Rudeen is an interesting story as well. His father raced snowmobiles on oval tracks, and in the 1970s his son followed the same path. He would eventually move to the pro class and was supported by the likes of Ski-Doo and Yamaha.
By his 20‘s, he had done the kinds of things young men do. He got married, had children, but still wanted to race. His goal was to compete in a sprint car.
Picking up the tale, Rudeen said, “The short story is I started with an open trailer, had one car that I built in the winter and took it to the race track. I had never driven a sprint car until I showed up to race a 410. We won‘t go into that career, because it wasn‘t that successful.
“With my family obligations, my season was six-to-eight races a year at Skagit; that was my home track. It wasn‘t very far into that that I decided to hire guys to drive a second car. Then I could focus on making that car successful.”
What he unquestionably had talent for was business.
Rudeen had worked in construction in Anchorage, Alaska for three years and ultimately graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1985. One year later he built an 11-unit condominium in Kirkland, Wash., and was on his way to forging a stellar career as a developer, with a focus on multi-family apartments and commercial properties.
He was, without a doubt, the kind of owner Eliason needed at the time.
Cory had just gone through one of the toughest baptisms by fire a driver can face: a year on the Outlaw trail. He was beginning to understand just how much of the game was mental.
“That was the hardest thing my first year on the road,” he says. “When you struggle, you struggle big. But it all pays off when you do well. When you race every weekend and you do badly, you are pretty much upset all week. You don‘t let it go, because you don‘t really have to. But when you are on the road and you get down, guess what? In two more nights you do it again, so you can‘t really hang on to that.
“I know this firsthand. You get down, the team gets down, and everyone gets down when you don‘t run well. You just have to try to stay positive and look at the bigger and better picture.”
It is a far easier proposition to stay upbeat when you have a supportive owner. On this count, Eliason knows he came up all aces.
“Kevin is the nicest, most giving person I ever met,” he said. “There is never a doubt that you are going to be taken care of, and he will help you no matter if it is in racing or in life. It doesn‘t matter. It‘s weird, because you go from a place where if you don‘t run in the top three or top five you get a little talking to, because, after all, they spend the money and expect to be there. Now Kevin is calling me and thanking me for doing a great job running his car when we finish in the top five.
“It is a hard thing to figure out. He is always telling you thank you. It‘s a nice feeling, because you aren‘t so stressed if you don‘t run well for three or four races, or worry about what is going to happen if we blow up or something bad happens. Racing is fun for him. He is just very laid back.”
Describing his philosophy, Rudeen noted, “I try to lead by encouragement rather than disparagement. I understand that sprint car racing is a rough and tough guy sport, but we also can enjoy it and have fun. Those young guys out there and the crews work really hard. I don‘t think most people appreciate the time and effort it takes.”
Rudeen‘s overall approach to sprint car racing is likely shaped by personal heartache.
Experiencing the worst imaginable thing a parent can face, Kevin lost his son Rayce to an opioid addiction four years ago. It will forever be a deep wound.
He describes his late son, as “very musical and very kind.”
It is an oft-repeated story. Rayce had been in treatment and seemed to be doing well when things turned south. The lesson here is a stark one, and if this message can be spread through the racing community perhaps some good will come from this tragedy.
Few people decide to become addicted, and those afflicted can be a part of caring and committed families. Addiction cuts across gender, race, socioeconomic background, and any other demographic variable you care to add.
Kevin Rudeen could have suffered in private. Instead, he decided to take action. That is why the Rayce Rudeen Foundation was born with a goal to fight addiction and help organizations who are devoted to help others recover.
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