Mike Helton unfiltered: NASCAR Safety, Dale Earnhardt stories and his legacy in the sport 

I'll never forget Mike announcing the death of Dale Sr and having to say those words about his good friend. The man seems like pure class from every interview I've seen him in.

I could listen to Mike Helton tell stories for hours. A true icon and a treasure of the sport.

As a fan 42 years Mike Helton is one of the only NASCAR officials I respect. Southern Gentleman

You can tell that Mike is mega smart. He chooses his words very very carefully. You don’t find people like him anymore.

Of all the NASCAR leadership, Mike Helton is certainly one of them... in all seriousness he's the best leader NASCAR has had in the 21st century.

I've always liked Mike Helton. Great interview!

I can never get enough of Mike Helton! I always enjoy his interviews.

Mike Helton is one smart man. He is one of the few NASCAR leaders with near unilateral respect.

Riding my Harley through the tunnel during bike week gave me chills then see the super bikes ripping down the back straightaway what a awesome track

He is still thoughtful and able to articulate the full picture

Mike's the best.

I didn't know Mike Helton was still active in NASCAR, I miss him as the president of NASCAR, he actually cared about the drivers and actually would come into the booth and explained the rules when they got confused, I don't see Steve Phelps doing that

He's smart. He's got heart. He's a leader.

As with any overgrown forest (NASCAR) dead wood (Upper Management) needs to be cleaned out occasionally. When greed, driver safety, fan attendance, revenue and car quality becomes the HOT topics, you know there needs to be a change. Stand by, I'm almost there!!

NASCAR Leadership acts like they’re committed to strengthening the sport… but never acknowledge or fix everything they’ve done to hurt the sport!! Every year they’ve got a new idea that weakens their brand, their history & their legitimacy as a sport.

Had Pleasure of Meeting Mike and Bruton in early 90 at Bristol. The stop there cart and talked for 5 minutes with us. Awesome Men. They asked Us what Bristol needed ! First thing out mouth Was chair levf up the hill. Bunch of Laughs where had !

Mike Helton is the man

What a great interview!! Thnx Corey I’m a huge fan!!

Big Corey Lajoy fan I used watch his granddaddy race at the Danbury State fairgrounds in Connecticut his dad is a two-time bush series champion loved the la Joy's!

Great show!

That was great Corey! Thanks 😊

Excellent interview.

I am sorry, I like Mike Helton but this whole the drivers are being half truthful and it is unfair to Nascar is complete nonsense. Nascar leadership has every opportunity(including this interview) to tell its side of the story...it chooses to not be open and transparent. That is on the leadership of Nascar. Not the drivers, who DID try to talk to Nascar over a year ago about these issues. Nascar ignored them and forced them to go to the media. This is a self inflicted wound for Nascar's leaders that has possibly cost the end of a driving career for one driver and forced another young driver to miss a chance at a championship.

Great content! Mike’s a good dude, big ass hands, but a good dude none the less.

Love the hall of Fame reference at the end Corey....

Great job Corey !! Really good interview !!

Always good when u get them to sort of forgot where they are and talk for a minute

First time viewer outstanding show 👍

I miss my local area in Tennessee listening to mrn Or Prn races! It been several years since they have had it on Sundays! the local NAPA store sponsored it! I love it but must be NASCAR or somebody made it to expensive to broadcast it! It truly sad! I no longer go to races or watch it on TV! Nothing better than listening to Dave Moody calling the racing! I am truly pissed that it's no longer on the radio in Tennessee! Wasn't Nashville and the south part of the NASCAR beginning! Very sad!

Now i know why Corey has been on Nascars side with the new car.

I personally myself would potentially become more engaged and not just watch highlights on RU-vid if the sport dropped the stage racing and made it go the full distance with only cautions for real debris, and true yellow flag needs.

I get attracting new fans is important but leaving the loyal fans of 30 years plus is what is taking the sport down! The younger generation loses interest In new things so fast! The older generation doesn't! This is what NASCAR is totally lost on and it's why Nascar is tending down! Sad

Awesome interview, I don’t believe he has done much of that since retiring. Could he be out in public now because he represents integrity and NASCAR’s is heavily damaged right now?

