Ep. 102 - Driving John Daly: Life as Limo Joe Pt. 2

Ever wonder what celebrity travel really looks like from the driver’s seat? Welcome back to part 2 with Joe Washington! We're back with Limo Joe, the man stars call when they land in Northwest Arkansas, for a raw, funny, and surprisingly tender tour through bus bays, back roads, and packed clubhouses. From the first time he piloted John Daly’s bus, ending in a heart-stopping crunch in an Ohio parking lot, to threading through New York City’s low bridges with fans swarming at gas stations, Joe shows how fast glamour turns into logistics, and how quick thinking keeps everyone safe.

What makes this ride special is the relationship at the center of it. Joe’s stories reveal John Daly as more than a legend with a monster drive: a dad who organizes trips around LJ’s schedule, a people’s champion who won’t leave until the last photo is taken, and a generous friend who helps turn a signed flag into $5,000 for a children’s auction. We talk about the art of setting boundaries without killing the vibe, the split-second choices a driver makes when the line forms at dinner, and why discretion beats any VIP pass. You’ll hear how small markets like Bentonville build big reputations through word-of-mouth, how a steady voice can calm a chaotic night, and why authenticity, on the course and in the car, beats polish every time.

If you’re curious about sports culture, country music runs to Nashville, or the hidden craft behind luxury transportation, this is your map. We cover road safety for oversized rigs, reading crowds on the fly, and the ethics of having A-list contacts in your phone without turning relationships into currency. 

Come for the wild stories, stay for the playbook on trust, loyalty, and service that keeps the calls coming. Enjoy the conversation, share it with a friend who loves golf or great road tales, and tap follow, then leave a quick review telling us the wildest travel moment you’ve ever had.

Transcript

Meet Limo Joe And The B Team

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to the B Team Podcast. I am your host, Josh Saffron, with my co-host at Mars, and our permanent guest, Rob Nelson. We're here every week to talk to you about all things Bettonville, bourbon, and business. The B Team Podcast. Be here.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Well, if you're a celebrity and you're making a trip into Northwest Arkansas, it sounds like you're you've got one choice as a driver. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 0:32

No, no, I mean, well, I mean, I'm your guy, but I mean there's there's other, you know, other means of transportation. But it feels like you have like 100% market share on celebrities. I mean, I've driven a lot, Josh. I've driven a I've really driven a lot of them, you know, and it's and it's like, I mean, to the point that I'm really not starstruck. You know what I'm saying? Like, I it's a job to me. Like, I don't like I I've taken pictures with Shaq and Charles Barkley and guys like that, which they're cool. They don't, you know, they care, like Ty Woods, but he's he he didn't really reason that he did that because of JD. Type Woods is not the guy you want to be like, oh, what's going on, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:08

He's not you know JD's like, let's go throw it down.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Yeah. Can we talk about JD for a bit? I mean, like, I mean, after seeing him, what was the movie that he was just in with um Happy Gilmour? Like after seeing him in that movie, did you see that movie?

SPEAKER_04 1:20

Yeah, I mean he had he had the most fun. He had the he said he had the most fun at that in that movie. Just sitting in the garage. He said, he said, he calls me.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

He doesn't have fun.

SPEAKER_04 1:30

So he gave me the nickname Limo Joe. So look at the book. Oh, Limo Joe is good. So he gave me the nickname Limo Joe. So when I first started driving him back in the day, that was his name. But anyway, so he said that he had the most fun hanging out in that little garage. And he stayed here for a couple. Probably made a shit ton of money. He did good. He did good.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

He did good, man. And and we we um but is he as is he's as fun as he seems to be, like with the drinking and the laughing and I mean he's not? No idea.

SPEAKER_04 2:03

Yeah, you have no idea. JD is probably listen, before I got married, I'd I'd be on a trip with JD and probably not come home for a month. And then it takes me, and then it takes me like a month to put recovery.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

It takes me a month. Matt, is this who you're trying to be like? I mean, everyone's gonna do it. Do you need a few drivers on the weekend? Oh, so are you hired? Oh, so so Matt. I get fired the first weekend.

Music, Nashville, And The Tour Bus

SPEAKER_04 2:32

So you're gonna get a kick out of this. So JD said, and I never really wanted to drive that bus, but he's he's like, Lemo, I need you to drive, you know. Okay, I got a few things going on, I need you to drive. Okay. So the first trip we made from Nashville. So of course, I don't know if y'all know this, but JD got like several albums. JD's cut like several albums. He's probably got country. Yes. I didn't know that. He's probably got like five or six J spends a lot of his time in Nashville. You know?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

None?

SPEAKER_04 3:02

Yeah, look up John D. He got some really good ones. Actually, he just did one with Whiskey and Water. He did what Willie Nelson called Whiskey and Water.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

I wouldn't have lost the bet on what they were gonna sing about.

