The Lonestar state's TJ Michael relocated to Ohio in his teenage years to pursue a childhood dream of driving race cars. A longtime family friendship with Ohio's Bobby Clark led to an opportunity the Michael family couldn't pass up and the rest from there is history. After a stint in 305s, TJ moved to 410s, which would eventually lead to the family-owned team hitting the road with the All-Star Circuit of Champions. Now a hired gun, Michael spends most of his race season running locally within the Ohio region, traveling when the schedule allows

In this episode, TJ and I talk about physical & mental fitness, his journey from Plano, Texas to Fremont, Ohio, and what life with a traveling series looked like. We also dive into the difference between the personalities of winged and non-winged sprint car racing, the hopes of bringing USAC to Ohio, and finish off with those we looked up to as kids in racing.

Hailing from Elyria, Ohio, Chris Verda relies heavily on his friends and family to get up and down the racing trail. Growing up with a father in the local Ohio racing scene, Chris had aspirations to attend UNOH for Motorsports Technology but an introduction to the Linder family led Chris to sprint cars, and he never looked backed from there. Going through his own trial and tribulations, he has found a way to make it work as he expands his horizons across the Ohio region.

In this episode, Chris and I talk about his introduction to racing, how he got his feet wet in sprint car racing spending a summer with the Linder family working as a crew member, and how to manage life outside of the racetrack.

Mount Vernon, Ohio's Tyler Street gets it all done on the family dollar. The youngster grinds the night shift to be able to put a car on the track week in and week out. With aspirations to one day be a hired gun, Street will do anything it takes to get there. His young resume is stout, including an Ohio Valley Sprint Car Championship, and his head is a good shoulders with a work ethic that would be hard to match.

In this episode, Tyler and I discuss having a social media presence to grow your brand. The ups and downs searching for partners to field a competitive race car. We also discuss family, relationships, and friends, and their role in the day-to-day life of a blue collar racer.

Editor's Note: This episode was filmed outside and you may hear background noise while listening