Watermelons & Woodchips Episode 39: Live with Bob Harris & Harris Clash!

We did a bonus episode with Bob Harris to talk about the Harris Clash!

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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.

This content is intended for entertainment and discussion purposes only.

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:19

I'm very shocked that you agreed to sit down with all three of us. I'm just gonna be honest with you.

SPEAKER_09 0:24

Well, you know, I mean, my I I know my buddy Jonathan pretty well. Yeah. And I know you pretty well. And I've gotten to know him pretty well, so I'm I'm pretty I'm pretty safe.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Well, well, welcome. Uh it's good to have you. I had to do a little digging in my closet. I see that, dick. I found this. 2024. So believe it or not, I wasn't involved with the Harris Clash that year, but I was. I got a phone call. They needed a little help on my race pass, and I helped them set up a few things. Awesome. Got things set up, and and yeah, I got a t-shirt out of the DLC.

SPEAKER_09 0:59

That's actually my favorite year t-shirt. Yeah. I like that front design. Uh this is the new one for this year. Very similar in design.

SPEAKER_07 1:08

Did you bring us new shirts?

SPEAKER_09 1:10

I wasn't on my list. Bob.

SPEAKER_07 1:14

Bobby or Maggie or whoever was in charge of that. I'll be over there tomorrow to pick our shirts up. I guarantee Maggie's watching. Right.

SPEAKER_09 1:22

I don't I don't think they're folded.

SPEAKER_07 1:24

That's fine. I don't really fold my stuff anyway.

SPEAKER_06 1:29

Mine just sits in my basket. Pull it out of the dryer, it goes in the basket, you just take whatever's on top.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

So I see that old Johnny Sadoff jumped out of the out of the basket tonight.

SPEAKER_06 1:39

I got this baby off Poshmark.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Hell yeah. That looks like it maybe would fit Kellen a little bit better.

SPEAKER_06 1:45

Oh no. It's uh she's a little snug, but throw her on.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Gotta show off, show off the physique.

SPEAKER_06 1:52

The best part was when I sent a picture of it to Troy Shute, he like knew what he's like. I think that's like 1991 or I'm like, I don't know. I bought it off Poshmark, dude. Imagine Troy knowing something like that.

SPEAKER_09 2:03

Oh yeah, yeah. Troy, uh Troy's a world of knowledge, man. I'll tell you what.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Yes, he is. Right.

SPEAKER_06 2:08

Yeah. Well, so we are, and I'm I got the counter pit uh put up here. We're five days, 21 hours, 49 minutes away from the 35th annual Harris Clash. So, 35th annual. Um, I mean, what's that? Like, when you put that in perspective, like what's that making?

SPEAKER_09 2:25

How old are you, Jonathan?

SPEAKER_06 2:27

I'm 37.

SPEAKER_09 2:28

So that means that I've been doing that almost Jonathan's life.

SPEAKER_07 2:33

Cody's too.

SPEAKER_06 2:34

He's the same age. I'm 33. Yeah, I'm 38. You're almost 38, though, right? I'll be 38 in July. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_09 2:40

Yeah, 35 years. It's hard to believe. I mean, it it just it doesn't seem like it's been 35 years.

SPEAKER_07 2:45

Right. Well, in 1992, when you started this deal, did you think that it was going to grow into what it is yet 35 years later?

SPEAKER_09 2:55

No idea. Had had no clue. Didn't even have a dream that it would be nothing like this.

SPEAKER_07 3:01

What when when you started this event, what inspired you to start the event?

SPEAKER_09 3:07

Well, the biggest thing is is, you know, uh I owned Harris Auto Racing at that time, and so what we we kind of wanted to do something special for uh the racer, and it was kind of a neat deal because we had I think at that point in time uh Eldora was racing, Webster City was racing, um I think Mason City was in that group. Uh anyway, there was a group of racetracks that what we did was whoever won a feature was qualified to run the Harris Clash, and we were have it at one of the racetracks, which happened to be Webster City at that time or Hamilton County Speedway. And so we had it there, and uh it was just uh it just was a neat deal and and then it grew and what we did was and then Boone Speedway was one of the the speedways that was in that group. Then we moved it, and we had it w at Hamilton County for two years, and then we moved it uh to I think it was Shelby County Speedway.

SPEAKER_07 4:09

You went to Boone in 1994.

SPEAKER_09 4:11

Yeah, Boone 1994, and then Shelby County Speedway. So and and and they were one of them. So it was a deal where you had to win a feature at one of those racetracks to qualify for that particular race.

SPEAKER_07 4:24

Wow. I did not I did not know that. Yeah, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_06 4:28

So we actually we tried to bring that back a little bit. Was that 2015, right? We did the dash the clash thing. Um so and I think I don't know, remember what I think I was working at TyLub at the time, so we got TyLub to put some money behind it, and then we did the old champagne bottles again and wrapped them and then did the mini checks. So there was like a few, I think it was ten, was it ten different races that we did, I think?

SPEAKER_09 4:54

Something like that.

SPEAKER_06 4:55

And if you won it, your dad won. I have a picture with your dad.

SPEAKER_07 4:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 4:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 4:59

And the funny that uh that was the year him and Sniffer, you know, we're gonna run a limited schedule, and uh he wins this race at Boon, this Thai loop challenge thing or whatever, and he's like, We're like, you're qualified for the clash, but he's like, Well, well, you know, because he wasn't gonna run. Yep, I remember that. Remember that? Yes, I remember that. And he was like, I'm like, Dad, this is like they don't do this. Like, like, this is cool. And then Jeremy Mills stuffs him in the backstretch wall. And I thought my Uncle Jeff was gonna double leg Goldberg Spear. Jeremy Mills in the fans. I mean, I'll never forget it, but anyway, uh very cool thing.

SPEAKER_09 5:40

Um I mean, man, the the the racetracks on this on this deal that you got here, I mean So anyway, and after Shelby after Shelby County, what happened was the whatever racetrack, because like Bill Davis Sr. won it at Boone in ninety-four, whatever racetrack we h had it at, there seemed to be an advantage for the local guy at that particular racetrack. So then we decided, you know, it was it was uh a a good idea to kind of think it let's what how can we take this to the next step and make it more even. So we got to talking to Knoxville and and those guys thought it was a great idea, and we ended up moving it to Knoxville, and uh it it just I mean it was it was awesome. I think the first race at Knoxville, um oh um let's see who I can't remember now. I I I remember who. Mark uh Noble won it. 96. 96. Wow.

SPEAKER_07 6:49

Oh Mark.

SPEAKER_09 6:50

And your dad won it in 2000.

SPEAKER_07 6:52

It was two. See, I thought it was nine we were talking about that on the podcast the other night.

SPEAKER_09 6:56

It was two thousand.

SPEAKER_07 6:59

And the Johnny the Jet won it in two thousand and we were talking about Ken Schrader when he came down and was driving my dad's car, and dad was in Rich Laworke's car and he junked it, and I don't you remember what year that was that Kenny raced that?

SPEAKER_09 7:13

Well, Kenny raced it in ninety-seven.

SPEAKER_07 7:16

So you were right on that.

SPEAKER_06 7:17

I okay, yeah. Alright. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Yeah, well in 97 John ran the 97. Right. That's easy there you go. Yeah, easy way to remember it.

SPEAKER_07 7:26

Right. Um what what what one of those tracks on that list was your favorite track to have that at?

SPEAKER_09 7:34

Actually, my favorite racetrack is still Deer Creek.

