WEBVTT
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This is off track.
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Jeff, have you been friends with this guy for so long?
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Man, one time, uh, I had a dead battery or a flat tire.
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I think it was a dead battery. And he came
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and rescued me on the way to Martinsville.
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That'll do it.
That doesn't sound like him.
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That doesn't sound like him. Of
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Course.
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Uh, we're talking about Don Rohr,
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who is apparently naked off screen with dreams. He's,
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He's not naked, but he is
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less clothed than I want him to be.
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And it's funny, no one cares. Don.
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What, what's funny is, uh, what I told him
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that you were coming on the show,
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Jeff, he got a little upset.
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He's like, I've never been on the show.
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And I was like, well, yes, Don,
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but he's a respected member of the racing community,
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so
,
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I'm only saying all this stuff 'cause he can hear it.
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Um, yes. Okay, guys, welcome to Off Track with Hinge
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or Rossi this week.
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Uh, Alex previously, uh, previously occupied was unable
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to join us, but we are joined, uh, as our, with our,
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our fire guest this week.
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Uh, Mr. Jeff Gluck,
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who we are very excited to welcome to the show, Jeff. Hello
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And welcome.
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Thank you. You know, um, producer Tim messaged me.
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I was going back through the, the dms
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of X back when it was Twitter
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and 2018 he said, asked me if I could come on this show.
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And I thought it must've been a mistake.
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So I think I just left him on Red .
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'cause I thought, why would you,
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most people want me to be on the show.
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Yeah. To be fair, we ignore a lot of his dms too.
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I, I, you know, just thought this must be,
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and then I ran into him at the Indy 500 this year, um,
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and he said, again, you know, I, I really actually meant
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that all those decades ago.
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Would you like to come on?
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And I was like, I, I, I mean, are you sure?
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Like, I mean, this is a show where they break
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future F1 driver news.
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Like it just goes right to this show.
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So I'm like, I don't, okay.
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If, if that's what you want me to follow up with,
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We kind of assumed you would have some news to break.
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So do you got, oh, did you not have anything for us?
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Tell us us. I mean, I, you, you are, I read
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that you're on the, the NASCAR playoff Committee.
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Is this, is this a thing? Is this true?
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That is true and very shocking to me. .
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Um, but how does, I found out after ,
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after I was invited, I found out it's
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because they knew that I did not like the playoffs.
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And I was so, such a jerk about the
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playoffs for so many years.
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And they wanted, you know,
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a couple dissenting voices, right?
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They're like, you know what? You know,
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we need this guy who hates it.
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We need, we need to have him come on. So
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That's actually a great way to build a committee.
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That's a, that's a very responsible way of doing it.
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That's how I made it. Perfect. Perfect. For
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B it wasn't, it wasn't like a, oh, Jeff, Jeff,
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we've gotta have this esteemed report.
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It's like, we need somebody who freaking hates this .
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So
I wonder if there's any other committees any
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of us could get on with that? Oh, for
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Sure. .
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Yeah. I, I, that's actually now gonna be my go-to method.
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I'm just gonna try to think of something I want to be on
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and then pretend to hate it and then get invited on.
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Um, okay. So for those that don't know, Jeff,
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why don't you give us a little bit of a, of a,
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of a backstory here.
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I mean, obviously you're a, a very respected,
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accomplished motor sports journalist.
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You write currently for the athletic, uh,
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the n New York Times. Um, so
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Yeah, the New York Times owns the
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Athletic, right? Mm-hmm . Right?
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Right. So, um, I guess explain
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to people a little bit about kind of
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where your story began in motorsports journalism.
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Were you always, uh, gonna be a writer?
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Were you always into racing? Which came first?
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Or was it fortuitous that you loved both?
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Dude, it's really weird looking back now
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because, so one of my elementary school classmates was
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Justin Marks and No Way.
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Um, yeah. And we would like, we weren't like super tight.
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I knew who he was for sure.
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And we like lost track over the years, um,
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until he got in the truck series.
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But looking back now, I'm like, how did,
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how was he even into racing?
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Because I grew up in the Bay Area, um, in, in California
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and you know, like where Rossi's from north of Sacramento,
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I think that's much more of a racing hotbed.
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'cause you got like Larson from there, that area,
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and Brad Sweet from there and stuff like that.
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But like, I don't think anybody ever talked about any sort
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of racing when I was growing up.
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Any of my friends. I, you know, I just, I don't know.
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So I don't know how Justin got into it.
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Um, 'cause we were obviously in the same school,
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but, you know, but so I, I was always a stick
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and ball sports guy.
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Um, but my first job was in North Carolina
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and the sports editor was like, Hey, I'm gonna send you
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to a Rockingham NASCAR race.
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And I'm like, uh, I don't know, man. Like this is, yeah.
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I was, you know, all the stereotypes and,
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but you know, I had been told by my journalism professors,
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you know, you, you always gotta just give things a chance.
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You never know when you're gonna need to know
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how to write about lacrosse.
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Like, know how to know as many sports as possible so
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that if the opportunity comes up, you know.
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So I'm like, all right, you know what?
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I'll go, I'll check it out.
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So I went in with an open mind,
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and it was one of those things where, you know,
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you hear it from all people
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that go their first race all the time, right?
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Cliques, you're like, oh, damn, this is fricking awesome.
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This is cool. This is way better than I thought.
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And of course, this was in oh four,
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so this was like peak nascar?
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Yes. Like, this was like the top pretty much.
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And so I just started going
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to whatever races I could in North Carolina
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and just, I'm like, I'm a, I'm gonna write a NASCAR column
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and cover NASCAR races.
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I was mostly covering high school sports,
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but like in my spare time I was like, oh,
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I'm all about NASCAR now.
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So it just, you know, it just parlay, you know,
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you move up the NASCAR media ladder, so, so to speak.
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But it was weird
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'cause I just, I always came in with this instead
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of being like the race fan growing up
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and knowing how I wanted to do it from that angle, I, I kind
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of came into it with like the more mainstream stick
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and ball sports fan angle, you know, and then, right.
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That's how I've always sort of approached it, I think.
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So was was, uh, was sports journalism.
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So did you go to school for journalism?
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You said journalism professor, so I assume that was part
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of your, your formal education.
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I mean, it's, I know this is,
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is shocking considering my voice now
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and everybody can hear how, how horrible it is,
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but for a broadcaster.
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But I wanted to be a baseball broadcaster at
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one point, which I'm so glad.
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Okay. I mean, this is not a baseball broadcaster's voice.
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This is actually a grading voice that nobody should hear. .
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Um, and sorry to those that I have a podcast, but
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Hey, Tim, you say the same about Jim?
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God, no, no, no,
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no. .
,
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yeah. Um, but I had run into, I was looking
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through the course catalog literally at school,
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and it was like sports writing was a class.
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And I went to University of Delaware
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and it said that you could go to like Philadelphia Phillies
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games and Sixers games as part of the class.
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And Oh, sweet. Do like your writing. And I was like, what?
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That's a class. Are you kidding?
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So I signed up for it
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and the guy was like, all right, yeah,
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bring me your writing samples
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so I can decide whether you can get in the class.
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And I was like, uh, here's like an English essay I wrote
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about Shakespeare or something, I don't know.
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And he is like, all right, all right, listen,
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I could tell you're enthusiastic,
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so I will let you in the class as long
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as you start writing for the school paper.
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And you know, at the same time as I'm teaching you, like,
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you need to be on the job doing this.
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And I was like, oh, okay, great.
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And I think I just knew enough about sports that I just,
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I just started it, it became naturally, I think,
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but yeah, it was, I totally like just fell,
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fell into sports journalism kind of backwards.
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What, what was your sport of choice?
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I mean, you know, did you ever play any sports
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or was it just kind of you were the,
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the all round sports fan? Uh,
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I, I really loved baseball for a long time.
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Um, I liked baseball until I started getting hit
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by the baseball too much.
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And then I decided it wasn't for me. Yeah. Um, I think I was
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Kinda a, was I feel right.
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Yeah. Plus I had really bad hand-eye coordination,
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so it was just kind of better that, um,
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that wasn't, you know,
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I've, something I pursue, never played baseball at a high
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level, but I, I've heard that that's not, uh,
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not an insignificant part of the, the skillset required
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for an athlete in that, in that
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Game.
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It doesn't help, I think when you're trying to swing
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and hit the ball that's coming toward you very fast.
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And then you're also like, please don't let this hit me.
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Right. It just wasn't for me. Yeah.
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Yeah. That's fair. But that, that, yeah, you, that means
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that you've got that, that gene in your mind,
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that your brain that you're born with, that tells you
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to not put yourself in situations
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where you're going to get hurt.
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Something that I don't have, uh, obviously.
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Um, alright, so you get your first job in North Carolina.
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You get sent to this NASCAR race you fall in love with,
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with racing, and you take it upon yourself to kind of
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become a NASCAR guy.
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I mean, it's, you're covering other sports,
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but your spare time, you're doing the NASCAR thing.
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When does NASCAR kind of become,
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or motorsports kind of become the actual job for you?
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So I was in California
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and I just decided at that point, um, at a,
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and I was, well, I was covering the Fontana
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track, you know, about that.
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Yeah. Um, so I was, that was like my home track,
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the newspaper right around there.
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And I, at, at that point I was still doing high schools,
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but also like the, the motor sports writer out there.
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And I was just, was just like, man, whatever it's gonna take
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to get to North Carolina to cover nascar,
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like I'm, I'm gonna do this.
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And then there used to be a magazine called NASCAR Scene.
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And, um, they, I, i, I don't know why actually, um,
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why they took a chance on me, but they did, um, hired me
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and oh seven and I've been on the NASCAR beat ever since.
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So, um, I think they just were like,
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this guy seems like way too enthusiastic, way too energetic,
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and we've got a bunch of, you know,
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crotchety old men or something.
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Maybe we could use this youthful exuberance.
248
00:09:28.145 --> 00:09:30.425
I, I don't know if that's the reason, but they were
249
00:09:30.425 --> 00:09:31.505
like, yeah, come on out.
250
00:09:31.845 --> 00:09:34.625
So, um, that, that's been me ever since.
251
00:09:35.005 --> 00:09:37.545
So what, what was the, what was the kind of vibe
252
00:09:37.545 --> 00:09:39.265
of NASCAR Scene Magazine?
253
00:09:39.265 --> 00:09:41.385
This is not something I ever I ever read,
254
00:09:41.615 --> 00:09:42.615
Dude.
255
00:09:42.615 --> 00:09:43.945
It was like, at the,
256
00:09:44.045 --> 00:09:46.345
at the time they called it like the Bible of nascar.
