Episode 156 - Austin Jones - From Arizona to DAKAR

Dakar Champion Austin Jones and his quick rise to becoming one of the best SXS Rally Racers in the world.  Coming from Arizona and learning offroad isn't easy but Austin has done it at the highest level.  Now joining the RedBull Can-Am Factory Racing team and setting his sites on more wins!

Joe Weining co-hosting.

Transcript

Unknown: 0:07

Welcome to the dirt life show with your host, George Hamil. Welcome welcome. Welcome to Episode 156 of the dirt life show. stoked to have you guys join us tonight. We got an awesome show for you guys. We had Supercross this weekend. And man. It's just awesome to be back in Arizona. The weather's good here. So let me introduce you to our first guest, I'm Jordi Hamel, the host of dirt life show we are in Phoenix, Arizona, like I just said, at Austin Jones shop Austin Jones is grew up watching his father race off road and is now an American off road racing driver and champion. He won the Dakar Rally in 2022 and the SSV T four category and now T three champion 2023. He also won the 2021 FIFA World Cup for cross country rallies and is a two time Baja 1000 winner for score international as well in the Trophy Truck spec class. Welcome, Austin. Thank you, sir. It sounds nice when you say like that. Good. Good intro though. You've only been racing for a short time. And to your left we have co co host extraordinaire and CO driver extraordinaire Joe whining What's up, Joe? same ol guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's Joe's. I think he's been one of the most frequent guests on the show, dude, he's just stepping it up in his media game. Big media guy. But it's cool to be here, man, like, be back in our Arizona roots. That's one of the things that I wanted to kind of base the show on is like, I titled it in social media from Arizona to Dakar, which is in my mind is just freakin extraordinary. Like, from being a kid growing up in Arizona, and now having championships in the Dakar Rally, which is considered one of the top racing organizations or events in the world. That's got to feel good for you. Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's so it's so crazy, you know, like how little it is over here. And then you go out to Saudi Arabia, and you see a race like that car. You know, coming home, everybody's all stubbed and stuff like that. So it's definitely nice. It's it's really cool though. Like, Joe when you when you think of being like an Arizona kid, like, let's just call it all of us playing in the sandbox, right? Like as little kids and the motivation level to be just getting an off road car is cool. And then like all of a sudden you work your way up to being a youngster and then going to dat car and like seeing all this stuff. Like how does it feel to you to see the Austin is successful in this it's, it's, it's incredible. And like you say, the, the passes that he's gone through to get there. And now he's on this on this worldwide level unit over and dat car, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, you know, Spain, Morocco, all these places all over the world racing. It's just like stepbrothers say prestige, worldwide, worldwide. But that is true, though. Like, like, we're all joking about it. But like, it's a phenomenal achievement for you to be able to achieve that. So and you're really humble, you've always been a humble winner and a kid, but it's got to feel good. And like, just to be able to know that you've done it. For sure. I mean, it takes a lot of work. You know, it's hard, obviously racing a debt car, you got to think it's hard, but it really is, you know, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of effort beforehand, during and after. So, you know, to be able to put everything together for two years in a row now and get the win. And you know, it feels great. Yeah, totally. Alright, I'm gonna fix some technical stuff, when they say we got no sound on the iPad here. But I'll fix that real quick. Joe, can you ask Austin a couple questions like about growing up in Arizona and stuff like that? Because you did as well? Yeah, no, we both want you to all three of us growing up here in Arizona, but often when you're over there, and Saudi Arabia or Spain or wherever you're at reason you take time to reflect and just kind of sit there and think about Panama and Saudi Arabia right now. Racing racing an off road car. That's you take time to do that. Definitely try to I mean, when we're out there, it's so you know, we're full blast the whole time. When I land off the plane, you know, it's we got to go admin checks, then go shake down the car. And then usually, you know, day one right after that media stuff here and there. So usually, it's pretty full blast as soon as I get there. But, you know, every once in a while, you got to sit back. And you know, I did this is pretty cool that, you know, I'm this far away from home out. And you know, I've never gone anywhere other than Mexico and the United States up until 2018 when I raised my first rally. So like, now we've been to all these places race and all these places. It's so crazy. So yeah, definitely got to look back and kind of enjoy it every once in a while. For sure. For sure. And that's kind of feel good. Oh, for sure. Yeah. And I you know, traveling is super cool minute and being able to see the you know, the whole world and all these different countries and all these different cultures and just how different everything is. I think it's been a really good experience. Yeah. So, so growing up here in Arizona, you were born here in Phoenix. Yep. I was born over here in Litchfield Park. Right right here in a neighborhood. Yep. Nice. You went to high school air and yeah, my whole life. So I Yeah, grew up over here went to I literally live about five minutes. We're sitting five minutes away from the place where I went to Litchfield to elementary school, middle school and high school. Yeah. So I went off to college for a little bit over in San Diego. But then after that, I moved straight back. Any kind of school sports, high school sports or anything like that. Yeah. It's funny, because I wasn't even really like I was into racing. I always liked it and stuff, but I never did it. So I got played, you know, a lot of sports, baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer, the whole nine. So yeah, I was super into all that growing up. And to, you know, to be a racer. Now, it's definitely didn't see that coming. Yeah. Well, you were you were talking a little bit before. Hopefully you guys. Okay, good sound now. All right. Thanks, guys, for letting us know. You were talking to me a little bit about it before the show? Like, you'd pretty much didn't even start like doing off road stuff to what was it? 2015 2018? Doesn't he grace? Yeah. Do they? Don't you think that's wild? Joe? Yeah. No, that's, that's pretty nuts. It is kind of crazy to me to think that because five years is not that much time. Does it feel like you were on a fast track? Like just straight into it all? For sure. Yeah. I mean, I think that I think that everything how everything has worked out so far. You know, it's obviously it's worked out. But it's definitely been hard. Just the pace of everything. You know, like jumping into a car for the very first time, like the first time I ever wore a helmet and wardriving suit was, you know, in Parker in 2018, when I was driving a spec truck. So like, yeah, the way that everything's kind of worked out. It's been pretty crazy. And you know, there's been a lot of ups and downs, obviously, a lot of downs in the beginning. But, yeah, and you know, it's worked out. Yeah. And that's because you are like on a fast track, right. But you have good people around you. Do you just like when you want to be a champion? Do you just sponge it all in and like, listen to what everybody's saying, especially like, you know, when an expert like Joe tells you something, for sure. I mean, I you know, I've spent some time with Joe in the right seat and me driving and, you know, I always take the approach of you guys all know better than me. You know, I'm down to listen to everything that you guys say I'm down to, you know, absorb it all, and just try to apply it as well as I can. And because, you know, when it comes down to it, let's just be honest, you guys have a lot more experienced than me. So I'm down to listen, someone says I'm doing something, right. Someone says I'm doing something wrong. Someone says I'm doing to do something differently than you know, I'm down. So I think that that's helped a lot is having you know, a lot of people are sure. Yeah. And I also think that that has a lot to do, like shows a lot of your character though, too. So you don't like Oh, I already know what I'm doing. You'd like actually listen, now I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm still don't know what I'm doing. Half the time, man. We're just cruising. But yeah, I mean, we have a little bit of a better understanding now. But at the same time, yeah, I still consider myself pretty new to all of this. Which is weird, because I've got so many miles now with all the rallies and stuff, but I'll tell you that like considering that like that you think like that means that you have a lot longer of a career because it means two things, it means you're not burnt out, and it means that you're still willing to learn more. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, I still want to go out with people that you know, have a lot of experience and I want to learn stuff and I want to learn different things and you know, just pick up you know, and be as you know, as fast as I can. So yeah, totally. So we got a few people joining in Dakota Bedwell, says my boy AJ did so yeah, if you guys want to share the show, please do there's little airplane icon down at the right hand of your screen. If you're on Instagram, and you can obviously share it on Facebook and YouTube. You can catch us on Monday nights, sometimes on Thursday nights, hang out with us talk with us talk to your favorite drivers. The point of dirt life show is pretty much to give you guys a better understanding of the people that you see at the racetrack right like do we really know Ajay when we see him at the racetrack when you shake his hand? No, but we get the opportunity to talk to him now and have an in depth conversation and you guys can always join in as well too. So and thank you to all of our sponsors. We got KMC wheels one of your sponsors too. Yeah, big shout out KMC making some sweet products. We have some really cool projects that we're working on with those guys as well. So come check us out for that stuff on the dirt life show channel thanks to the guys over at Max's tires guys and Moe tool I think most will help you out with your guys programs yeah Mel tool is a big sponsor for you know the rally program so yeah, shout out to moto as well. Shock Therapy you can use the code dirt life at SHOT therapist.com You can get any of the products they offer like limit strap steering racks, BSD kits, all that good stuff. Thanks the guys over at JL Audio they're putting a system in our pro our that's gonna it's probably gonna blow my head off honestly. It's good though. So we'll see how that goes. Thanks guys over evolution power sports, Todd and all the team over there. You can actually tune your cannamd your Polaris whatever, you can just go buy one of their coach shooters and tune your car from your phone paired up to your exhaust. Thanks, guys. Oh, red zones are racing products using the code the dirt life by some tie rods radius rods all that stuff. Thanks guys ever envision canopies? They're doing some really cool stuff. With the factory Polaris team as well. So go check out some of the new canopies and things like that you can help rebrand or market your off road team get your sponsors a little bit more love. And thanks to the guys over at cryo heat as well. So, Joe, you talked a little bit about Austin growing up in Arizona, one of the things that I wanted to talk about was growing up in Arizona is a lot of heat. There's a lot of temperature changes in the wintertime, there's a lot of dirt, there's a lot of dust, but there's a lot of freedom, right? Because you can go right to side by side, you can get out in the desert, you can do all of these crazy things. And honestly, Joe, I feel like that's kind of what prepared Austin to be the champion that he is these days. Oh, for sure. extreme, extreme heat. And just here over the last couple months, man has been raining one day and freezing one night and the next day, it's 95 degrees out. Yeah. But you can take advantage of all that stuff, right and go drive a side by side and do these things. Yeah, I mean, we have so much, you know, we have so many trails out here and so much desert out here that like there's tons of places to go out and train. I do a lot of training out here in Arizona, in between races and stuff. So you know, it's super dialed for that. And yeah, the weather, it's hot sometimes. But I don't know if you can just deal with it for a little bit while you're out there. It's not so bad. Yeah, totally do it. And do you do anything like what we were saying before? I think we've before the show, we're talking about like, physically and physically fit, right? So actually, let's talk about two things. When you get out there to like a place like Dakar, or some of these rallies, has living in Arizona given you an advantage compared to some of those racers, because you're used to different terrains like that. I think so like, that's what I was telling you earlier is like, the first time I landed in Saudi and like, we went out for stage number one, we're cruising around the desert, you know, on stage, and I'm like, so pretty similar to home, you know, like the desert, you know, it seems pretty similar. So I feel like just being out here so much I'm living out here is kind of prepared me to go race out there because the conditions are pretty much the same. Yeah, that's kind of crazy when you think about it. Right, Joe? Yeah. And it's, it's pretty neat. But like he said, he's more accustomed to the heat are accustomed to the desert conditions and the dust in the sand. And it all just kind of like, like you said, almost at home. Yeah, exactly. Well, and the reason that I wanted to bring it up was because like in California, I don't get the opportunity to do that as much as you guys anymore. Like being from Arizona. Like I feel like I was spoiled until I realized that wasn't didn't have it anymore. So I feel like it'd be in an Arizona gives you a pretty good advantage for that. But you're in pretty good shape. But do you want to do more? Like how do you plan to progress in your off road career? Like, as far as physical goes, diet, all these different things? Yeah. So yeah, a lot goes into that, you know, you want to kind of base your training physically and mentally, and that kind of stuff around your races. So you want to basically train for a couple of weeks, you know, a couple of months beforehand, and then you want to basically be at your peak when you get to the rally. So you can perform the best obviously, and be in the best shape you possibly can. So I think that, you know, just kind of keep doing that and training as much as I possibly can. Nutrition is a huge thing. You got to learn how to, you know, like