SPEAKER_07 7:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 7:38

Uh I I just the facility up there and and the atmosphere, you know, other than the fact of it being in an other sanctioning bodies home ground, but that was still, you know, the IMCA cars didn't normally race there. So that was part of our reason for going to Deer to Deer Creek. Right. And and it was just a situation where, like I said, I I I just liked that place. I I I liked the racetrack, I liked the layout of the racetrack. I thought the racing was always good no matter what. I mean, you and Jake McBurney put on a heck of a show that one year when Jake won the uh the sport mod race. And I mean it was it's it's just an I mean, but you know, then again, you know, Boone Speedway is pretty special.

SPEAKER_07 8:24

Well, I was just gonna say, you know, we Deer Creek is it it is cool. Like I always enjoyed going to Knoxville because nobody else raced there. And so that like that that was a very intelligent thing of you guys to do in my opinion. Um but also too, like with that being said, when you get this amount of cars to an event and uh the racetrack like at Supernationals per se, like I it it changes the racetrack how it races. So I feel like you get all these other people too that don't normally come to Boone Speedway and it they it makes it tougher for the people in my opinion that are running there weekly because you know you have three.

SPEAKER_09 9:05

It's just not the same place.

SPEAKER_07 9:06

It's not right, it's not the same place, it doesn't race the same. Um you might get uh I mean you we might get a race of champions heat race for a Harris class heat race. I mean, where you've got studs in every row. Yeah. And so I feel like um you may have a little bit of an advantage as far as like watching the farm pressure or the farm sesh or whatever.

SPEAKER_09 9:27

Yeah, because you guys are more kind of in tune to what's going on there.

SPEAKER_07 9:31

Well, we just know how important it is. Right. You know, and same thing like what they do up at Deer Creek. They come out there with that Mr. You just don't know what's gonna happen. Right. I mean, why the last year it was at Deer Creek, I stepped on my winker down there and turned one and two because it was water down there, the Ira Rocky one.

SPEAKER_08 9:46

Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_07 9:47

You know, and uh just I didn't I didn't realize it was gonna be that wet. So very, very important things there.

SPEAKER_09 9:53

Um did you know that we had the largest car count ever at Knoxville Speedway?

SPEAKER_07 10:00

Really? We did not know that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 10:02

We had the largest car count. I mean, there was no place in the infield left to put a race car. And and and those guys were freaking out because we had too many cars.

SPEAKER_07 10:14

I mean, what was your what was your response to that, Bob?

SPEAKER_09 10:17

Um yeah, I was just dumbfounded myself.

SPEAKER_07 10:20

What year was that?

SPEAKER_09 10:22

Um, you know, I'm not sure, but it was 180 cars.

SPEAKER_06 10:25

Yeah, was that around that 2010-ish, 2010? Probably 2011-ish. Because that they were putting cars like in the in between the guardrail and the grass.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Oh, yeah, yeah, down in the where it was you didn't have cars down there. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 10:43

It was like the area that the photographers would see. They were putting cars in that. So that would have been and I think I that might have been the same year or around that same time when I was just telling the boys we were talking about it. I didn't think there was like nobody from Knoxville had told Bachhoven that they were racing on that Tuesday or whatever, and then you were like, hey, I needed an announcer. So I ended up going up and announced that would have been 20, somebody said it was 2011, because I specifically remember Jesse Sobbing just going and just beating the brakes off everybody in the sport mod deal. Yeah. So, but I ended up announcing that that night for the Harris Clash. So I do have an Harris Clash under my belt on the side.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

That's something on the resume.

SPEAKER_06 11:28

There you go.

SPEAKER_09 11:28

Yeah, dang, yeah, not too bad. I didn't remember that.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah, that was so the Harris Clash was my first ever, I guess what I'd call crown jewel that I went. Um a buddy of mine took me down there. I'd never heard of it, never been to it, and we went down and his dad was a big sprint car nut, so he'd been down there a bunch for that. We went down for this, and I'm like, I can get down with this. This is really cool. And um, I hadn't been to a whole lot of races at at that point in my life, and um so it was it was a special one we always went to and always had to check it out. So um it's pretty cool to have to be a part of it now.

SPEAKER_09 12:04

You know, yeah, it was you know, and Knoxville was always great. Um when the crate motor kind of took over, then it got to the point where the the the Knoxville racetrack almost was a little too much for our IMCA type car. And so that's kind of partially why we wanted a little shorter venue um you know when we decided to move it uh up to Deer Creek.

SPEAKER_07 12:32

What uh w w which racetrack do you think over the years has produced the best racing at that uh at the Harris Clash?

SPEAKER_09 12:43

Oh, you know, boy, that's I know that's a loaded one. I mean, that's a loaded one.

SPEAKER_07 12:48

I I mean y you know Okay, here, we'll we'll bundle this one together. Okay. If you could relive one Harris Clash in the last 35 years, which one would it be?

SPEAKER_09 12:58

1997.

SPEAKER_07 13:00

Just like that. And why?

SPEAKER_09 13:03

That was the year Ken Schrader was leading the race and we're fixing to win it, and on the white flag lap broke the Panard bar. Oh. And Kelly Shirak went on to win. Wow.

SPEAKER_07 13:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_09 13:15

And Ken Schrader still to this day remembers that that very event like it was something that was robbed from him. That was a race at Knoxville was robbed from Kenny.

SPEAKER_07 13:27

Yeah, because uh he ran third there one year. Yes. Um I don't remember I I don't remember what year that was, but um we talked about that. So 1997 boys for Bob Harris there at the Knoxville because old Kenny. I did not know that that happened.

SPEAKER_09 13:46

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 13:47

So were you were you was Kelly in a Harris car then? Yeah. He was. So either way, it was a win-win for you.

SPEAKER_09 13:54

Yeah, they were both they were both out front and and uh and and and then Kelly went on to win it, and he ended up being a two-time two-time Harris Clash champion because he was the first one in ninety-two, and then of course in ninety-seven.

SPEAKER_07 14:08

So there's only a couple of multi-winners.

SPEAKER_09 14:11

There's not very many multi-winners, and there's never been a third-time winner.

SPEAKER_07 14:15

Never been a third-time winner or a multi-winner in the Harris Clash. Uh a lot of motors lost in the Harris Clash over the years, except for probably the last seven or eight years.

SPEAKER_09 14:24

Yeah, at the very beginning, that was a little bit of an you know that that was just typical. Right. Right. That was this I mean, that was a standard. I mean, look at how many motors would be lost at Boone Speedway on Saturday night.

SPEAKER_07 14:38

Well, top four. Yeah. Right. I mean, I think it was kind of one of those deals though, too, is like everybody was like, oh man, it's the Harris Clash.

SPEAKER_09 14:45

You know, and I mean, and and if it lived through Knoxville, it'd be a good motor.

SPEAKER_07 14:49

It was a good motor. Right. You know, and so I think everybody always kind of was like, man, I'm gonna I'm gonna build a good motor for the Harris Clash, because A, it is Knoxville, and B, uh it's a good paying event. It's a very prestigious event to win. And I think uh that also brought in a lot of the so-called field fillers because if they could make the show, they're leaving them with a good motor for for $350.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

And a and a decent pay down. I mean, that's you know, to get in the show. Right.

SPEAKER_09 15:17

If you made the show, you made money. Yeah, you did pretty good. I mean, because it usually paid to start the deal, paid what weekly racing was paying.

SPEAKER_07 15:27

Which back then was a big deal. Yeah, that was a big deal. That's a pretty big deal.

