Euro NASCAR Weekend part 1 TV title match against Polly Pingotti.
Oschersleben, Germany. Thursday 18th September. (Off-Camera)
It was parade day, as I had just made it from California to start this special weekend, to be a part of something I never thought possible: being a part of a Euro NASCAR parade in my hometown. It was certainly something worth doing, and it was well worth missing the SCW Apocalypse PPV for. I came straight from the Hannover airport to get here, and there was my team, Bremotion, for whom I was racing the entire weekend. My teammates on the team were a young German driver, Julian Wolfgang, and an American driver, Garrett Jones, who had plenty of experience with the NASCAR side of things.
This parade was fucking amazing, so many cars, so many fans that came and greeted the drivers. It almost felt like I was at SCW's Dogfight In Düsseldorf PPV again because the buzz was incredible and felt just like that when I performed my special entrance for the Dogfight In Düsseldorf PPV. In fact, I got pretty emotional on the amount of turnout there was for Germans to support me.
I heard their demands for merchandise last year. I brought merchandise that nobody in the US can buy yet and I heavily got merch made well in advance, merchandise for NASCAR Cup Series two thousand and twenty-six season of me in a Kaulig Racing Cup Series car with number thirteen, with German Rewe sponsors on the car and even a die-cast that US fans will eventually get in Kansas publicly. Of course, I also brought some Xfinity Series, dirt car racing, IndyCar, and IMSA merchandise for them.
But while I understand the car for me was covered, there was two other cars covered as well and I was like, what was going on that I didn't know about. I have tested the Oschersleben track with the test car with Bremotion, but never with the logos so I've not seen the final design. As I was swamped with fans, I got a tap by a Euro NASCAR staff who whispered to get ready to go on stage. I stopped signing hero cards, diecasts, pictures, and wrestling figures to let Daniel Dye take care of and went behind the curtain.
Jerome Galpin: “This is the moment you've all been waiting for, folks. This weekend, we have ourselves our two usual drivers from Germany and America, but we've also got a very special guest who comes from Germany, currently driving for Kaulig Racing in NASCAR Xfinity Series with being a part time NASCAR Cup Series driver turning full time next year, along with two other future young German drivers who will be in Euro NASCAR in the future. Please welcome, Bremotion team of Julian Wolfgang, Garrett Jones, Felix Müller, Anton Schmidt and Konrad Raab.”
I let the other drivers step on stage first as I heard so many cheers for them alone. However, I did wonder why there were two other cars now with those other two drivers, and then I breathed with a sigh of relief. Then I walked on with the biggest cheers anyone's had today, with so many photographers from American and Euro NASCAR taking pictures of me as I sat in the middle, as I heard the interviews from Julian, Garrett, Felix and Anton. Now it was my turn to talk as the Euro NASCAR staff gave me a microphone.
Jerome Galpin: “Konrad, what's the feeling you got of being here so far?”
Konrad Raab: “Very emotional for me, to be honest. The story is, I was offered a test drive for Brad Rogers Racing in two thousand and twenty in Daytona, and I was really fast from the get-go. Only Denny Hamlin was faster than me, who was the race winner for that year. Brad Rogers offered me a seat to start in the ARCA Menards and NASCAR Xfinity Series, which also secured some part-time NASCAR Cup Series drives for me. I never thought not only was there a Euro NASCAR series, but a NASCAR race in Germany, and I can't wait to get started in practice tomorrow”
The fans were going absolutely crazy with everyone, including my team, who were stunned by how I got my start and so happy to see me in general, even though this was only for a one-off race to promote NASCAR in Europe to make the sport bigger and make drivers believe they can get to NASCAR in America. We all got drinks as I drank my Celsius energy drink as I was pretty thirsty.
Jerome Galpin: “How have you prepared to race this track you've never driven on before?”
Konrad Raab: “I've done both sim racing and testing on the actual track over the last few months now to get to grips with the circuit and the car. From my experience, the car is exactly like driving a Cup Series car, but with slight differences in speed and the way the car turns, along with different tyres as well. I've also watched NASCAR Euro Series races to see who I would be competing against. I spot my eye on Vittorio and Gianmarco being my biggest threats, but I see potential in my teammates, Jouffreau, and Hezemans as well.”
Everyone cheered as I had tears in my eyes, and I had to turn away because I felt so happy to be here with the attendance, reminding me of Dogfight in Düsseldorf PPV all over again. I needed time to gather myself, feeling a bit stupid to be this emotional about it. I got myself together before Jerome asked one last question.
Jerome Galpin: “We all know you're not battling for points or the championship, but what are your thoughts going into the race this weekend, and what's your goal to achieve?”
Konrad Raab: “My thoughts are this track reminds me a lot of Portland, a very technical track that has Portland turns to it, especially in turns five and turn eight, but here is a lot shorter with a bit more turns. The goal is for me to win obviously, improve on my road course racing and I will be racing the playoff contenders hard. At the same time, the main goal is to promote NASCAR in a way no other European NASCAR driver has done before and also to perform driving for my German fans that came to witness me driving NASCAR in Europe they've never seen before that they'll likely never see again.”
