Champions Traits Story and photos by Dwight Drum
© 2004-7 Dwight Drum Web work by Larsen & Drum
USAC Sprint Car Champs & Contenders
Tracy Hines Paul McMahan Levi Jones Craig Dollansky Tim Schaffer
Champion Traits USAC Sprint Car Contenders
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.
THE QUESTION: Do champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few?
Tracy Hines
(Tony Stewart's USAC team) "I don't know. I would say any good racer has common traits and abilities. A championship back in the days when Blaney and Schrader ran USAC, they didn't run every race to win a championship. Sometimes championships to me are a little bit higher rated than they should be. Back in the 60's and 70's even the early 80's you had more gypsy racers where they raced for the money. So championships never followed but a lot of race wins did. I think just the drive, just the tenacity, just never taking good enough as an answer is probably the common trait that I can think of."Paul McMahan
Do champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few? "Champions. They all got certain traits. They're determined. Some of them are just persistent. They just keep working and working at it until they become a champion. They got the drive to do it. There's a whole lot and we could go down the list but those are the three major ones I can think of right now."Levi Jones
(Tony Stewart USAC team) Do champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few? "Oh definitely. They hate to lose and just have a killer instinct. I think one common trait in a champion would be, I think AJ Foyt said it, 'The will to prepare to win has to be greater than will to win.' That's something that I try to think of. You have to do whatever it takes to get ready to win not just what it takes to win."Craig Dollansky
Do champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few? "I would say you definitely have to work on running consistently every night and you got to get after it every night you race. You can't just show up one night and feel like you're half sick and not apply yourself. It doesn't matter if you're sick or what the conditions are or what's going on. You got to get after it. The guys that win championships and win races are more of that type of person."Tim Schaffer
Do Champions have common traits and abilities and if so could you identify a few? "I think a lot it is just natural ability to do it. I think you are born with it. I hear how do you guys do that? Well I just think it's instant. I don't know either. Sometimes you make it through different wrecks or make great corners. It's just natural I guess. And you see that with younger kids coming up. You can tell just by when they're running go-karts or mini-sprints or something whether they have it or not. And then you've got the late-bloomers too, but usually you see it early in a kid that's got the talent and can do it, a smart racer you know. Today everybody's got all the goods. You can go out and buy everything. You can't build an engine in the garage like you used to. You used to work hard on them and beat them in the garage a little bit. Now days the only way you're going to beat them is with a great team. It's a marriage, when you've got three or four guys on the road all year long together. You get ups and downs, but if find that and click together then you'll be successful."