SPEAKER_09 15:30

Yep. And did you know that's the last time I've ever been in a race car was at Knoxville Speedway when I hot lapped Dane Larson's modified because he wasn't there to do it, so I hot lapped it. Scared the living hell out of me. All I know is I'm going down the front straightway and I'm thinking, am I ever going to get to the end of this thing? And and there was a bind in the steering, but you know, I'm thinking, who am I? I wouldn't know. And and finally I I told them, I said, when I when I first got in, I said, I I think there's something wrong with the steering. Well, and they're kind of like, nah, you just don't know. Well, actually, there was an an issue with the steering box.

SPEAKER_07 16:13

But but anyway, uh did Dane total it or did you?

SPEAKER_05 16:16

No, no, they ended up fixing it. I figured Bob drive it. It's a good thing you took it out there, you got it dialed in for it.

SPEAKER_09 16:22

Well, I just told him, I said, you know, I really don't know, but boy, I'm a firm believer that there's something wrong with this steering somewhere. And all I can remember, like I said, I can remember going on that front straightaway thinking, are we ever gonna get to the end of this thing? Yo, hoods are vibrating, and I'm thinking, oh, what did I get into here?

SPEAKER_06 16:44

You're watching every single little tiny.

SPEAKER_09 16:47

Oh my god. And of course I'm in somebody else's car, so something goes wrong, that's gonna be cool. Right. So that was the last time you were in a race car. That's the last time I've ever been in a race car. That was enough for me. When was the first time you were in a race car? Uh 1978. Okay, the year I was born. All right.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

78, 79, and 80. I run a late model. Okay. Awesome. I didn't know that either. Okay. And just around here, around Uh yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_09 17:16

Uh I raced weekly at uh uh Hamilton County Speedway, uh Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minnesota, and Alta, Buna Vista County Speedway in Alta. I raced those three nights.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

You did a little driving ticket.

SPEAKER_09 17:29

Yeah. Yeah, it was it was fun. I mean I was pretty young back then, so you could do a lot of that stuff. What was Bob Harris's car number? Two.

SPEAKER_06 17:37

And how'd you get trying to find a picture of it right now?

SPEAKER_09 17:39

Because because I was trying, I I always was giving Bob Shirock a bad time that I was gonna be one step better than him.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

I like that. That's good. And he was number three. Okay. That's good. I'll be damned. Very cool. Did you ever drive anything other than a late model, other than the modified the night at Knoxville?

SPEAKER_09 17:58

Uh all I ever drove was that modified or that late model, and then I drove that modified for Dane run hot laps at Knoxville.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

But you built you build a few cars.

SPEAKER_09 18:08

We've built a few race cars over the years. There's no doubt about that. That's one thing that I've been pretty fortunate. I've had some pretty great time, great, great racers in my group.

SPEAKER_06 18:20

There, look at that.

SPEAKER_09 18:21

Five, five, five time, won five supernationals. Look at that guy. Yeah, there you go. That'd be me.

SPEAKER_10 18:28

Wow, look at that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_09 18:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_10 18:32

Now, were you but were you in your own shocks then?

SPEAKER_09 18:35

No, we didn't even know nothing about shocks.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Just the ones that came out of the whatever came out of the box was we put on there.

SPEAKER_10 18:46

What was his girlfriend's name on the side of that?

SPEAKER_07 18:50

That was a thing back in the day. Dad used to do that, so I was just checking to make sure you didn't have your name.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

There was um Ryan's Music Land, it looks like. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 19:01

Yeah, and then there's um uh the local theater in Esterville. I don't remember now what the actual name of it is, but that's what's on the quarter panel. Oh be damned. It's a good looking car. It was a lot of fun. I had a great time uh pretty much convinced that I was never a real driver, but the problem that I had when I raced was I was the car owner too, so that meant I had to pay the bills. Sure. So I I calculated it more off of financial than I did necessarily racing. And like at Fairmont, you could actually um sandbag the heat race, start in the front row of the B and win the B, and it paid a hundred bucks to win the B. Okay. Well then you started uh, I don't know, like seventh row or something like that in the A and it paid a hundred bucks for tenth. And I was pretty good at getting tenth. So I made two hundred bucks and the guy that ran fifth made two hundred bucks that night. So I got to run one more race and I still made two hundred bucks. And two hundred bucks back in nineteen seventy-eight, seventy-nine, and eighty, that was big money.

SPEAKER_06 20:18

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 20:19

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 20:20

Knew how to how to game the system a little bit.

SPEAKER_09 20:22

Well, I mean, you know Hey, you're just playing by their rules. I mean, I I like I said, uh, you know, I I was more calculating what this was gonna cost me to get to the next racetrack.

SPEAKER_06 20:35

Yep. Right. Oh, that's great. That's awesome. Um, let's see. So then you go into obviously building the modified, and that's kind of how it kicked off the Harris Clash, right? Was to kind of showcase the cars that you that you build.

SPEAKER_09 20:53

The biggest thing, this thing has always been about the racer. Sure. I mean, the purse has always been about the racer. Everything about this race was always to give back to the racers themselves. Because uh as a chassis builder, that's kind of how I got paid was taking good care of the racers. So yeah, I've always wanted to give back and and be involved with the racers programs themselves and you know, making them better and doing whatever I could to help out. And that was the biggest reason why we started that deal was just to give the racers something special.

SPEAKER_07 21:29

Sure. Boy, and I tell you what though, it's really paid off because of the support over the years. It's huge. We talk about uh the car counts just last year at Boone Speedway, you know, the uh adding the IMCA stock cars to the to the ticket. Um two hundred and thirty seven cars. That was the biggest IMCA show last year, one day show last year, besides the salute to veterans. Those two shows were the two biggest shows last year. Um for a one day show.

SPEAKER_06 22:00

You had five classes versus three classes. So three classes. It's that's that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_09 22:07

Um we had two hundred and thirty seven cars and we were still done by midnight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 22:12

Right. Mm-hmm. Right. And Bob Bob might really love the Deer Creek thing, but he sure as hell don't mind the thirty-five minute drive home.

SPEAKER_06 22:20

Actually it's thirty-six, but Vine Street over there.

SPEAKER_09 22:26

Yeah, definitely. I I tell you what, I can't complain about that. Being home from Boom Speedway at a little after 1230, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_06 22:34

Was this was the Hair's Clash the one we got our uh favorite voicemail voicemail from last year? Oh, I think it was, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yeah, people didn't understand it. Uh or it was one one certain person. Right. Yeah, it was all about the money.

SPEAKER_06 22:49

Uh-huh. It's the only reason we do what we do. Yes, because last year the original date got rained out. Ended up going to the about the original August 7th. Yeah, or not the original, but reverted back to when it was before at the on that speed week. Right uh timeline, and then that's when that we got that voicemail.

SPEAKER_07 23:12

Voicemail. So so the this is probably the earliest the the June date is the earliest the Harris Clash has ever been ran.

SPEAKER_09 23:20

Uh we've never run it any earlier than that. Yeah, in Knoxville we were at the end of July. Yeah. And then when we moved when Potter and Hill. And then we moved it when we when we got rained out at Knoxville, and so then we rescheduled it at Webster City because they had rained us out at Knoxville, so we rescheduled it at Webster City or Hamilton County Speedway. And um it it just kind of went from there. Yeah. Definitely it was always warm in Knoxville. I remember those weeks. Well, and in that pitch, that concrete, oh my god.

SPEAKER_06 23:59

Yeah, and then you have like basically you're just surrounded by the tall wall, so there's like no air movement movement.

