Aug. 1, 2025

Waving Shirts in the Front Yard: How a Boy's Dream Became Reality with Tony Eldridge

Waving Shirts in the Front Yard: How a Boy's Dream Became Reality with Tony Eldridge

Send us a text When Tony Eldridge decided to wave colored shirts on hangers in his front yard as a child, pretending to be a flagman, he never imagined it would lead to a 20-year career in motorsports that would touch countless lives. His journey from those humble beginnings to becoming one of the most respected figures in Midwest short track racing reveals both the magic and challenges of grass-roots motorsports. In this candid conversation with Melinda Russell, Tony shares the full arc of ...

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Season 1

Send us a text

When Tony Eldridge decided to wave colored shirts on hangers in his front yard as a child, pretending to be a flagman, he never imagined it would lead to a 20-year career in motorsports that would touch countless lives. His journey from those humble beginnings to becoming one of the most respected figures in Midwest short track racing reveals both the magic and challenges of grass-roots motorsports.

In this candid conversation with Melinda Russell, Tony shares the full arc of his racing story—from his early days attending races as a newborn at Santa Fe Speedway to his own brief racing career that included championship wins, before finding his true calling as a flagman and announcer. The pivotal moment came in 2005 when Keith Hankins offered him a flagging position, launching two decades of Saturday nights dedicated to the sport he loves.

Throughout our discussion, Tony pulls back the curtain on the harsh realities facing short track racing today. "We're losing the old-timers, and there's no fan base," he explains, detailing how even packed pit areas with 100+ race cars can't sustain a track when only 300 fans are in the grandstands. He offers fascinating insights into the economics of track operation—from the $30,000 needed just to open the gates for a single night to how weather and competing entertainment options have dramatically affected attendance.

Perhaps most poignantly, Tony reveals why after 20 seasons without missing a single Saturday, he's stepping away from full-time track involvement. "When it's no longer fun, I just don't want to do it," he shares, explaining his determination not to let burnout ruin his love for racing. Yet his story isn't about abandonment but evolution—finding new ways to contribute through announcing at Hartford Speedway and with the MCR Dwarf cars while finally making time for family and personal health.

Whether you're a die-hard race fan or simply appreciate stories of passion and perseverance, Tony's reflections offer valuable perspective on finding balance between dedication to a calling and the need for personal sustainability. Join us for this heartfelt conversation that celebrates the racing community while honestly confronting the challenges that threaten its future.

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00:00 - Tony Eldridge's Racing Origins

10:15 - From Racing to Flagging to Announcing

17:46 - TV Show Career and Racing Friendships

30:08 - Stepping Away After 20 Seasons

43:23 - The Struggles of Modern Short Track Racing

56:16 - Social Media, Live Streaming Impact

01:07:33 - Future Plans and Upcoming Local Races

WEBVTT

00:00:02.325 --> 00:00:10.490
Hey everybody, Melinda Russell here and it's let's Talk Racing Live, and my guest is here with me, Tony Eldridge.

00:00:10.490 --> 00:00:14.451
I'm so excited to have him on the show with me.

00:00:14.451 --> 00:00:19.271
So Tony and I have known each other easily 10 years, maybe more.

00:00:19.271 --> 00:00:22.827
We'll just we'll say 10 years and that'll.

00:00:22.827 --> 00:00:28.891
That'll cover it, and I did some events with you for the announcers.

00:00:29.681 --> 00:00:30.804
What was that called?

00:00:30.804 --> 00:00:32.310
Yeah, announcers Choice.

00:00:33.280 --> 00:01:06.079
I think I did two or three events for send out cards with you guys and, oh my gosh, so fun and and so we've known each other in a lot of different ways, you know through racing, but we've done a lot of different things together, and so I ended up going to a race and I ended up getting to see you, which I hadn't seen you for a while, which was very fun and and so I was like I want to have you on my show and talk about how did you get started in racing?

00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:10.492
Because we see all these people that we've known for a long time.

00:01:10.492 --> 00:01:13.650
But I don't really know your story, Tony.

00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:21.990
I mean you know, so I want you to share that with my listeners and I apologize if you can't ask us any questions.

00:01:21.990 --> 00:01:29.025
I'm still working out some bugs with StreamYard and live Facebook, so if you want to post questions, try it.

00:01:29.025 --> 00:01:31.811
Otherwise, Tony, take it away.

00:01:31.811 --> 00:01:32.774
Tell us your story.

00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:38.921
Yeah, and if you want to ask questions, I have my phone beside me you can Facebook message me and we'll get them on there.

00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:39.820
So my story actually starts in Illinois.

00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.561
I was born in Aurora, illinois, so my story actually starts in Illinois.

00:01:42.561 --> 00:01:49.927
I was born in Aurora, illinois, and the first racetrack I ever went to was Santa Fe Speedway dirt track.

00:01:49.927 --> 00:02:04.254
Then, like LaSalle and Kankakee, so as a newborn baby, born in the middle of June, so as a newborn baby two weeks old, out at the racetrack and just kind of came up through it, we moved to Indiana before I was adopted.

00:02:04.254 --> 00:02:17.162
I moved to Indiana with my bio parents and we started going to New Paris, plymouth, mottville, angola, barefield, and so we just continued.

00:02:17.162 --> 00:02:18.004
So my funny, embarrassing story.

00:02:18.004 --> 00:02:19.248
Even as a young boy I dreamed of being a flagman.

00:02:19.248 --> 00:02:28.212
I always wanted to be a flagman, so I would take different colored shirts on hangers and stand out in the front yard and just flag my shirts all day, all night.

00:02:29.721 --> 00:02:30.945
That is so funny.

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That's all I had at the time.

00:02:33.145 --> 00:02:35.146
So you just make you know imagination.

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Like we were kids.

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We didn't have fancy stuff, so I would stand out there with all my pride and joy and flag the cars as they drove by, and so it was just always a dream to work at the track.

00:02:45.667 --> 00:02:46.729
So then fast forward.

00:02:46.729 --> 00:02:51.542
I raced um three or four years I raced really wasn't my thing.

00:02:51.542 --> 00:02:52.965
I raced at new Paris.

00:02:52.965 --> 00:02:57.763
I won a feature at Plymouth, um, I've got second in a mini stock at Kalamazoo.

00:02:57.763 --> 00:02:59.986
I won a championship at Mottville.

00:02:59.986 --> 00:03:09.105
I've raced Barefield, angola, uh, and I just it wasn't for me like it was fun, but it was like you know, you wreck, you have to fix it.

00:03:09.105 --> 00:03:14.686
I did get to race with my dad a few times, so that was a hoot at Montville and my sisters at Montville, um.

00:03:14.746 --> 00:03:21.348
So I was adopted, uh, when I turned 18, and my adopted family, larry Saunders and Robin Saunders, my mom and dad.

00:03:21.348 --> 00:03:23.921
They had always been huge into racing.

00:03:23.921 --> 00:03:36.133
I have known him my whole life and so I wanted one year where I could help my dad with his street stock, and so we did one full season together where he would just show up.

00:03:36.133 --> 00:03:41.733
He always dreamed of just being able to show up to the racetrack, walk in with his bag and race, not have to work on it.

00:03:41.733 --> 00:03:45.411
So he taught me such a tremendous amount we gave him that year.

00:03:46.540 --> 00:03:50.290
He never had the fastest car, we never had a lot of money, so he wasn't in the A feature.

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But back in the good old days we'd always have a B or a C and he was always in the B at New Paris and that year we won 14 out of 16 features, together with dad just showing up and being able to race.

00:04:02.210 --> 00:04:11.360
We run a D feature at Kalamazoo, at Super Shoe, and we run a B feature at Plymouth that we won, and so it was like the best year I could ever imagine.

00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:18.603
And then the next year was when Donnie Klotz had sold New Paris to Keith Hankins and Keith called me.

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We had known each other growing up and he asked me if I wanted to be his flagman and I'd worked a little bit at Plymouth with Caleb Woods and some guys down there, like getting my feet wet and I'm like heck, yeah, I want to do this.

00:04:28.865 --> 00:04:32.009
So that started my journey.

00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:34.023
Do you know what year that was?

00:04:35.165 --> 00:04:38.353
2005.

00:04:38.353 --> 00:04:45.463
Yeah, this was my 20th full-time season in racing, working at track, so, yeah, 2005.

00:04:45.463 --> 00:04:59.673
So after that, I loved flagging, met a ton of great people, had some really awesome staff, really had a great time.

00:04:59.673 --> 00:05:08.122
And then, from there, one day, jerry Cannon, who was the announcer at New Paris for my entire childhood.

00:05:08.122 --> 00:05:12.658
He had cancer and was sick and he couldn't make it all night long.

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And so Donnie came up and he said hey, you want to announce and have Chad Pontius finish flagging?

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And I'm like, why not?

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Like, this sounds fun.

00:05:20.485 --> 00:05:22.329
Now, you're back Now you're back.

00:05:22.329 --> 00:05:23.130
You were froze up.

00:05:23.130 --> 00:05:26.781
Yeah, fun, now you're back.

00:05:26.781 --> 00:05:27.122
Now you're back.

00:05:27.122 --> 00:05:27.682
You were froze up.

00:05:27.682 --> 00:05:28.605
Yeah, you were froze up for a little bit.

00:05:28.605 --> 00:05:36.286
So the last I heard you was um, you, it's 20 years you've been involved and so kind of go back and okay, yeah yeah, so 20 years I've been involved.

00:05:36.567 --> 00:05:37.790
Um, I started flagging.

00:05:37.790 --> 00:05:42.827
Uh, met a lot of really great people at the racetrack working there, learned a lot.

00:05:42.827 --> 00:05:50.891
Learned like the in and outs of, like behind the scenes and what it takes to to really open up a racetrack and and be at a racetrack.

00:05:50.891 --> 00:06:00.125
Um, and then I don't know the year, a few years after flagging full-time, jerry cannon, who was the announcer at new paris for as long as I can remember.

00:06:00.125 --> 00:06:04.283
Uh, he had cancer and one night he was really sick and he just couldn't make it.

00:06:04.283 --> 00:06:07.187
And so Donnie Klotz came up and he said, hey, you want to announce?

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And I public speaking was not my thing, like I was not a public speaker and I'm like, yeah, why not?

00:06:14.509 --> 00:06:20.670
So Chad Pontius finished flagging, I went up and started announcing and I'm like this is the greatest thing ever.

00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:22.502
Like you say yell and the people yell.

00:06:22.502 --> 00:06:24.307
I'm like I, this is better than flagging.

00:06:24.307 --> 00:06:26.110
Like I didn't know I wanted to do this.

00:06:26.110 --> 00:06:28.898
Yeah, so I announced for a long time.

00:06:28.918 --> 00:06:36.934
Uh, then took over as race director at new Paris and then, um, inter Michiana speed zone and MW racing news.

00:06:36.934 --> 00:06:44.074
It was a local TV show that covered short track racing way before flow and all that great stuff now.

00:06:44.074 --> 00:06:59.300
And so, uh, scott Feaster hired me full-time as the host and a production manager of the show and we got to travel all over, uh, meeting some amazing people along the way, doing the show for three seasons two of my best stories with this.

00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:09.899
I was I'm a huge bill Elliot fan, awesome bill from Dawsonville and we were at Winchester the first year chase Elliot one and so I'm standing there going to be ready for my interview.

00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:15.031
He's getting out of the car and I look up and right next to me is Bill Elliott and I couldn't even speak.

00:07:15.031 --> 00:07:17.382
Like I'm just like, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.

00:07:17.382 --> 00:07:21.428
And so Bill put his arm around me and he said you want an interview.

00:07:21.428 --> 00:07:26.235
And I'm like, yes, he just starts laughing Like he thinks it's great.

00:07:26.235 --> 00:07:31.702
So I got to interview him and then I got to interview Chase and then two weeks later he emailed me personally.

00:07:31.702 --> 00:07:33.367
He's like, can I get a copy of that show?

00:07:33.367 --> 00:07:36.173
And so I'm like, yeah, you can.

00:07:36.173 --> 00:07:49.153
So a few years back I end up in Georgia, in Dawsonville, I went to see the pool hall and then go to their museum the family owns, and I was in there talking to Bill's wife and I was like long shot.

00:07:49.153 --> 00:07:50.935
But you know, do you remember this story?

00:07:50.935 --> 00:07:59.199
And she's like yeah, we still have your, your DVD at home and the Winchester trophies in the museum, so super cool moment there.

00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:12.672
And then my second favorite memory with the TV show is we were at Berlin with Super Mods and Johnny Benson was there, another like huge childhood favorite and I walked up to get an interview and he brought me in, fed me at the driver's meeting.

00:08:12.672 --> 00:08:16.869
He told all these people, this is my friend, tony, if he needs an interview with you, you be nice to him.

00:08:16.869 --> 00:08:20.148
And I was just like, holy crap, like Johnny Benson just called me his friend.

00:08:20.148 --> 00:08:21.802
This is great, yeah.

00:08:21.802 --> 00:08:25.577
So over the years I've gotten to announce at a ton of local tracks.

00:08:25.577 --> 00:08:27.786
I've helped a lot of promoters and owners out.

00:08:27.786 --> 00:08:34.229
Uh, we got to do the the three shows with you guys with send out cards, which were amazing.

00:08:34.229 --> 00:08:36.115
Uh, we really had a great time.

00:08:36.115 --> 00:08:40.024
Our first one was at Mottville and it was just a blast.

00:08:40.024 --> 00:08:45.010
Like we went in there and we had 140, some odd cars and you couldn't get in the gate.

00:08:45.010 --> 00:08:46.793
Like it was just insane.

00:08:46.833 --> 00:08:47.514
You know what?

00:08:47.514 --> 00:08:57.831
I had never been to Montville, but I heard a lot about it and my friend, my best friend, Gail, went with me and we couldn't even find a place to sit.

00:08:58.153 --> 00:08:58.413
Yes.

00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:02.171
And we ended up then, you know, we had our table with all our stuff.

00:09:02.171 --> 00:09:11.230
We ended up then sitting next to this family that had driven like a long way I can't remember where they were from to come to this race in Mottville.

00:09:11.230 --> 00:09:23.542
And I was thinking Mottville, you know, this isn't Michigan International Speedway, right, right, but it was crazy and the racing was amazing it was?

