used to have that.

[Connor]

That's crazy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. That's why it's called. Called open wheel.

[Bruce]

Right.

[Gumpy]

Open wheel. Just for. Because the tires are out there. Like, there's no fenders, you know, around the tires. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Open ass wheel. Okay. They will take a trip out of the speedway.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Connor]

Seen it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Seen just last year, the run out of gas. Alexander Rossi.

[Gumpy]

Oh, yeah. That was. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

2016, he won the race by running out of gas just before crossing the finish line. He stretched his final tank of fuel over 90 miles and with the help of a toe, finished the final lap at a slow speed, allowing him to take the checkered flag with an empty fuel tank. Because everybody else is going in. So they're going in, and he's just stealing laps while they're going in. And then he gets so far ahead because the entire commentator was like, is he gonna. Is he gonna make it? And then he finally finished, and he. He won. Congrats, Rossi. Absolute dog. So I'm saying that's a strategy. Yeah. Yeah. There's also, you know, smaller race teams that I potentially sponsored a car far in that you talk about being in first. Not great for if you're going to win, but if you're one of the smaller race teams, good for exposure when everybody else is pitting. Yeah. Top five right now. Top five right now.

[Gumpy]

That was me. So last year, I. I ended up speeding on pit road, you know, at the end of it. So we got our strategy kind of off, and like, my crew guy or the strategist, he kept me out so I could lead some laughs. I was like, man, that's kind of embarrassing. That's not really the way I wanted to lead laps of the Indy 500. But.

[Pat McAfee]

No, but only. Only people that really know know what's happening. Like, the majority of fans that are watching are just like, oh.

[Gumpy]

I know. Like, I would read. Oh, he led laughs in his first Indy 500. It's so great. I'm like, man, I kind of, like, embarrassed on pit road and, like, had to lead some laps while everybody else pitted.

[Pat McAfee]

So you said you're doing dirt track racing with next week?

[Gumpy]

Yeah. Lawrenceburg. Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

So you would just stay out here? Here?

[Gumpy]

No, I'll. I'll go. So I'll 600. Yeah. And then. Then I'll go. I'll get to hang out at home for a little bit.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So night before, we're doing pasta. We're doing water.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, A little. I. I don't know. Probably some pasta. Be good. I like some pasta.

[Pat McAfee]

But what type of pasta? What's that pasta we doing? You like r. Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Spaghetti, meat sauce. I would say before, like, before the race, though, I'm. I'm pretty standard. Like chicken, veggies, rice.

[Pat McAfee]

Got it.

[Gumpy]

And then after, I think before, like when I'm on the plane going to Charlotte, I'll probably do like a, you know, Mexican style bowl, you know, protein bowl. And then last year, I got an IV and was ready to rock.

[Pat McAfee]

Those are amazing, the IVs. I'm happy. We've gotten to a point in society where nurses just show up with, hey, you don't feel good? No. All right. Give us 15 minutes. And they just plug us in.

[Connor]

Fix me.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a big deal, aj. I think for the humans as a whole, that that is possible. I think Vegas is credited with probably.

[Connor]

Starting right for the hangover cures. Yeah, that's the biggest thing. I think Vegas used to drive around and you could get picked up on.

[Pat McAfee]

The street and get them legitimately. I think Vegas kind of started it. Like, hey, you're going to be dead tomorrow. We got the answer. We got four nurses that quit their jobs. Now they show up with IVs, right.

[Gumpy]

To your hotel room.

[Pat McAfee]

Right. Bam. We're going to go do. Yes. Okay. So you. Yeah, boy likes to live.

[Connor]

Yeah. This guy gets.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. We like that a lot. And then, like, now everywhere has it. Like, now everywhere has a. I think Dumpy was getting an IV drip every single Sunday, basically. Grave spot downtown. That's what I'm. It's just, like, unbelievable. We're just at a period of time now where it's just normal. Like. Yeah, just go get an iv. Get kind of get figured out. Locker rooms of football teams used to do it at halftime, and it would all be all the doctors trying to prick them. Remember, they wouldn't travel with nurses. It would be surgeons who are like 60 years old who haven't set up an IV in 30, 40 years. Tyrod Taylor, they got to do it. Yep.

[Connor]

Damn near.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, that was a shot shot. But yeah, yeah, similar thing. All right, I'm happy you're getting plugged in. Good luck for the 6, 600 and the 500, 1100 miles of racing. I think everybody's excited to hopefully watch it go off without a hitch. Without mother nature getting involved. It looks like early indications that a Doppler is. It's going to be a beautiful Sunday for you to go racing.

