transcript
Speaker 1:
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Speaker 5:
[03:06] The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media.
Speaker 6:
[03:44] All right, everybody.
Speaker 1:
[03:45] Welcome back to another edition of The Gluckcast. This is episode 10 of the show. And so glad to have you along for the ride on another Thursday here as we get ready for Talladega week, a big week coming off Kansas. We'll see what Talladega has to bring. I know the forecast is looking super amazing, at least for Saturday, but we'll see how all that goes. I'm gonna be there along with Jordan Bianchi, my co-worker, so we'll be reunited. And you never know what Talladega is gonna bring, right? Especially that spring race, so much different than the playoff race, it feels like. But obviously, of course, we have to start with Steven A. Smith's comments about how NASCAR drivers are. No, we don't. We're not gonna be starting with that. Why would we even talk about that? Why? Why did so many people in the NASCAR community fall for that engagement bait that Steven A. Smith put out and said, NASCAR drivers aren't athletes? It's not, we don't need to get into it again. That's been, it's like the thing, they fish it out there. The non-NASCAR people, they fish it, and then everybody bid on it. Don't do, like don't, I mean, now I'm talking about it, but I'm not gonna talk about my opinion. Just ignore it. He won, he got what he wanted. I don't even know anything else he says on his show. And all, my whole timeline is, well, come out to a race, Stephen A, we'll show you. It's like, no, we've already done this with everybody. Like, I feel like my whole career, it's been people doing this. So, man, hey, look, he's a master at that, right? I mean, if you can look at yourself in the mirror and be like, wow, you know, I guess it's just like the Skip Bayliss thing, right? Like you say stuff you don't believe. A long time ago, a NASCAR person, who doesn't work there anymore, NASCAR PR person came up to me. This is probably, I don't know, probably 2007-ish or 2008-ish. And they were like, you should just go full heel and just say all the stuff that you don't believe because you'll be like this controversial person. And I'm like, yeah, but I don't believe any of that. So why, like, why would I? Yeah, I'm sure you could make a lot more money doing what Stephen A and Skip Bayliss do, but holy cow. I mean, yeah, you have to, you have to be able to live with yourself for that. So anyway, that's just my mini rant about that as I stall here for our first guest. But we will have a great show today. I, you know, this show, just to give you some, some background of the insight of that. This is probably the most stressful thing I do each week because he, like getting guests and all this stuff, like you have to, you have to reach out, see who's going to be willing to join, line up the people, all this stuff. And, you know, you're just like, man, you can't, because I don't want to line people up too early for this show for you guys, because if it's like, well, I got somebody that wasn't relevant. Like I want to try to get relevant people who are, you know, who matter or like, or we're talking about this week and stuff. So I don't want to be like, oh yeah, again, two weeks, can you come on the show? So anyway, it's often a last minute scramble to try to get people. So I feel good about today's lineup, but our first guest who's logging on in a second just said, texted me and said his laptop hates him and it's slow. So he'll be here in just a second. But anyway, yeah, it gives me appreciation for the producers on Sirius who do all that stuff. Again, like I was saying, we like to have newsmakers on the show. No one has made more news on the track this season than our first guest here. The first driver to win five races in a nine race stretch during the next-gen era, the first one to do so in a season, in one season since Kevin Harvick in 2020, and the first to open a season with this many wins in the first nine races since Dale Earnhardt in 1987. This is, of course, Tyler Reddick. Can you hear me, Tyler?
Speaker 6:
[08:21] Yeah, I got you. Now my AirPods won't connect to my phone. I don't know what's going on, man.
Speaker 1:
[08:28] Technology is amazing, isn't it?
Speaker 6:
[08:30] At least the race car stuff is going good. What in the world? I don't even have words at this point.
Speaker 1:
[08:37] You were very generous to join in a very busy week. And so, listen, you've had the normal preseason questions media, you had then you won Daytona, and you had to answer more questions in a single week than you've answered the rest of your life combined. Then you won four more times, and you've had to do all this media, media, media. So you've probably been asked every single racing lady question, agreed to come on the show. So we have a challenge, and I'm going to present it to you now. It's going to be a game show. Hey, welcome to Has Anyone Asked You This Yet? This is the new game show on The Gluckcast, and here's how the rules work. I'm gonna ask you five questions that I've come up with. You answered a question like normal, but then at the end of the question, you have to tell us if anybody has asked you this yet. And I can get one strike. I have to have four, all these questions have to have then ones you haven't answered, or I lose the game show. I don't think there's a prize, but I will lose. All right. My personal pride, we will see how this goes here. Question one, after the race on Sunday, I asked you about the meaning of winning five races in the next-gen Ericsson, so much parody. And since then, I looked it up, and it turns out the season wins leader in the next-gen has gone. Five wins, six wins, six wins, six wins. So you already have five. If you're the first to win seven in the next-gen car, would it mean anything to you pride wise, or is that just one of those numbers that comes along, and you're like, oh, okay, that's me?
Speaker 6:
[10:19] So first, I need to say if I've been asked this yet. You can tell us that afterwards.
Speaker 1:
[10:24] Just, yeah.
Speaker 6:
[10:26] Okay. Yeah, I mean, I think when you look at, I don't know, I feel like even though it didn't, like that first year of the next-gen car had a really big, I felt like we had a huge opportunity to win a lot of races, and unfortunately, we threw a lot of them away. We did still win three races that year, but when I go back and look at, even when it was that off season or we're even now looking back on that year and it's like, man, there were so many races along the way that we had the tire failure or just one or two things. So I feel like, yeah, for me, that would be huge. I mean, just alone winning the races is awesome, but knowing how, I feel like, I know Denny says he's towards the tail end of his career, but I feel like he's stronger than he's ever been. You look at Larson and what he's doing in these cars. I mean, you could just keep going on and on like William, but I know they've struggled a bit, but what Byron's been able to do in this car, there's a lot of guys, I feel like in their career, that are on it, in the part of their career where they're at their best, and to be able to go on a run like this, that would be huge when I think about the drivers that I'm doing it against.
Speaker 1:
[11:46] Does anybody ask you that question? Yeah, let's hear the answer.
Speaker 6:
[11:53] Not like that. I won't count it as a strike. I won't count it as a strike. I feel like they've asked me what it would mean to win if we're able to win more races than anyone's won, but I don't feel like they asked it the way you did, so I don't think it's a strike. We'll let it go.
Speaker 1:
[12:11] That sounds like you're being generous. Okay, well, that's...
Speaker 6:
[12:14] We'll let it go. We'll let it go.
Speaker 1:
[12:16] It was a good question.
Speaker 6:
[12:17] All right.