00:09:23.802 --> 00:09:25.412
yes, it was I, it was.

00:09:25.412 --> 00:09:27.306
I remember that that was so much fun.

00:09:27.306 --> 00:09:30.089
Andy Jack, Jason Seltzer and I, we came up with this.

00:09:30.089 --> 00:09:33.191
I'm sure it was one of those like, hey, we had a couple of adult beverages.

00:09:33.191 --> 00:09:48.011
Yes, hank, let's do something we're like, yeah, okay, and it was probably the best thing I've ever done, like seeing drivers from eight, nine, 10 different tracks come to Mottville and Mottville in the heyday was like the place to be, if you were in.

00:09:48.032 --> 00:09:50.514
Mottville, you were big time and so it was neat to see.

00:09:50.514 --> 00:10:00.317
The best thing that came out of that besides meeting a lot of great people and meeting and having you work with us and being there with you was Merle Holden.

00:10:00.317 --> 00:10:00.679
God rest his soul.

00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:12.206
Sent Jason, andy and I each a letter with a 200 check and said thank you, we never want to do this again.

00:10:12.206 --> 00:10:20.672
I'm sure I still have that letter around here somewhere it was the greatest thing, it was just too much money for merle and that was over.

00:10:21.173 --> 00:10:24.304
That was more than merle had ever done at montreal, I'm sure.

00:10:24.846 --> 00:10:26.826
Definitely, and he was just like let's not.

00:10:26.826 --> 00:10:28.544
So then we did it.

00:10:28.544 --> 00:10:29.769
A couple other tracks.

00:10:29.769 --> 00:10:33.808
And it was just so much fun I mean, when you can bring it.

00:10:33.808 --> 00:10:36.080
It was like super shoe on steroids.

00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:44.528
When you get all these people to come together, and people from everywhere are just coming to be a different track every year, so it was definitely a lot of fun.

00:10:44.528 --> 00:10:47.369
Jason posted the other day never again.

00:10:47.369 --> 00:10:48.884
And I asked what do you mean?

00:10:48.884 --> 00:10:51.008
He was like announcer's choice for never.

00:10:51.520 --> 00:10:55.609
And I'm like well, you never know, but it was just a great time.

00:10:55.740 --> 00:11:01.220
So from there I continued working at New Paris for a while and then switched to South Bend.

00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:10.815
I moved to South Bend for work and switched to South Bend, started being the promoter there and then, when they bought Plymouth, we moved down there to be the promoter.

00:11:10.815 --> 00:11:21.279
And so I've just done this 20 full-time seasons, never missed a Saturday, never taken a day off, never really had a summer vacation or anything like that.

00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:29.788
And I've always told myself when it's no longer fun, I just don't want to do it Like if it's going to ruin the sport for me.

00:11:29.807 --> 00:11:32.142
I want out, and that's where I've been this year.

00:11:32.142 --> 00:11:35.991
Racing is not what it used to be.

00:11:37.014 --> 00:11:42.648
I mean I remember growing up playing in the dirt on my knees and there'd be 40 kids hanging around having a good time.

00:11:42.648 --> 00:11:50.274
Now the kids aren't into it, we're losing the old timers and there's no fan base and it's just a ton of stress with social media.

00:11:50.274 --> 00:11:52.267
And so I was like I'm just done.

00:11:52.267 --> 00:11:52.981
You know, I don't.

00:11:52.981 --> 00:11:54.628
I want to do other things in my life.

00:11:54.628 --> 00:11:57.279
I don't want to work full time at a racetrack.

00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:09.268
It was a very hard decision to make, but it was just one of those where, if I don't do it now, like I'm just going to end up hating this sport and I love racing, like I'm super passionate about it and I don't want it to get there.

00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:16.493
No, and you know, like we talked about earlier, you don't have a day off.

00:12:16.493 --> 00:12:17.785
You work a full-time job.

00:12:17.785 --> 00:12:21.350
You just told me you drive sometimes 1,300 miles a week.

00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:27.907
The last thing you I'm sorry, but the last thing you want to do on a weekend is have another job.

00:12:27.907 --> 00:12:35.493
I mean, I don't care how much you love it, at some point it's going to be overkill and it's going to be like I just can't do this anymore.

00:12:35.493 --> 00:12:40.105
You know, it's it's funny that we talk about the seasons of life.

00:12:40.105 --> 00:12:45.414
You just you just described several of your seasons of life and now you're starting a new one.

00:12:45.414 --> 00:12:52.532
I I've spent the last two days, plus some days prior, sorting and pitching at my house.

00:12:52.532 --> 00:13:03.001
Now I have, I live in a nice house and it's clean and it, but you accumulate too much stuff and I'm gonna have back surgery again.

00:13:03.001 --> 00:13:06.991
I was like, okay, got to do some stuff here, right, and and it's, you know it.

00:13:06.991 --> 00:13:11.650
I look at things that I saved and my kids aren't going to want them.

00:13:12.251 --> 00:13:12.513
Right.

00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:16.349
They're just going to have to sort them and get rid of them when I die.

00:13:16.349 --> 00:13:34.366
And I'm like no, and I went to the re the place today to drop off a whole carload of stuff and there was two pickup truck loads.

00:13:34.366 --> 00:13:35.490
This is not about racing, but it's about seasons of life.

00:13:35.490 --> 00:13:36.251
Yeah, two pickup trucks full of stuff.

00:13:36.251 --> 00:13:38.077
And the lady said, lady, and her daughter says to me yeah, we're cleaning out grandma's house.

00:13:38.077 --> 00:13:47.342
And I started laughing and I said, well, I'm the grandma and I'm cleaning out my own house so that my kids and grandkids don't have to, and we got a good chuckle out of it.

00:13:47.864 --> 00:13:50.850
But it's time, it's time for me to do that.

00:13:50.850 --> 00:14:08.547
It's time for you to spend time with your wife, and maybe, you know, instead of going to the track where you work, maybe you want to go to Kokomo, maybe you want to go to Kalamazoo, I don't know, and maybe you want to just stay home in the air conditioning, because Saturday it's going to be 95.

00:14:08.547 --> 00:14:08.707
Right.

00:14:08.748 --> 00:14:12.302
You know, yep, and that you're exactly right, and that's the thing.

00:14:12.302 --> 00:14:15.288
Like we haven't been able to take a summer vacation.

00:14:15.288 --> 00:14:18.139
Her daughter lives in Oregon.

00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:19.321
She just had a baby.

00:14:19.321 --> 00:14:21.842
We've seen him once, twice.

00:14:21.842 --> 00:14:24.605
They came here once, but we can't do that, you know.

00:14:24.605 --> 00:14:26.447
And during the winter you don't want to fly out there.

00:14:26.447 --> 00:14:31.551
It's freezing, cold and snowy, and so it's like we don't get to experience life.

00:14:31.551 --> 00:14:36.455
And when I was single or just dating around, no big deal, I didn't have anything better to do it was great.

00:14:36.455 --> 00:14:40.336
Now it's just like my focus has absolutely shifted.

00:14:40.336 --> 00:14:42.080
I still love racing.

00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:44.000
I mean, I'm still going to be involved.

00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:50.004
I've had several job offers in the last three years I've politely turned most of them down.

00:14:50.145 --> 00:14:51.667
I have been helping at Hartford.

00:14:51.667 --> 00:14:53.988
Leah and Tim have been amazing people.

00:14:53.988 --> 00:15:01.552
They run a very short schedule and my favorite part is I arrive at six o'clock on a Friday and 10 o'clock I'm usually walking out.

00:15:01.552 --> 00:15:03.774
No one's yelled at me, no one's cussed at me.

00:15:03.774 --> 00:15:05.495
I didn't spend all week trying to promote.

00:15:05.495 --> 00:15:10.304
I'm not worried about if there's enough money to pay the bills, I'm just nagging and going home.

00:15:10.304 --> 00:15:12.451
Or last year it was announcing, so we're going to continue.

00:15:12.451 --> 00:15:14.024
My wife and I have been working there.

00:15:14.024 --> 00:15:15.168
We're going to continue to do that.

00:15:15.168 --> 00:15:19.485
And then my buddy, eric Hoffman, with the MCR Dorf cars.

00:15:19.485 --> 00:15:23.610
He kind of jokingly sent me a message like hey, call me, I need an announcer.

00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:25.374
And I was like, count me in.

00:15:25.374 --> 00:15:28.505
Like definitely Travel around to all these tracks.

00:15:28.566 --> 00:15:29.428
I haven't been to.

00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:34.288
Like sign me up, like whatever, so I'll still be around and involved.

00:15:34.288 --> 00:15:34.900
We're definitely.

00:15:34.900 --> 00:15:38.089
I mean we sponsor several kids that race.

00:15:38.089 --> 00:15:39.673
Same thing you do.

00:15:39.673 --> 00:15:43.243
You help out a lot of people and that's where you get your joy.

00:15:43.243 --> 00:15:46.148
And that's where you get your joy and that's what I've learned.

00:15:46.148 --> 00:15:50.114
I mean we, life is tough, people are struggling and we get to help people and get to enjoy it.

00:15:50.114 --> 00:15:55.922
It means a lot more than you know.

00:15:55.942 --> 00:15:58.125
The kids coming up on the flag stand for five seconds because I'm doing four jobs and can't talk.

00:15:58.125 --> 00:16:01.030
Now I can go sit back, have a drink, enjoy my night.

00:16:01.030 --> 00:16:06.825
And you know my wife and I on Saturdayurday we called randy richie up at kalamazoo and I said, hey, you got a skybox.

00:16:06.825 --> 00:16:09.434
And he's like I do, and I was like, can I have it?

00:16:09.434 --> 00:16:16.038
Yep, so we went up there and we got to sit and watch, yeah, laughed and joked and you know, night of destruction.

00:16:16.038 --> 00:16:19.931
They're the most stressful nights on the other side of the fence when you're sitting in a skybox.

00:16:19.931 --> 00:16:21.024
We loved it.

00:16:21.024 --> 00:16:23.494
Sure, that was the icing on the cake.

00:16:23.494 --> 00:16:25.000
Like, okay, I made the right decision.

00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:26.746
Like I need to focus more on me.

00:16:26.746 --> 00:16:38.326
Just like your back surgery, I need a double knee replacement and I'm like, well, I've got to figure out when I can do it, because I only have this, you know, four months and season to to recover and do this surgery.

00:16:38.366 --> 00:16:50.038
I'm like it's going to be, or was it this year?

00:16:50.038 --> 00:16:56.755
No, it was last year, February of last year, and I got along great and it's.

00:16:56.755 --> 00:17:04.942
But it is a surgery that you can't rush and you have to do what they tell you, and you have to go to therapy three days a week, and you know.

00:17:04.942 --> 00:17:14.943
So you have to do some of those things for yourself you know, and those knees are not going to get any better, and being at the racetrack and standing in the flag stand doesn't help.

00:17:15.596 --> 00:17:16.540
Right and then walking.

00:17:17.175 --> 00:17:18.582
Oh, walking is killer.

00:17:18.795 --> 00:17:26.182
You know it's like it's just too much and you know I love the drivers, I love some of the best staff work for me.

00:17:26.182 --> 00:17:35.825
You know we've had a great friendship and I just I've talked to them all and I'm like my friendship, just like our friendship, doesn't revolve around the announcer's choice or anything of that.

00:17:35.825 --> 00:17:39.910
We have been friends for years, through thick and thin and gone through a lot together.

00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:46.904
Yeah, it's going to continue with other people and I'll still go to the racetrack, we're still going to support drivers and help people out.

00:17:46.904 --> 00:17:53.320
I mean, that's what we do and so that's our passion and that's where we're at, and so that's our passion and that's where we're at.

00:17:53.340 --> 00:18:15.566
So, yeah, and you know, I mean, ok, I've done almost 400 podcast interviews and in that time, 95 or more percent of the people when you ask them why, why do you go to, why do you go to the racetrack on the weekend instead of doing other things?

00:18:15.566 --> 00:18:17.130
Why know what's your favorite thing about being part of, uh, motorsports?

00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:31.064
and, and it's the people yes it's the people I've met and I and I say this all the time if racing ended tomorrow, if every track shut down tomorrow and there was never any more motorsports, I have so many friends.

00:18:31.064 --> 00:18:34.336
That is not going to change Right now.

00:18:34.336 --> 00:18:43.298
Seltzer is like one of my sons, you know I always called him my boys and and stuff and so and it's.

00:18:43.298 --> 00:18:45.642
It's just like you've got to.

00:18:45.642 --> 00:18:49.628
You've got to look inside sometimes and be like what's best for me.

00:18:50.075 --> 00:18:51.119
Yes, because you are a giver by nature.

00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:53.852
Yes, I are a giver by nature.

00:18:53.852 --> 00:19:05.661
Yes, I am a giver by nature, and so it's it's hard to the mindset, it's hard to change your mindset to yourself.

00:19:06.142 --> 00:19:06.403
Yes.

00:19:07.284 --> 00:19:27.067
Yeah, and it is and that's I mean I'm a social worker by profession, yeah, so like I serve and help people every day of my life and all year long my wife will tell you all year long I'm like I just don't want to be here and I know like we have an employee group chat and I posted a few weeks ago like let's, let's have fun again.

00:19:27.067 --> 00:19:30.721
We're not having fun, let's figure it out and have fun.

00:19:30.721 --> 00:19:34.729
And we tried a million percent to to get back to the fun.

00:19:34.729 --> 00:19:38.943
It's just it was lacking and a lot of it is short.

00:19:38.983 --> 00:19:40.727
Track racing is just dying.

00:19:40.727 --> 00:19:54.363
I mean it's so sad to say, but if every Sunday morning I get up and I look around, I count cars and I look at photos and count people and I can tell you how much racetracks are losing, yeah, and it's like how, how long can you do it?

00:19:54.363 --> 00:19:57.304
Every track around is losing money.

00:19:57.304 --> 00:19:58.086
The dirt tracks.

00:19:58.086 --> 00:20:04.643
If it's not a big, huge show people aren't going to watch and so it's just tough to sit there.

00:20:04.643 --> 00:20:11.519
I mean you came to one of our big street stock races and it was a ghost town Like yeah, I was surprised.

00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:13.224
I thought it would be packed.

