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SOS Q&A with: Adam West

1. After spending 2003 in Knoxville with the KIDD program, did 2004 meet your expectations?

2004 was a great year and turned out a lot better than I had imagined. Before the season started, my goal was to run in the top 10 every night and challenge for some top 5 finishes. As it turned out, we ran in the top 5 nearly every night and had a shot at winning a handful of races. I think the Knoxville experience was a big part of that because I got used to running on the fast tracks so that made Ohsweken seem a little bit easier. And some of the setup tricks that I picked up definitely helped out too.

2. You came so close to winning the Canadian Sprint Car Championship this year, how hard was it to leave Ohsweken that night without the victory?

Second place at the CSCC definitely was not a disappointment. At the time it was a little frustrating to run so well and not win, but overall it was still a great night. Before the race, I had three main goals for the night; to time trial under 14.0 seconds, win the heat race (because I had never won anything at Ohsweken), and run top 5 in the feature. I definitely accomplished all my goals and based on that, it was a great night.

3. What were some of the highlights of your 2004 season?

Running second at the CSCC was definitely the brightest spot of the season but 2004 was great because I was able to win 6 heat races, 2 dash races and finish 2nd in 4 features. That was a huge improvement from the previous years and it really made all the hard work worth while. Off the track, the biggest highlight was definitely having Tom Schmeh and Bob Trostle surprise me at the banquet. I had no idea they were coming and it meant a lot to have them there because I look up to them and consider them both good friends.

4. You were an instrumental part of setting up the 1st Annual SOD/SOS Can Am Challenge. What all went into preparing for it and were you happy with the end results?

I wish I could say that it was a lot of work and it took many sleepless nights to organize, but really it wasn’t a big deal on my part. The races were already in place, so I (along with advice from Peter Turford) just worked with Jason Fausey from SOD to make sure we had rules that were fair to each club and a points and purse structure to reward the teams that made the effort to run both races. Overall I think the racing was a success with three of the top 5 teams from each club running both races, Glenn Styres, Kyle and Patrick and myself from the SOS and Dustin Daggett, Nick Mulheim and Mark Brougham from the SOD. And you couldn’t have scripted better race results with a Canadian winning the SOD race and an American winning the SOS race.

5. With 2004 now in the books, what areas do you hope to improve on in 2005?

My main focus for improvements is the chassis setups. The car handled really well most of the time, but I think there are more improvements to be made especially when the track gets really dry and slick, like Ohsweken during the CSCC. At the end of last season we went to run the SOD finale at Ionia and tried some new things that worked out pretty good. Hopefully it will work just as well on the Canadian tracks with the MC3 tire.

6. What plans are in store for your 2005 #30 ride? (ie. sponsors, chassis, motor, paint scheme, etc.)

Things will look pretty much the same for 2005. I’m definitely going to stick with the J&J chassis and the motor will be freshened up. All of our sponsors will be back with Terry Vogler Trucking as a primary sponsor for the full season as well as One Stop Auto Parts, Brooke Design and ImageFactor.ca is also going to come on board to help promote the team.

7. Some teams seem to feel Brighton is too far to travel for an SOS event, as a team that competes at every show what are your thoughts about making the trip to BSP?

Brighton is definitely a long haul, 425km from my doorstep. But I think it’s a great track, especially for a rookie driver. The small track really helps to equalize the competition and it also gives you a lot of experience running in tight packs where its critical to hold a steady line. One of the main complaints about the Brighton experience is traveling through the Toronto, but during the 2004 season we were never completely stopped in traffic jam, although there were always a few slowdowns along the way. Overall, I like Brighton and I appreciate the local fans and the support they give to the SOS.

8. What type of schedule has your team planned for 2005? Will you be running the complete SOS tour or any other tour events?

Right now our plans are to run the full SOS schedule along with the local SOD and ESS races and possibly a few SOD races in Michigan like the Full Throttle Nationals at Ionia in August.

9. Where do you see yourself as a driver in 5 years?

I would be very happy if I’m still racing with the SOS in 5 years and also have a 410 motor to run some big races like the Knoxville Nationals.

10. To hear the words "Here's your feature winner, Adam West" would be very popular throughout the stands and especially the pit area. Do you feel like 2005 will be the year you finally get that feature win?

2005 will definitely be my best chance to get that first win, but unfortunately its never a sure thing. If I can have another year like 2004 and keep running around the top 5 every week, eventually everything will go my way and I’ll make it to victory lane. I can hardly wait!