Veteran driver Ken Schrader joins Rico and Ken

Ask Ken Schrader to describe himself and he’ll say he’s a “driver and racer of anything with 4 wheels and a motor.” His long career certainly proves that to be true, with over 700 NASCAR Cup Series races under his belt, along with achievements in xFinity Series, Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, USAC Silver Crown and USAC Sprint Car Series. This successful and beloved racing veteran joins Rico and Ken for an entertaining and humorous conversation about his racing adventures and storied career.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Skinny with Riego and Kenna is a production of
I Heart Radio. I'm Kenny Schrader and this is the
skinny from the Fatheads I Wear Studios in Speedway, Indiana.
This is the skinny brought to you by Toyota, Rhino classifies,
General Tire and Dream Giveaway. This segment of the skinny

(00:24):
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Tire dot Com today once again, Welcome to the Skinny.
Kent Stout and read Elmore in the house. It is
a busy week here in May, just a couple of
days before the five hundred, But that also means a

(01:07):
little five hundred is just a couple of days away.
A lot of racing that's gonna go on at Lucas
Oil Raceway Park as well on Friday night. It's a busy,
busy week. We love this week and for the people
that live around here, I mean it's it's our favorite week,
are certainly one of We also love the u S
Nationals as well. But it's a big week, and uh,
we're excited to have a young gun, I mean, a

(01:30):
guy that if he sticks with it a couple more years,
he'll probably be able to turn this thing into a career.
But he's off to a really good start accomplished. He
could get some make some accomplished if he just sticks
with it here for a little bit longer. Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome Kenny Schrader, one of the most loved personalities
in this sport and certainly very successful and still getting

(01:53):
it done today. If I'm not mistaken, I think you've
already won a couple of ump modified races this year?
Is that? And we won a couple this year. We're
off the start of a good year. We've got bunch
top five's only one twice, but we're off to a
good year. So Strader's in the house, of course, a
long time NASCAR career, very very successful and everything that

(02:14):
he's done. Also, the team Kenny Strader Racing builds cars
for a number of successful teams. But I've got to
tell you, as of late, the most impressive accomplishment that
I've seen you pull off was about a year ago. Well,
I guess a little bit less than a year ago,
because the any run a little five hundred til August
last year courtesy of the pandemic. But my god, I

(02:36):
mean for the folks out there that are not familiar
with a little five hundred, it's a sprint car race.
They start off three wide, that's at Anderson, and they
run five hundred laps in a sprint car. Yes, they
have pit stops with cars that should not have pit stops.
It is total chaos. But just picture wheeling, uh eight
hundred horsepower four ten sprint car around Anderson for five

(02:58):
hundred laps and this young man that we're talking to
tonight finished in eighth place. I was like, oh my god,
Kenny Schrader is still kicking some acid at a high level. Awesome, dude,
congratulations that was really impressive. Yeah, but you're not supposed
to be congratulating people for an eighth place finish. You

(03:20):
know that's not nearly good enough. That's why that's why
we're back here again, is trying to improve upon that.
You don't you don't come here to run eight. I
know you don't come here to run eighth and and
maybe you've noticed already, but I'm clearly steering, uh steering
clear of saying your age here, and I don't know
if you if you're okay with it. I mean sixty

(03:43):
five years old, dude, yeah, old? Oh that's right. Your
birthdays on the twenty nine, that's right, So that how
about a birthday president on the twenty night to win
a little right? I love that guy. I remember the
first time I ever met Strade, and you know, it
was like many you become an instant fan just because

(04:05):
of what a great guy is. But it was probably
in nineteen ninety one, maybe something in that area, and
he was coming in the back gate, uh, in the
tunnel at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. And that day he
ran a modified a late model and I believe that

(04:29):
you ran maybe it was a silver Crown car was
the third car, but it was some three or four
car deal and he ran every one of him. Now
he was he was you know he was definitely in
the cup program at the time, and uh, but man,
he came in the back gate. Super nice guy and
I was running I was running security for the folks

(04:51):
for the fairgrounds at the time for that deal, and
uh and just just a great guy. And then you know,
over the years got to know him a litt bit
better through you know, a lot of different uh you know,
either through the Armstrongs when uh, you know, Dakota used
to drive for him, and in the in the Arcis series.
And then of course how Kenny got tangled up with

(05:13):
the wild wild Armstrong bunch as in the Brad and
Tara Armstrong bunch, more crazy Terra than Brad. But how
all that went down is a is a mystery. But uh,
yeah it was. It was just a really really great guy.
And I mean he's he's not trying to straighter. If

(05:34):
you ever drag raced, I mean, you know, smokes trying
to go the straight straight line business turn four right now.
Years ago, I had a motorcycle, we get a f
bike record whatever that was, but it was a stock
to fift behind. But now I don't, I don't need to.

(05:55):
We got other stuff to do yet, not ready to
go drag race and don't want to think about that.
But we just had a lot of fun over the years.
We have been very fortunate too to drive a lot
of stuff. Uh. Just still having fun, you know. That's
that's the main thing. That's what I was gonna ask you.
I mean, what what drives you? I mean, at sixty

(06:16):
five near sixty six years old, there's nothing that you
haven't accomplished. Him. Um, you know, I was it's got
to be that you're still having fun. I mean, uh,
what what drives you to get up in the morning
and say, Hey, I'm gonna go hop in a race
car again. Well, I don't I don't know enough about racing.
I sure don't know anything about other sports. But I

(06:36):
know these like guys that play golf and stuff, you know,
and they you know, they retire from PGA to or
whatever it is. I don't think they quit playing golf.
You know, they still want to go still want to
go play, and I like run around the country, uh
with my Dirk car and still playing. Uh. The little
five hundred deal kind of happened through Irish Sanders with Usuer.

(07:01):
He called me five years ago and said, would you
like to run a little five hun and I said, oh,
most definitely, there's no damn way in hell I want
to run a little five hundred. And uh he said,
just go test for one afternoon. So here we are,
five years later going to try again. Uh, that is

(07:21):
that is absolutely awesome. Yeah, I was kind of that's
that's interesting because I was wondering how that kind of
transpired as well. And uh and uh and and you know,
Brad and tear Armstrong with with all joking aside, the
best people ever, I mean, just biggest heart, uh, you know,
in the world. And I would I would love nothing

(07:44):
more than to see Schrader in victory Lane with those guys.
I mean it would it would be how about we
just keep going forward? You know our main you know,
we're shooting for a seventh. You know it's to a
DNF to an eighth. So seventh. Now, in the words
of Kenny Schrader, who in the hell would ever want

(08:04):
to go out there and race for seventh? I mean,
let's at least get into the top five, Okay, don
shoot your top five here. So I mean, for for
the general base of fans out there, and and myself
included in this Yeah. When I think of Kenny Schrader

