June 9, 2025 • 31 mins
Get in Touch with Dan by Texting Now
What does it take to go from a 12-year-old Irish boy with a dream to racing against the world's greatest drivers in Formula One? Derek Daly's journey reveals the answer, and it's a masterclass in commitment, resilience, and finding your path.
Growing up in Dublin when Ireland had no racing circuits, Derek's life changed forever when his father took him to watch a race in a small village. "I told him right there and then I wanted to become a professional racing driver," Derek recalls with the same passion that drove him to work in Australian iron ore mines to fund his racing start. That determination propelled him from Formula Ford to Formula One in just 13 months—still the record today.
When Derek stepped into his first Formula One race at Silverstone, in pouring rain, he stunned the racing world by overtaking reigning world champion James Hunt on the first lap. Racing alongside legends like Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, and Ronnie Peterson, he experienced what he calls "a classic era in Formula One" before transitioning to IndyCar racing in America.
Life dramatically changed after a near-fatal crash in 1984 led to 19 surgeries and years of recovery. "I'm in pain every day because of my accident," Derek shares candidly, "but it doesn't make any difference to me. My pain tolerance is so much higher than most people could understand." This perspective became the foundation for his powerful message in corporate keynotes: "We've all crashed, we've all hit the wall, but how do you process it? How do you move forward, enriched by even bad things that happen to you?"
Derek distills his wisdom into one crucial distinction that explains his extraordinary success: "When people say 'I'd like to do this' versus 'I want to do this'—want is a commitment, like is a desire." Through his remarkable story, Derek shows that when you truly commit and have the desire to push through difficulties, you not only achieve your goals, but inspire others to help you along the way.
Want to transform how you approach your own goals? Listen now and discover what happens when you truly commit.
You can learn more about Derek at https://derekdaly.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy.
I'm your host, dan, and eachweek we'll embark on a new
adventure, discovering memoriesand life lessons of our
incredible guests, from everydaytravelers to thrill seekers and
everyone in between.
This podcast is your front rowseat to inspiring stories of
passion, resilience and thepursuit of happiness.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
(00:24):
If you followed my podcast forany period of time, you know
it's about stories and I believeeveryone has a story.
When I started this podcast, Ishared with my daughter that I
wanted to interview race cardrivers.
She was quick to point out thatI really didn't know any race
(00:45):
car drivers and they probablyweren't going to talk to me.
Well, that's never stopped mefrom reaching out to them.
I reached out to my guest onLinkedIn.
His name's Derek Daly.
He's a former Formula One racecar driver from the 70s and 80s.
He went on to race in CART,which is basically IndyCar.
Today he's raced in the 24Hours of Le Mans, finishing
(01:07):
fourth there.
He is originally from Ireland.
He went on after racing to havea successful broadcasting
career and today he doesleadership talks with various
organizations and I am justexcited to have him on the show.
Welcome to the show, derek.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you, dan, thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Well, thank you very much.
You're a race car driver.
Take a warm-up lap and justtell my listeners who is Derek
Daly.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland.
When I was born we had noracing circuits in the country
at all.
When I was 12 years of age, mydad took me to race around a
small village on the outskirtsof Dublin City and that changed
the rest of my life, because Itold him right there and then I
(01:52):
wanted to become a professionalracing driver.
He thought I was my rocker.
Basically, my life since thatday has been consumed with motor
racing.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Thank you for sharing that.
We got to tour Ireland back in2023.
We did a lap of the wholeisland.
That was fun.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, good.
Yeah, my family all still livethere, so I go back regularly
and it is a beautiful country.
It's changing fast, but it'sstill a beautiful country.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
What was your first streetcar back there in Ireland
that you drove around?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
My first streetcar was an NSU Prince, which I'm
sure you've never heard of.
I have no idea what the NSUstands for, but it was a German
rear-engined piece of junk thathad four forward gears and
reverse.
That never worked, and that wasmy first foray into being able
(02:43):
to move around myself with aroof over my head.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
And when in Ireland do you start driving?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You get a license when you're 18.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You can drive a motorcycle when you're 16, but
18 for a car license.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
People who are listening that don't know you
drive on the left side of theroad.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, for the first half of my life that was the
right side of the road.
Now it's the wrong side of theroad.
Yes, for the first half of mylife that was the right side of
the road.
Now it's the wrong side of theroad, having lived in America
for so long, Any fun storiesfrom that car?
Well, when I left secondaryschool which is high school here
my mother had an aspirationthat maybe I could get a
legitimate job as an accountantfor a plant hire company, which
(03:25):
is basically a heavy equipmentrental company.
And I was driving my NSU Prinshome one day and I smelled
something burning, looked in themirror and there was 50 feet of
flames coming out the back ofit.
I stopped the car, of course,took my pullover off, tried to
put it out.
The fire only got worse.
My pullover off, tried to putit out, the fire only got worse.
(03:48):
By sheer chance a neighbor in arally car was passing, had a
fire extinguisher, put the fireout.
I towed it to a friend's garage, worked half the night, rebuilt
the wiring harness, cleaned upthe oil leak and drove it back
to work the next day.
We were very resourceful backin those days.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I like that.
Well, we had a little bit ofcar trouble when we were in
Ireland.
I've driven manuals my wholelife but I got a rental with
manual and I believe whoever hadit before me clearly kept the
clutch pedal in a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So the clutch burned up pretty quickly and I was
amazed at how quickly people whodidn't know us came to our
rescue good, good, good, good,yeah, and for people who might
have an interest in an nsu,looks like a mini version of the
old corvair.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Remember the much hated corvair oh yes, my uncle
rear-engined yeah the nsufriends looked like a mini
version of that car well, good,I'm sure you've moved on since
then and had some nice cars.
Yep yep, you are a formerFormula One driver.
But any epic road trips in yourlife, either as family or later
(04:55):
on in life.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Myself and Barbara are big fans of road trips.
We have a home in Arizona andanother one in Indianapolis.
So, quite a lot.
We would drive across, you know, on a northern route or a
southern route.
When I lived in Europe we did alot of road trips because we
did a lot of testing and so youwould go across two or three
(05:18):
countries in the same trip.
You know, I mean the countriesin Europe, particularly back in
the day, were very different,you know.
So we enjoyed a lot of those.
Particularly back in the daywere very different, so we
enjoyed a lot of those.
But we did a lot of roadmileage in the early days.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Speaking of the roads , in Ireland there was one I was
following ways and it said turnhere.
So we turned and after a coupleof miles I'm like is this a
driveway or is this actually aroad Narrowed quite quickly.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, pretty normal in Ireland and part of the charm
, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, no, it was.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
It was great.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So you talked about your dad.
