Watermelons & Woodchips Episode 37: Steve Jackson "The Capital City Tornado"

W&W presented by Central Iowa Diesel Performance. The boys say down with the other 5-time IMCA Super Nationals Champion, Steve Jackson.  Strap up because this one set a record for time.   Colton filled in for Coty and the boys were off.  Jackson talked about picking his number through IMCA, becoming the first IMCA National Champion, and first Super Nationals Champion. He had many great stories, so like we said, saddle up! 

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The views and opinions expressed on Watermelons & Woodchips are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of Boone Speedway, IMCA, their affiliates, partners, or sponsors.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_09 0:23

Welcome race fans to Watermelons and Woodchips episode 37. Special stock car edition inspired by the flying electrician Jason Van Sickle. To my left, Josh Reynolds. Farther down, Steve Jackson, an all-time great. And then down there at the end, Jonathan Logue.

SPEAKER_10 0:41

Boys. I've been looking forward to this one for a while. I I kind of kept it under wraps, but I did have a few people get it out of me who who we were having on. But I'm just I'm super excited to have you here, Steve. Um it's been a number of years. Uh when I came into the sport, you were in the middle of I say heyday, basically. Um you were the man in a stock car, so and this guy, he's been watching you since he was in diapers.

SPEAKER_07 1:08

So I I was out at the shop today and dad's like, Oh, what are you doing? I said, Oh, we're gonna go have a podcast with Steve Jack. And he goes, Oh, that's gonna be good, you know. And I'm like, hey, bud, if we're gonna have one five time, we gotta have the only other one in the country. That's right. Come on the show, and and Steve, I I truly, truly can't thank you enough for um coming up and and and doing this with us. I I think there's a lot of Steve Jackson fans out there that you know I watched what Steve Jackson's been doing, and I'm 37, so I know you st I don't know when you started, but I can't wait to find out.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Well, it's been a few years.

SPEAKER_10 1:48

It's been a couple. Yeah, um, we should cover the fact that Cody's not here.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

At another baseball game, can't be at the podcast today, but uh really bummed out that I can't be there with uh the stock car legend Steve Jackson would be really, really cool to sit down and have a conversation with him. But I'm sure uh Josh and I'll have plenty of good things to ask him, and uh Josh will probably fanboy a little bit. But uh yeah, missing out tonight, but we got another baseball game coming up here, so gotta uh take care of that, take care of business here.

SPEAKER_09 2:25

Yes, I am MCing for Cody this evening. He's at the ball field with the boys.

SPEAKER_10 2:29

We are so once again now Steve and I are outnumbered by Reds because we got we got two on the end, we got Garrett behind the camera. So yeah, it's a little troublesome, but we'll get through it, I think. Yes, we will.

SPEAKER_09 2:39

Yeah, but um yeah. Um we can just quickly kind of lead over, you know, for people that may not know Steve Jackson, probably most people do, but you're a five-time supernational winner in the stock car, you know, multiple national championships, you're a boon speedway track champ, OSCE champ, Stuart champ, Des Moines, when it was still open, you know, all those things. Um, you know, so I don't really know where to start. That's quite the list, truthfully. So you pick you picked your starting point.

SPEAKER_07 3:12

I mean, you want to see you know where where you started, or you know, you want to jump right into the heyday or yeah, like where where where did Steve Jackson start racing and where did you come up with your number?

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Yeah, you know, a lot of people, you know, the number deal got it. Um my dad raced back in the late 60s, early 70s, and uh we used to go to Des Moines and um and I got to tell I got to finally meet my hero um when I was uh um got in in into the uh all Iowa Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_07 3:42

Which who is?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Um Kurt Hansen. Kurt Hansen. He was my man. I mean, when I was a kid, uh we go to the races in at Des Moines. I mean, you know, you talk about heydays. I mean, I can remember when I was a kid, you know, we'd get there at 5 30 because they they would fill. I mean, um, I remember my dad's uh uh very good friend and uh ended up later being my uncle, um Glenn Woodard. Um he told me one time, he said, I remember getting up and reading that newspaper, it said Joe Merrifield and Glenn Woodard won in front of more than 10,000 people. Oh they had that grandstand packed back in that day. Wow. But uh anyway, we get there early and my mom would give us a me and my brother a dollar and say, Here you go. When it's gone, it's gone. There's a couple there's a couple times, man, I'd run down. Back then, you know, you get a you get a coat for a quarter and a hot dog was a quarter, and I had that 50 cents. Well, down in front they had a bunch of the guys that drank beer and that but down the front and and come feature time, you know, I'd run down there and and they they'd be all placing bets and everything. I'd say, hey, I bet on Kurt Hansen. Oh, he ain't gonna win. Oh yeah, yeah, here's 50 cents. Well, you know, I would win and next day I go to next next Friday we go to Des Moines. I had a buck already. You know, but yeah, he was my hero, and everybody thought I was gonna go with that number, but my dad had the number two. And uh, you know, a lot of people don't know this, but when I first started, I put in for number two. Well, IMCA at the time, um, they had a they called me up and uh Bill Haglin um called me up and said, Hey, uh somebody else has got number two already. And I said, Well, does he raise the boon? And up and no, but we can only have one number two. I'm like, oh, okay. What? And I'm like, really? He's like, Yeah. You gotta remember this is you guys are like, what? Well, this is nowadays. I mean, you gotta go back in time. Yeah, yeah. And so then I I got thinking there and I said, uh, well, can I be can I just be 2J? And she he goes, I don't know. Nobody's ever done that. So let me get with Keith Kanak and I'll call you back. So day later, he calls me back and he says, Yeah, you could be 2J. Yeah, you could put an you know, because a lot of people back then they'd put an X behind their number if they went somewhere else. And yeah. So I guess that's where the the letters started coming. No kidding.

SPEAKER_07 6:06

Add it to the Steve Jackson resume of starting the num the the letters for your number. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Yeah, and it ended up being some kid down in Oscaloosa had it. I can't I don't remember the name, but yeah, yep, he was the number two.

SPEAKER_10 6:19

You had to apply for your number basically.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Yes, you had to apply for for the number in your class and that, and then they'd call you back if somebody had it and wow changed it.

SPEAKER_07 6:27

So then, when like what year yeah, so when was it when what year was it you started racing?

SPEAKER_02 6:32

I started racing just right after dirt.

SPEAKER_07 6:35

Just right after dirt? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

I'm like that would have been uh that would have been 86, 1986.

SPEAKER_07 6:45

Okay. Two years before I was thought of.

SPEAKER_10 6:47

Yep, yep. I was eight. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:49

So I was I wasn't even a thought yet. I was guessing because my dad asked, he goes, How long? You know, I'm like, gosh dang, I don't know because my dad did 35 years.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Yep, I'm doing 40 this year.

SPEAKER_07 7:01

Yeah, that's crazy. Wow, yeah. You know, we talk about Denny Pittman. You remember Denny Pittman all the way from Jamaica, Iowa. Yeah, all the way from Jamaica. Yeah. Um he's, you know, 70. I I think he's 75. Is he in his 70s? Oh, yeah, he's got to be at any time. We have the technology. He doesn't look that old. He doesn't. He doesn't age well. Still and still racing. Yeah, you know, still racing form. And it's like, you know, that was somebody I watched too, you know, and it's like you get out there and you're racing with these get with you guys, uh-huh, and it's like don't run into them, you know, like it's just a really, really cool thing. So 40 plus years of racing for Steve Jackson. Um man, I mean, we were talking before the show, you know, your dad has kept all of your books and your notebooks someday. Um, you know, if your kid decides that he wants to throw those away, I'd I'd gladly take them to my shop.

SPEAKER_09 8:00

We'll take them we'll take them for the archives. We will. Right, right.

SPEAKER_07 8:04

Or, you know, there's a lot of that cool stuff going on. Have you been up to the museum in Algona? Yes. Yeah. Isn't it an awesome thing? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Um, yeah, I I got some stuff I gotta I gotta take up there. I I told him that I would I still got my uh um of course you know age defies you. But uh I do have my uh I still have my uniform and the helmet that I wore when I won my fifth supernationals. Really? Yeah, and I think I want to take that out there and that is cool. Donate that to him.

SPEAKER_07 8:31

That is cool as shit. Yep, yep. Um we there there's so many cool I think Marty said there's over 84,000 pitchers up there. Oh, yeah. It's insane.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Uh you know, you you talked about my pit man, Gordon Malone. Well, his dad, Dean, you know, for years, I mean back when my dad raced, he was he was taking photos. But uh um yeah, all of his stuff that he had, that house was amazing. I mean, you go in there and it was just lined up with shelving and books, photo albums after photo, had dates, uh, you know, what year and what track and everything that he had photos from. Wow. And I mean, there was boxes among boxes among boxes of photos of different drivers that all went up there. Well, Bruce Badgley, yes, Bruce took him out.

SPEAKER_07 9:17

He he was he was on the show last week. Oh, yeah, or two weeks ago, excuse me. Yeah, and he talked about how you know Dean helped him along the way, and that he goes, I could go up right now and pull out uh if you told me a year or whatever, because he knew how Dean put placed all of his stuff. It was so cool.

SPEAKER_06 9:39

Yes, yep.

SPEAKER_07 9:40

Like I thought, okay, yeah, these guys are just going to the racetrack and taking 800 pictures a night, like whatever. You know, they're it's pretty cool, they're getting cool shots. But when Bruce kind of explained what they do and why they do it and how they do it, it was just a different perspective of appreciating the photographer. You know, I mean they catch some pretty cool shit. Oh, yeah. It's an art.

SPEAKER_09 9:59

It really is an art. Like track photographers, in my opinion, have always been like they're the ones like they have a niche like knack for finding like, oh, like this would make a really cool picture. Yeah. Like, you know, like zip, like Jim Zimmerline, he's always got cool ones too, and Bruce too. Like, they always find these niche spots, and like I remember I don't know how long ago it was, but uh Jim Zimmerline on the back stretch on the entrance of turn three at Stuart, like out past the barricades, like up in the weeds, like you could just see him popping over the fence or the concrete barrier, like taking pictures down the back straightaway. Like they have a new it's a knack like for catching like cool shots like that.

SPEAKER_10 10:39

Back where you don't want to be if Wiley Schumas is coming out of turn two.

SPEAKER_07 10:43

Look at all that's just it's just crazy though that that Dean being close to you and stuff, and how Bruce we were just talking about it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

That's cool.

SPEAKER_07 10:53

Gosh dang, I can't believe you my dad gives me a hard time all the time, too. He's like, Man, you really need to I have all my supernational winning helmets, my suits. Yeah, because it's like you sometimes you give it away or you donate it to a to a charity. Like I I bought one of Ricky Thornton Jr.'s suits that he changed the Lucas Oil deal that's in my living room right now. Like, but someday he might which Ricky has a shit ton of suits, but he might be like, oh man. He might want one backup. That's right. You know, and and so I I admire the fact that you still have that stuff because I do too. And my dad's like, man, which he lost a lot in a fire. We had a five.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

I remember that, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:38

I you know what, Dad? I know he listens to the show all the time. Steve was telling me some pretty interesting stories. We're gonna have a dinner over here shortly, and I'll tell you because there were some barn burners. I'm like, man.

SPEAKER_10 11:51

But if we ever get to pull off the Supernational's winners' roundtable event that we've talked about, we might get to see some of those stories come out right then and there.

SPEAKER_07 12:00

Well, we talked about these guys that have been multiple champions, uh, Jeff Anderson, yourself, my dad, uh some of the guys that have won it multiple times or might be the only winner that have either a won it back to back or three times in a row or whatever that case is. We just kind of thought that'd be a unique deal. Jeff Ikey getting him in here. Boy, that might be scary. Oh boy. I mean, I'm just saying. He's gonna be on mute half the time. Right. So you you you you choose your number, they let you have the 2J, and this is you're in a stock car, or is this a hobby stock? It's a stock car. Stock car.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Yep, yep. Started out right out in the stock cars.

SPEAKER_07 12:37

And um, so what kind of chassis? We know you were uh an SES guy, but was it an SES? Yes, sir. So you've only ever raced an SCS car pretty much all of that.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Through your prime. Yep, yep, pretty much all of it. Yeah, it's SES.

SPEAKER_07 12:51

That's awesome. So you get uh well, as we were talking earlier before the show, you were you know, you you got a nine to five job or eight to five, whatever it is, and you're taking off from work and going and working at SCS and building your own race cars.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Um or working yeah, building other people's race cars, yeah, other drivers and that. We would build pro I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 13:14

Well, how'd you get hooked up with Steve?

SPEAKER_02 13:17

Yeah, it was kind of crazy. I mean, uh he built my first uh stock car, it was a 74 Chevelle. And uh and uh Yeah, well many door Chevelle would that be nice on the road right there.

SPEAKER_09 13:30

You look back and you're like, man, what a what a good car going away.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

But anyway, uh so he built that car and I ran it for uh two seasons, and then the uh the G bodies came out, and uh actually they came out year before Rick Gustin had one. And uh he was pretty much you know, he was the guy that you know everybody looked up to. And uh the guy taught I learned more following that guy on the racetrack than probably anybody else, you know. Um and uh I could see why his kids, if they're half the talented that guy was, you know, that's why they they're pretty pretty good kids, but um behind the wheel. But anyway, um so along comes the 88 season, and and um, you know, I've I you know I got a track championship under my belt, you know. I'm the cock of the walk, you know.

SPEAKER_07 14:18

So I thought I thought I told the guys, I'm like, I hope Steve brings the fucking bandana because like when I could start going to the pits, I'm like, this guy pulls in, not with his race car, comes walking in with his bag, got the bandana going, don't hot lap, walks over, gets in the car, on the trailer, straps in, helmet on, backs off, stage an area, wins.

SPEAKER_10 14:45

Just like that.

SPEAKER_07 14:49

I can see I can see the gun. I'm just saying, and it's and I it's my dad had a lot of success in the modified, and that was like, you know, you always pay attention to the guys that are running good because of how they drive or whatever. So anyway, sorry. I'm just like No, you're good.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

So yeah, I walked out uh we went down to Shannon's and uh I took the car down. I said, Hey, I need you to build me uh build me a new stock car. And he goes, he goes, uh what are you gonna do that with that? And I said, Well, I think I think we're just gonna go out race it and win the national points. It's first year for national points. He looked at me and goes, You're pretty cocky, kid. I goes, Well, I don't know about that, but I got some confidence behind me. I said, you know, you never know. I'm just got as good a chance as anybody else. Right. And uh and I, you know, uh he reminded me of that when I when I started working for him. Um when the then his business, I won that 88 um supernationals, and I was fortunate enough to do that. I was fortunate enough to win the national championship. Thank goodness I covered my butt on that deal. And then uh um, hold on, I'm gonna interrupt you here for real quick.

SPEAKER_07 16:01

I know you're telling me the first year that you race an SCS car, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Would have been yeah, it would have been my Chevelle. I raised two years.

SPEAKER_07 16:12

So two years. You go out and win the national title and win the supernationals in the same room.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

After yeah, after second my second year in racing, yeah. Wow. Yeah. Sorry.

SPEAKER_10 16:21

So and the first ever first ever IMCA stock car national title? Yeah. Is that right?

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Yeah, that was yeah, yep, yep. Uh that was the first year that they uh had the stock car national uh uh points and uh also had us at the supernationals. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 16:37

Really?

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Yeah, that was the first year.

SPEAKER_07 16:39

Where was where was the supernationals that year, do you remember?

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Yeah. Same place it is today.

SPEAKER_07 16:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 16:44

That was the first year at Boone, too, I think, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_02 16:47

That was the first year at Boone.

SPEAKER_10 16:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Lot of firsts. Yep, a lot of firsts there. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah, a lot of firsts. A lot of firsts. So then his his resume happened, and then you know, of course, then now, you know, everybody's gotta have an SCS car. You know how it is in racing. Yeah. Monkey see, monkey do. And um so he called me and and when he built that um we built that car. There was a lot of things that he didn't that he didn't do. You know, he did the cage and and and that kind of stuff, but he never um mounted the seat, never uh had radiator mounts in it, none of that kind of stuff. So um, and we had to do all that from scratch, me and my dad. So um, I took that knowledge with me over there and then went then we started working on them and started pumping them out the door. Kind of like you now. Yeah, right. We probably do, I don't know, I don't know. There's we I bet we probably I'd have to ask Steve, but it seemed like we built 20, 30 cars a year. Right. You know, and then we're and that was for that was winter time, you know. That would have been I don't know. I think we started uh you know, it was it was always uh it always ticked me off because we always he always started me in November, you know, right during Rut, you know. Yeah, you're kidding. So anyway, uh a lot of people don't know what that is. We're talking about bow hunting, yeah. Um anyway, so um and I'd start there and I would work clearer clear up till racing season started.

SPEAKER_10 18:14

Wow, kind of did they not build during racing season then, or was that repair time?

SPEAKER_02 18:18

That was just repair time. Okay, yeah, yeah, and I still worked, yeah. Even there, and I you know, I mean, somebody piled it up and he called me up and said, Hey, look, we gotta put a stub on one.

SPEAKER_10 18:27

Plenty to do. I'll see you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

All right, yeah. So yeah, we're doing that. Plus, you know, here's the thing, what you guys gotta understand 40-hour week job, uh racing four nights a week, took some people's cars.

SPEAKER_10 18:38

Uh-huh. You didn't have time for a whole lot else, did you?

SPEAKER_02 18:41

I think I slept once in a while.

SPEAKER_07 18:44

That that's what I'm saying. Like back in the day, and we we were talking about this too, with like a lot of the racers back in them days either had a mechanic shop or that the they owned a mechanic shop, or they had, you know, there wasn't like there is now where there's like okay, you had SCS, you had Jet, you had uh Dirtworks and Harris. There were like main race car companies, you know, and now you've got like 40 of them. There's a lot of options out there, yeah, a little lot of options, little spots, you know. Yep. And that's where uh I've built every race car that we've ever raced, besides one, the very first rage car that I bought. And it's different, isn't it, when you can build your thing, and it and it can be the same as everybody else's. And it's not that you're doing something special, but it's just different.

SPEAKER_09 19:35

It's different when you put in the work yourself.

SPEAKER_07 19:37

Yeah. But I'd tell you how, and I think Steve can attest to this how hard it is to go to work, work on your race car at the end of the night, go out and race with these people, and then have an altercation, not what not a bad one, but a an incident on the racetrack where it tears your carp. So now you gotta fix theirs, and you gotta fix yours. And you know, like and you're getting claimed when talking about you gotta lose a couple motors in there, or three or four or five. Yeah, right. And so it's it just really means a lot, you know, when you can um and I've been very fortunate to, you know, and uh uh those opportunities arised in your career because you were putting the effort and and stuff in there, and so I can really appreciate that. And so what'd you what'd you I mean what's your expectations? I mean, now you're second year in, you win the supernationals, you win the national title. What's the third year look like for Steve Jackson?

SPEAKER_02 20:33

We're just gonna keep racing and just keep going, and it's just you, your dad, and and uh me and my dad, my brother helped out, and then uh oh along about 92, um Gordon Malone, we talked about Dean, his boy, come and started helping me. Um he used to help out um Denny Rosenberg. Yeah, yeah. He helped out old Rosenberg for a while, and then uh Denny came back to modified racing, and Gordon left me and went to race with Denny for a couple years, and then I don't know, something happened there, which you know, Gordon came back, wanted to know if he could start helping me again, and I said, Yeah, that's fine. Uh he goes, Well, me and Denny, and I said, Hey, I you know, uh don't get into that kind of stuff, you know, that drama. Right. And so I don't really know what happened there, but um anyway, um and then it wasn't too long after I think Denny quit racing again and and uh kinda took it off from there, Claire, up till when he got sick in 2014, I think it was. Yeah. When he got sick, we're getting it to the threat.

SPEAKER_07 21:33

We were talking about him because that's you know, when he was he had the signal. I mean he had a can of chew in his right front and he got yeah, I'm like, I I'm like, man, I don't know what he was saying, but I was so fascinated on it. You know, what he was doing and what you guys were doing on the racetrack. Like that was my kid glory day stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_10 21:53

That's awesome. Were you on the catwalk watching that? Or were you down with the trailer?

SPEAKER_07 21:57

Yeah, yeah, so where the you know where the stairs are, we always stood. We always used to stand right there and then he would stand down below in front of that big that big gate thing, man, and I you you could see him because he was big boy. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

He's a big boy. He's he was what six three, weighed about three fifty, three seventy five.

SPEAKER_07 22:13

Yeah, I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

Big big solution.

SPEAKER_07 22:19

I'm like on the track on him, on the track on him, on the track on him. Because, you know, I mean, in that your signal man, we've talked about it before. They're they're 90% of the time they're they're they're so good for you. Yeah. I could say 98% of the time. There's two percent of the time that they screw you because of uh they get a little jumpy with their signal or whatever, you know what I mean? Like especially if you're leading and you're sitting duck.

SPEAKER_10 22:43

But I finally figured out why I wasn't worth a shit. I didn't have a single guy, signal guy. That's correct. That's what it was. You gotta have a good one. I guess you do. I guess you do. Hey, while we're in this like era, you were working on cars, sim building yours. Did you do anything to yours that you didn't do to anybody else's It was a long time ago, Steve?

SPEAKER_07 23:07

I mean it's a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

But we're like I mean, basically, they I mean they were the same. I mean you know, I changed, you know, I was a fortunate um uh Scott Kaiser. That name rang a bell to you. Where does you know Scott Kaiser?

SPEAKER_07 23:23

I that sounds familiar to you. Like if I seen him, maybe, but Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

Um Scott Kaiser used to work for AFCO. Okay. He was their spring and shock analyst, and that's who Shannon bought springs and shocks for. So um I spent a year and a half on gas charge charged shocks before anybody else could even sniff them. Couldn't even get them. Couldn't even get them. They didn't even have them out on the market. Okay. And I was getting them, and and I mean, I tell you, it uh it threw me for a loop. Because the old gas field shocks, you know, I mean that old fluid get hot and start going away. And I knew with my shock combination, my spring combination, I knew and I could feel my car when that when them shocks started fading. Started fading, you know, and what to do to my car. I I knew how to drive it different and and what it took, you know. I mean, um I I always got a kick out a lot of them guys, you know. You you know, we go somewhere and it'd be a special, you know, oh man, we're running twenty-five laps, whatever. You know, lap fifteen, they're done. They've been beating that thing like a you know, uh a dried up horse, you know. And uh and um and and we just set, you know, I just sat there and I'd set my pace, and and that's what I was pacing a lot of times. A lot of times the guys come in and go, Would you going as fast as you could? I said, No, I never wasn't going as fast as I could. Because I didn't want to waste that.