(08:25):
these days, UM, I mean obviously at your NASCAR career,
a lot of time on asphalt, no doubt. But when
I think of you now, I think of you as
a dirt car racer. So do you do any other
asphalt stuff besides a little five? Trying to think I
mightbe ran three or four last year, but that was it.
I prefer to run dirt and we take our own

(08:46):
car most every place we go. Uh, two years ago,
pre pandemic, our truck trailer. We we we drove through
thirty eight states. We did a lot of racing. We're
all over, so we're just trying to keep doing that. Now,
did you take your motorcycle through all thirty eight of

(09:07):
those states? Or was that flying, flying, flying race? No? No,
I'm most time in the truck, and aren't the motorcycle
a lot? We still carried motorcycle up in front of
the truck. So sometimes I'll be with the boys for
three or four days we'll be racing and then I'm
gonna go meet someone else and run their car. And uh,

(09:29):
it's pretty easy to roll it motorcycle out of the
front of the trailer and just shove off that way,
so we still do that a lot. Yeah, that's uh.
That was one of the things when I originally got
him set up in some sunglasses. He's like, he's like,
I love these, these are great to ride with and
so forth, and so I sent him a box. I'm
gonna assume that that box has gone now. It was

(09:50):
about ten years ago. I think that's when I did that.
But we'll fix you up. Well, we'll fix you up
with more by all means. So, uh so what's your
what's your schedule coming up? So we know you got
little five. Did I hear you're running uh uh maybe
the Silver Crown Race of Tehold, Is that what I heard? No, No,

(10:11):
we we were going to run the modified there uh
tonight or Wednesday and Thursday, and uh the last three
days Sunday at Anderson, Monday at the Kokomo, and yesterday
at Speedrome. We did events with some of our federated
customers where we we brought six cars to the speedway.

(10:34):
They got to go drive them and then to give
him a ride in two seaters. So we'll still do
that about fifty days a year all over the country.
So that keeps us pretty busy. We're just gonna run
a little five hundred this weekend and then kind of
pick up again, uh next week somewhere the dirt car,
and then we go up to Northeast because for six

(10:55):
weeks in a row we're doing the Ray Abraham Tony
were in s r X uh testing. We've been doing
that for them, and we're gonna be have to be
at those races getting those cars all the same. Did
you have a hand in building those cars as well? Oh?
Hell no, I didn't have a hand and building them.
They don't let me build nothing. But we've we've tested

(11:17):
it every track they've been to. Well, so correct me
if I'm wrong. I mean, I don't know if you
guys still do this, but there there was a time
when you guys were prepping trucks and ARCA cars. I
mean I just recently a couple of years ago when
I covered ARCA. Uh, you guys had had a team
out there. So that's the reason I asked out it
you guys still build race cars at the shop? Right? No,

(11:38):
we we just have a St. Louis shop now. We
we sold the North Carolina shop. It was just time
to get out of that business. So we're just playing
out of the St. Louis shop. I'm blown away at
your schedule. I mean, talking to us and telling us
what you're doing. I mean, to go out with Federated
is super cool. Of course, you know, everybody's gonna care

(12:00):
of a sponsor. But to give two seater rides and
stay as busy as you're staying, I mean, that's a
legit job. To show up. I mean, you're a talented driver,
but to listen and just call it what it is.
What it is, I mean, the monotony of people getting
in and out of the car all day long and
giving people, you know, rides in a two seater is
is no easy task. By the end of the day,
your war out. So hat's off to you, man, I

(12:22):
mean you're still scrapping in the trenches. That's awesome. Well
we're you know, like I said, I still like playing.
We're gonna be in a race car over a hundred
Daisy or this over a hundred days this year. So
we're just about making every opportunity we can to go
go play. And here's Stewart turned fifty. You know last
week we did his uh, we did his surprise birthday

(12:46):
party in Vegas Monday night, which I gotta tell you
was absolutely epic because he had no idea and Leah
put him together like I mean, never before. Because it
was to the point where they got on the plane
and Stephen the pilot shut down all the monitors in

(13:06):
the back, so he had no idea where the plane
was flying, had no idea what direction they were going.
And he told Stephen, they were over at my bus
setting there at the in Houston, at the at the
drag strip when it was raining, one of the every
day we were there. But he told Stephen, he said,
I pay your paycheck, it's my plane, my fuel. You're

(13:30):
gonna tell me where? He said, not a chance. He
was pissed. He was pissed. He had no idea. At
the end of the day, I'm still flying it. So
unless you want to sit in here behind the seat,
you know you don't. You don't want to try that either.
He will try that. But uh so they're flying in

(13:52):
and he finally looks, he looks out the window on
the approach and he sees like Mead, and he says, oh,
we're going to Lake pal He said, We're going to
pal This is awesome, you know, I thought they were
going there to wake for you know, wake surf and
this and that and and Stephen said, the way that
they landed, he couldn't see the strip, so they had

(14:12):
landed to the west. I think is what he was
telling me. He said, until he actually opened the door
and got out, he didn't know that they were in Vegas,
had no idea. So then he gets there and the
the whole deal was which kJ the she's awesome with
the cosmo. kJ has it all set up. Well deal,

(14:36):
Jarrett's there too, but the whole, the whole plan was
del Jarrett was there to go up to this new
high limits on the top floor on the penthouse, this
private high limits thing, which you know, Tony was all
wound up. He was ready to rip and go and
this and that. So kJ brings him up and there's

(14:57):
twenty five of us in this room. In his soon
as he said, surprise, he was, like you in the
explicit started ripping, and he was he was red faced,
which I've never you know, he doesn't get embarrassed by anything,
but he was. He was so taken back by the
people that were able to make it. Not everybody. You know,

(15:19):
they're trying to invite everybody that you're supposed to do that,
which I did. I submitted to list. I said, here's
a lot of people that I know that you know,
he would mean something to him and so on and
so forth. But I'm telling you it was it was
great and uh and uh, yeah he was. He was
definitely wound up. But you know, he just turned fifty.
He's way behind straighter on this deal. I don't know

(15:41):
if he went drag racing, because he's trying to be
like Chris Karamsini the Greek run until he's ninety or
seventy something like four. So I mean, I'm trying to
figure out where he's headed with all this. So he's
headed wherever he wants to. I'm happy for him. That's right.
Good they are, man. And I'm telling you him running

(16:02):
that fuel car, there's been uh there's a lot of
folks that stand up there on the line to watch
him and um, you know, could critique him in many
ways that are probably not that favorable if if if
it were there. But you know, when you have the
likes of Chad Head, who's been there a long time, uh,
you know, Nicky Bonifante and several others say, you know,

(16:26):
if you didn't know who was in that car, you'd
think that was somebody that did this every weekend. And
so to hear that, you know, from your peers, pretty impressive.
And you know, my favorite thing that he said originally was, man,
this thing has a lot of switches and it you know,
we just used to have a couple of things we
turned on and you know, turn the turn the power