257
00:09:46.375 --> 00:09:49.025
Like okay. They would, it was a weekly magazine
258
00:09:49.885 --> 00:09:52.505
and everybody in the garage read it.
259
00:09:52.565 --> 00:09:54.625
And in fact, like, like literally you would see,
260
00:09:54.855 --> 00:09:57.105
they would deliver stacks at each hollerer,
261
00:09:57.455 --> 00:09:59.425
like on Friday morning of each race weekend.
262
00:09:59.685 --> 00:10:02.385
And you would see the crew guys scamper out.
263
00:10:02.565 --> 00:10:03.745
And like, when, when I'd go in
264
00:10:03.745 --> 00:10:05.625
for an interview into like the driver's lounge,
265
00:10:06.075 --> 00:10:07.985
you'd see the driver would be sitting there reading it,
266
00:10:08.005 --> 00:10:09.705
or the crew chief be sitting there reading it
267
00:10:09.765 --> 00:10:12.105
and like, you know, this was pre-internet.
268
00:10:12.105 --> 00:10:13.625
Yeah. I'm not to say make my sound old,
269
00:10:13.625 --> 00:10:15.905
but you know, I have the bald hair to show that I'm old.
270
00:10:16.445 --> 00:10:17.945
Um, and it was know
271
00:10:17.945 --> 00:10:18.985
Pretty social media and
272
00:10:18.985 --> 00:10:20.545
smartphone and all that sort of stuff.
273
00:10:21.095 --> 00:10:22.105
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
274
00:10:22.325 --> 00:10:25.665
So, you know, it was like, man, people would read,
275
00:10:26.095 --> 00:10:29.825
consume the, the sport about consume the sport this way,
276
00:10:30.165 --> 00:10:33.265
you know, before it was like widely more accessible,
277
00:10:33.305 --> 00:10:34.305
I guess, journalism wise.
278
00:10:34.405 --> 00:10:38.225
So, um, it felt like what we were doing was, you know,
279
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important at least to the garage.
280
00:10:40.565 --> 00:10:42.065
And we were just printing money
281
00:10:42.065 --> 00:10:44.785
because NASCAR was high flying at the time.
282
00:10:44.885 --> 00:10:48.425
And we would, like, we were staying at these like $300 a
283
00:10:48.425 --> 00:10:51.705
night rooms, and like, they'd send five writers
284
00:10:51.725 --> 00:10:53.625
and we each had our own rental car, our own room,
285
00:10:53.765 --> 00:10:56.585
and they, we'd like, we'd cover Homestead
286
00:10:56.805 --> 00:10:58.585
and they'd be like, all right, we're gonna, this resort
287
00:10:58.585 --> 00:11:01.305
and Key Largo, we're all getting like waterfront rooms.
288
00:11:01.445 --> 00:11:03.465
You're just like, what? This is amazing.
289
00:11:03.605 --> 00:11:05.465
And then like within two years
290
00:11:05.555 --> 00:11:09.705
after like the economy started to take a dump, we, we, like,
291
00:11:09.885 --> 00:11:11.625
the size of the paper was like a third.
292
00:11:11.645 --> 00:11:13.985
We, we went from like a hundred pages, like 30 pages.
293
00:11:14.485 --> 00:11:15.905
All the print advertising stopped.
294
00:11:16.325 --> 00:11:18.305
And then one day we got called into a room
295
00:11:18.885 --> 00:11:20.745
and they're like, yeah, we're gonna read a bunch of names,
296
00:11:20.925 --> 00:11:22.265
and if you're on this list, you're gone.
297
00:11:22.485 --> 00:11:25.225
And I was on the list. So that was that.
298
00:11:25.455 --> 00:11:28.785
It's so crazy to me, like how, how oh eight affected
299
00:11:29.005 --> 00:11:31.585
so many industries, but I feel like Motorsports was hit
300
00:11:31.645 --> 00:11:35.025
so hard just because it's fueled by, you know,
301
00:11:35.305 --> 00:11:37.425
frivolous marketing dollars, which is the first thing
302
00:11:37.425 --> 00:11:39.345
to go when a company hits hard times.
303
00:11:39.925 --> 00:11:42.625
And then you just think of all the ancillary businesses
304
00:11:42.625 --> 00:11:45.425
and industries that kind of are affected, you know,
305
00:11:45.425 --> 00:11:46.665
that ripple effect outwards.
306
00:11:47.085 --> 00:11:49.265
And I mean, look, I, it never,
307
00:11:49.545 --> 00:11:51.185
probably never really never really recovered,
308
00:11:51.185 --> 00:11:55.325
like print Meg a weekly print magazine for a race series.
309
00:11:55.845 --> 00:11:57.325
I mean, like, what you're describing kind of sounds
310
00:11:57.325 --> 00:11:59.205
to me like what the Red Bulletin was in
311
00:11:59.205 --> 00:12:00.445
Formula One for a long time.
312
00:12:01.025 --> 00:12:03.765
Um, maybe, maybe more an official
313
00:12:03.765 --> 00:12:06.005
and like actually, you know, reporting on things
314
00:12:06.005 --> 00:12:07.005
and not just Pat Gossip
315
00:12:07.065 --> 00:12:08.205
and stuff like that kind of thing was
316
00:12:08.745 --> 00:12:10.285
or mean Off Track is now.
317
00:12:10.995 --> 00:12:12.285
Well, I mean, I'll show you, it's
318
00:12:12.285 --> 00:12:13.325
not even close to any of those things. ,
319
00:12:13.605 --> 00:12:15.965
it's the most irrelevant bit of media that's ever happened.
320
00:12:16.385 --> 00:12:21.365
Um, but like, did, did the, did the print did like the,
321
00:12:22.045 --> 00:12:23.725
I guess it's kind of Motorsports as a whole,
322
00:12:23.725 --> 00:12:26.045
but in NASCAR mean a bit more specifically, did the kind
323
00:12:26.045 --> 00:12:29.045
of the, the print industry
324
00:12:29.265 --> 00:12:32.405
for reporting on NASCAR ever really recover
325
00:12:32.465 --> 00:12:34.885
or get back to anything close to that kind
326
00:12:34.885 --> 00:12:36.365
of pre oh eight level?
327
00:12:37.625 --> 00:12:40.165
No, I think that just, it just went off a cliff
328
00:12:40.165 --> 00:12:42.245
after that too, because, you know, because
329
00:12:42.245 --> 00:12:43.965
IPhones just came out at the same time.
330
00:12:44.305 --> 00:12:46.885
And so people are now starting to kind of move that way. And
331
00:12:47.555 --> 00:12:49.445
Well, and every, when I started,
332
00:12:49.475 --> 00:12:52.205
like every southern newspaper, I mean, like,
333
00:12:52.205 --> 00:12:54.525
even small newspapers had like a full-time
334
00:12:55.145 --> 00:12:56.685
NASCAR beat writer, you know what I mean?
335
00:12:56.865 --> 00:12:59.045
And the media center was just packed
336
00:12:59.045 --> 00:13:00.485
and it was just all newspapers.
337
00:13:01.105 --> 00:13:05.165
Um, and, you know, now there's no newspapers
338
00:13:05.165 --> 00:13:06.525
that covered NASCAR full-time.
339
00:13:06.525 --> 00:13:10.205
Not even the Charlotte Observer, um, USA today. No.
340
00:13:10.305 --> 00:13:14.445
You know, it's like, wow. It, it is so hard to believe.
341
00:13:14.445 --> 00:13:17.005
Like, you know, I, I, again, I sound old,
342
00:13:17.005 --> 00:13:19.045
but like, I try to tell these younger kids,
343
00:13:19.055 --> 00:13:21.645
these journalists, like, oh, you wouldn't believe, you know,
344
00:13:21.665 --> 00:13:22.925
you come in the media center now
345
00:13:22.945 --> 00:13:27.045
and, you know, it's YouTubers and bloggers
346
00:13:27.045 --> 00:13:29.005
and a few journalists
347
00:13:29.005 --> 00:13:30.485
who are getting paid fulltime to be there.
348
00:13:30.545 --> 00:13:33.885
But, um, a lot of the other people are there just
349
00:13:34.005 --> 00:13:35.685
'cause it's, you know, they're hobbyists or it's fun,
350
00:13:35.685 --> 00:13:37.085
or they have a passion for the sport,
351
00:13:37.105 --> 00:13:40.685
or they're trying to get up the media, but there's not much.
352
00:13:40.715 --> 00:13:42.045
Yeah. There's just not much left.
353
00:13:42.155 --> 00:13:46.845
Like, yeah, there's maybe four or five of us or something.
354
00:13:47.005 --> 00:13:48.045
I mean, something depressing.
355
00:13:48.105 --> 00:13:50.805
But yeah, so like, it definitely never recovered.
356
00:13:51.025 --> 00:13:53.325
And at, but at the same time, that went hand in hand
357
00:13:53.325 --> 00:13:56.045
with nascar, you know, going down to, so, you know,
358
00:13:56.045 --> 00:13:57.125
it was easy for a newspaper,
359
00:13:57.145 --> 00:13:58.925
the Atlanta Journal Constitution to be like, all right,
360
00:13:58.925 --> 00:14:02.325
well, NASCAR's not as big as it was, let's pull this guy
361
00:14:02.325 --> 00:14:03.805
and put him on the Atlanta Falcons.
362
00:14:03.975 --> 00:14:06.525
Right. Um, but you know, at the same time,
363
00:14:07.265 --> 00:14:08.765
all their resources were being drained too.
364
00:14:08.785 --> 00:14:11.525
So it just, it was a, it was a perfect storm for,
365
00:14:11.985 --> 00:14:13.805
for journalism and, and racing. I think.
366
00:14:14.305 --> 00:14:16.085
So. So your name gets called on that list.
367
00:14:16.475 --> 00:14:17.685
What, what are you thinking
368
00:14:17.705 --> 00:14:20.005
and what end up, what ends up being the kind of next step?
369
00:14:20.195 --> 00:14:22.085
Well, for sure, I thought my career was over.
370
00:14:22.585 --> 00:14:25.045
Um, 'cause I was like, I even,
371
00:14:25.195 --> 00:14:27.005
even then you're like, dude, what?
372
00:14:27.125 --> 00:14:29.205
I mean, what else can I do in, in nascar?
373
00:14:29.205 --> 00:14:30.605
Like there's, there's only so many jobs.
374
00:14:30.755 --> 00:14:32.085
Yeah. It must have looked bleak
375
00:14:32.105 --> 00:14:33.245
and you probably thought, all right, other
376
00:14:33.245 --> 00:14:34.565
sports are still doing better.
