E17 Bryce Kenny - Strapping in With God's Direction

Greg Scott: Hello and welcome to 315 Voices. I'm your host, Greg Scott. First Peter 315 reminds us to always be prepared to give an account when someone asks for the reason for the hope that's in us. And today's guest is Bryce Kenny If you're a Monster Truck fan, then you already recognize his name. He's the driver behind the Tech Deck Wreck Deck Truck on the Monster Jam Tour. And Bryce's public life is marked with going fast and making a lot of noise. But his faith journey looks a lot like me and you, waiting on God's timing, trusting in his plan, and getting our own pride out of the way. Well, today you're going to meet the Bryce that just wants to lean in wherever God plants and provides a route to serve. So I'm so glad you've joined the podcast today to hear our conversation with Bryce Kenny. Well, Bryce Kenny, brother, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for coming on today.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, thanks for having me, man. I'm excited. This is gonna be fun.

Greg Scott: a lot of our viewers are different levels of sports fans and I've certainly got some big engine fans in there that won't have to Google your name but as soon as the other ones do they're gonna be excited and talked to our mutual friend Randy Johnson a few weeks ago and steered me in your direction with your faith story and so I'm super

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: excited to see where this takes us the next few minutes.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, well, if anyone's not listened to that episode with Randy, they should. So Randy started God's Pit Crew, as some listeners have heard. And man, you talk about a man of faith. And that's where Randy and I just connected immediately. Was not just, you know, some people use that word faith as like belief. It's not it's not. It's it's it's belief plus action. Like there's action that's backing up that belief. And you're going where logic doesn't take you. You're going where the Lord takes you. And Randy is just such a great example of that. But But no, I if some of your listeners have never thought a monster truck driver was either a speaker or an author or anything but a driver, then they'll just be shocked I don't talk like Tomator from the movie cars or Larry the

Greg Scott: Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: cable guy here so far. So we're already we're already exceeding expectations, aren't we, Greg?

Greg Scott: We're we're breaking down stereotypes already. And actually it it might be fun if you did talk like Tomator, but we'll go forward with with

Bryce Kenny: Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Well, there's plenty of those too out there that we can we could have on the podcast, so there

Greg Scott: we'll just get cranked up with kind of talking about your story a little bit. This is not something you tripped into. Going fast and and making engines go at the top

Bryce Kenny: Mm-hmm.

Greg Scott: of what they're capable of doing is something you've known your whole life, isn't it?

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, I grew up in Kentucky. Well, I grew up in North Carolina, but I I sometimes I get that mixed up because I spent all of my summers growing up at my grandfather's drag strip in Clay City, Kentucky. And he owned it. It was called Mountain Parkway Motorplex at the time. Now it's just Kentucky Drag Dragway. And man, I loved that those I guess that childhood, but those summers where I would just spend the week weed eating the fence line and On Saturday, I'd get to run our little junior dragster and just thought even though I was going forty-five, fifty miles an hour, I might as well have been going 300 miles an hour. but that just ignited a dream in me to to really just do motorsports. And but I didn't know I wanted to do it as a for my career and as a living until we and my family kind of turned professional in top fuel drag racing. So those those long skinny cars that go 300 miles an hour in just four seconds. My grandfather, I was 12 when he bought it, but he sold the drag strip and he bought a top fuel operation. And I was 13 when I begged him to let me go to the first national event to watch him go 300 miles an hour. And it was just incredible. And I remember I think I was wanting to say I was probably 15. so two summers of that, every time, man, I the day I'd get out of school, I would leave and somehow talk my parents into letting me go on the road with my grandfather all summer long and our team, because we had a team of about eight or nine people. And about 15 years old, after a couple of years of doing it, I remember we were broke down on the side the road. The the tow rig was messed up, and we were waiting on help and all that stuff. And we just had all this time in the world. I'm looking at my grandfather and my uncle, who was our crew chief, and I told them, I said, guys, I know I can do this. In a couple of years, if grandpa is out of the the the seat, then I want I want us to look at this and plan for saying how can I take that over at 18, 19 years old. So I knew in that moment, I was like, I am going to do this for a living. And I got the chance to do it. got our got my top fuel license and was doing match racing. But man, that was in the last big recession. And I'm sure everyone remembers a little bit of that pain from 2010. I it was so hard for me to find enough money to keep it going. So I ran it really kind of on my shoulders for about two, two and a half years as a driver. and and man, I I remember Finally it felt like the thousandth no that I got from a company. But it was a big construction company. And they they told me, they said, Bryce, we just laid off five hundred people. Like, how are we supposed to give you a dime to go racing? Like that's just not we just can't do that right now. And I thought, well, that's a great point. I remember going to my grandfather and I said, Are you only keeping this at this point from for me? Because I'm your grandson. And he said, Yeah. I said, Don't do that. I said, Take care of you and grandma. Like you guys do what you need to do. And so he ended up selling it. And man, it was crushing for me because even though it wasn't crushing to me that he sold it, it was just like I kind of put my hands up and I'm like, man, I did everything right. Why did this not work out? I thought I did everything to what I thought I was even called to go and do, and it didn't work out. that was a death of a dream. And a mentor really helped me and counseled me through that. But to answer your question on Monster Jam, all of sudden, four years fast forward from that moment of us selling it, I was in a corporate job for about four years, but Monster Jam called me and they said, Hey man, we we got your information from a guy, believe it or not, that I went to college with. So it had nothing to do with even the top fuel experience. But they said, we got your information. We'd love for you to come up and and test in a truck. And man, the rest is history. I've been full time with them for eleven years. It's been insane that that has been my career in monster trucks and something that I just never thought was was even a viable career opportunity.

