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Took the words right out of my mouth with your wrap up. Jimmy hadn't even finished opening the door to a different shop area and had already identified a disassembled roller. Legit car guy.
Jr Johnson was my 4th cousin I've always been a fan of Jimmy he's the last of a dying breed we definitely need more stories from him a podcast with y'all would be awesome thanks for preserving hidden history keep up the good work
My favorite Jimmy Spencer moment was at Pocono. He was racing for Junior Johnson, and there was a guy in the stands with the top of a McDonalds cooler that he had painted a “27” on it. Every time Jimmy went by on the front stretch the guy would stand up with his cooler top, hold it over his head, and scream “Jiiiiiiiimmeeeeeee” as loud as he could.
I never liked pre-race shows, but when Spencer had one, it was a not miss. He had stories and you could always depend on him to give an honest, politically incorrect view of racing.
These are the kind of guys we are missing today in NASCAR. Even though Jimmy can be cringe sometimes, he is authentic. Love him or hate him he added excitement no matter what race he was in.
He's part of a bygone era - used to go to MIS in the 90's and alot of the drivers, pit crew guys, and even some of the owners were like him - genuine good guys. Would take time out to talk with you for a few minutes unless they were in the middle of something important.
Jimmy MR. Excitement Spencer!! Heck Yeah guys!! Thanks Mitchell and Logan! You guys are the ones saving the stories we all wished we could have experienced when we were watching these guys come up through the series! These guys built the sport and you guys are bringing the history to life!! Thank you so much for what you do! You should be on the download to share the path we've watched you travel to get where your at! Just think of how many more old stories are out there that need to be documented!! Much love to you guys from the Oregon Houlihan's!
Brought tears to my eyes listening to Jimmy reminisce about the men who were his mentors and colleagues. I‘m the same age as Jimmy but was in mechanical engineering building heavy equipment. I wish there was someone like you to document the way engineering was “back in the day. Many of my mentors were WW2 vets and had a ton of stories about their old cars and mechanical things in general.
They say time heals all wounds . I read all the comments here and everyone loves Jimmy . Back in the day it was hard to find anyone that had a good word to say about him . He was a very complex person with a short fuse , but just as authentic as they come . He became more popular on TV than he ever was on the racetrack . He will always be remembered as a real family guy .
That's the cool thing about a video like this. You get a chance to actually find out what was going on behind the scenes, the deals, the associations, the successes, the failures. Gives us a different perspective then the brief glimpse we got at the time.
I just met Jimmies Brother. I had no clue who he was. He was delivering a used engine at my garage. I brought up the nascar race from day before and he said "Im Jimmy Spencers brother". How cool. and this was a month or so ago.
It’s so good to see Jimmy Spencer!!! I’ve wondered how’s he doing. I’m glad he hasn’t changed one bit. Thanks Stapleton for being legends of NASCAR back and hearing the stories behind the stories.
One of best interviews ever, Jimmy's memory is incredible! Loved the part about when he left the shop and would concentrate on family. More with JImmy!!
JIMMY came up to Catamount Stadium and stunk up the show with a win and a famous rant of "This Track Sucks" Thank you for the memories Jimmy Spencer 😅😂😅
I have a lot of respect for Mr. Excitement. Jimmy did well in the sport and raced for a long time. I recently watched the 2005 Brickyard 400 Qualifying Session that someone posted on RU-vid. Jimmy was driving the #50 car which was out of the top 35 in owner points so he had to qualify on time and speed and before he got to the green flag he got loose and took a wild slide all the way down to pit road. He was driving for Arnold Motorsports at the time. But a great driver.
More Jimmy! What I learned watching this was things I had forgotten about. Plum Crazy paint color, sound of big block is great, and my bag phone from early 90's had unbelievable range and clarity.
Go anywhere with Jimmy. One of my all time favorites. Next time get him to tell you some Trickle stories. Visited his shop and bought a side window both he and DT had autographed from a Schneider 5 car. Saw Jimmy on TV at a GAA Auction sitting in the front row recently. His stories are a free flow stream of thoughts, like he commentating is life. He refers to Pat a lot, get her on. She must e quite a lady to handle Mr. Excitement
My dad use to work for a bank that would finance these racer's shops in the 90s. He got me a few autographs but my favorite was always the #23 Joe Cool yellow and purple thunderbird from Jimmy. Always was my favorite driver until he retired. Cool to hear from him about his days in racing.