SPEAKER_09 24:05

Oh, yeah, and then guaranteed it'd have to be a minimum of 95 degrees.

SPEAKER_06 24:10

Yes. Yep. Yes. You know, it's um you know the whole the whole thing, like I said, I I just remember Knoxville right from like my childhood. Everything else was kind of beyond what where I was what Jonathan and I grew up doing. Um, but man, some of the coolest races, like I you'd look forward to going down to the Harris Clash. Always. You know.

SPEAKER_09 24:34

Um and we always had good crowds at Knoxville.

SPEAKER_07 24:38

Yeah. Yeah, it just that place is so big. Yeah, it doesn't look like you don't have to look like it, but there were people there.

SPEAKER_09 24:44

But I mean, you know, we'd have I mean there was a couple years we had four thousand people and it it looked like it was two hundred.

SPEAKER_07 24:50

Yeah, right, yeah, just because it was so yeah, so so big. Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Yep. Was there is there anything that when Bob Harris goes home from the Harris clash, like do you do you spend the next couple days, weeks, like just evaluating, looking at at what you can do different?

SPEAKER_09 25:06

Um Yeah, always it you know, it's always a work in process. You know, we we kind of you know, you usually the problem is we don't have like with it being in August, we don't have a whole lot of time to count to work on it because we gotta start working on supernationals. But when the supernationals are over, that's kind of the two things that I focus most of my time on is the Harris Clash. What can we do better next year? And the same thing at Knox or at at uh the supernationals there at Boone Speedway. What can I do to make our program better for the racers that you know that we didn't serve, or did we get everybody's shocks done like we were supposed to? Where where were we at?

SPEAKER_02 25:52

I think that if anything, that speaks to the longevity of this, kind of like Supernationals, where you can tell there's a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into it to make it what it is and and to make to uh co uh continuously improve.

SPEAKER_09 26:06

Well, I mean we've been working on stuff for the supernationals now, probably for six weeks. Really. Yeah. Just getting ready for the supernationals. Yeah. It's such at such a big event. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_08 26:17

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06 26:17

Yeah. Yep. Well, hey, should we go to let's go to our break, our our mid midpoint break here, and then when we come back, we can kind of preview what what this year's Harris Clash looks like and what we all think. And there's a couple questions on here, obviously, um, that we typically have um attached to our show that we can uh include Bob in on. So um we're gonna take a break real quick, roll a commercial, and then when we come back, we'll finish talking to Bob on about Harris Clash. You're watching watermelons and wood chips, we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

You're good? It's like nice.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

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SPEAKER_01 27:58

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SPEAKER_00 28:05

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SPEAKER_06 28:30

Welcome back, race fans. Watermelons and wood chips presented by Central Iowa Diesel Performance. Bobcat sliding into the picture over here. But uh back with Bob Harris and talking things, uh Harris Clash. You know, and also our first full live episode. So yeah, we haven't done this before. You're our first. Awesome. Yeah. We pull this off.

SPEAKER_07 28:54

Well, we knew that you were so good at it with Bob with Chad. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 28:59

Yeah. So he's a seasoned veteran of the Facebook Lives. No problem.

SPEAKER_09 29:05

Right. Glad to be able to help.

SPEAKER_06 29:06

That's good. That's good. Well, you know, like we were talking before the break um last year, 79 modified, 81 stock cars, 71 sport mods. What is the landscape look like right now compared to last year, you know, based off of entries and and the buzz and the hype?

SPEAKER_09 29:29

Um, based off of entries, we're right at where we were last year or maybe a little above. Okay. Um we've got w when I left there today we had 142 pre-entries and and fifty-five uh of them were sport mods. Uh I didn't look at the other two numbers, I just looked at the total numbers. And that's about where we were at this time last year, and then of course once you know, we got a w uh a week to go basically. And so a lot of people are gonna wait and and and decide after the weekend. Um statistically, uh I talked to Jim Stannard today and he said that a lot of the specials, the pre-entry lists are down because people just aren't pre-entering.

SPEAKER_08 30:19

Right.

SPEAKER_09 30:20

Now, from my standpoint, I mean it saves you fifty bucks if you pre-enter this thing. Right. And fifty bucks is by at least a couple gallons of gas. Maybe two. Yeah, right. Right. So, you know, I'm I'm always looking at the the dollar part of this. But so whatever, but you know, it's whatever works for those guys and and uh as long as they show up, I don't really care. Yeah, that's that's good. Yep.

SPEAKER_06 30:45

Yeah. Well, and like you you said, it is it's weird. I I suppose I understand why guys wa are waiting, you know, like you said that's Well and I think uh the rain out last year.

SPEAKER_09 30:57

Yeah. You know, I mean June's kind of a little bit of a rainy month, and we have had issues with rain here uh recently. So, you know, I I can understand y you know, waiting it out and and so like I said, and I and I know I mean it will be good. The car cont will be great. These guys have supported this thing for years and and it's just uh uh looking forward to it. Uh it's gonna be another great clash. Boone Speedway did an awesome job last year. The racetrack was great. Um you know I I can't complain. IMCA did a good job helping us out promote it, and I mean it was Well, I tell you what, IMCA uh promoted it.

SPEAKER_07 31:39

I got a letter from IMCA that said, we would like to personally invite you to the 35th running of the Harris Clash.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_07 31:48

Brett even signed it. That's nice. Awesome. Yeah. Well, that's good. I tossed it right in the trash too. I'm like, I'm already going. I mean, I I was registered the day that it was that it came out on the stuff.

SPEAKER_09 32:00

We seen that. Jonathan, never pre-renders. He's he's he's he's got he's got the uh what what is it? You you have that fear of pre-entering.

SPEAKER_07 32:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 32:09

And so you don't normally peer pre-enter. And here's Jonathan pre-entered. Yep. And there's not a guy in my shop that races that was pre-entered. Wow. So needless to say, oh, Amy went nuts on those guys. So, you know, Jonathan's registered. That's right.

SPEAKER_07 32:27

The guy that never pre-registers.

SPEAKER_09 32:29

Yeah, the guy that never pre-registers.

SPEAKER_07 32:31

I was the first registry on the Harris Clash and the North Dakota tour because we announced it on here and they went bonkers about it.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

I'm like, gosh dang, man. Jonathan's getting pretty technical. We've we've seen him. He's really we're we're working on him. He by the end of this year, he's gonna be into spreadsheets. I mean, we got all kinds of things.

SPEAKER_09 32:49

Good.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Yeah. We're we're really we're really whipping him into shape, Bob. Awesome. Well, you got good luck with that, and I hope that all works out well for you.

SPEAKER_06 32:59

You know, the funny thing is, is like like he said, Bob's actually been uh both of our boss or both of our bosses at one point in time in our lives. So he probably knows more about us than what most people need to know. So I can't believe you didn't bring Rusty.

SPEAKER_09 33:16

Yeah, Rusty had to stay home.

SPEAKER_07 33:18

I had some treats for him. But I was gonna give him instead of him taking them from me, like he always used to do.

SPEAKER_09 33:24

Yeah, he got they had a they had a morning meeting today, and I got there a little bit late and missed the meeting, but Rusty didn't miss the donuts. I'm sure he didn't. He was right on that those donuts.

