This is Unbreakable with Jay Glacier, a mental Wealth podcast Build you from the inside out. Now here's Jay Glacier.

This is Unbreakable with Jay Glacier, a mental Wealth podcast Build you from the inside out. Now here's Jay Glacier.

Welcome into Unbreakable, a mental Wealth podcast with Jay Glazier.

Welcome into Unbreakable, a mental Wealth podcast with Jay Glazier.

I'm Jay Glazer and look.

I'm Jay Glazer and look.

I've kind of spanned the globe before guests star, whether it's football players or fighters or combat vets or actors, chefs like got Fieri. I've never had on a gangster from racing world. So it's my honor to welcome in a guy who is a Hall of Famer racer.

I've kind of spanned the globe before guests star, whether it's football players or fighters or combat vets or actors, chefs like got Fieri. I've never had on a gangster from racing world. So it's my honor to welcome in a guy who is a Hall of Famer racer.

He's a champion. I wanted only Tony Stewart, Hollry Budy.

He's a champion. I wanted only Tony Stewart, Hollry Budy.

I'm good Man. Thanks for having.

I'm good Man. Thanks for having.

Us, absolutely man, thanks for coming on board.

Us, absolutely man, thanks for coming on board.

It's pretty cool for me because I like to learn from everybody, the best of the best, and just let you know. This is called a mental wealth podcast. It was a mental health podcast because you know, I'm probably one of the first guys to start talking mental health for duce to trying different words, and then I realized people were They thought mental health is just depression anxiety, and it's not. It's also what's between our ears, to get us to be different, to raise us and elevate us up to get to be different. So with that question, I guess when did you realize you were different? At what point in your life.

It's pretty cool for me because I like to learn from everybody, the best of the best, and just let you know. This is called a mental wealth podcast. It was a mental health podcast because you know, I'm probably one of the first guys to start talking mental health for duce to trying different words, and then I realized people were They thought mental health is just depression anxiety, and it's not. It's also what's between our ears, to get us to be different, to raise us and elevate us up to get to be different. So with that question, I guess when did you realize you were different? At what point in your life.

I grew up as a kid and I raced go carts when I was eight, and you know I was I had a father that was pretty hard on me. I mean, I mowed yards, I had a newspaper route, I babysat, I did everything I could do to help my family with the raise the funding that we needed just to race go karts. We're not talking racing a NASCAR or any car. This is just to race go karts on Saturday night at a local fairgrounds. So you know, I learned the value a dollar early, and you know, as I moved up through the ranks, I think kind of that moment came around I'm going to stay ninety five. At the end of the season in ninety five, we won what do you know, State's Auto Club calls the triple Crown. So I ran three national divisions all in the same season and won all three point championships. So we were the first driver in the history to win all three championships in the same season. We were only the second driver in history to win all three of them. Period, Pancho Carter had won him, but won him in a five year span, so literally won a championship, didn't win one the next year, won a different championship, didn't win one the next year, and won the third championship in five years. So it was really cool, And I think that's the moment where I realized we had done something that a had never been done before, but at the same time realized that we didn't get there by accident. We didn't fall into it. We worked our way to it. You know, I've always been a firm believer and surround yourself with good people, and we did that as well. But these guys had to take a chance on a young guy that hadn't really proven himself yet. So ninety five was that moment where I realized that I wasn't just the same as everybody else that I was racing against.

I grew up as a kid and I raced go carts when I was eight, and you know I was I had a father that was pretty hard on me. I mean, I mowed yards, I had a newspaper route, I babysat, I did everything I could do to help my family with the raise the funding that we needed just to race go karts. We're not talking racing a NASCAR or any car. This is just to race go karts on Saturday night at a local fairgrounds. So you know, I learned the value a dollar early, and you know, as I moved up through the ranks, I think kind of that moment came around I'm going to stay ninety five. At the end of the season in ninety five, we won what do you know, State's Auto Club calls the triple Crown. So I ran three national divisions all in the same season and won all three point championships. So we were the first driver in the history to win all three championships in the same season. We were only the second driver in history to win all three of them. Period, Pancho Carter had won him, but won him in a five year span, so literally won a championship, didn't win one the next year, won a different championship, didn't win one the next year, and won the third championship in five years. So it was really cool, And I think that's the moment where I realized we had done something that a had never been done before, but at the same time realized that we didn't get there by accident. We didn't fall into it. We worked our way to it. You know, I've always been a firm believer and surround yourself with good people, and we did that as well. But these guys had to take a chance on a young guy that hadn't really proven himself yet. So ninety five was that moment where I realized that I wasn't just the same as everybody else that I was racing against.

Prettymn cool. Nobody could take from you.

Prettymn cool. Nobody could take from you.

Yeah, you know, car what happens moving forward? You got that nobody could ever take that from you. It's pretty damn cool when you are and let's say that zone. You know in baseball players they say, man, it just slows down the ball. It's like a grapefruit. You know you're going on that right a fighter, everything just calms and slows down like you're going slow. Most so when you're in this kind of this winning mode, what's.

Yeah, you know, car what happens moving forward? You got that nobody could ever take that from you. It's pretty damn cool when you are and let's say that zone. You know in baseball players they say, man, it just slows down the ball. It's like a grapefruit. You know you're going on that right a fighter, everything just calms and slows down like you're going slow. Most so when you're in this kind of this winning mode, what's.

That feel like?

That feel like?