You went to a race and that waskind of the epiphany moment.
I guess that's when you decidedyou wanted to be a race car
driver.
So take us on that journey of.
So you were how old?
You said 12?
.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So I was 12 when I got off the bus and walking
through our neighborhood and Isaw this green British register
truck parked on the side of theroad outside a house and it had
Sydney Taylor Racing written onthe side of it.
And I thought wow, I bet there'sa racing car in there the lady
who lived there it was herbrother and she happened to buy
(06:29):
her groceries from my dad andshe had been in earlier in the
day and told my dad that therewas a racing car in there and I
could see it at seven o'clockthat night.
We went back at seven o'clock,they opened the doors and there
was a white Brabham BT8 with agreen stripe and an Irish
shamrock on it and I actuallytouched it and that was the
(06:50):
first racing car I ever saw or Iever touched.
And then my dad said I'll takeyou to see a race the next day,
which he did.
And so that was the moment forme and it's like a HD video in
my mind because I remember thenoise, the color, the smell, the
speed, everything about the day.
Now, back in that day, when youraced on the roads, the street
circuit, there were no safetybarriers, we just literally sat
(07:17):
on the grass bank and the carsraced right by us.
But I mean, that's how basic Iwas back in the day.
But I was determined, I wasmission focused that I would be
a racing driver and I did thenormal things, went to school
and did as best I could.
I wasn't a good learner inschool.
They told you to sit down andthey shovel information into you
.
I didn't learn that way.
I was a show me, don't tell metype of learner.
(07:38):
I struggled through school.
When I was 16 I went demolitionderby jalopy racing.
At least it was a start.
It was dirty, rough but atleast I was able to practice car
control To buy a Formula Ford.
I went to Australia and I was alaborer in the iron ore mines
of Australia from the winter of73 to March 74.
(08:02):
I came back with 5,000 pounds,which is $10,000 back in the day
, and that meant I couldactually buy a Formula Ford and
start, you know, real roadracing real racing and at that
stage they had just built aracing circuit in Ireland called
Mondello Park.
Everything went well there.
I won the Irish Championship in1975, went to England in 76,
(08:26):
won 23 races there in England.
It was an interesting situationbecause I had a chunk of money.
I had about 5,000 pounds readyto go for the season in 1976 in
England.
So it means I could live or Icould race, but I couldn't do
the two at the same time.
I bought an old bus, my mothermade curtains, my dad made a
(08:52):
mattress, I put a toolbox in andset off for England and spent
the year like a gypsy just goingracetrack to racetrack trying
to see how we could get on.
I won 23 races and at the endof the year I managed to get a
sponsor to move me up into theFormula 3 championship.
Formula 3 was legitimate.
You could race in England andyou could race in Europe and,
like it's the same today, yougot Formula 1, formula 2,
formula 3.
(09:12):
So what was the bottom step ofthe ladder?
Things began to go well for meAt the British Grand Prix in
1977, I got into a big tusslefor the lead of the race with a
British driver called StephenSouth and I was leading led most
of the race.
Anyway, I got tangled up withhim when he tried to force me
(09:33):
off the road.
I wouldn't give.
I was a typical stubborn Irishyoung guy at the time.
He flew off the road, ended upin Stoke Manderfell Hospital.
I spun and was in tears when Iwas telling my sponsor look, I
can win these races.
We have to go to the nextFormula One support race, which
happened to be at the AustrianGrand Prix at the old Osterreich
(09:55):
ring, which is now called theRed Bull ring.
So we go there.
I qualify on the pole.
I'm beside Nelson Piquet.
We're both strapped into ourcars on the pre-grid and this
older gentleman that had a limpand a shuffle went across the
front of my car up to my sponsor, leaned up to him and said
something to him and then helimped and shuffled away and my
(10:18):
sponsor came down into thecockpit of my car and said that
fella there just said if you winthis race he'll put you in a
Formula One car by the end ofthe year and I said to him I
said who was it?
He said it was a fella calledSidney Taylor.
So remember when I was 12 yearsof age, the truck in my
neighborhood, sidney TaylorRacing written on the truck.
(10:40):
And 12 years later I meet theman for the first time ever and
he says he's going to put me ina Formula One car.
I went out, had a ding-dongbattle with Nelson Piquet, won
the race and I was in a FormulaOne car three months later
testing at Goodwood in England.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Yeah, it was amazing yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
That is a great story .
So you tested in Formula,Formula One from what I've
gathered and again, it's kind ofhard to find that old footage
sometimes.
But I found this clip and it'sonly a clip.
I can't find the full footage.
Maybe you can help me.
It's supposedly your firstFormula One race.
It was a non points race atSilverstone.
According to right, accordingto the wonderful world of the
(11:21):
Internet.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Yeah, so that was your first outing other than the
testing.
So what?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
happened was so.
The testing was at Goodwood inEngland in the Theodore chassis.
When I applied for my superlicense, the FIA would not grant
me a super license, that Ididn't have enough experience.
Okay, that killed my instantopportunity to race Formula One
at a Grand Prix level.
Now, two weeks later, I got acall from Hesketh.
Hesketh was the team that JamesHunt started racing Formula One
(11:49):
with.
I got a call from Hesketh thatsaid there was a
non-championship Formula Onerace called the International
Trophy at Silverstone, andbecause it's non-championship, I
didn't need a super license andwould I like to race their car.
Of course I jumped at thechance.
James Hunt qualified on thepole in the McLaren, nicky Lauda
was in the race, ronniePeterson, james Hunt, mario
(12:11):
Andretti I mean, it was full ofthe big names.
Yes, the International Trophy,the non-championship race back
then, was used for teams to runnew cars, test suspensions, test
new drivers, you know, beforethe season started.
So all the teams were there.
It was raining typicalSilverstone in March.
(12:31):
I can't remember where Iqualified, maybe eighth or ninth
or tenth, somewhere, somewherealong there.
Anyway, I got a great start.
James hunt led through thefirst corner, uh, which is cops
corner, the same corner that'sthere today, and I had managed
to get into second place by thefirst corner.
Halfway around the lap I passedjames hunt around the outside
and ran away into the lead, andmurray walker, who's the great
(12:54):
commentator from england at thetime, was shouting and screaming
like his pants were on firethat Derek Daly was leading in
his very first Formula One race.
So it was an amazing piece ofvideo and an amazing debut in
Formula One.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, he was, I believe.
In this little clip he wascalling you the master of rain.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
That was James Hunt, later in Monaco.