SPEAKER_09 24:45

You don't want to use it up.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

I didn't want to use that up. You know, and people thought, oh, your dirt target. No, I could feel it. I mean, I could actually feel that them shocks start getting away. So I'm going out and I'm setting this thing up. Well, these gas shocks, they don't they don't go away. You know, so you know, I'm I'm too tight at the beginning of the race. I still can't turn at the end. And I'm like, eh, this is this is not good. You know, what's going on here? Blah, blah, blah. So we're talking with him and that and different charges and stuff like that. So yeah, that's I kind of had a little bit of advantage for a couple couple years before that that came out. But um, you know, uh, as far as like it actually changing, changing things drime dramatically, no, nothing.

SPEAKER_10 25:24

Like I think about uh X bracing under the car, like there were a lot of years guys never did that. You just you just bolt in or you put in the four post and and go for it. And even an engine hoop, you know, that was a thing that wasn't a thing for a long time. Yeah. And then one thing I always remember about your cars is the window opening. It was it looked like the window. When they started shortening up the cages and backing everything up, yours didn't. Yours stayed that way for the longest time, and I remember that, and it's one of those things that just stuck in my head, and I would see you go by and I'm like, you don't have to do that. Look, like this guy is kicking everybody's ass, and he doesn't have that. And I just I always remembered that, and I'm it's something that stuck with me. I think I remember the first time you showed up at a racetrack with a new body style and not the the Regal or and I was like, Whoa, Steve changed it up, like you know, you it is just it was something like that. But it that's just what made made me want to ask that question is you know, just the the the way that the cars evolved from when you started.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Oh yeah, big time, huge.

SPEAKER_10 26:29

Yeah, and and I know Steve, you know, they built them, they they changed and evolved.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Yeah, we changed and evolved, yeah. Yeah, yeah, had to. Yeah, you had to keep up a certain amount with the times and and with what rules they were letting you get get away. So, you know, there's certain things they let you get away with, certain things you that you can't, you know. Yeah, um, you know, it's just like nowadays, you know, they you see these guys and they got the washers, you know, these car manufacturers, nothing against the Johnny. You know, you got the washers on the front because your control arm mounts are wallered out and this kind of stuff and that, you know. I still got I still got all the frame measurements. I can measure you up and tell you how far off you are actually, if you ever want to know. No kidding.

SPEAKER_07 27:10

Oh before you leave, I'm getting your phone number. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

But yeah, you know, you could, I mean, there are certain things I mean, you know, guys would do. I mean, a lot of it is just um I was able to race, you know, fortunate and a lot of guys, you know, they'd race one night a week, and and you know, to race one night a week, I'm figuring that out now, is you know, uh, and it's you know, you got other priorities in life come along. Yeah, and that one night a week, it's tough. Yeah. It's tough, you know. It was easier, it seemed like it was easier for me to race four nights a week than what it was two or three.

SPEAKER_06 27:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Or or one or two even. It's the fact that you're in, you know, I'm in that car, you know Constantly. Constantly. All the time. I mean, we ran four nights a week plus uh uh what the there's one day when we was digging through the deals, uh dad says, You realize we raced uh thirteen nights and fourteen days? I said, We did? Yeah, you won the Napa race here, and we went to the the race here, and plus we raced the four nights a week that you was racing.

SPEAKER_08 28:13

I mean, what's it like to just be that? I don't know. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_07 28:19

Like, I mean, that's insane, Steve. I mean to be that I mean that's that's right there, your stats just in them short amount of two years is better than Ricky Thornton Jr. is probably one of the one of the greatest drivers that we've seen in Arctic uh as far as a new day like nobody dominates like that anymore.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Yeah. Yep. You know, I just you know I took it a little different. When I went out you know, you said here and you got this written down in there, you said you're a five times supernational champ. Supernational started out in 1988, um, and I ran through 2009. So what is that? Twenty one.

SPEAKER_09 29:00

Twenty-one years.

SPEAKER_02 29:01

Okay. So I look at this, you know what I say? Do the math. I lost a lot of things. I lost a lot more than what I won. Yeah. That's incredible. And I and that's the way I look that's the way I look at it. Everybody says, Oh, you did this, you did that. I said, No. No, I didn't. I I lost more than what I than what I won. And that that's what that's what irritated me more than anything. You know, I I could sit back and you know, they say, What's it like to win at five times? You know, that was all great and everything. But I look at the night that um Bassett came along and they gave us a brand new set of wheels, you know, and they said, Man, this these are great and everything. And I put them on, I went out there and they dropped the green flag of the supernationals. I went into one foot to the floor, dove that thing into one passing Stoneburner for the lead, bam, rolled the right front tire. Denny Stoneburner got his supernational win.

SPEAKER_07 29:55

1997.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

And I'm going, hmm. I'm fuming in I'm fuming in the pits, man. Yeah. I I mean, I sat there with a smile on my face, but inside I am burning so bad. Oh, that that's the that's the things that that got me is is I lost. Yeah. And that was the thing that I didn't I mean inside I hated to lose. Right. I hated to lose. But if you won and you beat me, I come up, shake your hands, say good job. Yeah. And I go back and I tell and and I I could tell you one uh um uh we was at the Moyne on on a ferret race. And uh Rick Brown got out, got out in front, and I was trying to run him down and I couldn't. And I was so angry. Angry. I mean, I'm like, two things. I lost until Ford. Oh boy. Oh, I was mad. Fast forward uh, I don't know, it was probably three, four weeks later. We get we get out there and we're we're racing, and Rick is at Des Moines and he's out to lunch. And I'm like, I gotta catch this guy. So I start I start taking that thing down into one and I turned at the flag stand, I started angling for the top of the middle of one and two. And I drove that thing all the way there, lifted, jabbed the brake, threw the steering wheel sideways, and floored it, and ran down the bank and all the way back, and I ran him down. He was over straight away ahead. And I passed him with about five laps to go, and I thought, take that. But it's not not now don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at Rick or anything. Yeah, but I wanted to win. I had I had to get revenge, right? You know, right, because he beat me at my home track, right? Des Moines, right at the fair racing. That uh, you know, that that but that's just that was the personal side of me. Yeah, you know, but as far as you know, would I would I you know yell and scream, you know, at at the guys that you know, hey, you know, we didn't win, blah blah blah. No, no, right, no, but I that was just my personal feelings on on my racing.

SPEAKER_10 32:06

Kept your fire going, yeah, too.

SPEAKER_02 32:08

Yeah, for yeah, yeah, yeah, it burned. Yeah, and it was kind of crazy because it's like I never had that in the beginning, but you know, after in about 90, about 90, 91, I mean there started to get to be a lot of race cars. Yeah a lot of cars. You know, and so then um and the one that got me was uh I guess it started about '88, I think. Is they had a uh uh we had won three nights in a row up at El Dora. And so they put a bounty on me. And I don't know if you know Dixon. Al Dixon. Is that Mark Elliott's wife? Was she a Dixon?

SPEAKER_10 32:48

It wasn't the Dixon racing chassis.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

No, no, no, no, no. They were from they were from right there around. His name was Alan Dixon. He had he always drove a uh what I remember, he had a a Monte Carlo, like a 72 Monte Carlo body and and a 03. And uh we we ran down and and it was uh coming for the uh checker flag and going into three, I rolled the right front tire. And he passed me. He got alongside me and passed me, and of course, you know, I left it to the wood, you know. Chased him down, but I tried to chase him down, but and he ended up beating me and and uh man he came over and and I mean just I mean, he was you know, hey, good race, good race. I say, Yeah, you know, yeah, good race. He goes, Yeah, he said everybody said you couldn't be beat, I beat you, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, I don't race to beat people, I just race to race because I want to win, you know. Right. He's talking about beating me, and then a couple guys come over and say, Oh, Dixon's over there bragging about beating you, and this and that. I'm like, Really? Is this how this game's played? Okay. Right. So I had to step it up a notch, and then after that, and then it started getting uh getting a little more the man. This is we're going somewhere.

SPEAKER_07 33:59

Right, right. Well, guys, I think we we we're gonna pause in the middle of this Steve Jackson mem memorial lane, right? Memorial lane here, because I'm like, holy shit. Um we got Adobe Pete's up here. We're gonna I I we need to send it off to we need to first of all, we need to thank our great partners, which is we gotta thank Barntown Central Island Diesel Performance, our presenting sponsor here, the uh podcast, uh Moffat's Ford, um Housebe Trucking, of course, uh Farley's Wholesale Tire.

SPEAKER_10 34:35

Um Adobe.

SPEAKER_07 34:37

The Adobe Lounge, yeah. The Adobe Lounge. We're about to partake in some pizza from the Adobe. Yes, we are about to partake uh in that. And uh we we're when we come back, we're gonna get back into uh why Steve Jackson chose stock cars back and and uh we're gonna send it off to our to our partners here. You've been watching watermelons and wood chips.

SPEAKER_03 35:00

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SPEAKER_04 35:30

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SPEAKER_09 36:04

Welcome back, race fans, watermelons and wood chips. We're here with Steve Jackson, uh, one marketing partner that I neglected to catch, even though Jonathan did most of them. Elmquist towing. Thanks always to those people too.

SPEAKER_10 36:16

Bet. Um, I said real quick before we get back in, because we got a lot to cover yet.

SPEAKER_07 36:22

I know it.

SPEAKER_10 36:23

Uh, and by the way, that pizza was amazing. So awesome. Yes, thank you really good. Adobe lounge. Yep. Uh Steve would like to talk to John about scoring a vodka's. Maybe there's some competition there. I could you see these guys having a competition over something?

SPEAKER_07 36:36

Well, it sounded well before the show, it sounded like these competent. I mean, my dad, I mean, I'm uh huh. That's a part swapping going on. That's what I'm saying. A little part swapping going on, and then dad didn't let out the gas. And he was looking at Steve and this is like OG shit here. Hazard County of all places. We call it a hazard county because of just Jefferson, you know. And and uh Yeah, what a what a great thing, but what's absolutely phenomenal racing uh this weekend. Yeah. Not just at the boon speed, we kind of got a wash out on Friday night.

SPEAKER_10 37:11

Yeah, that topless race has been a little bit unlucky. It's like I think one year they got them both in, but then it's been struck the last couple years, missing at least one.

SPEAKER_07 37:19

So yes, I I messed with Matt. You know, we've been working on that airflow system deal. Uh got him tuned back in last week. He picked up a win. Um and uh I told him, I said, Yeah, did you hear that I mean it's it's two grand for you guys to win tonight? He's like, Oh, really? I didn't see nothing on it. You know, I'm like, nah, I'm just kidding. Yeah. Since they rained out Friday, I think that they should, you know, push that over and just make it double it up.

SPEAKER_10 37:44

They said they're gonna they're gonna put it back out there, they're gonna do it again.

SPEAKER_07 37:48

It does oh the the topless at Marshall. Okay, reschedule. They're gonna reschedule. You know what they should do is they should do a reschedule the night that the late models were there. Oh, that'd be the flow night, because they always have a support class.

SPEAKER_10 38:02

That would be something.

SPEAKER_07 38:04

Who's here?

SPEAKER_10 38:05

I don't know. Did Cody make it? No way.

SPEAKER_09 38:11

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_10 38:12

All right. Well, it was the ghost of the building that we've heard about. Might have been dad's ghost, could be a tiny heard. Never know. Yeah, yeah. He did run the ghost for a while. Um, but I do want to say, so the mod lights had a little vote and they decided to go topless along with the big cars. And Colton said it when they pulled out on the track, I think they look the best out of the three topless. Because the other two, I heard somebody said this to me a couple years ago, and I'll never not see it. They look like a bass boat.

SPEAKER_06 38:42

They look like a John boat.

SPEAKER_10 38:43

But the roof's gone, it's just a flatadecking deck comes along, and it's like, wow, I could see a guy standing there with a pole hanging off the top.

SPEAKER_07 38:50

It's so it's such a different look. It is way different. It is, and we and Chris, when he came up with that uh deal for around here, we know the late model guys have been doing it for years. Um, I thought it was very unique and it's it is so different. Like Matt Matt comes in after his heat race and he's like, Boy, I ain't been pelted with that much dirt like that for a long time, you know. And it's like you wouldn't think just taking the roof off because everything else still in front of you is open. But just your like like you go up. I like going up and talking to people without the roofs on because you're like standing down to them, like, yeah, talk to you, you know, like instead of like this, you know. So it just cracks me up. It's like you're fist bumping through the roof, you know, good luck or whatever. But uh what a great show. The the uh sport mod show was that was really yes.

SPEAKER_09 39:43

Um I thought I've always kind of thought that especially with the way the cars are now, and you could speak to this better, like you've been in a sport mod more recently, but like the you don't think about the aero dependency that you have with the roof on or off. Because like you still have the nose, and on a sport mod you still have what a four-inch spoiler or depending on what you read. Right, yeah. Yeah, five or three. Yeah, five or three. There you go. Like you've got plenty, but I was I always get nervous about the sport mods as it is sometimes because they just don't always have their heads on straight. But they put on a great show, I thought. I mean, they ran out, they come out on a 30 lap feature, ran the first, I think, nine, you know, and then they had a yellow, then they got another long run until like six to go, and they had one more yellow, and that was it, I think. Or may it may have been less.

SPEAKER_07 40:29

But yeah, well, we we we lost Mike Smith. A lot of people asked what happened there. Uh, talked to him after the race, the bearing went out on his pulley on his power steering, and I'm like, Oh, geez, bud, you couldn't muscle that thing. He goes, I tried for two laps and looked up and seen that there were it was twenty-seven to go, and he's like, There's no way. Yeah. And I've done that in a stock car. Yeah, and I'm sure Steve has he's done this over the years, you know, when they didn't have the quickeners, or it was just uh uh what were they the 800 boxes? Just uh and then they came out with a little quickener that was two to one. Now we have boxes. Are you running a six to one now? Are you still? I'm still old school.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

Are you yeah? I started out there was no quick steer, it was just power steering.

SPEAKER_07 41:11

Big steering wheel or a little or normal?

SPEAKER_02 41:13

Um I had the normal, just like just like what we have. Um but I threw a you know, every once in a while you'd throw mudget in there or whatever, and you'd throw a belt and yeah.

SPEAKER_06 41:21

You gotta hang it.

SPEAKER_07 41:23

Yeah, so that took Mike Smith out three laps in. Um tough break. Tough break for him. I mean the kid's been fast. He he you know, and he goes, you know, typical deal, it's a thousand win show. I draw the number four pill, starting up front instead of starting, you know, fifth or sixth row, and and we break, you know, and I'm like, man, I I know that feeling. It it sucks, but I also know that you can't hardly turn them things. Yeah, right. Without power steering.

SPEAKER_10 41:51

I mean I was disappointed because him and Brayton Carter were lining up. I thought they were gonna have Carter broke too.

SPEAKER_07 41:57

And then he broke too. Well, he caught a left uh left rear flat. Um there was an altercation coming off of turn four, they were three, four wide, and it was just a racing deal. A guy clipped him with his right front, and I'm like, oh man, I mean it kind of jarred the car, and then he was fine, and then all of a sudden, you know, I don't know if it maybe knocked the door in or whatever, or if it just knocked the bead in on the rim. I mean, we had a couple of Jeremy Mills's left rear wheel looked.

SPEAKER_09 42:22

Yeah, how did that thing hang on? I have no idea. That was I mean, even at speed, you could see, which jumping to the mod feature, you could see at speed the left rear was bent so bad that even as he was hanging it out over the top side, you could still see the glare off the lights coming down, like even as it was spinning, you know, as fast as it was.

SPEAKER_10 42:41

It had to butt rattle the fillings on the bottom.

SPEAKER_09 42:43

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:44

I was yeah, I don't know what that felt like, but I'm sure it was not fun for how many of them have.

SPEAKER_09 42:52

Absolute heartbreaker for Isaac. Yeah. Malico. But what a I mean, in my opinion, what happened? They finished less cars, but I think the ending with the top three and four, I mean, it was a banger. I mean, Mills, Fitz, Isaac. What happened?

SPEAKER_07 43:08

I mean, I'm sitting in staging. I'm starting 11th because your guys' points system. I don't know how that works, but we're not going to talk about that right now.

SPEAKER_09 43:14

We can't play favorites. Yeah, we know. Anyways, so Maliko got out early and led most of the race. I could see that. Right. And he kept hitting his marks, kept hitting his marks through what was an abundance of yellows. I mean, for a modified race, that was awful. They had so many yellows, and I don't know if that's back to the aero dependency thing. I don't know if that was part of it for some of them guys that maybe weren't ready for it or what. Anyways, but he ran the top side in one and two, and then he'd come to the bottom in three and four nice and general, about a lane off the bottom. And he was in one and two, and Fitz was there, and Mills was even with the bent left rear, was or rim at least, but he was still hanging out around the top side, and Isaac just slipped over the edge with. The right rear, just enough to hang up the axle, just a hair. It didn't even really slow him down, but it was enough for Fitz to kind of muscle around on the bottom. Well, then Fitz had the bottom going in, where Isaac was running in three and four, so he had to jump up a lane. No problem. Isaac still made speed, came in, and this is with two to go. I think two or three to go. And Isaac, I'm assuming the only thing he could think was is like, well, I'll jump back to the top side and I'm really gonna give it a run. And he hung almost the whole rear end over one and two there, and it was over from there.

SPEAKER_07 44:31

Well, I just heard Jerry, I'm I'm strapping in because it was hotter than shit. It was hot. Holy moly. Yes, it was. I mean, it was so all of us drivers were out of the cars, were kind of watching it because it was a 30 lap race. We had two 30 lappers for the for the topless twofers. Um, and we're up there watching, I'm like, I can see the modified's blowing that cushion up more and more and more. And it's boon's weird because if there is a cushion, it's not really a cushion. It's like marbly cushion.

SPEAKER_09 45:03

It's not gonna hold you up. You still you can't you can't back it into it come down off the correct edge. Yeah, it's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_07 45:11

So when they blow that off there, though, there's still a shit ton of grip where they blow that off. Like, and it's like probably this far down from the actual very lip of the racetrack. Right. Um, so I'm like, man, we're starting 11th. It's like I can see some grip on the bottom, and then I hear Jerry go, oh, heartbreaker for Isaac Malicote. But I didn't know if it was Fitz or if it was Jeremy because I couldn't see Fitz.

SPEAKER_09 45:36

Fitz, yeah, Fitz ended up winning, and he just kind of motored. I don't want to say motored around the bottom, but he had the bottom figured out. He ran the middle a little bit, but I don't know that he ever jumped to the top side, maybe but once.

SPEAKER_10 45:48

He just kind of kept pace. Like yeah, he was he kept him in which Yeah, he kept in striking distance. Any good driver's gonna do if they can if they just don't have enough to get by, sometimes you just gotta hang out and something like that will happen.

SPEAKER_09 46:02

Right, yeah, because like I think even in my opinion, had Mills gotten to Malico, which Mills had to fight back through the field, especially after getting a bent left rear. But I think had he had Jeremy caught up to Isaac, had Isaac not missed his marks, obviously, Jeremy would have had to throw a bomb to get past him. I mean, i we're talking about I don't know. He'd be he'd be hanging the left front over the tires as he entered the corner like that deep. I think that's the only way he'd have got around him. And he would have had to park it on his nose, and Jeremy wouldn't do that.

SPEAKER_10 46:33

So, real quick, we got Trevor Fitz with the win. Uh Isaac got second, Jeremy Mills in third, and Kyle Brown shows up. I hadn't seen him at the racetrack this year.

SPEAKER_09 46:42

Red Brown, Blue Brown were there last time.

SPEAKER_10 46:45

Brent Hartwick, oh, from Arkansas. Yeah. That was a good run for them. Uh Corey Saurman. I didn't have to see any uh right foots on a left ear. Um I said that in front of Fitz and I just saw him laugh. So I it the joke is there, they love it. Russ Dickerson uh runs seventh, David Solberg eighth, Chase Weimer ninth, and Garrett Nelson brings home tenth.

SPEAKER_09 47:09

Which speaking of Hartwick, uh this is on the sheet, but yeah, he started 20th and ended up fifth, but some of that's war of attrition because I think we only finished 13.

SPEAKER_10 47:19

It was, but you could tell, like he just kind of he again he's gonna be. He's been to Boone, he races supernationals every year. Like he knows the place, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 47:27

But I I mean showing up to a weekly show is a little different. Some guys that I mean they only race Boone once a year, they just show up for Supernationals, and not that that's only what they are, but like they'll come to the Harris Clash and that's about it, I think. They were just in the neighborhood for something. I'm not really sure. I saw it was either Brandt or Spencer posted on Facebook the other day on Friday, and they said, Oh, well, you know, we're coming through Missouri, you know, w where's racing in Iowa and Marshall Town had just canceled, and I think they ended up going to Columbus Junction. But I think they were the only place to race on Friday, truthfully. You know, so but IMCA show at least, but right, but um yeah.

SPEAKER_10 48:05

Stock cars. You know anything about that race, John?

SPEAKER_07 48:08

Stock car race, yeah. Um we get out there. Um Ryan Roth, uh, you know, he led most of the race. He led most of the race. He's in a brand one of our brand new cars. Um been having some really good runs, just having some mishaps. I think the caution really hurt him, you know, uh from after watching the replay and stuff. But uh man, there was some there was a little mayhem in there. We had the old 31X and the old hot rod Richards. I tell you, I think that was we had a Smith sandwich.

SPEAKER_10 48:40

We had um Yeah, a little logue in the middle.