Speaker 1:
[12:17] The second one is, we talk about your points lead all the time over second place, which is currently 105 points, by the way, but when is the last time you looked at how big of a lead you actually have over the chase cutoff line? Do you have any... Have you looked at this? You know how big of your lead inside the chase you are?
Speaker 6:
[12:38] To the chase cut line? No, I haven't. Just a second. I feel like in... I kind of feel like when you're in that 5 to 10 range, you know, the standings, you're just aware of it. I don't know, I feel like his drivers were... You never really want to look back that often. You always want to look ahead. Okay, where do we want to go? Where do we want to be? But yeah, this year was kind of how everything's played out. Yes, we're looking ahead, but in some ways, we're leading points. So how do we increase that points lead? We're paying close attention. I'm paying close attention. Do you know where Denny's at? Where Blaine's at? Ty Gibbs has been on a real heater lately. I know that he wasn't the happiest with his balance at Kansas, but just trying to pay attention. For me at Bristol, for example, I was kicking myself that entire race because I knew Blaine was so strong. And at the time, he was, I guess before going into Kansas, he was closest to us in points. I'm like, man, if he has a day here and wins, I mean, this points gap's gonna go gone like that. So yeah, I've been looking more at second, third, those guys in there than I have the cut line.
Speaker 1:
[13:56] Well, the answer, by the way, is 260 points over Austin Cedric right now in 17th place. So as long as you don't like slip on one of Bo's toy cars. And well, even if you did, you could miss like a month, it'd be fine.
Speaker 6:
[14:07] But as long as I get a waiver, I'll be good.
Speaker 1:
[14:10] Yeah.
Speaker 6:
[14:11] If I miss a race and don't get a waiver, I'm in trouble.
Speaker 1:
[14:14] Has anybody asked you about the 16th place chase cutoff line after your great, great start here?
Speaker 6:
[14:20] Nope. Nope. You're safe. Good job.
Speaker 1:
[14:22] Oh yeah, I forgot. Cleared that one. All right. This is the riskiest one because you get asked about Michael Jordan all the time, but I was going to try to play with risky territory here. What is something you enjoy talking about with Michael Jordan that has nothing to do with racing?
Speaker 6:
[14:44] Well, man, I feel like, yeah, I'm thinking of, you know, the times I've been able to spend with him. We've been watching, like, you know, Riley Auto Parts race or the truck race. You know, I feel like, yeah, you know, I feel like when we've talked, it's mainly been about racing, honestly. We stay pretty locked in on that. I'm trying to think, just really think outside the box. Yeah, it's mainly been racing. He asks a lot. I mean, it's one thing that's just, I mean, there's a lot of things that's awesome about Michael, but I mean, he, you know, he will ask, just keep asking questions, you know, where are you at? What's going on? What are you guys focused on? Who's, you know, like this weekend in Kansas, he's asking me, you know, about Larson, you know. If you guys have been paying attention to him, last time I was here, he was really strong. And so, yeah, I feel like, you know, he, I mean, we, everyone's been able to see more of it this year in the spotlight, if you will, in the big moments, you know, how invested he is in this. But yeah, I feel like, honestly, we do talk a lot about racing. He asks a lot of questions that, you know, I feel like are outside of the box of what you're used to being asked when it comes to racing, like some real questions where I'm like, I really got to think about that before I answer. And so, yeah, I feel like when we've been in a more group setting, like some of the guys on my team that love fishing, you've asked them about fishing. I have no business asking about golf or basketball because I am absolutely terrible at both. So yeah, we've pretty much kept it racing. A couple, a little bit here and there, like I've asked them about what he's wearing, you know, watch wise, I like to wear Rolex and Tudor and he's got some real crazy high end, just insane watches that I'll probably, I mean, who knows, maybe one day I can have a watch like that, but I've just kind of stuck to my lane. So maybe a little bit about watches, but yeah, no one's asked me that question. So you're good there. Good job.
Speaker 1:
[16:52] Okay.
Speaker 6:
[16:52] All right.
Speaker 1:
[16:55] We're getting closer. All right. Question number four, you have five trophies from the season. You also have two kids, a six-year-old and an 11-month-old in your house. So how do you keep your trophies from getting damaged in your house?
Speaker 6:
[17:09] I'm not worried about the trophies getting damaged as much as the kids getting damaged from the trophies. Funny enough, most of them are so big that I don't really have to worry about rookie knocking them over. But the Atlanta Trophy, I set him down. I went to grab a bottle and I came back three seconds later and he had tipped over the Atlanta Trophy. And it's got some pointy ends. And I'm like, dude, I mean, just like, I turn around and come back and the trophies knocked over. So actually the little trophies, the smaller trophies that don't weigh as much that he just, he's been pulling himself up on everything. He'll grab my leg and stand up. He'll grab a couch or a chair, stand up. He'll pretty much grab on to anything to just stand up. And so, yeah, it's actually the smaller trophies. Like I'm probably safest leaving him in a room with the Talladega trophy because how heavy it is. I mean, if he knocks that thing over, I don't even know how that's, I can't even knock it over. You know, that trophy weighs more than me. So yeah, I'm more so worried about, I'm not worried about the trophies getting damaged. I just want to make sure the kids don't get hurt messing with the trophies. That makes sense.
Speaker 1:
[18:18] Has anybody asked you that so far?
Speaker 6:
[18:21] Good job.
Speaker 1:
[18:22] Right. Okay. Well, we're on the last question here. There's 11 different winners in the last 11 Talladega races, including yourself, but at Daytona, we've seen a couple of repeat winners, Byron, Blaney, during that time frame. Is that just completely circumstantial or is there anything about Talladega that seems to induce more chaos and unpredictability than Daytona might?
Speaker 6:
[18:52] I don't know, I do think with... It's hard to say. I think it'd be foolish for me to say, it's just circumstance or... It's so hard to really know, but I do feel like my belief is that a part of it has something to do with the width of Talladega. Something has, a part of it has something to do with the location of the start finish line. I just really do, you know? You have to make your move more so on the back stretch or off of four at Daytona. At Talladega, you can make that move into three, you can make it off of four, but also you can wait until you're entering the Tri-Oval. It's honestly a really good place to make that move because you have time once you jump out of line or whatever in the Tri-Oval to try and make the pass or get ahead of whoever it is. By the start-finish line on the dogleg, if you will, going to turn one. I do think that plays into it a little bit, the width and just the location of the start-finish line.
Speaker 1:
[20:01] Okay. That makes sense.
Speaker 6:
[20:03] All right.
Speaker 1:
[20:03] Well, I assume you may have been asked that one. I don't know. Have you been asked that one?