(16:47):
on and hit the ignition and the fan and a
couple other deals. And he goes, this has got a
lot more switches and and you gotta really know what
you're doing here. My favorite part was, uh was he
was he was at the school testing and the first
thing he does is rip off a perfect reaction time
point zero zero zero, and he immediately takes a picture
and takes that all. He's like, I don't know what

(17:08):
the big deal is here with you guys in this
reaction type thing. Yeah, he sent he sent it to me,
who I happened to be with Brandon Bernstein and j R. Todd,
two very accomplished drivers, And he said, why don't you
ask them why they try to make this look so tough?
Is his exact words. And with that all hell broke
clues and then he was on the phone. We were

(17:29):
called him so but now he's he's tough. He is
he's tough and everything. And I mean that's that's the
that's the cool part. And I mean Schrader was kind
of the original and in running everything right, I mean
he could run any of that stuff, and Tony followed
shortly thereafter, and and you know, in a lot of

(17:51):
the same manner. And uh so it's just it's just
really cool to watch it all go on and and
uh and I'm excited to see the s RX stuff. Sorry,
go ahead, Kenny. No, I'm just saying, uh, you know,
I don't know Tony pretty good for a while, and
I know how I think, and I know a lot
of other drivers that you know, have been fortunate enough

(18:14):
to make a decent living doing this and two pedals,
one staring wheel, No, I Q test. I'm telling you
it's not that hard a job. The damn shame he
isn't here. Yeah, we need to make a highlight reel
because Davy Hamilton was in here. Tell him about how
he cheated to win the championship and day he said,

(18:35):
I finished second to Tony Stewart one year, he said,
when the year he won the championship, he said, So,
I don't know if that counts or not. He said,
clearly he was cheating. So Trader, you, uh, how did
you get started in this whole mess of racing in
the beginning? But my daddy ran a general automotive repair

(18:56):
shop next to a little race track in outside of St. Louis.
He raced forever, you know, just at tracks right around
the St. Louis area there. And when I turned sixteen,
I got to drive a car and I ran about well,
that was in seventy one, and in nineteen seventy nine

(19:21):
we were running a lot of different cars, and I
just really got thinking that, you know, if I just
really worked at this and did this a little better,
I could maybe keep from getting a job. So that's
all I've been doing since seventy nine, is trying to
keep from getting a job. Sportsman Champion at Lake Hills

(19:43):
Speedway in Valley Park. That's a hobby card. That's a
hobby card. I mean that was that was a bit
a while a while ago. I mean seventy one, seventy three,
somewhere somewhere in there, uh nine Uh, this our fifty
first year of racing. Wow, I think I made it

(20:04):
about fifty one months if that just a little it's
a little short on that, but yeah, that that's awesome.
And I mean I knew that your your dirt operation
for the most part, was always out of out of
Saint or out of Missouri, right, yes, sir. Uh. We
moved down to Charlotte for a little while, maybe half

(20:25):
a dozen years now. We moved it back to Missouri
because we knew we were gonna wind back up in Missouri. Uh.
Even we moved to Charlotte because of the Cup Cup job.
We we knew we wanted to go back to Missouri someday,
so we just recently did. Now we're trying to get
everything built there and add on the shop and build

(20:48):
build place to live and stuff. But we're happy with it.
We're glad to be back. And that's that whole Midwest thing.
We loved it down there in Charlotte. But I love Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
those Iowa, those tracks around there. Let be home, spending
some time here with legendary Kenny Schrader here on the skinny.

(21:12):
We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right
back on the other side. This segment of the Skinny
it's brought to you by Dream Giveaway. Dream Giveaway has
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at dream giveaway dot com. Welcome back to the Skinny,
Ladies and gentlemen. Kenny Schrader on with us, sitting in
his motor home just I don't know about forty minutes
away or so outside of Anderson, hoping to practice on

(21:57):
a Wednesday before the Little five hundred. Unfortunately, mother nature
is uh has changed plans up a little bit for him.
With some rain, I'm beginning to think it's me. I
was in Houston all week and it rained NonStop, and
then I get back home and it's raining here. It
didn't rain in Vegas, I don't think. But anyhow, Anderson
Speedway one of my favorite memories of that. And I

(22:18):
told Doug Kletta this this weekend I was we were
of course, had plenty of time to stand around and talk,
but I was staying there talking to him. I said,
you know, the funny thing about it is is when
we would you know, when we would show up in
Anderson back in the day. Well, Doug was running sprint
cars and midgets of course with us, and nobody had

(22:41):
semis then, nobody had the big rigs, the stackers and
all that stuff except Coletta. And you would pull in
and there was a black rigs setting there with Coletta
and gold leaf on the back top corners of that thing.
You're like, oh, Doug's here, so you know, And uh,
did you run with him straighter? Was he still? Was

(23:02):
he in when you were trans transitioning through? Yeah? My
open wheel years uh really were very very sharp. Uh.
We we won the USAK Silver Crown Championship in eighty
two in the sprint car and eighty three. I never

(23:25):
ran a U sack race until probably seventy nine maybe,
and then we were we were done eighty four basically, Um,
so we we weren't their whole lot. And obviously we
still go back and visit and run something every now
and then. But until the first little five hundred, I ran,
I had never run a sprint car on pavement. Uh,

(23:48):
we'd run the midgets and the silver crowns. But when
we won the USAK Sprint Car Championship, they were it
was exclusively ear dirt. Then was Richmond? Then was he there? In?
Was Tim Richmond in? Then Hey, I'm old, okay, but
I'm not as old as you guys want to think.
I am. No. I just thought Richmond was a light bloomer.

(24:10):
I didn't say that, you know. And they they they
didn't run asphalt. Then when I when we wanted they
had asphalt tracks, they just didn't run them. I mean,
asphalt was invented and stuff. I'm telling you, anybody that
could be in for five years and win championships, that's

(24:31):
that's pretty solid. Because the the caliber of talent that
comes through USAC that has and is and still does
is is absolutely amazing. And uh, I mean watching, you know,
watching modern day guys that are in it, like you know,
Tyler Courtney, he is he is on a tear of course.

(24:53):
Brady Bacon, who has been with us UH for for
a number of years, twelve, thirteen, fourteen years. I like that,
but it's that's a that's a lot of a lot
of talent to the last so within five years and
and move on. Those guys running those USAX sprint cars. Now,
you know, I get to watch them a couple of

(25:13):
times years Terra hot and stuff. It's breathtaking. I mean
they put they are standing on the guess winning that
championship in eight three silver Crown and sprint car. You
climb back into a silver Crown car. Now are they
still they still feel about the same. I mean, honestly,
looking at them, they just don't look a whole lot different.

(25:36):
But at the down tips yeah, I'm just curious from
from you know, the technology standpoint I'm talking about. I mean,
when you get inside of one, is it is it?
How much different is it? Now? It's same? I mean
they haven't changed them. They're they're the same. You know,
they had too much harsh power then they really got
too much now, you know, to be able to put

(25:57):
on the track. But I drove, uh, I'm gonna do
it again here in a couple of weeks. But I
went to un Massachusetts two years ago and drove one
of Bobby Seymour's UH midgets and we run third or fourth,
and he says, you shouldn't be able to do that,
after you know, it's been forever since you've done it.

