Nightcap Hour 1: Unc & Ocho react to Coach Prime getting surgery + Bubba Wallace joins the show

23:35Maybe they'll pay it up.

23:36Shannon Sharpe:If I'm not mistaken, Ocho, they said this incident happened earlier. So I don't know if it happened, say, in the offseason. It happened at some point in time during the season. Obviously, there was a fracturing where they like, bro, you need the surgery. He says no. It seems like he said no. Maybe they wanted a second opinion. He didn't want to get a second opinion. Because here's the thing. you could you could like okay you got a torn ACL and the doctor said well you need to get this so he's like nah I'm gonna let it heal on its own you can do that I wouldn't advise it but you can do it they tell you to go get a second opinion Ocho you can do that and both doctors say the same thing you say nah I'm good I wouldn't advise it but you can do that I don't I don't get why he wouldn't considering he had guaranteed money.

24:33Shannon Sharpe:He had$35 million coming to him that was guaranteed. So he was at, I could see Ocho, if I didn't have guaranteed money coming in, if there was a situation like, nah bro, I need to get on the field. But he got guaranteed money. And so they said, nah, it's not healing like it's supposed to. You need to have another surgery. Right. I just don't, I don't get that. That's what's being reported. Now, we don't know what's true or not, but look, the truth is somewhere in between this box. Yeah. Yeah. Between the kiss on the forehead, the second opinion, they want them to have they want to have surgery again.

25:09Shannon Sharpe:Something. The truth is somewhere in here. Oh, Joe, we just don't know where it's at. But we think the truth is somewhere in this box. Well, listen, what you can do is you can hear the situations. Right. And it's like having a puzzle piece. All right. We got we got good pieces to the puzzle. And you can just fill out the rest of the puzzle based on the actions that have happened and what you hear. So, obviously, you missed games last year, okay? Yeah. Well, I think you only played five games, Ocho. I think you got hurt after the fifth game. Okay. Listen, all right, we're going into a new season.

25:39You're still not healthy. You might have only got a second opinion. Maybe your second opinion said, you know what, you need to just relax and let it heal on its own. Maybe the team said, well, you need to get surgery. So, again, now we're going into another season. You missed so many games last year. Now the season rolling around again. You're still not healthy. You're not on the field. they see you on camera dancing around you know having fun and doing doing stuff that's that's not for one helping the team two that's not helping yourself and three what we're paying you millions of dollars to do you're not earning that you're not earning that you're not gonna do that on our time or our clock right and so they made a business decision yes i agree um i'm looking

26:22Shannon Sharpe:at like like i said if he's in the last year of his contract he doesn't have this guaranteed money and he thinks like, hey, I get it. I totally get it. But he got what he had already got, like$49 million. He got another seven coming this year. And then guess what, Ocho? He got another 25, 27 coming the following year. So he's protected. That's why guys want these guaranteed contracts, Ocho, so I can be protected, not just for one year, but for multiple years. So I get it.

26:57Shannon Sharpe:but if the report is what chef is saying is true, right? I just don't know when this started taking place guys. Like I said, Hey, look, Oh, like I said, Oh, we ain't look, I don't put, I don't put more to, I don't go through so many tubes of toothpaste, putting toothpaste on the guys during training camp. Cause I know all he's going to do is just walk out the door and pull it shut. He ain't going to look back at it. He just going to grab it and got him. I don't pour so much alcohol and lit it on fire. and up under the door. Yeah, we play pranks like that. But we know, look, you ain't, don't touch a man's, you know.

27:33Shannon Sharpe:Boy, I saw somebody almost got the brakes beat off him. He took his hair, he took his brush, took the dude's brush and combed his pubic, brushed his pubic hair with it. With his brush? And put it back. Okay, see, see, people don't play now. Man, it ain't nothing but a brush. It ain't that serious. people don't play the way you play everybody don't play like that and you need to understand that cause you dealing with like I said I just don't get it I just like I said I grew up at a time where men didn't play men rarely didn't play at all I remember my grandfather and them telling no jokes like I said we told a story with my brother I just sat down with him about somebody made a joke about my grandfather's teeth.

28:23Shannon Sharpe:My grandfather was driving off. He had his teeth, he had his false teeth. They were sitting on the dash. And got a, Mr. Barney, don't let your teeth run away. And my grandfather put that car in reverse, stopped that car and got out. He said, don't play. He said, I'm old enough to be your dad. He said, don't play with me. He said, I'm a grown ass man. He said, find somebody to play with. And I'm not him.

28:53Shannon Sharpe:Man, probably about five six years before we spoke. My grandpa, because, you know, all people should go get the gas station, get that full service, Ocho. Yes, sir. You know what I'm saying? They ain't pumping their all gas. Right. Hey, because you did the windows, and you know what I'm saying, Ocho? You did the windows, got the windows all night. They still do that in Jersey, huh? Oh, they do that? Yeah, they do that in Jersey. Okay. Man, and so I'm surprised. surprised, I'm really surprised that in today's society that allegedly what Christian Wilkins did, I mean, because he, like I said, there are some things that like, and photos that surfaced, and I don't know, it might be AI, it's hard to say, hell, I done got the way, I don't really believe nothing on the internet anymore, because I don't even know if it's real Ocho or if it's AI, because AI have, you know, got an alligator riding a horse, so I don't even know what to believe anymore Ocho but I'm just saying guys stop playing so much all these people in pranks and all this stuff and you see people walking up and they trying to prank somebody and they doing all this stuff yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah come on come on now you gonna get yourself hurt and the first thing somebody's family gonna say they didn't have to do him like that or they didn't have to do her like that.