Greg Scott: You know, somebody like me, which most people are and and haven't, go back to the you go three hundred miles an hour in four seconds. You can get to a hundred, correct me if I've got any of this wrong, you can get to a hundred in the first second and just get out and you're

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, point eight seconds.

Greg Scott: getting out peeling yourself in the back. And none of that you're talking thirteen, fourteen years old, you're looking at that and going, I can do that. And

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: yeah, that that part is insane enough for most folks. What was the first time that you got in one of those dragsters and let it rip? How did that how did that hit you? Other

Bryce Kenny: man.

Greg Scott: than I can do this every day if somebody let me?

Bryce Kenny: Well, the first time I ever launched that car, because you're right, it was it's zero to a hundred and point eight seconds, it'll beat a major league baseball pitcher from the mound to the home plate. That's how violently fast they are.

Greg Scott: Crazy. Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: twelve thousand horsepower. They don't they don't really have a dyno which measures horsepower. They don't really have a dyno that can measure it. So it's estimated. And the reason why it's estimated, don't think less than twelve thousand. We actually they're starting to think more like they could be closer to like fifteen thousand horsepower. it's just insane what Topfield Dragsters put out. But the first time I ever launched it, it was honestly, it was kind of fun because I was prepared for it. I had heard other drivers who didn't press themselves up against the seat as hard as they could. and the first time they launched it, they came came back with a bruise the size of a softball on their back. So I was ready.

Greg Scott: Mm.

Bryce Kenny: There was a there was a cross beam in the cockpit that goes across by my feet. And as soon right before I launched the truck, I put my left foot over, I took it off the clutch pedal, put it on that cross beam, and shoved my back into the seat as hard as I possibly could. So when I launched the car, I wouldn't come back with that bruise. And it was genuinely a lot of fun. The s the next pass though, we we went to half track. And Greg, the best way I can describe it is if someone, if there's any Star Trekes out there, when they go into the hyper speed and the stars all of a sudden from from the you know TV, they all of a sudden the stars go whizzing by. They almost turn into lines. That's the best way I can describe what it was like halfway down the track because all of a sudden you get all of that 12,000 horsepower locked up and you're using it all because you can't launch the car with all 12,000. It's kind of like a delayed horsepower a application as you go down the track. But when all of that locked up, it sent me into that hyper speed it felt like my Peripheral vision started going away because the human mind, you it cannot comprehend the peripherals when you're going that s that fast. And the faster it's going and accelerating, the the less and less that peripheral vision goes. And they call it tunnel vision. I mean, I I remember lifting after I felt that at half track the first time, that was what the scheduled pass was, but I felt the the the the car lock up in a good way and and apply all that horsepower. I came back to the pit area and I looked at my grandfather and thought, There is no way that people drive these. Like, how in the world do you guys go out there and do this every single pass? So it was definitely the most surreal experience and so much fun, almost nearly indescribable that how much force that does of pressing you into the seat until at the end of that four second run when you let off. That's the easiest you have. But then it throws you the opposite way, Greg, because you pull the parachutes

Greg Scott: Right, yeah.

Bryce Kenny: to slow it down and it throws you against the seats. Negative G's. I think it's negative four or negative five G's against the seat belts. So anyway, it was a really crazy experience, and I I hope to do it again.

Greg Scott: I was actually gonna ask that. I thought to myself as you were describing getting pinned back against the seat to get started. I said, You gotta stop. You get a thousand feet to do all of that

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, that's right.

Greg Scott: to get to get out of there and to get stopped in a safe way. that's that's really putting a lot of force on your body. So maybe you can't do it every day, but you could do it a lot and and you certainly were good at it, and it was that family tie really led you that direction. So I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna lead you backwards a little bit. Growing up, was it a a family connection? A lot of us have. I grew up with my family in church and being exposed to the gospel. Where was that for you?

Bryce Kenny: Well, I grew up in a Christian home Christian school and it was kind of I've got one of those testimonies where it's almost like I had to understand that I was lost before I could be found. I think

Greg Scott: Mm.