377
00:14:34.565 --> 00:14:37.085
Maybe I just gotta pivot back to Stick and Ball. I,
378
00:14:37.165 --> 00:14:38.165
I was, yeah.
379
00:14:38.165 --> 00:14:39.925
I mean, I, I called my parents on the way home
380
00:14:40.465 --> 00:14:42.685
who lived in Colorado, and I was just like, yeah,
381
00:14:42.685 --> 00:14:43.765
I think I'm gonna have to move back home.
382
00:14:43.835 --> 00:14:46.445
Like, I, I just got like escorted outta the building.
383
00:14:47.145 --> 00:14:48.325
NASCAR scene is no more.
384
00:14:48.325 --> 00:14:51.045
They, they kept this website for a year
385
00:14:51.235 --> 00:14:52.495
before they cut that too.
386
00:14:52.515 --> 00:14:55.175
And it was just like, all right, well crap.
387
00:14:55.235 --> 00:14:58.015
But I mean, the good thing is I had just gotten on Twitter
388
00:14:58.535 --> 00:15:00.255
'cause I was, I was like an early adopter of Twitter.
389
00:15:00.375 --> 00:15:02.655
I thought that was pretty cool. So I had like kind
390
00:15:02.655 --> 00:15:03.695
of gone all in on that.
391
00:15:04.275 --> 00:15:06.375
And I had just enough of a following, which is like,
392
00:15:07.055 --> 00:15:09.585
I mean like literally like 3000 people at the time.
393
00:15:10.645 --> 00:15:13.945
And that was enough for, have you ever heard of SP Nation?
394
00:15:14.645 --> 00:15:17.145
Um, yeah. Yeah. It was, it's a sports blog site. Yeah.
395
00:15:17.215 --> 00:15:19.465
They were starting up racing content
396
00:15:19.605 --> 00:15:21.425
and they're like, Hey, yeah, we're looking for a guy.
397
00:15:22.085 --> 00:15:23.625
You Yeah. We, you could, you know,
398
00:15:23.655 --> 00:15:25.425
full-time travel to races.
399
00:15:25.605 --> 00:15:28.185
I'm like, okay. Oh my gosh. Yeah, absolutely. Let's do it.
400
00:15:28.685 --> 00:15:31.705
Did you ask if you doing to the same hotels? Really?
401
00:15:33.335 --> 00:15:35.425
, dude, they gave me, I remember they're like, yeah,
402
00:15:35.455 --> 00:15:37.065
like you could do as many races as you want,
403
00:15:37.125 --> 00:15:40.265
but your travel budget's gonna be like 20 grand a year.
404
00:15:40.405 --> 00:15:43.665
And I was like, Ooh, uh, . I mean, that's a lot of driving.
405
00:15:44.025 --> 00:15:46.745
I mean, I could, I could do it,
406
00:15:46.925 --> 00:15:50.215
but that's gonna be, you know, even,
407
00:15:50.355 --> 00:15:51.655
you know, it was a lot of like,
408
00:15:52.045 --> 00:15:53.375
It's 36 races, right?
409
00:15:53.375 --> 00:15:54.775
Like NASCAR's a long schedule.
410
00:15:55.685 --> 00:15:57.975
Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I, it was, you know,
411
00:15:58.015 --> 00:16:00.335
I was sleeping on floors of friends' hotel rooms
412
00:16:00.435 --> 00:16:02.175
and driving places,
413
00:16:02.175 --> 00:16:04.215
Which I think Don Don played a part in at some point.
414
00:16:05.635 --> 00:16:08.015
Oh dude, I stayed. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. He was
415
00:16:08.015 --> 00:16:09.015
Taking credit.
416
00:16:09.015 --> 00:16:11.175
I think that was when he Yeah, absolutely.
417
00:16:11.435 --> 00:16:13.535
You, you, you go cash in favors
418
00:16:13.695 --> 00:16:14.735
whenever you can, you know? Yeah.
419
00:16:14.735 --> 00:16:17.135
Yeah. No, it's, I mean it's, you know, we had, uh,
420
00:16:17.135 --> 00:16:19.695
will Buxton on the show a couple months ago
421
00:16:20.075 --> 00:16:22.295
and kind of hearing his story, it's, it's similar, right?
422
00:16:22.295 --> 00:16:25.295
Like when you are trying to kind of make
423
00:16:25.295 --> 00:16:26.375
that work and it's a passion.
424
00:16:26.775 --> 00:16:28.495
I think he said he lived in a van, you know,
425
00:16:28.495 --> 00:16:30.695
and just drove to races and crashed in his van
426
00:16:30.795 --> 00:16:35.055
and, you know, lived off $10 a week for groceries
427
00:16:35.195 --> 00:16:36.615
or whatever, for eating out whatever.
428
00:16:37.155 --> 00:16:39.815
Um, it's tough, but it's the ones that kind of hustle like
429
00:16:39.815 --> 00:16:41.735
that, that end up with these opportunities down the road.
430
00:16:42.715 --> 00:16:45.495
Um, you, you mentioned the Twitter thing.
431
00:16:45.495 --> 00:16:46.455
That was, that was on the
432
00:16:46.455 --> 00:16:47.495
list of things I want to talk about.
433
00:16:47.735 --> 00:16:49.815
'cause that's, that's kind of where I first heard about you.
434
00:16:50.155 --> 00:16:53.815
You were definitely a very big presence on Twitter
435
00:16:53.995 --> 00:16:56.255
as it was starting to become kind of a way
436
00:16:56.255 --> 00:16:57.775
that people were getting all sorts of news.
437
00:16:57.835 --> 00:17:02.535
Now, um, was that, was
438
00:17:02.535 --> 00:17:05.655
that a, a kind of natural thing that you saw
439
00:17:05.675 --> 00:17:06.695
and were interested in
440
00:17:06.835 --> 00:17:08.975
and you just kind of started doing it and it was organic?
441
00:17:09.035 --> 00:17:11.615
Or was it more like, Hey, I see this potential
442
00:17:11.875 --> 00:17:13.815
and I wanna be on the leading edge of this.
443
00:17:14.135 --> 00:17:15.935
I just thought it was easy
444
00:17:16.115 --> 00:17:18.935
and a fun way to like, talk to your audience.
445
00:17:19.315 --> 00:17:22.495
Um, I really think it was similar to the same way
446
00:17:22.495 --> 00:17:24.575
that you viewed the Hinch town kind of thing,
447
00:17:24.575 --> 00:17:28.815
because it was a way to, back then, especially like,
448
00:17:29.975 --> 00:17:32.395
it was such a organic, fun way to like, connect
449
00:17:32.395 --> 00:17:34.675
with the community that wasn't filled with trolls
450
00:17:34.675 --> 00:17:37.075
or too much negativity or Oh.
451
00:17:37.075 --> 00:17:38.115
How things have changed.
452
00:17:38.905 --> 00:17:42.595
Yeah. Right. I mean, you felt like you could have I stand
453
00:17:42.595 --> 00:17:44.115
by all of my real conversation.
454
00:17:44.855 --> 00:17:48.915
Uh, well, you're, I mean, It's
455
00:17:49.785 --> 00:17:52.045
now, it's, I don't even know some days why I'm on there.
456
00:17:52.045 --> 00:17:53.965
Right. But like, it used to be like, you could,
457
00:17:54.305 --> 00:17:55.725
it was enjoyable and fun
458
00:17:55.745 --> 00:17:57.285
and you got something out of it every day
459
00:17:57.385 --> 00:17:59.005
and you felt good about it, this community, right.
460
00:17:59.005 --> 00:18:00.645
And yeah. Yeah, yeah.
461
00:18:00.945 --> 00:18:02.845
It was a great, like, I wish there was a way now
462
00:18:03.515 --> 00:18:07.165
community wise to like just find sort
463
00:18:07.165 --> 00:18:08.885
of like your community on social media
464
00:18:08.985 --> 00:18:11.245
and not even, I, I don't care about my stuff getting
465
00:18:11.485 --> 00:18:13.605
retweeted or going up into the algorithm.
466
00:18:13.955 --> 00:18:15.325
Like, I, it's, I just wanna talk
467
00:18:15.325 --> 00:18:17.725
to the people who wanna hear from me. You know? It's,
468
00:18:17.915 --> 00:18:20.245
It's almost like, it's almost like the Twitter equivalent
469
00:18:20.245 --> 00:18:21.445
of a subreddit, right?
470
00:18:21.555 --> 00:18:23.525
It's like, we're in this, we're in this Twitter thing.
471
00:18:23.525 --> 00:18:27.005
It's like, okay, this is nascar, NASCARs, motor sports,
472
00:18:27.465 --> 00:18:29.365
nascar, people who don't suck.
473
00:18:29.455 --> 00:18:30.485
Let's go into that group
474
00:18:30.505 --> 00:18:32.605
and everyone just talks to each other there, you know?
475
00:18:32.665 --> 00:18:35.245
But I mean, I mean, you've, you've got like 300,000
476
00:18:35.245 --> 00:18:37.885
followers on Twitter now, so it's obviously grown.
477
00:18:37.915 --> 00:18:39.445
It's been a huge vehicle for you.
478
00:18:39.665 --> 00:18:41.445
You were one of the first people to start doing Tweetups
479
00:18:41.505 --> 00:18:42.765
too, if I'm not mistaken.
480
00:18:42.765 --> 00:18:45.845
Right? So you would have, you would kind of broadcast
481
00:18:45.865 --> 00:18:47.885
to the, to the, your, your masses, Hey,
482
00:18:47.945 --> 00:18:50.245
I'm gonna be at this track on this day at this time.
483
00:18:50.255 --> 00:18:51.605
Let's all get together. And,
484
00:18:52.025 --> 00:18:54.525
and what, just talk shop, was it a q and a?
485
00:18:54.525 --> 00:18:55.725
Like what, what was that all about?
486
00:18:55.995 --> 00:18:59.005
Yeah, so it, it, the first one I did was Atlanta, um,
487
00:18:59.145 --> 00:19:00.445
oh nine Labor Day weekend.
488
00:19:00.505 --> 00:19:04.725
And it, like, I had started to have people email me, um,
489
00:19:04.825 --> 00:19:06.645
and be like, Hey, um, I follow you.
490
00:19:06.745 --> 00:19:08.845
I'd love to meet up and say hi. And so I was doing that.
491
00:19:08.845 --> 00:19:11.445
Like, I would say, okay, I'll meet you over here.
492
00:19:11.835 --> 00:19:13.245
I'll meet you over here. Right.
493
00:19:13.425 --> 00:19:15.365
Um, and it, it got to be too much.
