Every week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions of another racing driver. Next: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports, who lately is looking to win the second NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity, but the full edition is available on the 12 Questions podcast.
1. You will have to decide what task or legal responsibility you will perform each day for a year. But if you do this year-round, you’ll never have to do it for the rest of your life. What would you like to do?delete forever?
Lavandería. No is that I wash a lot of clothes. I am very lucky; (wife) Katelyn or our nanny, who comes to us a little, are the ones who do the most laundry. But the times I have to do laundry on the way or something, I let it pile up too much.
2. Can you describe how you behave as a tram passenger?
I’m not the passenger very often, but with Katelyn, when I’m the passenger, I’m bad. When I’m with J. P. (manager Josh Peterman), I’m not doing too badly. With Katelyn, it’s like, “Clearly, keep going” or “Pass those cars. “I definitely drive from the passenger seat, but she rarely drives.
3. What app on your phone do you like to use and do you think people know the most?
See. (Open your phone to watch. )
I see a record guy. I’m impressed.
I keep it pretty organized. But then it’s hard to locate what you’re for.
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I like MyRacePass (app for running on land with live timing and scoring) because you can get the warm race queues and all the queues overnight. Race Monitor (similar app) is a bit easier to use.
4. What do you do to feel better when you have a bad day?
Honestly, just alone time. I’m pretty quiet. I also like to faint with family. I don’t play much anymore, but it helps you not think about what might be bothering you.
Why don’t you play so much golf now?
I don’t have as much time and golf takes a lot of time. And it also takes a lot of time if you want to be better — and I want to be better, but I don’t really want to commit the time, so I just haven’t played that much. … I just really don’t have time with all the racing I do and (son) Owen’s racing and we’ve got a baby at home and going to the shop and all that.
5. This next one is a “Dear Abby”-style question where I’ve asked readers to submit various life problem questions …
So I read all your 12 Questions, and this is one I dread because I’m very bad (at advice). I read all the questions before I read the answer to them, and I’m like, “I don’t know how I would answer that.”
Well, thankfully this is more about racing than most of them. This user says: “As a main racing driver, I find it difficult to decide whether to race each and every week on a track and compete to win or pass out. and with a series of regional tours or the Outlaws or USAC when they are close, but run at the end or in the middle of the group when they arrive. Is it better to win in front of a small crowd on the same track each?and every week or perform worse in new places with a larger crowd?
Well, thank you for choosing this question. (Laughter) It may have simply not answered any of the other questions you asked.
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It depends on how much time you dedicate to it. Surely it is mandatory to spend two or three years at a more regional or local level. But even if you don’t master that level, it’s smart to venture out.
Look at Shark Racing on the Outlaw tour. The first two or three years of their Outlaw tour career, everyone was waiting for them to give up and leave because they didn’t succeed. But I don’t think many other people have noticed them. They build their schedule behind the scenes. Logan (Schuchart) has been pretty good, but even Jacob (Allen), whether he comes from where he was to where he is now, is amazing.
It shows that when you venture onto new tracks and face incredibly tough competition, you want to improve your driving ability. Yes, they can also kick your teeth for a while and you may not get the effects you want. However, you will come away with a better driver. And running in front of many more enthusiasts allows you to be more identified and helps you locate sponsors.
6. La next question is a topic of debate about life. Let’s say you’re in a place to eat with your kids and they’re a little noisy or wild. People start hunting you, but it’s also a noisy meal. place and there are other families there. So how do you play that?Do you let your kids have fun, do what they need to, and be a little wild?Or do you think, “Okay, maybe I’ll calm them down a little and interfere here?
Well, we eat out all the time, so we definitely take care of everything. It depends on the place to eat and the environment. Mexican eating places are wonderful for kids as there are other kids and it’s a noisier environment. We just don’t like our kids getting up from their seats and walking around the table or getting a little out of control. I don’t mind if you make a little noise, as long as they don’t cry, shout, or be rude to others at the table. I don’t care if they’re laughing sitting there, laughing and talking loudly.
When your kids possibly make a little more noise, you think everyone is watching and judging you. But honestly, for the most part, no one cares. Like I don’t care when the other kids are having fun. So even when I see Parents looking to bring them together in combination and calm them down, I don’t care.
7. Es a generic question. You’re a month away from completing the first full season of the High Limit Dash car series you co-founded. What’s one of the most unexpected lessons you’ve learned this year about running a series of races?
That would be a wonderful question for Brad (Sweet, his brother-in-law and fellow runner) because he’s really the one running once again (every night) where I do the same old task and just run. On the promotion side, we look to find new tactics to get enthusiasts to buy tickets and attend the race; When you’re just running, you literally don’t care. You just see a run on the show and you’re going to go. But looking to attract enthusiasts has been fun to watch.
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Really everything you don’t pay attention to when you’re driving. Even at Silver Dollar (a track in Northern California where Larson and Sweet are the promoters), it’s appealing to hear how beer sales were and how the concession stand performed compared to other nights. We’ll be hosting a Monster Truck event and see how much more likely this crowd is to drink than a dash car fan.
Things at High Limits were more than we thought. Obviously, we had some setbacks along the way, like any new series. But I feel that everything went very well and next year will be a little bigger.
8. In your career, what is the deal that came closest to fruition but ultimately didn’t succeed?
I knew this query was coming and I didn’t think about anything, so I had to ask my dad (Mike) because he remembers everything, and he told me to read this text to you.