Okay, because in 1982, when itrained in Monaco, I got into the
lead of the race and wasleading when I was about to
start my last lap on, thegearbox broke.
Well, that's when.
That's when James Hunt, becauseJames Hunt had followed me in
Formula Ford before I got intoFormula Three, I knew that I was
very quick in the wet, sothat's how I got the
(13:36):
relationship with him and he, he, he and his respect for me in
tricky conditions.
And, by the way, the the leapfrom formula Ford F or D, which
it's still a class of racingthat goes on in America today
and in Canada, but my jump fromformula Ford to formula one only
took 13 months.
(13:56):
Wow, it is still the recordtoday.
Even though Verstappen gotthere very fast, my jump from
Formula Ford to Formula One wasstill faster in the history of
Formula One.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
And you were up against some big names.
You mentioned some of them.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Oh, it was a classic era back in the day.
Lauda and Regazzoni in theFerrari, John Watson, Mario
Andretti and Ronnie Peterson inthe Lotus, James Hunt in the
McLaren.
Oh, it was a classic time inFormula One.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, and so interesting to watch the videos
that show the in-car.
I was watching one of James andand what you guys drove,
compared to today.
I mean obviously they were.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
They were death traps , I tell people.
Nowadays, because of carbonfiber and the high sides and the
cockpits made of carbon fiber.
Now drivers are truly insidethe cars when they race.
We were on top of the cars whenthey raced.
I told people we sat on the car.
They now sit in the car becauseall there was was a flimsy
(15:05):
fiberglass body around the topsof our cars and we were
literally exposed to anythingheavy that came flying through
the air.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
They don't have to reach that right hand down and
use that little shifter on theright.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
No, yeah, it was much , much more difficult back in
the day to balance the car withone hand on the steering wheel.
Three pedals in the car, youknow clutch, a brake and a
throttle.
Had to heel toe to synchronizethe gears was much, much more
difficult back in that day, yeahof course.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Then you kind of wrapped up in Formula One and
you came over our way and racedin IndyCar.
Champ Car whatever we want tocall it back in those days.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, and that was another.
By chance, the end of ourFormula One season was Las Vegas
in 1982.
And three weeks I think afterthe end of the Grand Prix season
was the last round of theIndyCar Championship was going
to be held in Phoenix.
I'd never heard of Phoenix, Ididn't know where it was, Never
seen an oval track.
But I got a chance.
You know, would I want to comeand race this thing?
(16:07):
And I said, sure, yeah, I'dlike to see.
Got to Phoenix.
It was the roughest, dirtiestcar I'd ever seen.
I needed a tetanus injection toget into it.
But I thought I'd come a longway.
I might as well have a go.
And my impression was a FormulaOne car from zero to a hundred
(16:28):
miles an hour is faster than anIndy car, but from a hundred
miles an hour to 200 miles anhour, an Indy car was faster
than a Formula One car.
And I thought, man, this is abeast of a thing.
I wouldn't mind racing this atthe Indy 500, because the Indy
500 was the only IndyCar race weever got in Europe.
It was the only one I'd everseen on television.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
And I thought that would be really interesting to
do that, and so I qualifiedninth beside Johnny Rutherford,
who was a hero of mine.
I'm looking across the grid andthere's the great Johnny
Rutherford and I thought youknow what I would like to do
this.
And so I came in 1983, met aguy called Tony Bettenhausen.
The Bettenhausen family werevery famous in the world of
(17:06):
IndyCar.
Tony's dad raced there, Hisbrother raced, both of his
brothers raced there and I metTony and Tony wanted me to drive
for his team and I really onlycame for curiosity and never
left, no plan, nothing, justnever left America.
And it's been my life since1983, living in America.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, we're glad you're here.
Well then, you became abroadcaster, yeah and another
unplanned career.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
So I had an accident in 84, was all but killed in
Michigan.
Then you became a broadcaster.
Yeah, and another unplannedcareer.
So I had an accident in 84.
I was all but killed inMichigan.
I was in about 19 surgeries andthree years in therapy.
My racing career sort of gotoff track a little bit.
I got back full-time racing in87 until 92.
(18:01):
But in the meantime I went toVegas to the last IndyCar race
in 1983 or 84.
Did an interview with ESPN.
That turned into a 10-yearcontract.
Oh, wow, yeah.
Did an interview with ESPN.
Got a call.
A weekyear contract.
Oh wow, yeah.
I did an interview with ESPN.
Got a call a week later withwhat I like to do color.
(18:23):
I said sure, and then Irealized I'd actually no idea
what I agreed to.
I'd never heard the term colorbefore.
I didn't know what a colorcommentator was.
But ESPN were going to pay meto travel the world and talk
about the sport that I lovewhile I'm in recuperation.
So it was perfect.
So I get back full-time racing.
I've got a television gig goingat the same time.
(18:47):
So when I wanted to finishdriving I already had a
broadcasting career wellestablished.
So it was the perfect scenarioto move into the television
broadcasting world, and thatwent on for another 24 years,
after I raced Wow, well, that'sgreat, great career, right, and
you're still going, and we'lltalk about that in a moment.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
What you're up to.
You know rearview mirrors.
They're on cars, I'm sure inracing, again, I'm not a racer,
but I'm sure they're there tosee who's coming up behind you.
In racing, again, I'm not aracer, but I'm sure they're
there to see who's coming upbehind you.
But in life sometimes we canuse those to learn a lesson or
have some regrets maybesometimes, which we try not to
stare at those, but anything inyour rearview mirror that you
(19:31):
might change.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Well, I mean hypothetically.
Well, I mean hypothetically.
You know, I would change somethings, but obviously you can't
go back.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You know, everything happened for me so fast in
racing when I got to Formula One.
I don't think I was reallyequipped to race at that level.
You know, I don't think I hadthe experience to race at that
(20:07):
level because I didn't spendyears in the lower formula,
where you get the experience,yeah, so I don't regret it, but
I would change it if I went back.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean, Ican't change my accident, I'd
rather not have had my accident.
Um, but if I didn't have myaccident, where would I be today
(20:27):
?
Would I be dead?
Would something else havehappened to me if I went on a
different path?
I don't know.
So you can't change it, but I'drather not have had it.
But, but my accident gave me aplatform and a lesson that's
invaluable, even though it'spainful, and that's hard for
people to grasp, because you,you you like.
(20:51):
If I told somebody that I'm inpain every day because of my
accident, they can't fathom thatanybody could be in pain, all
you know, every day because ofan accident.
Well, I am, but it doesn't makeany difference to me.
Like my pain, tolerance is somuch higher than most people
could, could, could understand,but I just learned how to deal
(21:14):
with it, how to work with it,how to adapt and change, how to
manage it.