494
00:19:15.365 --> 00:19:16.805
Like, I was just like, oh crap. Like I'm
495
00:19:16.805 --> 00:19:18.165
Gonna, you got a job to do, so let's,
496
00:19:18.415 --> 00:19:20.485
let's condense all this, streamline this a bit.
497
00:19:21.395 --> 00:19:24.445
Exactly. So I just, I had seen, NASA
498
00:19:25.305 --> 00:19:26.685
had used the term tweet up,
499
00:19:27.065 --> 00:19:28.965
and so I just said, let's do a tweet up.
500
00:19:29.305 --> 00:19:32.125
Um, and I'll just say this time at this place at the track.
501
00:19:32.865 --> 00:19:35.125
And, uh, the first one had three people,
502
00:19:35.985 --> 00:19:37.605
and then I did another one at Richmond.
503
00:19:37.605 --> 00:19:39.125
The, the week after it had two people.
504
00:19:40.385 --> 00:19:43.645
And that one was, you know, it was like, Hey,
505
00:19:43.645 --> 00:19:46.125
like we met under this post under the stands,
506
00:19:46.145 --> 00:19:47.725
and it was like two dudes and me.
507
00:19:48.065 --> 00:19:50.045
And it was like this weird kind of blind date thing.
508
00:19:50.045 --> 00:19:52.525
Like we're all standing there like, are you here for this?
509
00:19:53.145 --> 00:19:55.445
Is it me you? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sounds
510
00:19:55.445 --> 00:19:57.005
Like a really efficient way to get
511
00:19:57.005 --> 00:19:59.005
stabbed
. Yeah.
512
00:19:59.125 --> 00:20:00.245
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
513
00:20:04.195 --> 00:20:06.165
Then they just started just growing
514
00:20:06.585 --> 00:20:09.045
and like organically people were just like, oh, okay,
515
00:20:09.045 --> 00:20:11.445
this could, you know, it was like 10 people, 20 people.
516
00:20:11.465 --> 00:20:12.645
And then drivers started coming
517
00:20:12.645 --> 00:20:16.085
and it was like, uh, you came to one at Miami one year,
518
00:20:16.125 --> 00:20:17.725
I think, uh, at Homestead.
519
00:20:17.955 --> 00:20:21.085
Yeah. Um, and, you know, it was just like, I don't know,
520
00:20:21.085 --> 00:20:24.305
it just, it, it was a way to just, you know, especially at
521
00:20:24.305 --> 00:20:25.505
that time and,
522
00:20:25.505 --> 00:20:27.585
and still to this day, you, you, there's certain people,
523
00:20:27.615 --> 00:20:29.065
even with the following that you have,
524
00:20:29.535 --> 00:20:30.945
there's certain positive people
525
00:20:30.945 --> 00:20:32.065
that you see in your mentions enough.
526
00:20:32.065 --> 00:20:33.585
You're like, I, I kind of know that guy's name. Yeah.
527
00:20:33.585 --> 00:20:35.225
Like, yeah, I've seen that name enough.
528
00:20:35.845 --> 00:20:38.265
Um, that's, that's not a troll. Like, that's a cool person.
529
00:20:38.325 --> 00:20:39.505
And then they'll come up to you
530
00:20:39.505 --> 00:20:40.465
and they'll be like, Hey, I'm so and
531
00:20:40.465 --> 00:20:41.465
so, and you're like, oh my gosh.
532
00:20:41.535 --> 00:20:42.945
Yeah, you, yeah, yeah.
533
00:20:42.945 --> 00:20:44.825
You know, so it's, it's a cool way to just connect
534
00:20:44.825 --> 00:20:47.445
with people and, um, I'm still trying to hang onto
535
00:20:47.445 --> 00:20:49.445
that even though it's, it's gotten a lot harder.
536
00:20:49.665 --> 00:20:51.285
So you still do them, but not as
537
00:20:51.285 --> 00:20:52.285
Often?
538
00:20:52.285 --> 00:20:53.765
No, we, we still do 'em. Yeah. Yeah.
539
00:20:53.865 --> 00:20:56.955
Um, I'm, you know, like if I'm not there,
540
00:20:57.055 --> 00:20:58.115
Bob ERs will do one.
541
00:20:58.265 --> 00:20:59.715
Yeah. If we're both there, we'll, we're,
542
00:20:59.715 --> 00:21:01.475
we'll coordinate on, we're gonna do it together.
543
00:21:02.095 --> 00:21:06.235
Um, you know, it's, to me it's, um,
544
00:21:06.825 --> 00:21:09.435
it's honestly still the, my, the my favorite part
545
00:21:09.435 --> 00:21:12.955
of the whole race weekend, because you're truly, you know,
546
00:21:12.975 --> 00:21:15.915
we can think, okay, the NASCAR fans think this or whatever,
547
00:21:16.175 --> 00:21:16.915
but like, you're like,
548
00:21:17.015 --> 00:21:18.195
so what do you guys think of this rule?
549
00:21:18.335 --> 00:21:19.275
Or like, what do you guys think of
550
00:21:19.275 --> 00:21:20.595
NASCAR going here to this track?
551
00:21:20.615 --> 00:21:21.995
Or, and they just tell you,
552
00:21:22.055 --> 00:21:23.635
or you know, it's like, you're like, oh, okay.
553
00:21:23.875 --> 00:21:25.435
And so it's obviously anecdotal
554
00:21:25.715 --> 00:21:28.635
'cause it's, you know, 50, 60 people or whatever it is.
555
00:21:28.945 --> 00:21:30.475
It's not representative of everybody,
556
00:21:30.575 --> 00:21:33.915
but it's a chance for, instead of us assuming that we know
557
00:21:34.695 --> 00:21:36.835
I'm, I'm standing on this pedestal and I know what's best
558
00:21:36.975 --> 00:21:39.315
and I'm gonna just tell my, like, they're saying, Hey,
559
00:21:39.315 --> 00:21:40.635
this is what moves the needle for me.
560
00:21:41.275 --> 00:21:43.475
I don't care about this. And you know, a lot
561
00:21:43.475 --> 00:21:44.515
of times you're like, oh, really?
562
00:21:44.835 --> 00:21:46.875
I didn't think about that. So it's,
563
00:21:46.935 --> 00:21:48.235
to me, it's really helpful still
564
00:21:48.345 --> 00:21:50.075
Just to make sure that they know their placed.
565
00:21:50.095 --> 00:21:52.075
Do you introduce yourself as Jeff Gluck member
566
00:21:52.095 --> 00:21:53.635
of the NASCAR playoff committee? ?
567
00:21:55.015 --> 00:21:58.435
Is that make sure cards . It doesn't have a number.
568
00:21:58.625 --> 00:22:00.075
That was really, it's just that, um,
569
00:22:00.345 --> 00:22:03.435
that was a really weird, awkward thing for me to,
570
00:22:03.955 --> 00:22:07.675
'cause I, they told us we could out ourselves, um,
571
00:22:08.415 --> 00:22:11.555
but we weren't allowed to say, you know, who else was on it.
572
00:22:11.855 --> 00:22:13.275
And so I, and,
573
00:22:13.335 --> 00:22:17.405
and they said, please don't use your platform, uh, to
574
00:22:18.295 --> 00:22:20.525
stump for changes one way or the other.
575
00:22:20.555 --> 00:22:23.525
That was the rules. And so it was like, okay.
576
00:22:23.525 --> 00:22:27.485
So I, I waited until Brickyard 400 to say
577
00:22:28.155 --> 00:22:29.205
that I was on it,
578
00:22:29.235 --> 00:22:33.325
because I just thought, you know, I, I don't want
579
00:22:33.325 --> 00:22:36.715
to come across as like nothing had come out of it yet.
580
00:22:36.715 --> 00:22:38.315
People hadn't been talking about it yet.
581
00:22:38.975 --> 00:22:41.595
And I, I didn't wanna put myself in a weird spot
582
00:22:41.615 --> 00:22:44.275
of being like, Hey, look at me like I'm doing this.
583
00:22:45.025 --> 00:22:47.035
Once it started to come out that there was a committee
584
00:22:47.215 --> 00:22:49.155
and discussions were happening, and,
585
00:22:49.215 --> 00:22:50.795
and then I was like, all right, well, I have
586
00:22:50.795 --> 00:22:53.355
to talk about this on the podcast and I can't talk about it
587
00:22:53.355 --> 00:22:57.555
without, in good faith saying, Hey, by the way, I'm on this.
588
00:22:57.555 --> 00:22:59.915
Because if I, if I hit it, then later it would come out.
589
00:22:59.915 --> 00:23:01.035
Wait a minute. Yeah.
590
00:23:01.215 --> 00:23:03.275
He was on it and he talked about it,
591
00:23:03.415 --> 00:23:05.515
and like, he didn't like, so I had
592
00:23:05.515 --> 00:23:06.955
to be honest with the audience.
593
00:23:07.015 --> 00:23:10.675
So that was a really tricky, weird thing to navigate.
594
00:23:10.735 --> 00:23:12.195
And journalistically, it's still been weird,
595
00:23:12.195 --> 00:23:14.115
but I obviously, I had to clear with my boss beforehand,
596
00:23:15.535 --> 00:23:17.995
and we just agreed that like, as long
597
00:23:17.995 --> 00:23:21.415
as I'm transparent about what I've said in the room
598
00:23:22.735 --> 00:23:24.555
and not trying to sway things too much,
599
00:23:24.615 --> 00:23:27.075
but like being more of like a, you know,
600
00:23:27.075 --> 00:23:28.715
like stuff's come up in the room
601
00:23:29.015 --> 00:23:30.235
and I'll say, Hey, by the way, like,
602
00:23:30.235 --> 00:23:31.315
here's a little fact check on that.
603
00:23:31.495 --> 00:23:35.035
You know, rather than you're a bunch, you know,
604
00:23:35.035 --> 00:23:37.595
if you don't do this, if, you know, I I don't think
605
00:23:37.595 --> 00:23:39.035
that's my place.
606
00:23:39.315 --> 00:23:42.165
I mean, so it is been weird,
607
00:23:42.265 --> 00:23:47.035
but, um, I also thought passing up the opportunity to see
608
00:23:47.135 --> 00:23:49.715
how it actually, how they reached their
609
00:23:49.915 --> 00:23:51.885
decision would be a mistake.
610
00:23:52.085 --> 00:23:54.165
'cause I, I'm gonna be able to say for years to come, like,
611
00:23:54.165 --> 00:23:55.765
well, you know, people say, why didn't they just do this?
612
00:23:55.765 --> 00:23:57.285
And I'll be saying, right, okay, that came up.
