The Fallon Corner - August 2027
Todd Kidd has suffered some heartbreaking losses throughout his decade plus long tenure in the sport thus far.
Having taken the Ronnie Woods Motorsports prodigy exactly 10 full time seasons to capture his first Cup title, Kidd knows the ups and downs associated with the business and that things are never always sunshine and rainbows in the ASCA.
However, that didn’t make last year’s Ajax Season Finale any easier to cope with.
It’s a moment that will forever be burned into the heads of many ASCA fans around the globe - and one that’s left a lasting impression on the Silicon Valley native that he’ll never forget.
Prior to the new year kicking into high gear, I got a chance to sit down for a rare one-on-one interview with the 31 year old and see where his head is at after leaving 2026 with such a bitter taste in his mouth:
Todd! Nice to see you again.
“Thanks for having me up here.”
It’s been a quiet off-season for you. Normally you’re out interacting with fans and on the PS6, but this time around it seems as if you’ve kept to yourself much more.
“Yeah that’s accurate. Just needed that extra time to recharge the batteries and go again honestly, plus spending quality time with family certainly doesn’t hurt.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room then: the incident. Do you still think about that moment to this day?
“I mean, I think you always will as a driver. Our goal is of course to win the championship every year, so when you come that close it’s gonna eat at you until you can get back out on track and right those wrongs.”
Have you watched the film back from that moment? Is there anything you think you would’ve done differently if it happened right now?
“Yeah, I would’ve drove straight through (Braeden Bennett) if I knew he was gonna pull that. I assumed we’d race each other hard but with respect, but what happened out there crossed the line.”
Do you have any plans to race Braeden Bennett any differently after the incident?
“I think the on track action will speak for itself.”
Let’s talk about the immediate aftermath of the incident. How were you able to cope with the heartbreak in the moment?
“Not well, as you’d expect. Obviously made some comments on Twitter post race, but then left my socials to management for a few months until I was able to calm down enough to be rational on there.
Having a family really helped put everything into perspective though. Just having my wife and kids by my side every step along the way made the healing process that much easier.”
That transitions me to my next question: your off-season. You were spotted a few times over in Europe, seems like you took a sabbatical out there?
“Yeah it was a much needed getaway. From Mykonos to Porta Cervo, learned some French, learned some Italian, even met some fans out there, we had a blast.
The wife needed it, the kids needed it, I needed it. No better way to lock back in then get that time off and build up anticipation before strapping back in the car again.”
You also made some comments during media day that you’ve been training harder for this season than ever before, care to elaborate?
“Well, I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore Charles. Mentally I’m at the top of my game, but physically I’d be lying if I said I felt better now than I did at 25. It just takes longer to build up that tolerance for race mode than it ever has before, but I’m up for the challenge.”
You say mentally you’re at the top of your game - can you give secrets to the young drivers of the ASCA how you got to that point?
“It’ll come with time, I think. At least if you put the work in. If you just jump in the car and race on Saturdays, especially these days you’ll get your ass beat.
It starts with training in the gym, then film study, then YouRacing, then breaking down the SMT data, you always need to find somewhere to improve because your competition is always moving forward. It’s incredibly easy to be left behind in this business.”
Let’s talk the Computer Motor Speedway test. You were the fastest Chevrolet, 4th fastest driver overall - seems like the No. 9 team is much further ahead than they were a year ago.
“Yeah, that’s thanks to the guys at the shop pushing 110% just like I do. Obviously we started last year behind the eight ball pushing to win it all in 2025, so now having the 2026 data with the new regs we can build off that and continue taking steps in the right direction.”
A lot of people have said that this year will be your ‘revenge tour’. What do you make of those claims?
“I mean, it’s not my job to label those things, I’ll leave that to y’all in the media. But at this point it’s a failure if we don’t bring another championship back to Ronnie Woods Motorsports this year.”
Thanks for your time, Todd.
“Thanks for having me.”
Catch the 2025 Cup Series champion back in action during the 13th Annual Intel Shootout on August 23rd at 3 PM EST!
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