The fans certainly cheered big for that as they were chanting my name, clearly came just for me and Jerome looked that there was someone behind the curtain and he cleared his throat as I drank my energy drink as Jerome now speaks.
Jerome Galpin: “Thank you Konrad. We not only got these drivers interviewed, but we also got a very special unveiling. Please welcome, the team boss of Bremotion, Patrick Brenndörfer.”
I had met him only a few times ironically and a lot has left to be desired and I have no idea what my car design was going to look like as I had only been driving in testing car that was completely black so even I was curious and even the overalls as well. He came on stage and shakes all of our hands, Patrick whispered in my ear to say thank you for coming before he stood right in the middle and spoke.
Patrick Brenndörfer: “Thank you Jerome. As for this very special for us being our home race and with a special guest for our team, we decided along with the alliance and support of Kaulig Racing to bring in two more cars for the open and rookie series as a way for us to support German drivers to get into the sport. Please turn to the area of the covered cars right now.”
Everyone went straight to the cars that were covered with a sheet and saying please do not touch the cars or remove the sheets. Everyone went there as so did me, Felix and Anton as we were in our regular clothes because it was a surprise as Jerome does the talking from standing outside the unveiled cars with camera crews at the ready with their cameras.
Jerome Galpin: “I know every fan has been waiting for this as I am along with everyone. Felix, Anton and Konrad have never seen these cars and nor as Julian or Garrett either. Not only we're unveiling cars, but we're unveiling the overalls that Felix in rookie class, Anton in Open class and Konrad in Pro class. Thanks to Kaulig Racing and American NASCAR support for this. Lets unveil the cars and the overalls.”
Patrick and a few other team members, including my spotters and my mechanics crew removed the covers and the design was near enough spot on with what Kaulig Racing had with all of them having Celsius branding on the cars and sporting the number sixteen number to support the success Kaulig Racing have had with that number. The overalls were orange and white with cameramen and even the fans taking pictures like crazy, especially of my car, well Felix and Anton had pictures of their cars too.
Saying that we were told to dress into our overalls as there was a hut for us to change into them. We were assigned lockers of me being in the middle, Felix on the left and Anton on the right and I know it's because for photoshoots, but still. Fifteen minutes later, we were changed into our overalls and got our racing gear on with boots, gloves and even our lids on and we walked out one by one and went to our cars with everyone taking pictures of the cars, but now they were taking pictures of us wearing the overalls. I loved everything about this parade and I was speaking to a lot of drivers, especially to the ones that I mentioned that could be a threat for the race too.
It was packed and I loved every minute of it and I was going to soak up this experience for a very long time and I loved every single minute of it. I continued to talk to other drivers and I had so many questions to answer about NASCAR and I felt that passion these European NASCAR drivers have. The day ends and we all went to the hotel at the track to get some rest and sleep before track activities of practice sessions all day to get used to this beautiful car that's got such perfect handling.
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Oschersleben, Germany. Friday 19th September. (Offline)
I went to the guys after I came out of the car and I looked at the lap times I did and I had those Italian guys on the run. Not close to them as of yet, but I was getting there and I forgot how hard driving this road course track really was. The car was sliding quite a bit, but that's because I'm not used to these tyres they use as they aren't goodyear ones that I was used to, they wereHoosier Racing Tires. I almost crashed into the wall.
My crew chief Harry Smith was so curious to get my feedback after I got out of the car with a ton of media surrounding us, getting every single word in my feedback with the car and I loved the feeling of it as I give him some feedback after I got out of the car as second practice ended and took my helmet off.
Konrad Raab: "The car is smack bang almost perfect. I'm having problems getting used to these Hoosier Racing Tires."
Harry Smith: "Yeah, I did see that you were sliding around a lot and you almost hit the wall. We can tweak the car a bit to make it more suitable for you."
I nodded as I agreed with Harry on that he could help me feel the tyres. I did a lot of laps today to get used to them and also relearn the track, despite having done numerous tests and sim work. The weather conditions made things difficult, with it being extremely hot. The team gave me a drink, knowing I had to deal with the hot weather conditions as well for tomorrow's first race and qualifying as well.
Harry Smith: "To be honest, Konrad, although you're fifth fastest in the standings, that isn't bad at all. You're super fast in the first and second sectors, you just need to improve on the last sector to gain some lap time. You did give Italians a hard time today, that's for sure."
Konrad Raab: "Yeah I'm bummed as I thought I'd be higher."
The team noticed the amount of sweat I was dripping from my face, as it was thirty degrees, after I drank some water that I desperately needed. I also saw the German kid suffering from the same issue, and Garrett was not sweating at all, which I thought was crazy. I sighed, wanting to be better.
Harry Smith: "The only thing are the tyres and the weather. Personally, you did all you could and I know you're not good at road courses, but this is also what this race is for, to improve on road course racing."
Konrad Raab: "Along with German NASCAR fans getting the chance to see me do NASCAR racing as well. I love the passion and the buzz here. I was asked so many questions, even the champions asked me questions about NASCAR and how they'd get into the sport and things."