00:20:14.375 --> 00:20:15.240
We did too.

00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.267
They've done dollar night.

00:20:16.267 --> 00:20:17.414
They've done donation night.

00:20:17.414 --> 00:20:18.694
You can't get people to come.

00:20:18.694 --> 00:20:21.023
Night of Destruction is a completely different animal.

00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:22.453
It's a different crowd.

00:20:22.453 --> 00:20:24.162
It's a totally different crowd.

00:20:24.162 --> 00:20:30.401
It's just what those people To come on a Racing night.

00:20:30.401 --> 00:20:41.337
If you come to Night of Destruction, you get a free ticket For the next race, whatever it is, because in the long run it's going to pay off.

00:20:41.337 --> 00:20:55.309
When you take a person to the racetrack, either they're going to love it most of the time or they're not, and so, um, most of the time, if they experience it, they're going to come back.

00:20:55.815 --> 00:20:56.817
Yes, definitely.

00:20:56.837 --> 00:21:00.467
You know, because they don't really understand what it's all about.

00:21:00.935 --> 00:21:01.156
Right.

00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:05.394
Right, you know I talk to so many people, especially younger girls.

00:21:05.394 --> 00:21:08.557
I'll say, well, what are your having your friends at school?

00:21:08.557 --> 00:21:09.038
What are they?

00:21:09.038 --> 00:21:10.319
Well, they don't understand it.

00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:21.369
Yes, you know they think this or that and I'm like, well, you need to bring them to the track to watch you race or hang out with you, you know, because that's where our future is, absolutely.

00:21:21.369 --> 00:21:37.564
And yeah, and you know the other side about the racing, of course, the cost is not getting any cheaper for the, the lower classes.

00:21:37.564 --> 00:21:41.336
And then you know, like you said, you got to fix your car because some idiot runs in two years and I'm sorry, but not paying attention to the flag.

00:21:41.336 --> 00:21:48.789
You know, um, speaking of new paris, ben raver drove ben, my benji's car at new paris.

00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:51.097
We were doing really good.

00:21:51.097 --> 00:22:02.826
They threw the yellow, uh, raver was on the front stretch, slowed down, you know, and the guy behind him wasn't paying attention right over him.

00:22:02.906 --> 00:22:13.163
I remember that right into the back that it ended our night yeah it's like oh, are you freaking, kidding me, and you know that wasn't around the corner from Kalamazoo.

00:22:13.242 --> 00:22:18.189
But yeah, you spent a ton of money to get there, a ton of money to fix the car.

00:22:18.189 --> 00:22:21.079
Yeah, it's crazy, and that's the thing.

00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:24.818
Like even the kids programs, you can do anything.

00:22:24.818 --> 00:22:28.366
Plymouth, 12 and under kids are free and it helped a little.

00:22:28.366 --> 00:22:32.635
But they don't want to come and if they do come, they're playing on the phone the whole time.

00:22:32.635 --> 00:22:36.940
Or you know they don't want to come and if they do come they're playing on the phone the whole time, or you know they don't have a desire, and so it's sad.

00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:48.990
Because I grew up with the racetrack I mean myself, the Strimmys, Slaybaws there are a ton of us that were our little clique Ashley Ward and Brandy and we're all still friends to this day.

00:22:48.990 --> 00:22:50.571
We're all still involved in racing.

00:22:50.571 --> 00:22:53.005
Yeah, Trying to get their kids into it.

00:22:53.005 --> 00:22:54.215
Some of them like it, some don't.

00:22:54.215 --> 00:22:56.320
The mini wedge program I mean it did.

00:22:56.361 --> 00:23:09.674
Okay, now it's it's five grand to get your kid in a mini wedge I know people can't afford that like it's just priced itself out in a matter of three or four years well, and a lot of times it's more than one kid that wants to do it in your family.

00:23:09.674 --> 00:23:12.138
You know, if one does it, the other one wants to do it.

00:23:12.138 --> 00:23:12.358
I see that.

00:23:12.358 --> 00:23:13.761
You know if one does it, the other one wants to do it.

00:23:13.761 --> 00:23:14.301
I see that all the time.

00:23:14.301 --> 00:23:18.548
And they cannot begin to afford it and that's that's the biggest problem.

00:23:18.548 --> 00:23:19.296
You know which?

00:23:19.296 --> 00:23:22.604
In in life too, you know you go to the grocery store.

00:23:22.604 --> 00:23:24.355
It's not getting any cheaper and it's just.

00:23:24.395 --> 00:23:26.578
Mark and I you know, it's crazy.

00:23:26.679 --> 00:23:44.262
But but the the other part of it is, it just seems like, um, people have so many options of things to do and the weather you're weather dependent it could be too cold, it could be too hot, it could be a chance of rain that's going to scare people away.

00:23:44.262 --> 00:23:47.534
Yes, um, I listen to a lot of podcasts.

00:23:47.534 --> 00:23:56.630
I think I told you that, and I listened to one called um in the pits and it's a show out east Maine, connecticut, somewhere in there.

00:23:56.630 --> 00:24:21.529
I don't even know how I got connected to this show, but anyway I'm hooked on it and I don't even really like the guys that are on it, but I listen anyway Because I do, you know, like to keep up and they talk about their area, but they also cover NASCAR and Scott Tapley's on on it and he's a big friend of ryan freese's, so you know I I do like to listen to it.

00:24:21.931 --> 00:24:25.096
But he was saying, uh, he's a promoter for a couple tracks.

00:24:25.096 --> 00:24:26.858
He said 23.

00:24:26.858 --> 00:24:36.195
It had been until the last couple weekends, 23 weekends in a row that there had been some kind of precipitation where they live.

00:24:36.195 --> 00:24:43.936
And you know he says every time you know, I know you're sick of hearing it, but the tracks are losing money.

00:24:43.998 --> 00:24:53.605
hand over fist absolutely or they have to reschedule and then 10 of the cars can't come the next day, right, and half of the fans aren't going to come the next day.

00:24:53.605 --> 00:24:55.080
And it's tough.

00:24:55.080 --> 00:24:57.363
I wouldn't want to own a racetrack, for sure.

00:24:57.363 --> 00:25:05.363
But you know, the million dollar question is how do we get people to the track and how do we get them interested?

00:25:05.363 --> 00:25:21.967
You know, I mean, I have a whole list of ideas for somebody that owns a track, but they got to be willing to do it right, do some of those things and then, um, you know, the other thing is out of sight, out of mind.

00:25:22.448 --> 00:25:40.646
So if you have a couple weekends that it's rained or it's been too hot or whatever, and somebody kind of gets out of the habit of going to the racetrack, just like, maybe you get out of the habit of going to the racetrack, just like maybe you get out of the habit of going to church, same yes, then you filled that time slot on Friday or Saturday night with something else.

00:25:40.646 --> 00:25:43.864
And so now, how are you?

00:25:43.864 --> 00:25:47.946
How are you going to keep people interested or up to date on what's happening?

00:25:47.946 --> 00:25:50.182
That's part of why I'm doing this show.

00:25:50.182 --> 00:26:05.084
At least say hey, did you know that someone so won at Hartford, or this is what Hartford's got coming up, or whatever, because we need to keep promoting and I do not want my local racetracks to close.

00:26:05.084 --> 00:26:10.142
We all have to do a little bit to help them.

00:26:10.142 --> 00:26:11.736
That's the million dollar question.

00:26:11.736 --> 00:26:13.278
It is, and the million dollar question.

00:26:13.638 --> 00:26:15.762
It is and people want bigger shows.

00:26:15.762 --> 00:26:16.723
That's great.

00:26:16.723 --> 00:26:20.069
It costs more money, and then you still don't have the fans.

00:26:20.069 --> 00:26:24.518
And now, instead of losing five grand, you lost 20 grand.

00:26:24.518 --> 00:26:26.320
I've heard, like, why do you race every week?

00:26:26.320 --> 00:26:28.203
Then Again out of sight, out of mind.

00:26:28.203 --> 00:26:32.089
If you take a couple of weeks off, people already start making plans.

00:26:32.089 --> 00:26:38.450
They forget or the honeydew list starts going well, I've got projects at home I'm doing now and I can't come.

00:26:38.450 --> 00:26:43.182
And the one thing that just drives me crazy is that, well, there's plenty of cars.

00:26:43.563 --> 00:26:50.010
that's the worst thing a track can have when you get 100 race cars a night and you have 300 people in the grandstands.

00:26:50.010 --> 00:26:51.696
You're losing too much money.

00:26:51.696 --> 00:26:54.364
Racers are definitely still showing up.

00:26:54.884 --> 00:26:55.586
Yeah, they are.

00:26:56.796 --> 00:27:00.942
That's really great, except when you have no fans to pay them.

00:27:01.454 --> 00:27:03.818
Well, because they all get start money.

00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:04.461
Yes.

00:27:05.435 --> 00:27:06.259
You know the top.

00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:07.743
So many get however much.

00:27:07.743 --> 00:27:10.481
Where do they think that comes from?

00:27:10.481 --> 00:27:19.990
It doesn't come from the pit passes, I mean some from concessions, but it's the people in the stands is what keeps that track going.

00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:20.673
Yes, you know.

00:27:20.673 --> 00:27:25.664
Yeah, I wish I had the answer, you know.

00:27:26.185 --> 00:27:26.887
Right, me too.

00:27:27.537 --> 00:27:35.156
There are things that you can do, but you've got to be willing to put in the time and the effort or hire somebody to do it, whatever.

00:27:35.156 --> 00:27:45.987
And then, um, you know, there are tracks around the country that are getting lots of people every weekend, but it's tracks like Bowman gray where they go.

00:27:45.987 --> 00:27:55.028
We'll see the fights and you know, um, yeah, I just don't know the answer, but I keep hoping it's going to get better.

00:27:55.367 --> 00:27:56.769
Me too, and that's the thing.

00:27:56.769 --> 00:27:59.384
Like if it was one track then it'd be easy.

00:27:59.384 --> 00:28:12.031
It's a personnel problem, but it's everywhere and on a regular night at, say, Kalamazoo, before Randy Ritchie opens the gate with his 110 cars, you're looking at $30,000.

00:28:12.031 --> 00:28:13.513
You're going to need to get through that night.

00:28:13.513 --> 00:28:17.704
Yeah, that is a lot of people that have to come sit in those grandstands.

00:28:17.704 --> 00:28:20.844
It is To cover your employees, because that's the other thing.

00:28:20.844 --> 00:28:23.769
Your race day expenses don't just stop on race day.

00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:24.575
You have the lights.

00:28:24.575 --> 00:28:29.346
The lights at Kalamazoo Speedway cost, I guess, $150 an hour to be on.

00:28:29.826 --> 00:28:30.448
Yeah, I bet.

00:28:34.315 --> 00:28:37.480
And then you've got internet, you've got phones you've got all this stuff you have to pay for.

00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:41.909
So, before you get to the oil, dry the food in your concessions.

00:28:41.909 --> 00:28:43.778
All this adds up.

00:28:43.778 --> 00:28:48.915
So okay, randy, had all that stuff in Kalamazoo, and how many weeks in a row do they get rained out?

00:28:49.116 --> 00:28:50.198
Yeah, quite a few.

00:28:50.479 --> 00:28:56.949
So now you got all this food, you're sitting on all this money you've spent, there's nothing coming in, but you still have to pay your insurance.

00:28:56.949 --> 00:28:59.097
You still have to cover all these things.

00:28:59.097 --> 00:29:01.663
Yeah, and that's where I think people forget.

00:29:01.663 --> 00:29:06.325
Even if you break even on race day, by the time you pay the bills you've lost again.

00:29:06.325 --> 00:29:08.713
And so that's the struggle.

00:29:08.713 --> 00:29:14.968
And just like you're talking about groceries going up, the light bill has gone up, the Internet bill has gone up, Our food costs have gone up.

00:29:15.214 --> 00:29:15.476
Yeah.

00:29:15.757 --> 00:29:19.086
Things are not as cheap as they were 10 years ago.

00:29:19.675 --> 00:29:21.000
And you know it used to be.

00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:22.305
I mean it still is.

00:29:22.305 --> 00:29:31.061
If you compare for Mark and I to go to the racetrack in any racetrack, even for a big show, let's say it's it's twenty five dollars to get in a piece.

00:29:31.061 --> 00:29:34.325
So we're going to pay 50 bucks to get in for, like, a bigger show.

00:29:34.325 --> 00:29:41.871
Well, if we wanted to go to the movie by the time, we paid to go to the movie, got popcorn and a drink or whatever it is.

00:29:41.871 --> 00:29:45.778
You know it's going to be easily $50.

00:29:45.778 --> 00:29:47.260
And it's a two hour movie.

00:29:47.260 --> 00:29:49.224
That might be good, might not be good.

00:29:49.246 --> 00:30:04.865
And and I can go to the racetrack, take my own food and drink, which I know doesn't help the track, but but me paying to get in does right and and most of the time we end up eating something there anyway, because the hot dogs smell way better than my bologna sandwich.

00:30:04.884 --> 00:30:19.290
Right, right, I mean it's getting them through the door yes, the thing, yeah, and once you get them in, you put on a quality show, you entertain them, you thank them as they're leaving and you hope they come back.

00:30:20.115 --> 00:30:22.494
You know, you had talked about churches.

00:30:22.494 --> 00:30:28.688
So in all the years I've been doing this, you've really never had church affiliation with any racetrack.

00:30:28.688 --> 00:30:34.647
No, like the churches, look at the racetracks like they have the plague, like we're a bunch of redneck drunken hillbillies.

00:30:34.647 --> 00:30:35.395
Yeah, exactly.

00:30:35.395 --> 00:30:47.228
And so in the last three years at Plymouth my wife and I have involved our personal church, and so there are 20 people that come on a regular basis that never would have stepped foot in that property.

00:30:47.228 --> 00:30:49.880
They got in free one night, they had a great time.

00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:54.757
They saw that we're not what the you know persona, the perception is, and they love it.

00:30:54.757 --> 00:30:58.465
They keep going back, sure, and it's so like it's south bend.

00:30:58.506 --> 00:31:03.202
We used to do faster pastor races and we'd put pastors in a race car.

00:31:03.202 --> 00:31:10.226
That's on my list of things that you can do, because that's drawing in all these people and you give a kick back to the church.