First Big Drive And The Crash

SPEAKER_04 3:12

But it's a great, but it but it's great. So we were in Nashville, and it's like we gotta we gotta do a golf thing in Ohio. When are we leaving? We're leaving tomorrow. Okay. So I fly from here to Nashville. We get in the bus. It's like buses and shit going on with the refrigerator, and he's like ammonia shit. He is when he's done it, he's done with shit. He said, let's go. So we get on the road. He takes off, he starts driving first. He's driving, he's driving first. He starts driving, he gets us to the gas station, pulls in there, pops the gas, our limo's on you. What the hell? I'm driving, I'm taking pictures. Taking pictures in the back. I'm driving. People passing by, you uh, because JD's name on the side of the bus. Sure. So they they know JD's in this house. I mean And it's not just you and him on the bus. No, it's just me and the bus. Oh, it's just you and him. It's me and him. Okay. Just me and him. Police will actually pull you over just to see him.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

No tickets, they just want to just want an introduction.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

Nope, no lie. Just want to see him. But anyway, so we headed to Youngstown, Ohio. We get there. That was my first time driving this bus, and JD's like, oh, he did a good job. You want me to pull it in for you? I was like, nah. Because JD can park a bus. He can park a bus like nobody's business. Like he can drive, he can drive a bus. He sings.

SPEAKER_03 4:43

He parks buses and he can driver over 300 yards.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

So we pull in this little bitty parking lot of this golf course. Cars is on that side, cars is over there, and no cars over here. He's like, you want me, Lemo, you want me to pull it in? No, no, I got it. Okay. I'm pulling this bus in. I'm going slow without I think I'm going slow. Next thing I know, crash! On this bus, on his pre-votes. Like a$300,000 bus. He's a little more, you just wiped out a car. Oh no. He goes, I don't know. I didn't. He goes, you sure did. You just wiped out a car. I tore the whole front end off a car. Get this. So I thought he was gonna be mad. I was like, I'm gonna pack my shit. I'm getting on the bus, I'm getting on the plane, I'm going home. He's like, no, you're not. It's fine. No, no, you're not. I mean, he wasn't pissed, he wasn't mad. I figured he would be a little upset with me. He was. These guys come out of this uh young town, I can't think of the name of the the country club, but it is youngtown how they said, damn, you really tore that car. They said to me, Joe, don't worry about it. We'll buy her another car. What? Country club said this? Yes. Because John was a golf. They said, Joe, don't worry about it. We'll buy her another car. And it was a shit car, too. Oh. It was a shit. It was a car was terrible. This girl. I mean, it was pretty nice before you hit it, Jim. No, no, no. It was a terrible car. You would have thought this girl had a Lamborghini. She was crying like it was it'd all be off. Well, she changed it. She was on the ground crying, oh my God. And this car was a shit car. And these guys were like, what about her? They got a brand new car.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Wow.

Hershey To New York: Low Bridges

SPEAKER_04 6:40

That's amazing. I was like, uh, well, you know, I I'm sorry, man. But I was ready to get on the bus and go home. So that was my experience in there. Is that your last time driving the bus? Well, actually, it wasn't. We left there. We left there and went to uh Hershey, Pennsylvania. Oh wow. And then we left Hershey, Pennsylvania, went to New York City. Oh boy. Driving the bus. Yeah. In the city? In the city. Listen. Yeah. Oh. Well. Almost tore the top of the bus off. Because the low bridges. Yes. And these cars were hunking trying to get me to stop. I don't know where they humped. I thought they humped because I'm JD's in the bus. I don't know where they this car pulled in front of me and hit the brakes. You can't go up this way. So JD was like, hey man, back it out to drive the bus. Maybe I should drive the bus. You can back it up. In New York. And actually at this time, his fiance was on the bus. She can drive the bus better than he can. I know. I got I was a nervous wreck. And we got out, she she got it, she said, I got it. Nobody got it. She backed up and all the traffic was backed up probably to Mississippi. Oh, for sure. It was unbelievable. But she backed it up, we got it whipped around, and we had to pull up the trucker's map on the phone to see where trucks can go. You know what I mean? Nobody never told me.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

I'm no bus driver.

SPEAKER_04 8:12

I'm you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Like I tr I those things are, it's like you're on a cloud, though. Yeah, you're going down the road.

