Racing is a family sport, always has been and always will be. It was my parents who introduced me to the sport at a very young age and I was hooked almost instantly as Bobby Unser rocketed past just out of my reach.
Racing is a family sport, always has been and always will be. It was my parents who introduced me to the sport at a very young age and I was hooked almost instantly as Bobby Unser rocketed past just out of my reach.
My path in the sport wouldn‘t be holding a steering wheel, though, but rather a pen. I was always intrigued by what kind of a person would hurl themselves around a race track at death-defying speeds and one day back in the early ‘90s found an editor who would let me go ask actual race car drivers why they do it.
In retrospect, it‘s kind of funny to think I started out with an Indianapolis 500 to ultimately get to the World of Outlaws when many young sprint car racers aspired to go the opposite direction. Even funnier is I first met Steve Kinser at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before meeting him again about a month later at a dirt track.
Recently, I was honored to be asked to present Steve for induction into the National Motorsports Press Ass‘n Hall of Fame and I was also able to spend some time with Tony Stewart following his election to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. It got me thinking about both drivers, their careers, their achievements and more.
Both Indiana natives, Steve ultimately drove a Tony Stewart Racing sprint car, their fathers were influential in their careers, both had the drive and determination to become champions, one was a hero to the other.
Steve won his 20th World of Outlaws crown in 2005, which was my first year on the road with the Outlaws, getting to document every win along the way. I had followed Steve and the World of Outlaws since the mid-‘90s, but that season I got to see what went into winning day in and day out, how Steve and Scott Gerkin worked together, how his team was like its own traveling family.
As you get to know the drivers you realize the importance moms and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles — all play roles in almost every driver‘s career. At some point Danny Schatz created an interest for Donny Schatz, who has built his own Hall of Fame-worthy career.
New stars such as Sheldon Haudenschild, who watched his dad, Jac, become a legend, and Logan Schuchart, who is following in the footsteps of his Hall of Fame grandfather, Bobby Allen, are the next to build careers in the family business.
Up and down the roster, almost every driver can point to a family member playing a key role in getting them to their first green flag.
That said, at some point, drivers such as Stewart — or today‘s all-around racer Kyle Larson —have to take what the family has given, whether it‘s funding or simply the spark to succeed in this sport, and make a go of it on their own.
As I tell my own son (Tyler), you‘re going to need to find a car owner someday if you really want to keep racing. Stewart advanced through every rank possible, won championships in multiple disciplines and now gives back through owning Eldora Speedway, a World of Outlaws team, two drag racing teams and so much more. His parents got him going, but Tony made the most of it.
For me, the opportunity to sit and talk with these guys is priceless. So much insight can be gleaned by a good ear. Then to see their shops, to see the mementos they treasure and the trophies they display, it all showcases who they are, about what‘s important to them. And it often comes back to family.
Being able to speak with three generations of racers is something I‘ll always treasure. To talk with Bob Kinser about how proud he was of Steve was as interesting as Steve talking about how proud he is of Kraig.
The point is, do your part.
Racing has certainly changed through the years, but at its core it‘s still about family going to the track together. It might have started with a father and son, but now it‘s that son and his son or daughter. Bring them out, doesn‘t matter if it‘s a big event or the local race down the street. Get them up close to the sights, the sounds and the smells. There are many opportunities to make a career in racing and not all of them involve holding a steering wheel.