A ton of NASCAR stars learned how to really drive on dirt: Kyle Larson sliding sprint cars in California, Austin Dillon banging doors in late models, all before they ever touched a Cup car. That loose-surface school teaches you how to feel a car, how to stay on the gas when everything wants to spin. Ken Schrader did the exact opposite.

He spent decades at the top of NASCAR and then, when most guys hang up the helmet, he went right back to the dirt tracks he never really left. In 2013, he told everyone he was stepping away from Cup racing, then immediately added, “It’s not retirement, just no plans to come back.” Now, he finally explained why it never felt like walking away.

Schrader explains why NASCAR stopped feeling like home

On the Herm & Schrader podcast , Schrader, sitting with

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