(26:19):
I said, Bobby, they haven't changed the damn thing. It's
the same cars, it's the same track, it's everything's the same.
I said, why, why you know? I didn't forget he's
trying to think that you're old. I wouldn't take that.
I mean, it's it's exactly the way I feel when
I look at him. I feel like nothing has really changed,
but it still requires a ton of talent to get

(26:40):
one around at speed. I mean, so whenever he says
you shouldn't, you shouldn't be able to do that, I mean,
knowing how good these kids are, as you just commented,
and and the finesse that they have with the throttle,
you know, I mean, you can you get the car
set up, for sure, but the finesse that it takes
to really get one around at speed, to run on
the front is exceptional. But I think the other side
of it as too. As you know, you've got all

(27:02):
of the you know, now you've got the suspension stuff,
how big, you know, how much stuff that they've done
with the suspension versus what it was. Then you know
where you know the the adjustable, where you got the rebound,
the compression, and then you know the torson you know,
So that's a that's a great question there, Kenny. I mean,

(27:23):
what about the dampers or the or the damper dampers
any different than what they were before? Oh? Yeah, they're
they're they're obviously different. Uh some of the player I mean,
you know, we'll go play with them on the pavement still.
Uh when you watch him smoking to turn one and
Tara Hope, you know, never check up. I don't. I

(27:44):
don't really want to do that. I want to watch them,
but I don't really want to. I don't want to
play that game. Yeah, but you know it's a little
different on the pavement. But yeah, the cars are the
cars are obviously progressed some but compared up like you know,
dirt late models or modified or anything like that. There's

(28:06):
they haven't made the leaps that that some of the
other classes have. But these guys got so much power
and they had so much traction when they're wheeling down
the straight away and stuff. I mean, those guys just
got a lot of a lot of desire and they're
putting it all on the line when they run. Yeah,

(28:26):
whenever you've been to the Chili Bowl and I've heard
some some of the guys that race, you know, let's
say like in the in the nineties or so, watch
those guys now and they're like, we could just never
put power down like they're putting power down now. We
won uh qualifying night two years in a row at
Chili Bowl. UH always had trouble on Saturday Night. I
think best we ever ran with seventh, Uh, but we

(28:50):
won qualifying night. I don't know what year it was.
And Angy, I don't know, one or two something like that.
Driving for Wilkies, actually driving for for Ralph. The kids
had their car and Ralph had a car that he
brought and uh, I get drive for Ralph. That was
a lot of fun, super cool. I mean, of course,

(29:12):
a legendary name. And speaking of the Wilkies and Wilkie Pack,
you actually tried to qualify for the five, you know,
with the Indianapolis Five coming up here in a couple
of days, you actually did make a run at that
best wreck I ever had. Oh, boy, I don't know
if those two words go together best in wreck. But okay, now, Rico,

(29:35):
you'll you'll understand this. Uh. We were up there, run
hundred two. Thank you only had to run six or something. Check.
Philip was got in. I think it and you know
this ninety knows something. But we were running good. I

(29:58):
think we cut a tire. It doesn't make any difference
what happened. You know, next thing, we're destroyed. And we
had another car, but it wasn't entered because of the
thousand or fifteen hundred hour entry fee. So I had
some owners come by and they said, what do you
you know? What do you what do you got? And

(30:20):
I said, we mean one I got. I said, I
got this brand new helmet that Bell gave me and
I didn't crack it, and you know, my legs didn't
get broke. A lot of guys were getting their legs
broken with the torch or the lower troll arms coming through.
So I'm ready to go. And they said, well, I mean,
what do you got for money? And said, if I

(30:42):
had any money, you think I'd be doing this stuff?
You know? Uh? And right then uh, And we went
on in a terror that last like last week and
a half of the month we wanted the fair grounds.
We we won three or four in a row because
we that was in the sprint car and net because

(31:03):
it didn't seem like you were going that fast after
you know, running at speedway. But it was the best
wreck because right then, um, I made up my mind
that I was going to go down south because I
thought there was better opportunities long term down south and

(31:25):
quit worrying about the open wheel cars. Yeah, they were flying, man,
they were getting around there, but it was it was
sketchy to wreck one. Well it's always sketchy to wreck one,
but it's really sketchy to wreck one of those things
back then. But you know the interesting thing it's and
I mean, that's a great analogy what Trader had said there.
But you know, I'm telling you you're talking. You know,
when Robin Miller was in and he was sitting there

(31:46):
talking about how you know you have these old, the old,
old cars where you have the fuel tanks right next
to you in the car that had no bladder. I mean,
there was no safety nothing, and and then you know
you talk like what Trader is talking about. I mean,
you know, I think Rick mirrors. I mean, both of

(32:06):
his feet probably have more metal in him than than
bone at this point because of exactly what Trader was
talking about. So yeah, I mean it's uh, the longevity
of it is is definitely I mean, any of it now.
I mean, after watching the Cup race at CODA this weekend,
I'm not really sure what the longevity is for any
of those guys, but that the rainstorm to fifty that

(32:31):
they were running in. But it is just I mean,
it's just a it's a wild place to speedway, and
I mean we've had a lot of the guys on
here current and past. I mean it's like Davy Hamilton's said,
you know, I wasn't gonna end my career on the
fence on the fence or in the wall at Texas

(32:52):
or something. I can't remember exactly how he said it,
but it's exactly what. It's exactly what what Trader said.
I mean, It's like it's like, Okay, what's the longevity.
I've got fenders around me, I got a cage around me,
I've got I've got some protection and and uh, you know,
so with that, with that being said, I mean there

(33:14):
had to be some pretty wild rides in the in
in cup what what do you remember that you don't
want to remember. I think I've only been upside down
four times in the cup car. I've probably been upside
down four dozen between everything. Uh, ain't no big deal.
You know, getting upside down in the cup car, that's

(33:34):
not bad. Running two hundred Talladega and then finishing your
wreck a quarter mile down the road, that's not bad.
Running the Hunting twenty and stopping in thirty ft that hurts. Uh,
that's a big difference. Gordon dumped me one time at Talladega,

(33:58):
which was our pride, and just he didn't dun't make it,
barely bumped me. But I remember in the middle of it,
and in the middle of it, I thought like, wow,
that wasn't near as bad as I thought it was
gonna be because it only turned over three or four times.
And then I look around and reassessed and we were

(34:18):
just real high. Uh. When it came back down, it
got worse, but you know, but you hit your belt
and you got out, so you know, the cup car,
it was great. And I love watching those indy cars
now with with all the front protection they got, with
the windshields and that whatever they call it be above

(34:39):
their heads. Makes me happy to see that. Yeah, you know,
the cars still look great, and just someone finally realized that, hey,
we got to protect this guy a little bit. Yeah,
and it's paid huge dividends on a on a number
of times already. I mean just recently, I want to
say it. At barber Um this year, I think they

