Winners' Circle NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Story & photos © 2007 Dwight Drum   Web work by Drum and Larsen

Four Interviews Continued from Winners' Circle Main Page: Ron Capps, Robert Hight, Angelle Sampey, Karen Stoffer

Focus is important; did you acquire that or bring it with you?
"Focus? I'm not sure. Everybody seems to have a different way of focusing. I may hang out in the staging lanes and listen to music and do what I do to get myself ready and focused. That might ruin another guy. I know drivers out there that don't want to be talked to, don't want to listen. They have their own way of motivating and focusing. I guess any athlete you look at, there's not going to be two guys that approach it the same. When I first started with Don Prudhomme, he wanted me away from the ropes before we got up and ran. That's not me. I can't go up and sit in that lounge and wait to run. I got to stay busy whether it's signing autographs or something. That's just the way I am. For me focus, I don't know if I already had it or I had to work at it.

"Definitely with these cars, for me I get in the car and I go through everything that could go wrong. If it goes wrong how am I going to prepare myself for it, if it blows a tire, if it catches on fire, if it noses over. You try to qo through every scenario in your head. Where as another driver may go through everything positive in his head that could happen. I don't know if I had it before. I don't think I've changed much personally. These cars demand your focus and if you don't give your focus, your 100 percent attention, it will hurt you. I think if a guy doesn't have a focus he learns quick. There's no if, ands or buts, you need to be focused."

If you were to take a fan for a ride down the fast track during competition, what would you say to them about the expectation of the experience?
"Mayhem. Pure mayhem. Most people would probably pass out. Everything that happens, everything that goes on during a run, I've often said it would be great if a fan could go through what we go through. They would understand why we get out of breath at the far end of the track. They don't understand why a guy like John Force gets out, rambles on when we just went a quarter of a mile. The amount of stuff that goes on here in every sense of your body, every smell, every noise, your eyesight, every thing is at full tilt. It has to be. You have to listen to the engine while you're being catapulted zero to 330 mph in four seconds. It's a scenario that most people wouldn't be able to go through, even with training.

"It takes a special person. At times you may talk about one driver being better than another but even if you could say the worst driver out here and I don't think you can because there are so many good guys. But if you could say the worst driver out here, that person is still talented to do this. It's not just something a normal person could do is to just get up and jump into one of these things."

Can you compare the challenges that you have now to the challenges you have getting here?
"At this level it's a different deal. I didn't do it for the money or any kind of accolades that goes along with what we do. I did it because I grew up standing at the fence at Lions Dragstrip watching Funny Cars back then, Jungle Jim and Don Schumacher, The Snake and The Mongoose. Back then my friends that wanted to astronauts and firemen. I wanted to be a Funny Car driver or a Fuel Altered driver. Back then it was a different scenario. I was a crew member until I drove. I always wanted to drive but I was OK with being a crew member. If I had to be a crew member the rest of my life I was going to do that. That's the reason I did it.

"Now days it's not about driving the car. The percentage of success a guy has out here the majority of it is the PR stuff, the camera stuff all the stuff that goes around driving a car. You still got to do your job up there but it seems like now with the corporate sponsors if you can get a guy that can drive and promote the sport and do all the media stuff well. It's a bonus. I've been lucky because I haven't had to bring a sponsor to any of my rides. I've been hired because they liked what I did whether it was in the car or out of the car. I never brought a check and said I want this ride or I need this ride or here's some money. I've had to work at it so I've been on the other side of the fence. There are a lot of guys that have been like that, Larry Dixon is the same way. Mike Dunn. Ed "the Ace" McCulloch my crew chief was a guy like that. I think that success now to answer your question is everything around the race car."

What do you think the best way to handle success?
"You know it's funny. You get some drivers out here that love to get out and just talk about how good they are. That's been my pet peeve being around guys like Snake, Ace McCulloch, Dale Armstrong, Dick LaHaie, especially Roland Leong impressive guys I have gotten to work with. One thing I've always learned from a lot of these guys is you walk quietly and carry a big stick. I wince when I hear a guy get out at the other end and talk smack about beating a guy in the next round. I just always thought that was bad Karma. I always felt I wanted to prove myself on the track and never get out and talk about how good I am. You get in a bar at night hear these drivers drinking and hanging out. You hear a guy over the corner talking about how good his reaction times were. He did this or I did that. I could never do that. It drives me bananas to hear a guy do that. You know a guy who talks too much about himself it just comes back to you. It's not a good thing."