30:21Shannon Sharpe:No, you didn't have to play like that. People, everybody don't play the same. Somebody gonna let y 'all have it. So just stop, just stop. Like you said, Ochoa, that's a total stranger. You don't know them from Adam. And I know some, I know I got great friends, but we know how to play and we know what to say when we play, you know, certain things. There are certain things that's off limits, and you understand that. That's a total stranger you did it with. Go ahead, Ocho. You always know what line not to cross. You know your friends. You always know what buttons to push. You know what buttons not to push.

30:58You know what line not to cross. And there's great understanding with that when it's someone that you've been friends with for a very long time. Correct. When it's somebody new, like you're on a new team, a teammate that you don't know that well outside of that building, there's certain things you can't do. You can't conduct yourself, you know, the way you conduct yourself with somebody known 20, 25 years.

31:22Shannon Sharpe:That's why you go in a new environment. You sit back and you observe. Yeah. Okay, I can joke with him. Can't joke with him. Or I can say something like this to him. Yeah. Can't say that to him. You got to read the room. That's why you observe. Give yourself a month or two, three months. excuse me to observe and see who you can and can't play with yeah who you can talk to who you can make joke with who you can do certain things to you just need to be observant because being a locker room because you got a lot of different backgrounds don't you people come from a lot of different areas i mean the social economic background the different religions the different ideology how somebody was raised yeah you don't know what the trigger is you just don't want to be the one to pull it right so i i'm sorry the the young man but uh uh hopefully they get this resolved because he's extremely talented he can play oh yeah he's gone to the pro bowl he can play yeah he can rush the pass he's tremendous against the run um i it seems to me that he really enjoys the game sometimes i think he enjoys it too much but this i just like i said we don't know Schefter's reporting that this incident did happen, but he's saying that's not the sole reason of why they chose to go in this direction.

32:48Shannon Sharpe:We don't know. Like I said, that's what Schefter's being reported. We're reporting, basically, we're commenting on what Schefter's reporting. What we do know is that he's been released and they're basically saying, we ain't paying you. He filed a grievance with the NFLPA trying to get the guaranteed money that he believes he's old. We'll see how it plays out. It's the difference between trying to talk to your friends over the music at a bar and having dinner where you can actually hear each other. Between getting food delivered and cooking something you know she's going to love. It's the difference between a rough nicotine pouch and On Plus nicotine pouches with Nico Silk Mash.

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35:48Shannon Sharpe:Ocho y 'all did my man wrong Patrick Mahomes left off the 99 rating players with the 99 overall rating in Madden 26 were revealed today and they are Saquon Barkley Lamar Jackson Josh Allen Justin Jefferson Jamar Chase Miles Garrett and Lane Johnson what was my homeboy what was he Ocho a 98 oh okay oh he's a 98 like there are many quarterbacks I know they made it to the Super Bowl right we all football this year yeah based on last year he should have been 99 that's the whole point that's everything the rating is based on your performance in what you did last year. Yes, they went to the Super Bowl.

36:31Yeah, but he didn't. But from a standpoint of the standards and the metric system in which we judge Patrick Mahomes, who even though he's a 98, is still one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He's not a 99 based off last year's production. I'm not sure why people, Chiefs fans, they fussing at me. They arguing with me. It's not a bad thing.

36:50Shannon Sharpe:About what? Because he lives in the body. No, it's not a lifetime achievement. You don't get a 99 and get to keep it forever. So I get to play like crap. I throw 40 interceptions. I'm still a 99 because I've had great years in the past. No. If you look at the guys, look at the season Saquon had, over 2 ,000 yards offensive player of the year. Look at Lamar. Josh Allen was the MVP. Jetta was what he had, I think, second most receiving yards behind Chase. Miles Garrett had an outstanding season. And Lane Johnson, we know what Lane Johnson represents. So these guys that are 99, they earned that. Patrick Mahomes didn't earn He didn't earn a 99 He's a 98 Which is good If you'd have gave him a 97 I don't think he could have been mad Considering how he played Right And I think people We watched the Chiefs last year We watched them struggle Especially offensively Even though they were winning games Because Patrick Mahomes Is just that great When it comes to managing game And not turning the ball lower Patrick Mahomes Last year He only threw for 3 ,928 yards First season under 4 ,000.

37:57Yeah, under 4 ,000. In front of him, in front of him statistically, who do for more yards,

38:03Shannon Sharpe:Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, Jerry Goff, and Joe Burrow. I mean, like, what are we talking about? It's not a bad thing. Mahomes is still. Last year it showed us that he's human. What Patrick Mahomes has done so far in such a very short amount of time, in his career. He is like Superman in a sense. Like Superman in a sense. To the point we're comparing to Brady and he's still active with a long way to go. Yes. But it's not a... Oh, Ocho, without further ado, let's welcome in. He drives the number 23 car for 2311 Racing. He has three career wins on the NASCAR circuit. He became the second black driver to win in the Cup Series with a victory in 2021 at Talladega Supermoto Speedway.

38:56Shannon Sharpe:The first in his career for the 2311 racing. And yesterday, he captured his first ever crown jewel victory in the historic win at the Brickyard 400. You begin. Man, Bubba, we had a conversation a few, this probably about four years ago. And you said, I think you had just started with the MJ Denny Hamlin team. I think you had just started. That's right. And you were talking about your expectations. You know, hey, I want to win Daytona. It's like, Shannon, it's the Super Bowl. That's right. If you get a chance to win one game, what game you want to win? Super Bowl for me. Well, that's how it is for NASCAR.