It's exactly the same for us in motorsports. I mean we you know, this year, I'm driving a top fuel dragster in the NHRA. I got put into a car that I'd never been into before. I raced the top alcohol dragster with NHRA last year, and those cars run the full quarter mile a quarter miles thirteen hundred and twenty feet, and we were running I think the fastest speed I ran in that car was two hundred and eighty one miles an hour. So now I'm driving my wife's car and it only runs one thousand feet, doesn't run the thirteen twenty runs literally to one thousand feet. And I've been three hundred and thirty four miles an hour in the top field car this year. So when you talk about things slowing down, it's in that way. In my entire career in motorsports, every time you start to really get dialed in and really get comfortable, everything does slow down. And I told somebody I've heard other drivers talk about this. When before I had the chance to compete at the ND five hundred, I heard a lot of drivers say you could put a penny down on the racetrack in the groove and they could see it at over two hundred miles an hour, and that is a fact.

It's exactly the same for us in motorsports. I mean we you know, this year, I'm driving a top fuel dragster in the NHRA. I got put into a car that I'd never been into before. I raced the top alcohol dragster with NHRA last year, and those cars run the full quarter mile a quarter miles thirteen hundred and twenty feet, and we were running I think the fastest speed I ran in that car was two hundred and eighty one miles an hour. So now I'm driving my wife's car and it only runs one thousand feet, doesn't run the thirteen twenty runs literally to one thousand feet. And I've been three hundred and thirty four miles an hour in the top field car this year. So when you talk about things slowing down, it's in that way. In my entire career in motorsports, every time you start to really get dialed in and really get comfortable, everything does slow down. And I told somebody I've heard other drivers talk about this. When before I had the chance to compete at the ND five hundred, I heard a lot of drivers say you could put a penny down on the racetrack in the groove and they could see it at over two hundred miles an hour, and that is a fact.

Wow.

Wow.

We literally look for cracks in the asphalt. It were a blemish and it's something that's different. That's what you use for a reference point on the racetracks on where you're turning in or where you're lifting out on the throttle. But if it's where you're running, you could see something as small as a dime or a penny on the racetrack. So it made me smile when you said everything slows down, because that is what I've had to deal with this year as a driver and a new driver, is going into an uncomfortable situation, something that I wasn't used to and driving a car that literally goes from zero to three hundred and thirty four mile an hour in one thousand feet. The hard part is your brain has to win to process that information faster. So everything I'd ever driven before before drag racing, the cars were always rolling at the start. Your eyes were always looking straight ahead at where you're going, and the acceleration wasn't near what it is with a top fuel car. This top fuel car in the first sixty feet is already running in sixty feet, is running eighty miles an hour in sixty feet. At the halfway point, which is six hundred and sixty feet of a quarter mile, the cars almost at three hundred miles an hour already. So the acceleration is something that your brain seeing this information coming into your eyes now your brain has to learn how to process it as fast as it's happening. And my brain wasn't used to that, which I think there's a lot of holes in my brain anyway, if you look through one ear, you can see out the other.

We literally look for cracks in the asphalt. It were a blemish and it's something that's different. That's what you use for a reference point on the racetracks on where you're turning in or where you're lifting out on the throttle. But if it's where you're running, you could see something as small as a dime or a penny on the racetrack. So it made me smile when you said everything slows down, because that is what I've had to deal with this year as a driver and a new driver, is going into an uncomfortable situation, something that I wasn't used to and driving a car that literally goes from zero to three hundred and thirty four mile an hour in one thousand feet. The hard part is your brain has to win to process that information faster. So everything I'd ever driven before before drag racing, the cars were always rolling at the start. Your eyes were always looking straight ahead at where you're going, and the acceleration wasn't near what it is with a top fuel car. This top fuel car in the first sixty feet is already running in sixty feet, is running eighty miles an hour in sixty feet. At the halfway point, which is six hundred and sixty feet of a quarter mile, the cars almost at three hundred miles an hour already. So the acceleration is something that your brain seeing this information coming into your eyes now your brain has to learn how to process it as fast as it's happening. And my brain wasn't used to that, which I think there's a lot of holes in my brain anyway, if you look through one ear, you can see out the other.

You're with you.

You're with you.

But but that was one of the things that truly was the hardest thing, and I literally that's why I smiled. I told the crew chief two races ago, I said, things are finally starting to slow down. Is what are you talking about? And he doesn't know what we're talking about. I said, when you really get locked in and you get comfortable your brain, it's like your focal point of your brain starts to widen and open up and you're able to process more information and more data, and then that's more information I can give the crew chief of what the car is doing, what it feels like, where it's happening on the racetrack. And when you get in that zone like that and you get in that field, that's when you know you're locked in and you got it going on, because now you have the best opportunity to relay that information that you're learning to your crew chief. But still you're pulling in more information for yourself as a driver. And I can manipulate not the drag cars, the oval cars that I drove. I could manipulate the cars with how I turned my hands on the entry to the corner and how I move my feet on the pedals. I could manipulate it if it wasn't one hundred percent right. But you can't do that till you get really comfortable and understand what the car is telling you.

But but that was one of the things that truly was the hardest thing, and I literally that's why I smiled. I told the crew chief two races ago, I said, things are finally starting to slow down. Is what are you talking about? And he doesn't know what we're talking about. I said, when you really get locked in and you get comfortable your brain, it's like your focal point of your brain starts to widen and open up and you're able to process more information and more data, and then that's more information I can give the crew chief of what the car is doing, what it feels like, where it's happening on the racetrack. And when you get in that zone like that and you get in that field, that's when you know you're locked in and you got it going on, because now you have the best opportunity to relay that information that you're learning to your crew chief. But still you're pulling in more information for yourself as a driver. And I can manipulate not the drag cars, the oval cars that I drove. I could manipulate the cars with how I turned my hands on the entry to the corner and how I move my feet on the pedals. I could manipulate it if it wasn't one hundred percent right. But you can't do that till you get really comfortable and understand what the car is telling you.