00:31:10.226 --> 00:31:14.384
Well, now you look good because you're helping out the church and it's a donation.

00:31:14.625 --> 00:31:17.242
Yes, off your taxes if you're on the racetrack.

00:31:17.634 --> 00:31:20.084
And it was something that was working great.

00:31:20.084 --> 00:31:21.339
Like people loved it.

00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:24.265
I mean, that is literally how our church got involved.

00:31:24.265 --> 00:31:28.926
Our pastor won the faster pastor race, the last one at South Bend, and they're hooked.

00:31:28.926 --> 00:31:31.988
They all go all the time now because they're like this is so much fun.

00:31:31.988 --> 00:31:34.808
Yeah, you've got to get outside the box.

00:31:34.808 --> 00:31:39.871
You can't do like it'd be like going to see the same movie at the show over and, over and over again.

00:31:39.871 --> 00:31:40.211
Why?

00:31:40.251 --> 00:31:40.971
are you going to do it?

00:31:40.971 --> 00:31:41.731
You know what I mean.

00:31:41.731 --> 00:31:42.632
You're not.

00:31:42.932 --> 00:31:44.873
People don't usually go to the same golf course.

00:31:44.873 --> 00:31:46.757
20 times a year they venture out.

00:31:46.757 --> 00:31:50.767
You know they're not going to the same bowling alley, they're going plenty of things.

00:31:53.835 --> 00:31:55.278
You've got to mix it up and make it exciting.

00:31:55.298 --> 00:31:58.203
And it's hard on the owner's side because you're taking a gamble.

00:31:58.203 --> 00:32:03.319
Things cost money and so if it doesn't work now, you've lost more, which I totally get.

00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:06.066
Been there, saw that, uh, but it's also.

00:32:06.066 --> 00:32:08.597
You have a piece of property.

00:32:08.597 --> 00:32:12.048
South bend motor speedway is sitting growing up in the weeds.

00:32:12.048 --> 00:32:14.075
There's not a buyer interested?

00:32:14.075 --> 00:32:19.887
No, um, you know several racetracks are coming up for sale at the end of this year.

00:32:19.887 --> 00:32:25.988
There's no buyers that are going to be interested like well, that happens every year, yeah, you know.

00:32:26.375 --> 00:32:32.818
And it's a rainy year or it's a whatever year when the fans aren't showing up and the next thing you know, this one's closing.

00:32:32.818 --> 00:32:38.404
There was one, you know, on the in the pitch show that I listened to a couple years ago.

00:32:38.404 --> 00:32:43.163
It was a huge track and honestly I can't remember now what it was called, but if I said it you would know.

00:32:43.163 --> 00:32:51.701
And the, the guy kept losing money and he sold it for millions of dollars and they're putting up a mall yeah that's gonna happen over and over.

00:32:52.262 --> 00:32:54.027
We've seen it a lot in my lifetime.

00:32:54.027 --> 00:32:54.587
I've seen it.

00:32:54.587 --> 00:33:00.027
A villa used to have one of the nicest racetracks and drag strip right on the highway.

00:33:00.027 --> 00:33:02.226
Well, eventually that was prime real estate.

00:33:02.226 --> 00:33:03.994
You are right off of the main highway.

00:33:03.994 --> 00:33:07.061
We can have a racetrack here and it's gone.

00:33:07.061 --> 00:33:09.488
Warsaw Speedway grew up going there.

00:33:09.488 --> 00:33:11.678
That's where I went to school and graduated from Warsaw.

00:33:11.678 --> 00:33:12.077
Grew up going there.

00:33:12.077 --> 00:33:13.339
That's where I went to school and graduated from Warsaw.

00:33:13.339 --> 00:33:19.146
Now it sits as an empty field on the lake because the Lakers didn't like the racetrack and got it shut down.

00:33:19.146 --> 00:33:20.307
Galesburg has been.

00:33:20.749 --> 00:33:22.391
Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine.

00:33:23.115 --> 00:33:28.468
Yeah, like you know to be snails and those guys trying to run that place like what a headache.

00:33:28.468 --> 00:33:30.800
Enough is going to be enough.

00:33:36.875 --> 00:33:42.292
And they're going to be like listen, just put a lock on the gates, like we're done, we're not going to keep, yeah, and then you, you know the other thing for poor galesburg is not only that guy, it's really one guy causing a lot of trouble.

00:33:42.313 --> 00:33:54.246
But then it's also then when the racers and I'm not saying all of them, because I have almost family that races there but then you've got a couple people who just want to see how dumb they can drive.

00:33:54.246 --> 00:33:57.779
Then they fight in the pit and all this you know and it's.

00:33:57.779 --> 00:34:00.646
And if I was them I'd be like you know what?

00:34:00.646 --> 00:34:01.576
I don't need this.

00:34:01.576 --> 00:34:06.987
Yeah, I mean it's a shame because I like galesburg and I like going there.

00:34:07.047 --> 00:34:15.349
It's close to my house right you know I know people that drive two, three hours on a weekend just so their kid can race or race.

00:34:15.349 --> 00:34:17.577
I'm so spoiled.

00:34:17.577 --> 00:34:24.028
I could go Plymouth as far as I would go, or Berlin, from the north to the south.

00:34:24.028 --> 00:34:28.606
Otherwise I've got Hartford, I've got Galesburg, I've got Kalamazoo.

00:34:28.606 --> 00:34:33.306
You know I could go a number of places, but it's interesting though, tony.

00:34:33.306 --> 00:34:37.181
You know I could go a number of places, but it's interesting though, tony.

00:34:37.181 --> 00:34:40.132
I graduated from warsaw high school too, but it was illinois but it was illinois really, that's.

00:34:40.172 --> 00:34:40.733
I never knew that.

00:34:40.733 --> 00:34:41.335
That's funny.

00:34:41.335 --> 00:34:47.666
Wow, yeah, I graduated from warsaw indiana I was in warsaw, illinois.

00:34:47.746 --> 00:35:00.331
So anyway, that's funny I had to, I had to get that in there that is is good, yeah, so yeah, you know if anybody's got any magic ideas, but you know you said something about a cost in the racetrack.

00:35:00.331 --> 00:35:13.264
You know if they had to hire somebody that would do some of that stuff and I, you know the promoter, whoever, but a lot of the things on my list wouldn't cost them a thing.

00:35:13.264 --> 00:35:16.182
Right, it'd be time it.

00:35:16.182 --> 00:35:27.802
You know they might have to pay the person something to do it, but if they sold four tickets it would probably, more than you know, pay for that person's hour of time or more.

00:35:27.802 --> 00:35:42.947
You know girl Scouts, boy Scouts, little league teams, the Kalamazoo growlers do all kinds of cool stuff to get people in the stands, because that's not a, that's not a huge crowd of people going there either.

00:35:43.414 --> 00:35:43.596
Right.

00:35:43.635 --> 00:35:49.976
They have the same problem as a racetrack, but they do a lot of fun promotions and you know there's there's things that they can do.

00:35:49.976 --> 00:35:52.157
And you know there's there's things that they can do.

00:35:52.157 --> 00:36:00.083
But I think as an owner it gets discouraging to the point where it's like you know what, why do I even try?

00:36:00.443 --> 00:36:03.347
Yes, and you know what's what's crazy about.

00:36:03.347 --> 00:36:10.331
Like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, you can offer them all free tickets and I you can't get them to come to a racetrack.

00:36:10.331 --> 00:36:12.280
Really they have.

00:36:12.280 --> 00:36:13.697
I had one time, and all the years I've done this, I got them to come to a racetrack.

00:36:13.697 --> 00:36:13.829
Really they have.

00:36:13.829 --> 00:36:20.067
I had one time, and all the years I've done this, I got them to come to South Bend to present flags on, like Memorial Day or Independence Day.

00:36:20.067 --> 00:36:34.666
But racing has this bad rap about fighting and you know, and honestly, my brother's been in NASCAR the better part of 30 years it has turned into arguing, fighting, shoving, pushing, yeah.

00:36:34.666 --> 00:36:42.840
So people sitting at home that are clicking through TV and see that are like, yeah, this is why I don't go down to Kalamazoo, galesburg, plymouth, this is why I'm not going.

00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:47.217
I don't want my kids around this and they have no clue that that's a rarity.

00:36:47.217 --> 00:36:52.260
Right, you know it's not, and so I've tried some of those ideas.

00:36:52.460 --> 00:37:05.530
And people are like well, we're busy this weekend and I'm like we'll give you your parents like 100 free tickets, Bring whoever you want, Gone to schools and handed out tickets, you know, and it's like people.

00:37:05.530 --> 00:37:09.293
It's just sad because people have this persona, they have that mindset.

00:37:09.293 --> 00:37:15.958
Yeah, but then on an NOD, when you do have idiots and fighting.

00:37:15.978 --> 00:37:16.420
They back it out.

00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:18.003
I'm just like what is wrong, like I don't want to see crashes.

00:37:18.003 --> 00:37:19.708
Yes, I've torn up, that's why yes.

00:37:19.835 --> 00:37:21.398
My wife is one of those people.

00:37:21.398 --> 00:37:22.782
Like she loves NOD.

00:37:22.782 --> 00:37:30.304
She was living her best life at Kalamazoo watching the bus trailer races Like that's her thing, she loves it, she likes racing.

00:37:30.304 --> 00:37:33.570
But you tell her we're going to a bus race, she'll be waiting on me in the truck.

00:37:35.096 --> 00:37:38.626
My son-in-law worked worked a race with his Bobcat.

00:37:38.626 --> 00:37:40.639
I think I don't know what he was doing.

00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:46.103
I didn't have a chance to go there that night, but yeah, it's, it's.

00:37:46.103 --> 00:37:50.681
It's amazing to me what people will pay money to do.

00:37:51.023 --> 00:37:51.302
Yes.

00:37:51.563 --> 00:37:59.117
And yet you and I both know that a regular night of racing at any track that we cover is a good night.

00:37:59.117 --> 00:38:02.753
Yes, I mean, some are better than others, but it's always fun.

00:38:03.394 --> 00:38:04.556
Yes, and that's the thing.

00:38:04.556 --> 00:38:08.797
Like one thing, and I don't have a good answer to this, because people don't want to be there.

00:38:08.797 --> 00:38:12.976
When we were kids, we'd be there from noon to midnight, one in the morning, and never complain.

00:38:12.976 --> 00:38:15.893
Now they want to be there from six to nine 30.

00:38:16.213 --> 00:38:16.454
Yeah.

00:38:19.425 --> 00:38:19.686
Seven to 10.

00:38:19.686 --> 00:38:19.905
That's it.

00:38:19.905 --> 00:38:25.007
So, like people have said, you've got to get the drivers to meet the fans more and yeah, it's like you, just don't have time like the drivers.

00:38:25.007 --> 00:38:29.003
We tried this year my wife and I bought some really cool photo backdrops.

00:38:29.023 --> 00:38:34.742
Everybody wants instagram photos yeah didn't work at all, like, didn't see, I mean a few.

00:38:34.742 --> 00:38:35.505
We had a mascot.

00:38:35.505 --> 00:38:39.695
You know we had, uh, connor powell can be our mascot every week.

00:38:39.695 --> 00:38:43.353
Didn't help and I'm like, so I don't like we tried really hard.

00:38:43.353 --> 00:38:50.646
My thing was like Andy Jack, big into hockey, they do all kinds of dumb stuff at hockey and I'm like we don't want to do that, like hockey games are full.

00:38:51.126 --> 00:38:52.829
Yeah, didn't help.

00:38:53.608 --> 00:38:55.690
Wow, I don't know if we just didn't do it long enough.

00:38:55.690 --> 00:38:58.632
I mean, we did it until last week, so I don't know if it was just.

00:38:58.632 --> 00:39:09.041
But even like we did, like popcorn bingo and things to get adults involved where you win a free popcorn, people have free stuff, and yeah, I don't know, I wish I had some magic cure.

00:39:09.041 --> 00:39:14.494
I do too, when we could just, I mean in 40, they had to reveal the hammer show.

00:39:14.494 --> 00:39:21.612
The place was packed, yeah, and it was 95 degrees late miles haven't been there in five years, uh-huh, um.

00:39:21.612 --> 00:39:28.253
But then you go to berlin and there's not a lot of people there to see the same exact show right, that's coming this weekend.

00:39:28.434 --> 00:39:38.766
Yeah, I think yeah yeah, and then I know this is such an unpopular opinion, but the live streaming, the flow racing, it's killing it, I'm guilty.

00:39:38.766 --> 00:39:51.451
So M40, it was hot, we were going to go, my wife wanted to go and I'm like, listen, it's on Road America or Road Trip Media for $19 and I can sit on my couch and watch it.

00:39:52.206 --> 00:39:53.931
I'm going to do that and we didn't go.

00:39:53.931 --> 00:39:56.036
I know it's like $20.

00:39:56.036 --> 00:40:01.148
I'm sitting at home watching it having my own drinks and eating my pizza and it cost you half as much.

00:40:01.148 --> 00:40:03.751
Yeah, and that's the thing I get it.

00:40:03.751 --> 00:40:10.851
Berlin this week Would I go Probably if it wasn't going to be the same $20 I can spend to watch it at home.

00:40:11.173 --> 00:40:13.507
And going to be 95 degrees.

00:40:13.648 --> 00:40:13.869
Yeah.

00:40:13.929 --> 00:40:14.650
And Berlin.

00:40:14.670 --> 00:40:24.146
You're sitting in the sun right, so we'll get the pay-per-view and we'll sit at home and most of the time you've got replays and better coverage than if I was there and I missed the rec.

00:40:24.146 --> 00:40:42.721
I can see it four times on my TV and so and people are like well, lots of people live stream they do, but Melinda Russell's watching Brock Gayness, so he she's focusing on Brock on her cell phone and she's moving around a lot and it's not a TV camera from high atop the grandstands.

00:40:42.721 --> 00:40:48.771
I'm like, listen, I've never sat at home and said, okay, justin Leroy, I'm going to watch Justin's video instead of going.

00:40:48.771 --> 00:40:51.317
They suck, god love him, he tries, he gets too excited.

00:40:51.585 --> 00:40:53.387
He does, but he can't follow everybody.

00:40:54.088 --> 00:40:59.619
And so and you get excited, and so I'm like I've never thought I'm not going to go because I can watch this live feed.