39:38Shannon Sharpe:You want to win Daytona. Yeah. It wasn't Daytona, but it was one of the crown jewels. So you got Daytona, you got the Coca-Cola 600, you got the Brickyard, and you got Darlington. That's right. You won one of the crown jewels. as it's winding down and you realize, I'm about to win this. I'm about to win this. What's going through your mind, Bubba? Well, first, thanks for having me, boys. I appreciate you. It's an honor to be on here. Man, the last 20 laps when we got the lead, honestly, I didn't know how many laps were left. I thought it was way more than 20 laps to go. So when my spotter told me 20 to go, I'm like, oh, shit.

40:16All right, we got to get serious here. We got a chance. rain came through, had a little bit of a delay, had a red flag. But I told myself, like, I didn't want to win it this way. I won Talladega like this in 2021. We know how much controversy that started. I wanted to win it fair and squared straight up and get the 23 back to victory lane. And so I just stayed in the ready mindset. We went back with a green, white, checkered attempt, two of them to be exact, and we're able to conquer both of them. So it's still kind of unbelievable to me. um you know i i manifested a lot of good things uh waking up sunday morning um but i put in my tweet that i still don't believe it although i was believing the whole time leading up to it so it's just weird man it's crazy it's crazy you know go ahead ocho that that was going to be my next question most of the time when you win something big like this and and make history you know being one one of the second if i'm not mistaken to win in this big of this magnitude dude, has it even hit you yet?

41:17Has it hit you yet exactly what you've accomplished? It has. You know, it had been going on three years since I had been to victory lane. And, you know, I've said it multiple times. You know, my buddy, Blaney, who drives a 12 car, he won it at Charlotte. And he had said he had gone on a little hiatus and he had said, you don't know if you could do it anymore after you go for so long without winning. And so a lot of self-doubt kind of was sitting in there and, and it was a lot of perseverance and overcoming that. And, um, we're here, we've done it. So now to get back through the flow of everything.

41:55Yes, I'm busy now I'm doing all the media stops. Um, but this is how it was three years ago. And it's, it's a great feeling. Like you're on top of the world. Uh, you know, everybody's looking at you different now. And, and, and the people that continue to believe in you, they're kind of giving you like, see, I told you so. And that's a great feeling to have.

42:15Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. When you get to the, when you got to the track, did you believe you had the type of car that could win it for you? Well, I think when you get to the top level before you even step foot on the field or the track, you have to believe you have to have that percentage, whatever that is, right? You have to know that you have a fighting chance. And with this team, that's what we created going on five years now with 2311. We wanted to show up with the right people, the right cars, just the right equipment and partners to make this all work. You got to have everything to make this work in a sport.

42:46And so yes, going into Indy, we finished fifth there last year. Knew we had some potential. Um, went through practice. We were like 32nd in practice, but practice was super weird. So we threw that out the window. Uh, and then we qualified second. We missed the pole by 1300 of a second. So we knew we had a good car. We knew we had a really good car. Um, but Saturday is Saturday. Sunday is, is race day. It's game day. Like it's a total different vibe. Um, and there's so many different scenarios but like i said i woke up and it was no one is taking this for me today hours before the race like i want i seen the trophy sitting in the driver's meeting it says i want that the the track president a good friend of mine doug bowl said uh in 2005 tony stewart won you guys know these names in 2015 kyle bush won he said legends win on the year of number five legends in the making current legends whatever you want to be so it is up to you guys who decides to win.

43:40And I said, I'm going to be that guy today hours before the race. And it all worked out. And, uh, man, I, I said again, in my tweet, I'm not the superstitious guy. I usually don't manifest. I just kind of go with the flow, but Sunday was different. And, uh, I was confident in every move that I made and every outcome that was, was there, every scenarios that was there. And it was just the perfect recipe for, for an awesome day. I had the family there, had my nine-month-old my wife there was was awesome and that's what i was about to get into

44:10Shannon Sharpe:yeah in late september you and your wife lovely wife amanda welcome your first child that's right what is what was that like bubba thank you i got my wife here who's been by my side for the longest and now i gotta look oh my goodness what was that moment like when they came to victory lane and you laid eyes on your wife and your child?

44:34You're elated, right? I'm on top of the car. I'm wore out. I'm sweating. I'm soaking wet. And I was doing an interview, and I'm like, I haven't seen my wife and kid yet. Where are they at? What's going on? And so you're going through the emotions. I'm trying not to pass out because I'm dehydrated and fatigued. And I see them, and all of that goes away. It's just like us three are at the track for 15 seconds. And I see my kid. He cracks that smile when he sees, when he sees me and I'm already on top of the world. And I don't even know how you can get higher than that. Um, and it was just, uh, it was just a really cool experience.

45:13You know, we were able to win in Daytona to start the year with the dual. Um, but this one was Bex's first official win. Uh, so to have him there, he has no idea what's going on, but we have a ton of memories captured that we'll be able to talk about someday. And I look forward to that moment. But Amanda being there as well, she's like you said, she's there every step of the way. She's been with me for going on 10 years now and has gone through the trials and tribulations with me right by my side. And the first thing she told me, and you could see as she mouths it, we did it. We did it. We finally did it.

45:45We've been working so hard to get to this level. And now that we got our little sidekick, healthy baby boy, it is just so fun. I saw you and Amanda. He did not. He sat there. He was like, what are y 'all doing? I didn't want to force it. I didn't want to force it. It was awesome, though. It was awesome. I want to go back to those moments, especially towards the end of the race. Obviously, you had multiple cautions. And you have to restart. Are you nervous? I'm trying to think. What's going on in your mind when you're having a restart? Obviously, you're already having a certain position. Are you nervous when it's time to restart in case?

46:22My thinking maybe somebody might come back. and take the spot where I'm already at.