Fame On The Road And Playing Bouncer

SPEAKER_04 8:19

It's the best, man. Those pre-bolts, bro, they just go, they go, they go, they go. Then you stop at a gas station and everybody like, oh my god, it's gone. Can we go? Hey, bro, we gotta go. And he's coming out saying hi to everybody, right? He's just silent autograph, takes pictures. JD, we gotta go. So I was like, you know, we go to dinner, you know, he wants to, you know, people say, I don't want to be that guy, but most of the time they're that guy. Yeah, yeah. Yes, I don't want to be like in a rough, but I'm gonna be that guy. I'm gonna be that guy. And JD's like, oh man, yeah, yeah. So I gotta be, hey man, can we listen, can we eat? And then I'll make sure he signs your autograph.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Or you know, you know, you know, can we, you know, but you have to be the mediator. I have to be otherwise you won't ever eat.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

And he lets me, but sometimes he's like, You're playing bouncer half the time on top of it, too. Yeah, it's fine. Yeah, it's fine. Bouncer Joe, Limo Joe. You meet all kinds of people, you do all kinds of I mean, have the people that I've met in the golf world, JD misery.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

I mean, a lot of people that I've met, like famous people, go to J. Who would be the most shocking person that you have a kind like on your phone? Like, you can't believe who my phone number is. Like, that's somebody that's in your in your Rollodex. You pick you call Michael Jordan right now. Not that you wouldn't call Michael Jordan. Probably Biden, probably Joe Biden.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

What? That's impressive. That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

That's impressive.

SPEAKER_03 9:40

Uh that's impressive. Does he call you Limo Joe? No.

SPEAKER_04 9:46

But um That's impressive. So um, I got some pretty, I got some pretty uh famous numbers in my phone.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

You don't want to let Matt bar your phone, like you don't want to have a drink drink or something, leave your phone. Matt watch your phone, all of a sudden he'll be calling, hey Alice! This Joe, it's Joe, where you at?

SPEAKER_03 10:09

For season three, Josh, if you ever have a tough time finding a guest, like you should text Joe immediately.

Contacts, Boundaries, And Bringing Guests

SPEAKER_02 10:15

Oh no. Well, I tell Joe when he goes, you know, I always negotiate for crazy shit. Last time he's like, I can't come in on with John. I go, bring John by. Yeah. Bring John by.

SPEAKER_04 10:23

Well, hey, if I if I can bring him, you know, I'll damn sure bring them. But sometimes they they they don't know, they just kind of they're kind of different. When when they come here, most of the time JD likes to spend this time with his kid because he doesn't get to see him.

SPEAKER_05 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:37

So so when he comes here, his focus is on LJ. You know what I'm saying? So whatever LJ wants to do, JD wants to do. I don't care if it's with you know, teenagers or you know what I'm saying? He loves his kids. Yeah. He he absolutely loves his kids. He'll do anything for them. That's great. And and he'll make sure they have everything they need. Like, like he's like, Lemo, my son's coming to university, it's your job to look after him. No problem.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Well, and for for him, it's nice having you here because he knows that's so what does look after him mean? Like, what do you other than driving around?

JD As Dad And LJ’s Game

SPEAKER_04 11:13

What do you mean? But but uh Luke John is a great kid. He doesn't he doesn't need any attention. He doesn't he doesn't like all the extra attention. He's just a good kid. Like we go play golf together, we go to Florida, we play the Jordan's course, we play at the Bears Club, we play, he's just a great kid. He doesn't need his dad is famous, and he doesn't try to be John Daly. He wants to be John Daly the second.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

And he will be. He can crush. Crush it. We were at the golf place down the road. 20 to scratch that out, and he was in there.

SPEAKER_04 11:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He can crush it.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Yeah, it sounded like the balls were exploding.

SPEAKER_04 11:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Crush it. And it's like he and he's the best he did, man. He's the best kid. I mean, I can call him and say, hey, will you do this? Can we do it? Yeah, absolutely. Can we do this? Yeah, you know, and uh I you know and like I said, John is a great, great guy. It's like I'll call him and say, hey man, listen, I'm gonna go to this, uh, I'm gonna be at this um uh this auction for kids and they're gonna they want to auction some stuff. And JD gives me stuff all the time. So I'm not the guy that I want to put it on eBay or you know what I'm saying? Like it's mine, I can do what I want to, but it's from JD, so I don't do that. But I called him one time because they called me and was like, hey, I think it was like I don't know what Delcom's name is somebody somewhere, can you give me something JD? So I called J and was like, hey man, I got this, I got a flag that you gave me signed. Can I give it to these people? He's like, who? Exposed the kids auction or something. It's like, yeah, you can give it to them. So I get the flag and I take it down there and they're gonna auction it off. So I call JD on, put him on FaceTime. It's like, hey, they're gonna auction your flag off. Fucking flag went for$5,000.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

There you go. Feels like it feels like we may have a trade for the Creed. No! So we're all involved in the charity event.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Maybe if Josh gives you two things of Creed, you have you have John signaling.

SPEAKER_04 13:18

Oh no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

He wants the big boy.

