1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Campsite media in there. As I've always said, there are 2 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: two noble professions left. There are two honorable professions left 3 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: in this country. Number one is podcasting. Number two is 4 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: race car driving. And right now I'm about to attempt 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: to do both. Well, technically, not driving the race car. 6 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 1: I'll be riding along in the passenger seat. But that's 7 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: a blurry distinction that you should not focus on. What's 8 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: really important is that I'm about to fulfill a childhood 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: dream by getting to drive in a race car at 10 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: full speed around Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is going to 11 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: be a very very big day for me. Uh and 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: you're coming along for it, Thank you very much. We'll 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: see how this goes. Yeah, there it is. Hm. I 14 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: made it two laps, and I've been sitting in the 15 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: car for the last twenty minutes in the parking lot 16 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: with my eyes closed, trying not to throw up. Ever since, 17 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: that was one of the most violent experiences I've ever 18 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: had in my life. As soon as you get into 19 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: the turn, that wall of Asphalle just looks up at 20 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: you and you're just pinned into your seat and just like, 21 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: oh God, horrible. I felt like my brain was just 22 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: being squished, um that I could not imagine doing that 23 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: for a two hours, three hours just I will never 24 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: tolerate someone ship talking Nascar again. All right, let gonna 25 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: see if I get back to this hotel. So it 26 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: looks like I'm not cut out for race car driving, 27 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: But embarrassing myself on Mike wasn't the only reason I'd 28 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: come down to Charlotte. Because not only is North Carolina 29 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: the biggest tobacco producer in the US and where Derek's 30 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: tobacco came from, it's also the heartland of NASCAR. There's 31 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: twelve major tracks within a day's drive, and dozens more 32 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: smaller asphalt and dirt ovals. It's also where almost every 33 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: NASCAR team is based, including a small outfit called Motorsports 34 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: Business Management, owned and operated by veteran driver Carl Long. 35 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: Are you doing good? Ye? A long time? Yeah, you 36 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: just get back from Canada. Yeah. I was on there 37 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: for a month. And then Carl longs an old hand 38 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: in the world of NASCAR. He's been in the sport 39 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: for more than thirty years as a driver, crew chief 40 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: and now as a team owner. It's a lot of 41 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: work to keep up with the NASCAR season circus. But 42 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: today is a Monday and the closest thing he'll have 43 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: to a weekend for a while, so he's got some 44 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: time to talk. What you got, what you want to do? 45 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: Four time? Miss, we can sit down. I got yes, 46 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,119 Speaker 1: it's word. Yeah. Let me check with the guys out 47 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: from Yeah, no quicktion, make sure they're all good. He's 48 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: doing a story on Derek. Really yeah. Carl and Derek 49 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: are actually old friends. They go back more than ten 50 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: years when they met in the parking lot before race 51 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: in Virginia. Derek and I just was parked beside each 52 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: other at the Richmond Speedway and got to talking and 53 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: found out we had a lot of things. I grew 54 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: up on a tobacco farm, and so I worked on 55 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: a on a farm every year. There wasn't any harvesting machines. 56 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: It was just all manual labor. And my uncle would 57 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: always tell me, is early in the morning, all he 58 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: wanted to see was assholes and elbows, just to go 59 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: up the road and hang buy the ground, leave you say. 60 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: You know, so you can probably see how Derek and 61 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: Carl became fast friends. And then when we were part 62 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: beside each other, like I said, we just laughed and 63 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: had had a good time talk on each other. From 64 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: what Carl could tell, Derek was the real deal, not 65 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: just some rich guy playing dress up on the weekend. 