Speaker 6:
[20:08] No.
Speaker 1:
[20:08] Okay.
Speaker 6:
[20:08] All right. You nailed it.
Speaker 1:
[20:10] Okay. Well, I think you let me get by with the first one just to be generous, but it turns out that I was fine anyway. So that's it, everybody. That's the Tyler Reddick game show here on The Gluckcast. So Tyler, thank you so much for agreeing to hop on here on your very busy week once again.
Speaker 6:
[20:30] Yeah. Was that it? Are we done? Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[20:33] I have one DAP point or whatever. How would you probably get four or five?
Speaker 6:
[20:37] Oh, man. I'm not doing it for that. I'm not doing it for that.
Speaker 1:
[20:40] Well, I'm just saying, you got your 15 minutes and I don't want to keep you from what else you have going on. It's already 20 minutes past the scheduled time. You can't keep people long in the business and then be like, oh, please come back on the show, you know, because then they will come back on the show.
Speaker 6:
[20:57] Well, I've enjoyed my time. You have more guests coming on. Who do we got next?
Speaker 1:
[21:03] Well, in five minutes, we have Taylor Gray coming. Oh, yeah. There we go.
Speaker 6:
[21:07] Yeah. Kansas women. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[21:10] That's right.
Speaker 6:
[21:10] Yeah. Well, you got any good questions for him?
Speaker 1:
[21:15] I do. You could help me. But I want to ask him, he is from a drag racing family, first of all. I think that's interesting how he went to the oval side of things. He's the first ever winner from New Mexico. So like, what is that about? How long did he live in New Mexico? Because he grew up in North Carolina. So I'd like to know about that. He was driving a late model at age 12. Did you know that? That's very early.
Speaker 6:
[21:46] I did not. Wow. I mean, yeah. I mean, I did a lot of things at the time, early and a lot of these kids that are, I say kids, they're turning into adults and running in a rally out of parts, cars and trucks now. But like, you know, it's cool to see how that's like changed over the years. You know, when me and my family were trying to do it, it was, you know, well, you got to wait till you're 16 or you got to have a driver's license or you got to be 18. And it was really fun to like, but it wasn't fun at the time, right? It was, it was tough to be told, no, can't race here, go somewhere else. But it's really cool to see how that mindset towards that is really like opened up and shifted. And it's like, well, if the kid can get in the car or the cart or whatever it is and go out there and compete with the older adults, why keep them from doing it? You know, so it's been cool to see that like change. I fought that a lot growing up, whether I was trying to run a midget as a kid or a sprint car or a dirt late model, but just to see that open up and, you know, these younger kids that are more than capable of doing it, get in there and go compete. It's been cool to see that shift happen and there's more of an open mind towards that, you know.
Speaker 1:
[22:58] Didn't you have to, you had to go to Arizona one time to test a midget, right? Because I think you could go on a California yet.
Speaker 6:
[23:06] Yeah, I mean, it's, the details have faded away over time, but we were, I mean, I say I was dead set, but you know, our whole, my dad was too. I mean, I was just a kid at the time. I was willing to race anything, but I mean, I really wanted to run midgets. I loved them. I loved the Outlaw Carts. And just, I mean, I get it. I mean, I was think the first time I tested a midget, I was like nine or 10 years old. I mean, that seems crazy and it is crazy, but like, you know, I could get in, I could test it. I go to Manzanita. I go to, I think it was called Canyon. Me and Larson actually went and like did the tests together, which is just fun, full circle, cool moment. He ended up, you know, he was a little bit older and he was able to go run the open wheel stuff in California. And we were kind of, I was just too young. We had to go the, you know, the mini sprint route. But I mean, we tried to do everything we could to get in a midget that young. But I mean, I get it. It was so, so young compared to what I think they're okay with at the time. I think it was, I think 16 to 18. I can't really remember what USAC's rules were back then, but I mean, it was a challenge, right? Like I could get in it and do it, but I just, I understand like, you know, this kid is tiny. He's like this tall and he's not even 10 yet. And you want him to be able to go out here and race against adults. Like that's insane. So I mean, I do get it, but it was really fun. You know, I didn't ultimately get to go that route of like doing the open world stuff and the midgets and the sprint car stuff long, but being that young and being able to get in a sprint car and go race against, you know, some of the best at non-wing sprint cars. And that stuff was a lot of fun, but it just, yeah, it was, it was a real challenge. And we were able to find our way a little bit more on the, on the Dirt Lake model side. So that's the route we went.
Speaker 1:
[24:55] Yeah. Larsen's dad told me one time that like, when you guys got down to there to that test, like these two little kids get out, like you and Larsen, like, yeah, they're like, they're looking at you guys like, they're going to go run a midget. Like, are you serious? Like, yeah, you better have these parents sign these permission slips because we're not allowed. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 6:
[25:13] No, it was, I mean, that was, that was one of the most, it was fun, but I mean, I get it. I mean, it was scary too, right? Like I ran outlaw carts and drove them to the edge of grip and let you know the limit of the track in the car. And now I'm in a midget and I can do a wheel stand on command down straight away. It's just, I mean, it was so fun and so cool. I think the thing that I fought the most being that little is like the fumes, like just running the thing, it's methanol or whatever it was. I can't remember. The fumes would make my eyes water like crazy even in the car. But yeah, just those first laps in a midget man were, it was truly insane to think that I just, you know, we never got to run them, but still the laps I got to do on them. I got to run the chili ball a couple of times and do coin indoor and one other place, I think in Kansas, we did an indoor race. But yeah, the dirt racing, the open wheel stuff was just so, so fun. I'll make a return to it one day. I just, I got a one, you know, make sure my wife is okay with it. I gotta make sure my kids are okay with it now. And the biggest thing, I'll find time. So we'll see.
Speaker 1:
[26:26] That's cool. Well, I kept you way, way, way over now. So thank you so much for joining and appreciate your time and willingness to come on again. Thanks.
Speaker 6:
[26:34] Yeah, man. You got it. Have a great day, everyone. Thank you.
Speaker 1:
[26:38] All right, Tyler Reddick, everybody on The Gluckcast, playing the game show as well. So that's pretty cool to have him come on. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed that. Trying to mix it up a little bit because I know you guys, you hear from Tyler Reddick all over the place. He's on Dale Jr.'s show. He wins, he does all these interviews, and you're just like, man, what is Tyler Reddick not talked about yet? So I was hoping to have that.
