Craig Baird

In my last year, I started that year and I had zero money, like absolutely no money whatsoever.

So I figured out ways to do deals between businesses like B2B and that I got a friend who I raced for Bob Jane T-Marts in Carrera Cup and a friend of mine had a freighting company and I got them to do all their freight for their tyres, which got me Half the way there I was the middleman did the deal and I was just a shonky salesman the other day and the b2b got me halfway there and that sort of got me in DVS in like a few rounds in then I sort of Beg borrowed and steal it off people sold sponsorship and I eventually got to the end Yeah, that was like one of the hardest years of my life I was 22 years old at the time trying to find you know half a million dollars and I had zero so I Beg borrowed and steal it off everyone and and just made it and luckily I I got very, very lucky that the next year in 2009, sorry, at the end of 2008, start of 2009, Rick Kelly left HSV dealer team, which opened up a seat for myself.

And they found Bundy Red Racing or Bundaberg Red as a sponsor.

And they nominated myself as the young driver and that got my start in supercars.

I know then maybe my brain wasn't, ready for what happened or the damage it had to my brain wasn't, I don't know, wasn't computing fast enough, I don't know, but I just couldn't drive a car then.

And it took me a while to sort of get back into the rhythm again.

Actually, a friend of mine, Craig Baird, got me a job in a career cup team in New Zealand a few months later.

And then that sort of got me back onto my feet.

Like I'd switch you back at one or two laps before and I thought, yeah, I'm going to break deep and try and switch you back again, which...

Craig Baird, he overran the corner and went wide.

I don't know why it wasn't a penalty, but whatever.

No, I'm joking.

I'll come to it in a second.

When you walked up here today for this interview, I glanced over the balcony and you were deep in conversation with Craig Baird before you came here.

My point is more about the interaction now with someone like that.

Maybe you're a bit daunted in the manner you've just described to begin with.