SPEAKER_07 48:43

Yeah um you know, it was just uh it was an exciting race. Um Hunter Smith picking up another one. That kid is that kid is uh a great kid. I he's to race with I don't I haven't actually met him.

SPEAKER_09 48:58

When when you do, trust me, he's a good kid. He really is.

SPEAKER_07 49:01

It seems like we've talked back and forth in the cars and stuff, you know, and um like but man, good good for him. I mean uh Ryan just slipped up there and and Hunter stuck his nose in there and and uh pulled the old Steve Jackson move down there in turn one and two and got him down low. Got him down low and and and walked away with it. And the kids from Colorado moved out here, young kid, uh Vanderbilt now. Yep, very respectable racer.

SPEAKER_10 49:28

Yep, um Yep, uh and not related to the Lake City Smiths, but you might as well add another Smith to the top four because why not? Uh David brings home second, uh Roth got third, Buck got home, got a top four, uh Doug Smith, fifth, Greg Peck, uh, and then Jimmy Gustin, Tyler Pickett, Todd Van Eaton, so yeah, good night knowing home for them boys. Yeah. And Daniel Hagan with a top ten.

SPEAKER_09 49:54

So hold on. Do I need a magnifying glass to find your name on this? Yes.

SPEAKER_07 49:59

Well, uh, I'm just saying maybe if the racetrack would have called the right call on the flat left front tire on the 81 car for 10 laps, I wouldn't have had to have checked up and get spun out by Dave. You take that up with the flag man.

SPEAKER_10 50:12

Well, I think they had the the Smiths had the airflow system going to the left front because it almost looked like it was up, but you had the best vantage point to see that it was not up. And uh that is something, and you said it earlier, that is not one that we miss very often.

SPEAKER_07 50:26

Right.

SPEAKER_10 50:27

We are very we try to be as strict on that as we can.

SPEAKER_07 50:31

And and and it's it's a it's an honest mistake. I mean, I know nobody didn't intentionally not see as left front tire, but it dictated so much of what was going on. And and Devin uh believe me, I would have tried to I would have done the same thing. Sure. You know, I would have stayed out there as long as I could have stay out there until they tell you until they tell you. You know, and but it that's what you know you guys hold us so accountable, so we need to hold you accountable too. Agreed. So when that call gets, you know, and it everybody's like, oh, it was Dave Smith that took you out, and it's like, yeah, but it wasn't he didn't intentionally take me out, it was a racing deal.

SPEAKER_08 51:06

Right.

SPEAKER_07 51:07

Um it Devin, you know, Jerry, it was it was weird. I've watched the replay and it's on Doom Scroll, you know, and people are bitching, like, quit bitching. I was pissed, don't get me wrong, I was pissed, but by the time I got my car fired back up, the leaders had already come around. I'm not going out there at one lap down, right? I'm just not gonna do that. So that's why I stay. So I go over to the track doctor, which nobody yells at Rod, but I did on Saturday. And I wasn't yelling at him, it was that the races were going on, and so and he has his head set on and he's already hard of here, and so am I. And I'm like, where's why are we letting the 81 car out there for 10 laps race with a left front flat tire? And he goes, It was the eight car that took you out. I'm like, That's not the point. You know, the 81 car was holding his line and he made a mistake because his tire was down. Yeah, he he he just couldn't, and and all it was is that he all got a little sideways and I was right there. I check up, Dave's underneath me, he catches a tire, it shoots its front end over, clecks my left rear, spins me out, racing deal. It happens, it's just part of it.

SPEAKER_10 52:16

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 52:16

But was I pissed? Well, yeah, I was pissed. You know, and it is what it is, but it's like everybody's like, oh, the points. I'm like, I'm gonna be in North Dakota for the North. I'm gonna miss another night over the year. Like, I don't give a shit about the points. Although I feel like it's like, you know, um, I talked to Peyton, he's like, dude, every time I talk to you, you're starting dead last. I'm like, it's a boon thing. I've started 11th row ever since the first year I won Supernationals. I ain't never been out of it.

SPEAKER_09 52:46

Yeah, what's this deal? Like, if you start in the back, boy, you're just lights out. You and Jimmy both who played. Siri starts in the back, look out. You two, and like you guys start near the front and you guys just suck. What is it?

SPEAKER_07 52:57

Because we gotta like see and feel it out, and I don't know. Steve can Steve can attest to this, right? It's it's nice not to be the front row Joe.

SPEAKER_06 53:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 53:05

I mean, yeah, at that point, you're not just waiting for somebody to show you something somewhere to say that because then you know you're like, well, I'm slow here, you know. Right. But correct.

SPEAKER_07 53:16

I don't know. But that ended my night real quickly. Um so I just kind of sat down in the infield and then the yellow came out, and I'm like, all right, I'm going home. I'm going to my trailer and I'm going home. So I'm gonna do. So my my nephew's birthday extravaganza. Extravaganza was out there, so they were all pretty they were pretty pumped up and I ran into Britt down below the tower, and she's like, What are you doing over here?

SPEAKER_10 53:38

I'm like, Well, this is where I work. Oh, yeah, but yeah, right?

SPEAKER_07 53:42

Another thing I want to bitch about real quick. We run out of fruit on the hottest day in the pit area.

SPEAKER_10 53:47

Oh man, I bet people couldn't get it at fast enough, I'm guessing.

SPEAKER_07 53:50

It was it's like the most hydrating thing there, other than the action tracks.

SPEAKER_10 53:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:54

But we run out of we we we run out of the fruit. I can't have action tracks during the races. I gotta have I gotta have hydrating stuff. Right.

SPEAKER_10 54:03

There's been some guys get caught doing that in the night.

SPEAKER_09 54:07

That's the thing about the fruit, though, is like, I mean, if you order too much, then it all spoils. So you always kind of underdo it, I would assume.

SPEAKER_07 54:14

Okay, this weekend it's gonna be a hundred and two in heat index, double the fruit.

SPEAKER_02 54:18

All the what's wrong with stopping getting something on your way? Uh well. I never heard this. I never I'm like eating fruit before. You just drink some water, man.

SPEAKER_07 54:28

Well, it takes a lot of cash.

SPEAKER_02 54:30

We never had that stuff.

SPEAKER_07 54:31

Steve spoiled school. We are spoiled.

SPEAKER_10 54:37

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 54:38

We are spoiled.

SPEAKER_10 54:40

They need a oh man, I was gonna say uh a bandana, but a handkerchief. Yeah, I remember them days.

SPEAKER_07 54:46

We take snacks and stuff, but I like to support the racetrack. It's a good way for the racetrack to put money in their pocket.

SPEAKER_10 54:51

Well, we'll just I will let Danelle know. Perfect. Get a little more. We appreciate it. We already do sport mod response. We're getting ready to do them right now. I can go over those. Yeah, the second round, the second round of bass boats.

SPEAKER_09 55:03

Yes. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Yes. Cam Reimers from 10th, um, which he's been fast lately. He won he won one night at Independence. He's been strong recently. Um no real big movers and shakers, but it was a big field. I mean 45 cars. I mean, you know, to get to that feature. I mean, we talked about Carter having a left or flat, which he pulled off so slow. That's why I thought he broke. Um you know, and then Smith breaking too, but you know what a stout field. I mean, even your top ten here. I mean, like, it's not like he's out there racing against any slouches. Right. Um, but Cam brought home the win. Uh Willie Kirk, Joe Reed's third, Randy Havick fourth, which yeah, when Randy's on, he's on, you know, like um Hunter Poston, that was a good showing for him. He's from Valliska. I think he races corning quite a bit. Quite a bit, yeah. I don't know he I think he comes to Stewart too. Yeah, in the 58X. Um Ryan Lehman, Hunter Longnecker, Chris Burke. And his own show, he got top ten. At his own show, which boy early on you'd have thought he Well he had to run a B. He couldn't even get out of his own way. Well, I think he got caught up a couple times, but did we I or no, he got in through the heat.

SPEAKER_07 56:15

One of the biggest disappointments about this whole this whole show this weekend was um no Jake Sacco. And I it was different. It was different. And the reason I say that is because the guy gets his, you know, gets his dick kicked in the dirt a little bit, and it's the first week we have a single car feature. Right. Oh. Um, and I've heard through the grapevine that um you know IMCA has implicated a rule uh effective immediately, and I could be completely wrong. Sorry, Brett, if I am uh not announced this or whatever, if they haven't, have they posted anything about it?

SPEAKER_10 56:55

I haven't seen anything posted, but we did get notified that um you gotta have 40 cars to do it.

SPEAKER_07 57:00

Okay, so uh any track if you choose to have a double feature night, you have to have 40 cars.

SPEAKER_02 57:07

Yep. So you guys are a bunch of man, yeah. What a bunch of prima donnas.

SPEAKER_07 57:16

Sorry about that. No, no, and so so um this weekend being a special event, the topless 30, Chris Burks, uh, since he's promoting the show, he wanted a single car feature with B-Main. Um and so they brought in 45 cars, and I I say that is because I I really wanted to see Jake Saka with the Cam Rymers, the Willie Kirk, the Matt Avalas, the you know, all the guys, because that's what puts on a show, you know. And um but it's part of it, it was the rules, and and uh like I said, it was a good show. It's just um one of them unfortunate things that we didn't get to see the 14 car there. And I asked him if he wanted to bring it up, I'd run it for him, and then I thought he goes, pfft Lottie might claim it even if you're running it. And I'm like, yeah. He might. It just depends on how hot he is at 7 30, 8 o'clock at night.

SPEAKER_09 58:07

He just doesn't like the color orange. Yep, right, right. Anyways, eighth, Chris Burke, ninth ranking, tenth, Mitchell Morris.

SPEAKER_10 58:15

And Burke did make it into a seat. He did, he did.

SPEAKER_09 58:18

Okay, he struggled early in that feature, though. Yeah. He started deep. Yeah, no, he did, but yeah, he just he wasn't putting around the back, but like he was trying to make the bottom work, and you know, like Cam. I think Cam ran the top the whole race and a couple other them guys. But yeah, yeah, he just he struggled in that one. It would I in my head when I saw the lineup, I was like, man, I'm like, that'd be something if Burke won this. You know, it'd be cool to see. Right. I mean, I don't know, we'd probably catch a bunch of flack, but I mean oh he puts on the show and then he wins. I'm sure we'd have done something wrong along the way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 58:51

He would have earned it.

SPEAKER_09 58:53

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 58:53

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_07 58:54

But um Hobby stocks.

SPEAKER_10 58:57

Yeah, hobby stocks. Go for it, Bobby.

SPEAKER_07 58:59

I you want me to murder everybody's name? You guys go right ahead. Yeah, I mean that's exactly what you were doing.

SPEAKER_09 59:04

I I definitely wollen hop. Wollen hop.

SPEAKER_07 59:07

Yeah, he comes from 13th to pick up the win. Correct. That's a tough task to do at Boon Speedway.

SPEAKER_10 59:12

And they're last race out, last race out.

SPEAKER_07 59:14

Yep. I think that uh, you know, I think we should have threw them guys out there in between the mods or the stock car race, chew that track up. Them tires are so good on that racetrack and creating different lanes. Like there was a lane in the stock cars across the middle and one and two and stuff, and then it went away, of course, at the end. But um I don't know, them hobby stock tires are weird, do weird things the racetrack. So for him to come from 13th, that's a hell of a accomplishment.

SPEAKER_09 59:41

Especially after Dylan Hill led nearly the entire race. I mean, it was only 15 laps. But I think Hill led the first 11 laps or something like that.

SPEAKER_10 59:49

Yep. That kid's that kid's been increasingly finishing higher and higher. He's due up for one, he'll get one. Yep, yep. I think he will before the year's over.

SPEAKER_07 59:58

Yeah. Bryce Sommerfield. Sommerfeld.

SPEAKER_10 1:00:01

Yep, there you go.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:02

Corey Vanderwilt, Eric Knutsen, uh, Joey Young, Andrew Berg. The burglar. The burglar, Adam Tiernen going eighth, Seth Butler going ninth, and and this is a familiar name with Steve Jackson here. Tommy Killen Jr. probably raced with the old man back in the day.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:17

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we had a few there.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:18

We had a few there around there at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:21

Yeah, Alcadon, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:23

Man, I remember when I was a kid, we'd be down there and it'd be like, Well, Killens are fighting somebody. Or they're claiming somebody, they're walking around with a lot of cash who they're gonna buy, you know. Like so it's cool to see those uh people that I used to watch race that they're kids, and whether they're older or a little bit younger than me, uh still doing the sport that we all love. Yes. Tommy's older than you. Oh, yeah, Tommy be older than me. I think he's got a what's he gotta be, mid-40s?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:51

Tommy's is he that old? No, I don't think he's that old. I think so.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:55

I'm 40, guys. Oh, well. Or gonna be 40. I'm I'm I'll be 38 in July. Probably around 40.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:01

I bet you're you guys are probably pretty close. Yeah, yeah, you're pretty close in it.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:05

It's been a long while. I've last time I ever seen him actually and seen him in the pit area and stuff was at the fairgrounds. Right. That has been that long. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:01:13

Yeah, and Tommy's been around this stuff since he was walking. So exactly. I did look up earlier, Denny Pittman is 73 years old.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:22

73. I'm sorry, Denny. FYI. You've aged well, buddy. Yeah, sorry. He has. My goodness. I would not have guessed 73. We gotta get him on. I would have guessed he's like 61 or something. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:33

Well, bud, he was the most winningest modified driver at Boone Speedway. Right. I mean, I knew that. He still is. He is. I knew that, but I just are you the are you the most winningest stock car guy?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:43

I have no idea. I could question it.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:45

We should call, we need to call uh I bet Bill Martin.

SPEAKER_10 1:01:49

Bill or oh yeah. Bill Vinia or Virginia Virginia would know.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:53

We should definitely look into that. I mean, that that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_10 1:01:56

Yep, we can do that.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:57

But onto the mod lights. Uh Tommy Flipover, Austin Gray.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:02

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:03

Uh, I mean, has been I mean, he's been racking and stacking and he was good before the rollover.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:10

Oh, yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. Like this isn't new behavior for him. But you'd think, I mean, not that that was like catastrophic season ending, but like he's been lights out since then.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:20

Yeah, super cool. First uh, first time ever topless mod light winner. Yep.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:25

Um first time they've ever been topless, to my knowledge. Yep. Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:29

And when Chris was here, he had mentioned that they had called, you know, Jimmy had called, and they kind of all had, you know, how they do their own little finger dance thing up there in the northwestern.

SPEAKER_10 1:02:39

I saw two drivers stick their hand out and do one finger with the dance. Do better mod lights. Boys, we get you all this stuff. You gotta give us the wave.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:49

You gotta give us the wave. Well, see, they've been doing the roof flap thing, but it's the finger, man.

SPEAKER_10 1:02:54

It is the whole crowd was doing it. Yeah, the crowd always does.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:57

Jerry's got the whole crowd going doing it. Guys, come on. We uh uh we look we need to get with Ben George on this and have a Mod Light minute about it or something because we gotta get the guys. Maybe there's being an incentive like uh free hot dog for mod light guys if they're seen doing the finger nails.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:11

Free hot dog at Austin Gray's pit right after the race. Right. Yes I'm gonna make Austin because he won all the money last night. Right. He even put some of it up, but then he got to take it home. He gets to throw a crock pot of dogs together at the trailer and hit that's hot dogs on Austin after you race.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:27

Right, right. Austin doesn't strike me as a cooker. No.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:31

No, crock pot really isn't a cooker. Here's the deal. Just throw it all in there.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:35

Buy yourself a crock pot, make sure it's got the latching lid. Give you about 48 dogs, plug it in, throw them in there, walk away, turn it on warm, not low, turn it on warm, go race.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:45

Didn't know we were ready after we're gonna have cooking lessons in the middle of the podcast.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:50

He just doesn't strike me as the type of guy that knows how to cook. You never know.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:54

You never know.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:55

Josh May goes second, Corey Songer goes third, Grant Anderson fourth, Colin Anderson fifth, Garrett Barber, sixth, Brian Zim going seven, Ben George eighth, Colby Albritt ninth, and last but not least, Dylan Bush, the 96, rounding out your top ten. Austin Gray, 11th to 1, uh Corey Soner 12th to 3rd. So uh another great event. It was it was really cool. I'll agree with Colton on this. Uh then them cars looked very unique without the roof on there. It was kind of cool to see they got a lot of them guys got the radiators mounted up behind their heads. Right.

SPEAKER_10 1:04:32

Um and I'm saying the roof the way the roof pitches on those, that does affect them. Oh, for sure. Arrow wise, because it's not handling the same. So you could tell some of those the the guys that had more laps, they seemed a little more comfortable in them. So especially early on in the heat races.

SPEAKER_09 1:04:47

You could tell that those heat races came out and some of those guys they were not ready for idea that they were gonna get with less arrow on it. Right.

SPEAKER_10 1:04:57

So now that we've we've hammered out the results, uh, real quick, I have the new graphic up for the Adobe Lounge Power Rankings and uh So Steve, what they're doing now with these power rankings is is their their Cody and Josh or have come up and Colton have come up with this formula like college football or baseball where you're ranked and seated.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:22

We've implicated it into racing, so it takes your heat race finishes, your feature finishes, how many cars you pass, all of this stuff, and puts it into this little thing right here. And I've been getting hosed over since they started it. I just wanted to throw that out there first.

SPEAKER_09 1:05:39

Your your 21st place finish last night doesn't help. Well, your guys' not black flag didn't help that situation.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:47

Oh come on.

SPEAKER_10 1:05:48

It will help his point average. He'll be able to start farther forward next time. Oh, one maybe two. One row, maybe. But one row. And there's also a recency thing, so after the it takes the last. Three weeks into account, and then the rest of the year still matters, it's just a little bit less. So if a guy gets away, it's weighted end of the year, it really would knock him up.

SPEAKER_09 1:06:08

It's weighted for the more recent. It's pretty cool. Um it's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:12

It's uh the top ten overall. Nobody's surprised, Jeremy Mills. Um Jake Sackow is still second, which he'll probably be in the top ten for a minute. He'll start to fall off after a couple weeks. Um Mike Smith, Todd Shute, Jimmy Gustin, Eric Knutsen, the 12k, not the other Eric Knutson that we're gonna talk about here in a minute. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:33

So you you lump all all these classes? Yep. Okay, they're all right.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:36

So there's a it does an overall, and then we do it per class. Per class, okay. Um and then Cam Reimers, seventh, Jonathan Logue, eighth. Back to eight. It held on. It held it.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:47

I was out of the top ten last week.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:49

But hey, I like it. How did everybody else do? Jake McBurney, ninth. You're ahead of Jakster.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:54

And uh Devin Smith, tenth. You're ahead of Devin now. Does that make you feel good? Uh-huh. All right. Uh modified class, you got Mills, Shoot, McBurney, Fitz, and Sauerman.

SPEAKER_09 1:07:05

Which, how is Trevor Fitz not higher up? I feel like he's a really good research.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:08

But he had a few bat rough weeks. He did.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:10

Believe me, we've all been wondering.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:13

Hey, like everybody wonders, why am I so far down in points? Do you not remember the night you were sitting on the trailer watching the A? I mean, those things come back to bite you, don't they? Oh, yeah, they do.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:23

It really hasn't been a common thing because we've been running double features and stuff. So everybody's been on the track. Everybody gets an A. That's true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:30

Um, and they're yeah. Which modified's have run what they've usually just run heats. We haven't, I think we've got a lot of things.

SPEAKER_09 1:07:35

I think they had one night. Um I think it's great.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:39

It is. It is. Stock cars, Jimmy Gustin, Jonathan Logue, second overall, or in the stock car division. Devin Smith, Doug Smith, and Tyler Pickett. Get there.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:50

We got two smithers there. See that, Steve? We got two rages and two K cars.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:54

Now Dave Dave's been doing good. Where's he? He's not even in the top five for the stock cars.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:58

He's probably out by like three-quarter of a point.

SPEAKER_10 1:08:00

Probably very close, because it does. It it's really nitpicky. Uh Sport mods, Jake's still on top. Mike Smith, Cam Rymers, Matt Avila, and Willie Kirk. That's a stout topic. That is a stout top.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:12

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_10 1:08:13

Hobby stocks, uh, Eric Knutson, not the one we'll talk about right now. Uh Wayne Gifford. We should call Eric something with his little tool that he created. We should make up some. The pushmaster. The pushmaster. Eric the pushmaster canutezen. Um, see, the dogs agree. Wayne Gifford second, Corey Vanderwilt third, Joe Young fourth, Will Smith fifth, and then your mod lights. We got old one-footer Brian Zim up top with uh Joel Huggins second, Josh May third, Austin Gray fourth, and Garrett Barber cracked into the top five. So um that is your Adobe Lounge Power Rankings for this week. And then, real quick, I think we just need to knock out the Moffat's Ford Mayhem because we saw some in independence.

SPEAKER_07 1:09:01

We'll spit it out because you guys were there. I was just watching.

SPEAKER_10 1:09:04

Yeah, Braden Braden Gifford, because Braden got the black flag, or well, he got scored behind Knutson. I don't I want to call it black flag because I don't think it actually came out of the stand. But uh Braden fed him a right rear going down in the corner, and it was a wide open shot off the core corner, guardrails down deep, and Eric went through the guardrails. I'm not sure if it sheared off the carburetor or a fitting, but caught on fire, and the guardrail came all the way into the main cage. Like it was wild, wild. They had drone shots up above, and Eric was out of the car in ten seconds running up the track, so he was over there. Both all of them are he was good, but um yeah, car not so much. I think it was headed to jet to do a stub on it.

SPEAKER_09 1:09:48

So more that more than that, probably. It was so I mean because he when he went like have you ever raced independence? Yes, I have. Okay, like since it's been reshaped, kind of okay. Well, it's it's a long ways down off the backside. It doesn't seem like it is, but it is, and like when he crested the hill, like he caught air, like that's how fast he was going.

SPEAKER_10 1:10:12

There's no slowing down.