Speaker 7:
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Speaker 3:
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Speaker 4:
[28:47] Best mobile network based on analysis by Google of Speedtest Intelligence Data 2H 2025. Bigger network, the combination of T-Mobile and US cellular network footprints will enhance the T-Mobile network's coverage. Price guarantee on talk, text and data. Exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See tmobile.com for details.
Speaker 8:
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Speaker 1:
[29:31] Yeah, as you heard, we'll have Taylor Gray coming up momentarily. We'll also talk later about the Talladega stage lengths, of course, and about the topic of the week, sort of, that kind of got some traction, which was the crossover SUV thing that NASCAR has floated out for the O'Reilly series. And then we'll talk to the biggest Ty Gibbs fan as well. And that's going to be something you guys really want to hear about, I think. So yeah, in fact, the talk about the stage lengths and stuff, we get into it really quick before Taylor Gray joins, but so the thing is, it's murky, right? Like, yes, they changed the stage lengths to try to, make the racing better and all that stuff, but did it, is it going to change things? Is it going to work? And look, we go ask people and you're like, the answer is from drivers, it's not like, oh, this is great or oh, this is bad. It's just sort of like, maybe.
Speaker 9:
[30:40] I have no idea. I still think so, yeah. Like to me, stage two, you're still going to save fuel to try to set yourself up for stage three, because that's the hard part is, even when we're all running wide open, you still can't pass. You're still just two by two by two. So it all comes down to where do you file out in that two by two formation. And Talladega is a little bit easier than Daytona, I feel like, to kind of search and make moves. Especially since it's an A-flat deal, I feel like it's kind of helped the top lane a little bit more. But yeah, I don't know. Somebody's going to figure it out, and then we're all just copy and paste that, and they're going to have to come up with something else.
Speaker 1:
[31:22] And then here's what Spire Motor Sports Competition Director Matt McCall had to say just this morning on a media Zoom call about the strategy stuff.
Speaker 10:
[31:31] The tough part is we don't know, but at the same time, it's still speedway racing. A lot of things can happen, a lot of things you can't control. So I think that there's nothing that stands out that it's going to be a ton different, except most likely you won't have leaders running 50% unless there's an OEM that commits to trying to maintain the pack at that speed to start the race.
Speaker 1:
[31:52] All right. So basically, nobody really knows, and we're going to have to see how it all shakes out. So in the meantime, now, we have someone who just won his second O'Reilly series race, although it was a different sponsor when he won the last fall, because then he did to O'Reilly. I don't know what we call it if somebody wins, when it's two different names. Let's just call it all O'Reilly. But anyway, now two-time O'Reilly series race winner, Taylor Gray is joining the show. Taylor, how's it going, first of all?
Speaker 11:
[32:24] What's up, Jeff, how are you?
Speaker 1:
[32:26] I'm good, I'm good. You short-pitted at the Kansas race, and that got you the lead, and then you had to hold off Sheldon Creed on older tires. So what was the challenge like for you of trying to finish off that race while someone was running you down?
Speaker 11:
[32:42] Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me was, I had, after the green flag cycled, it cycled out and all got back, everyone back in the lead laugh. I had a 3.3 second lead or something like that. So I think the biggest thing for me was knowing that he was going to close the gap at some point, right? I mean, he's got, what, three or four lap fresher tires than me. So he's going to start closing, edging towards that closing up that gap. I knew he's going to have to push hard though, right? He's going to have to push harder than me to close that gap up. So I knew I just need to stay under the tire as much as I could and hit my marks and be super consistent with my inputs throughout the last 40 something laps of the race. Then Navigate lapped traffic better than he could. It was the biggest thing. I was so song being aggressive with them and trying to get around them.
Speaker 1:
[33:39] So what did Kansas show your team? Because I mean, you didn't have the dominant car, but you knew you had a car you could win with if you just stayed with it and got the track position. So is that the kind of thing you'll think about on the days when it doesn't seem like you're dominating the race?
Speaker 11:
[33:54] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that kind of I think it's a Jimmy Johnson mentality in a way, right, and kind of that way of looking at it. Yeah, I mean, I thought we were probably for majority of the day, we were top three car and in stage three, I thought we were a top two car probably. I think no doubt about it. Everybody knows that Brandon Jones was probably the class of the field. But yeah, I mean, obviously had somewhat go our way with their uncontrolled tire, a little bit of their misfortune. But yeah, I mean, just stay locked in, right? You can't ever really give up on a night like that, right? You're there, you're present, you're doing it. So you just got to keep pushing.
Speaker 1:
[34:37] So your crew chief Jason Rackliffe made a great call. A lot of people remember him for his Cup Series days as Matt Kensis crew chief. He won 15 Cup races in his Cup career. But you've recently given Jason his 58th and 59th O'Reilly Series victories, which is crazy. What is the driver crew chief dynamic like when you're looking at somebody that has that much of a resume and you're still a young driver?
Speaker 11:
[35:03] Yeah, it's funny. You know, me and Jason first started working together. We didn't always see, I guess, not necessarily didn't see eye to eye, but just it took a little bit for us to get in a rhythm of working together, right? So, we're going to start off with a little bit of the story of what I knew what he wanted out of me and what I needed out of him and what I needed out of my cars to go fast, and also him teaching me a lot of stuff. I mean, I was still super green to all this, right? Hadn't ran much in an XFINITY car, or O'Reilly car, sorry. Still needed to learn a lot. It's been awesome to work with Jason and learn a lot of the lessons he's learned that necessarily the hard way. Jason and Simon also learn stuff throughout life, right? To make me a better person. He's been around a long time and has lived a pretty full life. So, yeah, I know it's been awesome to work with Jason. It's funny because I call him Pops. I make fun of him. He's old. So, yeah, it's cool.
Speaker 1:
[36:08] You've probably seen the talk this week about, NASCAR floated this crossover SUV series for O'Reilly, and then people push back on it hard because it's like, well, we love O'Reilly as it is. This is people's favorite series. The racing that you guys are doing right now, the competition level, all that stuff. It just seems like it's become, it's one of those things where people go, man, what's your favorite series in NASCAR? A lot of people say O'Reilly right now, and the ratings are great, all that stuff. So being someone that's inside that garage, what do you think makes it such a good competitive series for everybody who enjoy? What is the secret sauce for O'Reilly?
Speaker 11:
[36:51] Yeah, genuinely, I think it's, and this is kind of just, I guess a standard answer, but it's just the car, right? It's the car that we've had. A truck is similar in a way of this, but it's the realest race car that we have in the garage. It's the closest thing to what the definition of a race car is that we have in the garage. So, yeah, I mean, I think that's kind of what it boils down to and not throwing any shade, I guess, to the Cub car. I've never ran it, so I don't know. But just from looking at it as someone that races in the O'Reilly series and kind of a bigger picture, it's just a true race car, right? We make less downforce, less side force than anybody in the garage. You know, we have decent power. You know, I think that could... It's been kind of the same power number for a long time. But yeah, no, I think when you want to boil us down to, it's the closest thing to the definition of a race car.