Look, I'm trying a million football players and fighters and mixed martial arts, and I always talking about calm under cass.

Look, I'm trying a million football players and fighters and mixed martial arts, and I always talking about calm under cass.

Yeah, better we can get our common cast us, the better we're going to be. You don't have to be frantic and oh my God, and I thought it was wild.

Yeah, better we can get our common cast us, the better we're going to be. You don't have to be frantic and oh my God, and I thought it was wild.

You said to me a couple of seconds ago that you guys are going three to a mile crow and you could see a crack.

You said to me a couple of seconds ago that you guys are going three to a mile crow and you could see a crack.

That's wild.

That's wild.

That's different level it is, but it's it's the same focus. You know, you talk talk to fighters and you watch what they're looking at and what they're seeing in their opponent's eyes, and the same thing with football players. I mean to sit there and for the defense to be able to watch the quarterback's eyes, and the quarterback to be savvy enough to be looking somewhere that he doesn't intend to go with the footballer. True, but we all have that skill set and that ability to read things that nobody else is used to doing. We have that ability for everything to slow down enough that we can recognize those deals. And it's that way in all sports. I think it's that way. I think it's that way in the music industry. You look at guitar players and drummers and how fast they can do things in their mind. It's the same thing. You get locked in your brain starts slowing everything down and processing your information, and you just do better because if you're able to make better decisions were clear decisive decisions.

That's different level it is, but it's it's the same focus. You know, you talk talk to fighters and you watch what they're looking at and what they're seeing in their opponent's eyes, and the same thing with football players. I mean to sit there and for the defense to be able to watch the quarterback's eyes, and the quarterback to be savvy enough to be looking somewhere that he doesn't intend to go with the footballer. True, but we all have that skill set and that ability to read things that nobody else is used to doing. We have that ability for everything to slow down enough that we can recognize those deals. And it's that way in all sports. I think it's that way. I think it's that way in the music industry. You look at guitar players and drummers and how fast they can do things in their mind. It's the same thing. You get locked in your brain starts slowing everything down and processing your information, and you just do better because if you're able to make better decisions were clear decisive decisions.

I also love You're like, yeah, so I took my wife's car.

I also love You're like, yeah, so I took my wife's car.

He was going three hundred normally. That comment and be like, I took my wife's prius. It's a little bit different for your world.

He was going three hundred normally. That comment and be like, I took my wife's prius. It's a little bit different for your world.

Yeah, we said.

Yeah, we said.

We just had a race in Las Vegas a week ago, and we were driving there because we live in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and I was not running the speed limit, and we had the lady that's going to be helping us with our child for the first four months make sure we don't make any mistakes. And I checked on her to ask her if she was all right in the back seat because we weren't running the speed limit, and she goes, yeah, I'm fine. And I looked at her and I said, I promise when this little boy gets here, that I will not drive like this. And she goes. My wife was literally sitting in the front seat right in front of her, and she goes, he is right there right now. I'm like, that's a good valid point. So the only thing I could do to defend myself on that was well, he's in there. So it's like being bubble wrapped. Good. So it makes you think about things and you know how we can process information so well, but at the same time make a decision like that and you're like, really, wasn't thinking in that scenario.

We just had a race in Las Vegas a week ago, and we were driving there because we live in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and I was not running the speed limit, and we had the lady that's going to be helping us with our child for the first four months make sure we don't make any mistakes. And I checked on her to ask her if she was all right in the back seat because we weren't running the speed limit, and she goes, yeah, I'm fine. And I looked at her and I said, I promise when this little boy gets here, that I will not drive like this. And she goes. My wife was literally sitting in the front seat right in front of her, and she goes, he is right there right now. I'm like, that's a good valid point. So the only thing I could do to defend myself on that was well, he's in there. So it's like being bubble wrapped. Good. So it makes you think about things and you know how we can process information so well, but at the same time make a decision like that and you're like, really, wasn't thinking in that scenario.

When do you start, like really visualizing a race?

When do you start, like really visualizing a race?

You know, I'm really weird. This is part of the journey that's been fun with my wife because my wife's approach to what she does on the race weekend and mine are drastically different. I've been racing since I was eight. I'm forty or I'm fifty three years old now, so I've been racing forty five years. I don't I don't have to do it. I literally when I'm starting to get suited up, then that's when you can see the flip switch. And then I started getting focused. But I've always been one of those drivers that if I spent too much time focusing on it before it was time, my anxiety level kept climbing. So literally, we would go to the driver's meetings at a NASCAR race and we had an hour and a half before driver introductions. I would literally go back to the motor home, start a movie that I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish, eat my lunch, and would not watch any of the pre race shows. Wouldn't watch anything that had anything to do with racing, just to keep my heart rate down, keep my mind calm and clear. And then when it was time to put that uniform on and walk over for intros, that's when that would start. That's when I would start locking into what we were doing. But the drag racing deals drastically different from what I did in Indy Car and NASCAR and dirt track racing. I tried to keep myself calm because a NASCAR race, a five hundred mile race typically lasts about three and a half hours, where now I'm driving a car that I'm only literally driving that thousand feet in three and a half seconds, So where I worked so hard to stay calm in the car. And that's why I say my wife and are drastically different. I would bride in the toe vehicle because they have to tow the vehicle to the staging lanes before they fire up, and before she gets in the car, and she is listening to wrap and hip hop and it's loud in the toe vehicle and she's trying to get her heart rate up, and I'm like, it created anxiety for me, and I wasn't even getting ready to drive the car. But the difference for me is, I realize now why she did that, because you get inn zone and you get comfortable. Well, when you get comfortable, you're not on edge and driving a drag car where reaction time is everything. And just for Lyn, you know, just like linemen and anybody else and fighters, they've got to be on edge because you have to be ready right away. So where I was used to settling in for a long race that was three and a half hours long and just keeping my heart rate down and maintaining that through the whole race, now I'm driving a car where I am finding I'm having to do the same thing. I have to get amped up right before and as I'm getting in that car to make sure that I cut a good reaction time on the trees.