46:26Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. How did that play out? Did you have to block people in? Or, you know, you have to be strategic in everything that you do. Yeah. So during that red flag, you know, I went through all the scenarios of what was going to happen. I knew, well, the biggest thing, we'll back up a little bit. When the caution came out with six to go, we were extremely tight on fuel. Like, yeah, like. That's where we got. My crew chief said, we have enough fuel for one overtime restart. That's it. And then this is all calculated out. So could be off by very little, but the technology and the data that we have nowadays, uh, we don't miss it by much.

47:05It's spot on. Right. And so they're like, we have enough for one overtime restart. If we go, when we go back green. So I said, okay. So I go through my mental checklist. Okay. I got to get a good start here. If I get a good push and I'm ahead, he's not going to beat me through turn one or turn two. So we fire off and I don't get a good push. He gets a good push. He's ahead of me into one. And I said, okay, gloves are off. We're going to, we're going to battle this. Cause I'm not, you know, giving up this spot, um, get the lead through two and, uh, defending playing a little cat and mouse down the backstretch.

47:36Caution comes out still in the lead. Well, I was just told that I only have fuel enough fuel for one of those. Here we go. We're about to do it again. and so it's like all right um there's no way that there's no way that it could end this way i kind of had the angel devil on each shoulder it was like this is about to be ripped out from underneath you and then the other part is like you got plenty of fuel in the tank this is going to be fine right and uh fast forward it ended up being fine we had a hell of a restart got in the lead through turn one and and never looked back and uh hell i had enough fuel to do a burnout i ran out of fuel backing up on onto the podium to go up to the top.

48:15So it was really cool. Really cool. That's dope. That's dope. Yeah, thank you, brother.

48:21Shannon Sharpe:The 23, the XL car, I mean, you were the first driver that Mike and Denny hired in 2021. That's right. And you know, you absolutely know how competitive Mike is. That's right. Denny is a little calmer, but he's competitive also. That's right. When you're going through your drought, that it never crossed your mind, man, I got to win this thing. Knowing MJ.

48:50Yeah, 100%. I thought about that every day. MJ has been super loyal to me and has been one of my biggest supporters. And it's not every day where somebody can say that, right? And so I definitely don't take those words for granted. Um, I appreciate that support, but I also know, uh, he also told me, um, you know, don't get comfortable, you know, always, always keep pushing for more, you know, and, and I'm never the person to get comfortable because I am so competitive and I want to win every damn race that we enter. Um, but MJ and Denny both know it's a little bit different for Denny cause he's in it.

49:34He's in the trenches as well, but they both know how hard it is to win. And so when you're going up against guys like Denny. I mean, Denny finished third. He was right there. He's winning multiple. So it's super hard. And so I didn't lose the sight of that, that it's really hard and I'm giving it everything I have. But there was a time like maybe a few years ago where I felt like Denny was really, really hard on me. And it's like, man, what do you want me to do? And I quickly switched transition to, I think both MJ and Denny see the potential in me that I don't see. And this is why everything is happening a certain way.

50:17And so I put it on my shoulders to figure out why it's, why is that? What are, what are they seeing? Let's go find it. And I hate that it's taken three years, but Hey, it's been one day since I've haven't won a race now, you know, and not a thousand, and whatever it was at a hundred races, whatever it was. And, um, you know, it's, it's, I really appreciate those guys and understanding the, the, the importance of competition and what it takes to be the absolute best. I had to beat the best, uh, this weekend to get the win. And so I really love the position that we're in now. Yes. It's only five races to go in the regular season.

50:59Um, Um, but there's so much weight lifted off my shoulders. The last three years I have been the last guy or the first guy out, you know, the last guy in first guy out. I have to the very end of the regular season have always just been super stressed out because you want to make the playoffs. It's a make or break. You know, we missed it. We were first car out last year. We missed it. And, um, you're kind of just put on the shelf and we'll try again next year. Well, we're in baby. We're in, we're locked in. And now we can go and have some fun for these next five, really identify our weak areas and sharpen our tools to get ready for a good playoff run.

51:38Because I truly believe in this team. The 23 car has really upticked the performance from all avenues. And, man, it's been really cool. So, just what an awesome day yesterday.

51:50Shannon Sharpe:if you don't mind sharing with us uh uh bubble what did mike say um when you when you when he got on the phone with you and you guys talked what did he say to you he's just super proud man he was just really really proud uh and really happy for me and i was i was bummed i was bummed that he wasn't there uh because uh reddick teammate he's got a win with mj there i think he's got multiple wins with mj there and and i've yet to my three wins he hasn't been there which is okay um but i thought that one would have been maybe that's your good luck charm him not being stay away hey i got three of them you ain't there stay away that's fine with me um but i said man i wish you were here and he was like well i'll have a drink for you in spirit so uh that was um that was super cool uh he's always watching uh from from a guy uh you guys you guys know him i mean he could be doing so much other things with his time and money and effort, but he loves NASCAR.

52:47He, he, he's been a fan of this for so long and he understands how hard that's, that's, you're exactly right. That's exactly right. And he understands how hard it is. And he loves the process to see his, his team go through to get to the top. So it's honored to, to be driving the 23. Hey, how much time do you get to take off? If I'm not mistaken, there are five races left is Iowa Speedway is next, right? Iowa's next. Yes, sir. Iowa's next. How much time do you have off before you have to get back out, start training, get back in the rhythm and actually forget about, okay, I just won Brickyard for a hundred.