(35:00):
had that opening wreck where New Garden unfortunately dipped a
wheel off, came back in front of the field on
the opening lap, and you know, in parts and pieces
were flying, and I think, if I'm not mistaken, maybe
one bounced off the front of Jimmy Johnson's car off
the aeroscreen that most certainly would have hit him right
in the head. And uh, you know, we know the
results of that are are not good. So it's paid

(35:20):
huge dividends. And and I remember it was only a
couple of years ago there was a race at Detroit
within the car and they had a wreck and one
car ended up on top of another car and and
the tire literally had the guy's head I want to say,
pinned against you know, the side of his head rest.
He maybe he had a couple of inches or something

(35:42):
like that. But there's a tire mark on the helmet.
He was fine, but um, I just remember thinking, oh
my god. I mean, that just could have been disaster.
So you have to see those advancements in safety, and
that has to be the biggest advancements that you've seen
in the sport. Along the way, and you're in the
history of your career. Is how much safer they are
now than than they were when you guys first climbed

(36:02):
into them. Oh yeah, but even when I started, like
I first ran my first open wheel car probably in
seventy four or five. Uh, you know, since then, there's
so much better. But you know, from when I've started
racing to to you know, the pioneer I mean not

(36:26):
the pioneers, but the guys in the sixties. You know, man,
when they what was it? What was the real rough year?
Sixty four and sixties six? Weren't they you sack open
wheel guys? But I mean, yeah, and we're not We're
not done yet. You know, they're gonna keep coming up

(36:46):
with new stuff. Mikey Waltrip said one day, he told me, said,
do you realize we're gonna be able to tell our
grandkids that we used to run two in a mile
an hour next to a concrete wall, you know, no
safer barriers, and you think of about it now, that's
I can't you know. It was one of the dumbasses
we were. We didn't know it was okay, we didn't know. Yeah, yeah,

(37:13):
Well the safer barrier alone takes about a third of
the impact out. So it's just amazing what they've keep
coming up with, and they'll keep coming up with more.
And the safer barrier was a U birth, if you will,
by Tony George. Tony George was the one that started
in on that to begin with, when it all started happening.

(37:37):
And uh, I had a friend that was actually had
high speed cameras you know back then. I mean it's
been safer Berri has been around for for a minute now,
but you know he had high speed photography equipment and
it was set up in every corner like impact zones,
like where they would catch it. And I'm telling you, man,

(37:58):
it was wild. Showed me, you know, some of the
frame by frame and I mean this thing is blasting,
you know, a thousand frame, I mean just ripping. And
uh So, anyhow, they they showed what it was without
and then they showed what it was with the next
year after they had kind of got it all put
in place, and and it's it's wild for sure. And

(38:19):
of course that technology is getting better and better by
the day. I mean, we just saw will power Um
on bump Day trying to qualify to get inside of
the field. He smokes the right rear into the wall
off a turn too and continues on to finish the lap.
I mean, what I was looking at there is I mean,
and he tagged it pretty good. It was. It was
definitely no joke. I mean, the fact that he had

(38:41):
balls enough to run that thing in the turn three
that literally had to be a conversation he had with
himself down the back stret straightaway, saying, well, there's a
really good chance I'm gonna wreck big right here. But
if I don't go for it, I'm not getting in
the show. And it was all or nothing. So hats
off to him for that, I guess. But but whenever
you look at what the Safer Aarrier did the spring back,

(39:02):
you know, I mean, it didn't just launch it. It
didn't suck the car in and then launch it back
out into the track. It really just kind of saved
the back of the car and he was able to
continue down the back straight away on the mat. It
was what they're what they're doing with it now is
nothing short of exceptional. And and Kenny, whenever you talk
about what Mike you said, Now we'll be able to

(39:23):
tell our grandkids we race against the wall, we'll think
about the wall was an advancement from the Armco, right,
I mean Armco used to suck the cars in and
cut them in half. Yeah. But one thing now, I'm
not saying this and will powers case by any means,
but throughout racing forever, you know, when you say he

(39:43):
had the balls to go down to back straight away
and talk to himself, there's always been a fine line
in our sport between big balls and little brains. They
looked like the same sometimes. You know, I've never heard
of put that way. Times it tastes off, you know,
I mean, you just never know, and it might pay off.
I never never heard of that. Then, now we're gonna

(40:08):
take a quick break. Everybody can finish up with your
chuckle and we'll be right back on the other side.
This segment of the Skinny is brought to you by
Rhino classifies tired of all those ads and random stuff
that shows up when you're looking to buy or sell
your car parts. Rhino Classifies was created just for you.
Welcome to a streamline buying and selling that created by

(40:30):
racers for racers and race fans. Modified cars, classic cars,
race cars, that special pig block. You need the trailer
to move your baby around the country in we got
you at Rhino dot com. Welcome back to the Skinny.
Having some chuckles here with Kenny Schrader, and uh, let
me say thank you man for finding the time to

(40:52):
come on here and spend some time with us here
at the Skinny. We certainly appreciate it. Man, your career
has just been outstanding, but your person reality far exceeds
your career. And uh you mentioned to it before, mentioned
before that what you're still doing is having fun and
it certainly shows. I mean, there's always a smile on
your face. You're happy when you're at the race track,
when you're living the dream. Man. Yeah, I am, I

(41:16):
got I mean, I've got no complaints, still having fun.
Don't have any plans of quitting anytime real soon. Uh
my wife tells me that I'm i'm My driving skills
aren't that good. But they're the best skills I've got.
So I've got the milk a little bit longer. Hey man,

(41:36):
you wouldn't be on to do this without without sponsors.
Talk to me, how long have you been with Federated? U?
I know how to do this? Okay, look at that.
That's twenty two years U, Federate out of part. Uh,
twenty two years hunt brother Pizza is in our our
our car for the last half a dozen Henry Henry

(41:58):
Carters dot com. Uh, and this all are my my
dirt cars. Uh. This weekend is really big though, because
a little five hundreds. So I think we're the fat
heads car, aren't we? I think that sounds right. That's good?
He did great? How about that? He finished therectly, are

(42:18):
you gonna are you gonna sell me a pair of
wholesale price? We'll we'll get you in a pair, just
as long as you keep mentioning us. That's how that works. Yeah,
we got hats, we got coozies. We had all kinds
of nice things here. Now we we've just we've had
a lot of fun and no no plans to quit

(42:40):
just yet. I said, when I can't get in, when
I'll get my buddies. You know, I'll get younger buddies
to help me get in when I can't get in
no more. That's there's no problem. The kind of segues
right into what I was gonna say. Laps is a
lot of laps at Anderson Speedway. I mean thirty or

(43:02):
forty laughs. At Anderson Speedway is a lot. It's a
bull ring, it's a high bank place. It isn't making
h split second decisions. It's making split millisecond decisions because
something's happening real quick at the speed you guys are
running there. I mean, I know Stewart's workout regiment. Are