66 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: I felt like that as a driver, and him going 67 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: from the petty driving experience too to his truck to 68 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: he's racing on his other stuff on ice and just 69 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: he just had a passionate race he wanted to do it. 70 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: At the time, Derek was working with another race team 71 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: and according to Carl, it wasn't a great situation, but 72 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: the guy that was kind of managing his team really 73 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: uh I guess head champagne tastes would a beer budget 74 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: and it was spending a lot. So the people that 75 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,359 Speaker 1: he had helped him and didn't have the experience to 76 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: coach him. All they were worried about is could he 77 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: write the check for him so they could go and 78 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: go race. It was clear that Derek han ambition and 79 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: Carl had the experienced help him on his skills, so 80 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: they shook hands and decided to create their on team, 81 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: Motorsports Business Management or MBM for short, the team that 82 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: Carl still runs today. There's a million little things you 83 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: have to do in order to get a brand new 84 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: team off the ground, but Carl was glad to have 85 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: Derek as a partner. Derek was just one of the 86 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: best overall people that you could be around, uh to 87 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: help do everything. He wasn't lazy, wasn't selfish. He enjoyed racing, 88 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: He enjoyed drinking. Sometimes. I think he was a professional 89 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: head at some races. He would go he takes some 90 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: of my guys out at night. He'd be spring chicken, 91 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: ready to go to next day. My guys would be, oh, man, 92 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: We've tried to go out with Derek. Oh God, I 93 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: don't know how you could drink that much and still function. 94 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: You know, he was buying drinks for everybody in the bar, 95 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: you know, just having a good time. Within a few 96 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: short months, MBM was making a name for itself. Their 97 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: crowning achievement came in when Derek raced in New Hampshire 98 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: and became the first indigenous driver in the NASCAR Cup 99 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: Series Hoist the Lobster at the end of three hundred 100 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: and one lapse from the Hampshire Motor Speed one. But 101 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: less than a year after that race, it all came 102 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: to a screeching hult when Derek was arrested and Carl 103 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: got a phone call from NASCAR. No matter what, Derek 104 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: was gonna get banned, and we dissolved Derek's partnership where 105 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: he was no longer an owner of NBA Motorsports from 106 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: Campside Media and Dan Patrick Productions. This is running Smoke. 107 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: I'm Roger Gola and this is episode four White Lightning. 108 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: Whenever a driver is accused of misconduct, NASCAR acts quickly. 109 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: Officials told Carl that he had seventy two hours to 110 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,480 Speaker 1: completely remove any trace of Derek from MBM Motorsports or 111 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: the entire team's eligibility would be in jeopardy. On top 112 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: of that, NASCAR and definitely suspended Derek from racing in 113 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: the series. They didn't call me. They didn't. I just 114 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,559 Speaker 1: I read it on Basically somebody sent me to link 115 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: saying that they suspended me. Not even I didn't even 116 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: go to court yet, you're already banning me and I'll 117 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: like it made my uh my debut or in the 118 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: in the top tier the Cup Series and then next 119 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: Dar all the year after Boom, I'm fucking suspended. We 120 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: reached out to NASCAR for comments several times, but they 121 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: never responded to our requests. In any case, NASCAR was 122 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: not going to stand up in defense of Derek. That 123 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: was an issue for the courts to deal with. Usually 124 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: you're you're innocent until you're proven guilty, right, But right 125 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: off the bat they fucking banned me. But being suspended 126 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: from NASCAR, of all sports because of smuggling and tax 127 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: of Asian charges, well there's a articular irony there. I mean, 128 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: look at NASCAR, I mean it was it was built 129 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: off bootlegging, you know, with the moonshiners and all that, 130 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: and basically it is the same thing going on over here. 131 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: We'll get into all that right after the break. It's 132 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: no overstatement to say that without moonshining, there would be 133 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: no Nascar. The sport was the product of a unique 134 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: combination of V eight engines and high proof liquor that 135 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: could have only come together in the American South. And 136 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: this week we're gonna take a trip through history to 137 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: tell you all about how that cocktail came together. For 138 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: our non Southern listeners, for whom I have nothing but pity, 139 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: let me give you a quick lesson on moonshine, white lightning, 140 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: clear corn, mountain dew, whatever you wanna call it. It's 141 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: a crystal clear, unaged whiskey made from corn rye, barley, 142 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: or whatever else you have on hand. It's made in 143 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: small batches by mountain men in bibs and beards who 144 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: work by the light of the moon and backwood shacks. 