53:24Now I got to lock in and continue to have fun and enjoy myself. But tighten things up before this playoff run. Yeah. Well, so when, when I win, my schedule gets immediately busy, you know? And so, yes, That's all I've been doing today. We had a little party last night, but man, I'll tell you getting old and having a nine month old that sobers you up real quick. I was up at 7am ready to rip changing diapers and whatnot. So it was, um, it was, it was special to have the team over, but, um, I'm sure tomorrow, I know tomorrow's really packed. Um, and then Wednesday, um, maybe some more stuff, but Thursday usually have a day off and then you travel out Friday.

54:04So you get a day or so to just completely be off social media, not working, enjoy yourself playing golf, whatever, hanging by the pool, hanging with your kid, whatever it is. So but really, it's no time. You're right back in the car and going at it. Yeah, I have one more question before. If you have anything. Go ahead. Tell me. I know I was next. I'm not sure what the other four. Please tell me Homestead, Miami Speedway is in the next four after Iowa. Nope. We already ran Homestead earlier this year. Next year, the final race of the season will be Homestead. It'll be in November. We ran Homestead.

54:43We finished third there back in March. It's been a while. You can travel. You can travel. Come on out. Any race. We got you. We got Iowa. What's after Iowa? I don't know. Let me look. Iowa, Watkins Glen, Richmond. I went to Watkins Glen. That's a road course. That's a road course. Richmond and Daytona. Oh, well, Daytona, that'll be what that's during football season. No, by that time. Right. That's a probably a month away. Okay. I'll see you in Daytona. You're going to be there. All right. Perfect. Yeah. Cause remember, I'm in Miami. I'm right. That's right. So that's a, that's a Saturday night race.

55:20So August 23rd. Okay.

55:24Shannon Sharpe:I'll be there. All right. I'll hit you up. Bubba, let me ask you this. How did they determine the crown jewels? Because when I was growing up and I used to watch NASCAR, you know, when I had the conversation, you're like, man, you really do know NASCAR. When did, because Talladega was really next to Daytona when I was a kid. And so, and you look at the crown jewels, they got, you know, you got obviously got the Brickyard and you got the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. You got Daytona and then Darlington. How did Talladega get kicked out? uh that's a good question so i i haven't really been a history buff and understood the importance i appreciate the importance um but when all this came about you know i just kind of stumbled upon like okay we got four crown jewels um but i would say since the early 2000s late 90s maybe early 90s it's it's been kind of those four um because they're always talked about every time they're on the schedule and we're getting close to them crown jewel events are coming up so halladega i think just because i don't know why it's changed to be honest with you i could get off into the weeds and uh i'm not sure but i know we got one of them so we good i got one hey i got one i got one of the slams or the jewels and i'm good we had a conversation and uh i was asking i said well how much time do you spend on the track and i want you to share with our chat that you like spend most of the time in the simulator because you know the cars cost too much and we can't report can't run the risk of wrecking them so we spend a lot of time in the simulator talk to our chat about about that yeah i remember that conversation um yeah we uh that's that's actually a really popular question that that people always ask like what does practice look like well we don't get any you know um let's go back 15 10 10 15 years ago yeah we were testing each and every day of the week.

57:15Uh, we'd, we'd race on Sunday, be testing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, if you could. Um, but nothing's free in this world and, uh, it costs a lot of money. And so NASCAR looked at ways of becoming more cost efficient and, and, and bridging the gap from smaller budget teams to bigger budget teams. And so they eliminated testing, right? The more testing, the more R and D you get, the more speed you find as to where smaller teams, you don't really have that. So And so now there's probably, let's just say 15 to 20 NASCAR mandated tests, but there's only three cars that are allowed. Sometimes there's two from each team that are allowed to go, but NASCAR mandates those.

57:57And it's not every time that I get to go and do it. I haven't tested in over a year and that's just one track. That's just one track. And so we spend all of our time weeks leading up for road courses. We'll spend every Wednesday for two hours getting ready for Watkins Glen. And so some drivers do more, some drivers do less, some drivers don't do any at all. I struggle a little bit because it is virtual. You don't have the sensation of speed. So that's a big factor that I rely on. My mind, my butt is telling me things, my feet to do, my hands to do. And you don't get that. But it is a good tool for engineers and crew chiefs.

58:38They really have developed the software and the technology to basically take our setup, our physical setup, and plug it in the data world. And this is what you got. So give us our feedback. You're right. And it's crazy to see how advanced it has come. So, yeah, we spend hours on the virtual world getting ready for real life and expect it to be the same. You know, that's funny. Now that you say that, the way you practice, obviously, you don't want to wreck the cars in real time. having to practice but doing it in the virtual world how long before you catch a rhythm the live track and feel comfortable about what you're doing obviously doing it virtually you have to memorize everything understanding the terms where you can get away with things can you get can i get away with this high can i get low drag you know the whole nine yards i'm out yeah yeah but no no i'll give you a chicago the street course that we ran we were just there three weeks ago, I believe.

59:38It is actually pretty good on the sim. Things translate pretty well. We have our braking markers. They have 800 feet, 700 feet, 600 feet until the turn. That's your braking markers. On the sim, you pick out one and you get into a nice rhythm for weeks running that. It's like, all right. We feel pretty good about it. We go off in real life and you break at the 600 marker and it's like, oh, that's it. Okay. So then sometimes it could be off maybe by a hundred feet, which is a lot, but you can creep up to it and whatnot. We usually tend to creep up to it instead of overdo it and back, back off. Because when you're on a street course, there's not much room for overdoing.

1:00:21You are done and destroyed. So yes, you have to be mindful. So it's easy for us to creep up to, but when the track translates and correlates really well in the virtual world, then it makes the process easier. So you're spending maybe three laps in real life to get comfortable.

