I have not met many no-joke household name racers. I’ve met plenty of racing drivers, don’t get me wrong. Many of whom grind it out at tracks whenever they get the chance. But when it comes to no-joke racers that you could ask anyone’s uncle about and there’s a better-than-50% chance they know their name, the list is small. I’ve met Big Chief, Murder Nova, Daddy Dave, Doc, and AZN from Street Outlaws. I had the privilege of chatting with Travis Pastrana one morning in a hotel parking lot before the 2010 Olympus Rally. And I’ve been able to chat with this man, Randy Pobst. Randy is one of those perpetually nice gentlemen, always happy to meet a fan. I knew his name from when he was driving for Honda in the North American Touring Car Championship races of 1996-1997, and I’m glad to see that he’s continued to have fun in whatever he’s been a part of, from racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona to his time hosting an informative show for MotorTrend a few years back.
No matter how nice of a guy you are, if you are a racer, that whole thing falls to the wayside once the race begins. You have to switch modes. You either become a tactician or a warlord, but either route means that your ultimate goal is victory. Add in Pobst’s years of racing, and you would think that turning him loose at one of Cleetus McFarland’s Freedom 500 races would end with a straight-up whitewash. Not so fast…have you seen what goes down at those races? Take all the grace of a Roman gladiator battle, combine it with the workplace danger of a rodeo clown, and have cameras pointing at you for every second of whatever goes down. Randy went into the ring, he went straight into battle, and somehow emerged unscathed. Mostly.
Genuinely…what do you have to do to get one of the nicest racers in the game to get to, “Up yours, jerkoff!!!”?!
I wouldn’t consider Big Chief, Murder Nova, Daddy Dave and Doc big time racers as much as TV personalities.
They all have top notch equipment and seem to have the drive, tenacity and skill to become big deals, but until they compete in some events and series that matter, they will remain products of our current state of way too much media.
That said, a few years ago Chief entered his ‘CrowMod’ in ProMod at the U.S. Nationals and while he didn’t qualify, he did make 4 passes, each quicker than the last.
I’ve hoped that someone from the show (Lutz and Larson not withstanding) would compete in Drag Week or some other drag n drive event, although I fear that their celebrity would be a detriment to them having much success. Again, too much media.
As to AZN, I’m thrilled that he and FarmTruck have their own show, saves me from having to fast forward through their idiotic segments of Street Outlaws, which I do watch religiously. What can I say, the cars are real and the drama is mostly a product of what happens on the track (street?).
Anyway McT, I’m glad that you were able to meet and interact with someone you hold in high regard.