Up Close and Personal with Stevie - common questions.
The following is a list of some of the most commonly asked questions of Stevie and his racing career.

Jumping from a Quarter Midget into a Sprintcar is a big jump, what has it been like making the transition from the smallest to the fastest of speedway machines?

"Going from 1/4 midgets to sprintcars was an amazing feeling!

I remember the day when we looked at buying a Sprintcar, my first thought was "There is so much more room in one of these!".

After purchasing a car and rebuilding it we were pretty happy with ourselves, but it just about ended before it started. One of the first times we tried to start it I was not strong enough to stand on the brakes hard enough and I just about ran into the local fruit store's front door! (I was about 6 inches short of it). Ooooops!

The first night of racing at Western Springs was interesting, I was starting off the back of the field. I wasn't really fully confident in the wing at this stage and my lines were better suited to the 1/4 midget. I had a lot to learn.

After a while I became used to throwing the car in and trusting the wing, it really is amazing just how much difference the wings make when cornering.

It has really been an eye opening experience for me. One that I have loved every minute of."

Much has been made of the fact that you are only 17 years old, what is it like to be the youngest Sprintcar driver in New Zealand?

"I like it. Obviously, being young has it's advantages, I get to be sponsored by a cool radio station, and I have a lot of people cheering for me because of my age.

It was a bit difficult at first though (I was only 15 when I started driving Sprintcars). The other drivers new that I was going to be a little timid, and it made the racing a little more difficult for me. They could push me around a bit more than they can now!

There are some down sides to it, many people didn't think at the time that I was going to be capable of driving the cars. I was standing at the pit corner one day and I overheard a couple of people talking about "this 15 year old kid" who was going to drive a Sprintcar. At the time they though it was a bit of a joke. Needless to say, they didn't know who I was.

I know that I still get described over the sound system at Western Springs as "The Kid", or "The Boy"!

Starting young was really good for me, cause the expectations that people had of me were actually lower than when I was driving a 1/4 midget. I would hope by now that I have proven myself to be a capable driver.

I would like to win a feature sometime soon though!"

What would you describe as being the worst moment of your racing career so far?

"The worst racing moment for me was goes back to the first Sprintcar season. I was leading the South Pacific Sprintcar Classic, when at about lap 20, a yellow flag came out. This may not sound like a bad moment, but it was really disappointing for me. I would have loved to have won this race and I was told afterwards that my lead was probably enough to hold on for the win. Unfortunately, I was passed by some of the others at the restart and I ended up finishing well down the field (I wasn't really used to running in 'traffic' in Sprintcars at that stage).

There was a funny side to it though. At school on the Monday morning I was called to the principle's office. I was wondering what I had done wrong, but as it turned out, the Principle just wanted to say well done for the weekend!"

So what's the best racing moment of your career so far?

"My best racing moment was in my 1/4 midget at New Plymouth. Before the racing started we had heard that the meeting was actually the CTRA 1/4 Midget Championship!

I knew what this meant, and I wanted that number one very badly!

I knew that I could win if I put my mind to it. All I could think about was winning. I drove a very successful day and managed to win, 3 wins!

Unfortunately it wasn't the Championship event, but it still goes down as one of my best days so far.

Winning a Sprintcar race is always a great feeling, I can't wait to get a feature win."

You are driving out there amongst some of the fastest driver/car combinations in New Zealand, how do you cope with the nerves

"It honestly doesn't bother me. If I was to think about how good they are and the equipment some of them have got, I may as well not even go out there! Speedway is half psychological and half racing.

I believe that its not all about car and driver combinations, set up is really important, its one of the biggest factors I think - and experience helps there. You could probably put Kerry Jones in the worst car and have a good set-up on it, he'd still be hard to beat!

Getting back to the nerves, it doesn't bother me. I'm not scared of crashing either. You never really think of crashing when you're driving, you always focus on doing the best you can, and winning!"

You have a new car this season, what's it been like driving the new machine?

"The new car has had it's good points and bad points, I wish I could take all the good points and put them in one car!

The first thing I noticed from a driving point of view was how 'lively' in the front it was. It is a lot lighter there than my last car. It took a bit of getting used to, but I think it's faster than last years car. I also had to adjust to a different seating position (a big change for a driver), now I like it more than last years. We also had a few problems with the steering box to start with (including a dramatic season opening race!).

The car is more modern, which is good as it means parts are easier to come by and it looks a lot nicer than last years car (always important for the sponsors).

I know that it has the 10 lap record at the springs!

All in all I think this year's car is much better."

Who are the people behind the scenes?

"There are so many people who help out, some on the car, some with me, and some in other areas. There is a lot of organisation and effort that goes into preparing and racing the car.

My Mum and Dad and Sister are the real heroes behind the scenes, they have provided everything they can to help me out, and at times the rest of the family suffers because I race the car.

Greg Brown has been a 'god' as far a preparing the car during the week goes. Mike Matheson has just come back into the crew after a short while off due to other committments. Cliff is now starting to shift his focus from the set up side of things to concentrate more on the web stuff (although still crewing on the car too). Then there is Jules who does an awesome job every weekend. Plus the countless friends and supporters who pitch in from time to time.

I would like to name them all but that would require another day or two....."

Driving a Sprintcar is hard work, what do you do to keep fit?

"Driving a Sprintcar is hard work, mentally and physically!

Mentally - because I get so pumped up, i'm all ready to win. When I win, it's great! But when I lose, it is very mentally draining.

Physically - because it takes a lot of effort to control the cars. I go to the gym 5 times a week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). I have a personal trainer once every two weeks. My programme normally takes around 1 hour.

For sprintcars, you need a strong upper body, plus good cardio fitness. My trainer (Shannon) makes sure I work all the areas that I need to drive to the best of my ability.

All the training gives you an advantage on track, if your body stays fresh, your mind can cope a lot better and process the information that it needs to when you're moving so fast."

What are your future plans for racing?

"I love this sport. I would love to make a career out of it.

Once I have gained more experience here, I will try my luck overseas. The racing over there is so much more competitive, so any experience gained there would be very valuable. In fact, we are currently looking at the possibililty of a trip away shortly.

I really wanted to give rallying a go too. For a while it looked as though I might do that instead of Speedway, but after a taste of it, I decided it wasn't really for me.

I think I'll be involved Speedway for a while yet, I'm hopeful for a future Speedway career.

Thinking short term, I'm really looking forward to the international series coming up. It should be awesome, and I'll be able to see how I measure up against the international drivers."

What are your thoughts on the upcoming National Title event?

"My thoughts on the nationals are pretty clear, try to win! It will be difficult, there are so many good drivers who are capable of doing the job on the day.

The track is meant to have new clay on it, so if there is, it will be another obstacle that we will all have to deal with.

Obviously the two Kerry's and Wakeo will be hard to beat, but my confidence is very high, after the 4th place finish in last weeks feature!

I know that my car is not as fast as some of the others, but I know that it will do! I plan to drive as smooth and fast as I can. Staying out of trouble is always the key to a good result at meetings like the Nationals, so I hope I can avoid any problems that might occur on track!"