Schrader still racing, having fun

Ken Schrader is two years removed from his last NASCAR Sprint Cup start - but that doesn't mean he's stopped racing.

Hardly. Fact is, he hasn't stopped racing for 40 years, so why should he do so now?

He has a handsome, spacious shop in Concord, ("You wanna buy it?") and another in St. Louis. He is part-owner of three race tracks, Paducah (Ky.) International Speedway, I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., and Macon (Ill.) Speedway. Two of his partners at I-55 and Macon are Tony Stewart and Kenny Wallace.

He's already driven in 32 races since January - he's won nine of them - and he's entered in 16 more in July.

Cars he and others will race primarily on asphalt tracks are built in the Concord shop.

"The dirt cars - we have three Modifieds and three or four Late Models- are kept in St. Louis, because most of the races are in the Midwest," Schrader said. "We run all different associations - ARCA, you name it - and I'll race Kevin Harvick's truck five more times and mine once.

"We also get equipment ready for others. I wind up doing whatever I can do to keep the shop going."

All of this is nothing new for Schrader. Out of his own operation he's been racing at tracks, big and small, across the country for most of his life. He did so even during his 25-year Cup career, in which he made 732 starts and won four times in his tenure with Rick Hendrick, which lasted from 1988-1997.

He made 15 Cup starts in 2008, his final year on the circuit.

"And I miss it very much," he said. "If anyone says they are happy not to be racing in Cup any longer, that's B.S. If you want to race every weekend, obviously Cup pays the most. Plus, it is the hardest, most competitive racing there is. If you want to really race, Cup is it.

"I can be in St. Louis, in the shop, washing off the car and realize it's 4 p.m. and the race is on TV. I have to turn it on. It's addictive, but at least I'm not shaking any longer."

While Schrader never reached elite status as a Cup driver, he was more than competent, reliable and most competitive. He raced for some of the top teams, among them Hendrick and the Wood Brothers, and was seldom - if ever - the center of controversy.

He was, simply put, laid-back. There was a reason for that. To him, racing wasn't a chore. It was fun. And he can't understand why some of today's drivers don't consider it the same.

"Why wouldn't you have fun?" he said. "I grew up driving race cars and I'm still able to drive one and get paid every now and then. How can I complain about that?

"But you know what? If a driver today says he's not having fun, then he should go back to South Boston and drive every week. He might have to sell his plane and he might have to ride in the back of the truck to the track, but maybe then he'll have fun.

"To drive a Cup car in my time was a very good deal and I think it still is."

Schrader admits there have been many changes in NASCAR; changes that, in some cases, have made the sport more complicated and, perhaps, less fun.

To him that makes no difference. A competitor's attitude, outlook and appreciation for what he does should never change - even if NASCAR does.

"It doesn't make any difference if you like the changes or not," he said. "Guess what? The world has changed and it's going to be a lot different 10 years from now. You can't do anything about that. So why complain?

"Sure, the car is different now, I know that. But I've driven one and I like it. It just doesn't make any difference. Everyone has got the same car now. Just get in it and drive it for crying out loud. It's just a race car.

"I don't want to hear some kid or anybody else complain that the car doesn't drive good. Today, they all have it good. I know how much money they make. I knew how much I made when I drove and I was thrilled to get it. So I don't want to hear anyone complain."

As much as Schrader misses Cup competition, and return if he could, he's fully aware that at age 55 he's likely to remain on the sidelines. He accepts that.

But he's got something going for him. It may not be at the top level but he hasn't stopped racing and isn't likely to for quite some time.

"I'm racing," he said. "And I'm having a riot. I've been doing it since 1971. This is my 40th year driving a car around in circles full time. It may not be what I was born to do, but it has always been what I wanted to do.

"So why shouldn't I be having fun? Why would I not be happy? To tell the truth, I wish I wasn't having so much fun.

"Then I could quit and do something that doesn't cost as much."