During an episode of the Jason Gregor Show on Sports 1440 (also home of the CanTorque Race Report) they were talking about some famous sibling pairings in sports.
That made me think of when I raced with Brett Harrelson, brother of Woody. He had some crazy stories to tell, most of which we can’t share here but what I can say is that I enjoyed speaking with him immensely, hearing his stories but mostly enjoyed sharing the track with him. Go back and watch The People Vs. Larry Flint, he plays Larry’s brother. Brett is an avid and accomplished racer running shifter karts through the US Southwest. His life away from the track was endlessly entertaining.
This got me thinking about some of the characters I’ve met along the way and how racing has connected me to a string of remarkable individuals, many of whom have become friends.
Mr. Shane Carter is an extremely awesome guy, who is the president of Sony Music Canada-he and his son Evan are massive race fans; they attend many of our NASCAR and Radical races through the year. I learned early on that when Even states a fact about racing it’s best to not argue as his ability to recall events and statistics is on par with any search engine. Great to connect with Shane to hear some of the behind the scenes stories from the world of music.
I’ve been driven in the Indy 2-seater by Mario Andretti and I’ve golfed with Arnold Palmer, I think that puts me in pretty elite company
Mr. Andretti has always been friendly and engaging any time that I’ve seen him. Having him drive the IndyCar 2 seater around Sonoma was truly one of the best things that I’ve done in my life.
Mr. Palmer was everything that I’d hoped for: kind, thoughtful, polite and the ultimate example of a gentleman.
Hung out with Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block during the 2013 Long Beach GP.
One of the funniest guys I’ve met in the paddock is Jacques Villeneuve Seriously well spoken but brutally hilarious. Have spent time with JV quite a few times at GP3R, Indy 500 and even at the Mexican GP. I often have to remind myself that while he’s extremely down to earth, he’ll forever be the 1997 World Champion.
Getting to tag along with the Legends of Indycar event during the 2022 F1 weekend in Mexico City was indescribably awesome, drivers in order of the picture below from L to R
Bruno Junquera
Tag
Michael Jourdain Jr.
Luis Diaz
Roberto Gonzalez
Mario Dominguez
Mark Blundell
Adrian Fernandez
Paul Tracy
Max Papis
Oriol Servia
Casey Mears
In 2010 I was one of Bruno’s sponsors at the Indy 500, was great to be able to reconnect.
If you’ve followed open wheel racing for any amount of time you’ll likely remember when PT and Tag had a “disagreement” in San Jose in 2006. I don’t remember the context of this picture but it’s fair to say that there are no hard feelings between the guys.
NASCAR
Christmas party of Brad Keselowski Racing, sitting at at table with Brad and his wife Paige, Alex and Bronte and Joey Logano and his wife…..Joey hearing that everything was covered and that he could play arcade games without having to pay……was one of the highest paid in NASCAR at the time but he looked like he just won the lottery. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures that night.
Racing to the Adult Film Industry?
But my favorite is when I was introduced to Mick Blue. I imagine that some reading will know who he is but very few will openly admit it.
Mick is one the most popular and accomplished Adult Films stars today. He’s won countless AVN and industry awards but is also a massive race fan and excellent race car driver.
A buddy introduced me, as I almost always do I asked him what he does for a living, he said “I’m in the adult film industry” to which I responded “in front of the camera or behind?” and he simply said “both”. My best guess is that when most people hear Adult Film Industry they head for the hills…..I was intrigued. We ended up talking for most of the weekend.
He was very open about what he does and was very happy to answer my questions about how things work and what happens behind the scenes.
He’s also the 2026 NASA SoCal Region Champion! Congratulations my friend!
All pretty cool for a kid that grew up in Stony Plain, AB.
Who are your cool encounters?