SPEAKER_09 1:10:13

There was no slowing down on the backside, like he hit the ground. Those are scary feelings, ran right into the garden. Yeah, it was it was scary. Yeah, like even for us, like we're sitting there in the tower, and like there's nothing we can do, you know. Right, and yeah, it was like just in an instant, we're like, oh boy, and he caught air and we're like, okay, well, we can't see down over the hill there. And so I somebody was up high enough at some point that flagman. Oh, the flagman, yeah. He was up high enough that he could see that the car had just lit on fire.

SPEAKER_10 1:10:46

Yeah. So yeah. He screamed out fire and it was like, whoa.

SPEAKER_09 1:10:49

Yeah, it was something. It was a rough one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:10:52

Um, so that was that was uh a candidate. Um Matt Avila driving off turn three.

SPEAKER_07 1:10:57

Uh the airflow system just wasn't quite quite balanced for him, or what uh well uh we're fighting a little bit of combustion problem around the carburetor area. Okay. And I think what happened there was is it overloaded with fuel going into turn three, and when he went to crack back into it and put it on the firewall, it just shot him up the track and he went down over the hill. So we're still working on that. We did uh uh we did offer it up to Chris Burke to see if he wanted to try it. Uh that's that is the first person that we've offered this new uh new design and airflow package working on these sport mod cars. Um but yeah, it ended Matt's night and he had to cool down. He was a little hot. I think a lot of people were getting a little warm. They were spitting water and blowing stuff.

SPEAKER_09 1:11:44

First first warm night of the year is always always good for some drama. I don't know. It's it's the weather gets them radiators clean and it gets ever it gets in everyone's bones. Everyone's hot and upset, and we gotta take it out on each other.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:56

Bob cat Bob Cat and Smith sandwich. Really, you guys are putting that on the Moffat or the the Chat GPT took care of that for me.

SPEAKER_10 1:12:04

I didn't even have to really say anything.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:05

Right. My my vote for the Moffitt's uh Ford mayhem of the week is Eldora. Oh dude. The late model flip. Well not even not even that. I mean that was wild. Yeah don't get me wrong, but did you guys see the hail and the rain that they got yesterday during the day? Yep. Like to me, I've been to Eldora when it's rained, and they it's like, nope, we we we just can't do this, you know. Um so to see the videos and Snapchats that I seen from Eldora, uh, plus with the wreck uh with with Ziggler there. Um, that is a weird deal like that.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:48

Like I okay, I'm a Bobby Pierce fan. We know.

SPEAKER_10 1:12:52

So the world knows.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:54

Yeah, the world knows.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:55

Which whatever. You guys can I like him too. I'm I d I do. I I beat my dad with him all the time because we bet late model 20 bucks on every late model race. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:13:04

He's hard to he's hard to pick against, but my I my only knock against Nick Hoffman is that he's good. Like whenever he's always racing against Bobby Pierce, and I'm a huge Bobby Pierce fan, so I just naturally I can't like the guy that much. But I don't know if he thought he was gonna get the two for one there when he went across the nose and like didn't realize the head of steam that Ziggler had or what like but when you watch because they had Hoffman's in-car camera, and like and he knew he did it immediately, like as soon as they hit, like he's out of it just a touch, and then as he went across his nose, he was like trying to look back, like he I don't know if he thought he was gonna get the twofer or or what there, and uh nothing intentional, obviously.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:47

Nick doesn't race that way, he doesn't race that way, and I've noticed, especially at El Dora, them cars are so air dependent. Oh yeah, like them guys go in there and their front ends are doing this shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, if they enter wrong or if they enter in on somebody's quarter panel or or whatever, like and I didn't I've always known that they're air dependent, but like especially at Eldora, like and when Ricky and um like Billy Moyer, when they get on the broadcast and they're talking about it's like Ricky says you lose that right rear quarter panel spoiler that's this wide, it's half second. Oh yeah, that is insane.

SPEAKER_09 1:14:24

Yeah, it's crazy to see like because uh you'll watch when they from the front stretch at Eldora, the at least the broadcast of the dream this weekend, you can see guys that really know what they're doing when they're going in, whether they're behind somebody that's in front of them, like position battling, or they're in lap traffic, as long as whoever's in front of them is taking the low side, you'll see them. It almost looks like they're not yanking it, but they'll tuck to the outside just to catch clean air right before they throw it in. It's it's crazy.

SPEAKER_10 1:14:54

Or the left front. I uh you can see guys too, they'll they'll stick that left front just to go. Yeah, they'll pull it just enough so that way it'll hold that left side down. Yeah, and it is something to see because when they get right behind somebody, you see them whoop right to the wall.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:07

The craziest thing is the sliders that happen. Because I mean that place is so wide, anyways. I mean, you're talking five, six lanes wide at a minimum just for race surface. Yes, you know, and like somebody throws a deep slider from the bottom of one up to the edge of two, and they're gonna park it and diamond off or whatever, and you see them get in front of someone and you can see it, the nose lifts, and then they're in the fence. Yeah, it's crazy. Well, it's like Dallin Murray.

SPEAKER_07 1:15:31

Goes out and it then all of a sudden comes around and and smokes the wall.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:36

Thank God his first lap was good. Because he ended up third, I think. Yeah. Yeah. His first lap, I'm like, he laid it down. I'm like, hell yeah. Yes. Let's go, kid. Yes. And then immediately in one, just hopped the cushion just enough, and then yeah, just sucked him right in.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 1:15:51

That's how fast it can happen right there for us. Yeah. And and if you guys think that we're not thinking, oh shit, when that happens, we're definitely going, oh shit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:16:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:02

So uh I think Eldora deserves it. I I just do because it's just man, I mean, to overcome. We talk about how not very many racetracks can overcome rain in situations like that. They got a bunch. And they got a shit time. I mean, they had hail, they had everything. And then you've seen uh I seen some stuff RTJ's out there doing some Bobcat. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:16:24

He did a good job, though. Great job. He didn't nothing against Dale McDowell, but Dale McDowell is just a quiet guy. Right. You know, like he's smart, he knows what he says. The insight was good. Oh, yeah, absolutely. It was cool to hear that Ricky's he's got a little more personality, if you will. Right. And Ricky was really fun to listen to. Like, Dakota's not a huge RTJ fan, but even she was like, she's like, it's actually really funny.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:47

They interviewed her driver, who I was like, holy shit, he's been running the best he's ran in the last five years. Who? Who? Huh? Who? The 15th. It was a rowdy tribute. Rowdy tribute. So cool to see the rowdy tribute, um, honestly, and to see him run well. Like, yeah. Don't get it. Well, it didn't go well at the end.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:08

But I'm so like he won at Mansfield, like that was a big one.

SPEAKER_07 1:17:12

The prelim and shit.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:12

Like he ran second at the prelim.

SPEAKER_07 1:17:15

Like, I was I wanted him to win that, even though like his program and picking up that hundred thousand to win here. Oh, that's huge. Huge deal for him. Um, and it's like that best performance deal they got going on, and that they've stuck it out with him, and yeah, you know, losing his dad here a couple of years ago and overcoming that, and it's like finally I've I've been waiting to like it's like Tyler, like, what are we doing here, bud? Like, you you're this badass in the pit area and you're a pussy on the racetrack. And now he's becoming that badass. I mean, he's been badass at places, but I'm saying now more on a national level. Yeah. He's been in the national in contention a lot more often. Yes, that's what I'm saying. And it's fun to watch because I love the way he races, especially when he like wrecks people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:18:02

Well, he's got an IOU coming from Benji Hicks, you know. You're right. Right. First off, comment of ever on Facebook to come out of that whole deal is some the Benji Hicks posts. He posted said, Oh, I got an IOU for turbo over this deal or whatever, which whatever, call it what it is. You see it live, it didn't look that bad. Hicks just got out of it and I think got scared. That's my opinion. But somebody commented on there and said, like, well, this is the only time of year you'll be in the same zip code as Tyler Herb, so you better take your chance now. Like, yeah, because which I I said, you know, they call him the devil nickel, but he can't drive worth two nickels, in my opinion. I mean, he's I'm sure at his local home track he's he's Mr. Man, but he's nothing, you know. Mr. Man. Mr. Man. There was a race going on, he wasn't in it, so you know it is what it is. But fair enough. Anyways, but Bobby won, so we got that going for him. Yeah, Bobby did win. His first dream, right? Yes, and it's only fitting the 30-second dream, car number 32. It was meant to be.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:03

Imagine that. Must have just been a few keyboard buttons and a couple of clicks away from making that happen up, folks.

SPEAKER_10 1:19:11

I got to watch Colton up in the tower. He got to see it. We watched every minute of it in the tower. He was so happy, and I'm like, I wonder if Dakota's watching this.

SPEAKER_09 1:19:20

Well, they got to be late in the race, too. I mean, Hoffman was closing in, but I mean uh B Shep blew a right front and took out him and Huddy and the whole deal, and then there's Nick Hoffman and Max Blair's fast too. And I was nervous the last 10 laps or so. I'm like, man, Nick Hoffman's here. I'm like, ugh, like this can't be, you know.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:40

Yeah, we thought I thought it got rained out, and so dad and I got this deal, so they raced four nights. Yeah. So we picked two drivers, and then we can't pick those drivers until the next weekend.

SPEAKER_09 1:19:51

Oh, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:51

So like we picked Hoffman and whoever, and so our picks on Saturday night was uh I had uh Brandon Shepard and he had Hudson O'Neill. Oh and so when we get done after the race, I'm like, oh shit. I want like I'm looking and I'm like, oh, it got rained. Maybe it got rained out, you know. And then I pull it up on my phone and it says live. I'm like, no way. Click on it and I'm like, Yeah, Bobby.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:16

I'm like, I'm like, well, where's Shepard?

SPEAKER_07 1:20:18

I don't Yeah, got him by the spot. Yeah, 15th and 16th or something like that. Shepard wins, or you know, and beat, beat. Yeah, so but man, what a great weekend for the dream. That's where Jake McBurney was this weekend. Him and Savannah out there celebrating their uh wedding anniversary. Jake Jake's turned said he'd never been out to the big E. And have you been out there, Steve? No, Eldora? Nope. Man, you gotta go. I'd love to do that. That'd be a fun one to go to. They put in some new grandstands over by the merch stuff, if you guys didn't notice. Um, going into turn one. Okay. Uh so all the merch trailers, like, man, we talk about Eldora all the time. I mean, like the pepperjack cheese balls, the I mean, everything's cheap. The the grandstands, it's like old school, like Webster City with the wooden thing over it, you know, and they got the wood seats on it, and everybody's got their little foam thing, and it's like you're in under the tunnel, and there's not a bad seat in the place. I've never been there. So we went for the dirt track championship last year. And then, which is cool because they got the banner with all the drivers on it. They got, I mean, it is just a you gotta go check it out.

SPEAKER_09 1:21:29

So worth it. Yeah. I have no question. What? Since you've been to Eldora a lot. Or maybe one of you guys. Twice.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:21:35

Well, you've been more times than I've been.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:37

You've never been there?

SPEAKER_09 1:21:37

No. Oh my god. I'd love to go. Dude. We should go. We should go. Yeah. Okay. But anyway. The girls will dog sit. That's right. Uh anyways, why do they do what was the deal with the like at the Dream at least, they had two checks with Bobby's name and two trophies. Did you notice that last night? Or well, I guess you didn't watch it. Dakota caught it on the broadcast and shit.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:00

Because it was the 32nd year and it was the 32 car that won, probably. I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:05

You got an owner, maybe? Well, like they just had owner. Okay, alright, yeah. They might. Well, no, they own it. That's just like like uh like if you go to like the Hendricks and that, you know, they get two grandfather clocks, you know, for winning. Okay, yeah. Yeah. They both get them. Oh, yeah. Driver and owners both get the colour. I didn't think that's a good point. Well, Bobby owns the car, though.

SPEAKER_10 1:22:23

Right, but they probably have to have that prepared for anybody. Anybody can see the owner gets.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:30

Well, they filled out both of them and they had both trophies set up. Yeah, I don't know. They have two checks and two trophies. And I was like, I don't know. Dustin Jarrett does listen to the podcast. So Dustin, shoot us a message. I would love to know. Yeah, he might be able to tell us how to do that. That's true.

SPEAKER_10 1:22:43

Also, did you see Dustin? Well, wait, I saw Ben in the dress.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:47

Oh, yeah, that was fabulous.

SPEAKER_10 1:22:49

Somebody I think chat GPT dustin'. Dustin and Iraimi. Yeah. Yeah. That was pretty funny. It was pretty funny. It was pretty funny.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:58

And they they take it so well, and James James Exic's one of the one of the best all-time announcers. I mean, hands down, and and you know, like when he decides to hang that torch up, it's just gonna be it's it's really gonna change dirt late model racing, in my opinion. Yep. Even though he has like Dustin Jarrett and Ben Shelton have phenomenally just fell in, like they are the voice of that, in my opinion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:23:27

They do a good job, and I I what I like about James Essex is he's still committed to doing like the local, like regional series stuff. You know, like the all-star late model, like the Northern All-Star Late Model tour and stuff like that. And it's so cool. Like I follow him on social media, and he's always posting about and it's stuff that he might not even be able to go to just for conflict schedule and stuff like that, but he's always promoting local grassroots, like regional series stuff. And that's to me, that's what makes him so iconic is like not only is he great on the mic, I could listen to James Essex all day. I mean, sorry, Ben, DJ, I love you guys, but James is a he's an all-time great.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:24:05

You know, but yeah, to see him care so deeply about the sport itself and its health and you know, wanting to promote and go work at smaller shows or regional shows is really cool.

SPEAKER_10 1:24:17

It takes a lot of passion for for guys to carry that torch to you know, to and I don't care if it's like a local, whether it's a a photographer, uh somebody that drivers, somebody that writes the stories, like um, you know, to take time out of your day, I don't care if it's five minutes or five hours to do that, like it it means a lot. You know, you think about Steve Jackson won a lot of races. A lot of a lot of big races, a lot of small races, doesn't matter. Think of all the people that worked at every one of those races, you know, to to make that event happen. And it it is something else. It is. And you you know, your announcers are the kind of the face of things. They they get noticed a lot, but all the other people.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:01

Yeah, yeah. You you look at people, I mean, you know, from ticket takers to people working in the concession stand and that kind of stuff. I mean, it takes a lot. Yeah, lining up cars and that, you know, like wire workers. And and I mean you look at some of them, you look at their dedication, it's it's as much as a as a driver. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I mean you look at um um uh John Avery. Yes. You know, I mean how many years he spent up there. You know, you know, and his passing and that. But I mean there's I mean it takes that. I mean and it's just not only at the boon speed, I mean you look at every multiply by how many tracks that you got. Yeah, everywhere. There's a lot of dedication that goes to that.

SPEAKER_10 1:25:38

I know Colton and I get to see, you know, we do go around and work some different events. We were up at Indy, and it's to me it's kind of cool like you get there and you get to meet these people. You've never met 'em before. It's almost weird like you're coming in on their turf to do something, you know, which which we don't try to step on people's toes. We're just there to do what we're there to do. Right. Um, but it's nice to meet them and and you kind of learn their story and how long they've been working there, and it it's a neat deal because you realize there's a whole different world that makes this thing go on everywhere, all over these different racetracks. Absolutely. It's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:14

It's that race and family we always talk about.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:16

It's been around for you're right. Yeah, it's been around for since racing, I think.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:20

I mean, I I don't know about Steve, but it I've been times where I've been in an altercation with a racer on the racetrack, and then you drive down the road and they're broke down, you don't even know it's them, you but you pull over because it's a racer. No matter what it is. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:34

You might get out and be like, oh well, hey, dickhead, you're the one that cut my right front now or you know, there's and there's there's times you end up in that in that crash, you know. So started it in that. And you know what? He's at my trailer, and and you know, here's an A-frame. Yeah, seriously. And and then I'm sitting there going, man, why did I put him back out on the track? He goes out there and beats you, you know. It's like, oh man, I gotta cut.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:58

But yeah, that's just the way it is. That is no kidding. So we did it. Back to let's let's go back to this whole Steve Jackson story. We we kind of left off at why did you choose a stock car?

SPEAKER_02 1:27:08

I don't know. I mean, um back back then they had um that that was really basically the first class. I mean, they had the Thunder Car class. I don't know if you remember that. The old Grimless. Yeah, the old Thunder cars, yeah, they had those. And it's like, you know, to me, that's not a race car, no offense, but to them guys. But um the next class is uh Lottie had a class for like the street stocks, but that was, you know what, at the end of the night, the top four pulled in there and 300 bucks, you lost your whole car, you know. And I wasn't building cars for anybody else. So, and uh talking with my you know with my dad and and Glenn and that, and they said, Oh yeah, this this is upgrow going class. You gotta jump in here and get get your feet wet and see how it goes.

SPEAKER_07 1:27:54

Where where what was your out of I mean, we know you you raced a ton at Stuart, a ton at Oscar? Des Moines and Boone. What what racetrack were you most fond of? What was your favorite place? Or or it might not even be one of them ones that we've just mentioned, but what's Steve Jackson's favorite racetrack?

SPEAKER_02 1:28:12

You know, uh everybody says that, and I never really thought or um had a favorite racetrack. Um it was just uh I mean I I wanted to race it as many tracks as I could. You know, I race tracks in Kansas. I mean I've raced tracks all over. And there's a lot of nice tracks, there's a lot of tracks that can use some help and and this and that. But when I went to the track, I never went to to Boone because it was Boone or Des Moines because it was Des Moines. I went to the track going, hey, um, let's see what she's got to offer me and see if I can whoop her. And that's what I wanted to do. I mean, I I did it wasn't about the cars, you know, and I mean all the competition stuff made it that much more um give you that much more fire.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:00

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:01

But I wanted to beat the racetrack. That's what I wanted to do.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:04

You ran boon for Oh 20 years and conquered the second year. Conquered win the supernatural. I mean, like to to some racers, and when I won my first title, and my it was my 97th start, it was the third race I'd ever won. And I got, you know, all these people calling in magazines, you know, wanting to do stories and stuff, and I'm like, man, it's just another race. Yeah. Like I hadn't won, I hadn't had the success. To me, it was just like, yeah, I was pumped up that I won the race. Yeah, but I just won my first and my second race two weeks prior to to the supernatural.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:41

It's one of those things that that's what almost makes it A, a little more special, and B, like sometimes when it's early on, like you win in supernationals in your second year, like sometimes that like you just wanted to win. You both did. Obviously. I was in my joking year too. Yeah, cool. Like you don't understand like the the gravity of it all because you're like, Man, I won, I don't care. You know, like it's a big deal. I'm not saying that. Right, yeah, but like in that moment, you're like, I'm just happy I won. Seriously.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:09

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I I looked at it to me, it was I mean, yeah, it was the supernationals in that, and and you put in a little more extra effort to try to win it or be com more competitive in it, that type of deal. But you know, when it comes right down to it, you know, you win. I don't know if they still do it, but pulling your motor, you get down to motor pooled. Yep, you're on your way home, I'm going, Where am I going next weekend?

SPEAKER_07 1:30:36

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:37

Right. Seriously. So your favorite that's the way I thought. I mean, um you'd think I'm crazy, but yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_10 1:30:42

In a way, your favorite track was the next one.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:44

The next one, the next one. The next one on the plate. Yep.

SPEAKER_10 1:30:47

Yeah. What uh what about competitors? Did you have anybody that you're talking about? Who was who was Steve Jackson's nymph?

SPEAKER_02 1:30:53

You know. I know you know that's what everybody says. Who's your nymph?

SPEAKER_07 1:30:57

I'm not I'm Kryptonite. I never really to me I know who I felt like it was who? Larry Soball. You guys, I'm just saying, like, you guys put on so many battles. You were always, you always see you had more one battles than Larry did. But man, like I tell everybody Steve Jackson could go in and rub you and race you and not take you out better than anybody I've ever seen on the racetrack. And it could be a matter of like just that you're just aggressive. You were you were let's go, let's go, let's go. And Larry was kind of like that, but he would kind of lose his cool sometimes and really try to actually take your ass out. And and and the battles were phenomenal. Yeah. Rod and Sarah might be pissed at me, but I'm j uh, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:48

Yeah, you know, I and I you know, I I don't like I said, you know, them them them racing, I don't remember all of them or anything like that. Was Larry and Invisit now. I mean, he was another competitor. Right. Um I mean I raced back in our deal, our racing was a lot different than what I see you guys do now. Um uh and and your dad can probably contest to it. We just kind of like gentlemen racers.

SPEAKER_07 1:32:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:15

You know? I got that nose right up here and you can see it. I'm not asking for anything but my groove and one foot of mistake. That's all I ask. Now, if you want to chop me, you know, and we make contact, or you want to try to pin me down and we make contact. Sorry, Charlie. You knew I was there.

SPEAKER_07 1:32:37

How about that?

SPEAKER_02 1:32:38

Does that make sense? I I I was there, I had my position right there.

SPEAKER_07 1:32:42

100%.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:43

Now, if if we come in the corner and I'm back here where and and my nose gets up into your tire and I get you out of shape, that's my fault. You can't see me. Right. But if you could see me, it it's it's it's light the candles, boy. We're going drag racing. All right. Let's go. I mean, that's the way it was. I mean that's what I was saying. And you know what? And that's the way and that's that's the way I always looked at it. I never asked for anything special. My name meant nothing to me. Uh when we got out there and we raced, it was racing. Yep. You know, my groove, one foot. That's all I ask. Give it to me.

SPEAKER_07 1:33:17

Yep. And see, nowadays I feel like it's you know, you're held so accountable for mistakes. And if you haven't if you have a name and you make a little mistake and screw somebody up that's and this isn't a a jab at any mediocre racer, but uh somebody that's you know wins a few times or whatever, it is the end of the world and you are the biggest, dirtiest, non-driving.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:41

It's different now though.