And that's you know.
That's a great lesson in lifebecause we I tell people when I
do these keynote speeches we'veall crashed, we've all hit the
wall, but you know how do youprocess it, how do you make
sense out of it, you know how doyou move forward, enriched by
(21:38):
even bad things that happen toyou.
You know, I tell people look,you know, when bad things happen
, it's not inherently negative.
It's potentially a time tolearn and grow and transform,
but it depends on the mindsetthat you approach it with.
And that's a major lesson I gotfrom my accident, even though
it was a painful one.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, well, thanks for sharing that.
That's good.
And speaking of those keynotes,so now we'll look through the
windshield, because that's abetter view of what's out front.
What are you up to?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, I don't do that much these days.
I suppose I'm semi-retired I'llnever actually retire because
I'm mission driven, I like toaccomplish things, I like to
have purpose every day.
But the main thing I do thesedays is I do corporate keynote
speeches.
(22:31):
I'm represented by probablysome of the biggest bureaus in
America and I essentially sharewith corporate America the high
performance principles of thebusiness model of motorsports.
And I don't think there's Idon't think in all the sports
that I've seen, I don't thinkthere's another business model
(22:53):
that operates on the edge ofwhat might be possible like
motor racing.
And so I get such a kick out ofbeing able to influence
corporate America with the sportthat I've dedicated my life to
and it's just such a kick.
I just got back yesterday, lastnight, from Dallas, texas, I was
(23:14):
with GM Financial, you know 500people in the room and I got a
standing ovation.
And it wasn't for me, it wasfor the learning time, the
environment that I managed tocreate, and all I did was
storytell about experiences,good and bad, that I've had in
racing.
And when you can storytell andengage people and pass on a key
(23:37):
critical message, you knowyou've had a good mission and I
love that mission today ofkeynote speaking and again it's
a career because I consider it acareer.
A third career that I literallyfell into because of motor
racing and I love to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, that's great, and I've found a few of those
online.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
they're uh, they're uh quite encouraging to listen
to, so thank, you, yeah, yeah, Ihave a youtube channel derrick
daily, yeah, um, um, derrickdaily, uh, keynote speaker, uh,
and it's, it's.
It's just.
You know, I put the stuff onthere because I'd love to just
share the storylines andinfluence people.
(24:21):
Yeah, it's a kit.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Yeah, it was interesting.
You posted on LinkedIn someaffirmations.
I think you'd walk throughUniversity of Michigan and I
meet with a group on Thursdaymornings and I had seen it on
Wednesday and the weird thing iswe were discussing affirmations
and I'm like, okay, everybody,I have to share this.
And now everybody in that groupknows who Derek Daly is.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
So it was kind of cool yeah, there you go, there
you go, and I seldom seeaffirmations now on office walls
or when I go into corporationsso I was so surprised, when I
went to the credit union, howstrongly they believed in them.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Yeah, I assume you're still hanging around on the
grid, uh, cause your son isracing an IndyCar at the moment.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yes, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I go to.
I go to um a lot of the races,not as many as I did Um.
I just find air travel thesedays is just such a pain.
The chances of getting yourflights these days are such hit
and miss and you know,unfortunately they just don't
(25:27):
care.
So I do restrict my travelbecause, quite frankly, I love
being at home too.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, well, I appreciate that.
So we're coming close to theend of our road trip and I can't
thank you enough, but you'veleft my listeners with a lot of
advice.
But if there was one piece ofadvice you would give to people,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Well, you know, everybody commits themselves to
do a variety of different thingsin their life.
And people say, well, you know,I'd like to do this or I'd like
to do that.
And I say to them do you wantto do this, do you want to do
that?
People say, you know, I'd liketo lose 25 pounds in weight.
(26:20):
And I'll say, well, do you wantto lose it?
Because if you want to, youhave to commit to it.
And when my middle son, colin,was 12, he was great on
wakeboards behind a ski boat andat 12 years of age he could do
a backflip on a complete roll.
Not many 12-year-olds could dothat.
(26:41):
And then, as he went on throughhis teenage years, he would
hardly ever practice, but hecould just jump on it and bang,
do it again.
And then, when he was in his20s, he could do it again so
easily and effortlessly.
And I said to him I said, colin, how, with no practice, can you
do something like that on waterbehind a boat?
(27:01):
You know?
And you do a complete flipupside down.
And he looked at me.
He says you have to commit toit.
And that ties it all togetherfor me, because when people say
I want to do this, this and this, or I'd like to do this, this
and this.
When you replace the word withI want to do it.
Want is a commitment, like is adesire.
(27:26):
You see what I mean?
Right, and so if you truly wantto get something done, you have
to commit to it.
And when you commit, it mightbe difficult but you've got to
stay the course.
And when I wrote my first bookRace to Win it was about
developing a race car driver,and Mario Andretti is a good
(27:47):
friend of mine, and I askedMario what is the differentiator
between people who make it inour world and who don't quite
make it?
I said is it money, budget,talent, cars?
What is it?
And he looked at me.
He said it's desire, desire topush through when things get
(28:09):
difficult.
And desire comes into play whenyou've committed to do
something and you push hard andit doesn't go your way.
Desire means you stay with it,you push through, and that's the
difference between I'd like todo something and I want to do
something.
I won't hold you up too long,but I read a great quote from
(28:30):
Roger Penske today, because Ireally appreciate and respect
what he's done as a man, bothbuilding a race team and in
business.
But Roger was asked one daywhen you employ new people, do
you put them in a position wherethey can be the best they can
be?
And he said not necessarily.
(28:50):
He said what we like to do isput them in a position where
they want to be the best theycan be.
So do you see the difference?
So when you want, you commit,and when you commit, then desire
steps in when necessary, whenthings get rough.
But if you want something andyou commit and you have the
(29:11):
desire, the chances are you willget there.
And when people see you doingit and committed to it, it's
amazing how they want to comealongside you to help you get
there, help you achieve yourdream.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Wow.
Well, thank you for sharingthat.
That was great.
As we wrap up, yeah, sorry,that's my lesson for the day.
Yeah, lesson for the day.
People pay money to probablycome and hear that they do.
Well, this has been an honorfor me, derek, and I can't thank
you enough.
This was kind of a dream.
(29:48):
My wife said you get kind ofgiddy when you do these things.
And I said well, I'm reallykind of nervous.
Today I'm interviewing a guywho raced cars and was a
broadcaster and still is yeahWell, great Good.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Hopefully it'll help you get your podcast on the road
when you put it online.