take care of your body and stuff like that, because you feel so much better in the car when you're in shape makes a big difference. Is it just little things like what have you been learning over the past years to try to make yourself better? I want to give I want these to be like kind of advice to the audience for sure. Well, I mean, you have to like First off, I drink probably more water than anybody on the human on the planet. So like, you know, drinking water like crazy that helps. Like little snacks throughout the day when you're sitting in in the race car, you have to like stay eating basically the entire time. And that helps a ton too because then your brain starts getting off foggy if you don't eat for too long and stuff. So like you got to pick the right snacks like me and Gustavo my navigator. We're like constantly eating like, either protein bars, or honestly, I've been super into like peanuts lately, like in the car will you know it's like a nice clean form of protein. Yeah, so we'll cash like a couple packs of peanuts in the car and some beef jerky or something like that. But you know, just like knowing when when to eat it what to eat. And, you know, working around that kind of so what I was doing some physical stuff like I did an Iron Man and some long distance bicycle races and stuff. And the one thing that they told us and Joe, you know, this, you drink before you're thirsty and you eat before you're hungry. Because if you're hungry, it's already too late. If you're thirsty, it's already too late. So that's probably what you're doing is keeping that on a certain level. Yeah, for sure. And then like, that's the same thing. Like, you know, hydrating wise, we we get out of the race car we do, however long of a day, 500 mile day or something like that. And then immediately you want to start drinking as much water as possible for the next day. Yep. You know, because you're already smoked that day. So like you try to load up for the next day. You pee a lot, but I mean, at the same time and you feel a lot better. Yeah, totally. But you're flushing your system. Like that's the proper way to do it. Right. Exactly. Yeah. So that's a huge part that goes into a special flew with like stage racing over 14 days in rally. That's a huge, you know, yeah, that's pretty massive. Like and you've seen it a lot with drivers that you've been with Joe, you've done all kinds of different code driving for Ethan Ebert. Now you've done co driving with Toby price you've obviously worked with guys are brothers, and you actually sat in the passenger seat with Austin's father as well. So you understand? Well, not just to how to to keep yourself going well, but to also keep the driver alive too. Yeah, correct. You did. Being being a navigator, when you can tell when a driver starts to get fatigued, because he started making mistakes and start getting sloppy in their turns and sloppy and break zones. And it's pretty, it's pretty crazy. So it's super important. And at the same time, you got to stay on a two because you gotta be with them. Working as a team, you know, yeah, and we talked about this a lot like how much logistically the CO driver is important, but the CO driver is responsible for a lot more even, right? Because you have to think about that and be intuitive. And well, basically, in that in with the person's mind the whole time, ya know, it's, the more I do it, the more important it seems to get is keeping a driver focused on the end result, not just the next 10 miles, but the end result, you know what I mean, and keeping them yeah, not to like too far. sidetrack, because I still want to talk a lot about the stuff that you're doing now. Awesome. But like, we did a show with fluid logic, I think you've seen their systems, right? Yeah, yeah. And those things are really cool. Because they give you exactly the stuff that your body needs, you know, you can get a breakdown of what your body needs as far as endurance and all of these different things. But I really feel like that's important. Because that could make it be a winning racer like that could make it be between like legs, let you say, the last 100 miles of a race, or the last 50 miles of a stage. You could be fresher than the person next to you, or the person that's battling with you and you could win because you're actually keeping your fatigue level. Or the your, you're not fatigued. Yeah, exactly. You know, you're still in and your mind is still in and because that's what happens first is like when you get super weeded like that, then you start knocking off tires, you start running off the side of the road. I mean, it just gets worse, the worse you are, the worse, obviously, you're going to drive. So it's a huge part of it that I think a lot of people kind of take for granted. But you know, in the rally stuff, we got to stay on top of that. It's really uh, yeah, and let's talk about that, too. Like, before we get into like, some of the real hardcore racing stuff is that when you're doing a how many days is a dat Carl 14 or something? 1414. Okay, so when you're doing 14, you're not necessarily always thinking about the task immediately in front of you. You're thinking about, like, milestones, and then the end goal as well, like that's a pretty hefty weight. Oh, for sure. I mean, yeah, we have 14 days of racing. And like the amount of strategy and the amount of thought process and stuff like that, that goes into it, other than actually racing is huge. I mean, some days you want to finish in this position, you don't want to win. And then some days, we look at the starting list, and we see who's in front of us, and we want, you know, maybe this person go 123. And then we want to get fourth. So then we start behind these people, and then try to pass these two people and get second this day. So like the amount of stuff that goes into a rally like that, I mean, it's you're playing games the entire time. Dude, that's crazy to think, Joe, like how much goes into that? Because it really ends up being like a chess game. Right. And so that brain fade, you can't have that? No, no, honestly, his co driver Gustavo, he's got to be a machine in order because it's they're off a rally notes. And they're off of, you know, Cap headings and all kinds of different things. You're not reading just a GPS, like we are over here in Baja, you know what I mean? But he's completed numbers at the same time to see where it what positions and lead it's like a calculator at the same time constant constant, there's a lot going on over there. Yeah. How does that work in the car, then? Like, is there a lot in your head going on? Or are you a little bit more focused on the task at hand, I mean, it's, you know, it's 5050. Like, I, I need that information, I want him to tell me that information as we're going and I keep it in the back of my head. But at the same time, if I started thinking about anything too much, then you know, I'm gonna drive off the side of the road or something like that. So it's like, I need to know the information like we need to stick to the plan, stick to the plan and not get too excited and like, go try to rip the doors off and when the stage because half the time you don't want to win the stage. You know, that was like our plan. This year, a dat car was doing probably as a stage, which we did. And then for the rest of the time, just, you know, like do stick to our plan and stick to our strategy. And it worked out pretty well. I mean, I guess but yeah, it's, it's tough. Does that okay? So the strategy really plays a big part in it. Does that mean that you also have to take into consideration what the next stage is like if it's a dune stage or I don't know what you want, like if it's a rock stage or whatever, or like an open stage right? Yeah, that that, obviously, you know, it takes a huge consideration and what we're doing the day of because like, we know that if we're going into the dunes the next day, we don't, it's so much easier to follow people in the dunes, that's just the way it is. If you're opening in the dunes, you're going to be slower than the people behind you following you because you don't have to check in if you see a car going over and you can't see it anymore, then obviously, there's a huge drop there. So like you already know that coming up. So like on a day where I know that the dunes are coming up next, you want to get like fourth because then you can gradually start the past people you can't lose too much time because then you know you're losing time on the lead and stuff like that. Do you? That's wild for me to think Joe like could you be sitting in the passenger seat going like, alright, we can budget for minutes, but not six minutes. Yeah, that's always gonna ask him how, how mentally difficult is that? Knowing that you don't want to win that station? Well isn't Gustavo encourage like he's the one that's budgeting those minutes. Like, yeah, so like, he's, he's budgeting minutes. And he's telling me but at the end of the day, I mean, it's on whether I put my right foot down harder. Yeah. So like, it's it's definitely I get excited sometimes. And I'm like, Dude, we gotta go. We gotta go. He's like, dude, stick to the plan, stick to the plan. And I'm like, big picture thinking like, you know, we don't go to rallies to win stages. We go to rallies win trophies, he's sitting over there. He's like, calm down, kid. Yeah, exactly. So you know, you got to stick with stick with your plan and like, stick with what you know, and it's gonna work out. So you that's why is it different than when you did have the success down in Baja is like, massive difference. Oh, for sure. Because I mean, ba, that's one day, you know, you got to throw everything at it that you possibly can. Sure. And ba like you want to, you know, take it easy. Some places where you know that you could completely destroy the car and stuff like that. But at the same time, it's sprint, you know, you gotta go. So like that that mindsets, what I started out with. And then when I first started racing route, blow myself up on the first or second day, basically every single time. So it's different, it's a completely different mindset. Now, it's weird. If I go back down to Baja, or race or race in the United States, it's, it's a trip trying to go back to that mindset of like, alright, we're regarding now, you know, that is kind of crazy to think about, like, I don't even know like being a co driver, Joe, would you be able to, like shift gears like that, because I feel like budgeting time would be the hardest thing on the frickin planet. It's tough, it's really tough. And I don't know if I'd be able to hold like you'd like he said, He's, you've got to hold back into spots that you know, you need to hold back on, you know what I mean? And, and fortunately, with the raises here in the States, and in down in Baja, we can pre run, so we know what we're coming up against. Because not going out. And also they have no idea just looking at the roadmap, you know what I mean? And, and that's what they got to go off of, actually, that's a really good point to bring up too. Because, like meat coming up, like dirt bike racing, right? Like we had all the time in the world to run practice to run our first motors and our second motors, right, and you're just doing laps, and you kind of it turns into muscle memory. At that point, there's a completely different skill set that a driver like Austin has than somebody like myself behind the wheel, because I would be a little bit more timid the first time I approach something, so there's a lot of credit that Austin is due, because he can just navigate and see that right off the bat without even hitting it once. Yeah, that's that was one of the big differences to come in from racing Baja. And stuff is like, he's gonna tell me when something's coming up, I mean, for the most part, and stuff like that, you know, like, unless that's only from a book that's not from experience hitting, you know, I'm saying like, in like, with the GPS, like he knows, you know, we already know, in this however many miles and I know, from pre running this mile, there's this huge hole. So like, check out for it, you know, like a danger. Yeah, yeah. And then, like in the rally stuff, unless it says it on that page of notes that he's reading, you know, if if I just like drive blindly, and wait for him to say something, and there's something maybe not in the roadbook? Or if it's further away, or something like that, then like, you know, we're gonna hit it. Yeah. Like, it really taught me to look out the window, you know, and really look ahead, as far away basically, as you possibly can, and then drive to that, and then take his notes and try to apply it to what I'm already seeing. Correct. Like, do you that's why Yeah. And like UTV, El Paso, West Texas is saying the same thing. Like, that's crazy. But adjusting quick is what makes a difference between a good driver and a great driver. And that's what I'm saying. Like, to be honest, I don't know if I have the skill set to be able to adjust that quickly. Like, do you think you could have drivers? Because that's not that's, that's a massive skill set. Yeah, like, when you're trying to adjust that quickly, just fatigued your mind. You know, I mean, so at the end of the day, you're just and then the weather changes. The road book is made two, three weeks prior to the event. And then you get a big storm that comes through two days before the race, and then you have big rain ruts and shit and change. The notes are all the same, but the course is completely different. So yeah, and that's I just got got a text message saying the ability to read the train and how important that is like, honestly, I didn't even realize it. So you must be looking. So as he's telling you stuff because Todd was doing a great job, right? But like, I always talk about this, like, how do you drive in dust? Or like, how far do you look ahead because most people are used to looking like right in front of their fender, right? Like, like, you're probably looking much further ahead than most drivers would. Oh, for sure. And that's, that's what I was saying is like, I'm looking way down basically, as far as I can see, and then coming back looking at what's in front of me, and then you know, trying to adjust and going back like that. So like, yeah, we as much as many notes as he hasn't stuff like that. Sometimes there's mistakes in roadworks or like you said, sometimes the road books change, you know, when or rain or something crazy comes through, and like this could be completely different than like how it was when they made that book. So if I'm not looking, you know, all the way out, and I'm just waiting on him to say something and waiting, waiting, waiting, we're gonna hit, it's going to be too late. So like, I'm adjusting, driving as far out as I can see, and then kind of skating back dealing with this, and then going back again, so yeah, that's crazy. So yeah, I was just gonna say that, like the way I'm seeing it in your head, while like while you're driving is it let's just say you're going through a section of dunes. And there's 10 Dunes, you go to like, the seventh one is where you can see. And then you see the the five, six, and all the ones back all the way to two, and then you're like, Okay, I gotta like crash this one. And then you just mentally noted the sixth one. And