You know, I'm really weird. This is part of the journey that's been fun with my wife because my wife's approach to what she does on the race weekend and mine are drastically different. I've been racing since I was eight. I'm forty or I'm fifty three years old now, so I've been racing forty five years. I don't I don't have to do it. I literally when I'm starting to get suited up, then that's when you can see the flip switch. And then I started getting focused. But I've always been one of those drivers that if I spent too much time focusing on it before it was time, my anxiety level kept climbing. So literally, we would go to the driver's meetings at a NASCAR race and we had an hour and a half before driver introductions. I would literally go back to the motor home, start a movie that I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish, eat my lunch, and would not watch any of the pre race shows. Wouldn't watch anything that had anything to do with racing, just to keep my heart rate down, keep my mind calm and clear. And then when it was time to put that uniform on and walk over for intros, that's when that would start. That's when I would start locking into what we were doing. But the drag racing deals drastically different from what I did in Indy Car and NASCAR and dirt track racing. I tried to keep myself calm because a NASCAR race, a five hundred mile race typically lasts about three and a half hours, where now I'm driving a car that I'm only literally driving that thousand feet in three and a half seconds, So where I worked so hard to stay calm in the car. And that's why I say my wife and are drastically different. I would bride in the toe vehicle because they have to tow the vehicle to the staging lanes before they fire up, and before she gets in the car, and she is listening to wrap and hip hop and it's loud in the toe vehicle and she's trying to get her heart rate up, and I'm like, it created anxiety for me, and I wasn't even getting ready to drive the car. But the difference for me is, I realize now why she did that, because you get inn zone and you get comfortable. Well, when you get comfortable, you're not on edge and driving a drag car where reaction time is everything. And just for Lyn, you know, just like linemen and anybody else and fighters, they've got to be on edge because you have to be ready right away. So where I was used to settling in for a long race that was three and a half hours long and just keeping my heart rate down and maintaining that through the whole race, now I'm driving a car where I am finding I'm having to do the same thing. I have to get amped up right before and as I'm getting in that car to make sure that I cut a good reaction time on the trees.

It's interesting because I, you know, I've talked a lot about money pressing anxiety and for a long time like trying to figure out ways away from my anxiety. But then I kind of switched in and I weaponized my anxiety exactly what you're saying, Like as I'm about to do television whatever, I ramp it up. As I start ramping it up, man. I want to be on edge. I want to be there, and it becomes your superpower, one of it. If you weaponize it becomes your superpower. You're not a sham of it anymore. It's huge, right, gives you that edge.

It's interesting because I, you know, I've talked a lot about money pressing anxiety and for a long time like trying to figure out ways away from my anxiety. But then I kind of switched in and I weaponized my anxiety exactly what you're saying, Like as I'm about to do television whatever, I ramp it up. As I start ramping it up, man. I want to be on edge. I want to be there, and it becomes your superpower, one of it. If you weaponize it becomes your superpower. You're not a sham of it anymore. It's huge, right, gives you that edge.

Most people are.

Most people are.

Not great in cash who cannot deal with conflict. So if you could use this and cause some conflict, it ends up helping you out. It seems like it's a similar thing for you.

Not great in cash who cannot deal with conflict. So if you could use this and cause some conflict, it ends up helping you out. It seems like it's a similar thing for you.

Yeah, And I feel like the hard thing is it's hard to control the timeframe of it. I mean, like I said, the NASCAR side was three and a half hours long, and there were times late in the race you'd get a late race caution and you knew this was that last spurt to the end, and this is where they're going to pay the money, give the trophy out and the points and all that. That's when you got to let that ramp up because you got to be on edge. You got to be on top of it. The drag racing obviously is that way every run, but it's hard to maintain that. So for people that have to do things for long durations, it's hard to get up and stay up like that and function in that chaos. The chaos is good for a short amount of time if you can control it, But for long distances and long time frames, I think it's hard to control that. So it's knowing when to bring yourself into that mode and how long are you going to sustain it?

Yeah, And I feel like the hard thing is it's hard to control the timeframe of it. I mean, like I said, the NASCAR side was three and a half hours long, and there were times late in the race you'd get a late race caution and you knew this was that last spurt to the end, and this is where they're going to pay the money, give the trophy out and the points and all that. That's when you got to let that ramp up because you got to be on edge. You got to be on top of it. The drag racing obviously is that way every run, but it's hard to maintain that. So for people that have to do things for long durations, it's hard to get up and stay up like that and function in that chaos. The chaos is good for a short amount of time if you can control it, But for long distances and long time frames, I think it's hard to control that. So it's knowing when to bring yourself into that mode and how long are you going to sustain it?

You're going for three and a half hours, right, five hundred lapse? Does your mind drift? You've constantly to stay focused. You have to play games with yourself so your mind stays focused. Because listen, I got ADHD, I got beyond ad add, I got elemental P, I'm God.

You're going for three and a half hours, right, five hundred lapse? Does your mind drift? You've constantly to stay focused. You have to play games with yourself so your mind stays focused. Because listen, I got ADHD, I got beyond ad add, I got elemental P, I'm God.

After forty seconds, what do you do to keep your attention? And where's your attentionion go during that?

After forty seconds, what do you do to keep your attention? And where's your attentionion go during that?