Charity Auctions And $5K Flag

SPEAKER_04 13:21

Big boy. We gotta roll with that big boy. But yeah, so he wouldn't, he was like, oh my god, it was great. So yeah, man, uh, you know, you can anybody can. I mean, I'll I mean, I'll take the bullet for JD because he he's been good to me all.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

So he's this generation's version of Don Tyson for you. Like you guys have that. So good. That's good. That's awesome. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 13:43

So he's so good. People and you know, people talk shit about, oh, he drinks, he does this. He's his own man. He does what he wants to do. He don't bother anybody. It's his money that he gambles. If he wants to gamble, it's his money. Yeah. If he wants to spend$100,000 on one night, it's his money that he made. If he loses it, it's on him. So so everybody gets their parents in the wall about, oh, he's wasting his. Well, how many majors have you won?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Right.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Well, and then he's enjoying it. But that's also what's made him. That's why he's the people's golfer. Like the reason he beloves is because he's a wild man. He loves that. If he wins, there's a jet waiting to go to Vegas at the time. He's gonna go off. Or if he loses. Yeah. Like he's he's he's real. Whereas every most people just hide all that.

SPEAKER_04 14:30

You said you hit the nail on the head. He is 100% real. Yeah. Like it's nothing fake about JD. That's awesome. There's nothing fake. If if if I've if he came here with us, you would absolutely fall in love with this guy before he left. You'd be like, holy shit. And and and the stories that he could tell, you listen, and it's like. He would be a good co-host on the podcast. Yeah. But yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

We barely got Joe here once. That's true. He's already wanting to leave. Joe's looking at us watching, I can get out of here. This is the time to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

What is my parting gift? There ain't no green. There ain't no free. I do have a question though.

The Real John Daly: Loyalty And Life

SPEAKER_00 15:11

When this comes out, are you gonna send the copies of JD? I'll send it. Yeah, I'll send it. I'll send it. But um only a matter of time before he begs to be part of this group. He's like, uh Josh, uh, we're gonna have to uh delete that now. Take it down, take it down. Take it down. Question for him, Bobby? No, no. That was the button? Yeah, that was the question. That was a good one. Yeah, if it's one person. If it's one person, we we would love your contact though, if we need to book you, you know, book out one. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:45

Yeah. All right.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Yeah, yeah. Well, what's your what's the website, or how do we people get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Um my website's NWA transportation, but you normally you can get a hold of me with my phone number, 479-640-1430. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

You know what's gonna happen this weekend? Hey Joe, Matt. What are you doing? Phone numbers out there now. That was not an Uber.

SPEAKER_04 16:17

It's gonna cost a pretty price to pay if you ain't got no creed.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Yeah, it's not Uber Joe, it's limo drill.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Can you take it from shadow?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

It's like, yeah, it's a hundred dollars.

SPEAKER_04 16:35

I'm gonna get my wife in the background. Absolutely, man. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

I love your logo on your car, and you it was the first thing bought. I see parked by it. I walked right by and I was like, man, that's cool. Yeah. I saw it was pretty good thing going. And it's I mean, I'm sure it's a small circle, you know, more famous people probably all they talk to each other or their managers. They're like, who do you use when you go there? Yeah. Yeah. They obviously all like you, or you wouldn't still be doing it.

Booking Joe: How To Reach Him

SPEAKER_02 17:09

But it's got such a good personality. It's you've been in the cars and people, you got a nice car and nobody talks to you the whole time. Yeah. Or you're having a conversation with somebody and they're an asshole. Yeah. Then they can talk to you. Yeah. Like you're right. You're perfect. And and and most of the time, and you smell good.

SPEAKER_04 17:22

And I try to smell good. I don't smell it. I mean, I'm just I mean, you know, hang I'm gonna start hanging out at the gym's club. Come on, man. I'm gonna start hanging. Anyone want to go to the gyms club? I'm telling you right now, it's the it's the best place in the world to be called. Yeah, if y'all ain't never been to the gyms club, you need to go to the gym's place. Jim's club. Jin's place. You need to go to the gym's club. Oh, it is that's different. That's different. That's different. Your wife is listening. We're gonna go to the gyms club. Go to the gyms club. Jets play. And you want to smell. Let's go to the gym's play.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

Joe, thanks for coming in. This was great. We could have gone for four hours with each other. This is so much fun. Bobby's like, who you bring in? I go, Joe. He goes, Joe. I said, Oh, you'll like Joe.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yeah, it's great. Amazing. Probably one of the best pet podcasts we've ever. I mean, right behind Joe and Tony. I don't know. You might have Trelly. I agree.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

He's been the best. Thank you, sir. Thank you, man.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

So much for you. Cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers.

SPEAKER_04 18:27

Cheers, brother.