The Dale Jr. Download

A special podcast feed drop of Dirty Mo Media's newest show, Dirty Mo LIVE! Catch the live stream or replay on Dirty Mo Media's YouTube channel. And now, you can follow the Dirty Mo LIVE podcast feed wherever you listen to your podcasts. The fourth stream of Dirty Mo Live figures to be the best one yet. Dale Jr. stops by fresh off his top 10 in the South Carolina 400 at Florence. TJ is here to provide the spotter's take on the chaos. We pulled Josh Berry away from fixing the Florence car (that he's supposed to racing this weekend) to help us preview the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway.

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It’s time once again to talk dollars and cents (and sense..) as Kelley Earnhardt Miller is back in the Bojangles Studio for the second edition of the Business of Motorsports. On this episode, she is joined by co-host Mike Davis and the President/CEO of Speedways Motorsports Inc., Marcus Smith. While Marcus has been a recurring guest on the Dale Jr. Download, this interview dives more into the nuts and bolts of how speedways operate and his business philosophy.

Marcus discussed his path up the ladder at SMI and imparted advice he received from his father Bruton and former President of Charlotte Motor Speedway Humpy Wheeler. He also chats about the research that goes into keeping racing fans happy, the process of making the NASCAR schedule, track reconfigurations, and the speedways’ perspective in the ongoing negotiations surrounding the next NASCAR broadcasting deal. Listeners can expect to hear some updates on the NASCAR All-Star weekend at North Wilkesboro and what the future may hold for the legendary track.

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What do you get when you combine a drug smuggling enterprise straight out of an episode of Miami Vice with the high-dollar sports car racing world of the 1980s? You get the story of Randy Lanier, and on this week’s episode he joins Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-host Mike Davis to tell it.

At one time a top prospect in American motorsports, Lanier made headlines when he was indicted in 1986 for operating a multi-million dollar drug distribution effort responsible for bringing over 300 tons of marijuana to the United States from Columbia. Just a handful of months before he was Rookie of the Year in the 70th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Originally born in rural Lynchburg, Virginia, Lanier and his family of seven moved to Hollywood, Florida when he was 13. The sunny beach lifestyle was captivating for young Randy, and was soon introduced to the thriving marijuana subculture of the 1960s. His father, who worked as a draftsman, was concerned about his seemingly wayward lifestyle and got him a job in construction. But, due to his longhaired appearance, fellow construction workers began asking Randy if he knew where to buy marijuana, and his stint in drug dealing began.

Randy shares a frightening story of getting robbed at gun-point during a sale, which temporarily took him away from Florida to Colorado. It was there he met a guru, who invited him to an ashram in Boulder where he learned the art of meditation, which proved to be a big part of his survival in prison as well as a cornerstone of his life today. Upon returning to Florida, Randy continued on his new path until tragically losing his brother Glen in a motorcycle accident. The event was catastrophic for the Lanier family, and Randy explains it spun him out, back into the familiarity of selling marijuana.

While he may not have realized it at the time, Lanier’s eventual career in motorsports was implanted in the back of his mind, thanks in part to listening to the Indianapolis 500 broadcast on the radio when he was a young boy at his family farm in Virginia. Randy recalls a story from the late 1970s when he was attending a car show at the Miami Beach Convention Center and noticed a SCCA-sponsored booth. He picked up a pamphlet and eventually made the call to inquire about becoming a licensed driver. Soon after, he purchased his first race car: a 1957 Porsche 256. After renting out a small warehouse to be his shop and preparing the car for racing action, he entered his first amateur contest at West Palm Beach Speedway in 1980. As legend would have it, he won.

From there he rapidly progressed through the sports car ranks, arriving at the headlining IMSA GT circuit. After spending a few seasons in borrowed rides with minimal results, he decided to take matters into his own hands and form his own racing team. But, to win on a consistent basis required a large bank roll, and so the two roads of Lanier’s life intersected.

At this point, he had some experience with off-shore drug smuggling. At age 19 he used some of his dealing profits to purchase a 27-foot speed boat, initially intended to be a frivolous expenditure for thrill-seeking. He soon began traveling to the Bahamas to bring in loads of marijuana from awaiting motherships. In order to fund his newly formed Blue Thunder Racing team, Lanier expanded from speed boats to fishing boats, then tug boats and finally a full-on barge. The results were instant, and in 1984 he won the IMSA Championship. The next year, he took on CART racing with the intention of heading to Indianapolis. The transition proved difficult, and although he had a successful debut in 1986 in the 500, a devastating crash at Michigan a few weeks later effectively ended his racing career. As it turns out, his drug smuggling efforts caught up with him and soon after he was indicted.

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Dale Jr. dropped all sorts of news on this week’s Dirty Air segment of The Dale Jr. Download podcast. First, he elaborated on his late model plans for Florence Motor Speedway’s South Carolina 400 on Nov. 19, including the paint scheme he will carry. Hint, we hope you like Dale Earnhardt throwbacks because this black-and-gold No. 3 will trigger some wonderful memories. Dale Jr. also announces he will be running an additional NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2023.

In Ask Jr, Dale Jr. answers a handful of fan-sourced questions, including:

• Should owners have more say in NASCAR?
• Do you make a Halloween costume that conceals your identity?
• What do you think of Parker Kligerman’s recent announcement that he’s returning to full-time NXS racing?
• After driving to Martinsville with him, how well would you rate Truex as a road-trip buddy?
• What do you make of Austin Hill’s punch of Myatt Snider?

Finally, Dale Jr. reveals upcoming guests on the Download to finish out the 2023 season. One is probably Dirt Super Late Model’s biggest star and has been for three decades; the other you never saw coming. It’s OK, we didn’t either. BZF has entered the chat!

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. reunites with longtime motorsports fan favorite Kasey Kahne to learn about what he has been up to since his last appearance on the Download in 2018. After making the difficult decision to step away from NASCAR Cup racing later that season due to health reasons stemming from dehydration, Kasey has reemerged as a full-time sprint car racer in the last few years, competing with the World of Outlaws and High Limit Sprint Car Series. Kasey remains active in the NASCAR peripheral though, as he was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 and he recently announced he’ll be returning to Xfinity Series competition with Richard Childress Racing at Rockingham this year. Kasey explains to Dale how the deal came together through Keith Rodden and partners like Rick Hendrick and Mike Curb. After finding success in the initial test at the track in January, Kasey is ready to approach the race weekend like he did when he first entered full-time NASCAR racing.

Kasey enlightens Dale about the ins and outs of the sprint car racing world, which he describes as fast-paced and extremely competitive. He also places himself back in his Cup career and talks about the mindset of going from a successful team like Hendrick Motorsports to a mid-pack operation like Leavine Family Racing. Dale and Kasey share insight into how their respective short-track racing teams operate and how their families being at the track helps distract them from getting too caught up in the pressure of succeeding. The guys also discuss on-track feuds, head injuries, car safety,y and Kasey’s path to NASCAR stardom.