Speaker 1:
[37:58] Love that. So I was confused recently. So a big deal got made. Your teammate, William Sawalich, became the first driver from Minnesota to win a NASCAR race from that state. He represented that. And then sort of around that time, it kind of pops up like, you're like, hey, like, I'm from New Mexico. Like I'm listed. You're listed a lot of places as being from Denver, North Carolina. But you're like, well, I was born in New Mexico, in Artesia, New Mexico. So I guess, first of all, what was the early years for you there? Like, were you born there and then moved quickly? Or what is the background there with you in New Mexico, I guess, first of all?
Speaker 11:
[38:40] Yeah. So it's funny. I saw it on Twitter. I was scrolling through Twitter and someone said something there has been no- They listed like a list of the states that nobody has ever worn from them. One of them was New Mexico. And I think I tweeted on there that I was from New Mexico. And then somebody argued with me. We were like, no, you're not. It's everywhere is listed like that you're from Denver, North Carolina or whatever. And I was like, I'll send you a picture on your work certificate if you want it. And it was funny. But no. So yeah, I guess a lot of people in the racing world don't know that I am from New Mexico. And I don't know why a lot of these places has me listed from Denver, North Carolina. That was just the first place that we moved to North Carolina. I didn't live in New Mexico very long. I moved whenever I was like six years old. So obviously I wasn't there super long. I guess you could somewhat say I'm from North Carolina now. I know a lot of people will say, you know, when I live somewhere for a certain amount of time, I just say I'm from that place. But yeah, I mean, I think it's cool to be able to say I'm from New Mexico, right? There's never really been anybody from the racing world come out of New Mexico to this high of a ranking in NASPAR. So I think it's cool to be able to kind of give New Mexico a little shout out.
Speaker 1:
[40:00] Yeah. No, I mean, my daughter, she was born in Portland, Oregon and we moved from there when she was one years old. So she didn't even remember and she tells everybody that she's from Oregon. So the fact that you made it to six years old in New Mexico and have memories from living there I think definitely qualifies you to be from New Mexico. You shouldn't be, nobody should think you're from North Carolina. But I mean, I looked up in Artesia, New Mexico. It's like a town of 12,000 and it's not like, oh, this is like a suburb of Albuquerque or Santa Fe. This is like, for those who don't know, look, I haven't looked at our map. This is like out there. This is between Roswell, which has the UFO museum stuff and Carlsbad, which has the famous Carlsbad Caverns. And it's a beautiful, like, I've done that drive from Roswell to Carlsbad. And man, it's just like so much just open space and mountains off in the distance and all this stuff. It's an amazing place. I guess, what do you remember about growing up there in a relatively small town?
Speaker 11:
[41:00] Yeah, the closest thing that we had to normal restaurants was a Sonic and a Burger King. So yeah, it was a small town. We had the biggest thing there was high school football. We had a high school football stadium there that was by the size of a college stadium. They loved football there, the Bulldogs. I think they're still going strong. I don't know how they do or anything like that. But yeah, super small town. It was like an oil town. I would say probably 90% of the population worked in the oil field. So yeah, I mean, that was kind of, obviously, I don't really know where my family was before I was born. I think they've always kind of been around there. My mom was from Capitan, New Mexico, where her parents were from, and my dad kind of was around Carlsbad in that area a lot when I was younger. But we lived in Artesia, obviously, that's where I'm from. But my whole family worked in the oil business, and majority of the people that lived around us were all oil people. But it was a funny story. I was probably, I don't know, three or four years old. I had just gotten tall enough to reach the doorknobs in the house, and then could unlock the doors. There was one night, there was a football game going on. I was walking around and put on my brother's shoes. They were way too big for me, and I walked out the door one night, and I was headed to Burger King, and then I was going to the football game. And some people that knew my family and knew who I was, saw me walking down a street by myself and picked me up, but it was pretty funny.
Speaker 1:
[42:49] Wow, that's amazing. So, your family, I think a lot of people know this, a lot of people maybe don't. Your family has deep, deep racing roots and drag racing. Your grandfather, your dad, brothers, uncle, I think. I mean, you had such a culture of racing in your family. We hear some people and it's like, I'm a first-generation person or my parents were never into it. I mean, your whole family was focused on racing, different kind of racing you're doing now, but still racers. And I think I even saw at 12 years old, you were like working on Steve Torrance's car, top fuel champion and all this stuff. So I guess what's it like to grow up in a family where racing is so embedded in your blood?
Speaker 11:
[43:38] Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of people don't know this. My grandfather and my dad actually dirt raced whenever they were younger. My grandfather actually raced at Texas World Speedway consistently a lot in late models back then. And did circle track stuff for a long time whenever he was younger, probably around my age and maybe a little older. But just traveled around with my grandma and racing late models. And then got into the drag race and scene of things. And that was what my family took over was the drag race inside of things. You know, there was, it was a three-generation deal, my grandfather, my dad, my brother, Tana, and drag race forever. Yeah, like you said, I, you know, I traveled with them all the time. Whenever I was 12 years old or 12, 13 years old, I started traveling with the Torrences. I lived in Indy for a little while with Bob Ligana. Whenever I was like 12 years old and traveled with, the Torrences for a whole year, kind of went over my racing career was, I guess, I'm a little on the slower side of things. Not necessarily trying to figure out what I was gonna do, but more so, you know, just not racing a whole lot. And it wasn't super busy. And then as soon as I turned, I think it was 13, is whenever I kind of stopped traveling with the drag racing team and started, you know, racing every weekend here locally at Hickory and Late Models and on the car store and things like that. But yeah, no, it's been cool. You know, families obviously was super involved on the drag racing side. So it's always nice to be able when they come to Charlotte. And if we are in town or have a day here before we travel, to go see all the people that, you know, I grew up around is cool.
Speaker 1:
[45:30] You know, we hear a lot about the driver, the age of drivers getting into cars these days. And I saw where you, you know, you first drove the late model, I think, when you were 12. So, you know, what's your stance on, like, what is the minimum age that drivers should be able to get into a car that big? Like, you obviously did fine with it. So, 12 seems okay. Like, how much younger can people go before you'd be like, ooh, that's a little bit rushed?