Harry Smith: "Anyway, let us fix the comfort level of you getting used to the tyres and see what settings we can change to not have you slide so much. You did good today and we'll see you tomorrow."
Konrad Raab: "Indeed and I can't fucking wait to go out there and race this weekend because this has been the best experience of my entire life."
It certainly was as I don't reject a damn thing to accept the offer to do this race as I really needed to get back to the hotel as I was exhausted, burned to crisp near enough and it will only get worse tomorrow with at least thirty two degress. This was going to be murder. I went to the hotel and ate some vegan food and then I headed off to sleep.
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Time to knock Polly out for a title blog. (Online)
“So, I'm facing against a lady who's recently won a TV title from Chris Lawler, Polly Pingotti. I give her credit for that along with beating Kemal who isn't the easiest guy to beat when it comes to submissions. Well done I guess, not that I respect you at all, especially for the thing I'm going to say to you that clearly pissed me the fuck off.
How fucking dare you whine, bitch and complain about not being in main event PPV matches when you've only been here for two years. Do you know how long it took for me to be in a main event PPV match? Seven fucking years. Two thousand and twenty three when I fought Kandis, Simon and Asher for the SCW World Title. So until you have been around for seven years, you have no fucking right to complain. Do you know how many times I complained about not being in the PPV main event matches?
Zero and that was a fucking garbage thing to complain about. Acting like you deserve to be in the main event more than I did when I've been here for nine years. Also it isn't my fault you catered more towards your friends than you catered towards yourself with your career. Also who the fuck are you to tell Kemal that he should evolve and change? He's only been here less than a year and expecting him to somehow evolve is fucking unrealistic.
Why is it all of sudden you've evolved and changed, not that I've seen any changes, apart from you being a whiny bitch, bitching about not being in main event PPV matches. Because you weren't good enough, you've not even won a title beyond the TV title, let alone winning any other title. Heck, I didn't even want to be in that main event PPV match when I was in it for a championship. I never needed to win a championship at the time to beat Kandis down, I wanted to brutalise her, almost to the point of ending her fucking career. That for me at the time was more of a championship win than the SCW World Title belt was. So don't you dare moan and bitch about not being in main event PPV matches when you've not had to wait for seven years for one.
Polly, you're only coming of nature right now and sure, you've won against Chris Lawler, Sal Darius and Crystal although that last match was zero effort from those competitors, but you're not that psycho yet and yes, everyone wants to see that side and the fact is, I'm proud that Oskar and Kemal are in the Trios Tournament and already, I've seen that they want to rip each other's lungs out. Imagine that as them being friends that they are already not afraid to take each other's heads off.
Because they know it's every person for themselves in the ring, they know friendships and respect isn't going to get them to win matches. I won't be surprised if they both injure each other because that's the fire and hunger they have. They all want to be the top guy, they won't hold back like you tried to with Playgirls stuff you had going on.
I want you to fucking snap because I want to face violent people like Enigma, because they are well worth facing in my retirement, not boring clean wrestlers like you wanting to do everything they can to win championships. Isn't it funny though that SCW staff never wanted to book Kemal in a TV title match against you? Realistically, he or Oskar should be facing you for this title shot.
I'm even shocked I got one because I didn't think two more months until I walk away from wrestling to start on an new path of being a full time NASCAR Cup Series driver I would get one, but I'm going to deliver on it. I'm going to show the killer instinct that you need to have if you want to be a champion around here. I'm going to show you the ways of brutality and bloody nature because I miss being violent, I miss being a fucking animal.
I even miss hardcore matches already as a solos wrestler. I miss brutality because I got a sick love for beating people down with tons of violence. Being a regular wrestler to win by pure skills is boring wrestling. I will cut corners, I will cut you up to show the world I want to be in an elimination chamber match and I don't need a championship on the line to do so and why?
Because I've only been in it once in two thousand and sixteen and I was a weak pathetic creature that hated violence and weapons. It made me fucking pathetic and not want to be a professional wrestler. I also didn't fully deliver in that match either because my dad passed away and I wasn't prepared to take on such brutal nature.
But now I am and I'm going to show you what I'm capable of. You're not going to survive against me that I'll easily cost you a shot from carrying on in the Shot Of Adrenaline Tournament and I'll easily cost you a chance to compete in the Trios Tournament that I happily backed off from taking part in because I didn't need to be in it.
I want to go back to when I was a fucking animal of brutalising, causing blood and even causing people to be burned on fire. I fucking miss that part of me that I want to bring back because I've been complacent on showing that side of me once again and using flamethrowers and the mace on people. I want to be that Konrad again because that's the fight I want to bring.
I will beat you down and overcome everything to destroy to become the first ever wrestler as well that people forget to win the TV title four times and that's something I can pretty much say, I've been the first SCW wrestler to do that feat and that's a perfect way to go out to prove that I'm going to beat you down with pure brutlaity and leave you bleeding everywhere in the ring and I'm going to pin you for the three count to win the TV title from you and I'm not leaving you any room to breathe."
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