“I Don’t Fail”: France Family Rival Issues Defiant Warning as Critics Doubt Over Aggressive Strategy to Beat NASCAR
Feb 1, 2026 | 10:39 AM PST
“I Don’t Fail”: France Family Rival Issues Defiant Warning as Critics Doubt Over Aggressive Strategy to Beat NASCAR
Feb 1, 2026 | 10:39 AM PST
On the latest episode of the Herm and Schrader podcast, IHRA COO Scott Woodruff gave the audience a slight peek at IHRA’s mentality. Darryl Cuttell, with his motto of “Make it Happen,” is going all in with the IHRA. He doesn’t want any distractions or diversions from his original plan. For Cuttell, the revival of IHRA and making it a steady competitor to NASCAR is all that matters. But are the IHRA’s pockets really as deep as they seem?
Scott Woodruff reveals the die-hard mentality of his boss
Almost any big investment requires a Plan B. Before moving in and trying something new with the intention of shaking up the market, the administration tries to keep a failsafe. Surely, that’s what we would expect from the IHRA boss Darryl Cuttell, too, right? Kenny Wallace had the same question for him:
“I am just trying to set this up for everybody that’s wanting to know about IHRA. Does he have enough money? Is he gonna blow up all of his money? My point is this–This is no joke, and I don’t know if we’re ever gonna empty your boss’s pockets. But you had to know all this before you took this project on. You had to know that you were getting into something strong.”
Scott Woodruff, who was representing the IHRA during the podcast, gave an entirely unexpected answer. And the way he framed it made IHRA look even more intimidating in the face of the France family’s NASCAR, which is now in damage control mode.
“I had no idea how strong, to be honest. I did a bit of research, but I am a people person more than anything. And when I looked somebody in the eyes, and I asked him point blank in our first conversation face to face, I said, ‘You gotta tell me what’s your disaster plan.’ And you know what he did? He looked right at me and said, ‘I don’t have one, and I don’t fail,’ And I said, ‘You’re my f****** man. Let’s go.’”
Even if you look at it from a motorsports fan’s perspective, that is a very big statement to make. Even the top teams in motorsports always make sure to have something they can rely on in case their original strategy fails. As for Cuttell, he is basically trying to wage war against NASCAR. And he is not doing it silently; he is purposely inviting them with every move he makes to strengthen the IHRA’s market position.
Wallace accurately summed it up himself.
“I’ve got to tell you. When I was in NASCAR, and I was making crazy money, I showed Ken Schrader my escape plan, and he goes, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘That’s in case I get fired. I got to get rid of my airplane, my motorhome, take my life insurance way down.’ I mean, when things are going too good, you’ve got to have an escape plan. That means, how are we going to get down to normal operating procedures? So my point is, your question to Daryll was valid for us normal people. So Daryll is a bad***. That’s awesome.”
And if you might be wondering how Darryl Cuttell is so calm and relaxed about his plan, then Woodruff has the answer to this too.
Top Stories
Scott Woodruff recalls Cuttell’s record-breaking run at Lake of the Ozarks
Imago
Darryl Cuttell and Steve Curtis shattered the three-quarter-mile course record at the 2025 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout with a 242-mph top speed in Cuttell’s turbine-powered 50-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp/Helmkamp Photos
If you missed it, Darryl Cuttell and his company, Darana Hybrid, ripped the speed record during the 2025 Shootout at the Lake of the Ozarks. They went absolutely bonkers as they shattered the three-quarter-mile course record with a 242 mph run, compared to the previous record holder’s 221 mph run. If that isn’t the perfect example of Darryl Cuttell’s spirit, then nothing else can even come close.
Reminiscing about his time with the team during this legendary run, Woodruff recalls, “Well, he loves racing, like I said before. Now he did this. I have never been in this Lake Ozarks deal. I saw pictures of this boat…and this thing just was like, ‘Wow. this thing looks really scary to me’ and then to find out that he’s going to get in and drive it, and there’s another guy who brought a man.
“And they’re gonna do this at the Lake Ozarks, and they’re trying to break the world record. I mean, I was just like, I couldn’t grasp my head around it. Honestly, there were some internal conversations like, ‘let’s make sure this s*** is right.’”
“But he is an adrenaline junkie. He loves snowmobiling, loves racing, and loves being a fan.”
Some fans dream about such moments. And Darryl Cuttell is living the dream. He is not just an average businessman, trying to rake in as much profit as he can. He is more than that. Cuttell is a hardcore motorsports enthusiast who’s in it for the love of the game. No wonder, for him, taking on the France family and NASCAR is all about being bold and making a mark right from the get-go.
Related Newsletters