I remember him as a kid when he was racing at port royal. He was the same then as he was in cup and same as he is now. The slogan wrangler came up with for Dale Sr was “one tough customer” but I can say that Jimmy was the guy who should’ve been dubbed that slogan. In the 90s he came back to do a promo at a central PA track with rusty Wallace. Rusty was whining that “we need to wrap this up” and get going. The line was still long and rusty was annoyed l. Jimmy said we aren’t leaving until I get to meet all these people waiting in line and sign their stuff because that’s why we’re here
Jimmy is a wild and crazy guy! Love him! One of the most interesting people nascar ever had! Miss him please do additional Jimmy videos! We need more people like him!
Jimmy Spencer is one amazing man. At watkins Glen one year he crashed in the inner loop. Right where me and my friends were standing. We helped him climb the fence so he could walk back to the garage area he asked if we were ok cause we got splashed with fluids from the car. He shook our hands said thanks put his cigar in his mouth and walked to the garage. Thanks again Mitchell for another great episode. And Logan great job of doing the ad read.
Scares me to see guys I watched in there 20's to see them now. Of course I'm no spring chicken my self. If I could go back one night to see all my old friends and people like Jimmy what a night that would be
Man, this is so friggin' cool. I loved Jimmy Spencer when I was a kid. The 23 Smokin' Joe's car was always my favorite. Thank you both for still doing what you do. It means a lot to a lot of people to see this stuff.
Always loved watching Jimmy race. Always felt he was one of the more underrated talents of that era. It’s a shame be never got a top tier ride in Cup. He would have been a problem for sure!
Jimmy Spencer is a real man. Strong enough to not be afraid of anyone and wise enough to care about the people and things that are important. All sports need more people like him.
I miss guys like Jimmy…a real racer and car guy like Earnhardt and the like…built and maintained his own stuff…I don’t think there is no one like him today…keep the great videos and interviews coming!! Stapleton you are the best at preserving racing history! I think you should be on the Dale Jr download as a guest!
Growing up all my friends were Earnhardt or Gordon fans. But me as a life long Ford fan I always pulled for whoever was in the Wood Brothers car and Jimmy Spencer in the smoking Joe 23 thunderbird!
Yeah we need more! I grew up watching Mr Excitement at local circle tracks. He was about an hour north of me I think. His family owns or owned Evergreen Speedway in Mountain Top Pa. Jimmy used to run Dorney Park Speedway and Evergreen of course. Ran with John Andretti also.
Another Banger !! Mr. excitement = awesome old school Wheel man !! The thing I love about Jimmy he didn’t hold back the punches 🤣 pun intended 🤣 what an icon !!
This is great. You can see the emotions in his face when talking about old friends who are gone. Keep bring us these i love these. The good old boys !!
Yes, more Jimmy Spencer!! Always liked him when he was running in Cup. He didn't take any crap off of anybody!! Would love to ask Jimmy what he thinks about Austin Dillon's last lap at Richmond this past Sunday. If someone had wrecked Jimmy like Dillon wrecked Logano, they would have to be looking over their shoulder every lap in the next race!! 🙂
Yes! Go to Pennsylvania with Jimmy. .his Dad, he'll, his whole family loved racing & cars. His dad had a junk yard & built a small track on their property. They held an annual bomber class type race & Jimmy brought Earnhardt up there to drive one of those cars. I reckon they had a hell of a time
First thing I wanna say is "Jimmy Spencer never forgets" I like ol Spence and old time racer who has some great wins and great championships.. another great video Mitchell and Logan keep up the great work
i have no idea who that guy was but he seems like a standup guy, 5 oclock and its family time, great story telling about stuff i have no idea about. i love to listen and learn from people's story of where they are and how they got there
Jimmy Spencer is one of the last great heroes from the golden era. Thankful that Jimmy is sharing these stories. Please have more content with Spencer.
And i would love to see a hometown tour with jimmy just to here more stories loved when he had his own show on speed and he would bring out the crying towel lol....
Can't get enough of Jimmy Spencer. Got to meet him when he was in the Banquet foods car in Phoenix once. He's a regular guy, NASCAR needs more Jimmy Spencers.
Seeing some pictures I sent from our family vacation in 2000 made me so dang happy. I feel like I got to contribute even if it's just something little. Would love a home town history with Jimmy. He grew up just a couple hours north of me and was friends with my neighbors family.