145 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: But what really separates moon shine from any other liquor 146 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: is the fact that it's untaxed, unregulated, and therefore illegal. 147 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: Back in the nineteen thirties, when the US government banned alcohol, 148 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: moonshine was the only way a lot of people in 149 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: America could wet their whistle, which made it a very 150 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: lucrative business. Government agents fight hopelessly against illegal liquor. These 151 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: homemade stills are about a few of thousands seas than destroyed. 152 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: Other thousands produced millions of gallons, and countless hundreds prosper 153 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: in business of bootlegging. But moonshining represents so much more 154 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: than some folks making money on the side. For the 155 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: people who made shine, it's a symbol of pride and 156 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: self reliance, and in that way, it's a lot like 157 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,319 Speaker 1: tobacco on Mohawk territories. For communities that have often been 158 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: on the short end of the stick, liquor and cigarettes 159 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: offered away for them to stand on their own feet, 160 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: even if it meant you were a criminal in the 161 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 1: eyes of the law making, moonshine was a god given right. 162 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: It was it was tradition, It was family bis this 163 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: Neil Thompson as a journalist and the author of Driving 164 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: with the Devil about the early days of American racing, 165 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: and and the moonshine was was used for many things. 166 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: It was medicine in some cases it was currency. It 167 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: was a homemade craft, and in their view, the government 168 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: had no rights to that. It was their product um 169 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: and there was their right to deliver it wherever they 170 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 1: saw fit. This is where the story of American stock 171 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: car racing begins. But delivery is a very polite way 172 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: of saying contraband smuggling. And where there's contraband, there's cops. 173 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: So moonshiners took their four V eight coops and stiffened 174 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 1: up the rear springs so when they filled the trunk 175 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: with liquor, it with the squat and look suspicious. They 176 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: knew that cops liked to shoot out radiators, so they 177 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: put sheet metal and their grills to protect their motors. 178 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: Some moonshiners even had James Bond type gadgets that dropped 179 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: nails or spilled oil behind you. Even though there was 180 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: an intense captain mouse aspect to this, this chase, this game, UM, 181 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: there was also a sense of mutual respect. One of 182 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: the guys I talked to UM there was a story 183 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: about him once delivering flowers to the hospital bed of 184 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: a revenue agent who he'd out run and left it 185 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,679 Speaker 1: a ditch on the side of the road, but knew 186 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: he knew the agent had gotten hurt, left him some 187 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: flowers and just signed it the coup, meaning his Ford 188 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 1: V eight coup. Henry Ford famously said that auto racing 189 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: began five minutes after the second car came off the 190 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 1: production line. I'd be surprised if it took that long 191 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: for whiskey runners to get the same idea. They were 192 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: running moonshine, trying to get away from revenue agents, UM, 193 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: trying to stay alive and stay out of jail. And 194 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: along the way they learned to drive fast, fix up 195 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: their cars to go faster than the revenue agents, and 196 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: then on weekends for fun, they started racing each other. 