Darrell Waltrip vs Kyle Busch Bristol Both in their prime Idc what car

How many people are there that accommodate up to 100 thousand people every weekend? Not many, I think NASCAR does and always has done a great job, the best they can be. We're all human.

Thought Jeff Burton would have been listed as a leader. The Mayor

Love Mike Helton! Too bad his isn't one of the NASCAR top dogs!

That was a great show Corey. Mike Helton, who I've met, is now an icon in the sport. When you asked about the two drivers and the track, I immediately thought of Dale Sr and Rusty at Martinsville, Bristol, and Richmond. Richmond is my "home track" so that has to rank up there. That was a dog fight with those two. Of course Dale Sr and Darrel was epic on the half mile track at Richmond. Then in the middle of all that, enter Jeff Gordon. Gordon stole a lot of Rusty's thunder. Not so much of Dale's. Love the channel and you. Mike Helton is a legend in his own rite. Ate dinner on a Sunday after a Saturday night Richmond race and Mike Helton was there. Mexico Restaurant near the airport. I don't remember the year. Left the restaurant with my wife and Helton and guests following. When we walked outside there was a car in the parking lot that had tagged Helton's rental in the rear bumper. I looked at him and said "damn Mike, I didn't see Jimmy Spencer in there. But he must have been." We laughed and chatted for a while and had a great evening. Mike Helton is a true gentleman and ambassador to the sport. Keep up the good work.

unfair ? Nascar wrote the book !

There is too much nepotism in Nascar - would greatly like to see that go away!

This seems to be typical of Mike, all talk no substance, back in the day it seems like his respect for Dale Sr. kept himself in check. NASCAR has gotten too big, and too greedy for it's own good. They torched their roots, alienating their core fanbase, overestimated the solidity of the stability of their popularity and made a grave mistakes by trend hopping. Got rid of the old championship system one of the few things that make the sport stick out from the stick and ball sports.

Should of Concocted a Smack Down..."🐘In The Room"🤨

Don't forget Tony. He took over whete Dale Sr. left off.

World of Outlaws ... Ever heard

Glad mom n dad were race fans...back in the middle 50's we went to races, all stock cars....I have a massive autograph collection, many on diecast cars. Maybe that's the reason I made a living as a master mechanic.....costs $ to be fast. Racing will never be 100% safe for drivers or fans....it's a drivers choice to drive or not to drive. Team owners have the choice to race or not.....maybe Nascar should allow a drivers union. Being from the south I don't support unions.

He talks about attending races. But without practice, qualifying, meeting the drivers sessions, the track experience is not what it was. And how is a live atendee going to watch a Chicago TV race. The only way you can see what is going is via TV, whether at home of screens around the street course. Having lost 2 race winning for the season or longer, it is hard to say the cars are safe. If anyone has paid attention the past couple years to football concussions and the long term affects and later death from brain damage, they would be very concerned for the drivers and harder hits.

This makes things worse. He didn't answer anything besides explain that nascar hasn't listened in the past and continues to do so.

Wheres the time stamps?

I do believe these outspoken drivers aren’t being fair and are just beating a dead horse every single week complaining. We know theres issues with these car, NASCAR knows it, and they are working tirelessly to come up with solutions. But they have to be realistic, you can’t just change the entire car and all of the parts overnight in mid season, its either run what we got or just end the season...it’s a tough situation, but no one can do anything about it right now. Either race the cars, or sit out for the season. Mistakes happen in anything in life and instead of complaining over spilt milk, lets try to find the solution and work together, these cars safety issues are actually making drivers drive more safe and not making crazy stupid moves that would wreck the whole field.

This guy is why NASCAb is barely there

I LIKE COREY, BUT IF YOU ARE GOING ENTERVIEW MIKE YOU NEED TO ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS, NOT LIVING IN THE PAST, NASCAR IS GOING DOWN THE TUBE BECAUSE OF BAD LEADERSHIP, BAD IDEAS THAT WILL NOT WORK

It’s so annoying hearing Nascar referred to as “the league”

Different cars for each type of track

Mike Helton should be the CEO and the top leader in nascar, hes very smart, very reasonable, and he seems to have a high level of competence that would make the sport better, unlike some of the top leadership in nascar that has constantly made awful decisions and made the sport less relevant.

