This is the second half of a Q&A with reigning World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet, which appeared in the March issue of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine.
This is the second half of a Q&A with reigning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Brad Sweet, which appeared in the March issue of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine.
To read part one, click here.
SC&M: Do you think the turning point where you started getting more respect was winning the Knoxville Nationals in 2018? Is that when you began to feel…
SWEET: Yeah. I believe that for sure. I think that‘s the one that people finally were like, “OK, he‘s the real deal.” And, I think it was the way I was able to win it, you know, be very dominant during the week (Sweet won the Capitani Classic on Sunday, took the lead from sixth on the first lap of the Thursday night Nationals prelim feature and led flag-to-flag for the win, then held off Donny Schatz for the Saturday night win), and then able to hold off Donny.
I think everyone in that place thought, ‘OK, here‘s Donny‘s chance and it‘s just another year where he‘s gonna pull a rabbit out of the hat, and we were kind of able to stop that. So, then we were able to back it up this year with the Jackson Nationals, the Kings Royal, and a championship.
So, I think we‘re definitely firmly on the map now in people‘s eyes. And, you know, it‘s something that, on the road with the World of Outlaws we travel to so many different places and have so many different fans. I think that you just have to put your time in. There are regions that will know certain drivers, but if you want to become known to the whole national scene it‘s something that you have to travel around and go to all the different race tracks and perform at a high level year-after-year before you kind of get that respect and are able to sell those T-shirts to those fans, where they actually become your fans. So, we‘re finally seeing all our hard work pay off now.
SC&M: You were in a NASCAR driver development program with JR Motorsports from 2009 to 2013. Obviously, things have changed in the NASCAR world and so many of the driver development programs have gone away. But, is that something you‘d like to get to or are you thinking, “I‘m a World of Outlaws sprint car driver and I‘m good with that”?
SWEET: No, I‘m absolutely, 100 percent, a World of Outlaws sprint car driver. You know, it‘s easy to say now, and I know some people who are conflicted about it, but I‘m honestly, genuinely happy that that didn‘t work out. I think my life would be much different, and not necessarily all for the good. So, there‘s something about being happier. I‘ve definitely found my home doing this. I think I would have always just been an average stock car driver, at best. That‘s my honest opinion.
I think I would have been able to do it. I think I could have done it, and then had more money in my back account. But I would have never been able to contend for championships, and I think I would have always been fighting for a sponsorship, and a ride. Where I think I‘m just a so much happier person. I think this fits my — you know, what I grew up doing, my driving style. I‘m able to be in a top-notch ride and contend for those championships, contend for those wins.
At this point now, it‘s just about, you know, I‘ve got myself in this situation and I‘m 100 percent focused on making the most out of it for as long as I possibly can. We have a great sponsor with NAPA Auto Parts, a great car owner in Kasey, all the pieces. All my crew is intact. All the things Donny‘s (Schatz) shown over the years that you have to get to this level and then you have to sustain it.
It‘s all there for me. So now it‘s kind of basically executing. Every year we just need to go out and, you know, I need to do my job, and we know what it takes to win now. So, I‘m never gonna be satisfied for not winning.
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