197 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: Moonshiners would hire young kids to drive for the young, 198 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: fearless kids to drive for him. Tom Jensen is the 199 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: Curatorial Affairs director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and 200 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 1: a longtime motorsports journalist. And the people who own these 201 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: businesses tended to know each other, and one guy would 202 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 1: say to another, you know, my driver's got the fastest 203 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: car in the county, and the other guy would say, no, 204 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: my drivers the fastest car in the county. So they 205 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: decided to have a race with just the two of them. Well, 206 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: word would get out and some neighbors would show up, 207 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: and you know, maybe the next week there would be 208 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: three or four guys from the next county over with 209 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,200 Speaker 1: their race cars. Stock car racing was radically different than 210 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: the sort of racing that Americans have known up until then, 211 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: which was something reserved for the ultra wealthy. It was 212 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: sports cars. It was sort of the open wheel cars 213 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 1: that that you see in Lamands and Formula one and 214 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: indie cars, the types of cars that poor southern boy 215 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: could never dream of affording. Um And most of those 216 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: earlier car races happen on tracks that were built specifically 217 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,439 Speaker 1: for those races, and most of those races happened up 218 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: North or in the Midwest, stock car racing offered something 219 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: totally different. It brought motorsports to the everyman. Teenagers scraped 220 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: money together and fixed up junkyard cars. Main street mechanics 221 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: would sponsor buddies to turn a few laps down at 222 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: the local track down South, where you didn't have any 223 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: real professional sports until like the nineteen sixties. Um this 224 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: sort of sports starved part of the country adopted stock 225 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: car racing as as its own. You know, it was 226 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: truly a home grown sport throughout the South, um modest 227 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: in the beginning. For years, stock car racing was just 228 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,839 Speaker 1: a ragtag affair. There were dozens of different race leagues 229 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,439 Speaker 1: in competition series, full of shady promoters and hobbist drivers. 230 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: It wasn't until Bill France, an aspiring race or in 231 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: Daytona Beach, brought together all the biggest promoters under one 232 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: banner that racing really became profess Chinel. France gave it 233 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: a name to the National Association for Stock Car Auto 234 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: Racing or NASCAR for short and right away, Big Bill 235 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: had a big problem moonshiners. He was trying to build 236 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: an above board, legit racing league that was family friendly 237 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: and amenable to corporate sponsors. Bootwiggers aren't exactly the crowd 238 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: to put on a suit and tie and talk nice 239 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: in front of a microphone. But at the same time, 240 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: the moonshiners were the ones winning the races because this 241 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: Hall of Famer Junior Johnson once said, nobody ever loves 242 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: a car more than a moonshiner does, because if you 243 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: go to a race and lose, you go home. If 244 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: you go on a moonshine run and lose, you go 245 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: to jail. Folks like that weren't going to play by 246 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: the rules, and Bill France found that out right away. 247 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: The winner of the very first NASCAR race ever was 248 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: disqualified for using modified heavy duty rear suspension, a trick 249 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: straight out of the bootleggers handbook. You know, I've talked 250 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: to one x moonshiner who who told me, Um, you know, 251 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: the best way to get a hillbilly to do something 252 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: is to tell him not to do it. It was 253 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,359 Speaker 1: how they were raised to view the government with distrust 254 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: and to avoid paying taxes at all costs. Um. So 255 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: this this attitude, uh, that was there from the start 256 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: of stock car racing. Uh, this sort of nonconformity it 257 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: was in the blood of both the moonshiners and in 258 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: turn the NASCAR racers. One of my favorite stories is 259 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: there was a track in Georgia, I believe it was 260 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: called Middle Georgia Raceway that opened the late sixties, and 261 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: shortly after it opened, the FEDS rated it. And underneath 262 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: the track there was a entire moonshine operation. There's a 263 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: gallon distillery and they made an illegal liquor down there, 264 00:15:55,240 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: and um, they arrested the track general manager. They introduced 265 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: his evidence, the fact that he had bought three thousand 266 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: pounds a yeast some absurd amount, and he said, now 267 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: that was for our concession stands, and a jury of 268 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: his peers acquitted him in like a couple of hours. 