As I grew up a NASCAR fan through the 90s as a little 10-year-old boy even I knew that Jimmy Spencer was a guy that you did not mess with unless you were ready for the consequences. We need more drivers like that today there isn’t one driver in the cup series that you would fear like Jimmy was feared. He was right only him and Dale Sr
OMG!!! We knew each other when his dad Ed was racing dirt. Jimmy still has his Berwick accent. I would love to see more of him. You brought back a lot of good memories for me. Thank You
Thanks for the awesome video guys! Drivers like Mr Excitement are sorely missed on the track these days imo. Keep making them and we'll keep watching, liking and subbing!
I was a DIE HARD Jimmy Spencer fan. A win was a top 10 for me. He run 250 laps real well then take out half the field. Man this is by far my favorite. The stories about when Earnhardt, Schrader, Marlin would go to his junk yard in Berwick, Pa and race beaters on a homemade oval. Dale puts his car in the swamp, jumps out Flags down Spencer I believe and gets a ride back to the start finish lines and steals Jimmy’s Mom’s station wagon and then Dale puts that one in the swamp right beside the other car he started the race with angering Mrs. Spencer. The next day a brand new station wagon was sitting out front of the junk yard for her. Thanks guys. Great work. My favorite by far.
I worked in the junkyard when I was a kid jimmy was my cousin we worked on the beater cars to get them ready for the junkyard race some great drivers came up to the junkyard to race and hangout and have a good time
Freakin YES dude! Just started this and I already know it’s going to be a banger. Jimmy Spencer is such a great, old-school type NASCAR guy who helped make “late modern” Winston Cup racing fun to watch. Until recently hearing him interviewed, I really didn’t know how deep his roots in Motorsport were and what kind of perspective he was given on many peoples’ favorite period of stock car racing. He’s a real one and has a big heart. So, for the hundredth time - Thank you for bringing something like this to us. I’m always surprised and impressed with the figures you interview (feature?) and the ways the two of you (dog makes three) succeed in putting people at ease, making them feel comfortable enough to share so much, and getting these guys out of the “the Skoal/Country Time number 29 Oldsmobile” media mode and into a mood to share. You’re really good at this, man, and it’s not just because of your passion. Great job. Edit: LOL! “We were doing great, then we decided to build our own motors” is something I keep hearing. 2nd Edit: Definitely, 100% more with Spencer! He’s got that perspective you mention, but also has insight on many areas of stock car racing, not just “cup” racing. I didn’t really follow Grand National, but I now see how important that entire ecosystem was. An idea for “more” with Jimmy Spencer would be to get him together with someone like Schrader and tape the conversation. It’d be amazing, I’m sure - he’s such a storyteller and they’ve both got so many stories.
Got lost trying to find Evergreen. 4 cylinders sounded like a thousand chainsaws trying to take down the forrest😂. Good short track. I love Mahoning Valley too.
Wow, Mr Spencer. I miss his commentary on the Speed Channel. He was fantastic! It would be neat to see what he has left from his own personal collection, from his racing and car career. Please, have more of Jimmy.
Jimmy Spencer one of the all time greats who defined nascar. Salt of the earth, hard working, badass. Thank you for doing the show. Would like to see more of your history and hear your great stories.
Got to meet Jimmy at MIS in the late 90's. Was coming down pit road wall and asked him to sign my program and ended up talking to him for about 15 minutes. Genuine nice guy all around! Definitely would like to see more from him!👍
Great job. I can tell Jimmy was speaking from his heart. It was good to hear from Jimmy. Jimmy would send it in his day. He was a very exciting driver to watch. Back in the days of Joe Camel!
Another great one. I used to call Jimmy "Fat Boy", but man could he drive a car. I so miss characters like Jimmy. One of a kind and true old school racer. Well done you two!
Listening to Jimmy actually gave me a better appreciation of Dale E. Love these stories and learning about Jimmy's journey. Thanks for sharing this. These stories are important history and needs to be saved and shared. I'm not a "current" NASCAR fan, but remember these racing days fondly. Classic racing.
Hell yes on the hometown video! I also grew up in Berwick, Pa. In fact the Mr. and Mrs. Karothy's, (can't remember the spelling) that Jimmy talked about around the 24th minute of the video were also my teachers at Berwick High School. I graduated from there in '92.
Thank y'all for another awesome video! Always liked Mr. Excitement...watched him race modifieds years ago at Hickory, along with the legendary Richie Evans, Jerry Cook, Satch Worley and Jerry Cook...what a great era in racing! Thanks for keeping the history alive Mitchell!