The Talent Tank

Latest Episodes:

EP 37 Chip MacLaughlin Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
#ChipHappens
Well it finally happened on The Talent Tank. We stepped in it fully, or it fully hit the fan. On this episode we moved this Texan, one of the funniest guys in ULTRA4 Racing from side chick to show pony. Chip MacLaughlin the driver of the # 4 Unlimited 4400 car of Rufus Racing @rufusracingtx did a cannonball into the tank, and we are so glad he did. From practical jokes, burning down trucks, running at the front of the pack, popping motors, with a heavy dose of philanthropy and figuring out what really matters when you are faced with the worst adversities in life. While we didn't talk about HOA's with Chip, he's well versed and hence this episodes "After the Checkered Flag". Enjoy!
After the Checkered Flag-
Important Tips to Avoid Being Taken Advantage of By An Abusive HOA Board & Underhanded Property Management Company:
-DOCUMENT & SAVE ALL communication and correspondence. Keep letters , emails, faxes, text messages, and record phone calls where legal. Texas is a “one-party consent” state, meaning only ONE party in a recorded conversation has to consent. Please check the applicable laws of your state or the one you’re calling to.
-Know what your Texas HOA rights are by law. Read and get an understanding of the Texas Property Codes, CC&R’s (Convenants, Conditions & Restrictions), By-Laws, and HOA Rules & Regulations.
-Get familiar with debt collection laws. The Texas Debt Collection Act, Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Texas Third Party Collections spell out Do’s and Don’ts for debt collectors.
-Organize! Talk to your neighbors and get connected with the Nextdoor app. Chances are, you are NOT THE FIRST or only homeowner to experience HOA abuse of power by your Board members. Go to your HOA meetings. Come up with an action plan to remove unscrupulous HOA Board members and property managers that don’t know the law or intentionally side-step it. Run for office so that you and your neighbors can make the community friendly decisions. As board members, you can control where the money is going and make sure that your neighbors stay in the loop through effective communication tools.
-Be patient and civil. Give your HOA Board and property management company a chance to right their wrongs. If you have exhausted all means to resolve your HOA issue before litigation but are still faced with unjust actions, then you may have a reason to sue your HOA.

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EP 36 Levi Shirley Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
When you think about Dodge City, Kansas the fastest gunslingers to walk the west come to mind. The likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and even Jesse James. Here in the modern era, competing for that title of the fastest in the history books hailing out of Dodge City is none other than ULTRA4 Racing's driver of the #81 Unlimited 4400 car Levi Shirley, @levishirley. Levi is one of the offroad endurance racing's second generation young guns, and remarkably for how young he is, has over a decade in rock sports. So dial it in and rip off the knob as we go deep on The Talent Tank with Levi discussing everything from prep, tech, sponsors, to the successes and failure that have him at the top of the 4400 game.
After the Checkered Flag-
The beef cattle sector has been and continues to be the single largest sector in the Kansas agriculture industry, with cattle and calves generating $8.27 billion in cash receipts in 2017, which accounted for more than 50 percent of Kansas agricultural cash receipts that year. Not only does Kansas have the third largest number of cattle on ranches and feedyards at 6.35 million on Jan. 1, 2019, the state also has a significant footprint in the cattle processing sector. In 2017, Kansas produced nearly 5.69 billion pounds of red meat, or nearly 11 percent of the nation’s total.
The Dodge City National Beef plant employs around 2,900 people. While the Dodge City Cargill plant employs around 2700 employees and process 5,800 to 6,000 cattle per day. Together Cargill and National Beef process about 11,000 head every day in Dodge City, Kansas.

EP 35 Alan Johnson Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
Jumping into the The Talent Tank this week is a bigger than life character that goes by the moniker The Dusty Gnome. He is anything but infinitesimal. Current VP of Marketing and Communications for ULTRA4 Racing and for many of us, our good buddy, Alan Johnson @thedustygnome. While it did take some coercing of Alan, some hesitation on his part, and ultimately chiding, you're going to enjoy the next two hours of one of the many behind the scenes personalities that keep the Ultra4 train on the tracks and charging hard. The twists and unexpected turns that Alan has navigated in life are nothing short of impressive. From his days in a band trying to make it in Nashville, to having a mid-life crisis that made him throw his hat in the "Every Man Challenge" ring at 40 years old, he has done it all. Alan is a modern day Jekyll and Hyde. He juggles his professional suit and tie, bill paying gig in the dental software world with his dust covered cargo pants, flip flops and offroad scarf wearing alter ego. I hope you enjoy this Episode highlighting the guy for all things media, perception, and focused narrative of unlimited offroad 4-wheel drive racing that is Ultra4.
Headshot provided by Lona Scott of Scott's Designs @scotts.designs
After the Checkered Flag-
Offroad scarf? The shemagh (pronounced “schmog”) – also called a keffiyeh and ghutrah – originated in the Middle East. They are a scarf-type wrap commonly found in arid regions to provide protection from direct sun exposure, as well to protect the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand. There are many different names for the shemagh, like keffiyeh and ghutrah. One style of the white and red keffiyeh is typically associated with Jordan, while another white and red pattern is associated with the Arabian Peninsula. The white and black ones are typically associated with Iraq.