SPEAKER_07 33:35

I'm sure he was. I'm sure he was. What uh, you know, we talk about the Harris Clash um and and the up and coming here at the Boone Speedway. Do you think, you know, I foresee the stock cars? I mean, I was kind of shocked last year when the stock cars outshowed the modified. We've seen in prior years uh the modified car count be in the hundred in that hundred mark, which is stellar. Right. I mean, because it's you know, a hundred really good drivers from all over the place. Um so to see the stock cars stand out like that, you know, we we kind of were talking a little bit on the on the at the beginning of the show. It's you know, a lot of the modified guys like have been coming to the Harris Clash for 25 years. Yeah. Um stock cars, it's like first year. You know, I was pumped up. It was one of the races I've never won. Um so when you guys announced that the stock cars were gonna be at the Harris Clash, I was pumped up because of the badass trophies that are you know given at the at this event.

SPEAKER_09 34:38

Do you know what the value of what that that modified trophy is?

SPEAKER_07 34:42

Oh, it's priceless.

SPEAKER_09 34:44

Oh, but I mean the actual mu actual money value of that thing is about 1,500 bucks. Really?

SPEAKER_07 34:51

Because it's got yeah, it's got the shocks, everything's sure. I'm marking up my custom trophies from here on. Okay, I mean, holy moly. Yeah, I'll be calling you money.

SPEAKER_09 35:03

When you're out there standing, you know, when we used to do, when we first started doing that trophy, we did a double tier. Oh. Well, I mean, that thing, Joel, Joel Rust, he's the first one, and it's coming up and it's coming up and it's coming up, and I'm thinking this thing's gonna land on me in a minute here. And this is how Bob Harris goes out. One of his own trophies. So then we decided the next year, let's scale this back down so at least I can lift the thing.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

You know, have you ever seen anybody get a little desperate and pull the shocks off the trophy and throw them on the car because they need it? Ah, you know, I don't know. I don't I can't imagine.

SPEAKER_07 35:44

None of the trophies have probably ever moved.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

I was gonna say those are pretty special. I would imagine those stay just like they are. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_06 35:51

Yeah, it is. I mean, like I said, with Chad and those guys getting involved on building those trophies, like it's that's just another added element to the hair stuff.

SPEAKER_09 36:01

And you know, and Africa Racing Products furnish us with the shocks. Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, you you know, and then fast shafts, they finished the the that centerpiece with the drive shaft. And uh they've been doing that for while ever since we did the shock trophy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:17

So Yeah, they're really neat. And and putting one of those on your mantle, I mean, well, first of all, it better have some good screws in the wall. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 36:26

Yeah. You gotta make sure that it's not shelves like these, like these guys put up.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Hey, they look good, but they're Amazon shelves, if anybody's wondering. So they do the job.

SPEAKER_06 36:35

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 36:36

Um, but yeah, they're not gonna hold one of those trophies up.

SPEAKER_07 36:38

So um so, Bob, we're we're we're still into this Harris Clash thing, and who do you think there's gonna be a repeat winner? Could there be?

SPEAKER_02 36:49

Are we gonna get to three?

SPEAKER_09 36:51

Well, there easily could be. I mean, you know, Braxma will be there. He won last year. Uh Tim Ward will be there, he's won in the past. Uh you know, Tom Barry Jr.'s registered, he could be the first three-peat. Well, actually, if Cam Rymers, due to the running order, if Cam Rymers was to win, he would be the first three-peat.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 37:14

Because he's won he won two at Knoxville. I mean two at Deer Creek, and and so if if he had a good night, uh but like him, him or Tom could be a three-peeter. Uh Kelly could be a three-peeter. The only thing he is is it would be in a different class. Right.

SPEAKER_07 37:31

Still a three-peater, though.

SPEAKER_09 37:32

But it's still a three-peeter. So, you know, there's has anybody wanted?

SPEAKER_10 37:40

I'm just gonna move right past that. Go right ahead because I just realized what was going on there.

SPEAKER_02 37:46

Okay, whenever you can see Jonathan's eyes like start to light up.

SPEAKER_10 37:50

Just keep going. It's trouble. Has anybody ever won it?

SPEAKER_09 37:53

This is when you know things are going south. When the hands come up, it's like, oh, this is gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

Has anybody ever won it in multiple divisions? I don't think anybody has, has they? Or have they? Have they like moved from a sport mod up to a mod and won it? No. Nothing, no.

SPEAKER_07 38:09

I don't I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Nope. That would be an interesting one. So like if Kelly were to get something in a stock car, then he'd had won it in multiple divisions.

SPEAKER_07 38:17

Well, yeah, that'd be a move down for him.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

Well, true, but still getting it in two.

SPEAKER_07 38:21

Right. So right. But uh, I mean, there's I don't know if there's only just but a couple of back-to-back winners, huh? Last page. Kyle Strickler.

SPEAKER_09 38:29

Last page. Kyle Strickler was a back-to-back winner.

SPEAKER_07 38:31

Yep. Um, but other than that, I mean, I don't know if anybody else. You know, and that's what that's also what else makes the um event so unique, too.

SPEAKER_09 38:43

Well, and the thing too is you know, we we also gotta look at our first timers. I mean, you know, Jeremy Mills has got this deal corded, man. You know, and and with his record at Boon Speedway, uh a little luck goes his way. You know, he's been running good all year. Uh the 28 car's been running good this year. Fitz, yep. Fitz has been running good. Yep. So, I mean, you know, it's uh and like I said, you know, Cam's been running pretty good, so it's a possibility that, you know, he he might have a good night. So, you know, but yeah, there's the the three-time thing, that's that that'll be interesting.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

You got some guys lined up because you got Tom Barry, Ethan Dotson, uh I don't know about Richie if he'll if he'll be here. I don't I haven't seen his name in any results this year, but um and then yeah, your sport mods, Cam Rhymers. Cam would be the only one in a sh for a shot of it in the sport mods. But but yeah, I I agree if Jeremy, if he gets a decent draw and get he's gonna he's always up on the wheel anyway. Right. But I could see a little extra up on the wheel for this. Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_09 39:48

Well, you know, he he should have won it in Knoxville one year, and things kind of went south on the last lap. Um but Brayson's racing, you know. That it is the Harris Clash.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

So we run all the laps for a reason, right? That's why you run the full event. That's right. That's right. Um yeah, I think the only thing we know for sure that'll happen next Tuesday is we will not have a repeat sport mod winner.

SPEAKER_09 40:17

That is for sure.

SPEAKER_07 40:17

That is you will not have a back-to-back sport mod winner. That's your repeat.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

Well, we could have a repeat winner, yes, but it won't be a back-to-back. Sorry. Sorry.

SPEAKER_07 40:27

It will not be Jake Saka.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_07 40:29

Yeah, period.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Yep. Um any any wild stories from from and I mean like like a crazy claimant story or something you heard along the way, or well, I really always have done my best to stay out of any of that.

SPEAKER_09 40:45

Anything that has a little bit of controversy involved, I kind of try to avoid as much as possible. So I can't really actually say, you know, like I said, I mean I mentioned that Schrader story with one lap to go. Uh uh you know, it's been good racing. I mean all the racetracks had great racing. You know, Ethan Dotson uh at Hamilton County put on a good show. Uh he he was racing with Kelly Shirach and um I don't there was there's three of 'em that were pretty pretty I mean they were they're changing positions, so that was a good show. Uh he was just a kid, I think. Oh yeah, he was pretty young, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:28

That's right. Yep, sixteen. Yep, I believe I watched that one on at home on the TV.

SPEAKER_09 41:34

Yeah, we housed his car for him because he is and he stayed with Rocky Cottle that summer and dad basically sent him out here to race.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

Well, it seems to have worked out for him. It seems like it's going pretty good for him. Yeah, right. He's doing okay. He's doing okay. Yeah, I I think he's doing good. He's getting a few sound bites once in a while, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 41:55

So that's uh that's par for the course. Yeah. Um I I you know, one that sticks out in my mind is when Brett won uh he was 13.

