It is inevitable. No matter how on top of the racing game you are, if you do not keep trying to improve, you will be surpassed.
It is inevitable. No matter how on top of the racing game you are, if you do not keep trying to improve, you will be surpassed.
In most cases, even though you continue to improve, there remains a good chance you will eventually get surpassed or at a minimum — equaled.
There is a very fine line between sticking with what works and getting left behind. There have been countless examples of this in open-wheel racing over the years. It is indeed difficult to stay on top.
One dramatic illustration is the Swindells performance at the Chili Bowl over the years. For a period of nearly a decade, they simply dominated the event. The Swindells worked hard, were innovative and thought outside of the box to assemble equipment and a setup package that was far superior to the competition. Combined with their driving talent, it produced unrivaled results.
Their success, however, sparked a wave of progress in midget racing that led to other top teams eventually catching and — arguably — surpassing their mechanical advantages. Despite the Swindells being seemingly miles ahead of everyone else, it did not take long for many teams to catch them when those teams were racing midgets 30 to 50 times a year compared to Kevin and Sammy racing exclusively at the Chili Bowl.
I can assure you that Sammy Swindell, one of the greatest minds and talents open-wheel racing has ever seen, never stopped trying to innovate and improve, however, the competition eventually caught up.
The next in line to dominate the Chili Bowl —and midget racing in general — was Keith Kunz. Though Kunz and his business partner Pete Willoughby have found themselves at the summit of midget racing several times throughout their careers, their most recent time at the top was easily the most dominant and impressive.
With incredible talents such as Kyle Larson, Rico Abreu and Christopher Bell combined with Kunz‘s extremely fast cars and their alliance with Toyota, the team strung together several years that had the competition scrambling to catch up.
Keith Kunz Motorsports is still certainly at the top of the heap in midget racing and captured another championship in 2021, but there are other teams that are undoubtedly on equal footing with the powerhouse.
Chad Boat won the championship in 2020 with Chris Windom and other teams such as RMS and Reinbold/Underwood visit victory lane frequently.
Donny Schatz has been by far the most successful sprint car driver over the last 15 years. His formula for success epitomized the effectiveness of consistency within an organization. For years and for nearly all of his 10 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championships, he utilized the same chassis and engines, and had the same crew chief — Ricky Warner.
Schatz is undeniably one of the best drivers in the history of our sport and Tony Stewart Racing certainly has as many if not more resources than any other team on the Outlaw tour. The fact that a few changes within their program immediately opened the door for Brad Sweet to win the last three championships clearly illustrates the importance of continuity and chemistry, even for the likes of exceptionally talented teams such as Schatz and TSR.
There is no doubt, however, that with their obvious determination they could garner many more championships.
In motorsports, like any sport, the top of the mountain is a difficult place to be. There are so many talented individuals in our sport, both behind the wheel and turning the wrenches who are constantly pushing the envelope and raising the bar, that there is no room for satisfaction.
In order to win, you must continuously find ways to better the competition regardless of the results of the previous race, or you can quickly find yourself trying to catch up.