269 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: There's an old joke in the racing world that sums 270 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: it all up. A race car driver reads a rule 271 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: book twice, first to see what it says, and then 272 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: again to see what it doesn't say. They would interpret 273 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: it like people interpret the Bible. They see what they 274 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: want to see. Give you a good example, and again 275 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: we'll go back to Junior Johnson. Rule book says car 276 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: got away thirty four hundred pounds at the start of 277 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: the race. Don't say nothing, Matt would have got away. 278 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: After the race, he would weld hundred pounds a lead 279 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,040 Speaker 1: to the inside of each of the four rims on 280 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: his car to make minimum weight, and at the first 281 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: pit stop it would take forever to change the tires 282 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: because they weighed a hundred and sixty pounds each, but 283 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: from then on his card before hundred pounds lighter than 284 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 1: anyone else's, which technically was not against the rules. By 285 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 1: the sixties and seventies, NASCAR was flourishing under Bill France's leadership. 286 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 1: The racing was more intense, the fans were more committed, 287 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: and the racers were more professional. But France still had 288 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: a problem. NASCAR was just a Southern sport, a side 289 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: show to the MLB and NFL. Bill wanted the main stage, 290 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,439 Speaker 1: and it took a blizzard and a fist fight to 291 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: get him there. Coming up after the break, you're listening 292 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 1: to Running Smoke. It's February ninety nine and the NASCAR 293 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: season is kicking off in Daytona Beach. Usually it's a 294 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,959 Speaker 1: race that only Southerners would pay an they attention to, 295 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: but this time it was going nationwide. A freak blizzard 296 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: had canceled every sporting event in the Northeast, forcing NBC 297 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: to put NASCAR in its prime time slot. A sports 298 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: starved country tuned into its first stock car race and 299 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,439 Speaker 1: the action was intense. Fans in the stands were on 300 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: their feet cheering as drivers came around the front stretch. 301 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: It's the last lap and a side by side battle 302 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: heats up between Donnie Allison and Kaylee Yarborough. Kale's crew 303 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: chief is none other than the bootleggers patron st Junior Johnson. 304 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: On the last lap, coming around turn two on the 305 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: back stretch, Kale makes a move on Donnie and now 306 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 1: their neck and neck. Their doors are inches away from 307 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: each other as they reached speeds upwards of a hundred 308 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: and fifty miles per hour. Folks back home how their 309 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 1: noses pressed up against the TV and silence falls over 310 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: wrapped bus terminals and airport bars across the country, and 311 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:09,080 Speaker 1: then they slide down into the enfields as Richard Petty 312 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: comes from behind and takes the checker flag, winning the 313 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: Dayton of five hundred. But while Petty is taking his 314 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: victory lap, the two drivers on the infield grass climb 315 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: out of their cars, fight and Donnie Alie, you couldn't 316 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:29,439 Speaker 1: write a better finish, the most amazing astoonishing. For the 317 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: first time in its history, NASCAR was now on the 318 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: national map. Sponsors wanted in, and NASCAR provided an incredible 319 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: opportunity for any company that wanted eyeballs on their brand. 320 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: What's better than a billboard moving at a hundred and fifty. 321 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: Money flowed into the sport and the race winnings went 322 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,679 Speaker 1: even higher. So competition got tougher, drivers got better, and 323 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:56,639 Speaker 1: mechanics got more creative. Instead of dumpster diving in junkyards, 324 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: engineers developed new exotic, purpose built hearts for their engines 325 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,199 Speaker 1: and suspension systems. They took the sport out of the 326 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: hands of back Aird Mechanics and brought it into the 327 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: space age innovation and rule ending was getting to be 328 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: an expensive necessity for anyone that wanted to remain competitive. 