MBNA America 400 - Ken Schrader Notes

Ken Schrader Notes, Quotes: Dover 400
‘Pressure is what you make it’

Ken Schrader and the #49 BAM Racing Dodge team head to the fast, demanding one-mile Dover (Del.) International Speedway this week for Sunday’s Dover 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race. The tricky track has been a good one for Schrader in the past.

This stretch of races is an important one for the BAM Racing team, which is actively seeking sponsorship for the 2004 season. Fortunately, Schrader and the team have been running well the past several weeks, notching a pair of top-12 finishes and running strong week-in and week-out. Outside of some bad luck caused by outside factors, Schrader could easily have a string of consecutive strong finishes going into this weekend’s race.

The 48-year-old Schrader, a native of Fenton, Mo., is one of just a few active Winston Cup drivers to have won races on all types of speedways. The busiest driver in major league motorsports, Schrader is looking for a “100-night” season this year, and will continue a winning Winston Cup career that has seen him win over $20 million.

BAM Racing is owned by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau of Coral Gables, Fla. The successful investors, who have fully funded the team for the complete 2003 season run, have built the BAM (Beth Ann Morgenthau’s initials) team from the ground up. Ms. Morgenthau is the only female in major league motorsports to start a team without becoming involved because of family connections.

General manager Eddie Jones is a veteran of the NASCAR Winston Cup wars, enjoying a championship career as a crew chief, mechanic and team leader. Crew chief Scott Eggleston is one of the few active crew chiefs in the business to have won a Daytona 500. Business manager Gus Larkin is a successful veteran motorsports marketer, and is leading the corporate sponsorship activities.

The thoughts of #49 BAM Racing Dodge driver Ken Schrader heading into Dover:

“There isn’t any more pressure to perform this week than there is any other week but we’re still pretty aware that performance is important for us right now. When you are sitting there working as hard as you can off the track, the things you do on the track become even more important in the grand scheme of things.

“Pressure is on everybody in this sport, whether you are running at the front or running somewhere else. How you handle that pressure is the key to success – not only on the track but off the track too.

“A mature driver has been down the road enough he can usually handle that pressure. If he doesn’t handle it, well, he’s usually not in the sport long enough to become a mature driver.

“You can’t do things that embarrass your sponsor. You have to take adversity and face up to it maturely, and if you absolutely have to jump up and down and scream about things, then you find some place private to do that. In my mind, the driver represents his sponsor, his owners, his team mates, his family, and the sport in all that he does.

“It all comes down to how you handle adversity. I’ve never seen anybody upset over success. You usually don’t see too many mad people in Victory Lane. It is the way you handle yourself when things don’t go your way that people remember. That’s where driver maturity comes in.

“We’re looking for a 2004 sponsor. That’s no secret. And while running really well and finishing really well during this stretch won’t guarantee anything will come together, it sure makes it a lot easier for Beth Ann and Tony (Morgenthau) to get out there and pitch this race team. We know that. We’re working hard every day.

“Still, nobody and no situation can put more pressure on us than we have already put on ourselves. And that didn’t start with Dover this week or New Hampshire last week. It started way back at the Bud Shootout at Daytona in February and the Daytona 500. We came into this deal with every intention of doing whatever we needed to do to run well and win races.

“Why else would you come out here expect to win? Top 10’s and top fives are nice but winning is what it is all about. Winning is what you want to do; at least, it is for the guys on this race team. You won’t find a more competitive bunch anywhere at any time. They are going to do everything they can, within the rules, to win races. We dedicated ourselves to that at the beginning of the year and that hasn’t changed.

“It doesn’t mean we’re not realistic. This is the first year this team has run a full season, and that takes some time to get dialed in. We’ve made changes here and there. We’ve tried different things here and there. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle because we haven’t been around as long as a lot of teams have.

“But we’re headed in the right direction. The past few weeks especially have shown we can shake off the bad times and work together to bring on some good times. Man, it’s a horrible feeling not doing well. And it’s a great feeling when you do really well. But I know – and most of the people on this race team know – the best feeling in the world is standing there in Victory Lane, popping champagne, smiling for the cameras and knowing you did what you had to do.

“There isn’t a soul on this BAM Racing team – from Beth Ann to the driver to the crew to whoever – who isn’t completely dedicated to having that Victory Lane feeling soon.”

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