613
00:23:57.285 --> 00:24:00.205
I'll tell you why. And the reason is Yeah. Yeah. So
614
00:24:00.705 --> 00:24:02.445
No, that's, that's, I think it's a huge opportunity.
615
00:24:02.475 --> 00:24:03.925
It's a great thing to be a part of.
616
00:24:04.065 --> 00:24:06.045
And I love, like, like I said, I love the fact
617
00:24:06.045 --> 00:24:08.445
that they kind of went for a few dissenting voices
618
00:24:09.185 --> 00:24:10.405
on that, on that committee.
619
00:24:10.825 --> 00:24:12.245
So let me ask you this then.
620
00:24:12.705 --> 00:24:14.525
Um, and we won't keep you much longer.
621
00:24:14.645 --> 00:24:17.445
I appreciate your time. But the, the playoff thing,
622
00:24:17.445 --> 00:24:19.925
you know, in IndyCar this year, we had one guy kind of,
623
00:24:19.945 --> 00:24:22.645
you know, ruin everything for everyone forever
624
00:24:23.305 --> 00:24:24.885
by winning a bunch of races
625
00:24:24.885 --> 00:24:26.805
and wrapping up the title with two races to go.
626
00:24:27.305 --> 00:24:30.165
Uh, I remember when NASCAR went to this system,
627
00:24:30.545 --> 00:24:33.005
and correct me if I'm wrong, but did it not have something
628
00:24:33.005 --> 00:24:35.605
to do with the fact that like Ken if won one race
629
00:24:35.605 --> 00:24:37.285
and won the championship, but like Ryan
630
00:24:37.285 --> 00:24:38.405
Neuman won like eight mm-hmm .
631
00:24:38.485 --> 00:24:39.965
And didn't because he crashed a bunch.
632
00:24:39.965 --> 00:24:41.165
And like, well that doesn't seem fair,
633
00:24:41.225 --> 00:24:43.245
so let's recreate a way that it is.
634
00:24:43.595 --> 00:24:46.445
Okay. So it was almost the reverse problem
635
00:24:46.675 --> 00:24:48.445
that we've had an IndyCar this year,
636
00:24:48.705 --> 00:24:50.645
but it has sparked debate
637
00:24:50.705 --> 00:24:52.765
and people asking questions, which is insane.
638
00:24:52.765 --> 00:24:55.085
Like in 25 years, the championship has been wrapped up
639
00:24:55.105 --> 00:24:56.805
before the last round like three times.
640
00:24:57.065 --> 00:25:00.645
But because this is, you know, the sky is falling.
641
00:25:01.265 --> 00:25:02.925
So explain to people
642
00:25:03.555 --> 00:25:06.245
what you don't like about NASCAR having playoffs,
643
00:25:06.545 --> 00:25:08.645
and then hopefully everybody in IndyCar is listening
644
00:25:08.645 --> 00:25:11.725
and can stop suggesting it , because I agree. Yeah.
645
00:25:11.955 --> 00:25:13.725
I'll tell you what, if,
646
00:25:13.725 --> 00:25:16.365
if anybody in IndyCar thinks playoffs are the solution,
647
00:25:16.525 --> 00:25:19.325
I could tell you that a large percentage of NASCAR fans
648
00:25:19.865 --> 00:25:22.765
looked at your last race and looked at the viewership
649
00:25:23.185 --> 00:25:24.565
and which was great
650
00:25:24.785 --> 00:25:28.685
and held it up as like, Hey, by the way, the season
651
00:25:28.825 --> 00:25:30.685
and the races can still be relevant
652
00:25:31.275 --> 00:25:32.725
even separate from the championship.
653
00:25:33.405 --> 00:25:35.045
I, I don't know if people have missed this,
654
00:25:35.065 --> 00:25:37.765
but race fans like to watch racing. We
655
00:25:37.765 --> 00:25:39.365
Really like cars going around in circles. .
656
00:25:39.915 --> 00:25:42.245
Yeah. You know, it's, everybody gets
657
00:25:42.305 --> 00:25:43.925
so caught up in the championship.
658
00:25:43.925 --> 00:25:46.965
The championship. That's not what it's all about.
659
00:25:47.305 --> 00:25:51.955
And I think too, like there's a lot of people that it, like,
660
00:25:52.255 --> 00:25:53.595
why, why can't we just celebrate?
661
00:25:53.625 --> 00:25:55.195
Like, all right, this guy an amazing season.
662
00:25:56.435 --> 00:25:58.955
Um, man, he absolutely deserved it. He won it.
663
00:25:58.955 --> 00:26:00.715
Imagine if you guys had a playoff
664
00:26:01.255 --> 00:26:03.825
and Paolo had the season he had,
665
00:26:04.445 --> 00:26:06.825
and then he gets tripped up at the last race
666
00:26:07.085 --> 00:26:09.585
for whatever reason and he doesn't win it.
667
00:26:09.725 --> 00:26:12.955
And you're like, okay, this is,
668
00:26:12.985 --> 00:26:14.755
this was not at all reflective of
669
00:26:14.755 --> 00:26:16.435
what we just watched the entire year.
670
00:26:16.825 --> 00:26:20.875
Like, and I get that the, you know, the, the argument
671
00:26:20.935 --> 00:26:22.195
for it is, well, you know,
672
00:26:22.195 --> 00:26:23.715
you could go undefeated in the NFL
673
00:26:24.215 --> 00:26:25.595
and you could lose the Super Bowl.
674
00:26:25.905 --> 00:26:28.675
Okay, that's one team against one team.
675
00:26:29.185 --> 00:26:32.235
This is every team on the field at the same time.
676
00:26:33.255 --> 00:26:34.555
And, you know,
677
00:26:34.655 --> 00:26:36.675
the Kansas City Chiefs could be running down the field,
678
00:26:36.675 --> 00:26:37.915
Mahomes could be running down the field
679
00:26:37.915 --> 00:26:40.875
for the game-winning score, and a player on the Carolina
680
00:26:40.875 --> 00:26:44.365
Panthers falls and he trips over the guy and he gets tackled
681
00:26:44.505 --> 00:26:47.365
and they lose because some guy had nothing to do with it.
682
00:26:47.395 --> 00:26:50.485
Like, it's just Right. So antithetical to motor sports
683
00:26:50.785 --> 00:26:54.605
and how greatness in motorsports is determined, um,
684
00:26:55.205 --> 00:26:58.585
I just think it's been, it's, it's watered things down.
685
00:26:59.125 --> 00:27:00.665
The drivers don't think it's as legitimate.
686
00:27:01.005 --> 00:27:03.585
And so because they don't think it's as legitimate,
687
00:27:04.015 --> 00:27:06.985
they can't then in turn be passionate about it
688
00:27:06.985 --> 00:27:09.185
and sell it to the fans and get as excited about it.
689
00:27:10.045 --> 00:27:11.905
So the fans are like, yeah, I mean,
690
00:27:12.085 --> 00:27:13.665
my driver doesn't even really care that much.
691
00:27:14.445 --> 00:27:16.265
He, well, from what he's saying, like, you know, yeah, he's,
692
00:27:16.265 --> 00:27:17.745
it's like, yeah, if I win the championship, maybe,
693
00:27:17.745 --> 00:27:18.985
but it's kind of a roll the dice.
694
00:27:19.885 --> 00:27:22.145
That's not you. You wanna see greatness.
695
00:27:22.565 --> 00:27:23.825
And sometimes it's boring,
696
00:27:23.825 --> 00:27:25.225
sometimes somebody just dominates.
697
00:27:25.325 --> 00:27:27.345
But a lot of times when it, when it gets it right,
698
00:27:28.095 --> 00:27:29.425
it's the most magical thing ever.
699
00:27:29.425 --> 00:27:31.065
Look at F1 2021.
700
00:27:31.205 --> 00:27:34.825
So, yeah, I mean, you know, it's just, I I think
701
00:27:35.525 --> 00:27:39.465
NASCAR is too far down the road now to totally unwind it
702
00:27:39.575 --> 00:27:42.665
because TV has such a big voice, right?
703
00:27:42.895 --> 00:27:45.225
That they want elimination still.
704
00:27:45.365 --> 00:27:47.345
You know, they, they want some sort of playoffs,
705
00:27:47.445 --> 00:27:49.305
but it's gonna end up getting at a place
706
00:27:49.305 --> 00:27:52.305
where it's at least not one race, which, okay,
707
00:27:52.465 --> 00:27:55.025
I guess it's something I, I'd rather go back
708
00:27:55.025 --> 00:27:56.825
to at least like the 10 race deal
709
00:27:57.245 --> 00:28:00.545
or whatever the bigger sample size is, that's,
710
00:28:00.545 --> 00:28:02.145
you're gonna get closer to determining a
711
00:28:02.145 --> 00:28:03.465
true champion. Um, because
712
00:28:03.535 --> 00:28:05.345
Even, like if, if you look outside
713
00:28:05.345 --> 00:28:06.425
of, uh, sorry to interrupt.
714
00:28:06.425 --> 00:28:07.905
Like if you look outside of football,
715
00:28:08.065 --> 00:28:10.505
'cause it's a bit of a unique single elimination, you know,
716
00:28:10.505 --> 00:28:11.745
winner take all sort of scenario.
717
00:28:12.265 --> 00:28:13.905
A lot of other sports, it's a best of seven.
718
00:28:14.085 --> 00:28:17.665
So at least there's opportunity for you to have a bad day,
719
00:28:18.045 --> 00:28:20.705
but not lose out on a, a year's worth of hard work.
720
00:28:20.705 --> 00:28:23.425
Right. So if it did go to a more expanded thing
721
00:28:23.425 --> 00:28:26.705
that wasn't just one that that would, that
722
00:28:26.705 --> 00:28:28.145
that's at least a step in the right direction.
723
00:28:28.295 --> 00:28:30.945
Yeah. I mean there's talk right now of like four races.
724
00:28:31.525 --> 00:28:33.255
Um, okay.
725
00:28:33.495 --> 00:28:36.335
I mean, I, I, I don't, I personally don't love that.
726
00:28:36.445 --> 00:28:40.455
Like, I would rather it be at least five, six, like I said,
727
00:28:40.555 --> 00:28:43.335
10 or, and, and again, they would never do this now,
728
00:28:43.335 --> 00:28:44.575
but I, I've really come around
729
00:28:44.575 --> 00:28:47.095
to like the 36 race championship.
730
00:28:47.175 --> 00:28:50.975
I mean, now NASCAR is like IndyCar spec cars now you can't
731
00:28:50.975 --> 00:28:53.095
build your way into some massive advantage.
