WEBVTT - NASCAR's Jeff Gordon Talks Motorsports

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, Carol Master, Joe Matthew

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<v Speaker 1>live here at Milkin and it is a race.

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<v Speaker 2>To the finish that was really good.

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<v Speaker 1>We might have saved the best for life.

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<v Speaker 2>The stars for the Johnson and.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, I know. Ben Kennedy is with us. He's

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<v Speaker 1>executive vice president, Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer over

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<v Speaker 1>at NASCAR. Jeff Gordon, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>Who he is.

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<v Speaker 1>Introduction needs no introduction, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports Hall

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<v Speaker 1>of Famer. Oh my gosh, thanks for joining me. He thanks,

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<v Speaker 1>good to have you here. I'm not sure where to start.

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<v Speaker 1>First of all, when you guys come to Milkin, what

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<v Speaker 1>is it that you want to Who do you want

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<v Speaker 1>to talk to? What do you want to do here?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, well, we're excited.

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<v Speaker 3>This is our first time.

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<v Speaker 1>First timers this year. So how are you like so far?

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<v Speaker 3>It's I mean, it's blown our minds. You know, it's

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<v Speaker 3>just the who's who have everybody and you know, business

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<v Speaker 3>and business leaders. So yeah, it's great to be here

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<v Speaker 3>and be on a panel.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, speaking of business, NASCAR is a huge business. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>us about how things are going, and I'm just curious

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<v Speaker 1>about how you think about the next phase of revenue

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<v Speaker 1>growth for it.

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<v Speaker 4>It's great. We're you know, in our season. So we're

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<v Speaker 4>seventy eight years old. This year blew out our candles

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<v Speaker 4>on that a few months ago. Eleven races into the season.

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<v Speaker 4>Eleven races into the season, six different winners. Jeff was

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<v Speaker 4>in Victory Lane this past weekend with Chase Elliott. So

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<v Speaker 4>we have a good start to the season. And you know,

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<v Speaker 4>it's been a fun four or five years for us

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<v Speaker 4>really ever since COVID. We had a bit of a

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<v Speaker 4>paradigm change, you know, as far as leadership goes. A

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<v Speaker 4>lot of the initiatives that we've been pushing, whether it's

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<v Speaker 4>the next gen car, a lot of schedule innovations, and

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<v Speaker 4>then we had our new media rights agreement that kicked

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<v Speaker 4>off last year, so brought in new partners like T

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<v Speaker 4>and T with Warner Brothers, Discovery, Amazon Prime is covering

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<v Speaker 4>five races during the summer, and it's been great from

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<v Speaker 4>a distribution perspective and giving us an opportunity to get

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<v Speaker 4>to some of those younger audience.

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<v Speaker 2>As one of the greatest drivers of all time, you

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<v Speaker 2>helped to mainstream NASCAR. You made NASCAR households events. We're

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<v Speaker 2>seeing f one experience a moment now, and I'm wondering

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<v Speaker 2>if you see that as competition or if this is

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<v Speaker 2>the rising tide that lifts all boats.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, obviously their presence in the US has grown,

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<v Speaker 3>so I've always looked at them as totally different.

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<v Speaker 2>It's totally different. But does it actually help you to

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<v Speaker 2>just have more race fans in this country?

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<v Speaker 3>I think is if motorsports is growing, I think everybody's

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<v Speaker 3>growing along with it. So yeah, absolutely, And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I think that's what we're focused on right is is

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<v Speaker 3>we've got some great characters and storytelling and rivalries Chase Elliott,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, one of the most popular winn in this

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<v Speaker 3>past weekend, a new star in Carson Joseovar. So we

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<v Speaker 3>understand them.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>We're always trying to link our TV partners to our

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<v Speaker 3>fans as well as our partners within the business on

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<v Speaker 3>our race teams, to our drivers and to the storytelling.

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<v Speaker 3>And I think we've got some great momentum right now,

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<v Speaker 3>especially collaborating with NASCAR what they're doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, Well, I want to ask you guys both, how

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<v Speaker 1>do you expand the global footprint? And Jeff let me

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<v Speaker 1>kick it off with you in terms of NASCAR, how

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<v Speaker 1>do you see how do you go about it?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>I think a lot of it has to do with OEMs.

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<v Speaker 3>Right right now we're Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Your Dodge

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<v Speaker 3>has recently come into the truck series and could expand there.

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<v Speaker 3>But I think it kind of starts with where are

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<v Speaker 3>the OEMs and their footprint And it's always been North

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<v Speaker 3>America for US, and that's been their focus. But as

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<v Speaker 3>if we can bring in some OEMs that look at

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<v Speaker 3>it outside of just North America, I think that could

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<v Speaker 3>be a great start.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, are those talks going on at this point?

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<v Speaker 4>We like headlines, some noise, No, We're excited about it.

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<v Speaker 4>And to Jeff's point, we have always focused on Newilliams.