329 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:19,199 Speaker 1: I think where the real escalation took place was in 330 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,160 Speaker 1: the early to mid nine nineties when it it kind 331 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 1: of became an arms race of who could outspend the 332 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: other to try to gain an advantage. Because what had 333 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: happened is there were fewer and fewer places to get 334 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:38,720 Speaker 1: an advantage, and there were smaller advantages to get. NASCAR's 335 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: job as a governing body was to level the playing 336 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: field and keep it as fair as possible, no matter 337 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: how much money teams were putting into their cars. But 338 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: racers will still look for every advantage they can get. 339 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 1: For instance, when I first got into the sport in 340 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: the late nineties, was the first time they started hiring 341 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 1: quote unquote professional pit crew NASCAR teams. The top teams 342 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: went from having fat, middle aged guys who were mechanics 343 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:15,679 Speaker 1: also double doing the pit stops, to creating recruiting programs 344 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: where they go to college campuses and recruit athletes who 345 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: played on football and basketball teams. And so they replaced 346 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: the forty year old guy with a beer belly with 347 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,239 Speaker 1: a twenty two year old kid who was who was 348 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: cut and fit and athletic, and they were paying these 349 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 1: guys a lot of money, and things like that just 350 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: just drove the costs way up. At that time, Spending 351 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: money doesn't guarantee you will be successful. Not spending money 352 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: guarantees you will not be successful. As the sport got 353 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: more expensive, it became more exclusive, It became harder and 354 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: harder for blue collar guys to find success. And it 355 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: became easier for well funded teams to outmuscle smaller outfits 356 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: on the track. A few people understand how difficult it 357 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,440 Speaker 1: is to compete in the sport better than Carl Long, 358 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: Derek's old business partner. He knows just how much every 359 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: dollar counts when you're racing at the back of the pack. 360 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: It's ass and I and on the dollar amounts just 361 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: and I haven't even started adding up for this weekend. 362 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: I might even actually have two sheets I do. I 363 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: was just figuring it. So so here's here's something for you. 364 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: This is just to tell you what I spent at 365 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: Atlanta in exfinity. The rap on the car was fifteen 366 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: hundred bucks, and that's cheap. We spent thirteen thousand, six 367 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: hundred times spent in hotels for one night, bands four 368 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: hundred nstry fee was two hundred Fuel just to put 369 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: in my tractor to get down there was fifteen hundred bucks. 370 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: And back food and drinks and our coolers two hundred bucks. 371 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: Sixty for box of lug nuts that you just used 372 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: once to throw away to rent the engines was thirty 373 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: thou dollars pit bonuses that was labor just for the weekend, 374 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,640 Speaker 1: it was twenty thousand, five hundred. I have to rent. 375 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: I picked guns, that was seven hundred, was three hundred 376 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 1: bucks transmit ation with six all At all, Carl spent 377 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: more than eighty thousand dollars to run a single race 378 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 1: that weekend. And that's not even counting truck payments, insurance 379 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: and rent. So I'm I'm in a hole on a 380 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: good weekend, finishing eleventh with no damage. I'm in a 381 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,920 Speaker 1: whole fifty bucks as it is. It's like the old 382 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: timers say, how do you make a small fortune, Well, 383 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 1: you take a large fortune and you go racing. For me. 384 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: At my my level, the most important talent a driver 385 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,440 Speaker 1: can have is somebody to write a check to put 386 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: him in a seat. The most important talent is to 387 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: be able to write a check. In less than fifty years, 388 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: NASCAR went from a blue collar sport where shade tree 389 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,120 Speaker 1: mechanics could raise their sedans on Sundays to a multi 390 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: billion dollar enterprise with tracks across the country, race cars 391 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: worth half a million dollars, and drivers who were trained 392 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: to race as soon as they can walk. Back in 393 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: the day, pit lane would have been full of pot 394 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 1: bellied mechanics, tuning carburetors with their pocket knives. Now it's 395 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: full of movie star celebrity owners and more computers than 396 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: mission control. For a team like MBM that was barely 397 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 1: scraping by on its best weekends, Derek was a godsend. 398 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: It's tough not to imagine how far they would have 399 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: come over the last ten years. If Derek hadn't been arrested, 400 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: we would be further up the uh probably further food chain. 