you're gonna figure out how to get there as fast as you get dude, that is so much to process. That's insane. Yeah. And the whole time, if you think about a guest, I was reading his notes. He's listening. He's not looking out the window also. So it's just he he looking out the window? Pretty much, you know what I mean? Yeah. And that's the other thing is like, he's got his, you know, he's got his head down. He's reading you know, so like, I'm the only one that's looking right in front of us. Like, if, if I don't see something that's, you know, and also at the same time, we're driving, I'm generally driving as fast as the car will possibly go, you know, for the most part, what are those, like, things happen quick. That's what let's, let's break that down not to be in the dunes, then let's just say that because I saw some are actually really good pictures that your team Redbull factory can and racing took of you guys this year, I got to look through one of your guys drop boxes, and all that stuff. And there was some really, really cool areas where it almost looked like you guys were going through canyons with Cliff rocks on the side. Like, how do you guys do there? Because well, I guess you're not going at speed, you're probably a little slower pace. But do you get to take a breath at that time and like start like calming your brain down a little bit. I get theirs to track and you can basically see around the corner and you see what it's going to be like then you can kind of chill and like deal with what's in front of you and try to you know, go through it as fast as possible. Yeah, at the same time, like I'm constantly scanning everything and reading the terrain like as much as possible, just like, you know, every single little thing if we're up against a mountain over here, and we're going crossgrain like that, I know that there was rain at one point. So there's going to be crossgrain and there's going to be a G out or something like that. So you have to look at your all your surroundings and everything. And kind of you know, play it off that and adjust your driving style. Yeah, it's kind of crazy. I'm just thinking like, in my head. I'm thinking like when the heck does your brain get to breathe, because like when we were doing Supercross racing, the only time you get to breathe is when you're on a triple. Like, that's it like you just let off on the finish line where you lose like half a second and a half to take a breath. Right. So like when do you get to mentally read? I don't know. Give your brain a rest. I mean, whenever when you're on the liaison when we're on the way is on back and then not really even when we're on the liaison back because I'm driving on the highway and it can him and there's local traffic and we're getting smoked by everybody and I'm trying to dodge cars and stuff dodging camels. Exactly. And then a camel farmer will walk out with 15 camels on the way and yeah, so good early until we get back. David Van Loon I don't know how to pronounce his last name says Good day from Pigeon Forge. He's not in Australia at the moment though. Man that's crazy. Like just to think of the racing prowess that's in your brain in such a short period of time since 2018 is pretty phenomenal when I think about it because Joe this is conversations that like you would have with like a Robin Cochran or somebody that's been that can actually process that stuff because they've been doing it their whole life. Right. And Austin hasn't. It's pretty cool to see that he has those skill sets already. Yeah, within a short amount of time that he's been doing and it's it's insane. You know what I mean? And fortunately, his father has been father's a legend and off road, you know, yeah, exactly. He's got a lot of insight and a lot of knowledge and, and of course, he shared that with Austin. And what's cool is Austin's be able to soak it in and that's what's escalated awesome so well so that's kind of one of the one of the questions I was going to talk about, is it like your love for off road now? So like, Did you always love it? I mean, I knew your dad did it when he was growing up, but like I liked it, and I thought it was cool. And I really thought it was cool that my dad did and I used to like to look at the videos and the pictures and stuff like that, but like I never I was never too into it like I I was into it. I liked it a lot. I was never against it. I was just so busy doing other things playing other sports and you know, just doing the things that like a kid would do. That I never, you know, I never even tried to do well, what were you into as a kid? Well, I played a lot of sports. I was telling him earlier, but you know, like baseball, football, lacrosse, all that kind of stuff. So I was super into that. Basically, like all, you know, growing up and stuff like that in high school and stuff. So I was super into that. And then when I finished college, I moved back to Arizona, and I started working on my dad's pre runners, you know, as a job. And that's where I really figured it out. I'm like, Oh, this is really sick. This is really sick. Then I went down to Mexico a few times and got to just go ride around in the prerunner with him and stuff. And I'm like, this is really rad. So that's also kind of just started growing on Yeah. Wow, that's cool. What was your favorite? Like, just random, like you'd like sticking ball sports? Your skateboard guy? Like, what was your favorite? I tried to be a skateboard guy for a while, but I was never good at all. Yeah, so and then, you know, I was into BMX bikes for a long time. I was not great at that either. But I was super good at will cross like, I played lacrosse in college and stuff like that. So I was into that, that right there as hand eye coordination to the fullest. So that would be where you get some of that visual perspective, we've actually talked about it on the show a few times, like the difference between an Eli tomac or a regular weekend, dirt bike rider is the way that they can visually they have these visual receptors and how they can process information at millisecond level compared to another person, right. And like, there's a really, really good qualification in what you're talking about, and how you perceive the data that's coming in when you're looking through the windshield, compared to somebody else, like that's what sets people apart. And a lot of people don't even know that they have that skill set. That's interesting to think about, for sure. Yeah, it's wild and like to go even beyond that, and we're talking about the physical stuff. Do you get the opportunity with any of your current partners to be able to expand those physical things and do that kind of stuff? Um, some stuff. I mean, I don't know like, we do things for here and there and stuff like that kind of like other than racing, some one off events and stuff, but I'm not really so much. And well, I mean, more like to the effect of like, let's just say you're a professional dirt bike racer, like Jeremy Martin is known for having these crazy vo two levels, and he can do all of this, like you, they put you on a bicycle, or they put you on a running machine, and you do all these tests, right? Does Red Bull offer that to you guys? Or how can you expand your physical capabilities through some of those partners? Oh, for sure. I mean, over in Santa Monica, Red Bull has the athlete perform center for athletes. So they want me to come down I have been to this year has been so crazy, I haven't had the chance to head down there yet. But soon, I've actually got an appointment coming up. Soon, I'm going to head down there. And yeah, they've got this crazy gym of full nutritionist kitchens and all that stuff. And they have all these trainers that basically take whatever sport that you do that, you know, you're signed to Red Bull for, and they make you like a plan and like how to best you know, be your best athlete, essentially. So they can reverse engineer the tasks that you're doing and like optimize you for those tasks, essentially. And like they even do they take it as far as even doing like mental training and stuff like Joe, that's scary. That's like building robots, man. We're just a bunch of racing robots? Well, like you said, the mental capacity is, is there's a lot going on, going on reading all that terrain, and reacting to the car's capabilities. That's there's a lot going on, you know what I would love to see like, you're a perfect example of it, right? Because you're already good at what you do. And you're already Adak, our champion like to see like you, let's just say you go through the process, and you start getting your body in different, you know, physical shape, or whatever it is. And you take that and you use that to elevate you to the next level. And who knows where you'll be, I don't know if you'll be driving in that car or f1. For who knows, but like, I'm just saying, like, it's cool to see, the level of progress that you get when it's that like, ingrained in your body would be insanely cool. Yeah, I mean, that's, and that's one of the huge like, that's one of the big pluses about being sponsored by a company by like Red Bull is you know, they take that, that mold and they take you the extra mile and they do basically everything that you wouldn't even think consider doing and make you like you said like a robot dude. Dude, I've been noticing a lot. I don't know if you're like this Joe is like we get older in our years, we start being addicted to different things, right? Like, maybe when you graduate college, you're addicted to success and you want a better job and all this stuff. Well, I've noticed now that I'm addicted to progress and to hear this stuff that he's doing. That sounds like the best progress possible, especially for a racer guy. Yeah. 100% physical mental. That's that's so cool. When when Yeah, but well, you're gonna have to cut down on the tacos and pizza. No more doughnuts for Austin. Do you know it big this weekend? I was feeling bad about it. What did you do this weekend? You go to watch the motocross. Yeah, I cruised over for a little bit. I didn't stay very long. I just screws over watch a couple of the race. CES unveiled. Yeah, but yeah, it was it was sick, busy guy over here. So well, that's cool man. Like, I appreciate that you can utilize all the stuff that you grew up doing right. And I'm sure there was so many things that you did as a child with your parents or with your dad and you know, like, even you know, Joe and like learning all these different things because you're out there having a good time playing in the desert. And honestly, man, that's what our audience does. Like we love being able to go out on the weekend. I don't know if you guys can see it very good on Instagram, you can keep your phone sideways. But, you know, these two vehicles that you have behind us, they're not even race cars, and you have a good time on these things. Yeah, that's what I was telling you earlier is like, it's crazy that like as much as many miles as I drive a year, and like every, you know, basically every month in races and how it's my job, this is still what I want to go do on the weekends as I want to go drive my Kandam and I want to go out with my friends and stuff like that out to the desert and Joe Ken hams. So I got Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm into it now. Like that's cool again to it, then that I know everybody that's watching this and Joe, you do it too. Like we're big enthusiast guys, for sure. For sure. And that's what's helped him accelerate so much is the love for the sport nice because he cares. Yeah, he cares. He loves doing it. And that just progresses into what he does for actually, this is a good question just for my personal benefit. So I'm building a new Pro are right now. And it's actually here in Phoenix. So it's going to stop where should I take it if I'm going to start driving it around here? Man, it kind of depends on what kind of terrain you want to cruise. I mean, if you're going if you're going for the dunes, then I would say go out to Yuma. You know, humans got all those dunes. I kind of want to just go like if I'm going on a trail ride, I'm just gonna go on a leisure ride with my stop and have lunch somewhere like, are you can you set me up somewhere around here that's close to Phoenix area around here. Like just just the other day I went out and I did a bunch of miles with Ken em and some people over in Cave Creek. So like right outside of Scottsdale in Cave Creek, Arizona did. There was some of the sickest trails and these canyons and you go right, oh, they have the red rock and stuff up there too. Right? Yeah. And there's a river that flows through it. And there's all these roads and all these trails that go up to it. It was so rad dude, I'd be big into that. That would actually be super cool. All right, Joe, you're gonna have to bring your side by side up here and we're all gonna have to hit it. Yeah. That does sound like fun. Maybe that's what we should do is see one weekend and Austin's off. Maybe he's off on the Saturday and we'll do a dirt life ride out there. That'd be sick. All right, so how much effort does it actually take to you to reach that professional level? Because you've done it you're a dat Car champion. Now you've obviously had success in Baja and stuff but do you consider yourself at the professional level? Are you trying to get higher like what's the what's the end goal? Well, I mean I'm always trying to get higher for sure trying to always push it as far as I can basically take it and be the best that I possibly can be but I mean, at this point Yeah, I do consider myself a professional you know, this is what I dedicate all my time. Basically all my effort into is you know racing these cars so I definitely consider myself a professional but it's not not anywhere where I want to be you know, like you know, to Dakar wins is cool, but I would rather have 10 You don't i mean i that kind of deal so like it's it's cool where we're at but then still like I was telling you earlier I still consider myself pretty new to this like once I get as experienced as some of you guys then maybe you know things will change a little bit but for right now I'm still hungry. So I'm down to just do everything possible to be the best racer that I possibly can and get as many wins and you know do as good as possible. That's Spoken like a true champion right Joe? For sure. For sure. Do you set near goals or goals way far out? Or what what do you kind of on both honestly so I mean, like the goal this year, every deck are you want to win DAC are obviously that's that's kind of short term, but then every like long term, want to win the World Championships. So that's, you know, a combination of all the World Championship stops all the rallies that we do is to win this world championships. So that's the goal right now. And then as far as like, you know, the following years go and stuff like that. I don't really know I've got goals and stuff like that. But for right now, and just trying to try to stay focused on what I'm doing. Do the best. Yeah, that's a good mindset to have. Just throw a shout out real quick to Michelle Hughes, man, Bryce Menzies, Brittany, like, we got some cool people watching to kind of share in the stories, right, so shout out to all those guys. But it is cool to understand that man, because everybody