(43:23):
you on the same thing? Is that your pretty much
pretty much on the same workout regiment. Yet I'd love
to say something different, but unfortunately pretty much the same one,
pretty much the same program here. So this is good. Yeah.
Do you have any you know to tell somebody to

(43:46):
hop in a car that that let's just say that,
let's just say you could hop into a sprint car
and you had the skills to drive it, you wouldn't physically,
I would say most people, I mean even people that
are in shape that that jog or work out on
a regular basis, they would not survive at speed the
physicality of the car. I would I would venture to

(44:08):
say much past ten laps. And that's if you're in
pretty good shape. Um, much less somebody that's about to
be sixty six years old to go out there and
rip five hundred? Is it? Do you think it's just
your ability to relax when you have a little opportunity
to relax, not hang on too tight the muscles that
have been developed over the course of time you continue
to use, or just there. I mean, how do you

(44:28):
explain it? Well, you just you just get conditioned to
do it. Uh. You know you're in the cup races
for for right at thirty years and they were meltdowns.
I mean a hundred and forty hundred forty five degrees
in the car. You've been there for four hours. Uh.
That that that helped. I've never been out of the

(44:50):
car for an extended period of time. Uh. I had
a little run last week where I was eight days
in a roll in car. Uh, and we're going to
be right at eight. That was a couple of weeks ago,
right at eight this week too. Uh. The main thing
is just probably feeling relaxed enough and comfortable enough to

(45:12):
remember to breathe, because that's that's where you really get
yourself in trouble. And I say that because I mean
I went through it, you know, at different stages of
my career, when you get up into a different type
card if you maybe weren't used to and you'd be
a little stressed up, and um, it just comes as
second nature, like anything does, after you do it enough.

(45:35):
I do a lot of stuff to keep from having
to get up on Mondays and go to work. There's
the key. So so right when you feel like you're
fatigued and you're not gonna make it, I'm gonna have
to go to work Monday if I don't make it,
So I gotta keep it so that motivates. One more

(45:58):
thing too, is our little five hundred has been tenth
nine a broke a DNF eighth night DNF and so
I've never run five D laps yet, So I don't know.
I'm pretty strong around, but we haven't made the five yet.
Keep scrapping, right, what I've got a story about the

(46:21):
about the brief thing too, right, So so Stewart he
would get out of the car, we'd go to these
hammer down tracks like a p a and listen. It's
the same thing that Schrader said about watching those the
young guns, if you will, hauling it down into one
and just about not really lifting at all, okay, and

(46:41):
just wheeling that thing around there, pulling the front ends
up and Williams Grove Port Royal, I mean, those places
are no joke. Well, you know, Tony comes in, he
you know he I mean he runs good there. I mean,
if the cars cars right and things are right, he's
he's on it, man, he is doing things well, you know,

(47:02):
he comes in and he's I mean, he's absolutely gassed.
I'm like, I'm like, yea, all right. He's like, he's
like yeah, he goes this place just makes you hold
your breath. I mean, it's just interesting to hear Straighter
say that. And I told him, I said, I told
him when this whole drag racing thing started, I go,
can you hold your breath for seconds? Or how long
can you do it? Because you'll probably be pretty good

(47:23):
at this if you could do that, So what was
your deal? I find it also interesting that a veteran
like Kenny Schrader says you have to remember to breathe,
because I had the opportunity to run a short course
off road truck and going back, I believe it was
around two thousand four or five, and we were testing
at Crandon and uh, and nobody ever said anything to

(47:44):
me about it. And I remember we we practiced for
an event, um Bark River I think it was, and
I ran about three laps and I got out of
the truck and I literally said to my spotter, I said,
I'm never gonna make it through this race. I said,
I'm completely wore out after three laps, I mean, and

(48:06):
I mean I was spent. I was done. And I
think it was Johnny Greeves, who you know, multi time champion,
UH walked up to me and he said, man, you
gotta breathe. He said, you've gotta know. It was Kurt Lduke.
It was Kurt Leduke. And I had a sock. I
had an off road sock, you know, the socks come
down and protect your neck and stuff, and UH, and
it was it was containing all of my my exhale air,

(48:29):
so all the carbon monoxide was staying in the helmet.
They said, they said, rip that thing off so you
can get some fresh air. And you've got to remember
to breathe. And oh my god, what what a difference,
because I was doing exactly what Kenny just said. I
was scared to death. I had never raised it before.
I was hanging off for dear life, and that your
you naturally hold your breath whenever you do that, so

(48:51):
I just wasn't getting in any oxygen and at all,
and consequently, after three laps, I was war out. So
I literally used to have my spot or tell me
at every single race, I would say, remind me to breathe,
Just tell me to breathe. As crazy as it sounds,
it was so important and it was the only way
I can make it to the end of a race.
And you are talking about, you know, holding your breath,

(49:12):
you know when you know when you're scared. I mean,
I think that's what sleep had me is from. It's
like sleeping with your wife. You're scared, you're gonna get
You're gonna get k oede in the middle of the night.
I've never slept with your wife, but maybe I don't know.
I mean, she never listens to these shows, so I
clearly can say whatever I want him opened up here

(49:32):
on this, but this kidding just kind of just kidding,
but no. I mean it is interesting though, and I
mean the whole, that whole deal, and I mean because
your your mind is in a total different place and
you're I mean, how do you forget to breathe? Well,
you know what when you're at that speed and doing
those things. I mean, that's that's uh but yeah, I
mean when Tony was telling me about it, I was like,

(49:54):
I was like, well, I said, you know, how how
does that work? I mean, he's he's you know, it's
like later he's ran a lot of stuff, man, and
went way fast, but that, uh, you know, it was
pretty wild. And I mean talk about getting on your head.
I mean the wreck, you know, unfortunately, the day that
you know, lost Lost Dale. You know, Tony was in

(50:17):
a horrific wreck and you know he still has that
car at his house and uh, you know, to look
at that thing, I mean, it's it's bad enough for Pam,
Tony's mom won't even go in and look at it,
you know. But then you get in a sprint car
at at Port Royal, which listen those wings sprint cars,
the the non wing stuff, the stuff Kenny Kenny runs.

(50:40):
I mean, listen at Bristol, I never in my life
saw more late models and modified flipped ever in my life.
Then then we're at that place. I mean just I mean,
what was that straighter? Did you run that? Or did
Kenny Wallace or anybody run that that you talked to?
We did not go. We were going for the World

(51:02):
of Outlaw Weekend where they ran the late miles and
the modified and didn't get to make it. I forget
what happened. We had we had someplace we had to
be Monday that there was no way out of. They
had a bad forecast, which they wound up running Sunday,
and I wouldn't have been able to make it up,
so we didn't. I watched at all. Aren't dirt vision.