Bryce Kenny: some people that grow up and they think, Well, yeah, I'm a Christian because they say that and they don't know really what that means. I think they're some some of the hardest people to reach a lot of times You almost have to convince them that they're lost first. that they never actually accepted the gospel. But grew in a Christian home, Christian school. I always had great influences. My grandfather was such a huge influence for me, especially all those summers. I mean, going to those races, those top fuel races, I'd be in the race rig with him up front, listening to him talk about Jesus. and he was such a strong believer, but he was also a man of faith. So I'd l I love to say that I learned faith from he from him because man, he would always just go without knowing what the answer or solution was gonna be. And I got to watch this. God of his work in a very real way. And I wanted that. But it really wasn't until my junior year of high school and I had that crisis of belief where I was like, you know what? This is either real or it's not. And if it's not real, if this Jesus guy did not resurrect, because even the apostle Paul says that, he's like, if if everything hinges on the resurrection. If the resurrection didn't happen, none of this is true. And so I'm like, that's a wild thing that we're all just believing. Is that this guy named Jesus, who claimed to be God, resurrected from the dead and is alive today? Like that's if you really sit back and think about that, that is so wild that some people just blindly just accept that without ever really thinking, is that true? Did that really happen? And I had that my junior year of high school. And so it was like, man, if that, if that didn't happen. This is all a giant waste of time. If he didn't resurrect, then I'm wasting my time even caring about any of this. However, if he did resurrect, then nothing else matters. Like nothing matters more than this And so I remember kind of praying that prayer, like, Well, God, you got two weeks. I was like, You got reveal yourself to me. Okay. and I don't remember anything profound happening in that two weeks, but I do remember about six months after that, remembering that I prayed that. And everything had changed radically within those six

Greg Scott: Mm.

Bryce Kenny: months. And I but I also remember That within those two weeks, however, someone did give me a book called The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. And it changed everything I knew about scripture because it explained grace to me. And remember, I grew up in a Christian home, Christian school. I had no idea what grace was. No one explained to me. And Roman, I mean, Paul's trying to explain that in the book of the whole book of Romans is about helping people understand. Dude, you the law is not bad, but it was fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled it and he gave you freedom and you get to live this life of freedom and of righteousness, not because you did anything right, but because Jesus did it all right and put us into that right standing with the Father. He's not just merciful, but he's giving you things you don't deserve. and and man, it ignited me. I was like, this is what I want. I'm not looking for This, I felt like everyone was just using the Bible as like behavior modification. And so that was my junior year. And then man, ever since then it's just been this this radical walk of faith of saying, God, where do you want me to go next? I'll step, you lead. I'll step you guide. You know, you put the puzzle pieces together the way that you want them to go, but I know that you need me to be an active vessel. And so I'm but I'm listening. My ears are open as I'm walking. My hands are open to receive the things you want to give me. and let's let's do this. if you're looking for a man of faith, I'm the guy, right? That's what I wanted to be.

Greg Scott: You know, a couple of things to pull out of there. One is when that makes sense to us as believers, even as believers, when that makes sense to me of I can absolutely do nothing. There'll never be a day where I I get square. Every loan we pull out, we can eventually pay off, you know, on earth. Or if I owe you something or if we can trade something out, even if it's hard, it takes a long time. But I can I can work a millennia worth of lifetimes and I'm still not

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: gonna come close to squaring the house. And so because of that I just have to yield.

Bryce Kenny: Yep. Hmm.

Greg Scott: And you having that moment as a teenager is huge of being able to grasp that of I can't do anything, so it's all yours anyway. And you just hand it over to him. And you said something earlier when we first started about your definition of faith has nothing to do with what you believe. It's what you do with it. you know,

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: the New Testament is full of examples where Paul and Peter and and others remind us that salvation is not the penultimate. It's the beginning. It's not where we stop

Bryce Kenny: Mm, that's right. Amen.

Greg Scott: and end it. It's like, okay, and now you have you have marching orders and

Bryce Kenny: Mm-hmm.

Greg Scott: and y living that out's a big deal. But man, that's what a background. talk now a little bit about what you described of the death of a dream, but how that already coming to terms with what your faith should look like got you through