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<v Speaker 4>So Ram came into their sport this year with the

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<v Speaker 4>truck Series, which has been great, and then Jeff and

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<v Speaker 4>I have been talking about what what does the future

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<v Speaker 4>of NASCAR look like? So primarily a domestic sport, all

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<v Speaker 4>the races of year in the United States. We had

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<v Speaker 4>a race in Mexico City for the first time in

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<v Speaker 4>our sports history last year, which was great on so

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<v Speaker 4>many different levels. Have a lot of interests north of

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<v Speaker 4>the border, and then we have interests abroad as well.

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<v Speaker 4>We worked with Jeff and the Hendrick team on a

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<v Speaker 4>broad fifty six cars, so a car that went over

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<v Speaker 4>to Lama a couple of years ago and I can

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<v Speaker 4>tell you the fans there went nuts over it.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're in the OEMs in Europe or anybody in Asia, like,

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<v Speaker 1>are you talking to you?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, there's there's a handful, it's eager to hear. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>there's a there's a ton that we're talking to. So

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<v Speaker 4>domestic and then international as well. And I think a

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<v Speaker 4>lot of these different OEM brands, a lot of them

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<v Speaker 4>are consolidating, a lot of them are working together now,

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<v Speaker 4>so whether it is their flagship brand or one of

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<v Speaker 4>the brands that live within their ecosystem, always having conversations.

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<v Speaker 3>I just want to add that, you know something NASCAR's

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<v Speaker 3>down and that we have a next gen or Gen

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<v Speaker 3>seven car. Right now, we're able to go to stadiums.

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<v Speaker 3>We were here at the Coliseum in Los Angeles competing.

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<v Speaker 3>We're going to Sandy, go to a naval base. So

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<v Speaker 3>now we're able to go to places even outside of

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<v Speaker 3>the US and put on a great event, either a

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<v Speaker 3>street course, a stadium course, and I think that really

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<v Speaker 3>opens up the door for more global.

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<v Speaker 2>You mentioned Prime, is that your exclusive streamer? Obviously we

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<v Speaker 2>start looking to the future. The TNT deal is a

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<v Speaker 2>big one, of course, but you need to have digital

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<v Speaker 2>rights at some point. People need to find you in

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<v Speaker 2>different places. Where are you looking for streaming and how

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<v Speaker 2>big can that be for NASCAR?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so we created the Amazon Prime Dealer New Meteorites

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<v Speaker 4>package which takes us through twenty thirty one, so they

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<v Speaker 4>have five races in the summer. They're actually going to

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<v Speaker 4>kick off a Memorial Day weekend for the Coke six

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<v Speaker 4>hundred and it's been great for us so far. What

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<v Speaker 4>I didn't actually realize about it is you're not the

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<v Speaker 4>hold into any broadcast windows or TV windows, so they

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<v Speaker 4>can come on whenever they want and they'll leave whenever

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<v Speaker 4>they want. So they've been really intentional about creating pre

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<v Speaker 4>ratios post ratios.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that an exclusive arrangement, putting a.

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<v Speaker 4>Lot of data into it. Further Cup series, yes, yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>So they cover those five races and then the promotion

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<v Speaker 4>that they're able to bring as well. If you go

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<v Speaker 4>to the Amazon app or Amazon dot Com on racey,

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<v Speaker 4>you're literally one quick quick away from watching Cup Series race.

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<v Speaker 3>Cool.

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<v Speaker 4>Great.

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<v Speaker 1>I got to ask you about Jeff Michael Jordan. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Michael repetia against Michael Jordan except.

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<v Speaker 3>For winning too much typical Michael fashion.

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<v Speaker 1>What was you know? What is it like having him?

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<v Speaker 1>He's a massive celebrity. I don't even need to say that.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, presidence at you know his presence at the

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<v Speaker 1>ownership level for NASCAR. Just got about thirty seconds of motorsports. Right.

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<v Speaker 3>We've seen him in motorcycles, We've seen him around NASCAR

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<v Speaker 3>races even before he became an owner, but I've never

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<v Speaker 3>seen him as engaged as he is right now. Of

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<v Speaker 3>course they're having a lot of success Atona five hundred win. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>but as an owner, it's great to have Michael so

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<v Speaker 3>engaged from an ownership and I think it's only going

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<v Speaker 3>to help the whole sport.

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<v Speaker 2>Girl fantastic Kennedy Jeffson.

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<v Speaker 4>No, it's just gonna say what I love to see

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<v Speaker 4>about it is in Jeff touch On. This is he

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<v Speaker 4>he is truly passionate about the sport. He is a

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<v Speaker 4>fan that's great, a lot of races. He grew up

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<v Speaker 4>going to a lot of NASCAR events, so it's neat

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<v Speaker 4>to see that come out of him.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you for helping us animate some of the great

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<v Speaker 2>stories that are coming out of milk in here. This

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<v Speaker 2>was fans said Hall of Famer. Yeah, I thank you

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<v Speaker 2>guys Won actually, Jeff Gordon, Ben Kennedy. Great to meet

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<v Speaker 2>you both, and thank you for sharing your insights with

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<v Speaker 2>us here on Bloomberg