Southern Ontario Sprints :::: Official Web Site

SOS Q&A WITH: TOM SCHMEH

When I was younger my heroes were always Race car Drivers. Now my heroes are the people that make the sport of sprint ar racing work, especially those people who selflessly put the sport ahead of themselves and personal gain. One of the greatest gifts bestowed upon sprint car racing in the past 20 years has been Tom Schmeh. Tom is The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum's executive director and one of the most dedicated people in the world of Sprint Car racing. He is also extremely knowledgeable and can give you a detailed and informed synopsis on the national and local sprint car scene in any area of the world. But more importantly than all that, he is kind genuine and caring person. He has taken in many sprint car folk when they are in the Knoxville area and in 2003 opened his home to Adam West when Adam was racing in Knoxville as part of the KIDD program. While I may not agree with everything he says and does – I always know that his motivations are pure and his intentions are nothing but good. He has an insightful thoughtful perspective on world politics and affairs, and has in fact traveled the globe. On a more personal basis he has treated my son Daryl with nothing but kindness and taken him to University hockey games that they both enjoy – not because he had to, but because he wanted to. I am very proud that he has taken the time to answer our questions but I am even more pleased and proud to call Tom Schmeh my friend.

So please enjoy this latest interview from one of our sport’s true leaders.

Peter Turford

President

Southern Ontario Sprints

Some people feel that sprint car racing at least at the top level may have peaked in 1998-1999 when there where lots of fully sponsored teams on the WoO, TNN was actively involved and new facilities at Charlotte, Texas and Bristol were being added. Do you share this opinion or do you feel the situation is better or worse?

Sprint car racing, like most things in life, goes in cycles. Yes, I think the mid- to late-1990's was a great time for winged 410-cubic-inch sprint car racing. It wasn't long thereafter that non-winged sprint car racing had a real resurgence in popularity with both teams and fans, with Oskaloosa's $30-to-win show and Eldora's Mopar Million leading the way. And I see a real boom in winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car racing coming soon, with Knoxville's Speed-televised, $10,000-to-win 360 Nationals and $5,000-to-win Brodix Tournament of Champions events this year, August 4-7, as key indicators of that renewal.

If you where made czar of the sport tomorrow what changes would you make to the sport?

I am a huge proponent of the standardization of technical rules. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a mechanically-minded person myself, but I believe my personal and professional skills can best be utilized by bringing diverse people together for the common good. That is what we try to accomplish with the Northeastern 360 Sprint Car Forum in Syracuse, and the International 360 Sprint Car Forums in Indianapolis and Knoxville. I think keeping everyone 'on the same page' and headed 'in the same direction' is very important in sprint car racing.

Having worked with NASCAR what lessons can we learn from their success, what can they teach us?

The biggest lesson is to 'dream BIG'. I worked as a NASCAR scoring and timing official in 1983 and '84 under Morris Metcalfe and Jerry Cook. Back in the mid-1980's, I never thought NASCAR would market itself as a 'major league sport' as well as it has done since then. I never dreamed it would be as BIG as it is today! So, I now look at sprint car tracks and sanctions everyday and think that there is nothing that NASCAR does today that we can't do, just on a smaller scale. We need to use them as a role model to get where we want to get (i.e. - larger purses, greater attendance, more media exposure, increased corporate involvement).

What is preventing Sprint Car Racing from reaching "The next level", or do we even want to reach the next level?

Yes, I think we should always seek to improve ourselves (again, in sprint car racing and in life). So, that is always 'the next level'. Do I want the next level for the "World of Outlaws" to be pavement winged sprint cars with on-board starters rocketing around 1.5-mile NASCAR-style tracks? No. We need to be realistic in our dreams and our objectives.

Did Adam West ever run around Knoxville Raceway in his underwear (or less)?

Hmmm. Not to my knowledge. But there was that one night when he came home later than usual...

We consider you one of the most knowledgeable and accessible individuals in the sport and whenever any of us have a question you do your best to give us a straight answer. Who do you go to for advice or mentoring?

Easy question. Don Lamberti of Casey's General Stores and Ralph "Cappy" Capitani of Knoxville Raceway. They truly are my heroes. Both of them are down-to-earth, soft-spoken straight-shooters. And both look at 'the big picture'... if it's good for sprint car racing in general, then they figure it's good for them personally (Don with his WoO team, and Cappy with his track) . If everyone took that approach in life, we'd have a heck of a lot less problems. Besides them, I feel like I can always call people like Roger Johnson in Memphis or Dick Carbery in Syracuse. Again, they are compassionate, intelligent, common-sense-type people. I may not always agree with them on religion and politics, but they know that they have my ear (and my respect)!

Have the Brodix Tournament of Champions and the 360 Nationals achieved the stature you would like, are the crowds adequate for these events to grow?

Have they achieved the desired stature? No. Do they both have the potential? Yes. I can't tell you how excited I am about this year's schedule. John Zimmerman of the United Racing Club (URC) has lobbied me for years about putting together an All-Star-type weekend, where each club sends their best to compete in the sport's big-money "All-Star Game". I've lobbied Cappy for years to make the ToC weekend that type of weekend, and he's finally done it. 21 sanctions from Australia, Canada and the United States will be sending their best teams to Knoxville for the August 4-5 Knoxville 360 Nationals, August 6 Casey's Night Before the ToC, and the August 7 Brodix Tournament of Champions!!! And those four straight nights of 360 racing are a lead-in to the 45th annual 410 Nationals, August 10-13. How kewl is that??

The World of Outlaws are looking to mandate starters in 2006 - where do you stand on this? - and don't be political!

I am not in favor of on-board starters on sprint cars. Remember, I am a museum curator. There are two types of sprint cars in my museum... those that were pull-started (kids in the back of a pick-up truck threw one end of a rope to the driver, and when he got the car fired up, he threw it back to them) and those that were push-started (by a pick-up truck). In a hundred years, things haven't changed much. And that's okay with me!

Where do you see the world of sprint cars heading in the next 10 years?

410 c.i. sprint cars will compete with a few travelling series only. 360 c.i. sprint cars will be the premier division at weekly tracks. And 305 c.i. sprint cars will be the entry-level division at those weekly tracks. I truly believe that is how things are going to shake out. Obviously, we are in a transitionary period right now. And , I should add, Knoxville will be one of the last tracks to drop their 410 division on a weekly basis. Of course, these are only the thoughts of one person who has no control over any of these things... he he he!!!