Please do email me the link andI'll send it out on my social
media channels.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, and leave my listeners, if you will, real
quick with how to find you.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Oh, very easy.
Derek Derek dailycom.
D E R E KD A L Ycom is mywebsite, and my website will
connect you to my Instagramaccount, my Facebook account and
my Twitter X account.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
All right, perfect.
Well, derek, thank you again.
Thank you, dan.
Thank you for tuning in to Danthe Road Trip Guy.
I hope you enjoyed our journeytoday and the stories that were
shared.
If you have any thoughts orquestions or stories of your own
, I'd love to hear from you.
Feel free to reach out to meanytime.
Don't forget to share thispodcast with your friends and
(30:52):
family and help us to spread thejoy of road trips and great
conversations.
Until next time, keep driving,keep exploring and keep having
those amazing conversations.
Safe travels and remember youcan find me on the internet at
dantheroadtripguycom.
Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy.
I'm your host, dan, and eachweek we'll embark on a new
adventure, discovering memoriesand life lessons of our
incredible guests, from everydaytravelers to thrill seekers and
everyone in between.
This podcast is your front rowseat to inspiring stories of
passion, resilience and thepursuit of happiness.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
(00:24):
If you followed my podcast forany period of time, you know
it's about stories and I believeeveryone has a story.
When I started this podcast, Ishared with my daughter that I
wanted to interview race cardrivers.
She was quick to point out thatI really didn't know any race
(00:45):
car drivers and they probablyweren't going to talk to me.
Well, that's never stopped mefrom reaching out to them.
I reached out to my guest onLinkedIn.
His name's Derek Daly.
He's a former Formula One racecar driver from the 70s and 80s.
He went on to race in CART,which is basically IndyCar.
Today he's raced in the 24Hours of Le Mans, finishing
(01:07):
fourth there.
He is originally from Ireland.
He went on after racing to havea successful broadcasting
career and today he doesleadership talks with various
organizations and I am justexcited to have him on the show.
Welcome to the show, derek.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Thank you, dan, thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Well, thank you very much.
You're a race car driver.
Take a warm-up lap and justtell my listeners who is Derek
Daly.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland.
When I was born we had noracing circuits in the country
at all.
When I was 12 years of age, mydad took me to race around a
small village on the outskirtsof Dublin City and that changed
the rest of my life, because Itold him right there and then I
(01:52):
wanted to become a professionalracing driver.
He thought I was my rocker.
Basically, my life since thatday has been consumed with motor
racing.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Thank you for sharing that.
We got to tour Ireland back in2023.
We did a lap of the wholeisland.
That was fun.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, good.
Yeah, my family all still livethere, so I go back regularly
and it is a beautiful country.
It's changing fast, but it'sstill a beautiful country.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
What was your first streetcar back there in Ireland
that you drove around?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
My first streetcar was an NSU Prince, which I'm
sure you've never heard of.
I have no idea what the NSUstands for, but it was a German
rear-engined piece of junk thathad four forward gears and
reverse.
That never worked, and that wasmy first foray into being able
(02:43):
to move around myself with aroof over my head.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
And when in Ireland do you start driving?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You get a license when you're 18.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
You can drive a motorcycle when you're 16, but
18 for a car license.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
People who are listening that don't know you
drive on the left side of theroad.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, for the first half of my life that was the
right side of the road.
Now it's the wrong side of theroad.
Yes, for the first half of mylife that was the right side of
the road.
Now it's the wrong side of theroad, having lived in America
for so long, Any fun storiesfrom that car?
Well, when I left secondaryschool which is high school here
my mother had an aspirationthat maybe I could get a
legitimate job as an accountantfor a plant hire company, which
(03:25):
is basically a heavy equipmentrental company.
And I was driving my NSU Prinshome one day and I smelled
something burning, looked in themirror and there was 50 feet of
flames coming out the back ofit.
I stopped the car, of course,took my pullover off, tried to
put it out.
The fire only got worse.
My pullover off, tried to putit out, the fire only got worse.
(03:48):
By sheer chance a neighbor in arally car was passing, had a
fire extinguisher, put the fireout.
I towed it to a friend's garage, worked half the night, rebuilt
the wiring harness, cleaned upthe oil leak and drove it back
to work the next day.
We were very resourceful backin those days.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
I like that.
Well, we had a little bit ofcar trouble when we were in
Ireland.
I've driven manuals my wholelife but I got a rental with
manual and I believe whoever hadit before me clearly kept the
clutch pedal in a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So the clutch burned up pretty quickly and I was
amazed at how quickly people whodidn't know us came to our
rescue good, good, good, good,yeah, and for people who might
have an interest in an nsu,looks like a mini version of the
old corvair.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Remember the much hated corvair oh yes, my uncle
rear-engined yeah the nsufriends looked like a mini
version of that car well, good,I'm sure you've moved on since
then and had some nice cars.
Yep yep, you are a formerFormula One driver.
But any epic road trips in yourlife, either as family or later
(04:55):
on in life.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Myself and Barbara are big fans of road trips.
We have a home in Arizona andanother one in Indianapolis.
So, quite a lot.
We would drive across, you know, on a northern route or a
southern route.
When I lived in Europe we did alot of road trips because we
did a lot of testing and so youwould go across two or three
(05:18):
countries in the same trip.
You know, I mean the countriesin Europe, particularly back in
the day, were very different,you know.
So we enjoyed a lot of those.
Particularly back in the daywere very different, so we
enjoyed a lot of those.
But we did a lot of roadmileage in the early days.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Speaking of the roads , in Ireland there was one I was
following ways and it said turnhere.
So we turned and after a coupleof miles I'm like is this a
driveway or is this actually aroad Narrowed quite quickly.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, pretty normal in Ireland and part of the charm
, I think.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah, no, it was.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
It was great.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So you talked about your dad.
You went to a race and that waskind of the epiphany moment.
I guess that's when you decidedyou wanted to be a race car
driver.
So take us on that journey of.
So you were how old?
You said 12?
.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So I was 12 when I got off the bus and walking
through our neighborhood and Isaw this green British register
truck parked on the side of theroad outside a house and it had
Sydney Taylor Racing written onthe side of it.
And I thought wow, I bet there'sa racing car in there the lady
who lived there it was herbrother and she happened to buy
(06:29):
her groceries from my dad andshe had been in earlier in the
day and told my dad that therewas a racing car in there and I
could see it at seven o'clockthat night.
We went back at seven o'clock,they opened the doors and there
was a white Brabham BT8 with agreen stripe and an Irish
shamrock on it and I actuallytouched it and that was the
(06:50):
first racing car I ever saw or Iever touched.
