RPW’s “Hot Mic” Then & Now: What Have I Learned In Racing?

Story By: RYAN HILL / RPW – BETHEL, CT – “HOT MIC” is our column where drivers are given a topic and talk directly to you sharing their thoughts. Today’s column revolves around what drivers thought racing would be like, what they learned when they became drivers, and what they would do differently with the knowledge they have now. The drivers that shared their stories vary in experience from karting to asphalt racing to big block modifieds and beyond. Here is what Dan Creeden, Mike Keeler, Joey Payne, Connor Hill, Daniel Sanchez and Jesse Pruchnik had to say.

ON BECOMING A DRIVER AND WHAT THEY EXPECTED, AND WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED:

DAN CREEDEN-MODIFIED- STSS, ACCORD SPEEDEWAY, THUNDER MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY : “I always wanted to race, I actually got my start in one of Tim Hindley’s karts at OCFS , it quickly became the only thing I wanted to do, and still plays a major role in my life. Once I started racing it was better than I expected, I never thought in a million years we would be winning races, let alone at the rate that we do. “

“I have learned that I can’t do every race on the schedule anymore. It is just too much money, too much time, and without time and money your program suffers. . It is tough to say that we would do anything differently because I feel like all of the racing we did when we were younger helped prepare us for the level we are at now. I do wonder if we had scaled back sooner if we could have got to where we are sooner. We ran as many as 86 races in a year in the past, but now we are running about 25% less than that and doing better, so who knows. I am just fortunate to have a great group of people around me.

MIKE KEELER- BIG BLOCK MODIFIED – LEBANON VALLEY SPEEDWAY: “When I started racing I was 7 years old, my parents bought me a quarter midget for Christmas. That car sat in our living room from the end of December until April when the season started. Every day I would sit in it and make the motor noises, and I just figured you just floor it and don’t hit things, but by the end of the season I learned you had to run the groove around the track to be fast. My dad used to set up cones to beat the racing lines into my head… I cannot believe he didn’t lose his patience trying to teach me.”

“I think that as my career has progressed the biggest thing I have had to learn was to be smooth and take care of my tires. That has been the case with everything I’ve raced from quarter midgets to super modifieds to big block dirt modifieds. I am the type of driver to go out there and run the car as hard as I can to find that edge, but then I have to tell myself to back off a little bit. Some people say that I should have stuck with one division or type of racecar, and if I had I would be further along with accomplishments. I can agree with that, but I also disagree because not only do I have the experience of driving midgets, asphalt SK and Tour Modifieds, as well as Big Block and Super Modifieds, but how many drivers do you know that can say they have competed in that many different types of cars!”

For now we have settled down, sticking to running the Big Block Modified at The Valley. We hope to someday be able to travel and hit some special shows at other tracks.”

JOEY PAYNE- SUPER MODIFIED: “ I was lucky enough growing up to wrench for some of the best open wheel racers from about the age of 8, working on my dad’s midgets and ¾ midgets until I started racing in 1984. I learned a lot from them, and in ’84 when I got to replace the legendary Johnny Coy when he retired to give me the seat in my family’s car it was really cool having Johnny as a mentor my first year. Back then racing was a lot more hard core then it is today. Back then if you won a race you beat the best of the best, but today if you win you are just beating the biggest check book with the most money to blow! “

“For me it wasn’t hard switching from wrench man to wheel man. I still worked on my cars, and had the utmost respect because I had to fix them too…”

“It honestly all changed in ‘94 when I started driving for Jeff Miller in Midgets and Super Modifieds…he taught me a valuable lesson, we had a full crew of guys and they all had a specific job and that left me to sit there and watch guys work their asses off on my car, .but it made me focus more on driving, and not thinking what I had to change or fix. I would come in and we would all chat and they would work their magic, it was a big plus in my eyes!!”

“The only thing I would have done different would be to get a better education …. I always raced with that eye on the big series but it never happened, and don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change what I have done and accomplished in my career. I always had crappy jobs to accommodate my hectic racing schedule to be able to just leave or take off when needed. I am one of the lucky guys that actually got paid to race for a % of the purse, but those days are long gone with how crazy expensive racing has become.

So, if I had to go back then and change something I would have probably went to college and got a better education rather than race all over the country hoping to get that big break, again, I don’t regret anything I have done or accomplished in my racing career, but I do beat education into all of my kids heads and I think Sue and I are lucky that all three kids have great jobs and that Joey III and Anthony are awesome wheel men and my daughter Tiffany is a fantastic photographer and shoots all her brothers races, it has been a job well done in my eyes !!!

CONNOR HILL- Dirt Karter-Burris Money Series – “I have been going to Lebanon Valley Speedway as long as I can remember and watching the modifieds have always been my favorite, especially my favorite driver Eddie Marshall. I feel lucky and proud to drive the Marshall Oil 98H kart now on the Burris Money Series.”

“Once I started racing I learned how tough racing really is, and how being a racer requires a lot of effort, hard work and dedication to be successful.”

“If is started now with what I know, I think I would have tried to race on a series from the beginning, or at least earlier.. I like the level of competition on the Burris Money Series, the race days are run smoothly, and I get to race more tracks which are making me a more well rounded driver. The hardest lesson to learn has been adjusting to the different tracks we race at in Pennsylvania, especially the bigger tracks like Selinsgrove, but we are figuring it out now and doing well.”

DANIEL SANCHEZ- PRO STOCKS- LEBANON VALLEY SPEEDWAY- LIMALAND MOTORSPORTS PARK, ELDORA SPEEDWAY, And MANSFIELD MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Growing up around racing I had a pretty good idea of how everything worked, and how it would be when I started racing. When I started racing it was how I thought it would be, but better. I didn’t realize how many great friends you make while racing. Over the last few years I have met some of the best people I have met from being at the race track.”

“My biggest lesson I have learned was before I ever even got on the racetrack. It was playing video games with Chad Jeseo and I would spin him out and then he would catch back up and move me out of his way. I would always get upset that he ran into me, even though he was clearly faster… he told me that if you race people clean they will race you clean, and maybe even cut you some slack when you mess up in front of them.”

My dad Danny Sanchez is a racer and taught me a lot about racing, and in life. If I could do anything differently it would be listening to my dad on day one of my racing career, and having more patience, but I don’t think there has ever been a rookie with patience. Today, I feel like I have a lot more patience on the race track, which has helped me hit my marks, and learn more and more every time I am on the track.”

JESSE PRUCHNIK-Lucas Oil PWRi Outlaw Midgets: Before I started racing the wingless midget car I thought they were crazy. I thought it has to be a lot of fun, because I would see big time drivers doing it and loving it, but racing these has created so much excitement for not only me, but the fans and other drivers. The Lucas Oil PWRi Outlaw Midgets are exciting races. I love that in these cars is that doing well is up to the driver, as the driver I can make the difference between winning and losing. The midgets give the driver and a crew a challenge to figure out how to win, which has taught me about being aware as a driver, but it applies to anything I have driven.”