I'll be honest. There were races that a track in Pennsylvania, Pocono, it has three really it's triangle shape, but it has three really long straightaways, and two of them are very very long. And there were periods of the race where there's nobody right in front of you, and there's nobody right behind you, and you have a long straightaway that you really don't have to do anything and don't have to think about anything very much. And I would catch myself late in the race going, okay, what do I want for dinner tonight when I land back in Charlotte. You know where am I going to stop and pick up dinner on the way home? But you know, when you would get to those moments, when you get to the corner and you got to go do your job again, you totally forget about it. But it's hard to stay focused for long durations like that. And I think it's all about your surroundings. I mean, when you get comfortable, then you start then other things start coming into your head when you have downtime in a lap. But that's one thing I can promise you. I can't even tell you when I drive the dragster now, I can't even tell you if we breathe or blink. I don't know the answer to that. I don't know if we actually take a breath during the run. I don't know if our eyes blink during the run, because it's literally three and a half seconds long and there is so much happening. Our motors have over eleven thousand horse power, so you're you're basically sitting on a rocket ship that's got four wheels on it, and you don't have time to let your mind go anywhere else. Outside of what you were actually doing at that time.

I'll be honest. There were races that a track in Pennsylvania, Pocono, it has three really it's triangle shape, but it has three really long straightaways, and two of them are very very long. And there were periods of the race where there's nobody right in front of you, and there's nobody right behind you, and you have a long straightaway that you really don't have to do anything and don't have to think about anything very much. And I would catch myself late in the race going, okay, what do I want for dinner tonight when I land back in Charlotte. You know where am I going to stop and pick up dinner on the way home? But you know, when you would get to those moments, when you get to the corner and you got to go do your job again, you totally forget about it. But it's hard to stay focused for long durations like that. And I think it's all about your surroundings. I mean, when you get comfortable, then you start then other things start coming into your head when you have downtime in a lap. But that's one thing I can promise you. I can't even tell you when I drive the dragster now, I can't even tell you if we breathe or blink. I don't know the answer to that. I don't know if we actually take a breath during the run. I don't know if our eyes blink during the run, because it's literally three and a half seconds long and there is so much happening. Our motors have over eleven thousand horse power, so you're you're basically sitting on a rocket ship that's got four wheels on it, and you don't have time to let your mind go anywhere else. Outside of what you were actually doing at that time.

You guys have a breath work than you do while you're either in there or in the longer races.

You guys have a breath work than you do while you're either in there or in the longer races.

Now, I mean it was I think for me the breathing part was was directly related to your heart rate and what the situation was. The better the car drove, the less your heart rate was high because you were just comfortable and you weren't having to fight it and work hard and try to manipulate it. The further the car was off from being from being right. The harder you're working, the higher your heart rate, the more you feel your respiratory bad rate up, and you would get fatigued. If you couldn't get it controlled and couldn't keep it at a level that you could sustain for three and a half hours, you would get fatigued at the end of the race.

Now, I mean it was I think for me the breathing part was was directly related to your heart rate and what the situation was. The better the car drove, the less your heart rate was high because you were just comfortable and you weren't having to fight it and work hard and try to manipulate it. The further the car was off from being from being right. The harder you're working, the higher your heart rate, the more you feel your respiratory bad rate up, and you would get fatigued. If you couldn't get it controlled and couldn't keep it at a level that you could sustain for three and a half hours, you would get fatigued at the end of the race.

What do you guys do?

What do you guys do?

Is it more assume you guys do a shif ton to strengthen your forms, But what else do you guys do to just get yourself physically ready for a race like along a race back?

Is it more assume you guys do a shif ton to strengthen your forms, But what else do you guys do to just get yourself physically ready for a race like along a race back?

When? So you got to remember I retired from NASCAR at the end of twenty sixteen, and that they were they'd probably been I would say in a six eight period year span where they were the majority of the drivers were starting to do workout programs, guys like Jimmy Johnson and Casey Kane, some of the other drivers were actually doing triathlons even But I mean they were just lean. They weren't bulky, because you didn't want the weight. You don't want the driver any heavier than they have to be. So those guys are just cutting weight. They look like you know, marathon runners. They're just no body fat to them. They don't have a lot of muscle mass. But those guys would even get in trouble at the end of races sometimes. But I was the guy that was eating drinking cokes and eating oreos in the motor home, you know, while those guys were up early in the morning running. And I do believe it's a big thing that later on in my life has hurt me. I mean, these cars that we're driving now on the NHLA side, the top field dragstraight goes out all the way up to six G forces on acceleration. Then when you get to that finish line, you throw two parachutes out and when those parachutes blossom and pull back. It's negative six and a half g's. So what I'm finding now at the age of fifty three is I wish I was in better shape, and I'm going to have a program through the Winner to strengthen my back, strengthen my neck, strengthen my shoulders. That's what those seat belts are. So what I'm finding is I'm having neck problems. I'm having back problems. Well it's not from the acceleration, it's from the d acceleration. So it's from your body being pinned back in the back of the seat and the shoots come out and it throws you into the shoots like that. So that's where my mindset of this can't be that hard. You're only doing it for three and a half seconds, so physically it can't be that bad. But it is. But it's because of the forces on the negative side more than anything.