(51:26):
I mean it was funny, exciting. I had run around
there enough laps before that I kind of knew what
they were going to be up against, you know, but
it was good. I don't know. Our cars just aren't
built to do that. And I will say that, I mean,
watching the sprint cars go around there, I mean it

(51:48):
was putting a lot of pressure on pieces that I'm
just not really sure made to have those parts had
that much pressure. When you say that your cars aren't
built to do that. Are you talking about the banking,
the banking and the speed now I say that, and
I got thinking about it that I don't know how
many three or maybe three of the last five years

(52:11):
Tony's ran my backup modified at do Coin Illinois. Really
they were on a hundred and sixty five down the
back straight away. But you know all that, and that's
and that's and that's getting it. I mean a hundred
and sixty five. And but I mean you also, you

(52:33):
know the coin, you also have a you know, a
pretty wide, pretty wide corner, you know, where you take
it a little bit different. I mean those guys at Bristol,
like the Outlaws, I mean they were I mean one
they were. They were popping motors left and right. It
was eating motors up like crazy. And uh so it'll

(52:55):
be interesting. What the I don't I think that they'll
do it again, and I don't think I shouldn't. I mean,
I think they should do it again. I think it
was I think it was awesome. And if it wasn't,
you know, the pandemic program, I think I think you
would have saw a lot more people there. They said
they had more more people camping and things like that

(53:16):
and then they could have ever imagined. So I think
that it's I think that it's a great, a great thing.
But I'm a little I'm I'm a little biased because
I think this place in Rossburg, Ohio should have gotten
that race because they're kind of the ones that stuck
their neck out there with the truck deal, and it

(53:39):
should have been the right progression to go right over
there with the cup stuff as well. So, I mean,
I love it for the dirt program, but I think
you're probably I mean, trader, do you think you're going
to see more of that with those guys doing some
dirt shows. I don't think we're going to see a
lot more of it, you know us uh paste when

(54:01):
we talk about there's only two places that two other
places that could do it, and that would be uh
Tony's Eldora or Knoxville. Uh in my mind, that's the
only ones that could put on a good show. And
now they're going to Knoxville this year with the truck,
so we'll see what happens there. Um. I thought I
thought the show came off good, especially for you know,

(54:23):
two o'clock in the afternoon. I don't know, you know
how much better a night show would have been or
something like that. But it was a big change for
the sport. But you know, I believe it was dictated
by TV, so it's not like anyone had a whole
lot of control about how it happened. Yeah. Well, I mean,
running a dirt race, as you will know during the

(54:45):
day is there's a challenge by any standard um to
come out there. And it took them, you know, it
took him a number of days. And like you said,
they were they had also been battling weather off and
on I think the previous week as well. By the
time they got to the cup race, you know, the
track I thought settled in. I mean it was rough,
it was it had holes, it had character, if you will,

(55:06):
But I think that's all part of the fun. If
you're gonna put them on the dirt, you've got to
you've got to find a way to deal with that stuff.
It's not gonna be pristine like asphalt. Otherwise just running
on asphalts. So I thought what the guys did was
was pretty cool. Uh, to watch the progress the way
they did. I will ask you this, I mean, because
we've seen this at a door with the trucks what

(55:27):
are your thoughts about taking that windshield out and putting
a screen in. I'd be all fart. I think it'd
be better. Uh. You know, when David Strummy ran one
of the xr X cars at Gaffney, I guess Cherokee, uh,
and they talked about it. And when I ran a

(55:47):
tested Knoxville and El Dora, uh two weeks ago, they
had to win front and rear windshields out. So I
don't see there would be any problem there at all.
I mean it allows them to give them a better
track rather than slicking that thing off like they do
with old door. Absolutely, but I mean whoever made the
call clearly somebody that is not aware of how dirt

(56:09):
trucks operate, but whoever made the call to send the
trucks out there to quote unquote Will Pack. Yeah, bad
idea with windshields, I mean, horrible idea. And I mean
it closed the whole front of the trucks off and everything.
It's like, that's why you send the you know, the
old cop cars out there that they finally had out

(56:30):
there doing it, which which we're pretty entertaining to watch.
But I always thought here in Indianapolis Brickyard weekend, if
they had the Cup race out at the big track,
you know at I M S like they do, they
had the Nationwide race or I'm sorry, ex Afinity Bush Race.

(56:51):
However you want to roll there out at Lucas Oil Raceway.
And why don't you have the truck race out at
the Indiana State fairgrad Ouse Friday, Saturday, Sunday. They could
run the trucks at the fair grounds, could they not?
Getting Yeah, the only problem with the fairgrounds, you know,
Springfield dew Coin are still still dirt tracks and the

(57:14):
the Indie Fairgrounds. First off, the wall is way too low.
It needs some help that the other ones don't um.
And that surface has been transitioning more to a type
surface for the horses than for the cars for a
number of years now, Okay, yeah, I mean that last

(57:36):
year was supposed to be the last time, right or no,
two years ago, two years years ago, and then they
did run it last year. Yeah, they ran it last year,
and man, there was some there was some wild stuff
that happened there out of turn too. I mean, listen,
you flip a Silver Crown car, You've you've accomplished something.

(57:57):
I mean you, I mean, those are big heavy cars
and uh man, there were two or three that got
got upside down there. I think that I can't remember
who it is got transported to the hospital, which is
just kind of something you generally don't hear, you know,
within the Silver Crown deal, thank god. But but yeah,

(58:19):
I I always enjoy uh uh you know, the coin,
springfield all that stuff. But I mean, I don't know
how many people come pack the grand stands to watch
horses run around there unless they're unless they're gonna start
racing them there something. But just that was my That

(58:41):
was my text to the That was my text to
the uh to the governor when we were there, if
you want to come out and watch a real race,
we're here. It's not far from your house. So he
didn't reply with it anyhow So, and it wouldn't be
bad to invest some money back into that and making
a multi function track. I mean, I understand what Kenny saying.
It's going going all towards the horses, but why not

(59:01):
why not put a little bit of money back in.
I mean, the fairgrounds does a great job. There's a
lot of stuff that goes on out there. For the
bulk of the certainly the warm months here and and
and uh exhibition stuff in the cold months. But yeah,
maybe maybe invest in a wall and proper, proper safety
items out there to get those cars out there. I mean,
the the race is phenomenal. And I just like you said,

(59:22):
you know the coin you know, those those big dirt
track races. You know, even for the arc of cars,
it's fun to watch those guys go out there and
and do what they do. The flat track motorcycle stuff.
I mean, it's it's incredible flat track bikes for a while,
it's unbelievable, especially like Springfield, the same same exact thing.
And I and in the fan base that you have here.
I mean, this is a racing town, you know. I

(59:45):
just can't imagine it wouldn't work out for him. Time
for a quick break, don't go away. This segment of
the Skinny is brought to you by Toyota So so straighter.
Did you ever run um um wall car out there
at the at the Indiana State Fairgrounds? Ran it? Uh?