And then my dad said I'll takeyou to see a race the next day,
which he did.
And so that was the moment forme and it's like a HD video in
my mind because I remember thenoise, the color, the smell, the
speed, everything about the day.
Now, back in that day, when youraced on the roads, the street
circuit, there were no safetybarriers, we just literally sat
(07:17):
on the grass bank and the carsraced right by us.
But I mean, that's how basic Iwas back in the day.
But I was determined, I wasmission focused that I would be
a racing driver and I did thenormal things, went to school
and did as best I could.
I wasn't a good learner inschool.
They told you to sit down andthey shovel information into you
.
I didn't learn that way.
I was a show me, don't tell metype of learner.
(07:38):
I struggled through school.
When I was 16 I went demolitionderby jalopy racing.
At least it was a start.
It was dirty, rough but atleast I was able to practice car
control To buy a Formula Ford.
I went to Australia and I was alaborer in the iron ore mines
of Australia from the winter of73 to March 74.
(08:02):
I came back with 5,000 pounds,which is $10,000 back in the day
, and that meant I couldactually buy a Formula Ford and
start, you know, real roadracing real racing and at that
stage they had just built aracing circuit in Ireland called
Mondello Park.
Everything went well there.
I won the Irish Championship in1975, went to England in 76,
(08:26):
won 23 races there in England.
It was an interesting situationbecause I had a chunk of money.
I had about 5,000 pounds readyto go for the season in 1976 in
England.
So it means I could live or Icould race, but I couldn't do
the two at the same time.
I bought an old bus, my mothermade curtains, my dad made a
(08:52):
mattress, I put a toolbox in andset off for England and spent
the year like a gypsy just goingracetrack to racetrack trying
to see how we could get on.
I won 23 races and at the endof the year I managed to get a
sponsor to move me up into theFormula 3 championship.
Formula 3 was legitimate.
You could race in England andyou could race in Europe and,
like it's the same today, yougot Formula 1, formula 2,
formula 3.
(09:12):
So what was the bottom step ofthe ladder?
Things began to go well for meAt the British Grand Prix in
1977, I got into a big tusslefor the lead of the race with a
British driver called StephenSouth and I was leading led most
of the race.
Anyway, I got tangled up withhim when he tried to force me
(09:33):
off the road.
I wouldn't give.
I was a typical stubborn Irishyoung guy at the time.
He flew off the road, ended upin Stoke Manderfell Hospital.
I spun and was in tears when Iwas telling my sponsor look, I
can win these races.
We have to go to the nextFormula One support race, which
happened to be at the AustrianGrand Prix at the old Osterreich
(09:55):
ring, which is now called theRed Bull ring.
So we go there.
I qualify on the pole.
I'm beside Nelson Piquet.
We're both strapped into ourcars on the pre-grid and this
older gentleman that had a limpand a shuffle went across the
front of my car up to my sponsor, leaned up to him and said
something to him and then helimped and shuffled away and my
(10:18):
sponsor came down into thecockpit of my car and said that
fella there just said if you winthis race he'll put you in a
Formula One car by the end ofthe year and I said to him I
said who was it?
He said it was a fella calledSidney Taylor.
So remember when I was 12 yearsof age, the truck in my
neighborhood, sidney TaylorRacing written on the truck.
(10:40):
And 12 years later I meet theman for the first time ever and
he says he's going to put me ina Formula One car.
I went out, had a ding-dongbattle with Nelson Piquet, won
the race and I was in a FormulaOne car three months later
testing at Goodwood in England.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Yeah, it was amazing yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
That is a great story .
So you tested in Formula,Formula One from what I've
gathered and again, it's kind ofhard to find that old footage
sometimes.
But I found this clip and it'sonly a clip.
I can't find the full footage.
Maybe you can help me.
It's supposedly your firstFormula One race.
It was a non points race atSilverstone.
According to right, accordingto the wonderful world of the
(11:21):
Internet.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Yeah, so that was your first outing other than the
testing.
So what?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
happened was so.
The testing was at Goodwood inEngland in the Theodore chassis.
When I applied for my superlicense, the FIA would not grant
me a super license, that Ididn't have enough experience.
Okay, that killed my instantopportunity to race Formula One
at a Grand Prix level.
Now, two weeks later, I got acall from Hesketh.
Hesketh was the team that JamesHunt started racing Formula One
(11:49):
with.
I got a call from Hesketh thatsaid there was a
non-championship Formula Onerace called the International
Trophy at Silverstone, andbecause it's non-championship, I
didn't need a super license andwould I like to race their car.
Of course I jumped at thechance.
James Hunt qualified on thepole in the McLaren, nicky Lauda
was in the race, ronniePeterson, james Hunt, mario
(12:11):
Andretti I mean, it was full ofthe big names.
Yes, the International Trophy,the non-championship race back
then, was used for teams to runnew cars, test suspensions, test
new drivers, you know, beforethe season started.
So all the teams were there.
It was raining typicalSilverstone in March.
(12:31):
I can't remember where Iqualified, maybe eighth or ninth
or tenth, somewhere, somewherealong there.
Anyway, I got a great start.
James hunt led through thefirst corner, uh, which is cops
corner, the same corner that'sthere today, and I had managed
to get into second place by thefirst corner.
Halfway around the lap I passedjames hunt around the outside
and ran away into the lead, andmurray walker, who's the great
(12:54):
commentator from england at thetime, was shouting and screaming
like his pants were on firethat Derek Daly was leading in
his very first Formula One race.
So it was an amazing piece ofvideo and an amazing debut in
Formula One.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, he was, I believe.
In this little clip he wascalling you the master of rain.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
That was James Hunt, later in Monaco.
Okay, because in 1982, when itrained in Monaco, I got into the
lead of the race and wasleading when I was about to
start my last lap on, thegearbox broke.
Well, that's when.
That's when James Hunt, becauseJames Hunt had followed me in
Formula Ford before I got intoFormula Three, I knew that I was
very quick in the wet, sothat's how I got the
(13:36):
relationship with him and he, he, he and his respect for me in
tricky conditions.
And, by the way, the the leapfrom formula Ford F or D, which
it's still a class of racingthat goes on in America today
and in Canada, but my jump fromformula Ford to formula one only
took 13 months.
(13:56):
Wow, it is still the recordtoday.
Even though Verstappen gotthere very fast, my jump from
Formula Ford to Formula One wasstill faster in the history of
Formula One.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
And you were up against some big names.
You mentioned some of them.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Oh, it was a classic era back in the day.