00:41:04.885 --> 00:41:07.449
I would have never thought I would say that either, but I did watch.

00:41:07.449 --> 00:41:07.789
It must've been.

00:41:07.789 --> 00:41:09.952
Where did Brock race last week in M40?

00:41:09.952 --> 00:41:14.579
Yeah, yeah, yep, I paid the 20 bucks and watched it from home.

00:41:14.579 --> 00:41:23.789
Yeah, I was going to ride with Maddie, but I was just I'm like it's too hot, I just I and I've been working trying to clean it and you know, I'm almost 70 years old.

00:41:23.789 --> 00:41:27.951
It's like, oh, maddie, I'd love to go, but I just don't think I can.

00:41:27.951 --> 00:41:41.440
And I ended up didn't paid the money to watch and got to watch, you know, and watch Jeff, because Brock's dad and that's who I watch, you know, and it was a great.

00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:42.581
It was a great race.

00:41:42.902 --> 00:41:43.543
It was yeah.

00:41:43.945 --> 00:41:46.711
But it would have been way better if I had been there.

00:41:46.952 --> 00:41:47.213
Right.

00:41:47.213 --> 00:41:55.036
You know, but it's just hard, like it's like I work 60 hours a week at the real job, I do 40 at the racetrack.

00:41:55.036 --> 00:41:56.572
Like I was exhausted.

00:41:56.572 --> 00:42:03.106
We had done a flea market that morning at south bend trying to help the the owners make some money and I was just like I'm great, I can't do it.

00:42:03.106 --> 00:42:04.469
Yeah, we're gonna sit at home.

00:42:04.469 --> 00:42:20.217
And now with flow racing I mean, jason seltzer, he's the key of this like he's got three or four tvs out back I know he's crazy, like you're watching everything you want to see and you don't have to leave, and I think more and more people are doing that.

00:42:25.244 --> 00:42:30.969
And even if it's not Plymouth or Kalamazoo, there's racing on TV and if you pay your $150 a year for Flow, you can watch racing every day of the week and that's so cheap.

00:42:31.431 --> 00:42:33.387
Yep, you can watch it all over the country.

00:42:33.387 --> 00:42:36.574
My friend, lori, works for Racers.

00:42:36.574 --> 00:42:53.282
She's volunteers with racers for christ and and her husband is a retired pilot but he got his like um, he does, uh, fire or medical stuff, like even for nascar when they're in iowa and stuff and and they travel with high limit.

00:42:53.282 --> 00:43:08.849
So they go, they're at every high limit race and she does the prayer and race racers for Christ, you know, and he's and they hire him to do the be on the medical team or whatever, and I'm like damn, that sounds like a lot of fun.

00:43:08.849 --> 00:43:16.215
Yes, go every, go wherever they go and watch all those people race and they've gotten to be really close with a lot of those people.

00:43:25.525 --> 00:43:25.865
And it's like man.

00:43:25.865 --> 00:43:27.713
That sounds like a lot of fun, yes, but I can watch her on flow, right?

00:43:27.713 --> 00:43:33.527
You know I can't go all those places, right, so you can still sit at home and watch every week and see everything and, like I said, the replays are insane, you know.

00:43:33.527 --> 00:43:36.771
And then even like race monitor, race pass.

00:43:37.030 --> 00:43:37.431
Yeah.

00:43:37.751 --> 00:43:44.900
Like I like racing, so I can sit at home and watch the race in Iowa for high limits and keep an eye on Plymouth, kalamazoo.

00:43:44.900 --> 00:43:46.541
I do it all the time, yeah.

00:43:57.505 --> 00:43:59.005
You know when Maddie was racing and I couldn't go.

00:43:59.005 --> 00:44:01.427
You know I have my, I have race monitor and my race pass and whatever they are.

00:44:01.427 --> 00:44:03.248
Or you know, I interview a gal and she says I'm going to be racing at such and such.

00:44:03.248 --> 00:44:03.887
I find her.

00:44:03.887 --> 00:44:11.512
Yeah, you know, I mean the technology is amazing and it is killing the racetracks.

00:44:11.512 --> 00:44:12.152
I think too.

00:44:12.152 --> 00:44:21.916
I mean I love it because for me, as I get older, and that it's great for me, but it is hurting the tracks, you know.

00:44:22.516 --> 00:44:23.737
The other thing is that.

00:44:23.737 --> 00:44:24.518
Sorry to interrupt you.

00:44:24.518 --> 00:44:27.480
The other thing with that that really hurts is okay.

00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:29.260
It's 90 degrees out today.

00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:31.420
I kind of want to go watch Brock race.

00:44:31.420 --> 00:44:32.601
It's hot.

00:44:32.601 --> 00:44:33.802
Let me see how many cars there.

00:44:33.802 --> 00:44:35.262
Oh, 46 cars.

00:44:38.525 --> 00:44:39.311
Yeah, I'm just going to stay at home.

00:44:39.331 --> 00:44:45.106
Because they're like that's not really going to be worth my time and for some tracks, under 50 has been the normal car count People.

00:44:45.106 --> 00:44:49.396
I get on there and look and think, man, I was going to drive up there, but they only got this.

00:44:49.396 --> 00:44:51.331
You know, maybe I'll just go to Owasu.

00:44:51.331 --> 00:44:55.168
It has 100 cars tonight, or I'll just stay at home tonight, or I'll just stay at home.

00:44:55.168 --> 00:44:57.090
And that's what I can't get people to understand.

00:44:57.090 --> 00:45:03.398
Like this technology absolutely amazing, it's great and it's killing us because people are getting on there.

00:45:03.398 --> 00:45:07.750
Before you had to drive your happy butt to the track Exactly Then you're already there.

00:45:07.750 --> 00:45:10.894
So if they only had 50 cars, it didn't matter, because you drive there.

00:45:10.894 --> 00:45:14.916
Now, everybody, if you go live at a racetrack, how many cars are there?

00:45:14.916 --> 00:45:15.646
Show me the pits.

00:45:15.646 --> 00:45:18.594
That's what they're basing their decision on.

00:45:18.835 --> 00:45:20.690
Yeah, yeah, for sure.

00:45:20.690 --> 00:45:24.393
And you know, we have fickle fans.

00:45:24.996 --> 00:45:25.235
Yes.

00:45:26.525 --> 00:45:26.827
You know.

00:45:26.827 --> 00:45:29.355
You said you're a Bill Elliott fan, you know.

00:45:29.355 --> 00:45:32.494
And so you know I was a Kyle Busch fan.

00:45:32.494 --> 00:45:34.047
Still am a Kyle Busch fan, of course.

00:45:34.047 --> 00:45:38.867
Now I'm loyal to my hometown boy, mike Carson, josef Martin.

00:45:38.867 --> 00:45:42.954
I love that he's getting so much attention.

00:45:42.954 --> 00:45:44.998
I don't care if it is bad attention.

00:45:45.284 --> 00:45:45.505
Right.

00:45:45.545 --> 00:45:47.916
Because if they're talking about you, then what is?

00:45:47.916 --> 00:45:48.177
It.

00:45:48.177 --> 00:45:52.831
They say Even if they're talking about you negative, they're talking about you and not somebody else.

00:45:52.851 --> 00:45:53.393
That's right.

00:45:53.695 --> 00:46:07.994
And you know, a lot of people are coming on board with him and they're saying you know, if you follow social media which I know you do they'll be saying, hey, this is like the old days racing dale jr never got in trouble for doing the thing, or dale never.

00:46:07.994 --> 00:46:11.309
Dale arthur never got in trouble for doing the things he's doing.

00:46:11.309 --> 00:46:17.914
But you got I'm sorry, but you got some drivers now in the cup series that are kind of whiny babies.

00:46:17.914 --> 00:46:30.958
They were real successful or they drive for Penske or whoever, and they think that they don't deserve to be bumped in the bump or whatever.

00:46:30.958 --> 00:46:34.389
And it's like you know what I want to see?

00:46:34.389 --> 00:46:35.534
A good race.

00:46:35.534 --> 00:46:41.885
And man, the race at Echo Park was amazing last weekend.

00:46:41.885 --> 00:46:50.619
But you know, I love what Carson's doing and more and more and more people are getting on board with him.

00:46:51.387 --> 00:46:52.170
And that's the thing.

00:46:52.170 --> 00:46:58.144
Like people are talking about all the gimmicks and stunts NASCAR is doing and going here, they have to, they have to, they have to.

00:46:58.144 --> 00:47:01.815
If they're losing their TV ratings, there's not going to be a NASCAR.

00:47:01.815 --> 00:47:10.231
Those people are spending a fortune to go to put on these shows and not a lot of people are going to watch the NASCAR.

00:47:10.273 --> 00:47:15.429
I mean, it's getting better, it's way better this year and a lot of it they talk about.

00:47:15.429 --> 00:47:18.918
They talk about when it's like Michigan only has one race anymore.

00:47:18.918 --> 00:47:35.887
Yes, then it's either I'm going to that one race close to my house or or I'm not going to get to go to a race, and so it gets more people to come to that one race, which, you know, I don't know what that track, how it makes money the rest of the year, but there's things they can do.

00:47:35.887 --> 00:47:43.413
You know, I was really good friends with the lady that ran Phoenix and now she runs the Chicago street race, which is this weekend.

00:47:43.413 --> 00:47:49.336
Yeah, and, and she was on a podcast, julie, and you know she said the same thing.

00:47:49.376 --> 00:47:54.737
You know they, they had a tremendous crowd the first two years at the Chicago street race.

00:47:54.737 --> 00:47:56.170
This is going to be it.

00:47:56.170 --> 00:48:01.472
Now they're going to be going to San Diego or somewhere, you know, and so you have to.

00:48:01.472 --> 00:48:05.056
You have to mix it up to keep people interested.

00:48:05.056 --> 00:48:10.652
Even the small tracks, you know they, people want more than just a race.

00:48:10.652 --> 00:48:12.748
They want to be, they want some entertainment.

00:48:12.748 --> 00:48:15.936
You know, and that's hard.

00:48:16.487 --> 00:48:27.346
A track can't always have extra stuff going on right, and one of my favorite things about NASCAR now is that everybody's a pit reporter or a commentator.

00:48:27.346 --> 00:48:29.652
Carson has done it like everybody.

00:48:29.652 --> 00:48:40.632
That's cool because he's great at it yeah, you know, and you're getting to talk to all these guys like listening to Kevin Harvick and those guys like you know, and you're getting to talk to all these guys like listening to Kevin Harvick and those guys like you're getting to know these people completely different.

00:48:40.913 --> 00:48:41.092
Yeah.

00:48:41.112 --> 00:48:42.914
You know they're arguing back and forth about.

00:48:42.914 --> 00:48:46.478
I thought this, I thought I love it, I do too.

00:48:46.478 --> 00:48:49.360
It's better than and nothing against, like the Mike Joyce and those guys.

00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:54.768
They're amazing, jamie Little, but they haven't raced when you put one of these guys with a microphone.

00:48:54.768 --> 00:48:58.974
And last night Carson took out Billy Bob and now Billy Bob, he's got to interview him.

00:48:58.974 --> 00:49:06.733
What's better, what's better, it's amazing Like you know, Prime video killed it.

00:49:06.733 --> 00:49:08.056
Oh man yes.

00:49:08.565 --> 00:49:16.351
And if the TV deal hadn't already been redone for the next however many years, five years or whatever.

00:49:16.351 --> 00:49:18.831
Yeah, prime video, I mean.

00:49:18.831 --> 00:49:23.773
First of all, I love Dale Jr much more as an announcer than a racer.

00:49:23.773 --> 00:49:25.036
Yes, myself.

00:49:25.376 --> 00:49:25.637
Yes.

00:49:25.885 --> 00:49:28.554
Steve LaTarte is so smart.

00:49:28.833 --> 00:49:29.114
Yeah.

00:49:29.945 --> 00:49:34.317
And then Adam Alexander just like ties it all together.

00:49:34.317 --> 00:49:36.251
They're just like the perfect trio.

00:49:36.612 --> 00:49:36.893
Yes.

00:49:37.213 --> 00:49:42.974
You know, I love that they have people who know what they're doing.

00:49:43.474 --> 00:49:43.735
Right.

00:49:44.056 --> 00:49:47.067
Talking to me about the race, yes, or the strategy?

00:49:47.067 --> 00:50:04.025
Yes, you know, and my husband makes fun of me because I want to see all the pre-race shows and all the things they do, because I learn so much and that's how I really learned about the craft of racing is from watching those.

00:50:04.025 --> 00:50:05.652
It's not from watching a race.

00:50:06.144 --> 00:50:08.110
Right, right, I'm the same way.

00:50:08.110 --> 00:50:11.489
If I'm going to go to a racetrack, I will be there when the gates open.

00:50:11.489 --> 00:50:12.594
I don't want to miss anything.

00:50:12.594 --> 00:50:14.190
I paid to see hot laps.

00:50:14.190 --> 00:50:15.514
I paid to see qualifying.

00:50:15.514 --> 00:50:18.284
I want to see the b feature, like I'm there.

00:50:18.284 --> 00:50:19.668
Yeah, I'm there.

00:50:19.668 --> 00:50:36.913
And even that, like thinking in the past, everywhere I've been, as soon as the late miles are done or the sportsman, everybody leaves and I'm like, well, you missed out on the rest of these classes, which are going to be way better than that race, yeah, I don't care though, hornets or four cylinders, whatever they're going to put on, three and four wide.

00:50:37.273 --> 00:50:39.717
They are going to beat on each other and keep right on going.

00:50:39.717 --> 00:50:41.369
Yeah, you don't laugh and smile.

00:50:42.172 --> 00:50:42.673
Exactly.

00:50:42.673 --> 00:50:44.972
You know and those guys are in it for the fun.

00:50:45.213 --> 00:50:49.114
Yes, I've always said, like the people that put down the Hornets.

00:50:49.114 --> 00:50:54.090
If you ever want to see who pays the bills at a racetrack, look at victory lane photos.

00:50:54.090 --> 00:51:03.378
You see Tylery bob when the hornet see feature and there's a hundred people in his photo.

00:51:03.378 --> 00:51:06.032
Yeah, every grandma, cousin, aunt, uncle.