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: that.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah. And to that point, I was, man, I was doing everything right in this top fuel dream of mine. I mean, I I had Josh McDowell. Some people are following Sean McDowell, but if there's a lot of people our age and older, they they know sho Josh McDowell. But Josh McDowell endorsed my racing ministry. I mean, I is like all this stuff. I had the quote and the pictures and all that stuff, and I'm like, I mean, what better endorsement than that? I was doing all these things right, and my goal was to even evangelize through. Top fuel drag racing. And so I remember just the day when it was it all went away. And I was like, why God did that did you not bless that? Why did you not grow that? And I was angry. I wasn't angry at God because I was I knew that there would be a a reason for that. But man, I was this, you know, I want to say I was twenty two, I think, and I was just angry at everyone else. I was also angry at myself. But then I started looking at all these people that that were making it in motorsports and I was angry at them. I'm like, well, I know they're not better than me. They're not smarter than me. Like, why did they make it and I not? And I was so lost. And I was sitting in a little office with a mentor of mine. And that's what he looked at me and said. He said, Bryce, you're just in the the death of a dream. I'm like, okay, what does that really what does that mean? No one said that. What are you talking about, death of a dream? He said, look, he said, every God given dream goes through three stages: a birth, A death and a resurrection. He said, if you're truly after the face of the Father, then that resurrection will come and be bigger than you ever thought it would be, or any bigger than you than you could have ever done on your own as well. He said, but you have to understand, he said, you you have a you had a God-given dream that was birthed in you, and you experienced that, you got to be a part of it. And now you're in this death stage. My only, my only advice to you is to don't stay in the death stage. And guess what? And believe and know that God's not going to keep you there forever either. But I'll say this, man, that death stage was so pivotal for me of the dream because there were still life-giving things going on, meaning I got married during that death stage. We bought a house. We started a family. Like, what was God doing? He was getting my house in order. Looking back, he got my house in order. And we were able to kind of establish ourselves as a family before we went. into this motorsports chapter. fast forward to this monster jam, this monster truck career. And believe it or not, and I mentioned this here at the beginning of the episode. I the only reason I found Monster Jam was because I hosted a guy on his soccer recruiting trip that grew up with the Anderson family, who started Gravedigger 40 something years ago. He grew up with that family. I hosted him in college for soccer. We became buddies. Then five years after that, when Ma was in the middle of this death stage, he said, Hey man, you ever thought about driving a monster truck? And I'm like, no, what does that even mean? And that's what started that snowball effect. I could not have created that story on my own and opened that door. But God did. He had something that He He had that connection I made years prior and then began that resurrection of my dream of being in motorsports full time. And it came up in a way different way than I would have chosen or would have done or been capable of doing. And that's okay. I'm 11 years into this monster truck career. And guess what? Even if monster trucks end this year, I know the pathway to not only stay in motorsports, maybe even getting back into top fuel, but the the the dream is not dying here. God is still resurrecting this. And the key to all of that, the difference, Greg, the birth of that dream, I would have done it for my own glory. After the death of that dream and watching God resurrected in his way, my desire is not for myself to be glorified, but 100% is to glorify the Father. That's it. And you can look through scripture. Gideon went through it, Moses went through it. You name it. Go through all those stories and watch that birth of a dream. the death of a dream and then how watch how God resurrects it in his way in a bigger way than man could ever do.

Greg Scott: And it's and he says he'll do that. I can do exponentially more than you ever even imagined, if you allow me to do that. And what a lot of wisdom looking back when we look at our life through the lens of man, that was a tough spot and that was hard. woe is me. Then

Bryce Kenny: Mm-hmm.

Greg Scott: it looks worse, it feels worse, it even feels worse after we get out of the valley. But if we can look it's hard to do it during, right? But once we get through that and we turn around and we We look over our shoulder and we go, No, I wouldn't script that and if I had to go back before it, I still wouldn't script it that way. But I see exactly what God did and and now I'm in a position whether it's what I wanna do or what God wants me to do that I didn't ever think about.

Bryce Kenny: people were well, why would God do that and take someone through that season? It's like, it's not that he loves us so much to take us through that season. And I don't want people

Greg Scott: Hey, there it is.

Bryce Kenny: to mishear us what we're saying. We're not saying, yeah, I went through a season of cancer. God gave me cancer. No. Can God use A season of disease like cancer to bring the something good out of it? Absolutely. Only a loving father could bring something like that. But the enemy comes to kill, till steal, and destroy, right? I think we've lost the heart of the father in all of this, and we've forgotten that there's a battle, a spiritual battle going on that's more real than this physical battle that we're enduring. And we've got to get really honest as men about going out there and and and stop blaming a good father, a good God. Stop blaming him for what the enemy is trying to attack us with in our life.

Greg Scott: You mentioned that you played high level soccer and I've played college baseball and have coached for a long time. Any coach that's not shaping and trying to get rid of bad habits and

Bryce Kenny: Mm.

Greg Scott: replace them with nothing but good habits, if if your coach doesn't do that, it's not a guy you really want to play for. And

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: what God says is I can't I can't put you in the game with the habits you have. And I can't use you to your fullest capabilities unless I break some of this stuff off and the way that you described it. And so he does have to do that. And you know, some of those things are painful. Some of those drills that you did

Bryce Kenny: Mm-hmm.

Greg Scott: growing up playing soccer, they're not your favorite parts of growing up playing soccer. and and so he had to do that man, you mentioned Gravedigger. Now I've never gone the times that I've gone over know sp the speed limit, it was not I wasn't supposed to. You know, this wasn't I didn't get to do that in places cool like you where it's a controlled environment. But man, I grew up watching those gravedigger Bigfoot. They would come on and those were the coolest things. So you get that phone call that you weren't expecting through the connection that you've already mentioned that God placed years before that. Did you hang up and go, That sounds extremely cool. I I can't wait to try kind of try this. Or had you ever thought about that before?