732
00:28:53.875 --> 00:28:57.935
And so the odds of somebody truly running away with it, um,
733
00:28:58.235 --> 00:28:59.255
are not that high.
734
00:28:59.255 --> 00:29:01.895
Like, if you look at the traditional season long points
735
00:29:02.555 --> 00:29:04.255
for NASCAR right now, it's really close.
736
00:29:04.995 --> 00:29:07.535
So I, I feel like we're sort of robbing ourselves
737
00:29:07.555 --> 00:29:11.855
of some generational battles by trying to gimmick things up.
738
00:29:12.155 --> 00:29:14.695
And oh, is is Denny Hamlin
739
00:29:14.695 --> 00:29:17.935
after winning five races, is he going to have a blown tire
740
00:29:18.075 --> 00:29:19.815
and miss the second round?
741
00:29:19.815 --> 00:29:22.775
Like, find out. But like, why, why do we wanna see that?
742
00:29:22.845 --> 00:29:25.095
Yeah. Like why are we rooting for that? Because it's chaos.
743
00:29:25.245 --> 00:29:28.535
Like, wouldn't we rather see the best have a chance
744
00:29:28.535 --> 00:29:30.255
to do their thing and prove their greatness?
745
00:29:30.375 --> 00:29:31.535
That's, that's where I come from.
746
00:29:32.125 --> 00:29:36.055
It's a little too wwe, you know, the way it's when you try
747
00:29:36.055 --> 00:29:37.255
to hype up that kind of thing.
748
00:29:37.395 --> 00:29:38.855
So I get I'm with you.
749
00:29:39.095 --> 00:29:40.935
I, um, I've never been a huge fan of it.
750
00:29:40.990 --> 00:29:43.725
It, and especially as, as things started getting so weird
751
00:29:43.725 --> 00:29:44.885
around, um,
752
00:29:45.665 --> 00:29:48.765
around elimination races like the Chastain thing,
753
00:29:48.805 --> 00:29:49.845
I may have been the only guy on earth.
754
00:29:49.885 --> 00:29:51.485
I thought that was the dumbest thing on earth
755
00:29:51.905 --> 00:29:53.165
and it was so dangerous.
756
00:29:53.425 --> 00:29:55.125
And I did not celebrate that.
757
00:29:55.205 --> 00:29:57.045
I mean, guys got balls to try it,
758
00:29:57.065 --> 00:29:59.485
but I, I did not, as a driver, I did not celebrate that.
759
00:29:59.805 --> 00:30:00.885
I thought that was ridiculous.
760
00:30:01.305 --> 00:30:03.525
You look at people just dumping people at, you know,
761
00:30:03.525 --> 00:30:05.965
the Charlotte Ro or whatever, because you can,
762
00:30:06.265 --> 00:30:08.005
and it's, you have to like, you're, you're,
763
00:30:08.005 --> 00:30:09.685
you're not doing your job if you don't.
764
00:30:09.825 --> 00:30:11.445
And you're just creating these terrible
765
00:30:11.495 --> 00:30:12.805
situations that aren't racing.
766
00:30:13.265 --> 00:30:15.085
So I, I'm with you. I hope something changes.
767
00:30:15.425 --> 00:30:17.685
Um, I I know we've gotta let you go.
768
00:30:18.005 --> 00:30:19.085
I don't wanna take up too much time.
769
00:30:19.245 --> 00:30:20.365
I have two more questions.
770
00:30:20.985 --> 00:30:25.125
Um, the first is, we kind of touched on it earlier, uh,
771
00:30:25.435 --> 00:30:28.285
with the uptick in sort of the, the,
772
00:30:30.425 --> 00:30:32.565
what's the politest way to put this?
773
00:30:33.145 --> 00:30:33.645
The, um,
774
00:30:38.395 --> 00:30:40.845
less constructive criticism on Twitter
775
00:30:40.985 --> 00:30:43.765
and things like that, you know, with, with the internet kind
776
00:30:43.765 --> 00:30:46.125
of going the way it is and so much of your work now,
777
00:30:46.225 --> 00:30:48.125
you know, it's just out on the internet, it's available
778
00:30:48.185 --> 00:30:50.165
for people to comment on and, and all that.
779
00:30:50.285 --> 00:30:52.045
I mean, how do you kind of balance that as a writer?
780
00:30:52.305 --> 00:30:53.805
Do you, do you read comments?
781
00:30:54.185 --> 00:30:56.885
Do you respond, do you interact, engage
782
00:30:56.885 --> 00:30:58.085
with the crazies on Twitter?
783
00:30:58.185 --> 00:31:00.485
Or do you just sort of do your job as long
784
00:31:00.485 --> 00:31:02.365
as your boss is happy and you're getting a paycheck,
785
00:31:02.385 --> 00:31:04.605
the the public can say what they want and you step back?
786
00:31:04.745 --> 00:31:06.245
What's sort of your your take on it?
787
00:31:06.315 --> 00:31:08.085
Yeah, unfortunately I still read
788
00:31:08.765 --> 00:31:10.625
almost all the replies, if not all of 'em.
789
00:31:11.125 --> 00:31:12.465
And I really shouldn't.
790
00:31:13.585 --> 00:31:14.905
'cause I think what's happened is,
791
00:31:15.125 --> 00:31:17.905
and I, I bet you've gone through something similar on a,
792
00:31:17.945 --> 00:31:21.265
a much bigger scale, but like, so for a while
793
00:31:22.045 --> 00:31:24.145
it was just the people following me who wanted to follow me.
794
00:31:24.145 --> 00:31:28.585
Right? Then, um, I started doing my podcast
795
00:31:28.615 --> 00:31:32.385
with Dirty Mo Media, Dale Junior's, um, media company
796
00:31:33.085 --> 00:31:35.465
and which has been great and for exposure
797
00:31:35.565 --> 00:31:37.825
and, um, my podcast, you know, it's really helped.
798
00:31:37.845 --> 00:31:41.825
But as part of that, they are putting me now in front
799
00:31:41.825 --> 00:31:43.385
of a different audience
800
00:31:43.385 --> 00:31:44.945
that they're like, who the hell is this guy?
801
00:31:45.565 --> 00:31:47.985
So for you, you know, you know, you had your following
802
00:31:47.985 --> 00:31:50.345
with IndyCar, all of a sudden you go on the F1 stuff
803
00:31:51.205 --> 00:31:52.425
and people were like familiar.
804
00:31:52.485 --> 00:31:53.785
Oh yeah, okay. And you know,
805
00:31:53.785 --> 00:31:57.105
this guy's coming from North America and IndyCar background
806
00:31:57.165 --> 00:32:00.225
and I'm sure that no, you're very likable, so you don't have
807
00:32:00.225 --> 00:32:02.785
as much of a problem with as I do not being as likable.
808
00:32:03.245 --> 00:32:05.465
But, you know, people are suddenly, suddenly commenting,
809
00:32:05.465 --> 00:32:07.625
you're, you're in front of people and they're suddenly
810
00:32:07.625 --> 00:32:10.625
commenting on all this stuff and you're like, whoa.
811
00:32:11.335 --> 00:32:12.905
Like they don't know your backstory.
812
00:32:13.255 --> 00:32:14.625
They don't know any of your history.
813
00:32:15.335 --> 00:32:17.745
They don't know how you like to, uh, you know,
814
00:32:17.745 --> 00:32:18.785
engage with the community.
815
00:32:18.975 --> 00:32:20.625
They're just freaking mad
816
00:32:20.645 --> 00:32:22.185
or they're like, zero to a hundred
817
00:32:23.055 --> 00:32:25.025
with just shredding you or whatever.
818
00:32:25.725 --> 00:32:27.465
And that's been a huge adjustment for me.
819
00:32:27.945 --> 00:32:28.985
'cause I'm like, whoa.
820
00:32:29.135 --> 00:32:30.985
Like I thought we were all cool here on the internet.
821
00:32:30.985 --> 00:32:32.865
Like I know the internet is kind of crazy,
822
00:32:33.085 --> 00:32:36.465
but I thought I had a, my kind of arms around how this went.
823
00:32:36.845 --> 00:32:38.785
And now people are like, freaking hate me.
824
00:32:38.785 --> 00:32:41.565
Some people, right? Like, shut up. Like, we hate this guy.
825
00:32:41.985 --> 00:32:45.125
So it's like, oh, like how do I, how do I deal with this?
826
00:32:45.145 --> 00:32:47.165
And I, I do, I still read all of it
827
00:32:47.985 --> 00:32:50.725
and you know, sometimes I'll like mute people.
828
00:32:50.845 --> 00:32:53.365
I block people who make racist comments and stuff.
829
00:32:53.365 --> 00:32:56.565
Certainly. But like, you know, every time you block somebody
830
00:32:56.565 --> 00:32:58.765
who give somebody content, 'cause then they screenshot it.
831
00:32:58.765 --> 00:33:01.805
Yeah. And they say what a, what a softie. Yeah. Yeah.
832
00:33:01.805 --> 00:33:03.245
So you're like, man, I don't know how
833
00:33:03.245 --> 00:33:04.325
to live on the internet anymore.
834
00:33:04.645 --> 00:33:08.065
Honestly. Like, I, I don't, sometimes I'm like,
835
00:33:08.225 --> 00:33:09.985
I just, I can't do much more of this.
836
00:33:09.985 --> 00:33:11.825
And then of course I'm right back on there.
837
00:33:11.925 --> 00:33:13.625
Ooh, what are people saying? Um,
838
00:33:14.445 --> 00:33:15.625
I'm still trying to navigate it.
839
00:33:15.665 --> 00:33:16.665
I really don't have a great answer.
840
00:33:16.865 --> 00:33:18.585
'cause I, I haven't figured out the balance anymore
841
00:33:18.855 --> 00:33:22.825
because it just, it keeps getting more toxic and worse.
842
00:33:22.885 --> 00:33:25.065
And just when you think it's gotten as low as it can go,
843
00:33:26.145 --> 00:33:28.305
somebody doxed my home address.
844
00:33:28.945 --> 00:33:30.905
'cause they were mad at me. And I'm like, oh yeah.
845
00:33:31.025 --> 00:33:32.705
I was like, Ooh, I got a, uh,
846
00:33:32.725 --> 00:33:34.065
two little girls here in this house.
847
00:33:34.185 --> 00:33:36.145
I don't, I don't love that. Oh
848
00:33:36.405 --> 00:33:37.405
Wow.
849
00:33:37.405 --> 00:33:37.985
It's like, wow, okay.
That's
850
00:33:37.985 --> 00:33:38.985
Crazy.