1:00:37Shannon Sharpe:Right. You mentioned Watkins Glen, which is a road course. Normally it's all these left turns. Now you're talking about right turns. How long does it take you to get comfortable with that? It's taken me 23 years. I've been doing it all my life. Man, road course, I've come a long way since my first road course race. So I've been in a cup for eight years now. um man i was just terrible i was so slow just if the braking mark at that if the mark was go lift at the 400 i was lifting at the 800 like i was just not doing my job it was bad and uh now you know we've been able to confidently say we looked at all of our road course stuff this those finishes don't show it but where we qualify where we run we can say we're a 10th to 12th place car on road courses, which is a massive step.

1:01:30And, uh, I've really appreciated the grind to get there. Uh, it's been a lot of work, but I have confidence showing up on road courses now. Like I have confidence going to the Indy and then road courses are right there beneath it, right? It's not going to match an oval because I haven't done it all my life. There's a lot of guys that have done it majority of their life, majority of their career. They can just show up and be really good at it. And so it's it's just a different craft that you have to learn how to develop and adapt to that has taken a little bit more time for me. But it's finally starting to show up and pay off.

1:02:03Yeah. OK, I got one more question. One more question. OK, I'm going to stop asking questions. I promise. I promise. I promise. OK, when it comes to practice, right, I just want to know this virtually, obviously, or when you have simulations in the virtual world, do they obviously have cars as well? Is it simulated that way we have other cars to practice against? Nope. Nope. We are out there solo. So, yeah, there's another factor that you're always by yourself. And certain tracks you can work on, like we don't have tire fall off. So the tires are always 100 % grip every time, every part in the virtual world.

1:02:43That's not real in real life, right? So there's so many different factors. As soon as you roll out of the garage, your tires are already starting to heat up and change. So there's a lot of factors that are still a work in progress. This is many years after I am out. We'll still always be developing simulation tools to get it even closer to real life. So it'll be exciting to see what's to come.

1:03:06Shannon Sharpe:Bubba, you drive. Now, obviously, Rick Hendricks is a big car collector. MJ is a car collector. Are drivers you guys drive for a living? Are you guys car collectors? Do you like cars? I love cars. I have a, I have a couple of toys. I've posted. I have a couple of vintage cars. I got a Volkswagen bug and a bus. So those are fun. But you got a 23, what you got a 23 window, 21, 21 window. That thing is, that thing is pimp too. Like it's, it's actually off getting work done. Okay. It'll actually be back. I think within the next month, which I'm excited for, I got a bigger motor in it. So it's, it's going to be fun.

1:03:43But Toyota, man, is such a great partner of ours. And I got a pretty sweet deal. I got a pretty good agent to work out a good deal. I get three personal vehicles from them. So I'm not complaining. I drive the new Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. My wife's got the Lexus GX 550. And then I got my bus driver one just to cruise around in the new brand new forerunner that just came out. So I'm living good. I got a lot of cars. I love cars. Yeah, we're good. You drive fast for a living. you didn't mention anything foreign that is really, really fast. I'm good because I trust my race car way more than any street car that goes fast.

1:04:22Okay, so I'm good. I drive it on Sundays.

1:04:25Shannon Sharpe:Okay, that's a good one. That's a good one. Yeah, yeah. Bubba, we're going to get you out of here on this one. For black young kids that may be listening and get them interested in NASCAR to be like you because you said at a very young age you were driving the midgets and you always wanted to be on the NASCAR circuit. You wanted to drive. How do we get other minorities interested in NASCAR? Oh, man, it's such a good question. I think winning on Sundays definitely helps, you know, for me. That gets like the stake in the ground. That gets the roots in the ground, right, and creates a foundation.

1:05:00How we make getting started in motorsports mainstream, it is so underground. It doesn't matter if you're trying to be an F1 driver, IndyCar driver, NASCAR driver, the go-kart tracks are not some, Hey, show up here and have a good time. It is underground and it costs a lot of money. And so I think, I think it's understanding there's probably so many kids out there that I know there's so many kids out there that want to race and have no idea that there's a go-kart track or a racing facility within 10 miles of their house. Right. And it's about the exposure. It's about being comfortable to go out there and just watch, become a fan, learn as much as you can.

1:05:43And then when you build up the confidence and courage, you go ask somebody, how do I do this? How do I become this? The first thing people are going to say is money. the way that the sport is evolved now, like the driver that has a lot of talent and no money versus the driver who has a lot of money and no talent, you know, he is getting the opportunity first over the guy with talent. And so I hate that it's that way, but everything's gotten expensive these days, but motorsports, I mean, you're racing cars at the end of the day, it's expensive. And so understanding that figuring out how to get your foot in the door, but understanding that it is so underground, you have to do your research.

1:06:25I encourage everybody to get on Google maps or whatever it is and type in racetracks nearby and go and enjoy it because there are so many different forms of racing to get started in. And, and everybody wants to be a driver. I get that, but there's only 38, 36 of us. I get to do it in the world. Like it's hard. not everybody can be a driver but you can be a part of a race team there are so many opportunities that i think all of us can do a better job of showcasing um hey this might be an avenue for you this might be an avenue for you like come be a part of our team in some fashion let's learn

1:07:01Shannon Sharpe:together and grow together i like it bubba man congratulations man we're proud of you thank you check this out when you win when you win the cup because you're in the playoffs when you win the cup, come back and celebrate with us. I'll be there. I'll be there from the racetrack. I'll call you from the bus from Victory Lane, bro. Appreciate it, Bubba, man. Congratulations on the new kid. Congratulations on the win, man. Come back and see us soon. All right, will do. Thank you, guys. Y 'all have a good night. Bubba Wallace, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, sir. Oh, man, that was great. It was great. Like I said, I've had him on Ocho when I first started Club Shea Shea.