has a different way of looking at things right. And I think a lot of the benefit of us having the dirt life show is to help the younger generations, right? Like we have a lot of kids that watch the show or listen to the show, and get advice from drivers like you and athletes or ambassadors, whatever you because you're doing all of it right? Like you have to be a well rounded person. And whenever I hear those things like what Joe's saying is asking you if you have milestones and stuff. I feel like those are some of the things that benefit people the most is because the kids may or may not understand they just want to go out and win but they Don't know how to do it? Is there a certain procedure that you go through that can help other people like, during the week I have to focus on this task, then on the weekend I have to focus on this task or like, how does it work out for for you, for sure. I mean, you got to be you have to be, honestly, at first pretty regimented. And you have to do all the things that you need to do that mix. Just have a good racer off road. And you know, as far as that goes, I would say mentally is number one, like off road racing. In racing, I feel like in general is for me, like 75%, mental, and then two driving aspects. Well, can you talk about that mental one real quick? Like, do you mean you have to be mentally strong? Do you have to be resilient? Like, it's like happy, sad, good legs, emotional roller coaster, you have to fix? Like, yeah, so like, you have to be able to, you know, control your emotions and stay calm. I mean, that's the most important thing that I've learned so far is like, back when I first started, you know, I'd get a flat, and then it would be just downhill from there, like sitting there screaming in my helmet, like, it's over, it's over, it's over, it's over. And then there would be, you know, 300 miles left of that day, like, so I give you and then everything just goes downhill after that. So you got to be able to control your emotions have a very short memory, like, okay, that happened, we're good to go. You know what I mean? Yep. So like, that's a big thing. And just Yeah, resiliency, like not everything is going to be perfect every day. And there's, you're gonna have problems in a in a race like that car, 14 days through the terrain that we're going through, you're gonna have a bad day, something's gonna happen. That's not perfect, for sure. And even on the other end of it, like what you're talking about, like in the shop, too, because a lot of these teams are just operating out of their mom and dad's garage, right? Like, just to be resilient in that aspect, too. Like, if you break the car on the weekend, and you have to fix it next week. Don't get mad about having to fix it, get pumped on fixing it better, I was just gonna say that's so good for you. I mean, like, especially in the sport that we do off road racing, and like rally racing, where you are the only person like, you know, your co dog, too. But you know, you got to get out and you got to work on the car. Like, if you knock off a radius arm or something like that you guys, the quicker you can change it, the quicker that you're going to be back on the track. So that's a huge opportunity. And a huge part of racing that, like, you know, it separates a lot of people from being really good drivers. And really, you know, really successful race was little results, as opposed to not is they you know, they can't work on the car. Yeah. So like, that's a huge part of it. So like, yeah, I would say, like, don't get pissed that you rip a corner off or something like that, you know, it's a bummer. But at the same time, it gives you an opportunity to learn how to do that and fix it as efficiently and as quickly as possible. And then once you have that procedure down, then you and your co dog can be out there and you can swap an arm out that quick and be back on. And it sounds like you're being accountable to because you're like, Okay, mental note. I'm not going to make that same mistake again. Yeah. And then you learn obviously, you know, we've learned from our mistakes. So like, once you do that, and you know, you have to fix it and then get back on it. You get back you lost 1520 minutes on the stage. You're like, alright, well, I'm not gonna do that again. Yeah, exactly. Joe, you know this because you sat with so many good racers. Like that's a massive talent to have due to, I can't say how rare that is, honestly. Yeah. No, it's, it's it's major. And like you say, it's, it's not really a negative, because you're learning from it right? And learn, like you said, you're learning from your mistakes. So there's no real reason. Yeah, of course, you're in the heat of the moment you get upset and get pissed off. But like you said, it happened. You can't change that. Yeah, it just happened. It's just gonna look forward and do the best you can with what's in front of you. Yeah, you know, it's funny too, is like we used to always talk about this in dirt. bike racing is like the best thing about a dirt bike racers do, they have the attention span and the memory of a gnat? Because you can't, you can't remember the last corner otherwise, you're not gonna go through the next corner. Good. You know, like, so that's kind of cool that this is the same thing for you guys. And like, I can see it being that much more valuable, especially in those rally races because you really don't have any. I don't know what you want to call it muscle memory or understanding of what's in front of you. Yeah, because I mean, you don't know it gets a lot better or it could get a lot worse. So I mean, what are you going to do about it? You're gonna freak out about it, or are you just gonna go Yeah, exactly. There's really not much choice. Well, so 2018 has been only five years away but we were talking with your dad earlier and he was telling us you've got you've raced our car four times I think done for your dad cars and your champion and two of them how did the other ones go was how did your first one go? And the second one so my first car I ended up getting eighth so yeah, I got eighth my first car and that was the first year that it was out in Saudi Arabia. So that was in 2020. Okay, I got eighth we had some problems with the car and stuff like that. But I mean, for the most part, it was a clean run and just got out ran you know, those guys they're so experienced and they knew what they were doing so then I did tons of training like went absolutely insane was out in I had a different navigator than I do at the time. dude named Kevin Walsh. You might know him. Yeah. And you And I went out to Nevada and basically every time that Kellen could that he was off work, we would go and do road books. There's, you know, there's a pretty small community of people that have road books here in the United States, but a lot of them are in Nevada. So and obviously, if you ever been in Nevada, there's a lot of desert there. Yeah. So we would just go run road books for you know, I'd take my truck out there with a trailer on my car, and we would stay for as many days as I possibly could until he had to go back to work. And we just run 1000s of miles and just put in the time, put in the time, try to get better try to get better. And then, yeah, and then my second car that was in 2021. And I got second. So that, you know, that's that was probably like, what, like, so let's actually talk about two things. When you get a, Does that motivate you? Does that depress you? Like, where do you go with that? Oh, and that, that goes back to the mental thing, you know, is like it, it, it should bummed me out, like, it's a bummer. You know, and especially if you think that you could do better, like in yourself, you think that you could have done better than Yeah, you know, it should bummed me out. And it should motivate you. It's like, you don't want that to happen again. So yeah, because a good racer wants to win, for sure. So like, you know, and you want to do as good as you possibly can. So like, I felt that that wasn't the best set up I could have possibly done and right there. I was like, Dude, there's never going to be another time that I'm behind, you know, or in a rally where we finish and I'm like, shit, like, I could have done more like, I could have tried harder, I could have done this, or I could have, you know, trained would have been more done something different to get a different result. Because I feel like I could do better. I feel like that's massive for people to understand is just use that as motivation. For sure. So then you go and you do use it as motivation, you get up to a second place spot. And that's almost winning, right? But like, does that like, actually, you know, what, what did you do better to get to that second spot. Just, you know, I managed a lot better, I learned a lot about racing car, I learned a lot about racing a race that was, you know, 14 stages, and, and kind of went about it a different way, you know, tried to, you know, the strategy really came into play that year, and just kind of came in with it with a different mindset. And that really helped a lot. And obviously, you know, all the miles and stuff like that training that helped my driving that you know, I was quicker for sure. So it's honestly, Joe, this. There's a lot that's going on in this conversation that I think that we should understand. And you're probably getting the same, you're hearing the same stuff that I am is the physical and the preparation portion of it. To me it sounds like it's almost easier than training your brain into train your visual perspective and all these different things that happen in your head. Yeah, no, I say that. He was just mentioning that the year he finished second, totally changed his mindset. As far as preparation, you know, I mean, and going into the race, knowing how to how to manage the rally better. You know, and of course, it's physical stamina. And the more seat time required doing all the training helped with the mental is more my opinion when you have the opportunity. So Joe, you've sat like I said in the right seat? Well, I mean, you've learned a lot to from Bryce Menzies and Oren Anderson, and like all these guys, since you're able to put yourself in a position with some of these guys to how do you leverage that to make it the better for you? Are you able to ask them certain questions and kind of get a gauge on understanding how they do things and put that as part of your process? Oh, for sure. Yeah. Like, first off. I like to ride with everybody. Like I like to, I like to ride. I like to see how people do different things. Oh, you're talking about being a passenger? Oh, yeah. Yeah, like a lot of drivers. They don't like to ride mental note. All these kids are saying no, all they want to do is drive. There's a very valuable lesson to be learned here being a co driver, for sure. And you know, I like to when we're out training or Shakedown and stuff like that, like I let my navigator Gustavo, like, you know, I've read with him or I've rode with him before. So like, he can understand what I'm feeling and stuff like that. So when he tells me things, he has a better idea of what I've got in my hands. You know what I mean? To that's actually a pretty amazing tip right there for all of our listeners, and the kids know what what's really cool is he's able to take that ride with somebody and and absorb it and change his driving style to compensate, you know, take a little bit from here and a little bit from there and just put it all together. Yeah. Yeah, that probably does too. So it probably puts you I don't want to say this, like a lot of kids think they can drive. I thought I could drive like those things and it puts you it gives you a different perspective. Like maybe you think you're good and then all of a sudden you drive or somebody's badass, you're like, Fuck, I suck. Yeah, you know what I mean? Because I was so I was a professional short course driver, right? And take that as the literal term. It was a professional series and we were doing professional racing. I got to drive with Rob McCracken in a sway bar disconnected Turbo S right around a short course track, and I considered myself a complete beginner just after seeing how he saw Have the wheel and use his feet. He was barely moving the process that he had going on in his head and the way that he could think and further ahead than I could ever think in my brain just totally taught me and put me in my place. And George, if you were ever going to get to that level, you needed many, many more years of experience. Yeah, so that could be like What the what people learn from what you're saying, too, is just be a sponge and be willing to accept that you have plenty of growth. 100% Yeah, don't think that you're, you know, super badass because you're probably not and there's people that are a lot better than you. That guy had the camera, the everybody's around the garden of their campsite at the dance, for sure. It's crazy. I've had the opportunity to ride with lots of people, you know, Bryce Menzies, Larry Raglin, Jesse Jones, you know, John herder, a bunch of guys that are fast. They're all fast. But they're fast in different ways. Yeah. You know what I mean? And like you say, you know, riding with with Bryce, we were tested one night for the Baja 1000. And just calm and collected. Just nice and chill. She looked out the window, and you're like, Oh, yeah. Like, we are cruising. We are getting it. And you ride with somebody else. And you're still getting, but he's over there song at the wheel. And he's, you know what I mean? So it's like, yeah, it looks like they got an MMA dude, like fight going on in the driver's seat. Exactly. It's, it's two different styles. And if you can take that in and interpret it in your own driving style, and make something out there, that's awesome. Yeah, it's cool. So I love that, that you're able to just put yourself in a position where you're just willing to learn. So whether it's sitting in the driver's seat, or the passenger seat, you just want to keep, like excelling and moving forward. So it kind of sounds like you are addicted to progress. Oh, for sure. I mean, it could only help you don't I mean, it can't hurt you at all. What are you going to do? You know, so I can get help. And if you want to be better than that's what you want, you know, you want help? There's nothing wrong with that. And you're probably even looking at some of the negative things like, not that anybody that you ride with has negative things, but let's just use the Bryce Menzies for an example. If he makes a mistake, and you guys will see it, and then you learn from that, too. Like, that's actually really positive as well, for sure. Yeah. I mean, yeah, everything that you learn, like, literally like, well, you keep on saying just be a sponge, you know, good, bad. Otherwise, just learn everything you possibly can from as many people as you possibly can. And then kind of make your own style and form your own, like craft at it. And didn't, your set, that's cool, man. Well, let's kind of change the subject a little bit here. So we're sitting in your shop, I'll change the camera angle around a little bit. So you guys can kind of see some of the stuff that's going on, we got a welding table, some welders back here, obviously, you got the cams and stuff, we got some machines