[Gumpy]

Yeah, thanks. I keep my fingers crossed that the rain stays away this year.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So who all do we got to give credit to? I know you racers have to.

[Gumpy]

Oh. Hendrickcars.com.

[Kyle Larson]

Yep.

[Gumpy]

Chevrolet Air, McLaren Prime. I got Amazon Prime. Follow me around for the last couple years. We're doing.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. Bezos.

[Gumpy]

Yeah. Yeah. No.

[Connor]

So that's how you got that car out there.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Still, I can't believe you're driving that in Indiana.

[Gumpy]

Yeah. The light. So I realized there's no license plate on it right now either. So I'm like, what do I do if I get.

[Pat McAfee]

You're getting cops.

[Connor]

You just beat them. Drive.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. You don't get pulled over. No. The cops understand. There's an old story here in Indianapolis where somebody was driving on a highway. Like some. Like a car like you were driving. They get pulled over and a cop, like, as cops walking up goes, who do you think you are? Mario Andretti? And then peaks. It is Mario Andretti. Yeah. Like that is. This city is ready for you to do whatever the hell you want in a car out there. But the potholes, I guess. You, dude.

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

You got a good eye.

[Kyle Larson]

Bad hair.

[Pat McAfee]

Bad, Bad.

[Gumpy]

So bad.

[Connor]

Good reflexes.

[Pat McAfee]

Just so everybody knows what we're talking about. He showed up in a McLaren, I think. Is that what that was?

[Gumpy]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

This high off the ground. Nasty. Absolutely nasty. And our first thought, everybody's first thought when it pulled in was, how did he make it here? Yeah. From.

[Connor]

Make it in the park.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's like. There's crazy. Yeah. Even out here. Yeah. We have not helped these situations. Beautiful car. As are the IndyCar and NASCARs. And we appreciate you taking the time and we appreciate you committing to Indianapolis like this. Not only as a child. You know, I love indie.

[Gumpy]

I love indie. I lived here for a couple years, so it's always like another home.

[Connor]

Well, good.

[Pat McAfee]

We love the fact that you're doing the Indy 500. Maybe do it every year. You're going to do it every year.

[Gumpy]

We'll see. I don't know. Right now, this is it. But it's so fun that I feel like I'll have FOMO if I miss it.

[Pat McAfee]

So I think everybody wants you to do it, too.

[Connor]

Yeah. Need to see it happen.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. You need to win both.

[Connor]

Need to win both. Both of them.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah. Just.

[Connor]

Just do it.

[Pat McAfee]

I got a Lot of friends that are in that. I got a lot of friends that are in that.

[Connor]

Dude.

[Pat McAfee]

We got a lot of friends in that. Any 500. Okay. And I'm big fan of all of them, especially with the mindset that New Gardens going in to this race after what happened with the Qualys. You know, he wasn't able to run his car because of something that was happening. I don't think he knew about or Penske knew about it. Clearly, Fire fired everybody. Fired everybody today. Just a few days before the biggest event event of the year in the season. But to those boys, I say, you guys had your shot. You need to go win these days. Yeah, that'd be great for racing. I mean, that'd be great for racing as a whole. And everybody thinks you're the guy to do it. So good luck out there.

[Gumpy]

Thank you, guys for having on.

[Pat McAfee]

Stay safe. All right. Shout out to Tom Cruise. Shout out to Kyle Larson. T's and P's to D. Butch. Yeah. And we're gonna get the hell out of here. A.J. you really crushed it on this jersey Wednesday, brother.

[Bruce]

Yep.

[Connor]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. This is my last jersey day.

[Connor]

I. I think so.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor]

I'll send you a new one. We'll figure it out.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Connor loves the jersey. It was literally four minutes before we went live. He goes, we're all wearing jerseys. Are we all wearing jerseys? He said, you have a jersey right over your shoulder right there. There's a jersey. Just put the jersey on. And then I thought I ruined it for the Pacers, so I'm kind of in a bad spot right now. Shout out to Tom. Shout out to Kyle. Shout out to you, A.J. we'll be back tomorrow. It's conference finals tonight.

[AJ Hawk]

Here we go.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's enjoy the hell out of that. Good luck in that car, brother. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. Team. Not yet. Hold on. Cat's eraser. Yeah. Ready to go. Ready to go.

[AJ Hawk]

Good reflex.

[Pat McAfee]

Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye.