Champions Traits Story and photos by Dwight Drum
© 2004-7 Dwight Drum Web work by Larsen & Drum
USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Champions & Contenders
Bobby Gill Clay Rogers Shane Huffman Benny Gordon
Champion Traits Quest
Two active seasons in top sanctions gathering nearly 150 answers from highly skilled motorsports racers to one champion-traits question has produced many thoughts and no simple explanation.
The basis behind the single question is looking for a way to measure the complex human ingredients it takes to produce a top sanction champion. If found there would be a mad rush to buy the formula. As we know life and science works in other ways.
That knowledge didn't stop the question or the answers.
One question never needs asking. It takes a very brave person to have the fire to fly on a solid racetrack. The question asked results in many reasons in many minds. The only consolation to this dedicated quest is the more answers, the better.
That said, smart drivers have a bright way of defining what it takes to be the best. Their thoughts are worthy of attention.
Trevor Baynes Joey Logano Jody Lavender Shane Wallace
"Learning how to change and break out of your routine."
Shane Huffman
"Everybody that drives a race car and wins championships ought to feel special."
Clay Rogers
"You got to be there every race."
Bobby Gill
Hard work and dedication is what it takes."
Benny Gordon
"You have to have patience."
Gary St. Amant
You've got to be calm and collected all the time."
Shelby Howard
"I think it's a desire to win, really."
Joey Logano
"This sport is all about dedication."
Trevor Bayne
"You either got it or you don't."
Derek Kale
"Championships aren't won by one person."
Jody Lavender
"It's all gotta go your way."
Shane Wallace
"They have faith in their equipment and faith in their crew."
Gabi DiCarlo
THE QUESTION: Do champions have common traits and abilites and if so could you identify a few?
Shane Huffman: (2003 champion)
"I don't know. I would say they've obviously got some of the same abilities and qualities. I don't know what a lot of them are, but I've always been fortunate enough to be able to do this and not really have to think about it a whole lot. It's always come natural. This year in the Busch Series is probably the hardest I ever had to work and relearn something but I feel like I've adapted to it fairly well and fairly quickly. I think that's a big quality about it is learning how to change and break out of your routine sometimes. I'm sure there's a lot, I'm just not sure what they are."
Clay Rogers (2004, 2006 champion)
"I think that everybody that drives a race car and wins championships ought to feel special. It's hard to win these championships whether it's short track or you're racing on mile-and-a-halfs every weekend. You got some of the best people in the sport down here in this Hooters garage with Gibbs and everybody in here. None of those guys are taking home the championship this year. It's a little race team out of old Caterpillar race shop. I'm pretty proud of them."
Benny Gordon (2005champion)
"Yeah, they do. They have hard work and dedication is what it takes to be a champion year after year. There is anybody here that can win a championship that isn't dedicated to getting it done."
Bobby Gill: (1999, 2000, 2001 champion)
"Well, I don't know Clay has been doing this stuff couple years less than I've been doing and he's got a good crew chief. It ain't all the driver. It's everything that works together for everybody. It's how the car performs on the racetrack. We had three or four DNF's this year with stuff breaking. You can't do that and try to win a championship.
"All the years I've won championships I do the same thing that I always do. I race to win, try to win the race and let the wins take over for the points. You start worrying about championship stuff at the beginning of the year, it don't really do nothing for you. You got to be there every race. You got to finish every race. It's more to it than just the driver now."
Jody Lavender
"Most of the time a championship is a team effort. When you have the right chemistry there and that's what Jimmie Johnson had this year and obviously (Kevin) Harvick and Clay Rogers in our series. When you got the right people in place, good equipment, a good crew chief and driver and you just put it all together as a group effort, that's hard to beat. That's what it takes.
"Championships aren't won by one person. When you have that chemistry and things go your way and there is a lot of luck involved. You like to say you make your own luck, but there is also a lot of luck involved. When bad things happen but then you still manage to get a good finish out of it. That's the kind of things that win a championship. It just takes a lot of things to put together to do that."
HPCS STANDOUTS:
Trevor Baynes (Dale Earnhardt Inc.)
"I think dedication is the biggest thing in champions. This sport is all about dedication. It takes time and a lot of effort. If you're not at the shop every day you can't expect to go anywhere in this sport. You just got to stay with it. That's the biggest thing is dedication to me."
Joey Logano (Joe Gibbs Racing)
"I don't know. I think it's a desire to win, really. I feel like I have plenty of that. I'd say I'm one of the most competitive people out there whether it's playing checkers or on the racetrack for sure. I'd say it's being competitive and the desire to win. That's the biggest thing to make a champion out of you. I feel like I have plenty of that. I'd say I'm one of the most competitive people out there."
Shelby Howard
"Yeah probably. I'm sure you've got to be calm and collected all the time, because in this sport all kinds of different scenarios are thrown at you. You can get dragged down real bad in a race and have to come from the back a couple times and you've got to keep yourself calm and focused on what you're doing. Somebody who can keep focused all the time definitely has traits to be a champion."
Derek Kale (2006 HPCS rookie of the year)
"I think it's mostly it's just feel and knowing the fans. It's something that I hate to say that you either got it or you don't, but I think it's just that feel. I don't think that much of it can be learned. It's something that just has to be feel."
Shane Wallace
"It's hard to say because it's more luck than anything when you win championships. It's all gotta go your way. One year you come out and dominate 13 races and the next year you may be able to catch a flag a couple times. It all depends. If you're a champion you got certain traits you can share, but when it comes to compare it all depends on who has the best luck that season to become a champion."
Gabi DiCarlo
"Yeah, definitely. The first is probably competitive and confidence is huge. That's what I've been learning from these guys. They know they can run with these guys. They have faith in their equipment and faith in their crew. I think that's the biggest thing."
Dange Hanniford
"I'd have to say those guys like that and what I want to be, you have to be dedicated. You have to eat, sleep it, just live it, be focused and be around the cars. That's one thing I pride myself in is being around the cars and working on them and knowing all ends of them. I try to stay on top and know what I need in the race car. I definitely say you have to be dedicated and focused."