EP 34 Bailey Cole Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

EP 33 Phil Licciardi Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
You are in for it in this installment of The Talent Tank. We have one of the funniest, good time having characters in all of the Ultra4 Racing family. None other than Phil Licciardi @liberty_mtn_fab of Liberty Mountain Fabrication in Gardnerville, Nevada. Some may know him by his old Pirate4x4 name of "SillyNeck", while more recently his customers have started calling him "ShockJesus". A long time, lifetime member of the Rock Zombies, Phil exemplifies and embraces the outside wheeling lifestyle. Lives, breathes, eats, sleeps the lifestyle. When you can't find him hard at work at the shop, you can find him in the pits or on the road for one of his east coast shock tuning tours. We cover some don't miss ground from recent forest fires and how he and his family dodged losing everything, to what is the Rock Zombie Bikini Car Wash.
Headshot provided by Lona Scott of Scott's Designs @scotts.designs
After the Checkered Flag-
As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by people, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, downed power lines, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava. According to Verisk’s 2019 Wildfire Risk Analysis 4.5 million U.S. homes were identified at high or extreme risk of wildfire, with more than 2 million in California alone. From January 1 to September 28, 2020 there were 44,520 wildfires compared with 39,476 wildfires in the same period in 2019, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. About 7.5 million acres were burned in the 2020 period, compared with 4.4 million acres in 2019.

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EP 32 Ryan Miller Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
When we look at the long standing race teams in the Ultra4 Racing family, one of the first that comes to mind is Campbell Enterprises out of Gilbert, Arizona. On this installment of the The Talent Tank we get a look inside race and recreational operations with a head first dive with Ryan Miller @ryan_miller_26 the new fill in driver in the Campbell stable, driving the 35AZ for Bailey Campbell @baileycampbell35az. Ryan has been a staple in the Campbell pits for over a decade, co-driving for Shannon, Weyland, and Bailey at points along the way. Heavily involved in prep, and strategy, he's become something of a defacto crewchief. Join along as we discuss Ultra4 Moab, Rebelle Rally, Flatfender Jeeps, and how Ryan came to be the go-to driver of the #35 Ultra4 Racing 4400 car.
After the Checkered Flag-
It's the stuff of legend; the U.S. Army requested a vehicle—and drove off in a hero. The Willys MB, its spirit forged by the fire of combat and honed in the heat of battle, seared its way into the hearts of warriors fighting for freedom. Fierce emotional bonds often developed between a soldier and his "jeep" 4x4. The faithful MB earned a place in every GI's heart, in every area of combat, in every conceivable role.
The tough, simple, Jeep became the GI's best friend—second only to his rifle. One MB was even awarded a Purple Heart and sent home. General George C. Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff during World War II, and later U.S. Secretary of State, described the Jeep as "America's greatest contribution to modern warfare". Scripps Howard WWII Reporter Ernie Pyle once said, "It did everything. It went everywhere. Was a faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carried twice what it was designed for and still kept going."

EP 31 James Cantrell Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

Always load on a flat level surface
Emergency brakes applied (trailer too if equipped)
Chock the tires to prevent rolling (it’s best to chock the last axle). If there are multiple axles on the trailer, chock the last axle
If observing stay away from the vehicle, and do not approach the loaded trailer until the implement is in park with the brakes locked.
If the vehicle or implement rolls or shifts while loading … DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER.
Trucks, trailers and equipment can all be replaced … you cannot.

EP 30 Puff The Magic Race Dragon Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

More than 113,000 people were injured in inflatables from 2003 to 2013, most of them children.

EP 29 Jim Marsden Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.
From across the pond, to close out this Spring 2020 season we have only the second Brit to grace The Talent Tank. We landed the dashingly handsome, almost James Bond 007'esc smooth talking linguist announcer for ULTRA4 Racing. As well as he's possibly the winning-est across all motorsport events he's competed in, none of other than the "Kingpin of Gigglepin", Jim Marsden @jim_gigglepin_marsden. Everything's on the table, from building furniture, working in the nightclubs, to figuring out how to wrench, being your own boss, winches, did we mention we talk winches specifically these dual motor crazy units Jim builds. Mix in some mudbog racing, numerous Ultra4 Europe Championships and the pilgrimage to Johnson Valley and how he got his break with a microphone in his hand to announcing for King of the Hammers and the Martelli Brothers The Mint400.
After the Checkered Flag-
The Sir John Cass School of Art, abbreviated as "The Cass" and nicknamed the Aldgate Bauhaus, is an art school in Aldgate, London that forms part of London Metropolitan University. It has a history stretching back to the 1800's via its various predecessor institutions. Learning through practice, playing with process and working with clients; students at the School gain real-world experience in both individual and collaborative projects, engaging with professionals, communities and companies. There is a strong emphasis in the teaching studios on socially engaged architecture, art and design applied to both local and global contexts. The many specialist facilities available to students include wood, metal and plastic workshops, darkrooms and digital manufacturing technology.
Headshot provided by: Paolo Baraldi

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Please like & subscribe.
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EP 28 Rob Usnick Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

Alex began his sailing adventure in the BVI from Nanny Cay BVI where he bought Bubbles a 39-foot sailboat. It took him three years to sail around the world and return back to Nanny Cay – where his adventure first began. The day Alex and his boat Bubbles returned to Nanny Cay was momentous. Alex and his crew arrived back to a massive welcoming party at the round-the-world finish line in Nanny Cay. The party went on for days and Alex and his friends celebrated across the BVI – Nanny Cay, Willy T, Cane Garden Bay and Jost Van Dyke. The documentary Chasing Bubbles on Youtube. https://youtu.be/ibP5IQxId34

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