Bryce Kenny: No. In fact, that was that first call. They said, Have you ever seen an event in in person? And I'm like, No. So they said, Well, there's one in Greensboro coming up. You need to go check it out. And so that's actually how it all started is I went over to the Greensboro Coliseum. And I always like to tell people, you just never forget the first time you see a a monster truck fly through the air. And it's just such a cool experience. And I remember hanging up with them, going to the Coliseum, watching it that weekend, calling them back and saying, Hey, I'm in. Like I want to come and try this out. And that's what they were doing. They like auditions and testing and trying to find new drivers. I will say it I struggled though initially because I was afraid since it did not look the same, like it wasn't top field drag racing. And even now, man, my heart, I love professional drag racing. when I looked at it, I was like, am I going to do something good? Like, is the monster truck stuff, is that a good opportunity, but that's keeping me from something great? Like, could the enemy be using this as a distraction for me? Because I at the time that I got that call, I was in a corporate job. It was the first six figure job I ever had. I love I I loved what I did. It was executive recruiting. I was I was placing C suite executives into private equity backed portfolios and talking to some of the coolest corporate people you could speak to all week long. maybe I should stay in this, really good industry, make a lot of money over the next 15, 20 years and get some get back into top fuel. And I remember where I was because I was in my garage and I was on the phone with someone and struggling to to figure out if what decision I was going to make. And I I looked at that and I said, what's on my wall right now of my shop? Like, did I place a bunch of pictures of a CFO that I placed? No. Right? They were all memories and things from motorsports, from days with my grandfather, from the top fuel stuff, all this stuff. That's what was all over my shop. And I remember thinking, you know, you're called to motorsports. You weren't just called to top fuel, you're called To change the world through motorsports. I hung up and I called the organization I said I'm in. And so that's the biggest thing for me. I was looking at that and going, Man, like everyone is struggling, all of us as men, like we're struggling with what do I do? How much do I move? Like you talked a second ago about, you know, getting put in the game. It's like, but people don't need to think that God left them at home either. Like you're still out

Greg Scott: That's right.

Bryce Kenny: there on the field, no matter what, he's looking for you to swing the bat. Whether, whether it's game time or or training, that's up to him, right? But he still wants you up there swinging the bat so he can coach you and he can do it. You have to practice, right? That's what the Jews, the Jews call it a practicing faith. and for me to say, look, I'm going to take this step. And it's not logical. Like I took a 30% pay cut from my corporate

Greg Scott: Mm.

Bryce Kenny: gig to get back into motorsports. That's not logical. But our

Greg Scott: Right.

Bryce Kenny: ways are not his ways. Our thoughts are not God's thoughts. And I'm looking at that going, so many men, the thing that that men struggle the most. With their walk with Jesus, is they're looking at their relationship with God through the lens of logic instead of the lens of faith. Full stop. Our logic. It's not that God is illogical. It's not that it's illogical to believe in God. It's that the things that He asks us to do are illogical. Things like love your neighbor love your enemies. That's not logical. No, no, no. You should protect. You know, the world wants us to protect ourselves. They hurt you once. That's why they're your enemy. Right. And here he's saying, hey, forgive. Jesus is saying, if you haven't forgiven them 70 times seven, then you've not really forgiven you. Then you have then you

Greg Scott: Mm-hmm. Right.

Bryce Kenny: hate them in your heart. It's like, that's not logical. But God is is works in such a way that our logic cannot comprehend. So if we're trying

Greg Scott: Yep.

Bryce Kenny: to use logic to see what God is asking us to do to make that next step, we're never gonna make it. And God's like, I just want you to step. I just want you to look at the Red Sea and understand. I mean, think about how many Israelites, I think about that all the time. The Israelites looking back at Moses, like, what do you want us to do? can you imagine what the Israelites were thinking in that point? It's like, but God's asking us to take those steps, whether we see where that step is going, and then that's where when as we're practicing that faith, that's where he starts to put the puzzle pieces together in a way that we could never do.

Greg Scott: Without a risk analysis is what I tell myself all the time of well, let me see, what are the probable and possible outcomes of saying yes? How many of them do I like? which ones can I not live with? And all the time

Bryce Kenny: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Greg Scott: putting humanness on God's a bad idea, but all the time God is sitting there just going, just go. Just to be obedient,

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: say yes, let me take care of the details. And any time I've done that, which I'm ashamed to say is not as often as I'd love for it to be. I look back and go, I'm so glad I just was obedient

Bryce Kenny: Mm.

Greg Scott: and asked fewer questions how do you now, you're you're one of the top monster truck drivers in Monster Jam. you I still think hold the world record, if I found this correctly, for the highest speed ever in a monster truck, a hundred point three miles an hour. Do you still hold that?

Bryce Kenny: They just broke it. It was like a month ago. Yeah,

Greg Scott: You gotta get back in there, man.

Bryce Kenny: I know. I think it was a I think it's a hundred and two, but I get the I still have the Guinness World Record plat or the award certificate, which is so cool to me. I never thought I would get to to break a Guinness

Greg Scott: Hundred percent.

Bryce Kenny: World Record and be in the Guinness World Record book. I do have that. and I'll I'll forever be the first driver to hit triple digits at a hundred. So that's pretty cool.

Greg Scott: That is extremely cool. And I even as I watch it i if I get to turn it on now or certainly watched it years ago, I the speed, okay, that's fun, jumping up man, you guys are now, I think intentionally putting yourself in a position to put on a show in the air. what was the first time that you ended up cab side down? How'd that go?

Bryce Kenny: I want to say it was my first actual event.

Greg Scott: Ha ha.

Bryce Kenny: yeah, I'm pretty sure Birmingham, Alabama, since you're asking it. And I it was just a wheelie competition and well, boom, and then it just fell over backwards. and yeah, anytime you hit the side of the truck that doesn't have suspension on it, it's always kind of a rough landing. So

Greg Scott: No jar.