SPEAKER_07 1:33:45

A lot, not even just yeah, but that's because you can't walk down to somebody's pit if they run you over and punch them in the mouth and say, you know what, dickhead, you roast me dirty. Yeah. And then drink beer afterwards about it. Yeah. And like back in Steve and Dad's days, there wasn't no cell phones. Nope. Or with video stuff. No. It was you had to go down and talk and talk about it. Yeah. I go down, so I have that problem. I go down and talk to the guy. Like, if we have an altercation, if it's my fault, I'll come down there and say, hey man, I ran you over. You know, like I that's just that's who I am. And man, my arms get to going sometimes and everything, and everybody thinks I'm out there wanting to fist fight somebody. I've never the only person I've punched at the racetrack was Doug Smith.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:25

Well.

SPEAKER_07 1:34:26

That we know of. At the racetrack. No, I'm curious. I really that really. Well, Tyler Enman. Tyler on that was he inflicted that, and I was just sticking up for myself. But I've never gone to somebody's pit and fought them or anything. It's not that's not I just want to come there and talk to you like a man and look you in the face and either tell you that I screwed up or ask you why you drove me like a dickhead. You know, for for no reason. Because most of the time it's like when those altercations happen, it's like we're either in the show or you're in the top four and there's 15 laps left. It's like, why did you what are we doing here? We're both in the show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:07

Gosh, dang it. You know, a lot of that, you know, and we kn I I of course I never did I never got into that and and never did, you know, go down to somebody else's pit, blah, blah, blah. Um, you know, but I'd have guys like after the races come down and and they'd be yelling, you know, so and so, yeah, he came in there and tore up my tire, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay. Um, you know, you realize this is the guy's fourth night. You had you had to start somewhere too.

SPEAKER_07 1:35:31

Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:32

You know, we talk about it. I kind of laugh at him. I say, I remember my first day at work too. You know, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know here's a prime here's a prime example. I could tell you the first dry slick racetrack I ever hit. You want to hear that? Yeah, yes, we did. My dad my dad loves this story. We go to Boone Rains Out. Webster City, they didn't put an ounce of water on the track in their racing.

SPEAKER_06 1:35:52

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:53

So we go up to Wet Webster. And, you know, Boone is still, I mean, I I've never been on a dry slick racetrack. So I was like, I was like, what's dry slick? He said, Oh, it's this dry slick. So after driver's meeting, I walk over there and I talk to Rick Gushing because we didn't get a hot lap. I said, Hey, is this? I said, What's the track like? He was always dry. It's slick. I said, Oh, okay. So I go back and I asked uh my dad's buddy wood her and I said, Hey Glenn, I said, What do you do with dry slick? You need to slow down a little bit for dry slick. Okay, we slow down a little bit. They drop the green flag, we go into one, and I'm I'm right behind Rick Gustin. So we're going down in there, all of a sudden, we're about three or four car lengths from the corner. This guy gets off the gas. Man, I boom, I lit him up. I drilled him so hard. I mean, I knocked his head to Illinois. Off the end of the racetrack, he goes spinning donuts. Oh, really? And down in there, and then down around I go, the yellow light comes out, and it's like, holy buckets, man, it is slick.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:56

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:56

It wasn't it wasn't too bad. Six lap heat race, I spun out seven times.

SPEAKER_06 1:37:00

Jeez.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:02

So, you know what I mean? I mean, it it's not like I started out, you know, winning. You know what I mean? Winning all these races. Starting out learning. Yeah, you talk about learning. That was a learning curve, you know, dry slick. Whoa. Then after that, and I kind of okay, that's it. Then I started so we started hitting more, especially like in 88. You guys talk about how hot it is. Man, there's times in 88, I mean it was heat index was like 110, and we were racing. It didn't, you know, they wasn't shutting down racetracks because it's too hot.

SPEAKER_06 1:37:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:29

Here, drink another water. You know, drink some water, don't drink pop, drink Gatorade, something like that. Yeah, but yeah, we went racing.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:35

Oh, I get pissed when they cancel it down because it's too hot. It's like our men and women are the are serving overseas, they ain't too hot for them to be out working. Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:43

Yeah, you know, and it's a hot dog.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:45

That's not a great comparison, but I'm out there all day.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:48

You goddamn right. And you're out there for what you know, five minutes.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:53

But they only did that a f a few times. Yeah. Yeah. Like that they got like it hasn't happened well that I know of in the last couple years.

SPEAKER_10 1:38:00

Yeah. Yeah. It's been a while. I it's been a while. It probably happened.

SPEAKER_09 1:38:06

No, I was gonna say I don't I don't it does happen occasionally, I think.

SPEAKER_07 1:38:09

But well nowadays it's no different. The kids, I mean, if there's a storm coming, if the news, you know, says that there's a bad rainstorm coming, we're letting schools out an hour. Well, you know, and that's different times skies falling. Yeah, it is different.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:21

You know, because that's what we always talked about, you know. When like when my boy was growing up, you'd like he's talking about playing a lot of baseball, you know, and it got to be well, everybody gets a trophy in that. I always wondered how that affects the race car world. Now I see it. Now you see it? Yeah. Yeah. Because you know what? Now now we gotta have two features. You know? Back in the day, no. They line up three they you know, Boone was having three or four hobby stock features. Yeah. And we go we go up there to Boone, and I mean, you know, and you you know, the the competition up there is is knee deep. I mean, it is as as I think it's probably more competitive back then than it is now, but we'd have fifty-eight stock cars.

SPEAKER_10 1:38:57

Yeah. You bet you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:59

And I mean you'd run you'd run two B mains with you know, uh 10, 15 cars and each each other. 17 18 cars, yeah. And each B main, and they take the top two. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:39:09

Which was uh probably more than an A feature at some other snaps. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:14

And then and then we sat there and we would go out there and and you'd win, you know, you'd win one night at Boone, and then the next night, uh you're you're struggling to get qualified out of the B. You know, the next Saturday, you know, back and forth just like that. Yeah, you know, and and we're like, hey, how come we can't have two features? Uh it's too hard and it messes up the national points and blah blah. Well, here we are. Everybody's getting us, everybody's getting a trophy. Yep. You know, everybody's gotta win a feat, everybody's gotta go to the feature. I mean, you know, there's times like like you said, you know, I mean, back then we looked at it as how humbling.

SPEAKER_07 1:39:48

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:49

I mean, it humbles, you know. It's like and you know, you think I'm kidding, but when I say, you know, oh you won all this, you've won this and that. I I can remember a lot of times I didn't. Yeah. And that's what those are more memorable. Yeah, those are more memorable than and than actually the winning.

SPEAKER_09 1:40:02

Those are the tougher ones to swallow because you know you let one get away.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:06

Yeah. I get that. Yeah, or the ones that was really close, or you know, and there again you talk about going to somebody's pit and that, and and it's like I always told my pit guys that you know, um, somebody get into me and and get me out of shape and pass me, and we ended up second in that, and they come in and they oh he dirty drove you this. I said, Let me tell you something. If you want to hold anybody accountable, it's everybody here in this pit area. We were we didn't have a good enough car and I was not fast enough. He should have never caught me. Yep. That's I love that mentality. That's that's the mentality that I had. Yes. I love that mentality. And we never and we never went, you know, like I said, we never went out of our pit area. Like I said, there's there's a few times that, you know, the pit area came. You got other visits. Yeah, the pit area come to me, but I never went to the pit area, let's just say that.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:50

And that's when we heard about the marker story. All the autographs.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:57

Yeah, there's a pack of them coming for me. But yeah, that's you know, that's just kind of some of the things that I think.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:02

The fairgrounds was a different place, though. Yeah, yeah. Des Moines was a different place.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:05

Yeah, Des Moines was a yeah, you know, and that you know, and that's what you say, you know. I mean, to to race that track, uh, you know, on a Friday night, you know, um the competition level there was different than at Boone. And you had to I felt I had to drive different at that track than I did here. Yeah. You know, I mean there was I mean there was you know, like you could come to Boone and and and I could ra and I knew that I could race with with Denny Stonebur. You know, me and Denny Swoneber, or like you said, like Larry Silball, I knew that we that I could get in there and get get underneath there, get up on top of them, whatever it may be, and we could race side by side for however many laps. Yep. When you went to Des Moines, and your dad could probably contest to this, there might you you start counting on your hand, and even though you you know you're a woodworker and you've you've got a f less few fingers, the amount of guys that you can actually do that with at Des Moines.

SPEAKER_07 1:42:02

That's no kidding.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:03

You know, I mean the the the driving was so you I mean you just couldn't barrel it in there, you know, and trust that his car was gonna stick, so you know yours is gonna, you know, that kind of stuff. You you couldn't do that at at that track.

SPEAKER_10 1:42:17

So you know Jonathan asked kind of what you're uh a guy that might have been your kryptonite or whatever and you might not have had one. But what about did you have any guys or you you looked forward to racing with them? Like more than others.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:31

Guys that you knew are gonna give you a good time, Mike.

SPEAKER_07 1:42:34

Yeah, I'm I'm gonna go ahead and just answer one of these for Steve because I've heard him say it three times, Denny Stoneburger. Yeah, me and old Stony.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:41

I you know, like I go to Oscar and I love to race against Bobby Grinder.

SPEAKER_06 1:42:44

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:45

Me and Bobby Grinder. Man, I mean, you know, you talk about some racing. Yeah, you should have gone down there, man. There's there were some races there that uh me and Grinder side by side for uh we raced a uh I I don't know. Um I'll probably mess it up, Bobby, and I'm sorry, but it's like a 15, maybe 20 lap feature. And we raced all the way through the white flag. He was leading in the middle of the back stretch, and at the most important time, I was leading at the flag stand. That's all was counting.

SPEAKER_07 1:43:13

You ever go over to get in on the chicken bingo and all that stuff? Oh that he used to, you remember the chicken bingo? We do that at my race party because my dad used to go down there and get in. You know, who's this Bobby Greiner to go over to his house to have a party afterwards, and they got this chicken shitting on these numbers in there. We do that to this day at my race party.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:35

That's pretty awesome. That's pretty awesome. Well, you know, Bobby was one, you know, and then I take my heads up. I mean, he was one that when I went to OSCE, that was one that that I butted up with. Before that, there was a a kid by the name of Aaron Brown. And now, and he passed away in a car accident at way too young of an age. But me and him was the same way. I mean, we fought and fought. I mean, and there again, I was a I was a catfisher, I was the bottom feeder, you know, and and he always let her sail up against the the guardrail, and uh and we always started back in that sixth row, like IMCA lousy, you have you know your your rules. And I'd pass two or three cars, and I'm like, yes, and then I'd look God darn it, there he is. Flying around the side, you know, and pass a couple more cars. He'd get ahead of me, and then I'd pass him, and then we'd we'd sit and talk and joke about it in the claim and area and everything. And the fans thought we hated each other. But we didn't. I mean, we got along.

SPEAKER_09 1:44:30

I think most of that comes from even still to this day, I think a lot of people think are like, oh, well, these two don't like each other. And it's like, that's not necessarily true. You just you see you like one person and another person is just as good as they are, can give them a run for their money. I think you see that, and people draw their own opinions of like, oh, well, they must not like each other. That's not true at all. Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:51

You know, you talk about like Sobol, you know, me and him's been to NASCAR races together. Yeah, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_07 1:44:57

Yeah, I mean people, yeah. But that's what racing needs. They you need those altercations, it's like the Logs and the McBurney's all these years. It's not that we hate each other at the racetrack. We're racing. Yeah, bud. We're racing. Yeah, that yeah. You know, like that's what it is. We had you you you've got you know, Jeremy Mills and whoever his nemesis. I mean, that like if you guys Trevor Fitz at this point, put honestly. I think it's good. Yep, that's what sells t-shirts, that's what sells yourself, your race program to your fans, and it makes the product good too.

SPEAKER_09 1:45:34

Yeah, it does. Whether it be on TV or you're watching it in person, whatever it is, it makes the product better. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:39

But like like what Jonathan's saying, you know. I mean, you I always looked at, you know, you mean you could stand here and you know, good friends, you know, me and me and Sylball was good friends. But when I pulled out on the racetrack, my friends came in my truck. And that's it.

SPEAKER_07 1:45:53

Right. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:53

Okay. That's that's it. Yep, that's it. That's all I had.

SPEAKER_07 1:45:56

Yeah, I didn't come here to make friends, I brought them. That's it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:58

And the only ones I brought were the ones in the truck. Yeah. And if if you wouldn't in the truck, sorry. Sorry, but yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:04

Well, I'm getting this 200. And the sticker. And the sticker.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:10

And a watermelon.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:11

The $7 trophy we get.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:12

Yeah, that's right. Well, we didn't even get trophies back then a lot of times, you know. We didn't. I mean, we had uh uh Autob Audubon. Did you ever go to Audubon? Did you ever did you ever get a race on that?

SPEAKER_07 1:46:21

I didn't I've never got to race on there, but I didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:23

That was a beautiful racetrack. Foot put your foot to the floor and big old D. Oh yeah, yeah, you never left it until you know it was you know, checkers or that place shut down a few years ago.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:34

Yeah, that's a sad deal. Yeah, but that was a that was a good uh a good place to to race. That was a track that I that I really enjoyed racing. Um Jefferson used to be a good track, the old Jefferson before Lottie got a hold of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:46:50

Was it bigger? Yes. It did used to be bigger. Yeah, it shared quite a bit.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:53

Oh, Lottie really shortened it. It really shot the pit area. I can remember you know when I'm after he had done that, and you came around down there in one and two, where you drove in, that was actually one and two. Really? Oh and you and where you drove around and you came back in, that was actually the back shoot. No shit. Yeah, I'll never do that. Wow. We're just actually with the back shoot. The back yeah, the back shoot where the back shoot is now. That there used to be a Kaibo right there, and then I pitted two stalls over from it.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:25

Yeah, we just went by it uh what, two weeks ago. You know that you know that's sad.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:29

You know, that's that's you know, there's a lot of good tracks that had folded up, but I mean it, you know, it's it's getting pretty expensive. Yeah, you know, to to do the sport anymore. You know, we was talking earlier about motors and that, you know, how much do you have in motors? Uh well, I mean, we were we weren't doing back in the day we didn't do hardly anything to motors.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:47

Well nowadays when we talk about it though, like it's such a different time, like everything's so specialized, and like when you buy a motor, which like Jonathan, you you know Well, I mean you still race two, but like you know, like you go to mid-states, like yes, the price tag's expensive, but you're paying for specialized machines to make it, you know, as polished as possible. You know, and you're paying for the labor of somebody that knows what they're doing putting it together, and that's nothing against the you know, you building a motor in your garage in you know, 1990 or whenever. Sure, yeah. You know, like it was just a different time. We didn't have machine shops. We did, but not specialized like they are now.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:23

Yeah, well, you had machine shops that would do the machine work for you, and some of them would put motors together in that, but it's just uh it wasn't quite the business it is now. Yeah, yeah, and it and it wasn't, I mean, technology's got so far in it to when I first started racing, uh, you know, um, there wasn't a lot of the stuff that you have now. Right. Now you go you go up there to Harris and and and you buy everything to put on your race car. Right. We didn't have that luxury.

SPEAKER_06 1:48:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:51

You know, I mean when I first uh when I first decided, you know, we was gonna go build a stock car. I mean, me and my dad went up to to Gil Sauner's salvage yard and started cutting taking front springs out of pickup trucks. Yep. And cutting them down and rating them and and and uh rear springs and stuff like that, finding them what what ones rated right, and that's what we did because it they didn't have racing springs like that.

SPEAKER_10 1:49:14

Salvageard sponsor was the best. Best. Oh, bad. That was the best.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:18

Yeah, yeah. I had a guy that had a little salvage yard to sponsor me, and and anything to come in, you need anything, come out and get. I mean, we went out there and man, we rated that guy, them G bodies, lower control arms, upper control. I still got stacks of upper control arms, factories. Yeah, the actual the OEM ones and lower ones and uh um spindles and rotors and that. I mean, I got shelves lined up in a in a uh Jonathan's gonna be calling you one of these days.

SPEAKER_10 1:49:45

You might be looking for some of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:47

Yeah, he's like he's like I got a I got a old uh Regal out there out behind my one shop. There basically comes and looks at oh I'd like to buy that. And it's a 82 Regal, and it was a Texas car. Oh I pulled the plugs out, and that thing is there's not a lot. Like a rust on that. What do you want? I always thought, you know what, when I get done racing, maybe I'll put that baby together and I got a four an old 434. Oh boy. Yeah, one of those uh old uh USRA motors that I have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:50:21

I I just I so I got a Malibu, I'm a Malibu guy. I don't know why. I just love them Malibus. And uh so that's I my shop is uptown, and I've had some ripraft up there and had a brick thrown through our dump truck window, and I'm like, I don't know if I want to put this up there. So I just literally took it to my house and backed it in. I'm like, I called Peabodies and got a tarp or you know, a car cover for it. I don't have a window, it's gutted inside, but no motor, nothing, but set up for dragging. Little project. Yeah. I'll probably never do anything with it until I'm my dad's age. You're sure, you know.

SPEAKER_09 1:50:59

But you'll be happy that you had it now when you're that age. They're trying to hunt for one later, I guarantee you that.

SPEAKER_07 1:51:06

Yes. So I can relate to that. So I I I hope that you do that because my dad is he he's buying all this shit. Yeah, all these trucks and older stuff, like, oh, this good project, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:20

And I'm like so project, but some of it ends up, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:51:24

Well, like we got Denny Fuller's modified that they first built. Oh, really? My dad got that. Oh. And so I was telling Denny, I'm like, my dad found this thing, you know, and bought it and whatever. And so Denny's been getting pictures of this thing from when him and his dad originally built it because it was the first modified, and the shocks and stuff were up above the hood and all that stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:46

Oh, yeah, that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_07 1:51:47

I'm like, my I my dad's like, oh, I'm gonna I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that with it, and he has all these great things. It's yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:51:56

So you're talking about your dad a little bit, it actually gave me an idea. Last time I came over, I stopped over one night after we left here.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:04

Yep.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:04

I'm pretty sure I saw two 69 cars, the old his old Chevelle, right?

SPEAKER_07 1:52:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:10

He's got two of them?

SPEAKER_07 1:52:11

Yep.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:12

That almost gives us an opportunity to have a match race with two five times.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:17

I mean, I'm just saying. You know what I'm saying? I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:20

We could if we could get Steve in one of them.

SPEAKER_07 1:52:22

They hadn't raced together since 89, 88.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:26

I wonder if it'd have a different outcome than that Jefferson night when he was paying attention to you and not the guy in front of you.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:32

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, uh racing with his dad. His um there's a lot of good good memories there with his dad. Um but I was talking to you, I can't I can't remember his uh the guy that helped him out originally, but we were there at a season championship in eighty-eight and uh your dad started on the poll. I think I ended up like third or fourth in points, something like that. So he he jumped out there to the lead. Well then I got through a little bit of traffic. I had to get around like Boyd Brown and that which you know you know, you sit there and you say, but you guys didn't realize that. I mean, you go up to Boone and start twelfth and and you win. I mean, the guys that you passed could go anywhere and win.

SPEAKER_09 1:53:15

Yep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:16

That's the thing. That's what that's what gets you. But right your dad was out there leading, and and I and I finally got him ran down, and and this kid was uh uh I can't think of his name, but anyway, he at two, you know, back then it was the track was a little different than what it is now, but he'd run out there on the track and he'd go like this, push his hands down, because I was on the bottom, and your dad would come down and chop me off, and he'd run on the bottom. So a couple laps later, I'd like, all right, so I go into one hide. There he is, he's going like this. Get up to the ice, go back and forth. Your dad, I mean, your dad, I think he wasted three gallons of gas just going to the left and right trying to keep keep me behind him, but he ended up winning, and and that's what I told you. I got out and I was I told him if I ever ran that kid ever ran out of track again, I was gonna run him over. And he's like, But you gotta understand it was season champion. And I was like, Yeah, I guess you know, he won the points. Oh yeah, yeah, it was nice for him to win the the season championship and that. But then Joe Berford, he made it, he made it obvious, and I think he bought your dad's motor that. He did. My dad, you know what your dad's motors? I thought, well, that's even.

SPEAKER_07 1:54:20

You guys are ridiculous. You guys remember all these people that bought your motors?

SPEAKER_08 1:54:25

Where for the like certain ones, you know, like my dad can be like, that dude Thompson or Joe Burber.

SPEAKER_07 1:54:33

We go uh two years ago, we go up to Wasoda and do this week-long deal, Kurt Lund. He's up there. Yep. And we pull in there, and I've known Kurt from you know the jackpot, the sprint car stuff and everything, and I'm like, oh man, there's Kurt Lund, you know, and my dad's like, he claimed my motor one time. You better watch him, you know. Don't be you know, because we pull there and Kurt's like, what are you guys doing up here? You know, and I'm like, well, I got a sponsor. He asked us to come up and never been to these five tracks. Don't want to knock off another five tracks, and here we are. Well, can I catch a ride down to the we go down to the draw and draw our name and everything? And second night he rips my left front off and Rex stuffs me in the fence, and we get down, we get down to the tech area, and I I finish it, we rip the whole left front off. We get down tech area, and of course, I'm me, you know. Funny story, Johnny Carter wins the race. He's this big hot shoe in North Dakota, and uh he passes me on the outside. Everybody says nobody will pass up there. There's a slew, you'll be fine. I take the lead on the bottom. This kid passes me on the outside. I'm running second, I'm like all over him, but this is like the guy. And green, white checkered, Kurt and I get to, I mean, we're just down the straightaway, and he just turns right, rips my left front off. Now I'm trying to take him out, and I end up running third or fourth. We get down to the pit area area into the tech area, it's underneath this thing, and I get out of the car and I'm like, Kurt, what the fuck was that? Just like that.

SPEAKER_08 1:56:01

And everybody's like, and I'm like, we raced the whole race. He goes, I didn't hit you. I'm like, bud, really?