When? So you got to remember I retired from NASCAR at the end of twenty sixteen, and that they were they'd probably been I would say in a six eight period year span where they were the majority of the drivers were starting to do workout programs, guys like Jimmy Johnson and Casey Kane, some of the other drivers were actually doing triathlons even But I mean they were just lean. They weren't bulky, because you didn't want the weight. You don't want the driver any heavier than they have to be. So those guys are just cutting weight. They look like you know, marathon runners. They're just no body fat to them. They don't have a lot of muscle mass. But those guys would even get in trouble at the end of races sometimes. But I was the guy that was eating drinking cokes and eating oreos in the motor home, you know, while those guys were up early in the morning running. And I do believe it's a big thing that later on in my life has hurt me. I mean, these cars that we're driving now on the NHLA side, the top field dragstraight goes out all the way up to six G forces on acceleration. Then when you get to that finish line, you throw two parachutes out and when those parachutes blossom and pull back. It's negative six and a half g's. So what I'm finding now at the age of fifty three is I wish I was in better shape, and I'm going to have a program through the Winner to strengthen my back, strengthen my neck, strengthen my shoulders. That's what those seat belts are. So what I'm finding is I'm having neck problems. I'm having back problems. Well it's not from the acceleration, it's from the d acceleration. So it's from your body being pinned back in the back of the seat and the shoots come out and it throws you into the shoots like that. So that's where my mindset of this can't be that hard. You're only doing it for three and a half seconds, so physically it can't be that bad. But it is. But it's because of the forces on the negative side more than anything.

Obviously, you've had a Hall of Fame racing career. What were you able to take from that to transition to an owner?

Obviously, you've had a Hall of Fame racing career. What were you able to take from that to transition to an owner?

You thought, like set you up for that.

You thought, like set you up for that.

So remember in my Cup Series career, I drove for coach Joe Gibbs, so I learned a lot from him, you know, And honestly that's the reason I left Joe Gibbs Racing to partner up with Gene Hasson's inform, Stewart Hoss Racing in two thousand and nine, and we just ran our last race Sunday at Phoenix, and that was my last race as a NASCAR owner. But everything that I'm doing now is because of what I've learned from Coach. I mean, how to manage people, how to put the right people together. One thing I learned from Joe is you could take five resumes of somebody applying for jobs, and all five of them their credentials could be the same. But Joe had that unique ability to put the right people personality wise together too. So they had to have the talent, obviously, but he knew which one was going to fit the group the best, because I've watched take take a race team that has ten positions on it. You take the one hundred percent best person in each of those categories and put them together. And I've seen teams with ninety percent of that talent in each of those positions, but they work together better as a unit outperform the one hundred percent guys and that's what I learned from Coach was it's not having the best person, it's having the best people that can work together. Got to be a team unit. They've got to be one unit. And that's what we see with our teams now. And it's making sure that we have the right guys that gel together personality wise. They have to turn these motors around. When we make a run, these cars come back to the pits. They literally tear the motor apart and rebuild it and do that in forty minutes. So you got multiple guys working around the car, and it's important for the cadence of it. So if one guy shows up and he's had two extra shots of espresso and his coffee in the morning and he's vibrating across the floor when he's working, he's working faster than the rest of the group, gets it all out of sync. Same thing. If a guy doesn't sleep well and he's dragon ass in the morning, shows up in a bad mood and he's slow, he gets the cad and sound and whack and it slows everybody down. So all of that is really important about finding the right people and finding you know, people that just genuinely want to work around each other and they and they will ultimately lift each other up if they're on the right page.

So remember in my Cup Series career, I drove for coach Joe Gibbs, so I learned a lot from him, you know, And honestly that's the reason I left Joe Gibbs Racing to partner up with Gene Hasson's inform, Stewart Hoss Racing in two thousand and nine, and we just ran our last race Sunday at Phoenix, and that was my last race as a NASCAR owner. But everything that I'm doing now is because of what I've learned from Coach. I mean, how to manage people, how to put the right people together. One thing I learned from Joe is you could take five resumes of somebody applying for jobs, and all five of them their credentials could be the same. But Joe had that unique ability to put the right people personality wise together too. So they had to have the talent, obviously, but he knew which one was going to fit the group the best, because I've watched take take a race team that has ten positions on it. You take the one hundred percent best person in each of those categories and put them together. And I've seen teams with ninety percent of that talent in each of those positions, but they work together better as a unit outperform the one hundred percent guys and that's what I learned from Coach was it's not having the best person, it's having the best people that can work together. Got to be a team unit. They've got to be one unit. And that's what we see with our teams now. And it's making sure that we have the right guys that gel together personality wise. They have to turn these motors around. When we make a run, these cars come back to the pits. They literally tear the motor apart and rebuild it and do that in forty minutes. So you got multiple guys working around the car, and it's important for the cadence of it. So if one guy shows up and he's had two extra shots of espresso and his coffee in the morning and he's vibrating across the floor when he's working, he's working faster than the rest of the group, gets it all out of sync. Same thing. If a guy doesn't sleep well and he's dragon ass in the morning, shows up in a bad mood and he's slow, he gets the cad and sound and whack and it slows everybody down. So all of that is really important about finding the right people and finding you know, people that just genuinely want to work around each other and they and they will ultimately lift each other up if they're on the right page.

We just work for the Navy Seals this past week, and I know our veterans they show and that, you know, I ask them, So, what's the common denominator of the guys who's making through buds. They're likely it's not the high school football stars and the valedictorian and the prom king. It's people who've been through adversity, been through some shit before. But more than anything, people have been through ship before. But man, they're going to live and doctor their teams. That's what makes it through. They have something else to go through within just themselves. It's the team. Team is everything. And yeah, if you could find that, uh, that's obviously in every I think everywhere, that's your winning the winning culture.

We just work for the Navy Seals this past week, and I know our veterans they show and that, you know, I ask them, So, what's the common denominator of the guys who's making through buds. They're likely it's not the high school football stars and the valedictorian and the prom king. It's people who've been through adversity, been through some shit before. But more than anything, people have been through ship before. But man, they're going to live and doctor their teams. That's what makes it through. They have something else to go through within just themselves. It's the team. Team is everything. And yeah, if you could find that, uh, that's obviously in every I think everywhere, that's your winning the winning culture.