How much of driver skill is learned and how much is natural talent?
"I think in these cars you have to acquire it no matter what. There are guys that are naturally talented. Dell Worsham, I think is a guy who is naturally talented. I heard Kenny Bernstein in an interview the other day how bad of a driver he was when he started. He readily admitted that he had to work very hard to learn how to drive these things. He was not good when he started. That probably happens out here a lot. There are also guys who are very naturally talented. They may not say so them selves but you can tell a guy when he just has it. Like Tony Stewart. There are guys out here like that given the chance would be superstars, but they may be held back by money or whatever. I think it's probably a split between guys who just have it and guys that had to work at it. The guys who are naturally talented and have to work at it as well, those are the guys who are rising to the top. I get to see both sides out here and that's what's cool."

March Match: A few words about the California nostalgic drag race.

"Next year is going to be the 50th anniversary. Me growing up on the West Coast, everybody went to the race, Ace, the Snake, the Mongoose, Jungle Jim, Don Garlitts. You hear about Indy, the US Nationals, being a place where everybody came and that's why it got coined 'The Big Go', but to be honest Bakersfield every March that race would bring out every bad hombre in the country. There probably wasn't a year of me growing up that I didn't go. It was a tradition in my family. Bakersfield used to be the site of preseason testing. Now we go to Vegas and Phoenix. Bakersfield was always the place that had preseason testing for a couple weeks before Pomona. Then they went down Highway 5 to Pomona and raced. A lot of history there. So now they have nostalgia race. This year I went and drove a nostalgia Funny Car. Now they're booking us into match races. I'm driving the cars that were circa 1971-72. It has to be 72 or earlier body on them and they are limited on fuel pumps and some other things to keep the speed down. We're talking the 1970 Barracuda body just like the old Snake and Mongoose body, no side windows. You can run whatever per cent nitro you want. To me it takes me right back to being 10 years old. It's unbelievable, the sound of the cars, the way they look. And the people eat it up. They love it. I went out there and qualified No. 1 and had a great time. It's kicked back to go there. A lot of the pressure we have here, isn't there. The fans are very cordial. They know I'm there to have a good time. It's fun. I have a blast."

If you were to take a fan for a ride down the fast track during competition, what would you say to them about the expectation of the experience?
"It's funny. If you're driving the thing you don't ever tell yourself, man this thing is truckin' or it's haulin'. There's not time for that. You've got to pay attention to driving it. You really don't sense exactly what's going on. Like how fast you're going and how fast the thing is accelerating until the end of the run. Then you kind of recollect what's going on. As it's happening it's kind of a blur."

How would you define the future of NHRA?
"I think drag racing is growing. NHRA is doing a great job promoting it. I'm very fortunate to be with this John Force team because we got multi-year contracts with big sponsors. The future is bright for me right now. I'm very fortunate to be me."

Focus is important; did you acquire that or bring it with you?
"I was lucky to be into trap shooting before I started this and you've really got to focus and concentrate at that to be good at it. I think it helped me a lot in learning that what it requires here to focus to be a driver. Paying attention continuously is always what it's all about."

In a typical racing week, what words do you hate to hear the most?
"Tire smoke. Shake. Lose. Red light. All those are bad words."

In a typical racing week, what words do you love to hear the most?
"Record runs. Low E.T. No.1qualifier. Just qualified is a good word, especially after the first day. A good job. All the kind of stuff. Here it's just big E.T.'s. Anything in the 4.70's or lower. That's good words to hear on the radio."

Do you believe successful drivers handle stress and pressure better than the average person?
"Yeah, because I think to be successful you have to have a lot of experience. It takes a lot of runs to get the experience and have success come your way. I think you learn it as you go."

What do you think the best way is to handle success?
"Just continue doing what got you there. Don't ever change how you got there. What got you there is what's going to keep you there. And also further your success. Don't change once you get successful."

Is there any secret to carrying momentum season to season, race to race?
"Just work. Hard work. That's what it's all about. You can't go on vacation. You have to continuously live this and think about it. My wife won't want to hear all that but it's the truth. You have to sacrifice a lot of things to have continued success. From race to race and year to year you can't ever give up. Actually when you are on top I think you have to work harder to stay there. You've shown everybody what's out there and they're working towards to beat you. So you've got to work harder to stay on top."

Do Champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few?
"Common traits. I think they are all common. We just have an extra gene in us that somehow never quits no matter what. It's something I think every champion is born a particular gene that says 'I will not quit. I will not quit, no matter what.' I'm not going to quit is the line of a champion. I think everything else is normal though. I think we're exactly the same. Normal people enjoy a normal life with family back home relaxing and hunting and fishing and doing whatever and doing what's fun. But when it comes time for racing and get on that racetrack there's something about us that we just won't accept defeat no matter what."

Do race car drivers, motorcycle racers ever stop learning?
"Oh, never. There's always something new. Our tuners, our engine builders are always trying some different things. We always have to learn. We have to change with the times. The bikes used to go 7.50's when I started racing and now we're in the 6's. It's always something new, always something different."