SPEAKER_07 1:56:12

Like, what do you mean? You know, I was pissed. Well, it cost me a thousand bucks and pay. Yeah, you know, and so Johnny Carter, I go, so then I'm like, I have my little meltdown for a second. Whatever, get out and I go over to Johnny Carter. I'm like, hey man, good job, you know. And I noticed it was a terminator car. So I'm like, well, what year is it? You know, I might have built it, you know, because my dad owned in Harris and stuff. And come to find out, you know, I'm like, we get back to the trailer and my dad's like, told you. You gotta watch it. You know, and I'm like, Yeah, he was right. Yeah, you know what I mean? So then it came to find out, Johnny Carter ends up buying a car from me. Oh, awesome. Which was yeah, it was just because we went up there and you know, they're all like, oh, Bobcat, and I'm like, oh shit, I've never been on this. I spun out Yeah, it was so slick I did the same thing I spun out so many times in hot laps, I never spun out in hot laps. Yeah, I spun out in hot laps, and it was such a humbling experience. We tore the shit out of my race car, met a lot of cool people, had a great time, but um man, yeah, I can relate to to that. It's just uh a different thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:22

That's a yeah, that's that's that's and but there again, you know, um not everybody gets those opportunities. Right. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_07 1:57:30

Yeah, and Kurt and I to this day still. It's like, was I pissed at him that night? Well, yeah, I was pissed at him that night. But I went out the next night thinking, you know what, I'm kicking his ass. Yeah. And we go to Redwood and I drive into the same thing kind of like Wayne Larson deal or your your deal at Webster City. I drove so hard into the back of this guy, took him out and caused a big mayhem and bent my rear in.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:53

You know, you know, you know, and there's there's a prime example that you went out the next night to race him. Right. And see that and that's the way I was because you know we talked earlier about this, you know. I I the the taking people out intentionally or doing that is like no, because it wasn't the fact that you know you drove me dirty, which I didn't you know, but it's the fact that if I did take you out it's it's the other innocent guys that are behind the situation that you tear off all of it. Yeah, nothing to do with it, and you just cost them guys thousands of dollars. Right. And it's like, really? Yeah. I mean that's you know, you talked about the killings. I mean, there was one time down at Des Moines it was that way. Donnie was mad at me, you know, and um I he says I didn't give him I didn't give him enough room in the heat race, and and I was I was running the top side, he was running the bottom, and I don't know, I th almost knocked Moses out of the flag stand when we got there. And I'm like, I didn't give you enough room. You had seven eighths of the racetrack, and you still slam me in the door. But anyway, well, come feature time, he took us down there into one, and I mean he turned me around and he turned himself around, and I mean he stacked up about eight cars, eight or nine. I mean, he stacked up a slew of us. And he was all mad and yelling and screaming, and he said, That's what you get, blah, blah, blah. And then I'm sitting here and I got cars on both sides of me, and one in front of me, and and they lifting his car up and the right front suspensions dangling and that, and finally, I mean, they're we got red flags, so I just jump out of the car and I look, and I'm like, I pulled this is before the Dale Earnhardt deal, but I was looking at them going, shoot, I don't even have a flat tire. This is pretty good. I crawl back in, I get all buckled up. They start pulling cars away, start pulling forward, they peel off the rear tailpiece. I went out there and put her in the claiming area that night. Oh damn. I lucked out, you know, but I mean the the amount of cars that he tore up was not fair to them types. Right, sure, right. You know, so that's that's that's one of the reasons that, you know, like I said, and we respected each other, I think, on the racetrack as much as we could. You gotta.

SPEAKER_07 2:00:00

I mean, that's what we gotta race. It's not like you weren't just racing with this guy once a month. Yeah, you're gonna see him more often, you know.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:08

Yeah, and that nowadays, I feel like that's the thing is you might go to Redwood Falls, Minnesota and think, I'm not gonna see that. Or some people might they might go anywhere and be like, I'm never gonna see this guy again. But I mean, traveling's all the rage now.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:21

Yeah, you know, that's a big thing. Yeah, back then it you know, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:24

I mean it was hard to get away from home back then. I mean, you really had to want it, yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:30

Yeah, I remember uh in in ninety one when we won our second national championship. I had to go to Kansas and race. And that was one of them one of them deals uh uh Chris Jensen uh the old double do.

SPEAKER_08 2:00:42

Yeah, you remember him?

SPEAKER_02 2:00:44

Good friends there, uh me and Chris and uh me, Chris, and uh Glenn Woodard uh jumped in a in a pickup in a race car and and we left at three o'clock on a uh I don't know if you call that Friday night, Saturday morning. And we drove all the way to Goodland, Kansas. I got there and I unloaded and I'd missed a um and and ran the heat race and feature and loaded back up and drove all the way back back here to Des Moines and got here at like uh two o'clock in the afternoon, three o'clock in the afternoon, Sunday. Never did sleep. We just took turns sleeping in the truck and hauled all the way up. And it's like, have you guys ever been you ever been to Goodland out there? No, yeah. I've never been there. Oh, you never been there? Yeah, you're like uh you're like a rock throw away from from uh from what Colorado and you could pee on Nebraska, I think. You're way out there in that corner, man. Yeah, we drove all the way. We like I said we left at three o'clock in the morning, drove all the way there, pulled in and unloaded and and missed hot laps.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:44

Did you win?

SPEAKER_02 2:01:45

So, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 2:01:46

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:01:48

You know, and the track was all dark, and I I could I can remember that. I I this guy I I passed him down there in three and four and I and I'm looking for the leader because I mean it was dark enough you couldn't see. I mean, I mean the track wasn't that well lit. And we come on floor and the guy's waiting in flex, and I said he's waving the checker, and I said, I think I needed to win. And I pulled around, I pulled into claiming area, and this guy's going to point me out there. Oh they must do it out on the you know, line the cars up on the front chute. I pulled up on the front chute, I got out and the guy said, Hey, congratulations. Nice run. Yeah, thanks. Oh, I won. I didn't even realize I won. I thought I finished like second or third. Oh, yeah. But yeah, yeah, we ended up pulling, yeah, because we had to go over there every night and win in order to win the national points. Yeah, I was meeting uh a Martin Hilt was the kid's name. Then he had me on national points, but we went out there and I think we raced five five times over there and won was fortunate enough to win all five.

SPEAKER_09 2:02:43

It's still like that. I mean, it still can be like that for the national points race. I mean, last year, I mean Jeremy Mills got second, unfortunately, you know, but it was to a point, you know, late in the year, and I think it was after Supernationals, it was like for him to win the modified national championship, he was gonna have to go to Michigan to race against um I can't think of his name. Uh anyways, the guy that won it, you know, but like he was gonna have to go take some wins away from it. And no, he never did.

SPEAKER_02 2:03:11

See, and that's uh and I didn't even realize that that was uh 91 Supernationals and and um uh we uh trying to think what oh I think so um I got turned around first lap and then we went to the tail and come back around like fifth or sixth, whatever. But uh some guys from Kansas come over and said, Hey, you need to come over and race against this guy we got over there in Kansas. Well, who is it? Oh, his name's Martin Hell. I said, Well, it's like they didn't like him, but you know, I I met him and p I mean he was a another racer, you know. He was really nice then. He offered to put us up there at Goodland. Well you can come over and stay at our house, or whatever. I said, No, we're gonna hit the road. I said we should be back in Iowa somewhere around two or three in the afternoon, you know, non-stop road. But you know, he was really really nice, and I mean he knew what I was there for, but yeah, and I and I didn't think I was gonna be close enough. And we said, and we went over there and and uh the first uh I was trying to remember the first first night we went racing, we raced Waquini and somewhere else, uh maybe Stockton, Kansas, and we won both of those. And on the way home, I was like, does anybody know how many points or how close we are? Of course, Dad, you know, he starts thinking about it and he starts figuring it up. And the next day he tells me, he says, only way you're gonna pull this off, boys, you gotta win them all. I was like, Well, I said, I probably not, but it's a lot of fun over there racing. And the people were good over there.

SPEAKER_07 2:04:29

Yeah, you know, they were that's like seven hours. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna be able to do that. Yeah, it is, yeah. Morgan Olmsted races there all the time, man. That's yeah, that's how I know. When you said that, I'm like, holy shit. Yeah, yeah, that's a long ways from here.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:42

Goodland's like a lot further west than that.

unknown 2:04:45

Holy moly.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:46

Yeah, you know, and that was in '91, you know.

SPEAKER_07 2:04:48

So yeah, you know, guys, uh, we need to we need to send this off to we're gonna do one more break here, and then I want to come back and and talk with Steve about uh the IMCA supernaturals. I want to dive into that a little bit. And uh we talked a little bit about it on uh during our dinner break and uh his stats broke out, and then I I admire that. So I want to I wanna and then what we also need to go over the Elmquist tow questimquist towing question of the week, and Steve Jackson still brought up in that uh talk as well.

SPEAKER_10 2:05:20

Guess who got another win? You did, yeah, mysteriously in right here.

SPEAKER_07 2:05:26

Uh we don't know it, but you did. We'll kind of go into this here just uh after we get back here, but uh we want to we we want to thank uh Central Iowa Decent Performance, Home Quest Towing, Housebe trucking, um, Barntown Brewing, Farley's Wholesale, P1P Canopy Logue Fabrication, and the Adobe Lounge. Uh, you have been watching Watermelons and Chips. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_05 2:05:55

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SPEAKER_00 2:06:26

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SPEAKER_09 2:07:24

Welcome back, RaceFans, Watermelons and Woodchips. This will be our final segment here. Uh we'll jump into the Elmquist towing question of the week. And it was Who is your all-time favorite IMCA stock car driver? Which um there were a lot of comments on that, some of which you two apparently cannot see.

SPEAKER_10 2:07:43

Yeah, I'm gonna have to give me one of those locally hated shirts because apparently I've been blocked as much as you have.

SPEAKER_07 2:07:48

That's gonna be a new shirt. Uh hashtag blocked uh whoever on the podcast we've got to come up with that. I don't know, I don't get it. Um it is what it is. I think it's funny. Uh Josh messaged me earlier and he's like, hey, can you there's actually 164 comments, but I can only see 153. What can you see? And I'm like, same. So I don't know if Coot, we haven't talked to Coot. Uh we don't know if the boys have won their game. Hopefully they did.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:13

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07 2:08:14

But uh they're an extras still.

SPEAKER_09 2:08:16

They might be an extras.

SPEAKER_07 2:08:18

What another great question of the week here. Um, Steve Jackson put another tally notch in his belt as for being the top. You were mentioned, yeah. You were mentioned a lot on there.

SPEAKER_10 2:08:30

You won something on social media. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_07 2:08:34

You know, and and which is I mean, the names on this list are in Steve's era of time. Um, you know, Steve Jackson going number one here, Mike Nichols, uh flying Brian Blessington, Larry Portis, uh always known as the Hardee's big Hardee sticker on the side of that thing, the old fifty the old 59 uh pink and white car a lot of the times, or yellow and blue. Um, and then of course the one and only Stony Denny Stoneburner. Um what a what a great list to be a part of. There was I I was actually surprised. I mean, we also on that list uh Jeff Anderson. Um Kelly Tapper, um Rick Brown, and to Honorable Mention. Honorable mention. I I flattered as shit because every one of these drivers on this list besides myself are 1980, 1990, early 2000 drivers. So to be a part of that to me, that is that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_10 2:09:42

Phenomenal.

SPEAKER_07 2:09:43

Although I didn't get a race with you. I I man, I maybe someday, Ed, I know you're still turning the wheel a little bit in the USRA stuff, and we have venture out and do that. Where are you racing? Because maybe one of these days I might want to come down and running.

SPEAKER_02 2:09:57

I've been running ASCII on Wednesday. Talk about that a little bit. Yeah. You know, um, I kinda like I said, you know, I got uh grandkids and that going on now, and and life's kind of thrown some curveballs at us and that.

SPEAKER_07 2:10:12

But uh still running on Wednesday nights, though, correct?

SPEAKER_02 2:10:15

Still running on Wednesday nights, yeah. So it it gives me time to, you know, I still got the urge to to do it and and and want to do it, and then uh uh I missed uh I raced I haven't missed a season, but I've only had a you know I only had a couple races there um right after COVID and that my mom passed and and uh that kind of threw the family into uh a tailspan for a little while. But uh after that, um you know the cars really changed. Um that what, 2000 and would that be 2021, where they um they really started laying them over and um it's uh a whole different ball game, you know, from what the style of racing that that we did and um and to be quite honestly I've been pretty much humbled about it, you know, um and and struggling in that and uh not really having anybody to lean on or talk, you know, to you know, because my generation is you know, pretty much empty bar up and up and gone, you know. And no offense, but the uh it seems to me like the this generation of race car drivers are not like what we had back in the day. You know. Um like uh I I can like um there again, uh I'm sorry, ages got me, but uh Denny's uh the guy that always helped him.

SPEAKER_07 2:11:50

Strongrunner? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:51

Um uh I can picture him with the Tiny uh no uh with the glasses now. Larry beard always had a beard. Anyway, he used to come down and talk to me Randy.

SPEAKER_07 2:12:05

Yeah. Randy, um he lives not half mile from our my dad's shop. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:11

Anyway, he used he used to come down and talk to me in that and uh and a and ask me questions, you know. And and I and I'd tell him, you know. He'd say, hey, what do you you know, you know, what do you got for springs or what do you run for shock or whatever? And and I'd tell him, you know, and I mean um it's not the fact I mean I never lied to anybody because I always looked at it, I always looked at it as uh I'd always tell the truth because most of the drivers walked away thinking I was lying anyway.

SPEAKER_07 2:12:40

How many times have I said that? Oh why just tell me? Seriously. I'm serious as a hard time. And they're always like, oh bullshit, there ain't no way you're doing that. I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 2:12:49

This lay underneath my car and look if you don't believe me. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:52

And you know, and every once in a while, I mean, you know, I tell guys, you know, just do what you want. After a second or third time, you come down and I'd say, and I'd say, Well, what have you done? Well, I went and talked to so-and-so, and he did, and I'm like, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, yeah, okay, this guy hasn't even won a feature, and you're doing what he's saying. And you're coming and ask me, and I'm telling you what to do. Yep. So after second or third time, it's like, well, you can just, yeah, if that's what you think you want to do, just go ahead and do it. And they think you're arrogant for doing that. It's like, wait a minute, it's not at all. No, and I'm not trying to be that way. I'm just trying to, you know, after a while you get just get tired of telling the the same person the same thing, and then they don't do it. But um, but yeah, I would, you know, we would talk and and and tell them, you know, hey, this is what we're doing. And and so this new car is out, and um basically I you know, I'm I'm sitting there watching cars in front of me, you know, what they're doing, how they're how the car's reacting, and all that, and then I'm going back to the shop and going, okay, well, you know, this is what we used to do, but throw that out the window.

SPEAKER_07 2:13:49

You know, I think I'll give you one of my cars when we leave after here tonight. If you worry about somebody helping you, I'll tell you what we're doing. So Jonathan's got a good notebook. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:59

And that's what you know, I used to have that, but like I said, that's all them, them, them deals, you know, and the shock packages and that, them's all out the window. So and we've just been sitting there playing with it, and you know, I went down there and I started out, you know, running 10th, 11th, whatever, and we've just been slowly getting back up to the to the pace. Now um, you know, um even a blind squirrel gets a nut. So, you know, last Wednesday I ended up fourth, but you know, so working our way back up towards the front in that, you know. And so that that that's that's fun.

SPEAKER_07 2:14:28

Note to self, guys, we I've we've this might have to be a watermelon trip to go down so I can race with Steve Jackson on Wednesday night. I mean, I'm just saying, just because I've never been able to do it, um and like I said, he's one of the all-time greats. Uh, but to touch in on this supernationals deal, we've talked about it. The only guy that I know that's got more than one nickname, we got the Jackson 5, Action Jackson, Steve Jackson, Mr. Excitement. Everybody, also the I know it was a sponsor, but Mr. Executive. They called you that every once in a while, and then he tells us the story about being the tornado that Denny gave them when they were traveling around here. I mean, all the announcers out there, which name do you pick for the night? I mean, is it, you know, how do you all of them are good. They are all good, yes.

SPEAKER_10 2:15:17

I know my favorite, it was Action Jackson.

SPEAKER_09 2:15:19

Oh, Action Jackson.

SPEAKER_10 2:15:20

Hands down.

SPEAKER_09 2:15:21

It just rolls off the tongue well.

SPEAKER_10 2:15:23

Or I always knew when somebody said the 2J, I mean, there was no question, there was no other 2J. Even if there was, it didn't matter. I knew who they were talking about. Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:15:33

And you carried that the carried all those phenomenally. And uh we've talked about your 1988 uh supernationals win. When was your second supernationals? And go into that and your third and your fourth and your fifth, and and which one was your favorite um, or which one was the toughest one for you to get?

SPEAKER_02 2:15:56

Man, that's um that's you know, that's something like I said, you know, I you know all this talking and everything, you know, you I've never been asked that question. It's kind of hard. Right. I've never, you know, nobody's ever, you know, they always ask you, you know, which what's your most rememberable? You know, which one do you remember the most? Well, I mean, you remember them all. I mean I mean remember my first one, my second one, my third, fourth, and and and finally my fifth. But um, you know, uh the the two that were probably the the the the two uh there's probably two of them that stick in my mind would have been the um ninety-three supernaturals um was qualifying, getting qualified for that one. Um uh we didn't we didn't have the you know we didn't get a good draw and we fought through the heat rays. And back then, I don't know how they do it now, but the the top uh the winners drew from from appeal and then the guys that ran second drew from a pill. Yeah, we still do we still do that. You still do that, okay. So, you know, um I've always said, you know, when we when it comes to drawing, you know, I never I don't I drew out of a cowboy hat one time and I pulled out Stetson. That that was that's that's the type of draw that I get. You know what I'm saying? And of course I drew you know the the last pill and and I was in the second heat race. And so right then I knew man, this is this is gonna be a tough slide. This is gonna be a tough sled. And um, and I mean it was one of those deals where there was a top, there was a bottom, and there hadn't been anything in the middle all night. And um I you know I I looked at Gordon and I and I said, Look, I don't know what we're gonna do or how we're gonna do it, but we have to run the middle. And he goes, You can't. I said, Don't tell me I can't. We have to run the middle because they're gonna be on the bottom and the top. I can't pass cars in the same lane. And man, um we kind of knocked our heads together and and um him and my dad put a setup on that car, and man, we drove up through the middle, and I don't know, I don't remember what it was, but I remember I had uh it was when I'm sitting here looking through this this list uh of guys you're going through, Larry Portis and uh Donnie Gustoff.

SPEAKER_10 2:18:33

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:18:34

Them two were battling for the lead left and right, one on the top and one on the bottom. And I mean they were going at it um from what everybody says. And when I got up there, I'm like, okay, you guys just stay in your line. That's all I asked, because I was in the middle. And we finally got up there, and I don't remember four or five laps to go or whatever. I was just coming off a two, I just or coming down the front off of four. I just laid her down and she just bit and right through the gut I went right between both of them, and holy buckets, I'm sitting on the pole of the supernational. And I would have never thought that we could have pulled that off. So that was that that supernational, you know, and then you know, of course, then um you know, winning it, you know, it's just a cherry on the top there for that. And then uh I think the next memorable one would have probably been racing Jason Crohn in '96. Me and him had a me, him, and uh and Lottie, the three of us, trying to race that racetrack. It was I don't know if you guys probably weren't old enough to remember any of this, but Jason was thought he was running the bottom, and I showed him that at Boone you can run inside the tires. And Lottie was showing me with his four-wheeler to get back out on that racetrack. And I mean, lap after lap after lap, we was me and Crohn. I mean, I would get inside of him and he would yeah, I knew I built Jason's car, you know, you know how it is. You're building guys' cars. Yeah, he had an SCS car. And uh and he down he'd come on me, you know. He'd try to hold me down as much as he could, and and then so finally I'm just like, you know, I'm bouncing over these tires, you know.

SPEAKER_07 2:20:20

They're still just as hard.

SPEAKER_02 2:20:21

Yeah, and I'm just like, you know what, this is this is something's gotta give here. And I went down into one, I thought, screw it, I just go under him. If he doesn't want me on, you know, I'm not gonna straddle him. So then now we're running side by side, and I'm on the inside of the racetrack, and whole lot he's out there just throwing fingers and everything, and uh, and we ended up getting uh and uh uh I don't know, it's probably about six, I don't know, maybe halfway through, just a little bit past halfway. Um I finally got underneath Jason and got him to finally bite and go into one a little bit harder and he slid up and and then uh we ended up ended up winning that. Game over game over.

SPEAKER_07 2:21:01

So you got eighty-eight, ninety-three, ninety-six. So there's three. Two more to go.

SPEAKER_02 2:21:10

Eighty-eight, ninety. Oh ninety. Yeah. Eighty-eight, ninety, and then ninety-three, ninety-three, ninety-six, ninety-six, and two. Your last one was in two thousand. Two thousand.

SPEAKER_10 2:21:20

Seems like that's three different decades. Is that right?

SPEAKER_07 2:21:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:21:24

We talked about this earlier because I don't know uh if you're counting, that's two different millenniums.

SPEAKER_07 2:21:28

Two different millenniums. Yeah. And that but that's what's funny, is we're talking about it, and Steve, we're we're having pizza, and Steve's like, what years was it that your dad won the won the supernaturals? And I'm like, oh shit. Okay, 95, 99, 98, 99, 2001. He's like, Yes, I still got him beat. I'm like, what? And he pops this off and I'm like, wow. All right, Ryan's gonna get that. Yeah, John.

SPEAKER_09 2:21:56

But we're gonna have to have John calling to defend himself. Get him on the phone. I mean, what right now he's feeding the ducks and pulling that bait trap out.

SPEAKER_07 2:22:04

He's already asked me about it uh if I was gonna make it or not, but uh gosh dang, Steve, what a what a awesome, awesome deal. I mean, to be the only five-time in the IMC stock car class, um, it's a very cool deal. The rings back then compared to what the rings are now. Uh my dad has those rings. Are are yours the the did you bring them back? I brought one. You brought one. Oh, and he brought a souvenir.

SPEAKER_02 2:22:32

And the stock cars only got we didn't start getting those until uh 93. Really? Yeah, stock cars. Yeah, yeah. 88 and 90, and that we we never got one, so look at that.

SPEAKER_07 2:22:45

So yes, okay, now I'm jealous because my dad's are a a cr or a a diamond, not a red diamond.

SPEAKER_02 2:22:54

This is a ruby, so he's got yeah, he's got a he's got a diamond in here.