Yeah, And honestly, my firm belief is it's that way in life in general. I mean, if it's successful for teams, whether it's you know, football, basketball, baseball, motorsports, there are there's a common denominator there. It's it works for a reason. So implement that into your life. To surround yourself with good people, people that have the same passion, drive, desire. Not the people that are dead beats that pull you back and try to pull you into their world. You want people that are around you that want to motivate you, to make you better, and you make them better. So everybody raises each other up and gets the most out of each.

Yeah, And honestly, my firm belief is it's that way in life in general. I mean, if it's successful for teams, whether it's you know, football, basketball, baseball, motorsports, there are there's a common denominator there. It's it works for a reason. So implement that into your life. To surround yourself with good people, people that have the same passion, drive, desire. Not the people that are dead beats that pull you back and try to pull you into their world. You want people that are around you that want to motivate you, to make you better, and you make them better. So everybody raises each other up and gets the most out of each.

Other, no doubt. I've got one last question here before I let you go and give me.

Other, no doubt. I've got one last question here before I let you go and give me.

I asked every one of my guests, give me your own breakable moment, the moment that should have broken you could have and didn't, and as a result, you came through the other side.

I asked every one of my guests, give me your own breakable moment, the moment that should have broken you could have and didn't, and as a result, you came through the other side.

That's all stronger forever, you know.

That's all stronger forever, you know.

I I And it's a good question. It's good question, it is, and it's the answer is a hard answer because probably one of the worst moments in my life happened in New York in a sprint car crash and I just passed a kid in a corner and half a lap later, the costume comes out and I roll around and the kid that I just passed had crashed and I didn't understand why. I didn't know why. I still don't know why he crashed. But the end result of that is that he got out of his car and unfortunately I was not looking in the right spot, and when I saw him, I reacted very quick, but not quick enough to get away from him, and it struck him and killed him, a twenty year old kid, and a kid had a promising racing career, and literally, I mean it shut me down, I mean absolutely shut me down. I remember flying home, I did not leave my bedroom for four straight days, wouldn't come out, wouldn't talk to anybody. It was literally the darkest moment in my time. And luckily, a good friend of mine, Jimmy Johnson, recommended a guy to me, and the guy flew in and he was the first guy I actually spoke to, and he was the beginning of my healing process. And because of that, I mean, there's never a positive out of that. I mean, a young man loses his life. But it taught me a lot of lessons about how do you deal with situations like this, And obviously our life we have lots of situations that are uncomfortable and unpleasant, not near to that extent, but what I learned from this man helped me all with day to day situations as well on how to get through those and how to not let it pull me down. And pull me back and hold me underwater. So that was the one moment in my life where I'd already made it to the top Echelono Motorsports to become a champion. But that was a reality check of doesn't matter how big you are, it doesn't matter what you've achieved. I mean, you're a human just like everybody else. Your emotions and your feelings are the same as everybody else, and you have to buy ale adversity like everybody else. And you know, to this day, I still fight with moments like that, but I always remember that it has made me better coming out the other end of this, and I've been a better person because of it. The way I deal with my relationships with my family, with my wife, with my friends, with my teammates has directly been affected because of that, and it has made me a better person. So I would love to trade it in and learn that lesson a different way. But I'm grateful that that was one thing for me that was a positive that came out of a very very negative situation. Was how it has changed my life.

I I And it's a good question. It's good question, it is, and it's the answer is a hard answer because probably one of the worst moments in my life happened in New York in a sprint car crash and I just passed a kid in a corner and half a lap later, the costume comes out and I roll around and the kid that I just passed had crashed and I didn't understand why. I didn't know why. I still don't know why he crashed. But the end result of that is that he got out of his car and unfortunately I was not looking in the right spot, and when I saw him, I reacted very quick, but not quick enough to get away from him, and it struck him and killed him, a twenty year old kid, and a kid had a promising racing career, and literally, I mean it shut me down, I mean absolutely shut me down. I remember flying home, I did not leave my bedroom for four straight days, wouldn't come out, wouldn't talk to anybody. It was literally the darkest moment in my time. And luckily, a good friend of mine, Jimmy Johnson, recommended a guy to me, and the guy flew in and he was the first guy I actually spoke to, and he was the beginning of my healing process. And because of that, I mean, there's never a positive out of that. I mean, a young man loses his life. But it taught me a lot of lessons about how do you deal with situations like this, And obviously our life we have lots of situations that are uncomfortable and unpleasant, not near to that extent, but what I learned from this man helped me all with day to day situations as well on how to get through those and how to not let it pull me down. And pull me back and hold me underwater. So that was the one moment in my life where I'd already made it to the top Echelono Motorsports to become a champion. But that was a reality check of doesn't matter how big you are, it doesn't matter what you've achieved. I mean, you're a human just like everybody else. Your emotions and your feelings are the same as everybody else, and you have to buy ale adversity like everybody else. And you know, to this day, I still fight with moments like that, but I always remember that it has made me better coming out the other end of this, and I've been a better person because of it. The way I deal with my relationships with my family, with my wife, with my friends, with my teammates has directly been affected because of that, and it has made me a better person. So I would love to trade it in and learn that lesson a different way. But I'm grateful that that was one thing for me that was a positive that came out of a very very negative situation. Was how it has changed my life.

I really appreciate you sharing that.

I really appreciate you sharing that.

That's courageous, dude, And I'll say this, man, I learned a long time ago, don't try and figure your life out, but drive it crazy.