Speaker 11:
[46:00] Yeah, you know, I think it's getting younger and younger as the generations go on, right? I would say, you know, I wouldn't change my progression of what I did. I was definitely rushed into the bigger cars of things. I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was younger and just didn't, you know, wasn't aware, I guess, of my opportunity as much and made a lot of mistakes and was just learning as a kid, right? So, yeah, I mean, you know, again, I wouldn't change that, but I don't know. I guess that's tough for me because I guess in my situation, you know, I probably could have been a little older and a little more mature before I moved up that fast. I mean, I moved up through the ranks really quickly. I mean, I was like you said, I started testing a lunar late model when I was 12, and then started racing when I was 12. I actually started racing in car store before I was even supposed to. I started racing in the car store when I was 12, and you're supposed to be, or no, maybe 13, you're supposed to be 14, and kind of cheated the system there a little bit, and moved up fast. I raced car store when I was 13, 14 for a year, and then ran a couple of car store races the year after that, and went straight to ARCA when I turned 15, and as soon as I turned 16, I started racing part-time trucks and ARCA until I was 18, and then went to full-time trucks as soon as I turned 18. So my progression was really fast. So some part of me wishes that maybe took a little longer to move up as fast as I did, maybe let me learn a little bit more of the tough situations, and maybe let me learn the hard way in the lower series, rather in the higher series where everyone's watching you. But again, I wouldn't change my projectory and what I went through to now. I feel like I'm in a good spot now in my career. Obviously, still need to win races and still need to perform and run well.
Speaker 1:
[48:15] Last thing I have for you. I see it looks like a car hood in the background here of your side. I don't see a clock. You have a Martinsville clock that you won. Where do you put the clock?
Speaker 11:
[48:29] Yep. So, that's my Martinsville hood. And actually behind it is the truck that I flipped with at Daytona, the JBL truck. But the Martinsville clock is right when you walk in White House. So, as soon as you walk in the front door, it's sitting right there in front of you. To just remind everybody that when they walk in the house, that one was mine.
Speaker 1:
[48:49] Okay. I love that. Well, Taylor, it's really interesting to hear a lot more of your story and the New Mexico part and all that stuff. So, I learned a lot. So, thank you so much for coming on here. I appreciate it.
Speaker 11:
[49:02] Yeah, Jeff. Thank you guys for having me.
Speaker 1:
[49:04] Taylor Gray, everyone, coming off his Kansas victory. Very cool to hear from him.
Speaker 12:
[49:10] A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor. The Colonel made his $10 Tuesday bucket so full with eight pieces of juicy, crispy chicken or tenders that it might just last you till Wednesday. If you've got that kind of self-control. I mean, some people want leftovers. Others are more into writing hours. The Colonel lived so we could chicken. 10 bucks, eight pieces, one big deal with KFC $10 Tuesdays.
Speaker 4:
[49:38] Prices and participation may vary. This is Tips and Fees Extra.
Speaker 1:
[49:41] Listen, speaking of Toyota drivers, I guess we're making this sort of a Toyota theme show inadvertently, but we didn't get to talk much Ty Gibbs on the show last week after his first win. But one person on X was making sure that nobody forgot the significance of that Bristol win because a man named Zach, Team 54 Zach on X has quietly collected the receipts for Ty Gibbs critics for more than two years. And when Ty won, Zach pulled those receipts out and I'll give you some examples. So here's somebody that tweeted in October 1st, 2024, at least Bush has a cup win. I'll never see Ty Gibbs win. Zach went back to that tweet and wrote, yes, you will after Bristol. August 20th, 2024, a guy named Mike wrote, that's why you'll never see Ty Gibbs win a cup race. Zach wrote, hey, Mike, how you been? Somebody else said Noah won his first race before Gibbs. Somebody else said Sam Mayer will win a cup race before Gibbs. Gibbs will be back in Xtinity. And even this year, somebody wrote on March 25th, somebody wrote, Ty Gibbs will never win a race. Zach went back to that tweet after Bristol and wrote, hello. So I thought it was pretty hilarious. I asked Ty Gibbs at Kansas whether he had seen any of this going on and here's a clip of what he said. I know you're not super on social media right now, but there's this dude, Zach, who's one of your biggest fans that, do you know about this guy? Yeah. So he has kept bookmarks from all these people that said, over the last few years that you weren't going to win or somebody else is going to win first and he's been going back and replying to these people this week. I don't know if you've seen any of this.
Speaker 5:
[51:25] No, I haven't, but Zach's been a huge supporter of my career and he's been a fan, but also his page is run, he's really cool and he does a really cool job and has a lot of statistics and stuff. So, Zach is known by all of us, are in the 54 team, so I think that's pretty funny. I mean, yeah, it's cool. It's always gonna happen, so I guess they may regret saying that Zach's got him covered on that side.
Speaker 1:
[51:51] I love that. I mean, it's pretty cool, isn't it? It's one of those things where it's a big payoff. Like, the people that are big fans of these big drivers, real fans of theirs, like, you could, you might be able to have an interaction and, you know, you'll probably win a lot more of these big name guys, but the drivers that don't have a massive following yet, there's a big chance that you can have that sort of recognition if you really show that you're dedicated to them. And it's neat. It's neat to see that. So, you know what? Why don't we hear more about that now and talk to Zach himself. So welcome to the show, Team 54 Zach. Zach, how's it going?
Speaker 13:
[52:28] I'm doing great, man. Thank you for having me on. This is like beyond my wildest dreams.
Speaker 1:
[52:33] No, it's cool. I mean, first of all, like what was your reaction to hearing Ty say that, you know, in the media last week?
Speaker 13:
[52:41] Okay, so I was planning on having a nice relaxing Saturday. And then all of a sudden my phone explodes and there's people everywhere. They're hitting, they're tagging me and everything. And I'm just like, what is going on? And then I see somebody, Matt Weaver and another media member mentioned me. And I was like, I need a video right now. So, and so Matt ended up sending it to me. And man, what a special moment. Thank you for that. That was, it was awesome.
Speaker 1:
[53:12] No, yeah, I mean, I wanted to ask so I could get a clip for the show, but I'm glad it worked. So, I mean, first of all, like, you know, there's obviously, I think I think it's fair to say Ty Gibbs has more haters than fans. You're obviously probably the top end of the fan spectrum. Why did you become a Ty Gibbs fan? Tell us about your background there.
