"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Fills Competitive Void Left By Pro Wrestling With Brand New Passion (Exclusive)

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is a busy guy and that's the bottom line because "Stone Cold" said so.

Austin isn't lacing up boots to fight in a WWE wrestling ring these days, but he's still very much a competitor. Austin scratches the competitive itch by desert racing and still finds time for his first love of pro wrestling.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Austin spoke openly about how he spent his WrestleMania weekend this year and specifically detailed his experience at a supremely popular independent wrestling event that weekend. Austin also gave fans an update on his racing career, Kawasaki partnership, and plenty more.

Austin is in the middle of his fourth season of off-road desert racing and it's a hobby he says he wished he found sooner in his life. That said, The Rattlesnake is making the most of his time in the sport. His brand new car speaks to not only his commitment, but his passion for racing as a post-wrestling career.

"We've raced twice so far this year," Austin said. "We finished first in the first race. In the second, two weeks ago, we broke a part in the front end. By the time the parts got delivered and my co-driver and I made the repair, three hours had passed, which took us out of contention.

"But a couple of other guys broke down too and desert racing is a war of attrition, so all we had to do was finish to grab second-place points. That's what we did. Right now we're sitting good in the standings, second place, going into our next race in seven weeks."

The current Austin racing ride is a Kawasaki H2. A four-seater, supercharged inline for 999 cc, and 250 horsepower. So, basically the exact kind of fast vehicle Austin would have driven to the ring during his Attitude Era days in WWE.

Steve Austin, desert racing and Kawasaki

Austin and Kawasaki have worked together for 10 years. In fact, Austin toured the Kawasaki plant earlier this year and got a front row seat to how the race cars are made.

"I've represented the brand for years," Austin said. "Kawasaki was the first dirt bike I ever bought, and a Kawasaki Mule was the first side-by-side I ever bought. I've used their products forever, and suddenly there I am getting to see who makes them and how. I wasn't prepared for the organization, the planning, the numbers, the workmanship: pulling steel off the wall, bending it, welding it, turning it into cars, buggies, and motorcycles. Very organized, so much thought and attention to detail."

Austin played a working man hero during his hot run with the WWE and he identified with people just like him at the plant.

"They were all genuinely into the building process, from scratch," Austin said. "The industrial setting, the guy over in coatings. Just people who like to work and are proud of it. I'm sure there are a million other factories out there, but everybody there was focused and efficient.

"That place was 2.4 million square feet. Fifty years ago when they bought it, I think it was around 400,000 square feet, and they're on almost 400 acres. They had the vision back then for what they needed and built out accordingly... I grew up in South Texas. Never experienced anything like it. I've worked with Kawasaki for 10 years and been around a lot of stuff, but I'd never been inside a plant like that."

When he's not speeding through desert race tracks, Austin still keeps a pulse on the pro wrestling industry, especially during WrestleMania season, which just so happened to roll through his current home state of Nevada in April for the second year in a row.

Stone Cold and Bloodsport

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Austin signed autographs and took fan pictures at WWE World throughout the weekend, but confirmed he wasn't approached to make any kind of appearance at WrestleMania 42 itself. He also took in the action at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport event.

"Josh Barnett and I have known each other close to 20 years," Austin said. "We don't see each other much, but we don't have to, we're friends, we've got each other's numbers and check in out of the blue. He reached out and said, 'You've always invited me to your stuff, I want to invite you to my show.' I told him I'd call once I knew my itinerary. I had time on my schedule, so I went.

"I really enjoyed it. It was an intimate setting, some chairs and then standing room, packed into a little arena. It reminded me of where wrestling came from, small spaces, before it turned into stadiums ... No high spots, because there were no ropes to bounce off of, but a lot of chain wrestling and submission holds. Natalya and Shayna Baszler stole the show with about a 12 or13-minute classic."

Austin doesn't know when he'll make an appearance for WWE again, but says he always wants his role to be the right one. In the meantime? It's racing.

"Off-road racing is addictive and exciting, and there's so much to it that I don't even know half of it yet," Austin said. "I've been fortunate to befriend a couple of people who've raced their whole lives and share what they know about the desert and technique. It's like the wrestling business.

"I plan to race as long as I can, represent Kawasaki, and have fun. I'm a competitive person by nature. When I left wrestling, you do have to compete to get to the top and to stay there. Racing has filled that void in my life, and I'm thankful for it."

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