SPEAKER_09 42:07

Oh yeah, Brett did he's the youngest winner ever to win at Knoxville Speedway. Yeah, Brett won in the sport mod when he was 13 years old.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

And probably always will be. Right. That's probably a concrete deal. That's a concrete deal. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_09 42:20

Yep. Yeah, that that will actually never happen again.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

That's a that's a pretty cool deal. I mean, to see, you know, we all witnessed him coming through the ranks and and to see him end up where he did and has been, and you know, and then he came back to boon last year in a sprint car. And so I think he'll he'll still be around for a while. But yeah, that is a neat deal.

SPEAKER_09 42:39

Like he was man, just a bit and that picture of him with those two beautiful blinds kissing him on each cheek, and he is bright cherry red. Yeah. Yep. You know, they're leaning down to give him a kiss, you know.

SPEAKER_06 42:54

Yep. And what's wild is like my son's gonna be 13 in November. And I just couldn't even, you know, I can't even fathom the fact that like he could just going out on a Tuesday night, bud, winning the Harris class, right?

SPEAKER_07 43:11

No big deal. Yeah, right. No big deal. Right. Get done, get done, we're going to the playplace at McDonald's down the road. Right. Get you some extra chicken nuggets.

SPEAKER_09 43:19

We w we went to Oscar Loosea weekly to prepare for that, dude.

SPEAKER_07 43:23

Yeah, yeah, I suppose. Yeah. Oh, so you were buttering buttering him up.

SPEAKER_09 43:29

Well, I wasn't buttering him up, but dad had uh came up to me one night at Hamilton County Speedway and said, I I want my son to be able to go Winston Cup racing, and uh and I heard that you'd be the guy to hire to help him with that. And I'm like, uh Well, I don't I don't I yeah, I don't know about that. And that's kinda how it ended up. I I was with him for quite a few years. Yeah. I was his driver coach when he was in the K and N C No kidding. Oh yeah. I did not know that. Yep. Wow. Yeah, we flew all over and it just got to the point where well I kinda and then I was and I was actually a spotter too, and I lost my job as a spotter because he crashed at at uh Iowa Speedway. And it's pretty evident when you hit the wall there the right front's gone. Okay, so the crew chief, he's yelling at me, tell us what we need to fix, tell us what we need to fix. And I'm like, uh there ain't no fix to this thing. This thing's junk. Right. Well, tell us what we gotta do, tell us what we gotta do, and I'm like I'll I lost my job the next week.

SPEAKER_07 44:43

So what'd you really tell them, Bob?

SPEAKER_09 44:47

Well, yeah. I don't care what you get out, there ain't no fix to this thing. You can see the right front's gone to the radio from the radiator back to the engine block. I mean, this thing's junk.

SPEAKER_07 45:03

Yeah, there's 27 laps left. We're done.

SPEAKER_09 45:06

I mean, I I don't know how to tell you, but you can get anything out you want, but there ain't no fix.

SPEAKER_07 45:11

Do you think this year, Bob, there'll be any engine claims? Oh, yeah. I mean, when when when can you remember there was an engine claim? I can't even remember that. That's how long I I couldn't either. I really thought about it and thought about it. And I think the last time there was an engine claim was at Knoxville.

SPEAKER_09 45:27

Probably was. Yeah. I I can't remember. It's been a long time ago. And I I just don't see that happening, to be honest with you. I mean, you know, most all this stuff is, you know, if you're able to be in that event to claim an engine, what you got is probably as good as what you're gonna claim. A hundred percent. That's true.

SPEAKER_06 45:50

Yeah, and you can I mean the days of building this your own stuff, like you can just go buy what everybody else has. Right? So, like you said, you probably have something similar.

SPEAKER_07 46:02

But still, it's not Ricky Thornton Jr.'s or it's not Jake McBurney's or Jonathan Lowe's or perception's reality. I mean, I mean I think that perception, I don't I don't know. I'm breaking my claim card. I heard Ricky's coming.

SPEAKER_09 46:19

Uh he's not coming.

SPEAKER_07 46:20

Oh, he ain't. Oh, Ricky is done. Yes, I'm gonna leave it at home then.

SPEAKER_09 46:24

Yep, Ricky is not coming.

SPEAKER_07 46:26

Bob confirmed that. Boy, he you shut that down quite.

SPEAKER_09 46:30

I heard that yesterday.

SPEAKER_07 46:31

Did you have shocks on his car or something? That I was gonna claim you were.

SPEAKER_09 46:36

We we just we had the confirmation from him personally that he was not gonna be able to make it. All right.

SPEAKER_07 46:42

Well, darn it, that sucks. Well, folks, there you go. Ricky RTJ, not gonna make the Harris Clash on June 23rd.

SPEAKER_06 46:48

Um But I think there's probably gonna be about 105 other stock cars.

SPEAKER_07 46:53

I know, but Ricky's stocks are different.

SPEAKER_06 46:55

Oh-huh, they're different.

SPEAKER_07 47:00

You could still operator. Yeah, you could still take your claim card. I could I can still take my claim card. I might I might I've never claimed anybody, but I'm thinking about it.

SPEAKER_02 47:07

Well, you can't claim you can't claim Ricky's suit, but you do have one over there. We do have one over here.

SPEAKER_07 47:12

We do have one of them over here. But I mean, I'm just saying, like back in the day, that was a thing. Like when you went to the Harris Clash, it was like, oh man, I mean, who's gonna get by, you know? And now that you know the there isn't for you know that many claims a year. I'm not I'm not saying that, but it's like I wonder when I bet Ryan may know um when the last time there was a claim at a big event. Other than supernaturals don't count because the winner always gets, you know, they they take his motor, obviously, and do the auction thing. But when was there a claim? Maybe somebody out there in the Facebook world or somebody that's watching maybe has some intel on that.

SPEAKER_09 47:53

Yeah, I have no idea.

SPEAKER_07 47:54

I'd be curious to know, just because uh there's a lot of big events, and that was like kind of one of those things back in the day. If you went to one of those big events, somebody always had a hog in well, they thought they had a hog in and and they were yanking motors at the end of the night. You know, still though, even like the like uh nine of a thousand stars, nine of ten thousand stars, always pulling motors.

SPEAKER_02 48:18

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_07 48:19

You know, um the Harris Clash, Nine of a Thousand Stars, Night of Ten Thousand Stars, the Harris Clash, um, well, obviously the supernationals, but the Iowa State Fair, Tiny Lund, Tiny Lund, like those big events. Yeah, they were that that's when people went out and picked up their Christmas gift for their from their old lady next year.

SPEAKER_02 48:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 48:43

Yeah. Um so maybe no claims. Um what are you looking forward to the most, Bob, about 2026 and the 35th running of the Harris Clash?

SPEAKER_09 48:55

Well, I think it's just the event, you know, every year it's a new event. You know, yeah, we've done it for 34 years. This will be the 35th. Each year is special and and I'm just excited to be I'm just excited to be here to be able to do it.

SPEAKER_07 49:12

Yeah. Got any new vendors or new uh new people coming up and and getting in involved with us?

SPEAKER_09 49:18

Uh yeah. Uh Tim Love, Tire Demon, jumped on board this year. Uh Excel jumped on board this year.