Bryce Kenny: I the hardest thing, believe it or not, was climbing out of them when they are upside down. Like because you're so tight in the truck and you're trying to figure out which side to crawl out of, which side to how to contort your body and twist it. Cause you know, I'm laying head down with my legs up above me at that point. and you about the time you unbuckle, you're just falling forward and your helmets on and all that stuff. So I that was one of the things I started to practice when I would go up to our test field is anytime I would crash up there, I'd start practicing getting out of the thing because it was so disorienting being on the roof like that.

Greg Scott: Yeah. And it's just not designed for that. It's not designed to get out of that

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Greg Scott: direction. but God's given you this platform in that world. How do you I wanna s I wanna ask it to say how serious do you take it, but you've made it clear already in just our conversation that it's it's serious to you. But how are you intentional about using the platform that God's provided you?

Bryce Kenny: Hmm. Well, it's funny because you know, with the top fuel stuff, I was incredibly intentional about evangelizing with motorsports. And one of the things that he has had to teach me, there's a couple of times in my life I'd say I've heard the audible voice of God. one of them was when he told me in in the middle of my monster truck career, I was like, I'm I was in church, I was like, God, I don't feel like I'm doing enough. I don't, you know, I'm not ashamed of you. Like w you tell me, I'll scream the name Jesus from the rooftops. And he said, I'm gonna raise you up in my time, not yours. I was like, Okay, can you elaborate? No elaboration came. Right. And then about a year, maybe two later, I'd have to go back and look at the timeline. I heard the audible voice of God again because I was like, Okay, God, like if there's something you're wanting me to learn and stuff, but he he was showing me that I was there first of all to glorify him. And then all of a sudden, about maybe a a couple of years after that, I that I I did hear something change. And all I heard him say was, pray, don't preach. And there was about three, it was, it was, I want to say that was about three years ago, we were heading up to Syracuse, New York. for an event, I wasn't gonna be home. I wasn't happy about the fact that I wasn't gonna be home for Easter. But I heard that the week before. And so I just mean, I was kind of like, man, I'm like intimidated. These are my colleagues, but I'm gonna offer it up to just pray. And if anyone wants to join me to pray, you know, we're gonna be at the backflip ramp. And I just, if anyone wants to pray, believe it or not, it's the first time I'd ever like prayed corporately with people in that industry. And

Greg Scott: Mm.

Bryce Kenny: there were a bunch of people that joined, not everybody, but you know, there's probably six or seven people that came out to that. And they were just some of them were teary-eyed at the end, not because the prayer was that great, but because they they did not realize that other people in the industry loved Jesus too. And so I just started praying. I just started praying, not preaching to people in that industry at work and stuff like that. But it's funny because the more we just prayed together, and I prayed for people, you know, I'd and then I'd have people come through my autograph line and something would be going on. I'd just be Man, can I pray for And like, yeah, sure. Right. And I'm praying for them and praying for stuff specific things over the life. And now all of a sudden the security guard that is protecting my line joins us in our prayer together.

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Bryce Kenny: Like stuff like that to watch these things happen, and you're going, man, God, you really can do things without me. Like You know, I mean, you you've got this. The fact that

Greg Scott: How about that?

Bryce Kenny: you are are including me at all in this story is remarkable. And so, man, we've just been we've been normalizing prayer in a corporate setting and in private settings. And man, I've seen God do more with that than any other thing I've ever tried to do from an evangelism standpoint. And even some of this other stuff, I'm still getting the chance to preach, to talk, to go and lead men's retreats and men's conferences, both corporately and Christian. Like it's just watching God allow this to unfold in his timing is really cool. But again, I'm moving. He's putting those puzzle pieces together as I go.

Greg Scott: And and again it still stems back to obedience. You hear the voice

Bryce Kenny: Yeah. Hmm.

Greg Scott: and say, Hey, pray, don't push it, don't force it. Just just go to a spirit and a season of prayer.

Bryce Kenny: Mm.

Greg Scott: And then the obedience used you look back and go, I'm I'm glad I didn't do this one on my own either, because it's really

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: borne some fruit that I didn't see and that I'm thankful for. And you know,

Bryce Kenny: Mm.

Greg Scott: every so often it's not a zero percent that someone reacts negatively, but most of the time Don't you find when you say, Hey, can I or how can I pray for you? There is a there's an okay positive response even out of people you wouldn't think.

Bryce Kenny: Yes, one hundred percent. And the people that I know, colleagues of mine, other drivers, that specifically have said, I I do not believe in God. Like they they are agnostic at best. Okay. They believe that something might be is probably out there, but they're not convinced it's Jesus. even they tell me, yeah, one time I was talking to one of them, one of my best buddies, and he's not a believer. And somehow it came up that I prayed for him. He's like, You pray for my family and me. I'm like, yeah, dude, I pray for you guys all the time. And he was like, dude, that means a lot to me. So to your point, it's like, even when just people know that you're praying for them, even as an agnostic, he he was so blown away that I would take the time and and and and love him and his family enough to do something like that.

