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01-31-2011, 11:35 PM
Thanks to:
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110130/SPORTS/101300347/1006/OPINIONS/
Ken Schrader never envisioned starting 744 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, making millions of dollars along the way and becoming a hall-of-famer.
"All I ever wanted to do was ride around in circles," Schrader said this week. "I never thought it would go quite this far."
Tonight, when he trades his firesuit and helmet for a suit and tie, Schrader will add the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame to his vast résumé.
A true "racer's racer" for his desire to race anything on four wheels during a 40-year career, the St. Louis native calls it an honor to be a part of Missouri's sports -- and specifically the state's racing --legacy.
Fellow St. Louisan Rusty Wallace, a retired NASCAR great, and the late Larry Phillips, a renowned short-track champion from Springfield, already are in the Missouri hall.
"Larry taught Rusty how to race," Schrader said. "I was off running my dirt car at that time and just watching those guys from a distance.
"But I was a Larry Phillips fan forever. When I was 16, I went out to California to haul his car around when Larry raced on the West Coast.
"Then when Rusty moved south, I went down the next year and (Phillips) was a big influence in my getting started (in NASCAR) and shortening the learning curve for me."
Schrader was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1985 and was a series regular until a couple of years ago.
With four Cup victories and 184 top-10 finishes, he won $35 million in prize money and became one of NASCAR's most popular drivers for his outgoing personality.
"He wasn't doing it for the money, he was doing it because he loved it," car owner Rick Hendrick said in Schrader's 2006 autobiography "Gotta Race."
Schrader drove for Hendrick eight years, placing fourth in the 1994 Cup standings. He was credited with helping a young Jeff Gordon break into Cup.
"It's hard to find someone who has the talent behind the wheel that he does but still has so much personality and charm outside the race car," Hendrick said of Schrader.
Schrader, in a telephone interview, said it's hardly an exaggeration that he has raced his entire life.
His father, Bob, hooked a cable to a fence post and a go-kart and let 3-year-old Ken drive in circles in the backyard. One day, the cable broke and Ken slammed into a concrete bird bath.
"Racing's all I've known and all I've ever wanted to do," Schrader said. "It's not only my job, it's my hobby."
Schrader won his first stock-car race a day after his 16th birthday, in 1971 at Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park. He was driving a 1964 Chevrolet Impala once owned by Phillips.
Even during the height of his NASCAR career, Schrader would race several times a week on dirt tracks. He has been at Lebanon I-44 Speedway and Monett Speedway several times over the years.
Never was there a hint of a big-timer's ego when Schrader returned to his roots.
"He's just Kenny Schrader and doesn't claim to be more," Springfield late-model dirt-track driver Terry Phillips said. "That makes him different from some other guys who have found success and come back.
"Plus, he's a good racer, as smooth as you'll see. That probably comes from years racing on the pavement."
Schrader, 55, has caved to Father Time as far as NASCAR is concerned. He competed in one Cup race last season and drove in nine Camping World Truck Series races.
Various dirt tracks from coast to coast, driving his own modified or late model, are his playgrounds these days.
He also owns an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) team, with youngster Tom Hessert scheduled to drive.
"I've never really cared, as long as we were racing," Schrader said, comparing NASCAR superspeedways to dusty dirt tracks.
"We are slowing down as far as our big-track pavement stuff, but you'll have that at this age. But as far as our dirt car, starting next weekend we have 17 races scheduled in February. We're ready to go."
Schrader said it's easy for him to identify with local racers who spend $30,000 on a motor for a chance to win a $3,000 race.
"That's the way it was when I got started, too," he said. "You hope you get a break and wind up driving for somebody and you can really make dreams happen.
"But either way, you're lucky if you get to do something that you love, any way. That's why you get involved in about anything."
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110130/SPORTS/101300347/1006/OPINIONS/
Ken Schrader never envisioned starting 744 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, making millions of dollars along the way and becoming a hall-of-famer.
"All I ever wanted to do was ride around in circles," Schrader said this week. "I never thought it would go quite this far."
Tonight, when he trades his firesuit and helmet for a suit and tie, Schrader will add the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame to his vast résumé.
A true "racer's racer" for his desire to race anything on four wheels during a 40-year career, the St. Louis native calls it an honor to be a part of Missouri's sports -- and specifically the state's racing --legacy.
Fellow St. Louisan Rusty Wallace, a retired NASCAR great, and the late Larry Phillips, a renowned short-track champion from Springfield, already are in the Missouri hall.
"Larry taught Rusty how to race," Schrader said. "I was off running my dirt car at that time and just watching those guys from a distance.
"But I was a Larry Phillips fan forever. When I was 16, I went out to California to haul his car around when Larry raced on the West Coast.
"Then when Rusty moved south, I went down the next year and (Phillips) was a big influence in my getting started (in NASCAR) and shortening the learning curve for me."
Schrader was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1985 and was a series regular until a couple of years ago.
With four Cup victories and 184 top-10 finishes, he won $35 million in prize money and became one of NASCAR's most popular drivers for his outgoing personality.
"He wasn't doing it for the money, he was doing it because he loved it," car owner Rick Hendrick said in Schrader's 2006 autobiography "Gotta Race."
Schrader drove for Hendrick eight years, placing fourth in the 1994 Cup standings. He was credited with helping a young Jeff Gordon break into Cup.
"It's hard to find someone who has the talent behind the wheel that he does but still has so much personality and charm outside the race car," Hendrick said of Schrader.
Schrader, in a telephone interview, said it's hardly an exaggeration that he has raced his entire life.
His father, Bob, hooked a cable to a fence post and a go-kart and let 3-year-old Ken drive in circles in the backyard. One day, the cable broke and Ken slammed into a concrete bird bath.
"Racing's all I've known and all I've ever wanted to do," Schrader said. "It's not only my job, it's my hobby."
Schrader won his first stock-car race a day after his 16th birthday, in 1971 at Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park. He was driving a 1964 Chevrolet Impala once owned by Phillips.
Even during the height of his NASCAR career, Schrader would race several times a week on dirt tracks. He has been at Lebanon I-44 Speedway and Monett Speedway several times over the years.
Never was there a hint of a big-timer's ego when Schrader returned to his roots.
"He's just Kenny Schrader and doesn't claim to be more," Springfield late-model dirt-track driver Terry Phillips said. "That makes him different from some other guys who have found success and come back.
"Plus, he's a good racer, as smooth as you'll see. That probably comes from years racing on the pavement."
Schrader, 55, has caved to Father Time as far as NASCAR is concerned. He competed in one Cup race last season and drove in nine Camping World Truck Series races.
Various dirt tracks from coast to coast, driving his own modified or late model, are his playgrounds these days.
He also owns an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) team, with youngster Tom Hessert scheduled to drive.
"I've never really cared, as long as we were racing," Schrader said, comparing NASCAR superspeedways to dusty dirt tracks.
"We are slowing down as far as our big-track pavement stuff, but you'll have that at this age. But as far as our dirt car, starting next weekend we have 17 races scheduled in February. We're ready to go."
Schrader said it's easy for him to identify with local racers who spend $30,000 on a motor for a chance to win a $3,000 race.
"That's the way it was when I got started, too," he said. "You hope you get a break and wind up driving for somebody and you can really make dreams happen.
"But either way, you're lucky if you get to do something that you love, any way. That's why you get involved in about anything."