Speaker 13:
[53:32] So, I became a fan of NASCAR back in 2001. So, I go way back. And then I was a fan of Matt Kenseth in 2002. He won the very first race I ever watched in person at Tex Motor Speedway. And so I kind of followed his career. And then Joe Gibbs Racing picked him up. And then I was like, you know, into whatever they were doing. And then from about 2017 till 2021, I kind of had a bit of a hiatus where I became more of a casual fan and, you know, life got in the way. And then I decided when the next gen concept came out, or at least the idea of it, I was like, oh, I'm going to get back into this, but I didn't have a driver. So I was like, I need to look for somebody. And through, about halfway through, or maybe a little bit less than halfway through 2022, the first Martinsville race, when he got into it with Sam Maier, everybody was talking about how, you know, he had his helmet on when he got into the fight. And I was more focused on, you know, this guy being passionate and wanting to win and things like that. And so that kind of spoke to me. And I kind of saw my younger self in him, sort of that kind of rough around the edges thing. This was pre media training era tie, obviously. So, but then I think I really realized how talented he was when he went head to head with Kyle Larson at Road America. And that was like, that was it for me. I was like, all right, yep, this guy's a real deal. So, I was super, super excited to be there, you know, through that 2022 season and, you know, everything that happened with that, even with the scores of haters that he developed in that time. So, but yeah, it was such a wild ride, that first part. And then 2023 was when I created the Team 54 updates page. So, it's kind of just been developing from there.
Speaker 1:
[55:45] So, it seems to me like it's pretty hard, it would be hard for me to be a fan of somebody that you're having to fend off people all the time. It's like, I picture like, you know, Star Wars and somebody's got the lightsaber and like all the laser things are coming at him, you're like, that kind of thing. Why is it important to you to keep, you know, sticking up for your guys so publicly and put yourself out there into the firing line and you're like, you know, you're like, you know, I'm gonna correct this narrative or I think you guys have this wrong, right? You know what I mean? Like, why do you feel like you got to put yourself out there?
Speaker 13:
[56:21] Yeah, you know, in 2023 I was taking a lot of offense to the things people were saying. And I guess I kind of realized the two things really. The first thing was that most of the people saying the worst stuff, it's like drive by insults. They literally get on their phone, they post something and then they forget about it. And then it's nothing to them. So it's like, why am I dwelling in it? And then the other thing was like, you know, Tied had sort of had a presence on social media and then he stopped. And I felt like the only way that you can counter bad information is good information. So then I was like, okay, getting into fights with people is never gonna work. So if you can just put forward a different narrative that's true, you know, so it's like, you know, what's actually happening on the track, what's actually happening on the radio, things like that. To me, that was important to kind of counter this, these people that just create narratives. So I mean, that was basically the logic.
Speaker 1:
[57:25] I'd love to know about the bookmarks as well. Like, you're obviously saving them for a long time. Was that always the plan? Like someday I'm gonna be able to use these? Like how many do you think you had in total?
Speaker 13:
[57:38] Oh man, so many. Honestly, the saving the bookmarks thing just kind of came up because, I mean, just being real with you, I thought he was gonna win a lot sooner, of course, as most people did. And so people were just saying wild stuff. And I'm like, well, I'm just gonna return to this when he does win or does do whatever thing that they said he can't do. And so it became like almost therapeutic, like, okay, I'll just save that for later. And then I just forget about it. And then, and then he won. And then I'm like, it's time to break out the bookmarks. And I probably had, I probably had a couple hundred. I really picked and choose the ones that I, the people that I thought really kind of said something that was pretty obviously ridiculous. There were some other ones that were more sensible, but I didn't bring those up. So I was sort of picking and choosing maybe like the 20 or 30 best.
Speaker 1:
[58:34] I really like how you had very polite just sort of nudges of people or just like a little meme and response or something. And then some people, they'd respond to be like, hey, good on you, you got me kind of thing. And then other people would try to argue with you or double down. But I respect that you are trying to be calm about it. Like you're not trying to dive in and also like just scream at everybody back. Because I think that's, look, this community on X that we all live in, or maybe not everybody lives in the show, but I certainly live in it, you live in it. It's not a very pleasant place sometimes. So I think the civility is a cool part of it. But I'm curious to see what you, we've gone back forth a couple of times, at least like in terms of what we've said about him or the media said about him. Like what do you feel like people get wrong about him or what is the perception that you think is different than the public perception seems to be?
Speaker 13:
[59:39] Well, I think part of the deal is like, you know, Ty, you know, I'm not gonna sit here and say like, I'm best buds with him, but I have observed him as most people have for quite a while. And I think that people get this idea like he's this, like, super, super arrogant person. And I have never seen anything about that. Like he, people, people just create this whole thing. And it's really two tiers, right? Like there's the there's the fans that create a certain narrative about him. And then there's like the media that, you know, some of them like, I kind of have you and Matt Weaver and and Bob Hawkerus and people like that, who I believe are are sort of the top tier of the media pool. And then there's some other guys that kind of just they're they're like, oh, the haters are views. So they just kind of they'll lean into whatever narrative that is has been created. They'll pull a clip of him raging on the radio or something like that. And then they'll kind of use that and just have views. And I really think like people don't really get the full picture. And that's for every driver, by the way, every driver. They don't get the full picture of what is actually happening. And I feel like if they did, they might have a different perspective. And that was something that I tried to tried to give. And you know, it's been tough because the narrative creators are always busy. The people that are online that just have nothing better to do than just spin up these like like Ty Gibbs is in charge of Joe Gibbs Racing somehow. Or, you know, like just the crazy stuff that you see. And I just I never understand it. But I just try to provide better information as well.
Speaker 1:
[61:39] Well, I appreciate your perspective here. And like I said, I enjoyed the the bookmark thing. So thanks for being willing to hop on and share a little bit about yourself, what you're doing. Team 54, Zach. Yeah, thanks for joining the show.
Speaker 13:
[61:56] I appreciate it, man. Thank you.