1:07:40Shannon Sharpe:I had him on and we talked a long time and got into the weeds of it. And we talked about the drivers. We, you know, you know, obviously Wendell Scott, but you know, we talked about Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough and Bobby and Donnie Allison and Darrell Waltrip. And, you know, all the guys, Harry Gant and Austin Bill from Dawsonville and Buddy Baker, the Wood brothers, you know, man, I, Oh, man, back when I was, when I was a kid, NASCAR was it in the South, black, white. It didn't matter. You go to the, you go to the, uh, and they had the bandanas. They had all the little bandanas. You saw all the racing cars.

1:08:17Shannon Sharpe:Dale Earnhardt Sr. So you had, I mean, you had all the paraphernalia, the jackets hanging up, the caps. And if you're from the South, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And there was no, there was really no, there was no Iowa. There was no, there was no California racing. Everything was from the South, basically from Virginia all the way down. Man, it was unbelievable to talk about it, man. But it was great to have Bubba on and get an opportunity to talk, you know, from time to time. I like having guys on from a sport that we don't really talk about a whole lot. And it gives the chat an opportunity to hear about something that they're probably not as familiar with and to get an opportunity on like Bubba to show his personality.

1:09:03And the funny thing, too, about it is I've been to many, many NASCAR races. I can talk the Berber, talk the specifics a little bit. And I don't think people actually want to give it a chance because they just view it as cars going fast in a circle.

1:09:17Shannon Sharpe:But yeah, no strategy is a lot of strategy behind it. But I never I would never want to explain a strategy to somebody who's never been. I want to get you an environment. I just need to get you in the stands, get you a nice beer, get your hot dog, get you some popcorn. and just then allow you to experience it there. And then you'll get a better feel for it. It's more than just going in a circle. Because just tell you, watch it on TV, it does no justice, man. Until you see them cars traveling at 180 to 200 miles an hour. And they're this far apart. So you talk about the 405 or you go on 75, 85.

1:09:57Shannon Sharpe:I'm talking about highways that everybody knows. Or you get on the 10. On rush hour. And you, hey, yep, like Ochoa said, you rush hour. And the cars are going traveling 180 miles an hour. And they're this close to each other. No room for error. There is no room for error. And when those cars come by and you could just, I mean, you could just feel it. You could feel it. Hey, the best part is when the announcer says, driver, start your engines. it started that feeling is like no other oh when they find that thing up on cho and they start heading to the track and they start doing like this and they're moving like that getting the tires warmed up because they wanted the grip man ain't nothing like it on cho ain't nothing like it man ain't nothing like it you've been to charlotte before you never been to charlotte i've never been to charlotte no okay yeah charlotte i've been to charlotte daytona Iowa once Homestead which is right but like a 30 minute drive down the road we got Hampton Hampton is so hard to get to because there's only one way in and there's one way out so you talk about a couple hundred Hampton Georgia so there's only one it's two lanes so you're going in bro so unless you get the helicopter in good luck good luck but uh yeah man it's uh you got to you got to you got it you need to experience it to get a true appreciation yeah all right joe joe uh jerry jones says he just can't help himself today he said last year's chance for cd lamb's contract extension was much louder than yesterday's chance for micah jerry said man that was a little faint noise compared to the way they were hollering last year paid lamb whoever's not in you can count on a few hollering there but it was big and loud last year chance for lamb i don't know i don't know listen i i told you what i think jerry's doing i told you what i think he's doing he's perfect pranking us every time he's not pranking us but every time it's time for a player to get paid even though he has to pay them top dollar i think he He purposely waits to the last minute for a reason.

1:12:21He's doing no purpose. So the attention can always be on the Cowboys. So the attention can always be on him. Let's say, what if he did pay Micah Parsons already? What would be the conversation? What would be the conversation right now? Oh, Dak?

1:12:36Shannon Sharpe:Are you going to do what you're going to do with Dak? I mean, what do you mean? Dak is scheduled to make what? 60, 61, 62, something like that? 60 million dollars. hey is he gonna extend him extend him he just signed it he got two years he got another year left on that already yeah that that that do that do damn hey that's what I say Ocho that's what I say these years go by fast you look up I mean hey I just remember celebrating the 50th birthday now I'm closer to 60 than I am 50 And that's the thing. You look up, man, this time ain't waiting on nobody, Ocho. It ain't one thing. It's one thing it will never do.

1:13:22It will never. It will never. Hey, say that. You remember that quote you said about why you wear a watch? Remember that quote? I got it written down. I ain't got my pad. Right.

1:13:31Shannon Sharpe:I wear a watch. Why? Hey, how bad my time is. Not to tell time. What?

1:13:40Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, after this year, Dak can have two years left. okay okay damn that killing them boy that killing them they one hell of a team $80 million signing bonus $231 million in guaranteed money that's what he got that's what that got go ahead brother ain't mad at him at all I mean, you know how much a man got to pay? How much a man got to be worth to pay you$230 and guarantee it? Come on now. Come on now.

1:14:24Shannon Sharpe:Hey, to the man that got a$100 million home, how much money do you think he actually got? If you can afford a$100 million home. You know what? I give you one better. How about the man that has a$360 million yacht?