SPEAKER_07 2:22:58

He's got the diamond for the modified. Yeah, but that is the first year, yeah. That is what year is that?

SPEAKER_02 2:23:03

I gotta see this. Uh what's it say on the side? Which one does it say? We've given uh oh 93. 93, that was the first one. Yeah. And they're all three the all three the same. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 2:23:12

How long uh just out of curiosity, did they size you up like after the race and then mail it to you, or how did that work? Um did they size you guys up before and they said we've got a bunch of them on hand? No, no.

SPEAKER_02 2:23:23

I mean that one there was um I can't remember where Fanboy. Oh yeah. I can't remember it I think it was like a gold art or something like that was the name of the company that was making them. Yeah. Yeah. And they and they called and asked for a ring size. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_09 2:23:39

That's freaking cool. That is really cool.

SPEAKER_07 2:23:41

So we've got that old school IMCA buzz on it. That's so cool. But the new ones, the new ones are really cool. Are they? Yes, and that my all of my dads are that right there, but they are the okay, I want to hold it too.

SPEAKER_06 2:23:56

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_07 2:23:59

Because it's got the red ruby in it. No, I I love that old like the one wing. Did you ever wear these at like any, you know, like how they used to go out to the national banquet? I've never I never worn them.

SPEAKER_02 2:24:11

Everybody said, Yeah, can you it's like I don't even wear a wet wedding ring. I mean, I just never yeah, it's just not one.

SPEAKER_07 2:24:17

And th this is nostalgic because it's like my dad, so he's got a case with race cars and and and everything in it, and he's got we have eight rings between the two of us. Uh-huh. Um, and so he's got his five which are the old school ones, and then we've got my three that are like they're kind of like a class ring, and it says sport mod on the top, and it's got your name engraved in it, and it's just uh it's a cool thing. You know, you have yours in a uh dresser drawer? Yeah. Do you? Yeah, so okay. Touch base a little bit on this too. Do you have a trophy room? Where did all your trophies go? What did you do with them all?

SPEAKER_02 2:24:59

Uh if that it Yeah, I guess. It's got I got uh yeah, it's kind of or in your garage or you have some like that's it's it's a room that I have uh that originally when I built the garage, it's like, oh, that'd be kind of cool. That'd be a trophy room and trophy room and race car parts and tires and right. Yeah, all kinds of I mean you look at it, it's a mess in there. But yeah, yeah, I mean there's stuff up on the walls and you know, plaques and so were they given flags? Yeah, I do have all five flags.

SPEAKER_07 2:25:31

You have all five flags. Now, okay. When what in ninety three did they sign those flags? Remember how they used to have all the drivers sign the flags?

SPEAKER_02 2:25:38

They do that in the modifies. They never did that. They never got no. See, I think they should do that in all classes.

SPEAKER_09 2:25:43

That would be me.

SPEAKER_02 2:25:44

It would be which I would have loved that to have to have all the drivers that raced in that yeah in that race. In that race that yeah. That would have been really cool.

SPEAKER_10 2:25:53

I feel like they may have started doing that. I I don't don't quote me, but I'll we'll I'll find out.

SPEAKER_02 2:25:58

I did I did uh my second my s the second uh flag that I got, that would have been ninety. Yeah, because I got the eighty-eight flag. Then the ninety flag, um what was that gal's name that made him? She was Bill Olson's Bill Olson's wife. Yeah, yeah. She made him gosh. I can't think of her name. If I'm not sure. But anyway, I told her, I said, hey, can you do me a favor? Because I didn't think I'd, you know. I mean, I was I I'd you're gonna win five. Uh I'd have said, yeah, right. Yeah, right. You know what I mean? Seriously. So this is my second one. I said, Hey, can you make that flag backwards? And she goes, why? I said, uh, just because, and I'll explain to you later, if if if I, you know, and uh if I win, she goes, Yeah, I'll see why so she waited, and then I won, and then she made the flag, and she stitched it later, and then what I was able to do with it, not knowing that you know you're gonna win more, but I put the the 88 was hung this way, and then the 90 hung this way. Oh yeah, okay. I see. I mean, so I put it on there backwards, but it's up on my wall, they're there, they're up on my wall crossed, and I was thinking that's me, yeah. Oh, that'd be kind of cool, you know, if I ever get you know a trophy room or whatever. Yes, but I didn't realize that there would be three more. So many more, yeah. I mean you don't.

SPEAKER_07 2:27:13

I mean, uh it's it's it's just another race, and and it's like I never people are always like, oh man, how much more pressure was it, you know, because your dad was John Logan. It's like I'm I'm my own driver. Yeah, I'm my own person. Like, did it weigh on me a little bit? Well, yeah, because you know, and which kind of leads me into the next question. Does your son is how old?

SPEAKER_02 2:27:34

Uh well, actually, uh the ninth, he'll be 31.

SPEAKER_07 2:27:37

He'll be 31. No interest in getting in a car.

SPEAKER_02 2:27:39

You know what? He did. Um he ran um, I had an old stock car there, and he was running that uh Iowa Enduro series. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. And he and he raced in that. And uh oh, this would have been uh he was kind of when he was out of college because he went to college to play baseball. So when when college you know school was over, he came and and I we had the car set up and and uh he did some racing there and then uh started having him do some some other racing. He was racing down at Des Moines on some Friday nights and that. And you know, no offense, but um I mean he was doing good. I mean he was starting to learn. Yeah and yeah, I mean not everybody uh it's like I said, he picked up the baseball and could throw it 91 mile an hour. Not every not every high school kid can pick up a ball and throw it 91 mile an hour. Right, you know, and that's why I tried to explain to him, but not everybody can get in one of these things and drive.

SPEAKER_01 2:28:35

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:28:35

And I said, you know, the and the thing is, is you can't be me because you never will be me.

SPEAKER_03 2:28:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 2:28:41

And I'll never be you. Right. So be you for who you are and and do your thing. So, you know, and like I said, he was doing, I mean, he like I said, was he stand no, he wasn't standing out, but he was learning. Yeah, and I could see the the improvements that was going on, and then he decided that, you know, college and and and after college he got married, and now he's got a uh daughter and that, and he just happens sometimes, you know. You know, and it's like so now I got three granddaughters and another one on the way, so I'm trying to figure out which one's gonna be my racer. Right. Watch out, boys. Watch out.

SPEAKER_07 2:29:20

Absolutely, man, and uh so you you know you get the five, I mean, how many national titles do you have to your credits?

SPEAKER_02 2:29:27

I have two.

SPEAKER_07 2:29:28

Two national titles.

SPEAKER_02 2:29:29

What years were those? 88, the first year that they had it. Yeah, and then um uh what was it, two years later in ninety?

SPEAKER_07 2:29:35

Two two years and ninety. So not only one time, but two times he won the national title and picks up the IMCA supernationals.

SPEAKER_10 2:29:43

Um the same season, which is a rare thing.

SPEAKER_02 2:29:46

Yeah, it's hard to do. Yeah, that's very hard to do. Very, very hard to do. Yeah, to do both of them in the in the same because that's I mean, but what people don't understand is is is uh the grind that it took takes on you. I mean, uh, like I said, we was looking through some of them books. Uh, you know, I told you uh they was wanting uh all kinds of stuff for that um Iowa Hall of Fame. Museum, yeah. Yeah, the museum, and uh or just being inducted into it and you know, they want all these stats and everything.

SPEAKER_07 2:30:15

What's that like being in inducted into that Iowa Hall of Fame? I mean, going up there and seeing how they do that deal, it's like almost chilling.

SPEAKER_02 2:30:26

Yeah, it is. And and I you know, the thing is, is I looked at it as, you know, when I got up there and I started looking at it and I'm going, this is pretty cool, but I could think of about probably 150 other guys that deserve it more than I do, is what I thought. I really did because I like this thing is cool. Yeah. There's a lot of guys deserving of this that you know that should be there. Yeah. You know, should I be? I don't know. But I you know, I always like I said, I could think of 150 other guys in my name is not in there that that really need to be inducted into that. Is your dad? Is your dad in? My dad is not in. See, that's what I mean. No. You know, and I think stop and think about some of these guys that are not you know, I mean, he's one that's yeah, you know, I mean he's done everything I have done, but he's done it in a modified right.

SPEAKER_07 2:31:18

You know, I think there's uh I don't know how that deal works, but I I know that there's a lot of people like my dad just got inducted into the Stewart Hall of Fame here a couple of years ago. Yeah, I mean and I didn't we we didn't even know that he was even on the ballot until we seen it on one of Troy Shoot's awesome posts about introductees or however the hell you say that. Inducted. I was gonna let it go. I you were, but then I seen you go, eh? Might have been, but Garrett wasn't gonna let it go at the end. So but that deal is so cool, and I I agree, like I don't know how they go about that doing that. Um, however, they do an excellent job with it. I mean, it is phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 2:32:10

Uh another guy uh from when I was a kid era is Joe Merrifield. You know, I mean he raced it, he raced at Des Moines in that, but and he's not inducted into it, and this guy's won the World 100.

SPEAKER_08 2:32:22

Yeah, no shit.

SPEAKER_02 2:32:23

Yeah, he won the World 100 back in like 72 or 3. Wow. And he's not even inducted in. You know what I mean? So that's why I'm saying I'm not trying to don't don't take me the wrong way. Yeah. When I say that, you know, I could think of you know 100, 150 other guys, and my name's not on there. Right. This is what I'm this is what I'm saying. There's a lot of lot of race car drivers out there that that really are deserving of it.

SPEAKER_09 2:32:45

That I that I feel is there's so many people that fly under the radar too. Yeah. That like they don't make a big stink about anything, like they might not ever have problems with anyone, but you know, they win, that they're good for the sport, you know, like your grinders, you know, like people that show up week in, week out, their whole entire career, you know. And yeah, and that that's not to say most of them don't want any of the credit, they don't want to be recognized, they want to stay in their own lane, they want to be left alone. Yep. Yep, you're a good example. You've done a lot of cool stuff, you know, but like you know, but you're sitting here telling me that you can think of guys more deserving, whereas from my side of things, I'm like, this might be the greatest racer I've ever met in person.

SPEAKER_07 2:33:24

You know, well, seriously though, that and that's how special it is. And when when you when we when this Mason kid came to me and was like, hey man, I'm pretty good friend, or my family's good friends with Steve Jackson. I'm just like, oh man, you know, because I I mean I like I said I will follow along and see you know on the race results and stuff and everything, but you know, once you left IMTA, you kind of vanished um from the racing of not seeing you and the Des Moines thing. Like I grew up in on in Des Moines on Friday nights, that was your place. Oh, yeah. Um so it's like maybe. Where did where did he go? And then all of a sudden we're gonna have a podcast with the man. Yeah. Man. You know? So very, very grateful. Um, Steve, it's been an absolute wonderful uh show. Thank you very, very, very much.

SPEAKER_02 2:34:16

No problem.

SPEAKER_07 2:34:16

And then we probably all kind of seemed like fanboys and stuff, but it's what we're good at. These guys are yeah, right. Josh is way older than we are, and so he started liking you long before we did.

SPEAKER_10 2:34:28

But 1999. If you want to know what uh I went to my first race in '96 in Stewart. I didn't I graduated in Stewart, never knew there was a racetrack. Really? Yep. Uh he was a farm kid. I was a farm kid, dude. Okay. We would we'd be at home on Sunday nights. We lived just west of Redfield. Okay. And we'd be at at home and I'd hear this noise, and my I'd be like, what is that? And my dad'd be like, ah, some damn race cars over in Stewart. And I never made the connection. Went to school there, graduated, had a friend, her dad race modified. Bob Earhart was his name. Oh, yeah, Bob Earhart.

SPEAKER_02 2:35:04

Yeah, no, Bobby.

SPEAKER_10 2:35:05

And she took me over to their garage and I walked in and he fired that thing up, and the methanol lit my nose on fire, and I was like, I don't know what the hell this is, but I gotta be part of it.

SPEAKER_07 2:35:14

He later then dated that chick for about two and a half years. No, no, no, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_10 2:35:19

No, he wanted to, but she did not. So uh but yeah, that's that's what kind of got me into it. But I remember going to my first race, and I remember seeing you race at Stuart, and I'm like, and it's one of those things where you just don't get that memory out of your head. You see these guys running two and three and four wide on this little racetrack, and you're like, I don't know how the hell these guys are doing that. And then one day I got lucky enough to be part of it and crashed the shit out of everything I owned, and just whatever, but I I watched you at Boone, I would stand on the catwalk and I'd watch you come off the flagstand, just about kissing the concrete, and then right down against the tires, and I I just called that the Jackson line. Well, there's other guys that ran it, but they didn't do it as good as you did. And I watched and learned, I never learned how to do it. I could watch you move guys out of the way, and they never knew they were moved. That that impressed the hell out of me. And then when I finally did get to meet you, I came down, I was talking to Doug Sidel. He was pitted next to you. Yep. Doug and Allison Allison and I graduated high school together. Okay. That's the forced family. And when I say the forced family, they will watch this podcast every second of it, I guarantee it, and they'll be very happy that we did it. Yes. Um, but I came down there to talk to Doug, and that was the first time I met you. And I was like, this is like one of the nicest people I've ever met. And that you would not know that you do what you do on the racetrack. And and from there, I've just yeah, I've been a huge fan ever since. So it's just it's an honor for me to sit here and talk to you, and you are very deserving of the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. I agree a hundred percent. I'm glad you made it in. That's very cool. Yeah, we got to be up there for that. Um, to see the red and white Scorn of vodka's 2J up there on the screen, you know, and yeah, a lot of years of racing, and the sport of racing owes you a debt of gratitude, Steve. And I want you to uh from from me to you, I've spent a lot of years working in it, and it's better because you were in it. So and are and are in it.

SPEAKER_02 2:37:24

Yeah. So thank you. Thank you. I I really appreciate that. But like I said, I just it was just uh, you know, like I said, growing up with it, you know, and you know, I I've I always teased my dad, and that was one thing that I always said I could remember when I told him, I said, Dad, I want a race car. I want to go racing. He just looked at me and goes, Yeah, you think you could be fast. He goes, It's a lot harder than what you think. And I'm like, Ah, come on, let's try it, let's try it. No, no, no. And then finally, um, that one year Woodard didn't kept his modified, he didn't build a new car. And then that's and he's like, Larry, it's time to build the kid a car. It's time. Yeah. That's what started it. And the other thing is, is you want to know about the bandana. I think about the bandana. Everybody wants to know about the bandana. Let's hear it. It's a very embarrassing situation, the bandana. Uh-oh. So we're racing at uh Marcia Town, and and um when I was younger, and and they're starting to come back, but I had allergies bad. Real bad. And um, and I was like dust and pollen and that was not not good to me. So I think it's like the second or third or fourth night, whatever we're at Marcia Town in the lined up feature, and we're going down the back shoot and they're flickering the flickering the light, and all of a sudden. It's like uh-oh. Oh my device or I could not. I sneezed all over the inside of that helmet and couldn't see nothing. I had to flip the helmet up and yeah, so um ran a couple laps with the shield up and they threw a caution and I pulled it back down and I'm wiping it with my gloves and everything else, and I'm like, this isn't gonna work, you know. And uh um Woodard uh told me at the time, he said, Well, y'all just put a handkerchief on. And I was like, What? He said, put a handkerchief on there, you know, like them train robbers used to do. He said, That way if you sneeze it, I said, Ah, that's a pretty good idea.

SPEAKER_06 2:39:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:39:20

So I put that put that thing on, and I'm never at all be doing that.

SPEAKER_07 2:39:25

Jimmy Gustin calls me last night because you know, we're super tight. Sure. And he's like, I was like, You want to race tomorrow? And he's like, nah, I don't know. You know, what are you doing tomorrow? I'm like, well, Steve Jackson's gonna come on the podcast.

SPEAKER_08 2:39:39

Oh no shit. He's like, I hope he wears the bandana and goes, dude, that'd be so cool. And I'm like, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:39:45

We've been trying to get him to come on because just his story, you know, and just what he has done in IMCA racing and how many people followed Jimmy Gustin. And he's just like, ah man, that's not my idea.

SPEAKER_08 2:39:58

And I'm like, I don't think it was Steve's like he's never done a podcast either, probably. And I'm like, we're harmless, you know.

SPEAKER_07 2:40:06

And he's like, Well, what if I say something wrong? I'm like, you can't say anything wrong. It's like just a bullshit section and and to tell us your story. But it was just I had forgot, not forgotten about your bandana, but I'm like, if he shows up with that bandana, I'm gonna be like the dumbest fanboy ever because it just brought back that memory of you walking in with that duffel bag and all your shit.

SPEAKER_08 2:40:33

And like I said, the car's on the trailer, the ramps are down, hasn't even fired it up yet, maybe had, I don't know, but I would you know, like, and then all of a sudden it's like Where'd he go?

SPEAKER_07 2:40:44

He he's getting in the car and strapping in on the trailer.

SPEAKER_10 2:40:47

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07 2:40:47

Okay. All right. And headed to the car. And then he goes out and kicks her ass.

SPEAKER_02 2:40:50

You know what I mean? Like well, it you know, it it's just a test everything is done on the in the garage, you know. It's I you know, I I always said, you know, what why go out and sling mud and everything else? It's not gonna tell me anything. It's not, you know, um and don't get me wrong, there's I mean, there's times in the heat race that I, you know, sometimes I paid for it, you know. Right. I went out in a heat race and you know, it didn't run right, or you know, I I pushed a pushrod through a rocker arm, or you know, or I developed a miss or something like that that you know maybe if I'd hot lapped we could have chased it down.

SPEAKER_07 2:41:22

But see, and that's where that's where I'm at as I always hot lap just because of that reason. I've been burnt so many times, it's like we work on our car four or five days a week.

SPEAKER_09 2:41:34

That's the thing though, races are one in the shop.

SPEAKER_07 2:41:36

Yeah, they always have been. They always have been. Yep, always have been. And people that's uh Kyle Free. He's a family member of mine through my stepparent, and he's just getting into racing, and and uh he's been running really well lately, and the first couple years was a struggle for him. And just two weeks ago we're at Boone and and he's standing over there and and all the sport mods are out on the track. And I'm like, why aren't you out there hotlapping? You have not won a feature race yet. You're struggling, you've you know, like this 90's like, ah, I don't want to have to clean my tires, and I don't, you know, it's more laps on the motor, and I'm like I said, man, when you quit spinning out every week, then you can quit hot lapping.

SPEAKER_06 2:42:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 2:42:21

You know, because I I mean nowadays the track prep stuff is you know, back in the day it was you walk across there and you had muds. I mean it was like sticky gumbo, they didn't farm. Yep, exactly. And so it was more pointless then, yeah, in my opinion, than it is now because now the tracks are a little more prepared.

SPEAKER_02 2:42:40

Yeah, I don't mean prepared, they're just not as Yeah, you know, yeah, that's that's and that's another thing that that always irritated me is like I you know I always built my my racing around you know uh being able to um read uh the racetrack you know from heat race to where I think it's gonna go in the future and prepare for it that way. And to have somebody come out and tear that all you know, back in the day at your dad say um Sarge, uh man, that guy could man could that guy could man he could uh prepare a racetrack like none other. I mean that thing was glass, glass top to bottom. Uh if it did e even though it it it was it was dry, um we could still race four wide and not have a problem.

SPEAKER_07 2:43:29

I mean that's why do you think that that has changed from then back then to now? Is it like because back then, like what I take from it is there wasn't as much equipment back then as there is now, like the greater or not the greaters, but like the the the tools that they're using now, you know, and and it was just a water truck. Uh most of the time race cars had to go out and pack the racetrack when they got there, yep. Versus now, like when we go to Boone, they've got six track or packers, you know.

SPEAKER_02 2:44:01

Packers out there doing their job.

SPEAKER_07 2:44:02

You know, a couple weeks ago I we had to go out and you know, they it rained and everybody was kind of him hawing around, and I got right in my car and we went out there, and all of a sudden the whole pit area is on the racetrack. Yep. Why do you think that it's changed from then, you know, how it was then as far as the racetracks being racier? Seems like now we we almost get some more rubber um just anywhere across the country versus what we used to twenty-five, thirty years ago.

SPEAKER_02 2:44:32

You know, I I I suppose this, you know, technology and and the fact that um I think maybe the cost of it now. Guys are putting in um so much money into these cars and they're costing so much more that um back in our day, you know, uh to be able to tame a dry slick, I mean it was an art. You can ask your dad. I mean it a lot of guys I mean there was there was guys that that when that when that thing dried out, you knew i i i it's it's what they say, you know, you turn it long enough, the cream's always gonna come to the top. Right. Right. And as that track dries out, you here comes the cream. Right up to the top. Yes. You know, and and they and they keep uh talking about, you know, um, well, there's only three or four, five, six guys winning, blah, blah, blah. Well, it doesn't matter what type of racetrack you're gonna put on. You and you know, there's gonna be a certain amount of guys that that's that's gonna that's their track. That's it. They're gonna win. It doesn't matter. But with the tackiness in that of a racetrack, and now I think more guys can be more competitive. I think it makes guys that if you you know, if you miss a little bit on a setup on a tacky racetrack, you're off. Yeah, but you can you can be off a little bit, but you can still be good. Right. If you're off on a dry slit, dude, you suck. You suck, yeah. And you're even sitting in the car going, I suck. Right. I don't want to go in another corner like this again. But we don't pull in because we still think we can learn something. Oh, yeah. And you do, and you learn something. I mean what it is.

SPEAKER_10 2:46:08

You can see too when they're fighting it, they actually start to go backwards faster just because they're trying to drive it harder, and it's like you can't do that. Yeah, you have to slow it down.