back there, you've been doing some pretty cool stuff. This is a good angle, it's frozen. But that's a good angle of some of the stuff in the back of the shop. You guys have some some pretty cool stuff that you do during the day as well, like you're starting to build parts. And it's pretty neat to see that you're that invested in off road. Yeah, there's a lot going on over here every day. So like if we're not working on the cars right now like prepping them for you know, the next ride or the next media shoot or something like that, then yeah, we were doing some CNC work. So coming up soon here, and not yet because we're still in testing, making prototypes and stuff like that. But coming up soon, we're gonna start coming out with parts here, my own branded parts. So I think for Kenny hams, and I think that they're going to be really good, because, you know, I've got a lot of experience a lot of miles and these cars, and I kind of know the things that I would like different and the things that, you know, I would do differently if I was making parts. So we've got the CNC machine in here. And, you know, we've got really good guys working for us. And I kind of taking the things that I'm saying and drawing them out making parts. So I think they're going to be around well and like say, and they should be because you have the experience of being out there in Saudi Arabia changing this part that failed. And knowing why it failed, and now you're interpreting into a new drawing into a new part. Yeah, it's not just not always just putting a bigger Homejoy it's sometimes locating the highest joy and twit clocking it like a couple millimeters different or whatever. Exactly. So that's being an he has experience on on the parks that he's building is phenomenal. Yeah. And I've broken basically everything. More than one time in Austin approved. Yeah, exactly. So I get you know, I've taught some stuff up before so like, I've got a pretty good idea of where things need to be changed and how they could be better and, and I think they're gonna look sick. Yeah, on top of everything. So who doesn't love like billet is just like, it's guys jewelry. Right? UTV, El Paso, West Texas asked if there's a website or something I think you guys said maybe started Instagram in the next like after you had a little bit more ready or whatever? Yeah, yeah. So it's coming soon. So yeah, thank you, and I'll let you know. Yeah, just make sure you're following Austin's page and he'll probably post something about it. That kind of brings me up to like a totally different thing. On the way here. I was passing Ace Hardware and I was like, dude, Southern California has no Ace Hardware is I missed Good Ace Hardware. I missed me a good air Arizona Ace Hardware. There's that one right there and like all when we're working on something like it's usually like a joke like how many times we're gonna hit a stud? Yeah. Because like, I'll go up there I'll buy a bunch of stuff come back and then you know, 15 minutes later be like, Oh, I forgot that or wrong thing. And then crews back I need more Loctite or 16 little tiny screws. Yeah, exactly. Get the wrong ones. Yeah, something great like that. So it's funny because I guarantee every single one of us has the same problem. Man. Oh, you know, we were talking about before not to change the subject again. But some of the people that are watching might remember a place called Thrasher land Motocross Park. That was right down the street like Arizona bringing back so many memories. This trip for me. Yeah. You guys remember that track? I do. There's some good racing out there real Sandy? Yeah, fast. It was. It was good time. I remembered I remember. Like driving pass it on. glendo right there. Did you ever do any two wheel stuff like did you get out and ride or like I've done some show riding and stuff like that. I've never raced any type of dirt bikes or motocross or anything like that. But you know, some trail riding here and there just like as normal people do, you know, going on cruise. Are you still a big like Supercross motocross fan or, yeah, like I'm super into Supercross. And like, I like watching it on TV. You're asking me if I went the other day, like I went for a little bit, but then I'm like, Dude, I could watch this at home. The TV coverage is pretty good. Coverage is really good. So I'm like sitting there and I'm like, Alright, so like, I watched it at home and stuff like that. You know, I'm super into it. But yeah, I just I never did a grown up. Yeah. So it doesn't have the same connection like Joe and I are big supergrass. And that's that's another thing riding riding dirt bikes, our whole lives. The going back to the mental, you know what I mean? You're looking way out, you're not looking right here in front of the fender, you're looking further out. Because, you know, by the time you see it, you got to be able to react to, especially in the desert stuff, like I didn't have too much experience in the desert. But like, I can totally see what you're saying. Like I've talked to guys like, Max, Eddie, and you know, Baja champions on on motorcycles. And, you know, we got to hang out with Bray back a little bit on Saturday, like, the way that those guys perceive the terrain is completely different. And their physical ability to be able to move that quick as things approach is freaking wild. Yeah, the bike guys are a different breed. Like, my dad carted those guys are animals. You have you, like, have you seen how fast they go if you're been near them or anything like that when they're out there. So I got been the guys I pass the people that I passed when I'm out because they start hours ahead of us, okay, so like the way that the bikes work at that car is like first son, so like, they could really time it off of the sunrise. So like, first sun as soon as it's, you know, bright out, and they go, Oh, really, they'll do the liaison in the dark. And then boom, they go right after that. So like the guys that I'm passing are the people that I'm passing, you know, starting a couple hours later, are people that aren't going too fast? Yeah, where they had an issue or something or had an issue. Yeah, so those big dudes have some cut holidays do to be able to go that fast. It's so gnarly. I mean, you see some of the videos of them like going through sections and some of their get off that they have dude are so gnarly and pop up, and then they keep going and then they proceed for 10 more days felt like Gumby. I'm like yeah, we talked to Skyler house and we talked to him the other day. And he was like, Oh my God, dude. Like that guy is so gnarly. And he's just mellow. Like, yeah, he's a chiller. Yeah. And he acts like such a chiller and then you go out and you see what he's doing every day and stuff like that. And some of the time just throwing down there I did something wrong with you guys are insane because he goes that fast. So I kind of have two questions here but like I want to end with a question like do you plan to do like the T ones like the cars and stuff but did you ever think that side by side racing was going to be this crazy? No, I definitely I had no idea because I mean I started out I you know I don't I didn't have very much experience in the side by side you know, even with the little experience I've had in general like I started out in trucks. So I got started off with Trophy Truck specs. So I never really had any idea about how big this was you know and how competitive it was going to be and how the progression of it all I mean I can't em back then was what it is and now I can't even now is what it is now and it's the the progression that they've had is absolutely insane and the way that they work and everything that I do to those cars dude and they still keep going I like top performance do all those days it's insane to me it's pretty crazy and Joe you'll get along with this is like so Toyota Hilux is a T one class is that usually who does the best right and they got the different other cars like what Sebastian Loeb drives, I don't know what it is b rx. Like they're on a different level still, but to see the gaps kind of close up and to see that sometimes the side by sides can like cut through like little areas and stuff like Joe That's pretty amazing. It is it is and that's, you know, they're all wheel drive. They're light. They're maneuverable. Oh, and, ya know, like you said, the, the progression of the whole suspension and the steering and the brakes and, and they're fast. I mean they run good 200 horsepower, you know what I mean? And it's, it's pretty neat and it just keeps going. Yeah, totally. I figured it would, uh, there was a craze for a while and it would have kind of settled down. Just settling down. Yeah, it just keeps progressing. And I just just came back from Baja for the San Felipe 250. Yep. And the amount of UTVs that were there was insane. Mind blowing, and super high quality parts just as crazy. Go down there. Awesome. No, I didn't make it down there this year. I wasn't racing, so. And all you know what I was in Texas for that. For the ranch scramble. I was thinking why didn't I go down? Yeah, I was in Texas for that short horse race in the cam that was wild. How did you like that? Because I've been there. And I've helped out with that track and stuff. Like I actually liked the facility a lot. That whole that whole area was super sick. Yeah, like everything that they did there was sick. I've never tried short course before. I've never driven a car like that. I had never been that close to other people at the same time that many other people at the same time. You know, like completely different than anything I've ever done. And all I can say is I definitely want to try again. I want a little bit more practice before I try to go races, you know, the big boys out there. But it was a lot of fun. And I think you know, we did decent for my first time. So Joe knows a lot about short course. But like the adrenaline rush that you get going into like let's just say the first turn with the Miller brothers and like all those other cannamd factory guys did is pretty wild. Because Dude, you're like inches are hitting each other, like just never shut down. Yeah. Now there was one there was a heat race where I was with this one dude and a Honda and then Mitch and the Polaris. And I won the whole shot and they squeezed it on me and we all three boom, bounced off down the main straightaway. And I was like, I remember like the I had a spotter in the radio, you know? And he's like, just hold your line. Just hold your eye and just hold her on. And I was like, dude, boom, and we all just bounce the news. So gnarly. Yeah, that's crazy. It's like, way more way different of racing style, right? Because I think what would we used to call like, it was like MMA on four wheels while you were like that Lucas Oil stuff. And I missed those days though. That's cool that you got to experience it. You like it? Dude, I liked it a lot. I definitely I want to try it again. Like if we had another one of those especially out there if I got that track in Texas who was sick. That track is pretty sweet. Yeah. Cool. The way that they have it What about like, because it's a little bit more center because you gotta go up to jump super fast. And then like, sometimes you got to scrub or break. Like sometimes you got to hit the gas. Like how do you like all that stuff? Yeah, so like, it was definitely again, it was different. Yeah, my mind I might do just send it off these jumps like as hard as you can every time. And then we started doing like more practice laps more practice laps. And I'm like, oh, you know, if I scrub this one. Yeah, don't just land on the flat every single time that I might be able to get some more speed into this corner. Yep. So yeah, I was picking it up. Quick learner over here, Joe. Yeah. Dude, have you seen any of the new side by side racing they're doing it's almost like motocross like short course. I've seen some of that. Yeah, it's it's a lot of airtime. It's cool, though. It's super cool. What about like when you were going in and some of those corners and they give you? I don't know if they call it mobiles or oops, and side by side. But then you're going through the whoops, and it starts to upset the car. Like, how did you like feel about that off for me? I mean, that's fine for me. Like, I'm good with the whoops. Like that's a problem for me. Like that was the part where I actually knew what to do there is like, you know, we go because you got to kind of time it with your feet. Yeah, you got to like kind of try to skip across the top. Yeah. And yeah, so I mean, that was that was cool with me. But it's crazy. Because those cars are you know, they're this far off the ground. Yeah. So it was, it was pretty wild ride for a lot of them. But it was cool. And Lucas, I think our ride Heights had to be nine and a half inches is what it was. Yeah, we would do like, yeah, and we would do like 9.75 or something. And then because at the mud at the end of the race, they attack you again. And you were like barely squeezing that 9.5 or whatever it was. It was crazy, man. But it's way different on your body inside the car, because you're like, I don't know, it's was it more adrenaline for you? Or no, for sure. I mean, it's just it's, you know, it's, I don't know if scary is the right word, but it's it's nerve racking, you know, going into a corner with, like, 20 other cars around you and nobody's giving an inch like, nobody's gonna bail out of it, you know. So like, we're all going into this first corner. And as it was a little bit gnarly, did you get to go talk to any of your camp teammates like Hunter Miller or Cody Miller and get some pointers? Oh, yeah, I was with those guys the whole time. And like I tried, you know, I tried to get pointers, and they were super cool. And they wanted to help and stuff like that, because they knew that they were gonna smoke me so I didn't care. You know, give me some secrets and stuff like that. So yeah, I mean, I learned a lot from them too. Like, it was cool. It was cool. So yeah, I appreciate were you able to pick up on any of like, like corner entry and corner exit, and all that for sure. And you know what? really helped is my friend Andrew short was out there moto guy. He lives out in Texas and he actually came out because his son was racing one of the, like the kid classes the following week. And he took a lot of videos of like the millers, and like the dudes that were up front, and then he took videos of me coming around, and he's like, see duty, like, you're here, and you need to be here. These guys are out here on this corner, and you're here and stuff like that. So that really helped a lot. And I feel like, you know, shorty, obviously the Supercross guy. But I feel like he just do corner shape and things like that he had such a better understanding of that and showing me those videos and trying to kind of coach me through that, that helped. Dan, you can learn as the track progresses, right, like so if it's rougher or smoother, or wet or dry, or whatever it is. It's kind of crazy. Like, it brings me back to like my old short course days to like understanding where the apex is, are and where you can gain speed and stuff. I think that's cool that you learn that stuff, because I feel like that'll help you in that car stuff, too. Oh, for sure. I mean, there's some