(01:00:06):
I think I ran an out little car there. Uh
ran we ran the wings winged out Law with the
World Outlaw Show and you sack Silver Crown cars same
day they had some kind of shootout. I want to
say it was an eighty two. Uh so I had
one run a wing sprint car at side Yard a
mile and at Springfield ar mile hammer down right. Yeah,

(01:00:33):
it seemed like a pretty big commitment when you got
down the end turn, like I think I need to
let up, but I know, I mean, I think I
want to let up, but I probably don't need to,
but I really want to. But you know, then that
little brain part. I was just gonna say, we back
to that big ball little brain thing. Yeah, yeah, I
wound up, didn't let off, of course down a lot

(01:00:59):
of times. A lot of times it helps you when
you're coming off the turn if you check up just
a little bit. Yeah, I've seen them. I've seen him
clear of that fence there. It didn't at the Fairgrounds,
uh more than once, and I was there. I was
there for an outlaw show. It had to be early
nineties again working you know, working security doing something and

(01:01:21):
uh and I'm telling you, man, I was. I was
absolutely mesmerized. I mean they were flying around that place
and uh but what I what I guess where I
was going with it was, you know, back in the day,
they had a lot of shows there you know what
I mean. And they had a lot of fans there,
so it's like nothing's changed. I mean, you know that

(01:01:44):
if racing you know, as a whole, I think it's
gotten better, it has gotten safer, and uh, you know,
so I don't know, it's wild. I mean I'd like
to see there one thing's changed on it. So Rico
is they had a lot of shows in the hand,
a lot of fans, but we're having less and less
fans of a lot of these races. Um not saying

(01:02:05):
that less are watching because now with all the uh
streaming that's available for for all the different series online,
you know, a lot are watching home, but not necessarily
some of that revenue isn't going in promotors pocket, so
we're not necessarily seeing the fans support. We need to

(01:02:30):
be rolling the dice and making a couple of hundred
thousand dollar investment to bigger, bigger, bring a big race
into some of these facilities. Are we going down a
slippery slope here with the direction the stream as far
as if you're streaming from from the race track, Uh,

(01:02:50):
probably some of the revenue sharing needs to be looked at,
you know, far the racetrack also in some of the situations.
I know it's different for them, but that's where I
was getting ready to go exactly when he said that.
Now he's wearing track owner hat, okay, track promoter hat,
and he's exactly right, because here's the thing. You know,

(01:03:13):
you haven't changed the purse, you haven't paid more. You
have this streaming thing. Now you're still charging peevely the
same amount sanctioning fee. But you're also you know, robbing
them at the same time, because hey, listen, maybe I
don't want to track it all the way over to
Peevelee and watch it because I know I can turn

(01:03:36):
on dirt vision and catch the Outlaws race. It doesn't
cost a penny less to run this year than it
ever did before, you know, I mean, it's it's all
going up right exactly. So I mean with the cost
of fuel, cost of everything you got, you know, everything
that's going on out there. And and I agree one
million percent with him, because here's the thing. Without track

(01:03:59):
promoters slash owners like Schrader, you know, and Tony and everybody,
these guys that have tracks and tracks together, well, there's
no place for you to film it. There's no place
for you to live stream it now, So where are
you going to do that if you don't If, as
I always say in business, if it's not good for
both of us, let's not do it, because it's just

(01:04:21):
not gonna be good. Period. It's never gonna turn out
better because we did it and we knew we shouldn't
have done it. So I I wholeheartedly agree because at
the end of the day, you end up, you know,
you end up hurting the tracks. And listen, some places
can take it, but I mean you look at Bob Sergeant,

(01:04:42):
Bob Sergeant has Has. I mean you want to talk
about a guy that rolls the dice, I mean he
puts it out there, you know, and he promotes a
lot of races. So if you're you know, taking money
out the back door, it's it's hard for him to continue.
You know, how much longer do you want to continue
that business model? So I'm by no means uh signaling

(01:05:06):
singling picking our dirt vision, but any means because uh,
the whole dirt organization, that's that's who we're sanctioned by
it uh uh five federate idle parts racially and that
you know the world outlaw sprint cars come there I
think that there are four times this year. Uh, and

(01:05:28):
they they have done a phenomenal job of of help
growing our sport. We're just gonna need to look at
some kind of hopefully some kind of universal package put together,
like like NASCAR does. Uh that maybe would you know,
look at a little bit different different distribution of some

(01:05:51):
of those funds. Yeah, And I mean that's and that's
exactly what I'm getting at because listen, dirt Vision. I mean,
I'm not going to fly to California to wat you know,
watch them run out there. So it's great, you can
pick it up and the people from California aren't going
to fly out here. But it's exactly I agree with
Strader exactly what he's saying, because at the end of
the day, if there was some rev share thing on there,

(01:06:15):
you know, it's benefiting the streaming company. I mean, it's
it's a it's a product for them, and you know,
it's just like going to a grocery store. They're going
to sell the product. They didn't get the product for free.
You know, you should have to pay for that product
to some degree. Now, whatever that percentage is, like you
said before, it's got to work for everybody. So you know,

(01:06:35):
if the streaming company is charging the fans that are watching,
whatever the price may be, then a percentage of that
needs to get kicked back to the guy that's actually
producing the show. Well, I mean, yes, yes, and no.
But here's the thing too. If you have a place
that holds ten thou people, well you're going to be
a different percentage than the guy that has three thousand people,

(01:06:57):
you know, three thousand people in the stands, you know.
But I think that's what Kenny said. I mean, you
divvy it up where where what however, it makes sense obviously,
But I mean the point being is if they're gonna
live streaming and and it does rob them of some
of their audience, then yeah, you've got to find a
way to keep Everybody has to keep winning otherwise what's
the point of doing it. I mean, you're they're all

(01:07:19):
there at the end of the day to we're not
trying to finish eight, okay, just to seventh, seven, top five,
damn it. We've invested a lot of stickers in that car. Okay,
it's more than that. But anyhow, hey, buddy, we've had

(01:07:42):
you on here for a while. Man, we appreciate you
taking the time, and hopefully mother nature will will cooperate
a little bit better later on here today and you
can get inside of that race car a little bit.
I'm just getting ready to run out there and spring
in nextion right now. There you go, Trader, thanks as always,
and uh, what's that? Or maybe start my exercise program? Yeah,

(01:08:09):
so his exercise program will be like Tony's. He's gonna
walk to the concession stand, get Samario cookie, get a
couple of hot dogs. If they sold spaghettios, he would
get those, of course. So anyhow, Strader, thanks as always
and hope to see you soon. And uh, we've got
your your your glasses waiting on you here. We just

(01:08:30):
need you here so we can fit you. Okay, sir,
thank you much for having us, aren't thanks for being
with us here on the skinny. This episode has been
brought to you by Toyota. Rhino classifies Dream Giveaway and
general tire for the latest and sunglasses, optical frames, accessories
and apparel. Be sure to check out bad heads dot com.

(01:08:50):
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