Greg Scott: You spoke earlier about during your season while you were working corporately, you started your family. So talk a little bit about your wife, how she now fits into your ministry and how that providing by God really kinda completed where you were heading in the next direction.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, McKenzie. we've been married for 15 years this year. we were high school sweethearts. And it's funny because that's our senior year, we we started dating two weeks before graduation, which would have been a terrible decision for most people. And we're going to separate colleges that fall and everything. So I mean, it just never it did not have the right ingredients to make it. And yet we made it, right? but it was funny because when we had that conversation, I just told her, I Look, I'm gonna be in motor sports and I want you to be okay with that. And she said, I'm okay with that. She said, I want to be I want to raise our children. Like I don't I don't want to send them off to daycare. I want to be a stay-at-home mom while they're there. and I said, I'm okay with that. I love that idea. So thankfully we've gotten to do that the la the last 11 years. with Eliza, my oldest, Keegan is nine, and then Ava is five. And now she's starting kindergarten and we've had that really great conversation, McKenzie and I have, my wife, about hey, you know, now they're starting back school. what do you want to do? I want her to do something she's passionate about. And man, we have been lit on fire together with she's teaching all over the place. A bunch of churches bring her in. She's a phenomenal speaker, phenomenal teacher. not only just her testimony, but the way she breaks down scripture is so remarkable. And I'm just excited to see because God is bringing so many things out of her right now and working through her in a again, in a way that I think she has for years was waiting on someone to tell her that, hey, it's your time, it's your turn, not over me, but just in the church. Yeah.

Greg Scott: In life. Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: And she's realizing no one's coming. It it's it's for you to say, God, I'm ready. Like it's God to say it's it's our creator that's waiting on us to not get better. But to to start moving and allow him to make us better along the way.

Greg Scott: Well, like you, I'm blessed with a life mate that loves Jesus and have way sharpened me more than I've I've done anything for her over the years. And sometimes it's just by me observing how she lives life or how she cares about other people and challenge for me. And it sounds like you outkicked your coverage as well, my brother.

Bryce Kenny: Yes, very true. Yes, Greg. You and me both, my friend.

Greg Scott: Yep. so fast forward half a century and people are looking back at the not just career of Bryce Kenny but the life and they speak about you and and what do you want that to sound like?

Bryce Kenny: I just want, if anything, like that's specific about me. I want people to see me as a man of faith. I want them to realize that it wasn't me who did it. It was just, hey, he wasn't good enough to deserve or earn any of that stuff. It was only by the grace of God and through Jesus Christ that he ever got that opportunity. But man, that guy just walked, whether he knew where the path was or not. And God put things together for him in a way that he could have never done himself. And he's a man of faith.

Greg Scott: Mm-hmm.

Bryce Kenny: And we've messed it up in the church. We are not thinking about because it scares us, because we want to safe Jesus. We don't want the Jesus that'll part the Red Sea. You know, we want the Jesus that that'll never ask us to leave Egypt to begin with. I want people to see me as a as a man who walked by faith and let God do do his work and was just always humble enough to even be considered to be used by the

Greg Scott: Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: Lord.

Greg Scott: Well, Bryce, all of our guests go through a three one five challenge on three one five voices. And the three in that is give me the three books, and even if you have more than that, outside of scripture that have impacted your life to share

Bryce Kenny: Mm.

Greg Scott: with our listeners.

Bryce Kenny: Okay. Well, I've I've mentioned the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brendan Manning. Strongly encourage people if they've not, and he's a Brendan Manning is a just a remarkable writer. sometimes it gets a little deep, but he will help anyone that's trying to understand God and the heart of the father better start there. So anyway, Rag and Muffin Gospel, Brendan Manning. Number two, Walking with God by John Eldridge. I try to read that book once a year. It it just reminds me how good God is and how much he wants to talk to us and interact with us and be he says he wants to, you know, that he would walk with Adam. In the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden. And I really sincerely believe that he wants to do that with us again. And the the third is by the Benham Brothers. It's called Whatever the Cost. That challenged me a in a big way about a year ago. It reminds us of the eternal perspective we have to take and consider in everything that we're doing. And it gets us out of our head of thinking about the here and the now. And it's understanding look, whatever we have to give up, whatever the cost of following Jesus is, it's worth it because of eternity. And so that book is so good and very practical and helpful in a lot of ways. If someone's in the workforce and like, man, I just don't know how to really be a Christian in a non Christian environment, read that book. Whatever the cost is so good.

Greg Scott: Okay, three good ones. And I've not read one and three, but John Eldridge is so solid. So the one in the three one five challenge, which would be interesting for you, is who's the one most we use the word famous a lot, most

Bryce Kenny: Mm-hmm.

Greg Scott: recognizable name in your phone that if you picked it up, shot a text or or called they would hit you back.

Bryce Kenny: Ooh, that would hit me back. I haven't tried it in a while because I've not had a reason to text him, but we have texted back and forth as Gronk. So

Greg Scott: Okay.

Bryce Kenny: Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots player,

Greg Scott: Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: he drove my truck and I got to teach him how to drive it. And we did this thing for ABC. There's a show that was on for a while. It was like teaching it was putting professional athletes in these other sports that they're not professionals in. And it was pretty great. Well,

Greg Scott: Okay.