00:51:06.032 --> 00:51:09.163
They're all there because the race car driver.

00:51:09.262 --> 00:51:13.530
I can't remember now which, whether it was m40.

00:51:13.530 --> 00:51:19.059
I printed some stuff that I was I'm going to share later M40 or Galesburg, one of them, I think.

00:51:19.059 --> 00:51:27.295
The list of, like the, I always say four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive is what they are, right, front-wheel drive.

00:51:27.295 --> 00:51:31.391
I always have to stop and think as long as my arm.

00:51:31.391 --> 00:51:32.525
You know.

00:51:32.525 --> 00:51:34.331
There's like 80 cars.

00:51:34.351 --> 00:51:34.934
That's right.

00:51:34.985 --> 00:51:35.949
They have ABCD.

00:51:35.949 --> 00:51:38.507
I think it's Galesburg Crazy amount of cars.

00:51:38.507 --> 00:51:39.309
That's right, they have ABCD.

00:51:39.309 --> 00:51:46.068
I think it's Galesburg Crazy amount of cars because they can get into it cheaper and you don't have as much to fix, but they put on a heck of a race.

00:51:46.068 --> 00:51:47.512
Yes, I know.

00:51:48.114 --> 00:51:49.277
And that's the thing it's like.

00:51:49.277 --> 00:51:49.797
I get it.

00:51:49.797 --> 00:51:51.853
Some of them they crash.

00:51:51.853 --> 00:51:53.545
Okay, well, Plymouth just had a street stock race.

00:51:53.545 --> 00:51:54.126
They had multiple red flags.

00:51:54.126 --> 00:51:55.248
Okay well, Plymouth just had a street stock race.

00:51:55.248 --> 00:51:56.168
They had multiple red flags.

00:51:56.168 --> 00:51:57.230
It took two and a half hours.

00:51:57.230 --> 00:52:07.360
I know it happens to any class, Like things happen, Like it's part of racing, but those guys are going to go home and fix it and be right back next weekend and have a blast.

00:52:08.945 --> 00:52:09.807
Yeah absolutely, and it's literally.

00:52:09.807 --> 00:52:11.271
The whole family comes to it.

00:52:11.271 --> 00:52:12.135
I always laugh.

00:52:12.135 --> 00:52:13.706
I'm looking at Victory Lane photos.

00:52:13.706 --> 00:52:16.367
You can't even see the Galesburg especially.

00:52:16.407 --> 00:52:20.771
Galesburg is the number one and I would stand behind the car.

00:52:20.771 --> 00:52:22.632
Yes, because I used to.

00:52:22.632 --> 00:52:25.054
So Kalamazoo used to be the same way.

00:52:25.054 --> 00:52:29.498
I used to send cards for Gary, when he owned it, to the drivers years ago.

00:52:29.498 --> 00:52:38.786
Yep, and half the time if there was a picture, unless they tagged who it was, it was a picture of a bunch of people.

00:52:38.786 --> 00:52:40.130
You couldn't even see the car.

00:52:40.130 --> 00:52:41.211
Yeah, I was like gary who is?

00:52:41.251 --> 00:52:44.217
this, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:52:44.217 --> 00:52:45.425
And that's the great part.

00:52:45.425 --> 00:53:07.775
Like those and they have fun, they do it, they do and and I love it like it's one of my favorite classes, you know, because it's cheap, it's fun, they don't care, they're racing for 150 dollars and, boy, if you give them a trophy, then they're going to go crazy, because they love it and they take it to work with them and oh yeah, we used to give away when we did our send out card stuff.

00:53:07.824 --> 00:53:09.331
Do you remember the big ass trophies?

00:53:09.592 --> 00:53:11.351
Yes, they were six foot trophies.

00:53:12.326 --> 00:53:16.353
And you know, really at the time they didn't really cost that much more than other trophies.

00:53:16.554 --> 00:53:16.835
Right.

00:53:17.315 --> 00:53:20.005
And you know, really at the time they didn't really cost that much more than other trophies, right?

00:53:20.005 --> 00:53:21.811
And people were so tickled to have that huge trophy.

00:53:21.811 --> 00:53:24.545
I don't know where they put it when they went home, but huge trophies.

00:53:25.266 --> 00:53:26.150
But that's the thing.

00:53:26.150 --> 00:53:30.996
They love it Like Crown Trophy Mishawaka, that does a lot of stuff for me.

00:53:30.996 --> 00:53:33.208
That dude Travis and his wife.

00:53:33.208 --> 00:53:35.271
They come up with the neatest trophies.

00:53:35.271 --> 00:53:36.592
Timmy Horvath.

00:53:36.974 --> 00:53:38.094
Oh, he's amazing.

00:53:38.556 --> 00:53:40.378
Man, these and I'm like dude.

00:53:40.378 --> 00:53:46.496
When I raced we got a little plastic trophy Like I might have wanted to race more if I was winning stuff like this.

00:53:47.505 --> 00:53:51.782
Timmy Horvath is so creative with his trophies.

00:53:51.782 --> 00:53:57.166
Yeah, I'm not familiar with Crown as much, but I know, I know, he does an amazing job.

00:53:57.166 --> 00:53:58.027
Yeah, for sure.

00:53:58.606 --> 00:53:59.586
And that's what it takes.

00:53:59.586 --> 00:54:01.387
So you got to have that little extra.

00:54:01.387 --> 00:54:07.070
The big checks have become a huge hit, Huge hit and everybody loves them.

00:54:07.070 --> 00:54:09.873
They're easy to hang up in your trailer, your garage.

00:54:09.873 --> 00:54:13.173
So Plymouth was giving away Hornet Bee feature.

00:54:13.173 --> 00:54:18.297
You got the same big check as everybody else and those guys thought it was the neatest thing ever.

00:54:18.297 --> 00:54:19.557
They didn't care.

00:54:19.577 --> 00:54:21.318
It was like look what I won, you know?

00:54:21.318 --> 00:54:22.978
Yeah, exactly.

00:54:22.978 --> 00:54:25.320
Oh gosh, tony, our hour.

00:54:25.320 --> 00:54:27.621
It's almost been an hour and we could talk.

00:54:27.621 --> 00:54:29.742
We could talk for another hour, you and I.

00:54:29.742 --> 00:54:30.242
I know we did.

00:54:32.224 --> 00:54:33.206
We have the best stories.

00:54:33.206 --> 00:54:37.588
I mean you mentioned Ben Raver and you're, ben, two of the funniest guys I've ever met.

00:54:37.588 --> 00:54:42.311
I mean I have stories for days on both of those guys like what an impact.

00:54:42.311 --> 00:54:46.974
They had Even the announcer's choice stuff like your send out cards booth.

00:54:46.974 --> 00:54:50.938
When you brought about the big ass trophies, I thought you were going to say, do you remember the brownies?

00:54:50.938 --> 00:54:51.719
And I'm like yeah.

00:54:51.958 --> 00:54:53.360
I kind of miss getting brownies.

00:54:53.360 --> 00:54:54.440
Well, they still make those brownies.

00:54:54.440 --> 00:54:55.161
I didn't brownies, okay.

00:54:55.161 --> 00:54:56.021
Well, they still make those brownies.

00:54:56.021 --> 00:54:57.623
I didn't know that, yeah.

00:54:58.347 --> 00:55:03.829
But even then, look how much work you did to send out cards, like after the announcer's choice.

00:55:03.869 --> 00:55:14.947
You sent a card to everybody, 150 cards that you've got to go through and find addresses, and that's what people like you are literally what the sport is missing, like things.

00:55:14.947 --> 00:55:16.251
They don't do that anymore.

00:55:16.251 --> 00:55:22.173
Even my last quick point even finding help at a racetrack, you can't beg people to work.

00:55:22.173 --> 00:55:27.757
When I was a kid I would have paid to work at a track, like we sold the mark times and programs.

00:55:27.757 --> 00:55:33.561
Now you can't find anybody and if you do, they want 40, 50 bucks an hour and I'm like, yeah, we can't.

00:55:33.561 --> 00:55:34.445
Like what are you gonna pay?

00:55:34.445 --> 00:55:34.965
Like we can't.

00:55:35.005 --> 00:55:36.668
Are you a college graduate, whatever?

00:55:36.668 --> 00:55:39.213
Yeah, like that's, that's not happening.

00:55:39.213 --> 00:55:48.221
No, I know, I know, I, I just you know, I just keep hoping all these tracks that you know people realize what's going on.

00:55:48.221 --> 00:55:58.197
You, you can talk to people in kalamazoo that don't even know there's a racetrack right and you know I I don't know how you fix that advertising so expensive.

00:55:58.719 --> 00:56:07.925
This is a free way to promote, you know, and so that's kind of where people go, but um, but yeah, it's, I love, I love racing.

00:56:07.925 --> 00:56:13.855
I think back to how I got really interested.

00:56:13.855 --> 00:56:28.166
My first husband when I lived in warsaw, illinois, north of quincy, illinois, which had the racetrack, and benji was about four years old and we would go to the racetrack and he would sit on the front row.

00:56:28.166 --> 00:56:29.871
It was a dirt track, probably still is.

00:56:29.871 --> 00:56:36.632
He would sit on the front row and never move unless he needed to go to the bathroom or wanted food.

00:56:36.632 --> 00:56:38.358
Then right back to his spot.

00:56:38.358 --> 00:56:44.224
We always had to stay so he could sit in two cars John Miller and Ronnie Monroe.

00:56:44.224 --> 00:56:45.429
Those were his favorite.

00:56:45.429 --> 00:56:50.114
You know, we knew him, we knew those two guys and he would always sit in the car.

00:56:51.545 --> 00:56:54.012
And I was never, I was.

00:56:54.012 --> 00:56:55.076
My dad was a farmer.

00:56:55.076 --> 00:57:02.056
I wasn't brought up watching NASCAR, didn't even know anything about it until we started going there.

00:57:02.056 --> 00:57:08.989
And then, you know, that was our life until he started playing baseball and you know you're at baseball tournaments in the summer.

00:57:08.989 --> 00:57:22.992
But then you know, he graduated from high school and took his graduation money $5,000 and bought a race car behind my back and that was not good.

00:57:23.335 --> 00:57:23.554
Yeah.

00:57:25.226 --> 00:57:25.869
What are you going to do?

00:57:25.869 --> 00:57:29.253
So you can't fight him, so you're going to join him.

00:57:29.675 --> 00:57:29.936
Yes.

00:57:30.585 --> 00:57:33.394
And the first night I went to watch him race, brianne was little.

00:57:33.394 --> 00:57:37.876
She was probably I don't know maybe four or five years old.

00:57:37.876 --> 00:57:39.106
She was sitting on my lap.

00:57:39.106 --> 00:57:43.936
He came out in his car and she looked at me and she started crying.

00:57:43.936 --> 00:57:44.998
Well, that's how I felt.

00:57:44.998 --> 00:57:46.188
I wanted to start crying.

00:57:46.188 --> 00:57:48.677
I couldn't cry because she was.

00:57:48.677 --> 00:58:01.489
And then some old guy was going to show this young kid and ran him in the wall and he broke his hand and he didn't know enough to let go right broke his hand the next week.

00:58:02.170 --> 00:58:03.351
He shows up at the track.

00:58:03.351 --> 00:58:04.655
The cast is off.

00:58:04.655 --> 00:58:08.567
His buddy had taken some kind of a saw and they sawed the cast off.

00:58:08.567 --> 00:58:17.721
That's what crazy racing people do yes yes, and that's how I got my love of racing.

00:58:17.905 --> 00:58:18.106
Yeah.

00:58:19.268 --> 00:58:21.735
And you know a little dirt track in Macomb Illinois.

00:58:22.224 --> 00:58:23.969
Yeah, and it's great.

00:58:24.710 --> 00:58:26.436
Look where, look where it took me.

00:58:26.436 --> 00:58:29.733
Right, I've met amazing people, just like you say.

00:58:29.733 --> 00:58:36.481
You meet such amazing people, either through the stories I do, or the people I meet at the tracks, or people like you.

00:58:36.481 --> 00:58:43.233
People either through the stories I do or the people I meet at the tracks, or people like you, and and you just think, wow, my life would be empty without all those people.

00:58:43.233 --> 00:58:50.451
So you know, you've got all that for your next season, right, you've still got all those people.

00:58:50.451 --> 00:58:52.353
You're still going to be doing some cool stuff.

00:58:52.353 --> 00:59:02.423
I'm still going to be saying hey, tony, you want to be on the show Absolutely, because we can talk about all kinds of stuff and it's just.

00:59:02.423 --> 00:59:12.213
It actually really fills my heart to have racing as part of my life, and the stories I get to tell and the people I talk to.

00:59:12.213 --> 00:59:17.248
So, yeah, same, you know, I, I just I love you.

00:59:17.248 --> 00:59:18.769
We've been buddies for a while.

00:59:18.769 --> 00:59:23.295
I want you to have the best rest of the summer that you've ever had.

00:59:23.315 --> 00:59:24.737
I appreciate that.

00:59:24.856 --> 00:59:25.197
There's.

00:59:25.197 --> 00:59:33.670
You know, don't look back and be like, oh, just look forward and be glad that you realized.

00:59:33.670 --> 00:59:34.835
You know it's like race car drivers.

00:59:34.835 --> 00:59:36.001
They're like it's not.

00:59:36.001 --> 00:59:45.096
You know, even if they're Kevin Harvick, whoever they say, it's time, it's time for me to stop and work with Keelan or, in his case, or whatever.

00:59:45.096 --> 00:59:49.329
You did the right thing and you're going to have a great summer.

00:59:49.329 --> 00:59:51.152
I know you are Absolutely.

00:59:51.152 --> 00:59:54.945
Maybe I'll actually get to see you at Kalamazoo or somewhere now.

00:59:55.266 --> 01:00:03.132
I was getting ready to say I love you too and I can't wait to see you at a racetrack, because now you can call me and be like hey, I'm going to hear the wife and I'll meet you.

01:00:03.132 --> 01:00:04.610
So yeah, exactly.

01:00:05.565 --> 01:00:05.987
We got to.

01:00:05.987 --> 01:00:10.528
We got to do that because it's so much more fun to sit with somebody you know and watch a race.

01:00:10.528 --> 01:00:21.987
Yes, Love my husband, but he's not into it quite as much.