Education is great and those people are necessary to design a solution, but the people that have the real world experience are needed to say this will work or this won’t work,because…..?

I like MH a lot. However, this year needed to be scrapped once the concussions started. It's a known fact that this current car is not a step in the right direction in many ways, but especially safety. The drivers have shared their side, injuries have occurred as a result. The plug should have been pulled and then restart next year with a much improved car. The fact that, that did not occur is nothing short of NASCAR putting money ahead of driver safety. There is no way around it!

What you going to do you going to kill another driver quit worrying about finding these people money every week and get the safe of the car right

First with me

Great interview, well done. @CoreyLaJoie Thank you.

NASCAR needs good leadership. Brian France needs to be brought back into the fold as the CEO, President, CFO, head of the Board, etc. If someone who is a complete narcissist and drug addict can't do a better job than the current leadership, all hope is lost.

Nascar viewership and tickets sales are at an alltime low...Nascar needs a death for ratings, They saw how huge it got after Dale sr was killed and will willingly sacrifice someone to bring back the money

The next gen car was rushed to Daytona, no parts availability, unsafe to the drivers. I get you are proud of your work, but NASCAR leadership failed. Should have waited a year to Get It Right! 2) Start being consistent in rulings. Too much favoritism. 3) Stop punishing the crew chief a month for a lug nut. Stupid penalty.

Quit jumping the shark and get back to " THE RACE"

I like Mike, but at the same time he has allowed those around him to slowly destroy the series. We have gone from +900hp custom built race cars. To 550hp-700hp IMSA/IROC cars. That the sanctioning body has complete control over 💰 The series has gone from Southern Culture and profitable 📈 to Woke and Broke. If Mike and the leadership of this series don't wake up and get back to what built this series into the juggernaut it was. They'll be a cliff note in history books of once great companies that had to fold.

Why has NASCAR taken to announce "we are working on fixes/improvements, etc"? It's because of drivers like Kevin, Denny, but what REALLY got their attention was the younger Chase Elliott speaking out. Unfortunately, there are times when the message needs to be delivered with a sledgehammer, again and again. It can very well be argued that the NexGen car is less safe than the previous one. The primary motivation for this stupid f'in car was not driven by improving safety. That is what they used for public relations (PR). The reality, IMO, was NASCAR going far too far to 'level the playing field'. As my wife, who doesn't even follow NASCAR, but has immense common sense, said last night, "the next thing you know, they will be handing out participation trophies to everyone!" And then of course, there are the agreements that were made for the single-source parts. A huge part of this sport has been ingenuity! "Where are.. . Getting all their power or handling, engines that don't blow, speed, etc.? That was part of the chess match. That also includes pit stops. Single-lug wheels reduce the difference between a good and a great pit crew. I have so many negative thoughts about NASCAR, but I see the folks who like the new cars, the wheel/tire package, the bigger brakes, the transaxle and sequential gearbox (absolutely telegraphing paddle shifters to come), and all the rest, that I feel that NASCAR leaders are saying to themselves "stay the course, these old folks will be dying off soon enough." We are expendable. This whole interview smacks of "Mike, buddy, we could really use your help. We are bleeding fans; we're in real trouble. Could you please take this interview(s) and help us out?" This is blatant public relations speak. Smh Helton.

There are guys getting hurt .. its not fair to you??? Its not fair to them or the fans with these garbage ass cars. Should have left them alone

Very good at saying a whole lot of nothing. He’s the old dog that is in the unenviable position of supporting your boss and tap dancing around issues that need to be addressed but are not

I've lost all respect for the dude , he and NASCAR has ruined everything that had and if I was a team I wouldn't show up to any more races til it changed.

Mike Helton lost NASCAR in 2011

I know concussion are dangerous but dang back in the past drivers got killed and broke bones and still drove! Drivers now are just week and it's not good for the sport! It is so much safer now and for drivers to act like this is completely nuts, and I hate NASCAR!

He at the end of the day sounds like a political personality. Playing both sides. Hope he is true to his words and statements. But I doubt it.

I don't have too much to say about this little talk you're lying Mike and people know it