851
00:33:39.855 --> 00:33:42.105
Yeah. But I, so I don't, I don't know how
852
00:33:42.105 --> 00:33:43.225
to navigate it. I really don't.
853
00:33:43.695 --> 00:33:45.545
Yeah. It's just, it's such a tough thing.
854
00:33:45.705 --> 00:33:48.145
'cause you know, you don't, especially when you started in
855
00:33:48.145 --> 00:33:49.785
this profession, that was not a concern.
856
00:33:49.995 --> 00:33:52.785
Right? And so it's not like a oh, well, you know,
857
00:33:52.985 --> 00:33:54.585
you signed up for like no, I,
858
00:33:54.745 --> 00:33:56.065
I didn't actually sign up for that.
859
00:33:56.125 --> 00:33:58.825
That's not the world i I signed up for at all.
860
00:33:59.485 --> 00:34:02.625
And as your audience grows, the, the, yeah.
861
00:34:02.765 --> 00:34:06.145
The, um, availability of, of everybody to see
862
00:34:06.145 --> 00:34:08.665
what you're doing and, and comment on it positively
863
00:34:08.665 --> 00:34:10.025
or negatively grows with it.
864
00:34:10.205 --> 00:34:12.425
And that's, uh, that's a tough thing.
865
00:34:12.445 --> 00:34:14.585
But I was just, yeah, I'm always curious how people in,
866
00:34:14.645 --> 00:34:16.865
in media, like I, I, I get it from the athlete side
867
00:34:16.865 --> 00:34:18.465
and now I have been on the other side
868
00:34:18.485 --> 00:34:19.585
and like you, you know,
869
00:34:19.625 --> 00:34:21.625
I had my little world in IndyCar and that was great.
870
00:34:21.625 --> 00:34:23.185
And then you go to F1 where they don't know you
871
00:34:23.185 --> 00:34:26.505
and it's a massive audience and a very polarized audience.
872
00:34:26.505 --> 00:34:28.785
They all have their people and their cultures
873
00:34:28.845 --> 00:34:30.425
and their places and, you know,
874
00:34:30.845 --> 00:34:33.745
and yeah, man, they could be, they could be pretty rough.
875
00:34:34.135 --> 00:34:35.185
They could be pretty rough.
876
00:34:35.325 --> 00:34:38.065
But it's just, you know, I try to just avoid it
877
00:34:38.065 --> 00:34:39.105
because I don't care.
878
00:34:39.365 --> 00:34:42.265
My my philosophy is always, you know, as long
879
00:34:42.265 --> 00:34:43.865
as the boss is out, I have an audience of one.
880
00:34:44.335 --> 00:34:46.905
It's my boss. My boss likes the job that I'm doing,
881
00:34:46.935 --> 00:34:48.465
then like, people can have their opinions,
882
00:34:48.465 --> 00:34:49.825
but I don't need to hear 'em.
883
00:34:49.825 --> 00:34:52.345
Right. I'll, I love constructive feedback from people
884
00:34:52.345 --> 00:34:53.945
that I work with and people that I work for.
885
00:34:54.215 --> 00:34:56.265
Outside of that, it doesn't really, you know,
886
00:34:56.325 --> 00:34:58.185
it doesn't really benefit me the good stuff
887
00:34:58.205 --> 00:34:59.225
or the bad stuff, right?
888
00:34:59.225 --> 00:35:00.505
Because people who don't know
889
00:35:00.505 --> 00:35:01.665
what they're talking about will say that I'm great.
890
00:35:01.685 --> 00:35:03.945
And like that doesn't mean anymore than the people
891
00:35:03.945 --> 00:35:04.905
that don't know what they're talking about and say
892
00:35:04.905 --> 00:35:05.225
that I suck.
893
00:35:05.225 --> 00:35:07.785
So I try and just avoid it for what it's worth.
894
00:35:08.205 --> 00:35:10.185
Um, and then, okay, finally, I'll leave you on this.
895
00:35:10.225 --> 00:35:11.385
I know we've already kept you too long.
896
00:35:11.445 --> 00:35:13.025
I'm so, so appreciative your time. No, I'm,
897
00:35:13.025 --> 00:35:14.025
I'm, I'm enjoying this.
898
00:35:14.025 --> 00:35:15.905
No, don't, don't be rush at all. Thank you. Um,
899
00:35:16.445 --> 00:35:19.305
So we, you know, I wanted to ask some of these kind
900
00:35:19.305 --> 00:35:20.705
of the journalistic questions and,
901
00:35:20.725 --> 00:35:21.865
and how you deal with some of these things
902
00:35:21.885 --> 00:35:23.745
and how you sort of grew it, because we do get a lot
903
00:35:23.745 --> 00:35:25.905
of people, I get a lot of people coming up to me being like,
904
00:35:25.905 --> 00:35:27.465
Hey man, as Motorsports has grown,
905
00:35:27.805 --> 00:35:30.305
the interest in all positions in Motorsports has grown.
906
00:35:30.885 --> 00:35:33.625
And I have seen this massive, you know, uh,
907
00:35:34.025 --> 00:35:35.065
increase in people who want
908
00:35:35.065 --> 00:35:37.105
to get into the media side of motorsports.
909
00:35:37.505 --> 00:35:39.685
And I get a lot of young people coming up to me being like,
910
00:35:39.685 --> 00:35:42.365
Hey man, you know, I I would love to get into this.
911
00:35:42.705 --> 00:35:44.525
Uh, you know, what, what's your advice?
912
00:35:44.985 --> 00:35:47.205
And I always say, I was like, I'm the worst guy to ask.
913
00:35:47.345 --> 00:35:49.765
My advice is go race IndyCar for 11 years, retire,
914
00:35:49.765 --> 00:35:50.925
and then they'll give you a job in tv.
915
00:35:50.995 --> 00:35:52.725
Like, I don't know the answer to your question.
916
00:35:53.345 --> 00:35:56.685
So for someone that doesn't have that as an option, uh,
917
00:35:56.995 --> 00:36:00.565
what advice can you give to, to young journalists,
918
00:36:00.565 --> 00:36:04.565
reporters, writers, anybody that wants to get into, um,
919
00:36:05.075 --> 00:36:06.845
I'll, I'll say kind of sports journalism.
920
00:36:07.045 --> 00:36:09.685
'cause that was, you know, your broader, uh,
921
00:36:09.875 --> 00:36:11.005
broader background.
922
00:36:11.225 --> 00:36:12.885
And I think based on something
923
00:36:12.885 --> 00:36:15.525
that Kevin Lee always says when he gives this answer, it's,
924
00:36:15.525 --> 00:36:17.125
it's good to not pigeonhole yourself into
925
00:36:17.125 --> 00:36:18.245
one sport right off the bat.
926
00:36:18.385 --> 00:36:20.005
So if you want to get into motor sports,
927
00:36:20.175 --> 00:36:22.045
start in any sport and go from there.
928
00:36:22.145 --> 00:36:24.605
But what, uh, what kind of advice do you have for anyone
929
00:36:24.605 --> 00:36:25.885
that's, that's looking to get into,
930
00:36:25.945 --> 00:36:27.085
to motorsports journalism?
931
00:36:27.115 --> 00:36:28.125
Well, first of all, I mean,
932
00:36:28.315 --> 00:36:31.325
this is the greatest time in human history to try
933
00:36:31.325 --> 00:36:34.485
to do something like that because you don't have to rely on,
934
00:36:34.485 --> 00:36:36.045
you don't have to wait for some major outlet. There's
935
00:36:36.045 --> 00:36:37.045
No barrier, right?
936
00:36:37.045 --> 00:36:37.965
There's no barrier to entry. Yeah.
937
00:36:38.015 --> 00:36:39.645
Right. Absolutely.
938
00:36:39.805 --> 00:36:42.125
I mean, we can, you know, anybody can make your own podcast,
939
00:36:42.195 --> 00:36:43.365
YouTube channel, whatever,
940
00:36:43.505 --> 00:36:45.805
and how you stand out, you know,
941
00:36:45.805 --> 00:36:47.005
it's obviously a crowded marketplace,
942
00:36:47.005 --> 00:36:48.365
but I, I do believe it's possible.
943
00:36:48.865 --> 00:36:51.925
Um, because if you have a unique voice,
944
00:36:52.345 --> 00:36:53.485
you will end up standing out.
945
00:36:53.655 --> 00:36:55.645
Don't try to do what other people are doing.
946
00:36:56.175 --> 00:36:58.445
Don't just try to say, okay, well this guy does it this way,
947
00:36:58.505 --> 00:37:00.485
or, I really like how this person does this.
948
00:37:00.485 --> 00:37:03.405
Like, find your own niche, find your own voice.
949
00:37:03.825 --> 00:37:05.485
Um, and, and hey, that's,
950
00:37:05.665 --> 00:37:07.285
that's a niche within a niche sometimes, right?
951
00:37:07.285 --> 00:37:11.245
Like, 'cause in, I, I notice like a lot of the NASCAR people
952
00:37:11.245 --> 00:37:12.565
who started breakthrough in recent years,
953
00:37:12.565 --> 00:37:14.085
like it might be like a stats guy
954
00:37:14.905 --> 00:37:17.365
and they're doing something that nobody else is doing.
955
00:37:17.425 --> 00:37:19.165
And so they sort of own this space
956
00:37:19.625 --> 00:37:23.125
and people are going to them for like, oh, well, they,
957
00:37:23.125 --> 00:37:24.325
they have this whole spreadsheet
958
00:37:24.325 --> 00:37:27.045
and list of all this crazy stuff that's happened,
959
00:37:27.045 --> 00:37:29.125
and they're the only ones who's been keeping track of this.
960
00:37:29.125 --> 00:37:31.925
And so you end up following them or go to them for stuff.
961
00:37:32.585 --> 00:37:36.405
Um, and it just, whether it's talking about the sport
962
00:37:36.625 --> 00:37:38.525
or, um, you know,
963
00:37:38.585 --> 00:37:39.765
or you know, filming
964
00:37:40.045 --> 00:37:41.125
yourself, talking about it, whatever it is.
965
00:37:41.125 --> 00:37:43.845
Like, I, I, I know people are polarized about Mr.
966
00:37:43.845 --> 00:37:46.765
Beast, so I don't mean to bring 'em into the show,
967
00:37:46.825 --> 00:37:48.325
but, um, Mr.
968
00:37:48.375 --> 00:37:51.125
Beast had a, a great interview I saw with somebody once
969
00:37:51.125 --> 00:37:53.765
where he was talking about, you know, everybody's trying
970
00:37:53.765 --> 00:37:54.965
to be the cow.