Lauda and Regazzoni in theFerrari, John Watson, Mario
Andretti and Ronnie Peterson inthe Lotus, James Hunt in the
McLaren.
Oh, it was a classic time inFormula One.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Yeah, and so interesting to watch the videos
that show the in-car.
I was watching one of James andand what you guys drove,
compared to today.
I mean obviously they were.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
They were death traps , I tell people.
Nowadays, because of carbonfiber and the high sides and the
cockpits made of carbon fiber.
Now drivers are truly insidethe cars when they race.
We were on top of the cars whenthey raced.
I told people we sat on the car.
They now sit in the car becauseall there was was a flimsy
(15:05):
fiberglass body around the topsof our cars and we were
literally exposed to anythingheavy that came flying through
the air.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
They don't have to reach that right hand down and
use that little shifter on theright.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
No, yeah, it was much , much more difficult back in
the day to balance the car withone hand on the steering wheel.
Three pedals in the car, youknow clutch, a brake and a
throttle.
Had to heel toe to synchronizethe gears was much, much more
difficult back in that day, yeahof course.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Then you kind of wrapped up in Formula One and
you came over our way and racedin IndyCar.
Champ Car whatever we want tocall it back in those days.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, and that was another.
By chance, the end of ourFormula One season was Las Vegas
in 1982.
And three weeks I think afterthe end of the Grand Prix season
was the last round of theIndyCar Championship was going
to be held in Phoenix.
I'd never heard of Phoenix, Ididn't know where it was, Never
seen an oval track.
But I got a chance.
You know, would I want to comeand race this thing?
(16:07):
And I said, sure, yeah, I'dlike to see.
Got to Phoenix.
It was the roughest, dirtiestcar I'd ever seen.
I needed a tetanus injection toget into it.
But I thought I'd come a longway.
I might as well have a go.
And my impression was a FormulaOne car from zero to a hundred
(16:28):
miles an hour is faster than anIndy car, but from a hundred
miles an hour to 200 miles anhour, an Indy car was faster
than a Formula One car.
And I thought, man, this is abeast of a thing.
I wouldn't mind racing this atthe Indy 500, because the Indy
500 was the only IndyCar race weever got in Europe.
It was the only one I'd everseen on television.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
And I thought that would be really interesting to
do that, and so I qualifiedninth beside Johnny Rutherford,
who was a hero of mine.
I'm looking across the grid andthere's the great Johnny
Rutherford and I thought youknow what I would like to do
this.
And so I came in 1983, met aguy called Tony Bettenhausen.
The Bettenhausen family werevery famous in the world of
(17:06):
IndyCar.
Tony's dad raced there, Hisbrother raced, both of his
brothers raced there and I metTony and Tony wanted me to drive
for his team and I really onlycame for curiosity and never
left, no plan, nothing, justnever left America.
And it's been my life since1983, living in America.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, we're glad you're here.
Well then, you became abroadcaster, yeah and another
unplanned career.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
So I had an accident in 84, was all but killed in
Michigan.
Then you became a broadcaster.
Yeah, and another unplannedcareer.
So I had an accident in 84.
I was all but killed inMichigan.
I was in about 19 surgeries andthree years in therapy.
My racing career sort of gotoff track a little bit.
I got back full-time racing in87 until 92.
(18:01):
But in the meantime I went toVegas to the last IndyCar race
in 1983 or 84.
Did an interview with ESPN.
That turned into a 10-yearcontract.
Oh, wow, yeah.
Did an interview with ESPN.
Got a call.
A weekyear contract.
Oh wow, yeah.
I did an interview with ESPN.
Got a call a week later withwhat I like to do color.
(18:23):
I said sure, and then Irealized I'd actually no idea
what I agreed to.
I'd never heard the term colorbefore.
I didn't know what a colorcommentator was.
But ESPN were going to pay meto travel the world and talk
about the sport that I lovewhile I'm in recuperation.
So it was perfect.
So I get back full-time racing.
I've got a television gig goingat the same time.
(18:47):
So when I wanted to finishdriving I already had a
broadcasting career wellestablished.
So it was the perfect scenarioto move into the television
broadcasting world, and thatwent on for another 24 years,
after I raced Wow, well, that'sgreat, great career, right, and
you're still going, and we'lltalk about that in a moment.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
What you're up to.
You know rearview mirrors.
They're on cars, I'm sure inracing, again, I'm not a racer,
but I'm sure they're there tosee who's coming up behind you.
In racing, again, I'm not aracer, but I'm sure they're
there to see who's coming upbehind you.
But in life sometimes we canuse those to learn a lesson or
have some regrets maybesometimes, which we try not to
stare at those, but anything inyour rearview mirror that you
(19:31):
might change.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Well, I mean hypothetically.
Well, I mean hypothetically.
You know, I would change somethings, but obviously you can't
go back.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You know, everything happened for me so fast in
racing when I got to Formula One.
I don't think I was reallyequipped to race at that level.
You know, I don't think I hadthe experience to race at that
(20:07):
level because I didn't spendyears in the lower formula,
where you get the experience,yeah, so I don't regret it, but
I would change it if I went back.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean, Ican't change my accident, I'd
rather not have had my accident.
Um, but if I didn't have myaccident, where would I be today
(20:27):
?
Would I be dead?
Would something else havehappened to me if I went on a
different path?
I don't know.
So you can't change it, but I'drather not have had it.
But, but my accident gave me aplatform and a lesson that's
invaluable, even though it'spainful, and that's hard for
people to grasp, because you,you you like.
(20:51):
If I told somebody that I'm inpain every day because of my
accident, they can't fathom thatanybody could be in pain, all
you know, every day because ofan accident.
Well, I am, but it doesn't makeany difference to me.
Like my pain, tolerance is somuch higher than most people
could, could, could understand,but I just learned how to deal
(21:14):
with it, how to work with it,how to adapt and change, how to
manage it.
And that's you know.
That's a great lesson in lifebecause we I tell people when I
do these keynote speeches we'veall crashed, we've all hit the
wall, but you know how do youprocess it, how do you make
sense out of it, you know how doyou move forward, enriched by
(21:38):
even bad things that happen toyou.
You know, I tell people look,you know, when bad things happen
, it's not inherently negative.
It's potentially a time tolearn and grow and transform,
but it depends on the mindsetthat you approach it with.
And that's a major lesson I gotfrom my accident, even though
it was a painful one.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, well, thanks for sharing that.
That's good.
And speaking of those keynotes,so now we'll look through the
windshield, because that's abetter view of what's out front.
What are you up to?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, I don't do that much these days.
I suppose I'm semi-retired I'llnever actually retire because
I'm mission driven, I like toaccomplish things, I like to
have purpose every day.