That's courageous, dude, And I'll say this, man, I learned a long time ago, don't try and figure your life out, but drive it crazy.

We don't know why things happened, dude, You.

We don't know why things happened, dude, You.

Know, well, there's somebody upstairs that knows exactly what the plan is, why it is. We just have to accept that he's in control of it and be smart enough to sometimes take us half a step per step back and listen to him.

Know, well, there's somebody upstairs that knows exactly what the plan is, why it is. We just have to accept that he's in control of it and be smart enough to sometimes take us half a step per step back and listen to him.

What was the best advice that your coach gave in therapist or whatever you want to call him, gave you to help reconcile that this.

What was the best advice that your coach gave in therapist or whatever you want to call him, gave you to help reconcile that this.

Well, I think the first part and I'll never forget this. One of the first things that he reminded me. He goes, this is this is going to get easier as time goes on. And it's just there's no time frame, there's nothing, there's no template. It's just going to be your Your mind will will work through this. But what he did tell me that ended up being peace of mind for me is that as time goes on, you'll think about it less, and when you do think about it, as time goes on, the duration that you spend thinking about it will will decrease as well, and so at least gives you in your mind the image of there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that you're gonna come out of this at some point. Like I said, there's no template that tells you how long that's going to be and what that's going to be like. But that was the one thing that really started to get me to take a breath and go, we'll get We will get through this at some point.

Well, I think the first part and I'll never forget this. One of the first things that he reminded me. He goes, this is this is going to get easier as time goes on. And it's just there's no time frame, there's nothing, there's no template. It's just going to be your Your mind will will work through this. But what he did tell me that ended up being peace of mind for me is that as time goes on, you'll think about it less, and when you do think about it, as time goes on, the duration that you spend thinking about it will will decrease as well, and so at least gives you in your mind the image of there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that you're gonna come out of this at some point. Like I said, there's no template that tells you how long that's going to be and what that's going to be like. But that was the one thing that really started to get me to take a breath and go, we'll get We will get through this at some point.

One of the things I've done again, figure or not.

One of the things I've done again, figure or not.

I just lost one of my f through suicide, and first I have really lost I kind of go about this like we just rent these bodies, but the souls live on forever.

I just lost one of my f through suicide, and first I have really lost I kind of go about this like we just rent these bodies, but the souls live on forever.

So I talked to them all the time. So I don't know if you talk to this kid at all, but talk to him, reconcast with him, keep making make him your friend, right and make him your friend.

So I talked to them all the time. So I don't know if you talk to this kid at all, but talk to him, reconcast with him, keep making make him your friend, right and make him your friend.

It's not like, oh my gosh, I did this to him or something along those lines, and just lean into him.

It's not like, oh my gosh, I did this to him or something along those lines, and just lean into him.

So many advice I.

So many advice I.

Could give you there tell me because I was really angry with my guy who did it, and I love him to death, but I was angry. He and I just started talking and that's helped me through and I kind of feel.

Could give you there tell me because I was really angry with my guy who did it, and I love him to death, but I was angry. He and I just started talking and that's helped me through and I kind of feel.

Like my friend is still there with me, so, yeah, I think it's a great idea. It's you know, I through what happened afterwards and lawsuits and all that, I learned a lot about about this kid and wasn't a bad kid, and was a really good race car driver, but he had some issues too, and some of the issues he had I had to work through earlier in my racing career as well, and it would have been great to get a chance to know him and get a chance to try to talk to him and work with him to help him take some of the lessons that I had learned and try to help him with that as well. And that's what happened to me. I had a fellow driver that had a way worse situation happened to him and asked me one day, he goes, what are you so mad about? And I really didn't have a great answer to it. But that started a process of learning how to deal with situations better and how to put things in perspective. And what I learned about this young man in New York is that there's there's some conversations we could have had that possibly could have helped him too. So, you know, I figure, one day, hopefully we're both going to the same place and we'll get a chance to talk about it. But I think it's a great idea because it's, you know, it was very hard on his family and you know, they lost their only son, and you know, a family that raced together and we're tight. It's you know, to be able to bond that back together would be great.

Like my friend is still there with me, so, yeah, I think it's a great idea. It's you know, I through what happened afterwards and lawsuits and all that, I learned a lot about about this kid and wasn't a bad kid, and was a really good race car driver, but he had some issues too, and some of the issues he had I had to work through earlier in my racing career as well, and it would have been great to get a chance to know him and get a chance to try to talk to him and work with him to help him take some of the lessons that I had learned and try to help him with that as well. And that's what happened to me. I had a fellow driver that had a way worse situation happened to him and asked me one day, he goes, what are you so mad about? And I really didn't have a great answer to it. But that started a process of learning how to deal with situations better and how to put things in perspective. And what I learned about this young man in New York is that there's there's some conversations we could have had that possibly could have helped him too. So, you know, I figure, one day, hopefully we're both going to the same place and we'll get a chance to talk about it. But I think it's a great idea because it's, you know, it was very hard on his family and you know, they lost their only son, and you know, a family that raced together and we're tight. It's you know, to be able to bond that back together would be great.

Started having those conversations now now you never know, get hurt.

Started having those conversations now now you never know, get hurt.

I agree, Tonnie.

I agree, Tonnie.

I really appreciate you joining, man. You are a rock star. Brother. I really appreciate your time dude.

I really appreciate you joining, man. You are a rock star. Brother. I really appreciate your time dude.

Now and thanks for having us. I enjoyed it.

Now and thanks for having us. I enjoyed it.

Tony Stewart here on the Unbreakable podcast.

Tony Stewart here on the Unbreakable podcast.

Thank you, brother, Yes, sir,

Thank you, brother, Yes, sir,