SPEAKER_06 49:27

Um I got your list up if you need them. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_09 49:31

Perfect. And that's kind of the list. I mean, we we've we've had uh a great success and you know we raised some money for the purse, which is good because you know when you look at that uh do you know what the total purse was last year? I don't fifty two thousand. Fifty-two thousand for one day event. And needless to say, there was until we got everything totaled, there was some nervousness going on there.

SPEAKER_07 50:03

You know, being behind the scenes on some of that stuff and and I've been fortunate to see some of that stuff, it's scary.

SPEAKER_09 50:11

Oh, it's it's it's scary. It's super scary. It is. And you know, and and then like four thousand to win the the modified deal, and with the contingencies and the trophy and everything, that deal's worth about sixty-five. And you know, then we got f 3,000 for the stock cars, which you know you got a chance at that.

SPEAKER_07 50:32

Yeah, I'm I'm gone. Are you playing are you planning on that? I'll take Jake McBurney out if I have to. Okay. I'm kidding, Jake.

SPEAKER_09 50:42

I'm kidding. I just wanted to see Bob's reaction on that. I don't I don't own that car, so that's whatever you that's between you and Jake. Yeah, yeah, I know. Uh but you know, and then 2000 for the sport mod, uh, and uh the stock cars and the modified pay 250 to start.

SPEAKER_07 51:00

Um which is a which is a hell of a start money for a show, a big show like for a one-day event. For a one-day event.

SPEAKER_09 51:06

It really it is.

SPEAKER_07 51:08

It is. Um, you know, is is the running order event or is the running order of the event this year going to be similar to what it was last year, or is it are you guys gonna mix it up? You know, last year, stock car guys, they were the new the new cats out there on the on the ticket. They were the first ones on the track. And then into sport mods and then into mods.

SPEAKER_09 51:27

Um that's still gonna be the same. Biggest reason is some of those guys that run multiple divisions splits them up a little bit. So they have a little bit of time to kind of sort their program out for the the for the modified. And and I just think the stock cars, in my opinion, uh you guys can run on anything and put on the hell of a show.

SPEAKER_07 51:47

I I agree with that. I I agree with that. Just because we're a little bit heavier of a car, right? Um I I it doesn't I just was kind of curious. I was like, well, no, we're not the new guys no more, you know. And but uh no, I think that's a I think that's a great running order event. Um and really to be honest, Boone here lately has been very very racy early in the night, even after a farm session, um, with the way it's kind of been with the weather and stuff like that. It's it's actually worked really good.

SPEAKER_09 52:17

So I mean the nights that I've been there, that's kind of what it's looked like.

SPEAKER_07 52:20

Yeah, and not and honestly, the racing's been good all the way through, like almost I feel like sometimes the heat racing is better than sometimes what the features produce. And I don't know if that's just a lap on the racetrack or what, but I'm super excited about it. We're probably gonna see uh, you know, ten car heat races in the modifieds as always. Probably pretty cool. Taking the winner. I would assume everybody ex should expect that. That's what we've seen.

SPEAKER_09 52:48

And the winner and they will read they will automatically qualify, and then they'll redraw, and then the second place will be passing points. Whoever has the most passing points will be the next one to qualify, and then they will redraw in their group two.

unknown 53:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 53:06

And that's gonna be the same modified stock car sport mode.

SPEAKER_07 53:12

Good. I'm good at passing cars. Because I just gotta start in the back all the time.

SPEAKER_02 53:16

I did I did hear uh on Brett's podcast you guys talked about when you did passing points up in the tower by hand. Oh my god, that Knoxville deal.

SPEAKER_09 53:25

Yeah. Yeah. If there's ever one that sticks out in my mind that was unfavorable, was the night we did passing points at Knoxville. That was a disaster. And luckily, I was up in the tower, and poor Jim Standard. I mean, he was getting his butt chewed all night long.

SPEAKER_02 53:46

Well, I got good news for Jim this year. I had really good luck last year with MRP doing it, so we have I got it. Good confidence for that.

SPEAKER_07 53:55

Well, here's the there's a here's a question a lot of people are wanting to know. The draw, the redraw. Obviously, uh the Harris Clash does the uh I don't believe in the computer draw. Thank you, Bob.

SPEAKER_09 54:07

I I believe in a poker chip.

SPEAKER_07 54:09

Thank you, Bob.

SPEAKER_09 54:10

Plus then that's a poker chip that's yours, so you can always say on 2020. Yep. 2026 I drew twenty-six or whatever the case would be.

SPEAKER_07 54:22

So I should have brought mine because I've drawn shit.

SPEAKER_09 54:25

You did not. That one year at Deer Creek, you drew towards the front. You you drew a pretty low number.

SPEAKER_07 54:35

I must not have been the arms are gonna go up.

SPEAKER_09 54:38

Yes. No, you actually drew it because you I remember I remember how excited you were. Oh. See?

SPEAKER_02 54:44

And you know what? When it's the poker chip draw, it's up to you. How'd you remember?

SPEAKER_09 54:49

Actually, I think that was the night that I think that was actually the s the time when you and McBurney put on the show because you started in the front of the heat race and won the heat race going away, and then however you guys redrew where I don't remember where you started, but I think you both started fairly well back. I mean, I think you both started like fourth row.

SPEAKER_07 55:12

Yeah. I think you're right, Bob. That was that was like eight years ago, bud. I can remember stuff like that. Eight minutes ago, my dick struggle. I'll give you I'll give you my one good draw. I'll give you my one good draw. But I I I have all my chips up on the shelf.

SPEAKER_09 55:32

It's gonna be home and look at all those chips.

SPEAKER_07 55:34

I'm gonna I'm gonna send you a picture of it.

SPEAKER_06 55:37

All right, so we're we're doing poker chip draw. See this. We gotta we gotta rein him in, you know.

SPEAKER_09 55:42

But people wanna know. We're gonna do a poker chip draw. So it's it's out of a bucket, or well, actually, it's out of a bag, so you can't see in it. It's out of a bag. And then then the redraw will be the same thing uh down in the infield, I'm assuming. Or no, no, we actually did the redraw at the back of the trailer, didn't we? Yeah. We did it at the at the Weirs trailer. Yeah, we did it at the Weird's trailer. So you'll get to draw twice. And then the other thing that I forgot to mention that's a pretty neat deal. Um Mr. Kroll is giving away two rear end housings, one to the stock car and one to the um sport mod, and he wanted it to be a draw deal, so we're got a bucket that's gonna have twenty-four actually twenty-three numbers in it, and then the winner of the sport mod will draw whatever position out of that bucket, and they're the ones that are gonna win that that free rear end housing. Oh, that's great. And then the same thing, and then the same thing that for the stock cars, it'll be the same deal. The winner, he's not gonna be able to get it because there's only his number's not gonna be in there. There's not gonna be a number one. So two through twenty-three, yeah, two through twenty-four, sorry. Okay, very cool. So so that'll be uh uh a new kind of exciting adventure that some guy some guy that finishes 23rd might have a brand newer end housing.

SPEAKER_06 57:19

See, now that's but you can't game the system like Bob did back in the day up at Fairmont because you're not gonna know any number.

SPEAKER_09 57:27

See, that's the thing. We're not telling anybody. Yeah. Same thing like with uh, you know, Tim Love's putting in or Tire Demons putting in $200 in each feature, and that's gonna be the same way. We don't know who's gonna get that $200. I like that. So that you can't calculate that fact. Wait a minute, it pays $450 to for where I'm running, and if I back up a spot, it's only a $50 difference, but I could get an extra $200. Yeah. Sure. Now I'm not sure everybody when they're out there racing is calculating all this stuff.

