|
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:29:19 PM |
|
| |
What has been the biggest key to your success? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I think patience. I've always been lucky on being able to choose really good teams to race for and that takes patience sometimes. You can't just jump at the first thing that comes out. Patience is probably the definition. |
| |
|
|
LeadFoot26 |
May 30, 2007 7:31:17 PM |
|
| |
What has motivated you to keep racing over the years? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I love getting into a race car and racing. I've been doing this for 35 years and what's kept be going the last 10 years or so has been the driving. The politics can be pretty intense and I've tried to stay away from it. As the senior
ambassador it's difficult to stay away from the politics but in the race car it's very easy to drive just for the shear pleasure of driving. |
| |
|
|
FastDude |
May 30, 2007 7:34:42 PM |
|
| |
What got you into racing? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I started learning how to drive a car when I was about 12 years old. We had a farm ourside of Chicago and by 16 I was a pretty good driver. So when I went to college in Florida and I had a really fast corvette that I used for autocross all the time. One weekend I beat Peter Gregg who had his racecar at the autocross. He came up to me and said that "You have to be pretty good to beat me" and the rest is really history. He helped me order my first racecar from Porsche. My dad helped support me by giving me a two year window. Saying that if I could compete at the same level after 2 years I would have to find something different. I won some races early in my career. |
| |
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:37:18 PM |
|
| |
Which of your victories has been the most meaningful? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Every victory is meaningful and every victory has it's own special circumstance. If I had to choose, the 1980 Le Mans was the most rewarding. It was a real battle throughout the entire race with our teammates and all the other cars on the track. I drove with the late Al Holbert and Vern Schuppan. Our car blew up as it crossed the finish line so it was a white knuckle kind of race which made it very rewarding. We couldn't put it on cruise control late in the race like we could sometimes. Now a days all of the races are intense from beginning to end. A lot of cars are on the lead lap and tight together. Very tough. |
| |
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:38:51 PM |
|
| |
If you weren't a race car driver, what would you be? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
My major in college was business administration. I am very closely associated with Brumos Porsche. The late Bob Snodgrass got me involved with the dealership in 1987. So if it wasn't for racing I would be in the auto business. Right now I race and am
involved in auto sales so I get the best of both worlds. I have a lot of things to keep me busy. |
| |
|
|
FastDude |
May 30, 2007 7:41:36 PM |
|
| |
What's the weirdest or funniest thing that has happened to you during a race? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I would say back in the days at Sebring. I haven't raced there in years unfortunately but it was a place that brought out the real crazies. It was spring vacation with all the kids. One time pretty late at night I was closing out the race and I was kind of tired. I looked up and there was a crowd of people that were stark naked running across the back straightaway. Back then they were basically a runway so you were doing well over 200 mph and it was a miracle that these people didn't get run over by me or anyone behind me. On the next lap I was anticipating hoping that I wouldn't run into them and luckily they were gone. Several other drivers saw the same thing so it was crazy. |
| |
|
|
FastDude |
May 30, 2007 7:42:19 PM |
|
| |
What's the weirdest or funniest thing that has happened to you during a race? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Another time at Sebring, all of a sudden the entire area was lit up like the sun came up. It was because a plane was landing on one of the active runways. It was definitely a real
adrenaline pumper. |
| |
|
|
LeadFoot26 |
May 30, 2007 7:43:41 PM |
|
| |
Will you continue to race at all after this season? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Yes. I will concentrate on doing only the endurance races. It looks like we have 4 scheduled. When I'm not racing I'll be part of the management of the team. We know the 24 Hours of
Daytona, Sahlen's Six Hours, Kansas City and possibly another that has not been announced yet. |
| |
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:44:45 PM |
|
| |
Where do you see yourself after you stop racing? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I'm still going to stay in racing, just not in the driver's seat. I'll help our team such as the management and then will continue to work for Porsche as their spokesperson in the US. I'll keep teaching the Porsche Driving Experience and keep my position with Brumos. |
| |
|
|
LeadFoot26 |
May 30, 2007 7:45:38 PM |
|
| |
What do you do to relax away from the race track? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Get on my boat and go out into the ocean. I just relax. I'm not a big fishing person but I like boating and cruising around. I have a big boat and a smaller boat that is just beautiful. It's a nice speedboat, comfortable and pretty fast. |