1:14:42Shannon Sharpe:that's a crew you gotta have a crew probably 30 30 to 50 people and don't get me started man there's a whole different we think athletes are rich well hell what you think of people that's paying them are no they rich and wealthy they wealthy man there's a difference between rich and wealthy the wealthy the wealthy people pay the rich people's salary that's how that work that's how that work as a matter of fact hold on hold on hold on there's another level above the wealthy people the ultra come on now when you start when you start getting to that 20 30 first of all you start getting 20 30 billion that's it now you get to 50 to 75 and then you get these guys they got a hundred and then they go from one to 150 150 to 200 200 to 250 now you get that elon musk that's in a class by himself that he's 300 billion and then you know you got larry ellison and you got mark zuckerberg and you got you know jeff bezos you got those guys the 200s but but ocho it's kind of like once you get to a certain number, it's like hot.

1:16:03Shannon Sharpe:Your body don't know the difference between 200 degrees and 300 degrees. Yeah. Once you get 50 billion, you get 50 billion. What can't you buy with 50 billion that you need to 75 billion for? Besides just say, I want to have it, which I get. I ain't got no problem with that. Hey, and it's so funny. When it comes to billionaires, the toys that they like to buy are completely different than what the million is like to buy. Oh yeah. Look, they're dropping $100 million,$200 million on artwork. You know what I'm saying? They got a painting, you know, Picasso or Degas went raw. They spend money on Michelangelo.

1:16:47Shannon Sharpe:They're spending money on Picasso. They're spending money like that, Ocho. You know, and they got a home over here. They got a home over there. and they got a helicopter, they got a jet, they got a place over here that they'll take the yacht to and get up. Yeah. Hey, man. It's a different world out there. So, Jerry, you heard him. So, it doesn't matter how loud the chants were. You heard them say, pay Michael. Yeah. Or as he would say, pay Michael. One thing Jerry going to do, Is he going to do things his way? Oh, for sure. He's going to do things his way and on his time. I don't like the fact that Micah is missing all these valuable days.

1:17:34And he's not going through the, I call it putting a callus, creating a callus on the body to get ready to play football in the regular season. I don't like it. He's going to cut Norm Micah, as explosive as he is, he's going to go from zero to 60 just like that.

1:17:52Shannon Sharpe:Yep. but look, this is Jerry. Jerry going to be Jerry. He's going to do, like you said, he's going to do things on his timeline. He already knows he has to pay Micah. Micah Parsons don't fall off trees. You got one and you get an opportunity to have him for the next, you know, you got him yet. I mean, Micah's 26. So this is his fifth year. So you get to have him for another five to eight years at bare minimum. him and you know you're gonna have to pay him and guess what this is not the other that's not the only contract that you're gonna get it you're gonna guess what you're gonna probably have to extend him another time just like miles garrett got extended and he got extended again tj watt got extended and he got extended again so guess what you're gonna probably have to give him two extensions yeah and uh michael parsons probably by the time he's uh 32 33 he's gonna probably be worth done signed contracts over$300 million.

1:18:57Shannon Sharpe:That's just that's the NFL that we live in now, Ocho. That's where it's at. It's definitely. And he will have earned every dime. Yeah, people don't listen. Somebody in the chat, Micah Bennett, training camp, Ocho, what you talking about?

1:19:14Is Micah Parson practicing? Has he touched the field?

1:19:20Shannon Sharpe:What, he holding in? Yeah, he holding in. How are we, like, what are we talking about, man? I just said he's going to have to go from zero to 60 when he signs. He's holding in so he doesn't get fined. Yeah, that's$50 ,000 a day. It is$50 ,000 a day, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Like, golly, common sense.

1:19:46Oh.

1:19:56damn that's crazy yeah

1:20:02Shannon Sharpe:he's a he's a he's been a limited participant because he's citing back tightness oh back what his back tight yeah

1:20:25But people funny, man.

1:20:30Shannon Sharpe:I don't blame him. I don't blame him. Like I said,$50 ,000 a day? You're going to be in training camp at Bear Metal in 20 days? That's a meal. Yeah. Ain't no point of playing like that. I'm here. They can't forget that money either. but it can't be it like it used to but guess what since you can't forgive it guess what go ahead and put it in my contract I want my whatever whatever I would have lost whatever I lost by not showing up I'm gonna need that in the contract yes yes matter of fact matter of fact put it in my signing boat in my signing boat yeah like Dollar Bill told like St. Louis told Dollar Bill do something to make me feel better when he told Brooklyn what was the what was the dude named Brooklyn what was the other dude named when he put that he put the cigarette out of what you call a nose man I forgot hey do something to make me feel better hey yeah look they're gonna get it done I just hate Michael Michael's like well hold on Y 'all keep on telling me y 'all going to get it done.

1:21:49Shannon Sharpe:Until that thing hit my bank account, I don't believe it's going to get done. Listen, I mean, Jerry is being Jerry. He's done this to everybody. So the timetable, I'm not sure when it's going to be. Me, if I was the player, I would have asked Jerry. I would have went to him quietly. I'd say, listen, I understand you have a way of doing things. I'm not here to bully you and tell you how to run your business, but I need to be on the field. I need to be practicing, especially when it comes to training camp. I want to be as far ahead of the curve as I can be going into the preseason because I'm not going to get that many snaps, getting acclimated to the speed of the goddamn game.

1:22:28Please, sir, thank you kindly. And close the door and walk out.

1:22:31Shannon Sharpe:Well, remember what he said about CD. What's CD going to get out of being in practice, being in training camp, being all this? Man, please. Well, actually, you know what? CD ain't missed a goddamn beat. He ain't missed a beat last year. He ain't miss a beat. Dak went out, and he still was very productive. Nah, I think they ended up shutting CD down, too. Well, that's towards the end of the season. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Man, where'd they have my goddamn napkin go? Oh. When you're teeing off and your clients are watching, it's on. When the game goes to overtime and your squad is right there with you, it's on.

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