Bryce Kenny: they did one in monster trucks. And I was his coach. So he drove my truck and stuff and we just hit it off. He was great. and exchanged numbers and and texted and stuff like that. But I've not texted him for a while. So I I'm sure by now he's forgotten about me since it's been a couple of years, but maybe not. But and I do

Greg Scott: Maybe not.

Bryce Kenny: have that where we've actually texted each other. So there you go.

Greg Scott: I kinda wanna go find that now and and watch that. That sounds cool.

Bryce Kenny: I can't remember the name of it. And they cut out so much of my time. We we filmed for

Greg Scott: Sure.

Bryce Kenny: a whole day. It was me, Venus Williams, and Keegan Michael Key. And we had so much fun. Keegan Michael Key was so funny, so great.

Greg Scott: And no doubt.

Bryce Kenny: he did not give me his number, but Gronk was hilarious.

Greg Scott: Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: But Gronk also freaked me out. He his level, everyone thinks he's dumb. He is not. That's like an act because I was throwing all this information. The producer said, Hey, get in there and overwhelm him with information. So I got up and I'm all this is the startup procedure, all this stuff, blah, blah. I mean, I ran for like three and a half minutes on information, trying to overwhelm him. He did everything correctly the very first time that I explained to him over that period of time. His mind operates at a totally different level. So very

Greg Scott: Well,

Bryce Kenny: smart dude.

Greg Scott: anybody that is highly successful, it's very rare that they trip into it. Okay, they may

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, yes.

Greg Scott: you know, you may be athletically talented, but so is everybody at some point. There's gotta be a separator, so that doesn't surprise me.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: the five and the three one five challenge most guests find to be the most difficult because I'm asking you in anywhere in history they can be alive today. If I gave you five minutes to spend with anyone, who would that be?

Bryce Kenny: Hmm. I'm going to go outside of scripture for this one because I've been thinking about just even just Peter and the Apostle Paul lately. So I know I should probably dive into like one of those. But I would say George Washington. Because there's something that they're talking about a lot where, and I didn't realize this, I had heard something about this, but I didn't have the specifics. but essentially Congress gave him the power to do whatever he wanted. And as I understand it, he gave that power back to Congress twice. The fact that most people chase power, he had all of it and and and relinquished it and gave it back. I think that I think that embodies what the word meekness really means, which is like power under under control, meaning, hey, I this is too much for me. And he gave that power back. Man, that's that has gotta be one of the coolest things I've heard.

Greg Scott: that'd be a neat conversation for a lot and you only get five minutes and that's tough and I admit it, but it's it fits into three one five, so my guests have to live with it. so that's where

Bryce Kenny: Yeah. There you go.

Greg Scott: we go with that one. Man, where can people find you? If they wanna just check out some more about you or or find some videos or maybe

Bryce Kenny: Yeah.

Greg Scott: even book you to come speak. They've enjoyed what they heard today. Where where are you social media wise or on the on the web or just anywhere they can run you down.

Bryce Kenny: Yeah, I would send everyone to my website first, which is Bryce Kenny dot com, B R Y C E K E N N N Y dot com. and that's that's where all my speaking stuff lives. My Instagram I probably interact with the most is at warrior bryce. And but man, I I yeah, anything that people need or want, man, I I'd I just I love watching these stories come together and going in and encouraging people when I get the chance to. And so but yeah, that's probably the best place to kind of interact with me and watch what's going on and watch God's handwork.

Greg Scott: I have no doubt that's gonna happen after hearing your story and just hearing our conversation for a little bit. it's certainly been awesome to hear from you today and I just appreciate you coming on.

Bryce Kenny: you're the man, Greg. Thanks for what you're doing. I know it's encouraging people, and that's what it's all about, my friend. So appreciate all the effort. I know there's a lot that goes into making these podcasts that people will never know. and so people make sure you leave some good positive feedback for Greg and and share the episodes too. When you when something

Greg Scott: Yeah.

Bryce Kenny: encourages you, it's gonna encourage someone else. So if this episode encourages a listener, man, send it to someone. The first person that comes to mind, send it over to them. It might be a great way to start a good conversation. So Greg, thanks for all your efforts, man.

Greg Scott: Man, I appreciate you, Bryce. Thanks, buddy. All

Bryce Kenny: Yep. All right.

Greg Scott: Man, I hope you enjoyed our time with Bryce Kinney today as much as I did. I can't imagine going three hundred miles an hour in just a quarter mile stretch, or taking a six ton truck and jumping it thirty feet plus off the ground. But isn't it awesome how God equips each of us individually and then gives us the experiences necessary to prepare us to serve Him? I know that I was challenged and I know you were as well, just by hearing how Bryce now says yes, whether it's speaking to a group of men or Or leading a prayer on a loading ramp of an arena, So share the link out to today's episode on all of your social media platforms. Subscribe to our YouTube channel or anywhere you get your podcast downloads. And then tell someone you know about your favorite 315 Voices guest in order to encourage and inspire them. And then join us again when someone else will be prepared to give the reason for the hope that's within them on the next episode of 315 Voices.