"I'm looking forward to the season so I can take a break!"
Craig Stanton of Petersen White Lightning
By Margot Orenchuk
Photos courtesy AASCO and Brent Paterson

VANCOUVER, Canada (January 13, 2004)  — Craig Stanton is probably one of the nicest drivers you will ever have the pleasure of meeting on pit lane. Craig and his wife Joy sat and patiently explained to me one sunny afternoon in California why what Craig does for a living (and why he was doing it not 5 days after an emergency appendectomy!) doesn’t qualify him for a trip to the funny farm. Craig is an amazing, awe-inspiring athlete; a gentle, kind, friendly person that just instantly puts you at ease the moment he smiles at you. Despite having to walk me through his world the moment we met, I went away feeling I had just spent an hour with Mario Andretti. I can’t say enough good things about this fierce racer. Craig spoke to us about his rides for 2004, his year in 2003, and why he is looking forward to the racing season to come.

Margot Orenchuk: Craig, have you fully recovered from your surgery earlier this year?

Craig Stanton: Yeah, I don’t even look down anymore. It is back to a full ab workout. I think I was fully healed at five weeks.

MO: Describe to me a typical (racing) day in the life of Craig.

CS: I get as much sleep as possible the night before. I wake-up and have two square meals before the race. I like to get to the track early, as early or earlier than the [crew] guys, because I feel ready when I get there early. Everything happens early for me. If I can get everything done early then, in my head, I know that I am ready. I try to go for a five to fifteen minute run, easy jog, stretching, a lot of fluids and all of the PR stuff with the fans is really important to me as well.

MO: How do you deal with the frustration of not even getting behind the wheel in a race like at Petit Le Mans? You must have been crushed.

CS: I feel worse for the team. They worked very, very hard for that race. I feel bad for Porsche because I think we had a good shot at beating the Ferrari.

MO: Do you prefer endurance racing to sprint racing?

CS: Most endurance racing is sprint racing, just longer. I enjoy the strategy of tire management, fuel loads and driver changes.

MO: What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you during a race weekend?

CS: I was at Ventura (California) Fairgrounds racing a midget. I got there early and was surfing and the surf was perfect. It was so perfect that I was late for the first practice session.

MO: What is the one question you can’t stand being asked?

CS: ‘Have you had any big wrecks lately?’ And ‘Do you really like your teammate?’

MO: What is the one question you never get asked that you would like to be?

CS: If you had another chance, how would you do it different?

MO: Who are your racing heroes?

CS: When I was a kid it was Mark Donohue and Dennis Aase. Now, someone like Kenny Schrader or Tony Stewart who runs, literally, 80 events a year. Or the World of Outlaws guys.

MO: What is the scariest memory you have behind the wheel?

CS: I don’t remember. I guess that’s good.

MO: If there were one thing you could change about your car, what would it be?

CS: I’d put my name in big, bold letters from the headlights to the taillights. <just kidding>

MO: If you couldn’t be a racing car driver, what would you want to be?

CS: A pro mountain biker, a pro surfer, a restaurant owner or go back to building custom homes.

MO: If you could take 4 people out to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?

CS: Colin Powell, Lance Armstrong, Chuck Yeager and either Bob Hope or Jonathan Winters. Bob Hope was more of a humanitarian but Jonathan Winters is damn funny.

MO: What are your plans for the off-season?

CS: There is no off-season! For me it has been busier now than during the year. I’m training really, really hard and karting a lot. I’m looking forward to the season so I can take a break.

MO: Can you tell us if you have a ride yet for 2004?

CS: Yeah. I’ll be racing the AASCO Motorsports Porsche in the Grand American Rolex Series’ SGS class with David Murry. I’ll also be racing the ALMS in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Petersen/White Lightning.

I’ll also be doing five races or as much as the full season with Terry Borcheller in Nonnamaker/ TheRaceSite Porsche in Grand-Am Cup’s GS class.

MO: What do you think is the most important thing a young driver needs to know before getting into this business?

CS: Get a great education. A marketing or business degree and drive a LOT in a LOT of different cars.

I want to thank RFM and especially Margot for spending some time with me.

RFM wants to thank Tom Moore of DarkHorse AutoSport, for going the extra 10,000 miles, as usual!! What would we do without you?

Next week: Johannes van Overbeek and Peter Kox