| |
|
|
FastDude |
May 30, 2007 7:46:36 PM |
|
| |
Do you have any rituals before a race? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Yes I do but they're kind of private things that I don't really like to talk about. There is a regiment that I follow before a race that I follow every exactly. People will see drivers prepare by tuning everyone out around them. It's just something that we do. |
| |
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:48:14 PM |
|
| |
What do you see in the future for Grand-Am? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I see terrific growth and a lot of interesting things. I think when I get out of the drivers seat, a lot of my time will be spent promoting Grand-Am. They have a great receipe with great cars, seasoned drivers, up and coming drivers. Those up and comers will be the future of the sport and we need to promote them to make them household names. We also race in some great locations, none of them are bad. Grand-Am has a really bright future. |
| |
|
|
PT |
May 30, 2007 7:49:40 PM |
|
| |
You mention management of the racing venture - what sort of duties or day to day activities would you anticipate? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I would take over the responsibilities that Bob Snodgrass has with our team. As everybody knows, Bob passed away very unexpectedly last month. I will become the main spokesperson for Brumos. I will be at the races as the Brumos
representative. |
| |
|
|
SwimRacer |
May 30, 2007 7:51:18 PM |
|
| |
Best part of The Glen? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
I like the Boot. It is a lot of fun to negotiate. I like the Esses because it's a big rush since you're going flat out through there. I love The Glen. When people ask me what my favorite race track is I say The Glen. I've been staying in the same place in the same room since 1969. Daytona is my home track but Watkins Glen is close behind. |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
It's Watkins Glen because it is a classic race track. |
| |
|
|
PT |
May 30, 2007 7:52:48 PM |
|
| |
Have you had any hair-raising adventures teaching the driving school? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
There has been some interesting moments but we run a great school. It is very well regulated so we can foresee any potential problems and take care of them before
anything happens. We have some great Porsches and we have a pretty good success rate even if customers don't really have any experience. They get really up to speed so it's a good program. I encourage people to come out and do it. |
| |
|
|
FastDude |
May 30, 2007 7:55:52 PM |
|
| |
What do you mean by classic track? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
The classic design. You have very fast straight-aways, fast corners and relatively confined space due to the guard rails. They require that you be very exact in your movement. Most corners at Watkins Glen are fast which makes it fun. Those things make up what I call a classic track. There aren't many in the United States that are classic like that. Mid-Ohio is a classic track but doesn't really have the fast corners like The Glen. |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
One of the issues that undresses tracks now a days is safety. The need to make tracks safer has caused an envolution that takes away some of the classic aspects. |
| |
|
|
Rhino Man |
May 30, 2007 7:57:59 PM |
|
| |
This June during the Glen will be the 30th anniversary of you being the 1st racer to win both the 24 hrs of Daytona and Le mans in the same year. Can you relive that moment and tell us what it means to you today? |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
| |
Well that's kind of a long answer so give me a moment... |
|
Hurley_Haywood |
May 30, 2007 8:03:15 PM |
|
| |
In 1977 at Daytona, that was the year that they introduced the turbocharged Porsches. I felt the Turbo technology wasn't proven enough for an endurance race. I was asked to drive with John Graves and Doctor Helmick and I accepted. After about the first 10 hours I was kicking myself because the turbos were kicking. Suddenly they started having troubles and we started moving up into the lead. A Turbo would catch us and then brake. That was my 3rd win at Daytona and that got the attention of the Porsche factory. They invited me to race at Le Mans which was thrill. I didn't know a lot about the track but I knew it was important to win. I was driving a 936 which was a beautiful car. When you go to a racetrack and you have 300,000 people that are race nuts it's very humbling. They asked me to start the race which was a big honor. On the first lap the throttle stuck wide open so I had to hit the emergency button. After catching my breathe I had to get the rear
deck lid off, free up the throttle and then idle back to the pits. That cost us about 2 laps. We went back into the race pretty much at the back of the pack and we battled back to the front. Jackie Hicks joined our team because his car broke and an incredible night driver. We went on to win which was a thrill since it was my first time there and not many people can say that. |
| |
|
|
Hurley_Haywood |
May 30, 2007 8:06:04 PM |
|
| |
Thank you for joining me for today's chat. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at The Glen. If I haven't gotten to your question please feel free to walk up to me at the track and ask them to me personally. Take care and see you at The Glen. |