01:00:21.987 --> 01:00:22.289
Right?

01:00:22.349 --> 01:00:27.639
and, by the way, happy anniversary to mark russell today, 21 years ago today, we got married, and so that's awesome yeah so that's kind of cool.

01:00:27.764 --> 01:00:39.617
So, um, he probably won't watch this replay, but I wanted to give him a shout out because, yeah, I love, he's a good guy and he he doesn't necessarily love racing like I do, but he supports it.

01:00:39.985 --> 01:00:41.652
Yes, yeah, yeah.

01:00:41.652 --> 01:00:48.797
So I know you're going to mention Hartford here a little bit, but then you have a great show tomorrow Fireworks.

01:00:48.797 --> 01:00:54.297
Oh, like the Air Flyer, the Eierly brothers do an amazing job with their fireworks.

01:00:54.297 --> 01:00:56.329
Yeah, it's going to be a good show.

01:00:56.329 --> 01:00:58.115
I heard their flagman's kind of decent.

01:00:58.465 --> 01:00:59.409
Yeah, I've heard that.

01:01:01.686 --> 01:01:02.690
Support Tim and Leah.

01:01:02.690 --> 01:01:04.733
They have done a lot for this sport as well.

01:01:04.733 --> 01:01:06.731
Two amazing people.

01:01:06.731 --> 01:01:09.532
They are Lots of racing going on this weekend.

01:01:09.532 --> 01:01:15.275
What I've always told everybody I don't care where you go, just go to a racetrack, doesn't matter where it's at.

01:01:18.264 --> 01:01:20.510
Pick one, take your family and if you wanted to, you could go to hartford tomorrow night.

01:01:20.510 --> 01:01:31.699
You could go to kalamazoo on friday night yep, with drew andy, and then berlin or plymouth or whoever wherever, on saturday night probably.

01:01:31.699 --> 01:01:40.978
So if you're a race fan and you're not at a track at least one night this next few days, then you're missing out on you.

01:01:41.117 --> 01:01:42.639
That's right, that's right.

01:01:43.565 --> 01:01:45.871
Yeah, absolutely, so you can hang on.

01:01:45.871 --> 01:01:50.224
I'm going to share some stuff if you want to, real quick.

01:01:50.224 --> 01:01:52.894
So yes, hartford, tomorrow night fireworks.

01:01:52.894 --> 01:01:55.605
It's going to start at 730.

01:01:55.605 --> 01:01:57.349
The gates open at five.

01:01:57.349 --> 01:01:59.175
It's only $10 to get in.

01:01:59.175 --> 01:02:02.289
Six to 10 are $5.

01:02:02.289 --> 01:02:07.197
Five and under are free with a paid adult.

01:02:07.197 --> 01:02:09.771
Don't send your five-year-old to the track as a babysitter.

01:02:09.771 --> 01:02:10.514
Come on, people.

01:02:10.574 --> 01:02:11.559
You know what's sad is?

01:02:11.559 --> 01:02:13.688
They have to put that because it's happened.

01:02:14.268 --> 01:02:16.414
I'm sure it's happened.

01:02:16.414 --> 01:02:18.199
I don't get it, yeah.

01:02:18.199 --> 01:02:20.625
So yeah, I'm not surprised.

01:02:20.625 --> 01:02:23.650
Um, you can have 14 inch coolers.

01:02:23.650 --> 01:02:24.873
No glass, obviously.

01:02:24.873 --> 01:02:27.818
No outside food support, the food stand.

01:02:27.818 --> 01:02:29.407
There's nothing like track food.

01:02:29.407 --> 01:02:30.228
Come on, people.

01:02:30.228 --> 01:02:32.391
So that's hartford.

01:02:32.391 --> 01:02:34.853
That's going to be a great night for sure.

01:02:34.853 --> 01:02:40.021
Russell's M40 is going to have the VROA.

01:02:40.021 --> 01:02:41.210
What does that stand for?

01:02:41.824 --> 01:02:43.371
Vintage Racers of America.

01:02:43.371 --> 01:02:50.436
So this is all the cars like when we were kids that they've restored and they come out and put like some exhibition.

01:02:51.057 --> 01:02:57.853
Okay, all right, I was going to look that up and then I didn't, so thank you, I'm glad you shared that for me with me.

01:02:57.853 --> 01:03:08.427
So, um, they're also gonna have the mottville stocks, so that must be like four wheel drives, front wheel drives, yeah, like bone stock.

01:03:08.507 --> 01:03:13.634
Knock the windows out, put a cage in and go racing yeah, so that's your entry level.

01:03:14.355 --> 01:03:20.603
and last week james maxi, the fourth, actually won the race.

01:03:20.603 --> 01:03:26.614
No, I'm sorry, he's leading the points, yeah, in the motville stocks, so that's pretty cool for him.

01:03:26.614 --> 01:03:35.317
So then, um, the winner was oh, I wanted to make sure I mentioned this britney bennett won the a feature last week.

01:03:35.317 --> 01:03:38.271
Britney was on my is on my podcast.

01:03:38.271 --> 01:03:39.954
Yeah, it's, I record.

01:03:39.954 --> 01:03:40.737
You know it's recorded.

01:03:40.737 --> 01:03:41.809
You can go in and listen to her.

01:03:41.809 --> 01:03:44.554
I believe she's from Augusta or Galesburg.

01:03:44.554 --> 01:03:46.802
Um, yeah, so that was cool.

01:03:46.802 --> 01:03:48.990
I liked seeing her name on there for sure.

01:03:48.990 --> 01:03:51.237
So, um, they're not in.

01:03:51.237 --> 01:04:01.018
In addition to the vintage cars, they're going to have Mottville Stocks, the Factory Fords, road Warriors, extreme Stocks, street Stocks.

01:04:01.018 --> 01:04:03.201
How many kinds of stocks can there be?

01:04:03.201 --> 01:04:11.175
Come on, michiana Limited Outlaws and the vintage modified Racing starts at 630.

01:04:11.175 --> 01:04:12.896
That is a great track.

01:04:12.896 --> 01:04:14.559
Yes, I love that track.

01:04:14.559 --> 01:04:23.911
Sometimes it feels like I'm going in the middle of nowhere when I go there, but once you get there, that is a great track.

01:04:23.990 --> 01:04:26.827
And their concession stand is actually really good.

01:04:26.827 --> 01:04:29.693
Yes so yeah, Hang out there.

01:04:29.693 --> 01:04:38.110
So I wanted to talk a minute about the National Compact Touring Series presented by Rev-X, which is our friend Do you call him Drew?

01:04:38.251 --> 01:04:38.773
or Andy.

01:04:38.773 --> 01:04:42.952
I still call him Andy, I know that goes by Drew a lot, but I can't do it.

01:04:42.992 --> 01:04:43.934
He's Andy to me.

01:04:43.934 --> 01:04:44.697
I can't.

01:04:44.697 --> 01:04:47.635
I got to ask him what he prefers, right, anyway.

01:04:47.635 --> 01:04:50.648
So this Friday I'm going to read this.

01:04:50.768 --> 01:05:05.259
This Friday, july 4th, at Kalamazoo Speedway, the National Compact Touring Series, presented by Rev-X Oil, is proud to host A Kid Again, a special night for 48 amazing families, which will be 211 people.

01:05:05.259 --> 01:05:11.637
They're inviting the drivers to create and bring autograph cards to sign for the kids.

01:05:11.637 --> 01:05:14.369
A small gesture that makes a huge impact.

01:05:14.369 --> 01:05:22.434
Plus, some of the drivers will be heading up to the party deck to hang out, take photos and create unforgettable moments with these pans.

01:05:22.434 --> 01:05:24.726
So let's make this a night to remember.

01:05:24.726 --> 01:05:29.918
So they're going to have it's called America Night at the Zoo Fireworks.

01:05:29.918 --> 01:05:32.686
Adult tickets are $25.

01:05:32.686 --> 01:05:34.869
Kids $6 to $12, $10.

01:05:34.869 --> 01:05:35.871
Five and under is free.

01:05:35.871 --> 01:05:37.152
Pit gates open at 1.

01:05:37.152 --> 01:05:38.775
Racing starts at 7.

01:05:38.775 --> 01:05:47.847
It's brought to you by Great Lakes Promotions, which is Andy, drew, jack, whatever you want to call him.

01:05:47.847 --> 01:05:50.331
And yeah, that's going to be so fun.

01:05:50.331 --> 01:05:53.375
And what they do for those kids and those families.

01:05:53.375 --> 01:05:58.701
You know that's what a lot of people don't understand too.

01:05:58.701 --> 01:06:01.751
Racing gives back, even when they're losing money.

01:06:01.751 --> 01:06:03.376
Yes, definitely.

01:06:04.166 --> 01:06:06.173
They give back even when they're losing money.

01:06:06.173 --> 01:06:10.333
It says 410 Sprints.

01:06:10.333 --> 01:06:15.210
We don't get to see sprint cars very much around here.

01:06:15.885 --> 01:06:19.547
These are the wing sprints I mean.

01:06:19.547 --> 01:06:23.498
If you've not seen wing sprints here in Kalamazoo, you talk about a thrill.

01:06:24.206 --> 01:06:26.313
I have seen them and they go fast.

01:06:26.364 --> 01:06:31.775
Yes, yes, they also have, I think, the lightning sprints, which are a little smaller.

01:06:32.204 --> 01:06:33.168
Must-see sprints.

01:06:33.168 --> 01:06:35.615
Must-see Midwest Lights Yep.

01:06:35.615 --> 01:06:37.637
And then the Compact Touring Series is see Midwest lights Yep.

01:06:37.637 --> 01:06:45.878
And then the compact touring series is going to race Yep MCR dwarfs, hornet, front wheel drives, modified wheel, horse racing tractors.

01:06:46.338 --> 01:06:47.951
Yes, which they're fun to watch.

01:06:48.030 --> 01:06:48.353
Oh my gosh.

01:06:49.126 --> 01:06:55.396
Two wheels and flip over and the Dorf cars hands down one of my favorite traveling shows.

01:06:55.396 --> 01:06:59.507
First of all, eric and his brother, tim, run an amazing program.

01:06:59.507 --> 01:07:02.052
They get 18 of these guys out there.

01:07:02.052 --> 01:07:12.375
They're all friends, but when they get on the track, man, these little, they're like old coops and sedans, like they have no problem beating and banging and, oh yeah, the hoot, like they're a great group to watch the sprints.

01:07:12.375 --> 01:07:14.992
That's going to be a good show, definitely one of the ones you miss.

01:07:15.172 --> 01:07:15.574
I've miss.

01:07:15.574 --> 01:07:17.864
I've got this show on my list for the weekend.

01:07:17.864 --> 01:07:26.472
Yeah, for sure, because cars that I don't normally get to go In person to see, so that's going to be Fun for sure.

01:07:27.748 --> 01:07:29.755
If you miss it, you're not going to see it again.

01:07:29.755 --> 01:07:30.608
It's not coming back.

01:07:30.608 --> 01:07:31.170
This is it.

01:07:32.228 --> 01:07:32.731
That's it.

01:07:32.731 --> 01:07:36.206
Don't say, oh, I'll go the next time they come.

01:07:36.206 --> 01:07:41.972
They may never come back again, right, yeah, so I do want to mention also.

01:07:41.972 --> 01:07:52.304
We were talking about Raber, little Kalamazoo Speedway, kind of near and dear to my heart because my granddaughter started racing there and that's where I met Ben Raber back in the day.

01:07:52.304 --> 01:08:12.472
But they have the John Tri, ben Raber Memorial Race and the senior animal winner was Weston Kudner, k-u-d-n-e-r, and the Ben Raber Memorial Race in the unrestricted animal was Luke Volkner, and they're both from the Kalamazoo Club and so I wanted to mention them because that's a.

01:08:12.472 --> 01:08:22.578
That's a pretty cool race that they do every year to remember those two guys that gave so much to Little Kalamazoo Speedway, so much so.

01:08:22.578 --> 01:08:27.989
Galesburg is we talked about them Saturday night is the Freedom 100.

01:08:29.055 --> 01:08:33.153
They'll be the ABC Berg Stocks Limited, late Models and Street Stocks.

01:08:33.153 --> 01:08:41.150
According to my list Admission kids $10, adults $20, seniors, like me, twenty dollars.

01:08:41.150 --> 01:08:42.916
Kids under five are free.

01:08:42.916 --> 01:08:45.242
Pit passes are thirty five dollars.

01:08:45.242 --> 01:08:48.652
Practice starts at four if you want to get there and watch everything.

01:08:48.652 --> 01:08:50.356
Racing is at 6 45.

01:08:50.356 --> 01:08:55.470
So, um, the template late model standings they.

01:08:55.470 --> 01:08:59.417
I've been asked trying to find who's putting those out on social media.

01:08:59.417 --> 01:09:01.770
I couldn't find them, so they finally did.

01:09:01.770 --> 01:09:06.953
Kevin England, I think, posted them, so I'm going to give a shout out to these guys.

01:09:06.953 --> 01:09:14.176
The template late model standings at Galesburg because they have some pretty cool and interesting races at.

01:09:14.216 --> 01:09:21.087
Galesburg yes interesting races at galesburg.

01:09:21.087 --> 01:09:23.974
Yes, so the template late model standings right now are jerry osterhaus, scott gary, josh trammell, jesse van abry jr.

01:09:24.073 --> 01:09:34.287
Who is going to marry my granddaughter yes yep, um, so I always want to get his name in there matt edmonds, matt stanton, aj foot, long time racer, everybody knows.

01:09:34.287 --> 01:09:40.970
Aj landon de planche, terry Humphries and Anthony Foot, which doesn't fall far from the tree.

01:09:40.970 --> 01:09:46.826
That's right, because his daddy's taught him probably everything he knows Now.

01:09:46.826 --> 01:09:51.067
The street stock standings top 10, jesse Van Avery, sr.

01:09:51.067 --> 01:09:55.171
Scott Gary again Scott Gary's name, brad Van Avery.

01:09:55.171 --> 01:10:00.676
Brad is running the car, adam's car we lost out of this year.

01:10:01.826 --> 01:10:09.520
Fourth is Bo Brady, anthony Duell, ethan Easy, josh Van Dusen, colin Bozell, john Kennedy and Eddie Bergen.