Speaker 1:
[61:57] That was really fun. Zach, obviously you can find him on X, as many of us are, and see what other bookmarks he has for people to come up with next time. Ty does something. Well, a couple more things before we go. And first thing was just real quick, Prime Video just announced this morning that they're going to be doing the Kyle Larson versus The Double premiere on May 21st. And I just had a couple of thoughts on that really quick. So if you don't know, like this documentary that was supposed to follow Larson, it's the first year of The Double. And like at this, all the behind-the-scenes stuff, and they put like a lot of effort into this. Like it was a very in-depth thing, you know, interviews with this family, a team embedded with them. And then we know how The Double went the first year. He didn't do it, right? Like he didn't get there in time, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff, right? So they said, all right, we'll come back the next year and this will go better. Well, last year didn't go according to plan either. So I think it's going to be interesting to see what they do with this because they have a compelling story. You're going to hear about his backstory as childhood. You're going to see embedded with the team and them trying to, I'm sure all the weather stuff and crash and stuff like that, right? But it's not going to be a happy ending to the story. I mean, maybe if you say, well, he won the championship, but in terms of like, it's called Kyle Larson versus the double. So what will that be like? How will they make it a story that you want to watch and be like, wow, this is really compelling even though it didn't turn out the way anybody thought. It left a negative taste in his mouth, it felt like. So I think that's going to be really interesting. Anyway, I teased earlier in the show that one of the big things was the crossover SEV stuff that John Probst floated out in an Adam Stern article on Sportsman's Journal. I just had a couple of thoughts on that. I don't know if this will make anybody feel any better or what, but here's my perspective on it. So obviously, NASCAR has been developing this electric crossover utility vehicle because at first they were like, well, we got to have an electric car, first of all, because that was the thing the direction people were going in. It seems like they've sort of backtracked a little bit from the electrification part of it, and maybe are more interested in hydrogen. Because hydrogen that a bunch of NASCAR executives went to a Japan race two years ago in the off season. They went to this hydrogen powered race and it was like, it still made really loud sounds and all that stuff. So they were like, okay, well, maybe we could do this as an alternative fuel. But NASCAR fans want the noise. And also the manufacturers in general have seemed to back away from electric stuff. It's more hybrid technology now, right? But anyway, the crossover SUV part of it, like, you know, it's a smaller SUV, right? That it's, to me, they have to be at least pursuing it. They have to be at least looking into it and design the car. Because the manufacturers are really not selling sedans anymore. I mean, you look at NASCAR's manufacturers now, Chevrolet doesn't even have a sedan to sell you, right? So I, if you go, for instance, if I go rent a car, I land at Kansas City Airport last week, right? And it's one of those things where, oh, you can walk up and down the aisle and pick whichever car you want. Sure, there's a bunch of random Kia sedans sitting there. But like, I'm like, wow, I'll get an SUV or even a pickup truck or something. Like, I want to be higher up. And that's just the way the market's going. So the manufacturers drive so much in the sport, don't they? Like, there's so much money and the teams need them. NASCAR needs them, they promote. I mean, it's about hundreds of millions of dollars combined. So to me, like, if the manufacturers came to NASCAR, let's say three years from now, go, you know what? We're kind of done with, like, the sedan part of it, and we're really not going to invest any more in that. You look at Ford is pretty much all out of the O'Reilly series already. So if that got to the point, they're like, but we would want to put a bunch of money into promoting our crossover SUVs just as we put in money promoting trucks, right? So NASCAR would need a platform for them to do that. Now, I think where fans have a problem with this is, John Prope said, well, O'Reilly seer doesn't really have an identity as terms of a car, blah, blah, blah. They also think, well, I love O'Reilly as we talked about with Taylor Gray earlier in the show. O'Reilly has this great identity, Parker Kligerman keeps calling it the classic star car racing, right? This is the closest thing to what Cup used to be. That's the last remnants of the Cup car. And so nobody wants that to go away. Like this is a lot of people's favorite series right now. You mean you heard what Taylor Gray said about it earlier. So I see where NASCAR needs to be prepared, but also what do they do? Like, and this is the problem for them, right? Because they have to start developing this and they're saying, well, this wouldn't even happen until like 2030 or later or something. But I mean, it's not that far away. If you're going to switch a car for the entire garage, especially a Riley series, which doesn't have a lot of money flowing through it and say, all right, you guys all got to switch to this, we're all doing this, blah, blah, blah. That's huge. And like, I think, yeah, you're going to get a lot of pushback with fans, a lot. So you're going to make a fourth series. I don't really know what the team owner demand at NASCAR has for that. So that I think this is all what goes into it. But another thing to think about right now is the parts shortage, which is increasingly coming more and more of a thing. So when the old car was here, the old Cup car, they used to get done with the Cup car. And a lot of those parts would trickle down to O'Reilly teams, and then even down to Arca teams and all this stuff, right? Well, now, all those parts are, nobody's making those parts, right? Like the teams are running a spec car, the next gen car. So those parts aren't being produced anymore. So right now, O'Reilly teams are still using those. Well, as all those parts start to wear out and go through, they're running out of parts. And these teams that are in the O'Reilly series are not manufacturing powerhouses like the Cup teams are, right? Like a lot of them are not being like, well, yeah, we could just go make that part. They don't, that's not the financial model to go do that. So they were really relying on those parts trickling down. And now this is the fifth year of those parts not being made anymore by those Cup teams. So at some point pretty soon, you have to either figure out how to get these teams to parts or you're going to have to do a new car. So that also all goes into it. And but I think there's a real like when you hear Dale Junior say on his podcast this week, that a crossover SUV new car is not something they even be interested in. That's the kind of that's a needle mover right there. And I think the fan feedback is a needle mover too. So we'll see what happens. We'll see what NASCAR decides. I understand why they're developing this and looking at it. But I just don't know changing O'Reilly is the right thing to do. And I also don't know where else you put it. So that's the decisions they're faced. That's why they make the big bucks, right? Anyway, that's pretty much the news of the week this week. Obviously, we're heading to Talladega now. Saturday is not looking amazing at all in terms of the rain. I mean, and there's no lights there. And I think the last thing I saw is like 80% chance on Saturday. But the schedule at least has the Arca Race at 1230 Eastern Saturday. And that's another one where Cletus and George are going to be in it together. So that'll be exciting to watch. See how Cletus does at Talladega in the Arca Race. They'll get it in at some point. And then that's followed by the O'Reilly Race Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern on the CW. And then the Cup Series races 3 p.m. Eastern Sunday on Fox and Truck Series, F1 is off. Although F1 has come back next weekend from its long hiatus due to the Iran War. They'll be back with the Miami Grand Prix. That's next week when NASCAR is in Texas. So anyway, thank you again to Tyler Reddick to saying yes to coming on here and being a good sport with the game show there. Thank you to Taylor Gray for coming on to shed some light about his career and his background. I learned a lot there. And thank you to Zach, the probably Ty Gibbs biggest fan. I don't know of a bigger one, at least outside his family, obviously, but cool of him to come on and want to talk. So, and thanks to all of you for listening 10 episodes in here, as well as my producer Bobby Marcos, who's doing an amazing job. Just, I mean, if anybody's listening to the podcast version of this, he goes out and makes sure all these guests that are coming in and out, and all the clips that I have, the sound levels are all sounding good. I mean, I used to edit The Teardown myself, and I can tell you it was amateur hour in terms of the sound. So, I appreciate Bobby and his hard work as well, and the social clips that Dirty Mo does. But yeah, everybody, please like and subscribe on YouTube, and we will talk to you Sunday night after Talladega on The Teardown. See you, everybody.
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