SPEAKER_02 2:46:17

Yep. Sometimes slower is faster. Correct. Yep. Yep. Yep. And and then that's and I think you know, for like I said, for what these guys are doing today, I think that's what a lot of it, a lot of it um ends up being is more guys can be more competitive. Because it used to be, you know, uh uh I could go out and I didn't have to worry and you know in a heat race. You know, I just I was looking for that four heat races, so I was looking for that top three or four spot. Yep. Because I was either gonna be starting twelfth being a point leader, you're gonna start twelve, or I'm gonna be in the next row behind it according to my heat race. Um so and I knew I could uh pull that out on a tacky racetrack. Right. Because my car was not set up for that tacky racetrack. But I I knew I could get to that point. And you know, like I said, even a blind squirrel gets a nut, you get a few heat race wins here and there. But um come feature time, all those guys that went out and won the heat race, and the pit guys are down there high five and blah blah blah, they make zero changes. Where we're like, okay, all right, this is where I think the racetrack's gonna go, so let's do this, that, and the other thing. And and then go out there for the feature, let the track come to you, and and you're off to the stuff.

SPEAKER_07 2:47:35

We talk about the Boone Speedway and how when they started farming the racetrack.

SPEAKER_02 2:47:39

Was that like ninety-seven?

SPEAKER_07 2:47:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:47:42

Do you remember why? Do you remember how that happened?

SPEAKER_07 2:47:45

I don't remember, but I know you're gonna tell me.

SPEAKER_02 2:47:48

I can remember because I hated it ever since. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_07 2:47:52

Well, and it was I well, I what I remember of it is we was because the racetrack was dry, drier, and that they wanted to bring more guys. They wanted the they wanted the n they didn't want the Steve Jacksons winning all the time. They wanted the the the field fillers, no offense to anybody to that, but I'm saying they wanted them guys to be able to come to the racetrack and say, you know what, I can race with Steve Jackson at Boone Speedway.

SPEAKER_02 2:48:19

This I think this all came uh and back in 97. We uh uh it was earlier in the season, like maybe like around now time and um of the season, and uh we was racing and it was just gonna be a normal night at the Boone Speedway. And Mother Nature says, and she dumped some water on us. Not a lot, but a little bit. And Lottie went out there and he took the old spring tooth and tore that racetrack up, and they got the tractor out there and they started packing, they started yelling about guys getting out there and packing, and we packed that thing in, and man, was that a night. I mean, man, that was I mean, we had side-by-side racing, and I mean fast. But sometimes you can't beat Mother Nature. Right. What she gets rainforward. Exactly. It is, and I mean that track was smooth and fast, and I mean I mean throughout. I mean, go back to the to the hobby stocks, to the stock cars, to the modified. I mean, every show was a phenomenal race. And since then, I think, you know, they're like, oh hey, light bulb went. Hey, let's just start tearing it up every week and lay it back in. Lay it back in and that, and then so then they started doing it like after the heat races or be made. I don't know how they do it now. Yep, same thing, same thing after the heat. They tore it up, but I always thought that they should have you know, to me, they ought to they should have torn it up a little bit earlier and and let it get packed in because you know that first one or two um features out on the speedway don't get a good that good of a it's almost like starting burning. Maybe they've worked that in a little bit better.

SPEAKER_09 2:50:02

Not that long ago, is yeah, like it and especially for the mod lights, they go first and they're so little, you know, but like we're basically letting the first two features kind of get the track finished as far as being ready goes.

SPEAKER_02 2:50:16

But my my deal is is so then you it but then you take it and then so then are you sacrificing them guys for your racetrack? Maybe a little. You know, I mean I don't know, I don't know what the conditions are. There's a couple times, you know, in there, and it's a work or learning curve. Yeah, yeah. I'm sure by now it's worked out.

SPEAKER_09 2:50:33

For the most part though, and like I said, we just talked about this is like you can set your watch to it most of the time, what boom's gonna be like. Oh, yeah, like see that's what it means. Like Jonathan and I have talked about this too before, kind of at length is like you can show up and you know what you're gonna get, and really the only thing you're guessing at at that point is how windy it is, like throughout the evening. Like that's the only thing you're taking into account the clouds, yeah. Yeah, well, I mean, I mean I'm just saying like in the evening time as we get closer to features and all that, like if it's cloudy, yes, but when the sun starts to set, it's not really a big deal.

SPEAKER_07 2:51:07

Maybe in one and two, but three and four is you know, I tell everyone that that farm session is the most important thing of the night if you're a race car driver. If you are not up there watching that, because I've watched it and watched it and watched it because I was always in my sport mod days, I was the second guy on the racetrack.

SPEAKER_02 2:51:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 2:51:24

Well, there's times that they might shoot water out the front, which is way less than what comes out the back on the bottom or the middle or the top, and it might be the next week they might be shooting the water out the ass end on the bottom and only spritzing it on the top. Well, guess what? Yeah, I'm going where they're spraying it out of the front because there's not as much water up there. And then also Rod will throw a little trick in on you. You gotta watch Rod. Rod's the you know, the track doctor, he's the one controlling the whole deal. He might, after they lay the water down, he might tear it up, he'll tear it up top to bottom or bottom to top, whichever way he goes. But then if he goes around two times in that same lane, or if he moves down and then he'll come back down and then he'll he'll come up and be like, ah, the top's a little greasy still yet, or whatever, so they'll tear that back up again and lay it back down, or they might only do one corner, or sometimes they won't even water the front stretch. And it's like that to me is very important to know.

SPEAKER_02 2:52:25

Very important, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:52:27

Because, you know, and then like when we have a Mother Nature rain, it rains like when they're doing the man-made water, it's on the racetrack only. Yep. Mother Nature rain is dousing the tops of the corners, it's making it all seep down into the ground versus just on the racetrack ground.

SPEAKER_06 2:52:43

Correct.

SPEAKER_07 2:52:43

Because we all know how hard Boon Speedway is. You Steve just brought up the fact of how smooth it was in 1997 before they farmed shit, and it's still that same way. It's almost like we're racing on asphalt, and there's times like when they put the wood chips in and start loose, or you know, trying to build that stuff back up. This new dirt that they've we had hauled in um is a different dirt, it's a gumbo dirt that's got some sand in it. It's made the racetrack either really, really good or it can get one lane-y-ish at times. As like Rod last night I told him after he thought I was yelling at him, I went over to the pit shack, you know. And uh I'm like, man, I thought the raisin was pretty good, you know. I'm like, especially in the heat races, like he's like, uh kind of got away from us a little bit in the features, you know. And I think where that mistake is happening is is like when I was in a sport mod just five, six years ago, we the sport mods weren't running clear up on the top of the racetrack. They were in the middle of the bottom. And the modifieds could go out there and they would push that cushion up, even though it's not a cushion, but it's that cushion.

SPEAKER_06 2:53:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:53:57

And then the stock cars did have two lanes, you know, to where now the sport mods they're running clear up on the lip. So then the modified get out there, there ain't nothing.

SPEAKER_06 2:54:07

Right.

SPEAKER_07 2:54:08

There's no lip. Now when you were racing there all the time, it was a punishment to go off the top because it was so steep. Yeah. Now they've got it shelved off, you know, because they've had some bad wrecks, and which I understand that. Yeah, you've got to get it. I totally get it. You gotta address it somehow.

SPEAKER_06 2:54:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:54:24

And but it it's just weird, you know, and I I the the new dirt and everything is great, and like I said, it's just to be rod and to try to hit that track prep perfect every time. There's no way.

SPEAKER_02 2:54:38

Yeah, there's yeah, there's no way you're gonna hit it. And that's and like I said, back at you know, back earlier, that's what I was that's what I was talking about, where when I went, I went to beat the racetracks, and that's what I and that's what I'd watch. Just like you where you watch the farming session. We didn't I didn't have the farming session, right? But what I watched was I like to get out there and start watching the B mains and to see the dust where it was at and how far how shiny it was getting. Well, and how far it was, you know, because that you know you get that forgiving, you know, it's like, oh yeah, there's two grooves out there, but there's a layer of dust on that first groove uh on the outside of the bottom. I mean, you hit that, that's just like ice, ice. Yeah, oh yeah, you know, and you're having a lot of problems, you know. So it just kind of depended on how dusty it was getting and where the groove was at, and and I no offense, but like at B Mains and that, I you know, I I actually watched like the middle of the pack and back guys. And the reason why is because those are the guys that really didn't have the patience to run around on the bottom. Yeah, so they're fighting to go forward, but yet they're blowing it in there hard. So then they're that you got three or four, maybe eight of them, or however many you got, they're out there the groove up, trying to run it, and they're blowing all that dust up. And I'm like, perfect, now it's gonna be two lanes. Right because you can drive in on the outside of somebody because they got all the dust blowed up off of it. So that's some of the things that we Had to look versus what you're looking at. They were doing the work for you. Yeah. Right. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 2:56:05

And two nowadays, like at Boone, you can tell like when the mod lights go out there. Same deal. Like if they start blowing dust on entry, there ain't gonna be nothing left by the time the stock cars get out there.

SPEAKER_02 2:56:15

So then you know what you then I know what I need to do. Yeah, exactly. When you you could just sit there and watch what, two, three laps of them and go, all right, boys, here's what we're doing. Let's go. And I was the same way.

SPEAKER_07 2:56:23

Legit.

SPEAKER_02 2:56:24

Yep. Yep. Legit. I'd do the same thing, just say, all right, here's what we're doing. This shock's coming off, that one's going on, we're doing this, doing that, whatever.

SPEAKER_07 2:56:30

100%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:56:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_10 2:56:32

I gotta ask you, I gotta ask you one more thing before we finally let you go back home because we've had human a long time. So we talked a little bit off camera earlier about uh when you would get claimed. We said you you got you lost around a hundred, you think. Yep, for sure. And you got a few back. Yep. But what was the so I have a buddy, Terry Pruitt, you probably remember Terry.

SPEAKER_02 2:56:56

Oh, yeah, I remember Terry racing against Terry over there.

SPEAKER_10 2:56:59

Uh he told me a story about they got claimed at I think it was at Boone, and they went home and got an old short block, cleaned up the crank with um some every cloth and threw it in, went to Jefferson, got claimed, got it, got it claimed. Yeah. You got any crazy stories like that where you threw threw together a claimer?

SPEAKER_02 2:57:15

Oh yeah, we yeah, there's I got a bunch. I I um uh there was one uh one night that uh that we um ran uh we had got bought where did we get bought? We got bought at a um I can't remember what track was at. But at a Napa series race. And they raced on um I think we raced out on uh two Wednesday Monday night. Monday night. And we went home and pulled another short, you know, another block just like he did out and you know, started kind of doing this and that and and uh it had split along the um outside of the block, it split because it froze. Sure. And the water cracked it. So we kind of ground that baby up and threw some JB weld on that thing and and uh it was just a a a stock 350. Um sent the heads down to uh Woodard. He was working at uh Risman Machine Shop and and he stuck, you know, stock stock valve uh springs in it, and he just put three or four shims underneath them to make it so it would hold up a camshaft and threw a cam in it. We went down to Oski and uh and we won uh we didn't win, but we made it to the claimant area and we're sitting there and and that thing got so hot. I mean, it it we're sitting in the claimant area and and I'm sitting there and dad's you want water? I said, It's beyond water. I mean it's clear down to Stuart Warner, and you could hear the rate you could hear the radiator just going shaking in the track and uh dad goes, Well, I hope there he says there's there's three of them back there. So he's open for it. Yeah, he's open for it. And uh sure enough, we got bought. Oh man. And I mean he cracked that, we we dropped the radiator, and I bet there wasn't a cup of coffee or water on that thing. And that thing was steaming, and he literally had two grease rags all folded up holding on to the starter to take it to the trailer because the starter was that hot.

SPEAKER_06 2:59:17

Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 2:59:18

Dumped it off and had that crack on there. And my dad, we got it up on the trailer, started leaving. My dad said, Hey, you see that crack there? He goes, Yeah, he said, You might want to put some stop leak in her. The guy's eyes got this big around. Oh, that's it.

SPEAKER_07 2:59:33

My dad used to do that shit all the time too. I don't know if you were at Boone the night, but they laid a big old snapping turtle right on the dash of my dad's modified one night.

SPEAKER_06 2:59:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:59:43

Because they'd been bought so many times, you know. And it's like back in them days, I mean, we were changing motors. My dad was changing motors uh after hot laps sometimes because he'd you'd blow one up, or after a heat race, you'd blow go out and run the race and stick a valve or something stupid, and it got down to where we'd change motor in 15 minutes. Yep. You know, everybody had their own little area, own little spot, and that was with a chain hoist. Yeah. On the back of the toter home, you know, my dad had one of the first guys with a toter home, which wasn't, I mean, Bob Ross and that we built it. It wasn't that we went and bought it.

SPEAKER_08 3:00:17

I mean, it was nice, but it was like, man, I just remember, you know, like running that chain thing up and down, and then all of a sudden we're rolling out pink valve covered motor that said FU on the inside of it because we knew we were gonna lose it.

SPEAKER_07 3:00:29

Yep. You know, and or welding shit together under on them and just doing all kinds of weird stuff.

SPEAKER_02 3:00:36

And nowadays, but them's the things that that that made it affordable for racing that people don't understand. Yeah. You know, I mean, you know, I when you can pull uh you know, most like like you said, a lot of race car drivers were some types of mechanics. Or, you know, a lot of them worked as a mechanic or you know, could work on cars and that. So they could build their own engines and that. Nowadays you can't.

SPEAKER_09 3:01:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:01:03

No because those motors, I mean, because I you know, I go out and run, you know, we would build a motor and say, hey, you know, this is only gonna probably make it four or five nights, it's probably gonna blow up. You know, and if it made it six, great. But usually the chances are it it was gonna get bought. Right. So uh why dump all the money into something that you know is gonna get get claimed. Right. So off we go. So yeah y you didn't have a lot of money in that. It there was more money in the car, um, you know, shock springs and and and and all that stuff, versus what was underneath the head. Sure. Yep. You know, and um and nowadays um they try to do the same thing with uh with the three fifties, you know, the the ten to ones, but you know, when when a guy's got a you know, he's like, Oh man, I popped a motor. Yeah, that's only seven, eight grand, you know, whatever they are now. Yeah. It's like silly, yeah. Yeah, that's that you know, when I could go home and used to be able to go home and build one in you know in a night, you know. Yeah, you know, we have parts, you know, throw them together here and there and make make it work. So that was kind of kind of it just was. Yeah. And a lot of guys doing the claiming, I mean it's like, why why you know, why do you buy me? You look you know who they are, and they got way more I mean, you know, if looking at that list, you know, Larry Porters he claimed me one time up there at Boone, you know. And um uh Penny's uh that I think it was Randy we talked about there. Randy, uh he came down and was and was talking and he and uh uh and he says, Yeah, he said we was up at the bar, and he said, uh Um Larry come into the bar up there and and I asked him, I said, What did you what did you get out of there? He said, and uh as soon as Larry started scrolling, he goes, Let me guess. You got a 60 over 350, he goes, Yeah. I think it was about two or three weeks later because he was running like boon every other week and that, and it was like two or three weeks later he he finished up there and I claimed it's 377 DRW piston. Steve's like, Yes! Like, yeah, but it's like yeah, I got this motor, but what am I gonna do with it? Right. You know, because it's like you know, it's like, oh yeah, I got it, but it's like I don't want to run it. Because if I you know, if I take this down to Oscar or if I take it to Des Moines or whatever, and somebody buys it, then now I'm running 377s. So you think I'm selling motors now, yeah, it really goes through. So we ended up trading them, we ended up uh parting them motors out and and uh some of those we parted out and switched guys like uh Bill Davis and that gave him some of the some of the parts and and he I got some cams and a set of heads and stuff that they thought was junk, and I'm like, hey man, that's they don't make it in the stock car another you know right yeah, so yeah, that's kind of good stuff. But that's awesome.

SPEAKER_06 3:03:40

But uh yeah, geez.

SPEAKER_07 3:03:46

Happy to have you, truthfully. Seriously, uh guys, uh episode 37 here with Action Jackson, Steve Jackson. Uh a lot of great stories here on watermelons and wood chips. We're gonna thank all of our great uh marketing partners with uh the watermelons and wood chips here, um Central Iowa Diesel Performance, Housebe Trucking, P1P, Canopies, Elmquist Towing, Adobe Lounge, uh Moffitsford, Moffat's Ford, um Logfab. Log Fab. Logue Fabrication. Um we wouldn't be able to do this without all of uh all of our listeners out there as well. Make sure you get out there and uh you know, follow our YouTube stuff, check out Hot War on Apple Apple Podcast, uh, our merch store. We we that should be coming up. And and Eric's Eric and the gang over there, they're already doing a ton of racing t-shirts and stuff um already, but uh that merch should be dropping here within the next few weeks. Uh everybody that pre-ordered, we can't thank everyone enough for engaging in that um and picking up those awesome t-shirts. Um with that being said, I don't think there's any anything else we really can we could sit here for a couple more hours with some easily. Um but uh man, Steve, we we really I personally want to thank you for coming up um and doing this deal. Um one of the all-time greats in the IMCA class too tough to tame stock cars. Um and man, I uh greatly appreciate it. And hopefully we're gonna make it down to ASCII so we can rub some fingers sometime.

SPEAKER_02 3:05:21

There you go. That'd be awesome. That'd be awesome. That'd be a good time.

SPEAKER_07 3:05:24

Um well uh make sure you follow us on watermelon app our watermelons and wood chips on our Facebook stuff. We got the Harris Clash coming up a couple weeks. We got the Bumblebee Nationals coming up, um, some big events.

SPEAKER_10 3:05:40

Bumblebee Nationals will be Bruce Badgley's last event. Bumblebee nationals will be Bruce Badgley's last event. Yep, that'll be it. So should be a memorable night that night.

SPEAKER_02 3:05:51

Yeah, thanks for the memories, Bruce. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 3:05:53

Seriously, uh him and Denise come down and he had a picture of me he wanted me to sign, and I'm like, that's awesome. It was just bittersweet because it's like, man. Yeah, yeah. Like, I want to sign it because I love you, Bruce and Denise, but at the same time, it's like this is like saying goodbye. Right, you know, and it was just very, very touching, and and just to hear how excited Bruce was to like almost get it off of his shoulders in the podcast. Like, I didn't realize that he was actually going to announce it on the podcast that when he was retiring. I don't think a lot of people did. That's cool. Um, it was very cool, it was very touching. Um, it was all he started he almost got a little tear jerky on us about it. And it was like it made you I know well man, that's like I grew up Bruce is an icon to the sport. Yeah, exactly. So to hear that and to see his emotion and his like he's happy, but it's sad at the same time. Um I don't know. I guess maybe if you guys are still alive when I get to that point, I'll tell you how I feel about it too.

SPEAKER_02 3:06:59

All right. Yeah, something that uh you don't think it you don't think about it. You take it. You don't think about it now. You don't think about it now. Right. Yeah, you know, I mean, you know, sad to say, but I mean you look at like Kyle. I mean, you'd never know. Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, I mean uh hopefully Bruce has got somebody coming in behind him, you know. He he kind of took over for Dean when Dean left, you know what I mean? Yes. So I mean it's just you know you look at race car drivers, like, oh, who's gonna fill in when so-and-so leaves or does think about that, just like you said, there's so many people involved in the sport.

SPEAKER_07 3:07:32

Yeah, Jane and Icon Icon Images, um, I'm sure she shot some stuff for you. Uh uh Bruce. I mean, I when he said that Jane was gonna take over his thing, like for someone to pick you, like, hey, will you be the lead, you know, whether it's photos or whatever scenario it is, that's like, especially for how long Bruce has been doing it. She's got doesn't have big shoes to fill, but I mean she does, but that's not how I look at it. But what he did, like at Supernational's like, it's gonna be so weird that it's not there this year. Uh you know, the camper and all that stuff. So the tables. The tables, yeah. I'm excited to see what Jane is gonna do. I know she's she takes a lot of pride in in making good shots and being all over that racetrack, and and she does a very, very good job, and Bruce must think so too, if he's passing the torch to her. So um that's awesome. I think she's gonna feel a little pressure, which is good because not everybody gets to be the number one at the boon speedway.

SPEAKER_06 3:08:39

So correct.

SPEAKER_02 3:08:40

Yep. Yeah, that's a pretty big, pretty big uh shoes to fill there. Yes. I mean, you yeah, I mean you guys think oh, you just go down there and take some photos and that. But like you said, we talked about it earlier.

SPEAKER_09 3:08:50

Like it's it's a niche, like it's a niche. A lot of good ones out there.

SPEAKER_02 3:08:54

Yeah, I remember like, you know better shut this off. Oh, you're fine, you're fine, yeah. But you're like like Dean, I've I remember him bringing photos to me. So here you can have this one. I said, Well, what's wrong with that? Well, if you look, your car's not quite centered.

SPEAKER_06 3:09:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 3:09:10

Yeah. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:09:12

Yeah, Dean. Here's a couple things. No, no, no, no, don't worry about it. It's not just like that.

SPEAKER_09 3:09:16

But just like that's Hugh Racing is that's that's your craft, and you're not satisfied unless it is the best you can do. Okay. And that's theirs.

SPEAKER_02 3:09:24

Yep, exactly. Yep, and that's what I mean. It's people think, oh, it's just taking photos, but all the little things, you know. Yep, all the little things that he would show, he would show me on my photo. Wait, look at that one.

SPEAKER_06 3:09:34

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 3:09:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 3:09:37

Yep. Closure.

SPEAKER_09 3:09:39

Anyways, but all right. Awesome. We'll wrap it up here. Uh YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all the things were everywhere. Thanks for letting me MC tonight. Um, I don't know if I did as good as Cody does. I'm not as knowledgeable. I haven't been around the block as many times as he has. Um, but thanks for having me, Steve. Thanks for coming on. I know. No problem. Thank you for having me. Fangirl. Appreciate it. They were fangirl and pretty hard. Yeah. We will be for fun next week. Yeah. I don't care either. Okay. Yes. Um, anyways, but yeah, episode 37 in the books. And uh we'll catch you next time on watermelons and wood chips.

SPEAKER_05 3:10:36

Welcome to the Adobe Lounge located in Boone, Iowa, at 915 West Maine, Isaac. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 1 p.m. to close, Saturday and Sunday, noon to close. Come enjoy some of the strongest drinks in town and the best homemade pizzas around. Whether you're stopping in to relax, meet friends, or grab a bike, the Adobe Lounge is the place to be.