01:10:09.520 --> 01:10:12.213
That's your street stock standings at Galesburg.

01:10:12.213 --> 01:10:24.113
And then the last one I'm going to share is the Bergstock A-Class, and right at the top, will Slaughter Isn't he always winning races at Galesburg?

01:10:24.113 --> 01:10:24.675
Always.

01:10:24.675 --> 01:10:39.978
Isaiah Higdon, dylan Rose, danny Payne, brent Denton, april Patterson yeah, got a woman in the list Dwayne Crum, jesse Hard, lonnie Green II and Bridget Watson another gal.

01:10:39.978 --> 01:10:45.011
So glad to see those women out there making some noise.

01:10:45.011 --> 01:10:49.698
And Ginger man is my last one.

01:10:49.698 --> 01:10:51.167
So have you been to, ginger man?

01:10:51.868 --> 01:10:52.448
I have not.

01:10:52.448 --> 01:10:54.332
I want to go.

01:10:55.494 --> 01:11:06.003
So we were there for grid life, which was about a month ago, and I'm telling you what it was amazing, packed.

01:11:06.003 --> 01:11:10.052
The racing was crazy and we didn't really.

01:11:10.052 --> 01:11:13.489
We had never been to that event there, we'd been to a couple others.

01:11:13.489 --> 01:11:20.181
I said to Mark next year we're going to come early with our lawn chairs up on the Hill where the shade is.

01:11:20.181 --> 01:11:21.766
We're going to be there for the day.

01:11:21.766 --> 01:11:23.591
So much going on.

01:11:23.760 --> 01:11:25.266
I interviewed three or four women.

01:11:25.266 --> 01:11:30.572
There's a lot of women that run in that series and, um, that is a fun place to go.

01:11:30.572 --> 01:11:45.519
So this weekend they're having, um, the independence day weekend is saturday, starts at 6 am, but I know I'm not going to be there until then through sunday at 7 pm, but um, it's going to be.

01:11:45.519 --> 01:11:47.765
It's called the rev match track days.

01:11:47.765 --> 01:11:50.032
I really don't know that much about it.

01:11:50.032 --> 01:11:54.210
I tried to look more up about it, but it's a.

01:11:54.210 --> 01:11:55.632
It's a great place to go.

01:11:55.632 --> 01:11:56.561
They usually have.

01:11:56.561 --> 01:11:58.167
They have good food there.

01:11:58.167 --> 01:12:08.293
Let me tell you, we ate there and then you know, it's just a fun road course and you can sit up on that hill and you can see what's going on.

01:12:08.293 --> 01:12:12.912
And some of the classes are Hawk novice.

01:12:12.912 --> 01:12:15.287
I tried to look some of these up.

01:12:15.287 --> 01:12:17.788
I need to do better about knowing what they are.

01:12:17.788 --> 01:12:24.813
But you know, if you live over in the South Haven area and you want to just make a short trip, it's really close.

01:12:25.314 --> 01:12:25.493
Yeah.

01:12:25.659 --> 01:12:30.341
It's about a South Haven address, so you know, head out to ginger man saturday during the day.

01:12:30.341 --> 01:12:33.688
You can google ginger man raceway and find out all about it.

01:12:33.688 --> 01:12:39.828
I just saw something posted last night about it so I didn't have a chance to really get the details.

01:12:39.828 --> 01:12:42.640
But um, love to promote all these tracks.

01:12:42.640 --> 01:12:45.104
Didn't hear berlin hasn't raced?

01:12:45.104 --> 01:12:51.414
Um, you know no results from them and that, but I get it when I get it.

01:12:51.881 --> 01:12:57.899
Some women that have been on your podcast Melissa Keys from Left Turn Graphics.

01:12:58.201 --> 01:12:59.265
Oh, a long time ago.

01:12:59.265 --> 01:13:00.469
I need to have her again.

01:13:00.902 --> 01:13:02.519
Super great supporter of racing.

01:13:02.519 --> 01:13:07.689
She is actually leading the points in the Hornets at Plymouth.

01:13:08.460 --> 01:13:09.484
Oh, I saw, she just won.

01:13:10.739 --> 01:13:21.270
Yeah, with Fast Time she just won again this past week, so she's a huge supporter of everything you do and loves watching you, and so she is really having a great year.

01:13:21.779 --> 01:13:23.126
I got to have her on again then.

01:13:23.126 --> 01:13:24.466
It's been a long time.

01:13:24.466 --> 01:13:28.929
She was one of my like, probably 2018 or 19 guests.

01:13:28.948 --> 01:13:29.890
Yeah, it's been a minute.

01:13:30.231 --> 01:13:32.904
Yeah, yeah, so I'll reach out to her.

01:13:32.904 --> 01:13:34.310
Tony, thanks for mentioning that.

01:13:34.310 --> 01:13:36.823
Yeah, you know anybody out there.

01:13:36.823 --> 01:13:48.070
If you know a woman that's racing, I do Women's Motorsports Network podcast and two or three a week I try to do.

01:13:48.070 --> 01:13:53.307
There's so many women, tony, yes, I can't keep up really.

01:13:53.307 --> 01:13:57.872
And so somebody said well, what days do you release?

01:13:57.872 --> 01:14:05.141
I said I release them as soon as I get them done and ready, not always a certain day, right, some weeks I might have.

01:14:05.141 --> 01:14:12.175
You know I was doing three interviews a day, three or four days a week, back before racing started.

01:14:12.380 --> 01:14:12.520
Right.

01:14:12.761 --> 01:14:14.765
Right, because they were all available.

01:14:14.765 --> 01:14:17.440
Yeah, now they're racing, it's harder, but right.

01:14:17.440 --> 01:14:19.947
But yeah, amazing stories.

01:14:19.947 --> 01:14:22.893
I just interviewed a girl and this will be the last thing I share.

01:14:22.893 --> 01:14:25.944
I just interviewed a little girl.

01:14:25.944 --> 01:14:36.490
Her name is lizzie vogel and she's eight years old and I I love telling the stories of the women.

01:14:36.490 --> 01:14:42.203
Okay, don't get me wrong, but I love interviewing the kids yes me too.

01:14:42.764 --> 01:14:59.390
Lizzie vogel's eight years old, has big glasses and and we were, you know, doing a Zoom or doing StreamYard, like you and I are talking, and she was kind of shy and she would shake her head and I said you got to use your words, because they can't hear you shake your head.

01:14:59.390 --> 01:15:00.645
So her mom was helping her.

01:15:00.645 --> 01:15:07.127
But come to find out and I talked to her quite a bit before I even realized this she was born with a cleft palate.

01:15:07.127 --> 01:15:10.046
She's had 12 surgeries.

01:15:10.046 --> 01:15:14.764
Wow, I didn't even notice it when I was talking to her.

01:15:14.764 --> 01:15:18.331
After she mentioned it, maybe I could tell a little bit.

01:15:18.331 --> 01:15:21.622
Yeah, but I didn't even notice it.

01:15:21.622 --> 01:15:25.006
And then she raises.

01:15:25.006 --> 01:15:30.494
She gets donations for care packages that she sends to kids.

01:15:30.494 --> 01:15:35.452
They live in Pennsylvania, so it's a children's hospital where she gets treated.

01:15:35.452 --> 01:15:46.029
She makes care packages and gives them to the kids who are going in for their surgeries, and she's just an amazing little girl.

01:15:46.841 --> 01:16:02.451
That podcast is probably going to release early next week and I just encourage anybody to listen to it, not because it's mine or because it's a little girl, but her story and what she does to give back.

01:16:02.451 --> 01:16:05.457
We could all take a thing or two from it.

01:16:05.457 --> 01:16:09.588
Yes, it's not just the thing she gives those kids who have cleft palates.

01:16:09.588 --> 01:16:16.194
But she does a couple other things that she gives books to and whatever.

01:16:16.194 --> 01:16:24.412
And so I, you know, I wrote a book, it's all behind me and so she asked me if I would send her a copy of my book.

01:16:24.412 --> 01:16:31.712
So I'm gonna send her my book, but she's just amazing, and and you just, I was not expecting that.

01:16:31.712 --> 01:16:35.126
You know, you plan to record.

01:16:35.126 --> 01:16:45.220
With a eight year old girl, you never know what you're going to get, right, you know, and she wasn't overly talkative, but her mom helped her out, you know.

01:16:45.220 --> 01:16:50.586
But then to find out what she's doing, so that was pretty cool.

01:16:50.586 --> 01:16:52.006
So it's Lizzie Vogel.

01:16:52.006 --> 01:16:53.747
It'll be out, probably the first of the week.

01:16:53.920 --> 01:16:55.565
So I will definitely check that out.

01:16:55.565 --> 01:16:56.127
That's that one.

01:16:56.127 --> 01:17:01.231
You know, something I'm going to put you on the spot for, because you know I do that a lot with you.

01:17:01.231 --> 01:17:06.212
I really think that and I'd be willing to help, however I can.

01:17:06.212 --> 01:17:11.061
Maybe a woman's show for the Mini Wedge girls.

01:17:11.061 --> 01:17:15.086
I know like Plymouth has three or four girls.

01:17:15.086 --> 01:17:17.966
I know there's several at Kalamazoo, berlin area.

01:17:17.966 --> 01:17:23.287
I think that'd be really neat to have just a bunch of them on in one night and just kind of talk to them.

01:17:24.055 --> 01:17:26.739
I'm going to write that down when you were mentioning her.

01:17:26.739 --> 01:17:32.286
I'm like man, I'm thinking of like Lake and Dameron and Lily and Longenecker Alley North and the race down at Plymouth all the time.

01:17:32.286 --> 01:17:45.809
They have the coolest stories and other things they're doing and I think it would just be really neat I know there's several at Kalamazoo Just have all these little girls on to talk about, because even many wedges are still predominantly boys.

01:17:46.289 --> 01:17:46.671
Yeah.

01:17:47.011 --> 01:17:48.573
These girls get on there and be like I do it.

01:17:48.573 --> 01:17:51.136
I win races, whatever, I can be the boys.

01:17:52.157 --> 01:17:52.497
Awesome.

01:17:52.497 --> 01:17:53.444
I love that idea.

01:17:53.444 --> 01:17:58.166
What would really be fun is to do a live show at the racetrack.

01:17:58.287 --> 01:17:58.587
Yes.

01:18:00.582 --> 01:18:06.106
I have to check the schedules out, and that because don't they race at Springport too, some mini wedges?

01:18:06.106 --> 01:18:07.737
They used to.

01:18:07.737 --> 01:18:08.783
They used to.

01:18:08.783 --> 01:18:13.226
Maybe not anymore, but I know kalamazoo's yep, kalamazoo and taylor helps with it.

01:18:13.287 --> 01:18:17.903
I think, yes, yep, taylor's there every week, yep yeah, yeah, that's a great idea.

01:18:17.984 --> 01:18:19.868
I think that I'll put that on my schedule.

01:18:19.868 --> 01:18:22.176
Awesome, that would be fun.

01:18:22.176 --> 01:18:25.545
Well, hey, everybody, thanks for sticking with us.

01:18:25.545 --> 01:18:31.979
Um, tony, you're just the best and you know, you know so much about racing.

01:18:31.979 --> 01:18:34.324
I'm going to have to maybe make you my co-host.

01:18:35.546 --> 01:18:37.470
I am down anytime you want me to.

01:18:37.470 --> 01:18:43.837
Okay, I can't thank you enough, not only today this year, but in the 10 plus years I've known you.

01:18:43.837 --> 01:18:51.083
The one thing I love about you is you are a giver and there's very few like you left in the world, and so I appreciate you.

01:18:51.083 --> 01:18:54.351
Like, the highlight of my years so far is that you finally got to meet my wife.

01:18:54.351 --> 01:19:07.346
I didn't even get to introduce you because you know, uh, but the fact that you, you got to meet her and I got to see you, cause it's been quite a bit, and so thank you for asking me to be on the show and for just talking and and being who you are.

01:19:07.426 --> 01:19:13.506
Like I, I love watching everything you do, from the old send out card days to now, and everything you're doing.

01:19:13.506 --> 01:19:17.082
Don't stop, because you are touching people and you're making a difference.

01:19:17.162 --> 01:19:17.863
I love you.

01:19:17.863 --> 01:19:23.984
Thank you for that, thank you for that and, um, I'm going to see you at the racetrack somewhere.

01:19:24.265 --> 01:19:26.962
I'm telling you we're going to come meet you guys and have a night out.

01:19:27.443 --> 01:19:28.043
Absolutely.

01:19:28.043 --> 01:19:32.132
So you everybody for listening, for being here.

01:19:32.132 --> 01:19:43.090
We'll be back next Wednesday at 7 o'clock and who knows who my guest will be Might be Tony, might be who knows and it'll be a surprise for me and the person.

01:19:43.090 --> 01:19:56.548
So thanks for being on and hopefully we can grow this show to where I can figure out how to see comments and we can figure that out and maybe that'll make it different.

01:19:56.548 --> 01:20:00.228
But this was great this way nobody interrupted us.

01:20:00.548 --> 01:20:02.166
Right, and we could talk for days.

01:20:02.166 --> 01:20:05.029
So thank you, like Melinda said, for sticking with us.

01:20:05.029 --> 01:20:09.448
And again I'm going to say it one last time Just support Short Track Racing.

01:20:09.448 --> 01:20:11.926
We want it to be around forever, I don't care where you go.

01:20:11.926 --> 01:20:22.640
If you like this place, that place, don't watch it on tv, get out, spend 20 bucks and enjoy it because as soon as you know, fall hits, it's gone that's right we're.

01:20:22.739 --> 01:20:31.148
Nascar is more than half over, so let's get our butts to the track, get your backside trackside, that's right, that's right.

01:20:31.148 --> 01:20:34.551
All right, Tony, you have a great rest of your week.

01:20:34.551 --> 01:20:36.252
Have a great Fourth of July.

01:20:36.252 --> 01:20:37.533
Thanks everybody.

01:20:37.533 --> 01:20:45.367
Celebrate the Fourth of July on Friday, Saturday, whatever you're going to do, and we'll talk to you next week.

01:20:45.386 --> 01:20:46.090
Thanks, Melinda.

01:20:46.090 --> 01:20:50.351
Yeah thank you, bye-bye.