Is there a best way to handle success?
"I think the best thing to do is to enjoy each and every moment of it. I think what a lot of people do is that the struggles trying to get there; they let all the bad things overcome the good things. You kind of forget how fun the journey was. Even though the first two years of my race career I struggled and I didn't win my championship until 2000. Sometimes the bad times got a little overwhelming and I forgot about all the good times I had getting there. I think that's the most important thing to remember is that I think every step along the way is a success as long as you're doing what you love. It's not the ultimate goal at the very end of the tunnel; it's the whole journey to get there. Of course everybody wants to be on top. They want to be No.1. They want to be a champion. I think everybody who does what they love or at least attempts to do what they love is successful."

Do you believe successful racers handle stress and pressure better than the average person?
"I think that's probably true. We have to learn how to transfer our focus from what's going on in our everyday lives to back in the pits with the fans and the media to whatever we have to do on the motorcycle or the race car. It's easy for us to turn things on and off. Where some people may have something bothering them and they don't know how to forget it somehow. We don't have a choice. Our safety is at hand. When I get on that motorcycle and I'm upset about something personally, I can get hurt. I have to, it's not a question if I can, I have to turn that off and get on the motorcycle and focus."

What do you think of the Danica Patrick past media frenzy in IndyCar racing?
"She's an awesome driver but I don't see it revolutionizing women in motorsports in NHRA. Now had you seen that in NASCAR or Sprint Car somewhere where women aren't really involved - yet. Then I would think it would start to revolutionize motorsports. I think that NHRA is so experienced in that area. We've been doing it for so many years in so many positions throughout NHRA. I think it's great. I think it's awesome, but I don't think that it will catapult us any where."

Do you think that most teams in the NASCAR garage understand the female driver potential?
"They don't. It's fairly well accepted here within the fans. I think that's why we have a lot of family environment here. We have a lot of kids. We have a lot of women. I think it brings more attention and more into the sport. But I think that's been going on for a long time. I don't think this is going to bring us leaps and bounds. I think it's continually progressing."

Focus is important; did you acquire that or bring it with you?
"I think coming in the way I did from bracket racing, I think I brought it with me. Once you put your leg over the bike or put your body in a car whatever your vehicle's choice may be, you have to turn the switch on and be 100 percent focused on making that perfect pass - looking at your target, going down straight and doing your job. There are many situations, many thing that can happen in your peripheral or somewhere else that could take that focus and attention away. I think the years of bracket racing for myself personally helped me bring that to the pro ranks."

You've won in a very competitive sport. Do you think there is a best way to handle success?
"I'm not sure if I'm the benchmark for handling success. Really I have two careers. It's kind of jack-of-all-trades-master-at-none. Do I think I could be better in both? If I were to just pick one, I could probably excel and focus 100 percent more of my time and attention to one and be best at one. But I really enjoy what we do and I think we can win a championship the way we are doing it. I also think I can move up in my GE career the way I'm doing it now. That's the choice that I have made, but I think I can handle it now. I need a very strong support network to do that. Thank God I have this huge support network that makes sure I'm in the right place at the right time. It helps me take care of things so I don't have to take care of things on the road.

"Again, I think it gets back to who you are and the passion that you have. Right now I really have a passion for doing things well. I love the atmosphere at NHRA. I've always loved NHRA and what it's all about. I love the family environment. I love the people. I love the sport of racing. I would do anything to be on a bike or in a vehicle, but I've also gained that same love for my career and what I do. At this point in life I haven't had to make a choice. I'm fully prepared to make a choice if I have to get to that point. At this point in time I'm able to do both successful and I'm very happy about that."

What's your take on the 07 NHRA season?
"I think in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle we're going to see a lot more sixes. I think people took 2006 to try to understand and develop the new program that they gave us last year. I think they actually have it under their belt now. It's about time for bikes. If you think how long it has taken to break that barrier. We should be fairly close to Pro Stock Cars or a little bit closer. They've been doing it for a while. I think it's great. We're riding the Geico Suzuki. We love it. There's a lot of Buells every year. They seem to grow exponentially. We get four or five out, not just one or two. It's a tough road out here with the Screamn' Eagles and G2 Squared Buells. But the Suzukis, there's a lot of technology still left in them. We're going to support them. We love doing it. I think we can run with everybody out there. We have to be consistent. That's the game plan for the Geico motorcycle in 2007. We gained a little bit more last year. We're going to continue doing it until we make four good qualifying sessions and four good elimination sessions. That's the whole goal. In order to do that you have to be perfect every time, you have to get a lot of experience and history and understand the track, the air and what the motors are doing. Every day we learn something new. Every race we learn something new. You think you have it all down pat and you try something and it just doesn't work. Every day we're learning stuff. That's the goal here."