401 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,439 Speaker 1: We would have definitely ran. I guess if if we 402 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: had all of the money he spent, all lawyers and 403 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: stuff like right now, it was invested in racing. Hell, 404 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: Hendrick might needed a barrow something from us. Do you 405 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: think you would have kept racing cup if it wasn't 406 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: for this? Probably? Oh yeah, we um, I probably uh. 407 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 1: I probably have a couple of top twenties. As soon 408 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: as I am free from all this stuff, I'm gonna 409 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 1: look for a goddamn good lawyer in the States and 410 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: sue NASCAR too, because now it's it's gonna be six 411 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: years in April that they banned me, and you figure 412 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: all the races that I'm missing. You even put it 413 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,880 Speaker 1: at forty place and say well, I'm losing all that money. 414 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: I told Carl about it. He goes, goddamn, he goes, 415 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,920 Speaker 1: we're into twenties now, so suit him for the place. 416 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: The difference between a forty place finish and the twentieth 417 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: place finish could be tens of thousands of dollars winnings. 418 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: But it also means being closer to the front of 419 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: the pack where the action and the attention is. It 420 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,919 Speaker 1: means a chance at moving up in the sport. But 421 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: now if Derek is allowed to race again, he may 422 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,160 Speaker 1: have to start all over. You can't. It doesn't matter 423 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: if you've got if you've got billions of dollars, You 424 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: got to start at the bottom. Like anything else. You 425 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: can't just jump in a cup car and go racing. 426 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: You have to work your way up. Now, I haven't 427 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 1: raced in the car and over five years, so I 428 00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: don't know if I'm gonna have to start back again 429 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: in the bottom. Basically, go to do the trucks, do 430 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: short track, then go to a mile and a half 431 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: and then a superspeedway and start over in the Exfinity. 432 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: Do a few races in there and then you know, 433 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:13,640 Speaker 1: then finally it will give me my license to run 434 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 1: in a cup, to go to Daytone or wherever. I mean, 435 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,199 Speaker 1: it's you know, it sucks. Uh, we're fighting it and 436 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: they put a ban on me. You know, like, uh, 437 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 1: aren't you supposed to be like proven, You gotta be 438 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: guilty before they do something. Right now, it's you're guilty, 439 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: and then you gotta prove yourself innocent, which is not right. 440 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm innocent right from the start. So Carl 441 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: had a lot of back and forth with NASCAR officials 442 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 1: to see what it would take for Derek to get 443 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: back in the car, and the answer they gave him 444 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: was unequivocal. When Derek is free of criminal charges, then 445 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: he's free to race for NASCAR. For Derek to get 446 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: back on the track, he had no option but to 447 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: face a jury next time on running smoke. They just 448 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 1: want to just round up as many people as they 449 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: can and charge everybody and try to get as much 450 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: money as they can out of everybody. I'm just helping 451 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,919 Speaker 1: a friend that's gangster something. They think we're criminals. They 452 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,639 Speaker 1: want to make us look like criminals, and their eyes 453 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: were doing something wrong. And remember Derek's lawyer getting all 454 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,399 Speaker 1: excited and pumping his fists and it was really happy, 455 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: So I'm like, Wow, that's gotta be a good thing. 456 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: Running Smoke is a production of camp Site Media, Dan 457 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: Patrick Productions, and Workhouse Media. The series was written and 458 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: reported by me Roger Gola. Our producers are Lea Pape's, 459 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 1: Laine Gerbig and Julie Dennischet. Our editors are Michelle Lands 460 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,880 Speaker 1: and Emily Martinez. Sound designed and original music by Mark McAdam. 461 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: Additional sounded mixing by ewen Ly from You, with additional 462 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: reporting by Susie McCarthy. Our executive producers are Dan Patrick, 463 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: Josh Dean of camp Side Media, Paul Anderson, Nick Pinella, 464 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: and Andrew Greenwood for Workhouse Media. Fact checking by Mary Mathis, 465 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,359 Speaker 1: artwork by Polly Adams, and additional thanks to Greg Horne, 466 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: Johnny Kapman, Sierra Franco, Elizabeth van Brocklin, and Sean Flynn.