sections like again, like these rallies, they have a little bit of everything. So I mean, there's definitely some like, you know, road sections, where we're, you know, flipping it around some corners pretty good. And then I think that can't help or hurt. So it kind of reminds me, you and I and our buddies going to indoor kart tracks. Yep. And we try to chase you down and learn in lines and just focusing on you know, I mean, you get your lap times. Yeah. Okay. Well, I can do this different. Yeah, that's fun. We should do that, too. So Michael, we will schedule a side by side ride one of these days, but maybe we should schedule a k one speed day too. Good. Are you good? i That's another thing that I haven't done like I've done it when I was a kid. But I'd never ever since I started actually racing as a job I've never been Dude, we gotta get you out there that drive? Yeah, that might be a little bit more fun. So let's bring everybody out. We might not be able to bring like some of our old friends because our friends and he got aggressive did try to blow you out. Go into k one speed, man. Man, I miss some of these Arizona times. Yeah. So like talking about the side by side racing and blowing up? Like to get back to what I was asking you? Do you have ambitions to race in any other types of racing or any other classes? Um, yeah, I mean, for sure. I think that, you know, the natural progression of things would be eventually being a T one car. But honestly, right now I'm super happy with Ken Ham, I've got a really good relationship with the factory and everybody over at Ken Ham. So right now they're taking really good care of me. So I'm pretty happy where I'm at with them driving those cars. But you know, maybe one day, you know, a couple years down the road or something like that we can see if anything comes up some other guys, Toby musical and like his son, or his dad, like they want to come out and go to K one speed but they live in Australia. So they need a week's notice to get a fly. That would be fun. Um, well, as we talked about the same thing like a T one cars Michonne right there so fast, like in the trash trucks are super cool, like all these things. But when you look at the progression of side by sides, they're closing the gap, right? So and now you have cannamd coming out with a new car, they have the Pro RS pro pro R with a four cylinder. Who knows, man, maybe just keep the relationship going. And that gap will get close enough that you don't even need a T one car, right? Like you're already up at those speeds? Well, yeah. And that's, that's one thing. And then the other thing is, is like with the cams, and the T three and the T four class, I mean, if you look at the times from the last couple of cars were this is the most competitive classes or the UTV classes, you know. So like, I don't know, I feel like it's a little bit more in that way, like a driver's class, instead of just like who's got the most badass car, and you know, who can hold it together. And the time to be also crazy and stuff like that. I mean, like, we're all you know, we're all pretty consistently out there at the end of the day. So I feel like it kind of boils down to the driver and their ability a little bit more as well as the Navigator. You know, like in rallying, the navigator is a huge part of it. So I think that that's pretty cool about it. Like I'm super into that idea that like it's not just the car and you're not just blowing everybody's doors off because you've got a better car. Like we're all essentially in, you know, very similar cars, and it comes down to the driver and the Navigator. I feel like that's cool, though. Like, we never really had this opportunity and offer that we do in the last five years. Joe, like everything is coming together and blowing up to be something Well, good for everyone. For sure. For sure. Just like you didn't you mentioned earlier, the progression of the UTV industry. And in two years who knows what they're gonna be. Yeah, exactly. They've been progressing in the last five years is insane. So it's just you know what I mean? I always like I always liked the sequential gearbox of the Yamaha. I just hope that some of the other manufacturers throw in one of those bad boys dune because that definitely start cutting some of those gaps down like against like some of the bigger cars and stuff. We kind of talked about this a little bit, but I'd like to understand how you keeps you have such a busy schedule and you're getting pulled in a million different directions and it's not just like, you write everything down on on a calendar and you have this set day, they could tell you, you have to do something tomorrow and you have to adhere to it, right? Like how do you keep such a mindset that you're focused on the task at hand to be able to achieve these things, because we have a lot of kids or a lot of different racers that listen to this, that have to go to school, they have to their job, they have to work out, right, and all these different things to be able to achieve their goals. And I think having a mindset like yours would be very beneficial to them. For sure, I mean, you just gotta you gotta compartmentalize, you know, your, your priorities you got to do, you got to get done, what you got to get done. First off, you know, first and foremost, and then you got to stay focused. I mean, it's super important to stay focused, and make sure that you're doing the things that you need to do every day to be, you know, as as successful as you can possibly be. Right? And if that means that, you know, tomorrow, you have to fly to Tennessee to do a scramble event for Red Bull and go drive around the rocks, then I mean, you do or even if you just have your homework that's due tomorrow, it's more important thing. Yeah. I mean, you got to do what you got to do. And like, I think that everything that you do, like, whether it be your homework, or whether it be you know, for the kids out there taking out the trash and stuff like that, like, I don't know, I don't know how to say this, but like nothing is for no reason, right? Like everything that you do makes you either, you know, better or stronger, or somewhat more mentally switched on stuff like that. So I mean, you got to take everything for what it is, and just, you know, do the damn thing. Yeah, exactly. Well, that makes a lot of sense, too. And then you can't look, well, I guess you can look at far ahead, his planning goals and stuff like that. But you can't look like you're getting disappointed, right? Like, just because you had to do your homework doesn't mean that you can't do the other things to make it like you have a winning program. Joe, you said, you've seen it a bunch with the people that you work with, I mean, there's ups and downs all the time, all the time, all the time. And like I say, you got to be able to keep keep focused on the task at hand and get your responsibilities down. And then just like he like he often stated, it just progresses. And there's really no negative to it, right? Because you're learning taking out the trash, you're learning and each time you do it, you know, I mean, it's, you're doing it easier, it's better for you or or, you know, it's you're finding a different way to do it. That's, you know, it's just, if you have that mindset, and you're the kid like I know, like when you were a kid, and like Tyler and your guys's kids, like you figured out a way to take the trash out faster, for sure more efficiently so that you can get back to what you wanted to do. Yeah, exactly. And that's slightly like you said, it's just, it's just progression, you know what I mean? And so talking about all the family stuff, and like how you do learn and how we have all these people that are watching the show that and listening to the show in the future. You have a lot of support mechanisms around you. You have your fiance now, you have your family, you have your dad, you have all these people that support you with the team, all of that stuff is pretty important. How is it that? How do you deal with it? How do you negotiate all that stuff? Because there's a lot of people around you. Yeah, now that's super important. And that's been one of the biggest, I would say helps to my schedule, and my program and just my mindset in general is, I know that Yeah. Like my fiance, obviously is like my number one supporter, everything that I do, she's got my back. And if I tell her, you know, it sucks, it sucks having to leave for a month to go to Saudi Arabia every year and not spend New Year's at home for the last four years and stuff like that. So like, you know, she's been super cool and super helpful with everything. And like my number one fan, so that helps. And you know, I would say right up there. If not, you know, I think they fight for one and two, my mom, you know, like, she's, she's a big fan. Yeah, she's super into it. So I feel like, you know, it helps a lot when you're out there and your auto is on back and you just done a 500 Kilometer stage. And you've been in the car for nine hours or something like that. And you're on your way back and it's raining and it's dark and you're in Saudi Arabia and Gustavo is taking a nap. And I'm sitting here driving. And I'm like, you know, no matter what, like no matter how tough this is, right now, just you got to stick through and you got to get through it. Because when you get home you'll have all that you know all your support your family your love, compassion. Exactly, you know, like, it'll all be worth it. So like, Yeah, it sucks right now. Like this isn't earned on site. But this isn't ideal situation right now. Like, you know, I'd rather be doing something else at the moment. But if you can get through it, and you can try as hard as you can, then it'll feel so much better when you get home. And you don't have to do this every day. You know what I mean? That goes for full circle Joe, because you've traveled a lot as well. So you understand this like, when it comes back? That means that when you do spend the time with your loved ones or whoever it is that support you, your team your friends, that you dedicated to them and you're like giving back to all to all them. It's so much more valuable. It's amazing. You come home from a trip man and it's the level of support that they have. You don't I mean, show you it's just yeah, that's a huge part of Yeah, like I'm glad you brought that up because that's a huge part of my you know, my mindset and like It helps me be motivated. And I think it helps my performance is that like, I just think like, you know, like, never really get down. Because if you get down, then whatever, but like you, all you got to do is get through these 1415, you know, days, and you're gonna try as hard as you possibly can, because then you're done. And then you get to go home. And then you get to, you know, be around the people that you love. And you know what I mean, and be stoked that you're home and stuff like that. So stick it out, try your best. And then when you get home, you'll feel really good. And you'll be able to enjoy being home and feel like you didn't leave anything on the table when you're out there. Absolutely. I agree with that. 100%. And then you're also giving back to them too, because as much as you're focused on the task at hand, or you're focused on preparing for the next event, or whatever it is, you have to also understand that you're taking away from your loved ones as well. So they're still supporting you during that time. So when you get back, if you give them you know, all of that energy that you didn't before, it means a lot to them to offer. Sure. Yeah. And it's and it provides for, you know, the love and support that they show to you. Makes it easier for you to go to the next event. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it just keeps on recycling itself. You know what I mean? So it's, it's pretty slick. Yeah, it is pretty cool. All right. So we're gonna kind of start like winding the interview down a little bit here. But like, what kind of advice or like, what is the main things that you think are part of your success that you can express to some of the younger kids or maybe somebody that hasn't even raised that wants to go raise kind of stuff that we've been talking about, like, I mean, you know, your mental your, your mindset is like, the number one thing, like, You got to have a good mindset, too, you got to be dedicated enough to go out there and you got to train and you got to practice and you got to learn the things that make you a good racer, whether it be you know, out there driving and whether it be mechanics, you need to learn that kind of stuff. Yep. Three, just be focused, you know, like, if once you lose focus as fast as we're going and as hard as it is to read terrain, and you know, the things that we're doing, if you lose focus, then you're done. Yeah, like, you're gonna start knocking off tires, you're gonna, you're gonna get lost, you're gonna crash, probably most of the time, you're gonna crash, and it's gonna suck. So you got to stay focused. You got to be able to, you know, like, keep focus, and then just have good people around you and try your hardest and, you know, don't be a deck. Yeah, exactly. Don't be a deck. Exactly. And I agree with that. 100% I think the mental thing is, is always be happy man. Because like you're out there doing something that you love you whether it's racing on 170, or racing, a trophy truck, or IndyCar like all of this started because of your, in all of our love for off road. So you're still getting to go out and play in the dirt. So make sure that you understand that and all the people that support you. They're out there helping you not, not anything else. So alright, we're gonna do some rapid fire q&a stuff. But before we do that, let's give a shout out to some of the people that do help you like you're talking about. Yeah, big shout out to Red Bull. Obviously, you know, these guys have been amazing, my hope throughout the last couple of months that we've been working together and really looking forward for a long and nice relationship with them. Ken Ham, obviously you know, I've been getting really good caretaking me by Ken and for the last couple of years. And that's by far the best side by side you can possibly get in when that new car comes out and it's gonna be sick. I can't wait to see what they do. Yeah, it's gonna be sick. So yeah, shout out to everyone over at Ken Ham shout everyone over at Red Bull. Mo tool. Those guys, they've been sponsoring the team for a while best oils in the game. KMC wheels just went over and picked up some fresh leads the other day, everyone over there. I was super chill. You get to play with any of the RC cars in the office. I didn't play with any of them. But like I walked through all the office, and I saw everything that they got going on there, dude, it's wild. Some of the stuff that they're doing over there. It's cool, right? And you see all the posters, one of these days, we got to get your poster on the wall. I know, I know when to send them on over BFG tires. We switched to them this year. And it's been crazy. I mean, 14 days to the gnarliest rocks ever, you know, basically in the world. And I got two flats, and I pretty much deserved both of them. So it's a big shout out to them. And yeah, I mean, everybody that sponsors me and the team. It's big shout out to South racing, all the mechanics. I mean, I always say I and I'll say it again, I'm just the guy that holds the wheel and pushes the pedals. You know, without the whole team of mechanics and everybody that goes into it. We wouldn't even be here. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to do anything. So I Big shout out to all the mechanics, the team owner, Scott Abraham. Gustavo, obviously, Gustavo has probably changed my driving more than really anybody ever like mindset wise how chill he is. I really learned a lot from him and then just driving in general and mindset. Because Gustavo has, you know, been huge for us and you know, getting eighth in that car to getting first at that car. So, big shout out to Gustavo, for everything that he does and really just everybody that helps out. I appreciate it a lot. And don't think that I don't because I really do. Yeah. And like you said before to like, your family and everybody Yeah, yeah. Well, they already got some time. Yeah, they got some that was. So yeah, obviously family. What's up Rossi? How are you? Yeah, she's proud of you too, for all your achievements and being so humble. That's one of the things that I think is, is so cool. Actually. Do you have any more questions for AJ, I was gonna, he mentioned something earlier, when you're like shouting these vast lands like that car and some of that stuff. You're out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of nowhere. And you're obviously you're not wheel to wheel with somebody know, you're out there by yourself. You don't see anybody for hours? How do you? How do you just I will keep focused in. And that's so hard, because like when you're out there, that's when everybody starts losing time. It's like when you don't have anybody to chase after you can't see that you're getting closer and anybody and you can't see you're getting further away from Correct. Does that does that start playing mind games with you? Yeah, like you, we call it falling asleep, you start falling asleep a little bit, and then you just get slower and slower and slower, and then you'll get back and these guys that were basically together all day, they have so much better time than everybody that was by themselves because they were chasing themselves. Yeah, and I really just the best way to combat that is, you know, be aware of that be aware of what I just said, like, you're gonna go slower, and you're gonna start to lose focus and just like go to sleep and kind of like way off a little bit. So I would say the best way to you know, fix that is have that in your head, like, I'm not around anybody. I've been around anybody for three hours, I'm probably, you know, taking a lot off right now. And then what I could do. So you got to also think about that at the same time as I got hired, I should probably step it up, because there's probably a lot more on the table right now. So do you try to push? Or do you start pushing automatically and not even know trying to look for that dust? Kinda Yeah, so that's the other thing is like, we're, if I could get up to this guy, if I could get up to this guy. And that goes into the strategy of knowing who's in front of you what time they started, and how far away approximately they are ahead of you and stuff like that. So you're like, dude, if I can catch this guy in this number, you know, 305, or something like that? If I catch that guy, that guy started six minutes ahead of me, well, then I know I'm pretty solid, you know? And especially if that guy is good, and like leading, or you know, in the top three or something like that, and you're like, alright, like, you know, we're doing good today. That's kind of crazy, though, because you always have a carrot to chase, right? Like there was a lot of times on the endurance, like athletic stuff that we were doing, like the Ironman or the long distance bicycle races, where you'd be out for like, 30 miles on your own. Yeah, like have nothing. And the only thing you could gauge was off your heart rate, your cadence of how your faster your pedaling, and then potentially your speed, but your speed didn't matter that much. Because you didn't know how fast everybody else was going. You just knew how much your motor was pumping to be able to go. So you didn't just like it's so hard. Yeah, it's, that's it's so hard to do. Because I got a couple of times I've been caught out and like you get back to the bivouac. You look at the times, and you're like, oh, wow, I got smoked today. You know, I could just because you were by yourself all day, you had no idea like you thought that you were going at a good pace. But then you get back and you're like, Man, I fell asleep like I was by myself off. That's wild to think right? What would be the move then Joe? Like as a as a co driver? I don't know. I you know, it's just try to capitalize on that there is no dust to work with. You know what I mean? But at the same time you don't you know, like you said you end up falling asleep and, and slowing down. Without even knowing it. Yeah, even if you think you're going fast. You may not Yeah, that's the thing about do that is so crazy. Are there any other any other things that you wanted to ask AJ before we get into the rapid fire house, kind of really the only thing I can think of that was a crazy quick Okay, how about this? What question would Tyler ask AJ? If he was sitting here? Oh, T bone. He would probably just want to know how's it feel when you get that? That trophy top dog? I mean, that's that's, I mean, that's the goal. That's that makes it all worth it. That makes all the Blood Sweat Tears times, you know, dirt in the mouth, like everything emotional. Oh, yeah. Honestly, it is. Like, I don't know because like the first Docker when my second Docker when obviously both emotional but I don't know. Like, I almost felt like the second year. This was some of the stuff that kind of went on before the race. It almost felt a little bit better like it. It felt crazy. You know? So you I'll tell you what, sitting here in Arizona, watching you live on a computer when you're over there, dude, it's like a wreck. Yeah, I'm frickin fired up. You're watching the laptop. So it's gotta be emotional. Gotta be huge. For sure. Yeah, no, it's definitely it's a lot. You know, it's hard not to like when you're standing up there and they hand you you know, the trophy and you're sitting there and fireworks going off and the dude ends the trophy and you're like, holding it. Like we did it. You know, like, This is crazy. How long does it take to sit in it? That's a funny thing too. It takes a while because like, everyone is so happy and everyone's like, yeah, congrats, congrats, congrats and like, I'm like, Yeah, thanks. But you know, I had just been fully focused switched on insane person for the last 1514 days, you know? Yeah, like your brain is not there yet. No, yeah, like, I'm ready to go do another day tomorrow. Like I'm thinking about I need to go to sleep, and I need to get as much sleep as possible and try to eat as much as possible for the next day. Yeah. And then it hits you like kinda when like, usually, like a few days after you get home, if not on the airplane on the way there and it's like, Ah, okay, like, we're done. Like, I'm off work, I just punched out like, and then not only that, but you know, we did it, we achieved the goal, like the ultimate goal, obviously, is to win, you know, and so when you get that, it's like, that's a great question. Joke is like, awesome. So humble about it. Like, I can just see him like, he gets a text from his fiancee, or his mom or his dad or whoever, like when he's on his way back. And he's like, Oh, wow, this is pretty meaningful. Now I get to like, when I step off the plane, I get to share it with the people I love. Yeah. And that's Yeah, and I'm so stoked about that, you know? Yeah. That's so crazy. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's the same thing with like, Istanbul has been switched on from 14 1516 days. Yeah, it takes a while to turn that thing off. You don't I mean, a couple two, three days later now you're like wow, yeah, that's so cool. Is there a first thing that you want to do like you know, when they say oh, you won the Superbowl now, are you going to Disneyland? Like, is there something that you're like, Alright, when I get back home I'm going to Cali tacos on in Glendale or whatever, like, like, what's your move? Yeah, so like, that's funny you say that because we eat so like we eat such different things over there and stuff like that. So the first thing I always want to do is I want to go over here to Federico is just because it's close and it's got a drive thru and I want to get the biggest burrito I possibly can. What's your choice? Okay, so they don't have like a proper California burrito over here which is kind of a bummer but they have an Arizona burrito. Oh, it's pretty good. And it's about the same realistically. There you go. So yeah, I was I was caught that burrito and then I honestly I just want to hang out at home for a little bit. I go to dinner, run my beach cruiser around. About it hanging that's the life man I could get along with that pretty easily. Yeah, it's not so bad Mexican food and beach cruisers. I think we need to hang on awesome. Sounds like it's too bad. All right, well, yeah. So first and foremost thanks for you know having us at the shop and taking the time I know your schedule is stacked I'm going to do the rapid fire a little different Joe's done it before but my ask you the question first and then we're going to give it to Joe right after too. So all right. Rapid Fire q&a with Austin Jones and Joe whining. tacos or hot dogs tacos. Joe tacos or had tacos for sure. Oh, this one's really funny. So this came from one of Jeremy with grass mechanics. How do you spell SILC? Si Okay, what does the cow drink milk? Joe How do you spell so? Si LK what does the cow drink couldn't tell you I guess Yeah. You can you can throw it on somebody else like see if you can throw it on your fiance tonight and see if she knows he told me and I was like do you and I messed it out too. Like I totally got it wrong too. Well, I had I had a buffer because he screwed it up on my way to chicken or a SATA. SATA. Joe Asana Asana doing to the river. Dunes for me. Yeah doing that. You see I've I haven't ever spent much time in the rivers. I really don't know. Not a big river guy. action shots or still shots. I like action shots. Yeah. I prefer action. Let's see. Oh three wheeler or quad three wheelers, too. Big death machine guy. Three wheelers. Three wheelers are you going with in those old Honda's? Right? I mean, which one like the 200 Extra like the little ATC ones. Man. I mean, the little ATC ones seem a little bit more my style. Campfire racing. Exactly. Pizza Rolls or jalapeno poppers. That's a tough one did I think helping your hoppers Did you Did you ever do these questions as you are now? I don't know if I've gotten these exact ones but I know you did a couple okay on a session or to do before but these are a little bit different. Okay. I think we updated them because somebody gave me some new ones. So all right, if I do one sorry again, but I have to say the pizza rolls. Big pizza. Oh good. Are you dipping in like ranch or what do you ranch? Jalapeno. Depends on jalapeno. Sure. Yeah. Pretty spicy. Coffee or tea? Big coffee guy. What do Joe I say Coke or Pepsi? Definitely coke. Did you know that about Joe? Oh yes, I did have witnesses coke and sunflower seeds all day. You still do some flowers. She's yours much like if I'm gonna lie. On road trip, maybe yeah, just keeping me keeps me giving me something to do. I'm driving you know exactly. All right. I don't remember what your answer was if we already asked you this, but what's your favorite movie? Awesome. I like super bad dude. I'm a big super bad guy, but really just for some reason that one always gets me Are you throwing lines super bad lines out there when you're with your homies a lot of the time. Yeah. What about you, Joe? You know, I I'd have to say probably Wedding Crashers Wedding Crashers a good one reminds me a little friend he used to have his name was John VIERA. Yeah. And I him and I just used to do some domes. It was just part of growing up. It's fun, you know, like Wedding Crashers. I forgot what they were doing in the hiking sequence like blue 4242 that he just gets cleaned out. Instagram or Facebook? Instagram for me, big Instagram guy. How about you, Joe? We know you have a social media expert. I think she was watching earlier. Oh, yeah. I'm sure she was, you know, Instagram. You the kids know about Instagram? Is they have their account? Yeah. Oh, sweet. Oh, yeah. If you could have any superpower, Austin, what would it be? Probably to fly. I think that'd be so sick. Yeah, that would be super cool. What about you, Joe? To not stress chill out to chill out. Relax. I feel you guys. So everybody's like a lot of people like road racers pick flying, but I always pick you have you seen that movie jumper where he like can teleport or whatever he like, pops up. Like that's my jam. That would be rad. I'm thinking about the jumper thing because then I could just go eat like, I don't know, some Italian food and Italy. Yeah. And I could just come back and just chill and Phoenix bounce back. Yeah. Netflix or YouTube? Netflix. Joe, I think I'd have to go with YouTube. Yeah, I'm kind of a big YouTube guide lately to actually like that actually brings up a good point, I'd like to ask your guy's opinion, because we're going to talk about some of the media stuff. I have to do a podcast with Mad media on Thursday. And we're going to talk about some of the media stuff. And I think it's really cool that we now have opportunities to be able to share a lot of the off road stuff that we do now by putting starlings on trucks and getting the in cars and stuff. What do you guys feel about that stuff? I mean, I think that any type of broadcasting and any type of footage and stuff that we can get out there to people that aren't necessarily as into it as we are, I think, how could it hurt? You know, very much like the f1 thing. Now Netflix, I feel like that, like I'm addicted to it, honestly. Yeah, the more the merrier. You know, I mean, just, you know, just just last year here at the finish of the Baja 1000. There Was there an incident and it was a cruise ship that it came in. And a husband and wife from Canada had came up and started talking to me and he had no clue what we were doing with these cars or what. Yeah, they just came to see the beach in Mexico. Exactly. And we talked for like a half hour and they were stoked. Yeah, really were. They were just like, oh my god, we're gonna go look at this on YouTube. And, and they were just, the more we can bring it into the the world population. That's just better. That's exactly what like, no, like, I'm not saying I'm the guy. But that's exactly what my heart and my goals have been like, just with this little show dirt life and like all these different things that we're trying to do with media is to be able to walk into Walmart and like those, say, three to five years, and just be like, Hey, did you guys see the Baja for 1000? Did you guys see that car? And they're like, Oh, I've missed it instead of what are you talking about, bro? Yeah, what is that? Yeah. Yeah. Like, I would love to be able to just walk in there and like, have it be like that. I mean, like, that would be so cool to see you one day like doing that same thing, right? Like at Home Depot, just like supporting your sponsors. And showcasing what off road is in front of a Home Depot. I think that'd be so rad. It would be sick. Yeah. All right. So let's see here. videos or photos, videos, videos, big video guy, most memorable race, most memorable race for me. And it doesn't even have to be like a winning race. It can be one that you were just like, zoned in or whatever. Honestly, like probably one of my favorite racing memories other than like, Dakar wins and stuff like that. Because that kind of trumps everything, but I won the 2019 San Felipe 250 With my dad riding with me. Oh, that's cool. That was pretty rad. That was a good one. Was it a stressful one? Or is it like just have you ever met the most stressful race ever? But now it was cool. A little bit stressful. It was a big battle honestly. And yeah, we got it done. Were you battling with that race? It was Sarah and Sarah price. Oh, right. Oh, yeah. Sarah was dude she was ripping that year. Yeah, guys, just like back and forth. She was behind me the whole time. But like I was getting splits and stuff that she was like on her way. So I remember I had to keep on like pushing, pushing, pushing and stuff like that. So that was that's probably my most memorable one with him riding with me. It's Kinda crazy how things get like how they progress because now she's your cameo teammate. Like, I know while Yeah, it's a trip. It's not. Do you have about list Joe? Do you have a most memorable race with John's family? With his father? Yes, him and him has a Jesse Jones and myself. We've worked together for 11 years. Yeah, recently. There was a bunch of good races from them, you know, but together, I would have to say it was a it was a Baja 1000 I don't remember what year I'm gonna say 17 I'm you're under spec truck with a Thunderstruck with rice weighing. Yeah. 1818. