When last we spoke, John Schneider and his wife, Alicia Allain, were just getting into dirt-track racing. It was a natural progression, as Schneider, known to many as Bo Duke from "The Dukes of Hazzard," often found himself at events with fans of the show and its iconic 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee.
A year ago, he was just getting used to the idea of going fast and possibly getting hit by another car, or a wall. But even then he admits having his wife also driving made it fun.
A year later, the two have fully embraced the sport, and both will be racing Oct. 8-10 at Boyd's Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia, as part of "Bo's Extravaganza," an event that will also include music, stunts and a screening of "Stand On It," Schneider's homage to the "Smokey and the Bandit" movie starring Burt Reynolds.
Bo's Extravanganza is just one part of a full weekend of events at the track as the inaugural Breast Cancer Memorial "Pretty in Pink" Weekend will take place there also earlier each day with more racing.
The husband and wife have so fully gotten into racing that now they have to qualify to race like everybody else more often than not when they take their show on the road. And he is a lot less worried about the inevitable accident, in large part because of the high-tech safety equipment in the cars.
"Since we spoke last time, I've hit the wall twice, and neither was my accident. But, of course, the end result is the same. My car [a Dodge Challenger] was messed up, but it does take the fear out of it. And I didn't feel a thing."
Which categories he and Allain drive in can depend on the event and the types of races the tracks have when they take the extravaganzas on the road. Sometimes they might do a couple of laps in separate cars together as a celebrity lead-in, but typically they run in different heats.
"I love it," he said. "It's a lot of fun, and neither of us are timid about it."
Schneider's is one of the more diverse and unusual careers out there. He can go to a dirt track and fit in as Bo Duke as well as a racer, or he can go to a comic convention and be recognized for his role on the CW's "Smallville" Superman series.
He's also a singer/songwriter with several solo albums to his credit. He will perform along with friend Cody McCarver, Keith Burns from Trick Pony, J Edwards and Clayton Q on Friday at Boyd's.
Schneider owns his own movie production studio and has several films out. A new one, called "Poker Run," is due out in time for Christmas. For more on all of his projects, visit johnschneiderstudios.com.
Schneider said being multidimensional is very intentional and something he works at all the time with the help of his wife.
"Once Alicia and I met, we started firing on all eight. Before it was a hope and a dream, but we've worked hard for it."
Part of how he does that is by talking to and listening to fans at every turn.
"I want to know what they want and what they don't want. I don't want to guess. I want to know."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.