But the main thing I do thesedays is I do corporate keynote
speeches.
(22:31):
I'm represented by probablysome of the biggest bureaus in
America and I essentially sharewith corporate America the high
performance principles of thebusiness model of motorsports.
And I don't think there's Idon't think in all the sports
that I've seen, I don't thinkthere's another business model
(22:53):
that operates on the edge ofwhat might be possible like
motor racing.
And so I get such a kick out ofbeing able to influence
corporate America with the sportthat I've dedicated my life to
and it's just such a kick.
I just got back yesterday, lastnight, from Dallas, texas, I was
(23:14):
with GM Financial, you know 500people in the room and I got a
standing ovation.
And it wasn't for me, it wasfor the learning time, the
environment that I managed tocreate, and all I did was
storytell about experiences,good and bad, that I've had in
racing.
And when you can storytell andengage people and pass on a key
(23:37):
critical message, you knowyou've had a good mission and I
love that mission today ofkeynote speaking and again it's
a career because I consider it acareer.
A third career that I literallyfell into because of motor
racing and I love to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, that's great, and I've found a few of those
online.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
they're uh, they're uh quite encouraging to listen
to, so thank, you, yeah, yeah, Ihave a youtube channel derrick
daily, yeah, um, um, derrickdaily, uh, keynote speaker, uh,
and it's, it's.
It's just.
You know, I put the stuff onthere because I'd love to just
share the storylines andinfluence people.
(24:21):
Yeah, it's a kit.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Yeah, it was interesting.
You posted on LinkedIn someaffirmations.
I think you'd walk throughUniversity of Michigan and I
meet with a group on Thursdaymornings and I had seen it on
Wednesday and the weird thing iswe were discussing affirmations
and I'm like, okay, everybody,I have to share this.
And now everybody in that groupknows who Derek Daly is.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
So it was kind of cool yeah, there you go, there
you go, and I seldom seeaffirmations now on office walls
or when I go into corporationsso I was so surprised, when I
went to the credit union, howstrongly they believed in them.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Yeah, I assume you're still hanging around on the
grid, uh, cause your son isracing an IndyCar at the moment.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yes, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I go to.
I go to um a lot of the races,not as many as I did Um.
I just find air travel thesedays is just such a pain.
The chances of getting yourflights these days are such hit
and miss and you know,unfortunately they just don't
(25:27):
care.
So I do restrict my travelbecause, quite frankly, I love
being at home too.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, well, I appreciate that.
So we're coming close to theend of our road trip and I can't
thank you enough, but you'veleft my listeners with a lot of
advice.
But if there was one piece ofadvice you would give to people,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Well, you know, everybody commits themselves to
do a variety of different thingsin their life.
And people say, well, you know,I'd like to do this or I'd like
to do that.
And I say to them do you wantto do this, do you want to do
that?
People say, you know, I'd liketo lose 25 pounds in weight.
(26:20):
And I'll say, well, do you wantto lose it?
Because if you want to, youhave to commit to it.
And when my middle son, colin,was 12, he was great on
wakeboards behind a ski boat andat 12 years of age he could do
a backflip on a complete roll.
Not many 12-year-olds could dothat.
(26:41):
And then, as he went on throughhis teenage years, he would
hardly ever practice, but hecould just jump on it and bang,
do it again.
And then, when he was in his20s, he could do it again so
easily and effortlessly.
And I said to him I said, colin, how, with no practice, can you
do something like that on waterbehind a boat?
(27:01):
You know?
And you do a complete flipupside down.
And he looked at me.
He says you have to commit toit.
And that ties it all togetherfor me, because when people say
I want to do this, this and this, or I'd like to do this, this
and this.
When you replace the word withI want to do it.
Want is a commitment, like is adesire.
(27:26):
You see what I mean?
Right, and so if you truly wantto get something done, you have
to commit to it.
And when you commit, it mightbe difficult but you've got to
stay the course.
And when I wrote my first bookRace to Win it was about
developing a race car driver,and Mario Andretti is a good
(27:47):
friend of mine, and I askedMario what is the differentiator
between people who make it inour world and who don't quite
make it?
I said is it money, budget,talent, cars?
What is it?
And he looked at me.
He said it's desire, desire topush through when things get
(28:09):
difficult.
And desire comes into play whenyou've committed to do
something and you push hard andit doesn't go your way.
Desire means you stay with it,you push through, and that's the
difference between I'd like todo something and I want to do
something.
I won't hold you up too long,but I read a great quote from
(28:30):
Roger Penske today, because Ireally appreciate and respect
what he's done as a man, bothbuilding a race team and in
business.
But Roger was asked one daywhen you employ new people, do
you put them in a position wherethey can be the best they can
be?
And he said not necessarily.
(28:50):
He said what we like to do isput them in a position where
they want to be the best theycan be.
So do you see the difference?
So when you want, you commit,and when you commit, then desire
steps in when necessary, whenthings get rough.
But if you want something andyou commit and you have the
(29:11):
desire, the chances are you willget there.
And when people see you doingit and committed to it, it's
amazing how they want to comealongside you to help you get
there, help you achieve yourdream.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Wow.
Well, thank you for sharingthat.
That was great.
As we wrap up, yeah, sorry,that's my lesson for the day.
Yeah, lesson for the day.
People pay money to probablycome and hear that they do.
Well, this has been an honorfor me, derek, and I can't thank
you enough.
This was kind of a dream.
(29:48):
My wife said you get kind ofgiddy when you do these things.
And I said well, I'm reallykind of nervous.
Today I'm interviewing a guywho raced cars and was a
broadcaster and still is yeahWell, great Good.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Hopefully it'll help you get your podcast on the road
when you put it online.
Please do email me the link andI'll send it out on my social
media channels.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, and leave my listeners, if you will, real
quick with how to find you.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Oh, very easy.
Derek Derek dailycom.
D E R E KD A L Ycom is mywebsite, and my website will
connect you to my Instagramaccount, my Facebook account and
my Twitter X account.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
All right, perfect.
Well, derek, thank you again.
Thank you, dan.
Thank you for tuning in to Danthe Road Trip Guy.
I hope you enjoyed our journeytoday and the stories that were
shared.
If you have any thoughts orquestions or stories of your own
, I'd love to hear from you.
Feel free to reach out to meanytime.
Don't forget to share thispodcast with your friends and
(30:52):
family and help us to spread thejoy of road trips and great
conversations.
Until next time, keep driving,keep exploring and keep having
those amazing conversations.
Safe travels and remember youcan find me on the internet at
dantheroadtripguycom.
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