Story by Dwight Drum
Photos by Gary Larsen & Dwight Drum

Retired basketball star Larry Nance was among the few who get to play in the National Basketball Association, and among fewer still with the skills and stamina to retire from the NBA. (Thirteen years) The Marine Corps have traditionally selected only 'a few', and recently they selected Larry Nance, not for his basketball skills, but for his Pro Stock Car driving skills in the NHRA POWERade series. The Marines have always been about 'The Few' and 'The Proud.' Larry Nance is among 'The Proud' too, proud mostly about his family, but he's proud to put his six foot ten inch frame into a one hundred four inch wheel base Oldsmobile Cutlass and launch his long legs and arms at bone-moving speed. He's also proud to own Catch 22 Racing.

Larry Nance stands tall, has 'big heart', and has accomplished much in life, but Larry doesn't act like a person who has known fame. His gift at birth was size and brains, and his path through life has been rewarding in part because he is competitive and balanced. Larry has been an all-star, but it seems he hasn't succeeded at a cost to his humility. He remains solid and tranquil. Have a seat beside Larry (we'll make room) as he answers my questions.

DWIGHT CHATS WITH…LARRY NANCE

DOB: 2-12-59
Birth Town: Anderson, SC
Home Town: Akron, Ohio

"It's not easy, and it's uncomfortable but it's something I love doing. All through life you have to make adjustments, and that's one I have to make. It's tight in there. The crew does as much as they can do. They move the pedals back, they lower the seat as much as they can, and they jack the steering wheel up so it's out of the way of my knees. All of that helps, but drag racing is not a tall man's sport, and I'm trying to make it one."

"Just like in basketball, I'd like to be known as competing as hard as I can, and always giving one hundred percent. I give that to my team and the Marines to be competitive. That doesn't mean you're going to be number one or two or the lowest guy on the pole, but I always want to give my hardest."

"I've had fame, but the most important thing is winning. I'm out here to prove I can race, and prove I can win. You have to have money to race, but winning is the most important."

"No, you hear them and they pump you up, but when I'm in that car my engine is my crowd. It's loud and sounds good, and that's what is going to perform for me. I don't miss basketball when I'm drag racing.

"No."

"Warren Johnson. He's my hero, but at the same time I'd like the race him every race and see If I could beat him every race."

"I'm very pleased with life. I have three kids and a beautiful wife, and the only thing I worry about right now is racing. How tragic could life be if that's your only worry. I'm in the very best situation I could be in."

"It would be more pleasing in my racing career, if I started qualifying and competing on Sunday"

"Oh yeah. My kids make sure I do."

"I play a little golf, but with most of my free time I really enjoy watching my kids get into sports… basketball and soccer."

"A Chevy Pickup."

"No. I need to."

"Concentration. So I could have better reaction time."

"Four dogs."

"No, but I should."

"Friendly people who smile."

"I try to be cool and stay calm."

I shut the door and concentrate on what I have to do. I really don't have a routine, but I give all my attention to the car."

"When I first learned how to drive my car, I got loose in high gear one time, got out of the groove, and the car started swerving. That was my scariest moment in drag racing."

"I play with my kids."

"I'd make myself number one qualifier."

"No."

"At home when I'm with my kids and wife."

"I'm a little more aware of what's going on around me, but that doesn't make me a better driver."

"Right now what I worry about most is missing something that my kids are doing at home, because I'm racing. They are a big part of my life right now. I'm going to bring them with me this summer, but right now they are in school and playing sports."

"It feels like somebody is hugging you real tight. It's the best feeling in the world when that car is accelerating. I guess that's why you do it. The first time I felt the g-forces it felt like somebody was hugging me real tight."

"I really didn't know it. I went 200.89 in Pomona this year. It was one of the smoothest rides, I've ever been on, and I didn't know it at the time. I don't think a lot of drivers know it."

"I think spending too much money is a big mistake. Just buying something because everybody else has it, is a big mistake."

"My wife and my family."

"Knowledge of drag racing from Richard Maskin. Learn about drag racing. Learn how to build motors. Learn how to be a champion."

"When I was playing in the NBA, I went to a drag race for the first time and I fell in love with a 67 Camaro. Every since then it's been all drag racing."

"I fear having an accident and having the car upside down and on fire. That's my worst fear about racing."

"Blessed, because I'm one of the happiest people you'll ever see. I have a great life to be able to race and have the family I have."

"I thank the Marines for allowing me to be out here racing. I'd also like to thank Richard Maskin for the opportunity that he has given me."

Larry Nance, retired NBA star and Catch 22 Racing owner and driver, enjoys life because of his many accomplishments. The drive and determination that served him well in basketball serves him well in drag racing too. Winning is tantamount for Larry, but so is doing what he wants in life. Few of us can duplicate that life path, so when I searched for a final word for Larry, many positive words surfaced. At Zoomster.com we must select one word that describes him, and it's a word with merit, just like 'The Few' and 'The Proud'. Gary Larsen and I agreed, Larry Nance is…

INSPIRED