SPEAKER_06 58:01

Some of them just Bob in 1979.

SPEAKER_02 58:04

So I promise you some of them are.

SPEAKER_07 58:05

Now the rear end housing though is just a bare housing. Just a bear housing. Just a bare rear end housing, just to make that clear. People get a little jumpy about that.

SPEAKER_09 58:13

Bear housing, uh, you'll have to put all your own brackets and everything on it, but it's a bare housing, it's a $900 value.

SPEAKER_06 58:20

So if you need brackets, take it to either Jonathan or Jonathan. Yeah. See? It's a good deal for you guys.

SPEAKER_02 58:27

Well, so Jonathan, whenever you uh whoever you draw out of that bucket, right, they'll be real happy with you.

SPEAKER_07 58:32

They should be. I'm just taking this home and put the brackets on for you, bud. We finally got that new airflow system set up for the Fender Car class. Busting it out, testing it to know Saturday night at mid Speedway, and then we're gonna have it.

SPEAKER_06 58:50

He's seen it, bud. It's legal. Oh, he passed.

SPEAKER_02 58:52

Bring it on, and you're gonna talk to him. Don't forget, you get the Hawkeye challenge and mess with it on Saturday too. That's what I'm saying. I get multiple nights. Lots of laps. Multiple laps. Good deal.

SPEAKER_06 59:01

Good deal. Actually, yes, we should mention that while we're on live, real quick. The Hawkeye Challenges this weekend for our weekly stuff. Um, Sprint King sprint cars are coming into town. Um, so that'll be a super cool event. Oh, yeah, always is. And that will be started at hot laps at five, races at six. Yep, we're doing that the rest of the day.

SPEAKER_09 59:21

And that was uh a rain out from last week. It was supposed to be last weekend, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_06 59:26

Uh no. No, they uh that was originally on the schedule for this. Oh, it wasn't. Yeah, we just had a regular scheduled show last week. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_07 59:35

There's a lot of really cool stuff that's gone on. We had the 141 race last weekend for the 10,000.

SPEAKER_09 59:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 59:41

We've got we had a kind of a break, and then we go into the Hawkeye Challenge, the Harris Clash, the Bumblebee Nationals.

SPEAKER_02 59:50

Bumblebee tuna.

SPEAKER_07 59:52

Um all of a sudden we're gonna be into July here. We've got the North Dakota Coure coming up, we've got um man, there is all kinds of racing.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:02

Dude, when we looked at the opportunity to have an alternate date, God forbid we would need one. Right. There might not be one.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:13

Really? It's pretty full from basically from this.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:22

But Beatrice is the one that is gonna run on the 15th, and if they get rain out, they're gonna probably run the night after.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:29

Yeah. What are you gonna do, Bob, if they do that?

SPEAKER_09 1:00:32

I don't know. I'm not gonna worry about it because it's not gonna rain.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:34

We're gonna we're gonna cross all our fingers and toes and we're gonna race next Tuesday.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:37

It's all about what you think about, you bring about. What you think about, you bring about. It's not gonna rain.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:42

That don't work for you for fishing.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:44

That's why I quit fishing. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Fair enough. Alrighty then. Well, Bob, thank you so much for for coming over and chatting with us a little bit. You guys are great.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:56

Make sure you guys get on HarrisClash.com and point at the TV like they can see it clearly. But um go on there and look at the purse.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:03

I mean, just see what this deal pays.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:05

Today's the last day for the entry, right? To not have the $50. Or did you delay? Or did you delete it?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:11

I think it was yesterday.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:13

Okay. It says late fee after 6 17.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:16

Yeah, it's 11 59 tonight. Oh, is it? Okay. So you got a few hours left. Go out and get registered for this deal. The website's really cool. It shows all the past champions. You got photos on there. That's really neat. You get to see a very young Bob Harris there back 35 years ago. When I had hair. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:33

Did didn't we all, right? Well, you know. Yeah, that's part of it. But uh we're all we're all looking forward to this. And yeah, we're gonna go racing next Tuesday and we're gonna have a barn burner.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:41

So I'm excited, man. It's gonna be a great show. You better.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:45

Yeah, so make sure you guys, yes, it's right here on on the Facebook page, too. So you have till 11.59 tonight to not have to pay the fifty dollar um late fee. So you can register at any time. Yep, but if you know you're gonna go, get registered on HarrisClash.com today. Save that fifty bucks. Yeah, four hours and thirty minutes. Four hours and thirty minutes.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:08

And if for some reason you don't get the preregister savings, still it's worth registering because it'll just make everything go smoother at night of.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:17

Right. Yep, right. Definitely. Um also want to re um talk about the times real quick. So like the pits open at three, draw opens at three, draw closes at six fifteen, hot laps are six o'clock, right? So, yeah, so it looks like. So the draw stays open 15 minutes after hot laps start. Yep. Just in case somebody forgot. Yep. Or gets her a little bit late. Races are at 7 o'clock, and we're it's go time. Full steam ahead then.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:46

Full steam ahead. You got it. Speaking of go time, I think Grant's in the tower that night, too.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:50

So sweet. Yep.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:52

Sweet.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:53

You get the sweet tones of Grant Osvig. Right on.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:56

So also stay tuned to our watermelons and wood chips podcast as Logue Fabrication giving away two free pit passes to the Harris Clash on June 23rd. Uh make sure you uh uh get on stay tuned in with what we're doing here on Watermelons and Woodchips. Cody's gonna get something whipped up and we'll do that drawing. Uh when do we want to do that drawing? Saturday, Sunday? Well, if it's do it on Father's Day. Yeah, we have to go on Father's Day. Good idea.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:25

Father's Day giveaway to your passes to from Logue Fabrication.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:30

From Logue Fabrication. Um, but fellas, that's I mean, really about it, other than we need to thank our awesome great partners here at Watermelons and Wood Chips, Central Iowa Diesel Performance, Elmquist Towing, Barntown Brewing, Adobe Lounge, uh, Moffat's Ford, LogueFab, P1P promotions, and all of the great people that have support our show thus far through our uh our nice little journey we got going on here. Uh Bob, can't thank you enough for coming on here.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:59

Oh, it's been great.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:00

Uh and thanks for having me. I think we need to probably bring you back and pick your brain a little bit more about uh not the Harris Clash stuff just because you're such an icon. I didn't realize you started racing in 1978, but that's gonna be for a later story.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:13

Yeah, we we need to have you on another night that you can you can save an extra two or three hours. So I'm sure you got some stories on it.

SPEAKER_09 1:04:23

Oh, you know, I I've been fortunate. I've I I've been on all sides of pretty much every part of this industry, whether it's been a car owner, chassis builder, driver, um spotter, you you uh uh uh promoter. Uh I've I I've had the privilege to be involved in pretty much everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:46

Well, it's it's our privilege to have you on here. So uh yeah, we definitely need to get you back and we'll go we'll go deep in the in the archives of Bob Harris that time. So no problem.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:57

Yeah. Well, with that being said, we thank everybody that joined our live tonight. Um and if you didn't obviously get to see it live, we're gonna or if you know people that haven't got to see it live, we're gonna throw it up on YouTube um for a bonus episode and probably on Spotify and everything again on we're gonna put it on Buzz Sprout, right? G? Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:18

Oh, and before we go, it's episode 39, Larry Embry. I had to come up with somebody, and that's that that just came into my mind.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:26

So well, like we said, thank you to Bob Harris, Josh Reynolds, Jonathan Logan, I'm Cody Malico. You have been watching Watermelons and Woodchips. We'll see you next time.