Then it would have been like 2010 or 2011. I said I drove for Glenn Crossno and Bryan Sundby on the Oval Nationals (in Perris, California). At the same time, he drove winged cars for Brent Kaeding and Rich Stadelhofer. They were looking to combine an ASCS national team with the sponsorship of Rich Stadelhofer, but I said no, because I didn’t need to run 360 full-time (360 dash cars are a less tough edition of a 410-wing dash car).
Then they asked Sammy Swindell, who was in Big Game motorsports and a very smart friend of Glenn and Bryan. He asked them if they could lead a second team sponsored by Stadelhofer and founded at his Tennessee store. Crossno even viajó. al Northern California to meet with Rich and talk. There were discussions about how to put everything in place, but it all failed.
I was going down when Pete Willoughby (Keith Kunz Motorsports) called me to see if I wanted to race for them in midget and (Mike) told them to give me a week because (Mike) expected to race with Sammy in the winged car. Pete said it was the only time a driver asked for more time to make a decision. They agreed to wait.
So I was about to make a deal with Sammy, Big Game and Stadelhofer, but I ended up with KKM, and the rest is history. I forgot. There was a kind of winged dashboard car opportunity at the same time as Keith, but he didn’t know what it was exactly.
9. Who is the person who would surprise you to meet them?
Honestly, I don’t like reunion celebrities, so no one. “Starstruck” is like a wonderful moment for me, but I would be more shy. I don’t need to talk. I don’t like to talk about myself, that’s why I don’t like to meet celebrities because I don’t think they’re very interested in what we do.
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Of course, I’d love to meet Justin Timberlake. He’s super talented and all that. But he wouldn’t let me go through the stars, I probably wouldn’t even say much in their presence. I’m perfectly fine if I never meet a celebrity in my life.
10. What is the maximum skill a race car driver can possess?
The cliché answer is speed, skill and all that, but there are many other elements to consider. What makes an athlete smart at what they do is what they consider their brain. Nor will you ever fully perceive the spirit, so I don’t know. if you can answer the query 100%. But it’s anything that happens in the brain; The brain is very deep. You face adversity or reaction time, all of that.
11. What kinds of life from your young age mark you and your daily decisions as an adult?
I enjoy everything I do, or try to do it, anyway. My life has revolved around running, but I did other things and I don’t forget my parents, who made sure I laughed at everything I did. So I’m trying to do the same thing now; I strive to make sure my kids laugh at everything they do. I just enjoy every day.
12. Every week I ask a driver to ask me a question for the next person. Last week, Chris Buescher made 3 inquiries. He says, “How would you compare the newer off-road models to the open-wheel models?And do you have a preference for the latest models at some circuits, because it looks like they can beat and hit a bit more like our Cup races?Then he said, “How the **** can you take a ride in a dash car when everything happens so Fast?And then he says: “Thirdly, when you retire from board car racing, dash car drivers are in the better position to sit than bus drivers. Would it be smart to plug in and use going from dashboard to car to a bus driver? »
Everything I drive is pretty relative to each other, unless it’s the newest model. Recent models are very different. They are difficult to drive because there are many mechanics under the car and they must have the right attitude (for example). the car). In the dashed car you sit on the left rear tire, while on newer models you are on the right front and should stay somewhere in that posture.
I’m still lousy with a recent model, but I had to adjust my driving taste a bit so as not to be so erratic with my feet and brake pedal in particular. Because when you brake (on a recent model), the left side of the car sinks. , then cut and slide. I just try to be softer with my feet in the attitude.
Whenever I’ve seen recent styles before, they seem to pass pretty straight, don’t they?You’d think you wouldn’t turn your back on the wheel so much. But in the previous style, I am absolutely disappointed with all the time, so there is much more hand movement and the guide is much heavier. Racing is competitive; I can pass and win a late-style race and be overtaken the next night.
It’s much more complicated to run and overtake in a newer style because they’re so big and take up a lot of space, but then you have to open your driveway anywhere you run. Sprint cars are lighter and more agile: you can enter a lot decreases, you can go down and find traction to be able to overtake on the straights. In recent styles, you can’t pass the straights as easily because everyone straightens, so you have to wait until you get to the corner and then check. Go out to refuel to move and beat them before reaching the exit. Racing decreases and cars are heavier.
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Sprint cars look more like Cup races in Kansas; The aerodynamics behind it all are similar. In a dashed car and a Coupe car, you have to look a little to the left to get blank air, while in the newer model, when they’re on the side, they make a big difference. gap that even when you enter under someone, you are behind him, then your car begins to slide.
So it’s hard to check to be informed of all that, but I love the challenge. That’s why I’m doing the latest model and I’m pleased to have raced with Kevin Rumley, because it’s incredibly complicated for me. . I’ve had some smart moments, but I’m also not satisfied with the way I run.
And then, the issue of bus motive power: I like to drive my bus. So maybe one day I can be just a driving force for school buses: retire, move to Florida or something. That’s what Randy Goss (former motorcycle racing champion) did, so maybe it would work for me.
The next interview is with Kevin Harvick. Do you have any questions I can ask him?
Kevin does a great job as a father, managing Keelan’s life but also his racing career (Harvick had Keelan racing karts in Europe). You might be asked what makes European drivers so much better than American go-kart drivers. Is it the taste of the songs?And how long do you plan to take Keelan to Europe?
GO FURTHER
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(Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images)