971
00:37:55.065 --> 00:37:56.845
And if you're going down the, the road,
972
00:37:56.845 --> 00:37:58.205
you're seeing a bunch of cows and,
973
00:37:58.205 --> 00:37:59.765
and you can't tell one cow from the other.
974
00:38:00.185 --> 00:38:01.245
But if you're going down the road
975
00:38:01.245 --> 00:38:04.405
and you see a purple cow, you're gonna be like, holy crap,
976
00:38:04.425 --> 00:38:05.685
you gotta see that purple cow.
977
00:38:05.685 --> 00:38:07.565
Like, you gotta stop and like, pay attention to this.
978
00:38:07.565 --> 00:38:09.685
And, and so when you're creating content,
979
00:38:09.825 --> 00:38:11.165
he was saying, be the purple cow.
980
00:38:11.165 --> 00:38:13.205
Like, be that person that you're like,
981
00:38:13.235 --> 00:38:14.325
dang, that's really cool.
982
00:38:14.325 --> 00:38:15.445
Like, I really like what they're doing.
983
00:38:15.445 --> 00:38:16.965
Or that's really different or unique.
984
00:38:17.465 --> 00:38:19.085
Um, because I do think you can stand out.
985
00:38:19.085 --> 00:38:22.005
Like you, you, you'll see it in, in IndyCar.
986
00:38:22.005 --> 00:38:24.365
Like there's, there's people that come in
987
00:38:24.365 --> 00:38:26.285
and they sound the same as anybody else.
988
00:38:26.425 --> 00:38:28.405
And then there's some people that just kind of stand out
989
00:38:28.405 --> 00:38:29.765
and you're like, dang,
990
00:38:29.765 --> 00:38:31.165
they have a totally different perspective.
991
00:38:31.225 --> 00:38:32.445
Or, I kind of like what they're saying,
992
00:38:32.465 --> 00:38:34.525
or that's, they have a great sense of history
993
00:38:34.525 --> 00:38:37.365
or whatever it is, and you end up, you know,
994
00:38:37.365 --> 00:38:38.765
you seeing their stuff more and more,
995
00:38:38.825 --> 00:38:41.245
and then they kind of get enough of a following
996
00:38:41.245 --> 00:38:42.725
and it, it snowballs over time.
997
00:38:43.465 --> 00:38:45.965
Um, and it, you know, you have to be patient.
998
00:38:46.105 --> 00:38:47.445
You have to outlast a lot of people,
999
00:38:47.985 --> 00:38:49.285
but I, I do think it's possible
1000
00:38:49.525 --> 00:38:51.765
'cause you're not doing it, you're not gonna get rich on
1001
00:38:52.805 --> 00:38:53.945
day one doing this, right.
1002
00:38:53.945 --> 00:38:55.665
Like, you right, you're, you're gonna start it,
1003
00:38:55.665 --> 00:38:56.745
it's gonna be a labor of love
1004
00:38:56.805 --> 00:38:59.745
and you're maybe gonna have a dozen people
1005
00:39:00.385 --> 00:39:01.665
watching your YouTube channel or whatever.
1006
00:39:01.845 --> 00:39:04.545
But I, I believe it's very possible.
1007
00:39:04.645 --> 00:39:07.355
We have a guy in nascar, Eric Estep,
1008
00:39:08.095 --> 00:39:09.995
he built his YouTube channel from nothing
1009
00:39:09.995 --> 00:39:11.395
with no help, was totally independent.
1010
00:39:11.395 --> 00:39:13.475
He has 250,000 subscribers now.
1011
00:39:14.015 --> 00:39:17.475
So, you know, it's possible to, thanks to the algorithms,
1012
00:39:17.655 --> 00:39:20.315
uh, if you get enough traction on stuff, um,
1013
00:39:20.655 --> 00:39:22.995
and he's not a shock artist or anything like that.
1014
00:39:22.995 --> 00:39:26.075
He has reasonable measured takes about what's going on in
1015
00:39:26.075 --> 00:39:27.195
the sport and talks about the news,
1016
00:39:27.255 --> 00:39:28.595
and people are like, Hey, I like this guy.
1017
00:39:28.595 --> 00:39:32.075
Let's check him out. So I think it's absolutely doable,
1018
00:39:32.375 --> 00:39:34.195
and if you have a passion for it, um,
1019
00:39:34.215 --> 00:39:37.195
and an energy for it, um, go for it. You know, love that,
1020
00:39:37.385 --> 00:39:38.955
Love that I, and I love the point
1021
00:39:38.975 --> 00:39:40.155
of you gotta outlast people.
1022
00:39:40.175 --> 00:39:42.155
That's kinda any job worth
1023
00:39:42.155 --> 00:39:43.315
doing, a lot of people want to do.
1024
00:39:43.495 --> 00:39:44.835
And so you've just gotta be the one
1025
00:39:44.835 --> 00:39:46.275
that's still there and keeps grinding.
1026
00:39:46.295 --> 00:39:48.075
And when those opportunities come up, you're there to,
1027
00:39:48.075 --> 00:39:49.195
you're there to strike on it.
1028
00:39:49.215 --> 00:39:50.515
So I think that's, I think it's
1029
00:39:50.515 --> 00:39:51.515
Awesome.
1030
00:39:51.515 --> 00:39:52.595
Yes. Because people realize it's hard, you know?
1031
00:39:52.595 --> 00:39:54.715
Right, right. Like people, you start doing it
1032
00:39:54.715 --> 00:39:56.275
and you go, oh, this is actually kind of hard.
1033
00:39:56.545 --> 00:39:58.155
Yeah. Um, and so a lot of people quit,
1034
00:39:58.695 --> 00:40:01.275
but if you keep going, like you're talking about whatever,
1035
00:40:01.305 --> 00:40:02.835
it's, if it's trying to find a ride
1036
00:40:02.835 --> 00:40:05.955
or whatever it is, a lot of people fall by the wayside.
1037
00:40:05.975 --> 00:40:07.515
And when you're there to get those opportunities,
1038
00:40:07.715 --> 00:40:09.595
because you've been around and you've met enough people,
1039
00:40:09.935 --> 00:40:11.595
and people are like, why don't we get this guy a chance?
1040
00:40:11.625 --> 00:40:13.115
Well, how come we've never, you know what I mean?
1041
00:40:13.345 --> 00:40:15.155
It's, it, it can happen that way
1042
00:40:15.155 --> 00:40:16.395
for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Always
1043
00:40:16.395 --> 00:40:17.395
Heard.
1044
00:40:17.395 --> 00:40:19.195
Most overnight success stories take 10 years,
1045
00:40:19.445 --> 00:40:20.445
Right, .
1046
00:40:20.445 --> 00:40:21.875
Exactly. Exactly right. That's true.
1047
00:40:21.875 --> 00:40:23.555
Well, hey, man, that's, uh, that's amazing.
1048
00:40:23.555 --> 00:40:24.795
Thank you so much for the time.
1049
00:40:25.145 --> 00:40:26.395
I've really enjoyed the chat.
1050
00:40:26.615 --> 00:40:28.555
Uh, tell everybody where they can follow you.
1051
00:40:28.615 --> 00:40:30.835
So maybe if anyone who listens,
1052
00:40:30.835 --> 00:40:32.195
they probably already do listen, doesn't already.
1053
00:40:32.265 --> 00:40:33.995
Yeah, I know. I was gonna say, you're not gonna see a big
1054
00:40:33.995 --> 00:40:36.075
uptick in followers, but just let the people know.
1055
00:40:36.625 --> 00:40:40.275
Sure. Well, as, as mentioned, I am on X to my detriment,
1056
00:40:40.375 --> 00:40:43.075
uh, Jeff underscore Gluck, um,
1057
00:40:43.865 --> 00:40:45.835
send me a dm, whatever.
1058
00:40:45.835 --> 00:40:49.515
Unfortunately, I read almost all of those too. , so, um, .
1059
00:40:50.465 --> 00:40:53.115
Yeah. Uh, and then I write for the Athletic,
1060
00:40:53.655 --> 00:40:55.875
and my podcast is called The Tear Down.
1061
00:40:56.095 --> 00:41:00.475
And every after every NASCAR race that night, about an hour
1062
00:41:00.475 --> 00:41:03.675
or two after the race, we, uh, we talk about the race
1063
00:41:04.135 --> 00:41:06.115
and give our instant reaction to it.
1064
00:41:06.295 --> 00:41:09.675
So sometimes we are totally talking out of our butt,
1065
00:41:09.735 --> 00:41:11.795
but, um, actually most times probably,
1066
00:41:11.795 --> 00:41:15.315
but, um, , every once in a while we sort of like,
1067
00:41:15.575 --> 00:41:16.555
we are like, oh, we might, we
1068
00:41:16.555 --> 00:41:17.235
might have made a good point there.
1069
00:41:17.235 --> 00:41:18.595
We don't, we don't know. So. Awesome.
1070
00:41:18.595 --> 00:41:19.715
Awesome. Check us out. Yeah,
1071
00:41:20.085 --> 00:41:21.475
check 'em out on everything, guys.
1072
00:41:21.975 --> 00:41:23.995
Uh, and again, Jeff, thanks so much for coming on.
1073
00:41:23.995 --> 00:41:26.755
Really appreciate it. This has been off
1074
00:41:26.755 --> 00:41:27.915
track with Hinch and Rossi.
1075
00:41:28.135 --> 00:41:31.275
Off Track is part of the Sirius XM Sports Podcast Network.
1076
00:41:31.695 --> 00:41:32.795
If you enjoyed this episode
1077
00:41:32.815 --> 00:41:35.125
and want to hear more, please give a five star
1078
00:41:35.125 --> 00:41:36.165
rating and leave a review.
1079
00:41:36.765 --> 00:41:38.965
Subscribe today, wherever you stream your podcasts.
1080
00:41:39.145 --> 00:41:41.925
We are at Ask Off Track on Twitter and Instagram.
1081
00:41:42.105 --> 00:41:44.805
And if you wanna follow us on Twitter, we're at Hinch Town
1082
00:41:44.805 --> 00:41:46.125
and at Alexander Rossi.
1083
00:41:46.305 --> 00:41:47.685
If you wanna follow them, though,
1084
00:41:47.685 --> 00:41:49.165
we have no idea why you would,
1085
00:41:49.555 --> 00:41:52.245
he's at the Tim Durham on Twitter.
1086
00:41:52.835 --> 00:41:54.805
Find us on YouTube and subscribe to our channel
1087
00:41:54.825 --> 00:41:56.045
for exclusive video content.
1088
00:41:56.545 --> 00:41:59.565
Off Track is produced by Tim Durham, and by that we mean f.