SC&M: Well, you‘ve got two kids and own a race track that‘s known for launching racing careers. Do you imagine there will be any interest from your kids in getting into racing?
SS:Â (laughs) My little guy, Lane, just turned one. So, I‘ve got a few years to prepare myself if he wants to be involved. You know, that was one of the things that my parents never pushed on me was to race. That was something I always wanted to do, even at an early age of seven. And, it has always been my focus. And the memories that I have with my family on the weekends at the race track are something that I‘m excited about for my kids.
The racing world, as you know, it‘s a small family, and once you start traveling it‘s a tight-knit family. It‘s gonna be the same here at Port City. There‘s gonna be a lot of kids that are the same age as my kids, they‘re gonna grow up together and become buddies, and if they wanna race, that‘s fine. If they don‘t, you know, maybe I can teach Lane to drive the grader. (laughs)
SC&M: You‘ve had a great career, through the ASCS, then through all your years with the Outlaws. Is there a moment that stands out that you look at and think this was the crowning moment of my driving career?
SS: I don‘t know. That‘s a tough one. There‘s a lot of great memories. I remember winning my first sprint car race at Tulsa Speedway. As far as a defining moment, the night that we won the Kings Royal, I feel like that‘s always gonna be a race that sticks out to me — we started 14th. And, the one year that we ran second to Donny (Schatz) at the Nationals (2011); that‘s been a standout moment for myself and when I raced for Paul Silva. I mean, we were on a shoestring budget. I felt like we raced really strong together with what we had.
The best part about racing is just the people that you meet. I was able to travel around the world and race — Australia, New Zealand.
SC&M: You said that you‘re not missing being in Florida to race and that you‘re retired from driving, but how retired? Is there a chance you‘ll be doing some driving in the future or are you completely done?
SS: I don‘t know, man. I don‘t know. I‘m really competitive and I just feel like if you‘re gonna be in a sprint car, you need to be in a sprint car all the time. And I‘m not saying that I might not jump into a car from time to time, but we‘ve got 43 races scheduled this year at the track and we‘re gonna be busy. It‘s a huge learning process for Jenn and I and, like I said, there‘s just a lot more to running a race track than just people showing up and racing on Saturday night.
So, I‘m gonna be 100 percent focused on the track for now, and we‘ll see how it all works out.
SC&M: Is this one of those, ‘Oh, wow!‘ moments that drivers often have when they start promoting and it‘s like, ‘Wow, I complained about promoters for years and never realized how tough it was‘?
SS: (laughs) Yeah. Yeah. You know, I‘ve always said I feel like every mechanic should get into a sprint car or whatever they‘re working on and drive it; I feel like every driver should be a mechanic.