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And so that was like when you were really beginning. And he was he was back and forth was a gentleman by the name of Ilyas Hannah. And her battle and all night long and finally, and he knows Maha to. Austin got in and they were still there in probably 300 miles before the finish. Austin was able to stretch a bigger lead. And it was just it was cool. Just like you were just like, dude, I'm dropping the hammer. I'm going for it. Yeah, yeah. No idea what was going on. I'm like, I'm just gonna listen to Duncan. Jason Dugu was riding with him. Yeah, I'm gonna listen to Duggan. That's a good guy to listen to. Yeah, I would say it was cool. Because his dad and in all of his work to finish when when AJ came around the corner, and it's just it, it's a big feat just to finish the race. Yeah, you know what I mean? And he was able to do in true fashion. That's good. That's cool, man. How did you feel after that? Were you smoked? Yeah, I remember. I was super smoked to that race. And yeah, it was hard. And like, obviously, you feel good, you know? I don't know. It's a big feeling of accomplishment. But yeah, it was toasted after that. Is that like one of those you get done with it? And you're just like, Yeah, dude, I need a frickin burrito. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Dude, that's crazy. I love the memories. Like I'm sure like we should like one of these days is like, maybe if your dad wants to do one too. And just like have like, go like a walk down memory lane. Because that would be super cool. Like one time we did. storytimes with Rob So Rob from warfighter made and Robyn Catherine. Dude, it was so rad like the stories that he has, like, and I'm sure you guys have the same stories with your dad and with with Joe and like, I mean, even just growing up like and those stories are just, they I love that, ya know, it's it's a huge part of it. Let's see here. Oh, this is a good one. Actually. What's your favorite snack but in the race car? Peanuts all day? All day? Um, like a specific one like hot peanuts. Like just regular like during in the race car and just regular, you know, salt boys or something like that. But like outside hot boys. Yeah, there you go. Joe, what are you doing in the race car? 90%. Now the only time I ever do it is Snickers bars in the race car. Yeah, it's got you know, chocolate and sugar and salt, Pinot peanuts and kind of got a variety of everything and just keeps you going. Alright, so what's the favorite snack actually, just like after you, because you're probably not trying to eat peanuts after you're done with the race? No, no, I'm trying to. I'm trying to get whatever I can get my hands on after the race. Like for some reason whenever I exercise like that, I'm always like chicken or meat like after the race like give me some good. It's funny that you say that though to the reason the main reason I asked these questions about this is like so I think two years ago we were doing all the pits and video and stuff for Craig Scanlon and his team and we went to a pit like it was down kinda in the south, like by Loretto or something like it was way down there. And it was like right at the end, like the last stint that they had to finish the 1000. And the only thing that we had left because all the crew guys ate all the hamburgers and stuff was a granola bar and I went to go give him a granola bar. And he slaps on my hand. He goes fuck, you give me some meat. And I was like, Oh, I now I get it because he's so hungry because he's lost all of his potassium and all his protein and stuff like yeah, and then so somebody finally found him a hamburger. And that was like, like, did if we gave him peanuts? No way. Yeah. Like he's always all about it. That's so crazy that everybody has such a different mindset on it. Supercross and motocross Supercross for me. I like the outdoors. Yeah. Big outdoor guy. Let's see here. What other form of racing? Would you like to try it? Yeah. I've never done anything on asphalt before. So I would like to at least try that. And some cool cars. That would be really cool. That would be cool. Yeah. So I would like to try anything on the asphalt. How precise Do you think you can get your driving skills because asphalt is completely different type of racing? Yeah, it would be way different. But honestly, I mean, definitely you wouldn't need a couple of years you know, a couple years of practice. But yeah, I mean, I think that when it comes down to it to be really fun try at least Yeah, I think the level of patience is different to Yeah, like with that stuff. Have you ever done any like helping support or done the asphalt racing yourself, Joe because I've I've done a little bit and It's It's pretty intense. I mean, the thing I would like to be more involved in is drifting. Yeah, those guys are pretty impressive. That's pretty gnarly. Of course those guys go well, yeah. Where they're putting the cars and at the speeds, it's their trail, you know? I mean, it's pretty neat. Yeah. And they're driving with the rear of the car. So it's like, even worse, right? Yeah. It's like those people that can ride their bicycles backwards standing on the handlebars, like, wow, there it is. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder like, would you rather do like, I don't know what you want to call like SCCA or like IndyCar or like actual drift stuff, because there's a massive difference. I don't I think Indy cars would be like that would be that'd be pretty sick. I'd be sick. Yeah. Have you seen that? I forgot what they call it. I think it's called Formula E or something that was like prototype cars that are battery power. Yeah, the electric cars those are sweet as those things I just don't know how it would be like to not hear a motor. Yeah, they sound weird. Like they've got that it sounds like a Tesla. Yeah, like all of us off road guys. Like drive with the seat of our pants in the sound right? Like so. Like, I wonder how it would be a bit like do a different use earplugs or no, no. But in my helmet, I've got like literally like a pair of these. Okay, so it's like nice and quiet. Let's see here. Oh, speedboat or dragster. dragster. How about you Joe? Track Sure. dragster guys, we just did all that stuff with John forest the other day or John Forces team the other day that was really cool to see him. And I don't know, like I looked at the inside of the cockpit of one of those things. I don't think I could fit in some of those. They're so tiny. Like, and they have all this like sheet metal protection. Like you just like, have this little window. Yeah, that's scary. And they go a million miles an hour and like, so fast. All right, so the last question of the night chips and guacamole or french fries and ketchup, chips and guac from me. I'll take I'll take the fries and ketchup. You're gonna take fries and ketchup. Yeah, Cindy is not gonna be happy with you. Yeah, she knows I'm not down for the guacamole. What about the kids? When will they take guacamole? For sure. How about the fiance what she taken? Do that's what we should do. So we'll have Storytime with the Jones. And then we'll also do that like, remember do you ever see those dating shows where you see how many how much they know about each other? Before you guys get married. All right, cool, man. And then you already gave a shout out to all your sponsor. So I appreciate it. Man. If you don't got anything left, Joe. Nice. No thanks. Thanks for Thanks for having us, man. Oh, of course. Thank you guys for coming down. Thanks for showing us the workshop here. That's pretty neat. You guys got some really cool things in the works. That's neat. Yeah, it is. And I like the progression man. Like I said, we're addicted to progress. And I really like where you're going with everything that you're doing. Because you're not just focusing on you're racing, you're focusing on helping off road, growing these vehicles helping other people like there's a bunch of stuff that's part of your mindset and the things that you're living and I love to see that man, so it's cool. All right, so if you guys want to follow Austin Jones, it's AJ Jones. 79 AJ Jones period 79. Okay, just popups on Instagram and you can also look at the dirt life. We posted some stuff with him as well and just go following him. You can follow Joe with the J tech site. Yep, the J take Instagram. Do you know what it is? Gay tech motorsports J tech motorsports on Instagram. Check it all out. He can help you if you need any services for your side by side as well to thank you guys very much for joining the show. We really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your Monday nights. You can always go check out the sponsor deals page on the dirt life show.com You can get some sponsorship advice you can get deals on all of with from all of our sponsors, like the guys over at Motul shock therapy, Max's tires, KMC wheels, JL Audio evolution power sports Zoolander racing products, Vision canopies and cryo heat. Man, it was just cool to hang out. Awesome. We wish you all the luck in the future and can't wait to see on the podium again. Thank you. Thank you guys for coming out. And thanks for having me on. I had a good time. Yeah. So what's next on the on the agenda for reason. Sonora? So round three of the World Championship, the Rally Championships coming up? What do you how do you feel about that being under normal? Pretty much in our own backyard. I feel good about it. Yeah, this is your hometown right here. Yeah, that's, I feel like I'm one of the only people that has ever actually you know, been down there before one of the only car guys I know a lot of bike guys have are racing that a racer before but I feel like I'm one of the only car guys that's actually you know, spent some time down there and stuff like that. And this This is a five day event or Yeah, this one will be five and I think there's a prologue day so six but prologue will only be you know, a couple kilometers. You know, who's racing that with you or like against you? Um, I would assume honestly, the same people that are, you know, in the World Championship, all my teammates and then yeah, I mean, you know, the regular players. It's, it's a full FIA championship events. Everyone will be there. No, it'd be cool for America to be able to go down and see two for sure. And this is the first year for the FIA to Do they sit here and listen or rally? Yeah, so they they've had the scenario rally for a couple of years. But it was never part of the actual the World Championship calendar and this year I think that they wanted to make it like a proper World Championship. So they added a race in North America. And yeah, the Sonora was perfect for it. Yes. Cool as because that's gonna bring all the all the all the big guys over in the Europeans. Exactly. And it's a trip because everyone, most people are flying here in the Phoenix. Yeah, it's it's so weird that like all these people that I see only in Saudi Arabia or Europe, or you know, Dubai or something like that. They're all going to be in Phoenix, Arizona. So like, people are hitting your backyard. Yeah, people were hitting me up like crazy asking me stuff. And I'm like, I didn't I could just come on over. Come on over. Awesome. You got a room for rent. That's pretty cool. Maybe you should show him that get the best burrito shops. Oh, for sure. Yeah, now we're gonna have some fun, right? Yeah, the race will be super cool. And hopefully we can get a good result and get some good points for the champion. I think it would be cool. So I'm going to look at that. Do you know when it is because I want to look at that and see if the dirt life can go down there maybe? Yeah, cool to go check it out. The first day is either the 22nd or 23rd. I gotta I gotta look at the proper squat is coming up pretty quick. Yep. Yep. So next next Sunday, I think is the first day How did the cars get here? Do they fly? Like okay, so a lot of the time the you you put them on a boat, and then like the organization will ship them over. But if for some reason you don't make the boat or something like that, and then they find you missed the boat. Yeah, exactly. He missed the boat, but they'll put them on like underneath like 740 sevens like that really? In the belly of them, too. That's why do they ship them assemble? Or do they have to assemble? Yeah, they ship them assembled. I mean, they can't fly him with batteries and um, and they can't find with fuel and um, QUESTION Yeah, it's a hazard and stuff but are they like rolled in Are they are they in a box there? I think they'll create them. Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah, so that's going to be wild because like like you were saying like, that's why oh is and stuff like that, like Nasser's car is going to be in the belly of a 747 I just think like the trash trucks are Mazur. Oh, yeah. And that too. I mean, those guys might have to hit the boat. Yeah, I was gonna say that'd be that'd be if they don't make it. They just don't make it. That'd be a big airplane. Yeah. That's kind of crazy. All right. Well, I appreciate everything that that you guys are doing for the off road community and wish you the best in the future, dude. Thank you, man. Thanks, Joe. Appreciate it, man. Thank you. All right. Thank you guys very much for watching. We will see you guys next time.