(RacingWire) – Bench racing is an art. We all do it, but every once in a while we run into someone who has perfected it. Someone who, when they start talking, people gather around.
Road racing has a Saturday night tradition. It is referred to by different names depending on what part of the world you are in, but essentially it's a workers' party.
It's a chance for the volunteer corner marshals, grid personnel, safety team and everyone else who donates their time for the love of the sport; to come together, share a glass of their favorite adult beverage, renew old friendships and foster new ones.
On professional race weekends it's not uncommon for one of the personalities of the sport to stop by and express their appreciation. Usually, it's a brief thank you from a driver and they hustle off to their Saturday evening sponsor obligations.
Then there's Dorsey Schroeder Today, Schroeder is best known for his work in the booth for various SPEED Network road racing events. Schroeder is also a darn good race car driver and that has led to several championships and race wins. He knows the sport intimately and has a knack for telling it like he sees it.
Schroeder has always been one to stop by the worker party, but unlike many drivers who make the big time he stops by and stays.
Time and time again... I've been working on wrapping up the day and scuttlebutt brings me the news that “Dorsey's holding court again” at the worker party.
And without fail, when I get to the party, I usually find him sitting on a picnic table with several dozen people trying to get close enough to hear whatever tail Schroeder is sharing this weekend.
I asked Schroeder for an interview for my Spec Racer Ford history story in part because he was one of the first successful Spec Racer drivers but secondly because I knew “I'd get good stuff.” That's journalism speak for good quotes
The interview was great as I expected. When we were done I was sitting at my desk and one of Schroeder's stories was banging around in my head. It bothered me so much I had to go back and listen to the tape.
Did Dorsey Schroeder just tell me that without Sports Renault his career would have been over? That's exactly what he said. Schroeder credits Sports Renault for saving his career.
I was going to work this little tidbit into the story about Spec Racer Ford's history,but it was too good to just pull a quote or two.
So I'm going to share it with you in its entirety.
“I was a Formula Atlantic driver at the time and a broke one,” said Schroeder. “I had a second mortgage on my house. The cars in Atlantic had gone through a big change over from flat bottom cars to ground affects cars and I had a flat bottom car. I was just about out of racing when Sports Renault came along and the $10,000 price tag was affordable for me.”
“There were about 12 or 13 of us sitting around at Road Atlanta at the time saying we're all just about broke, why don't we just do this because I can prove to you that I am better than you are.”
“Coming out of open wheel from the fastest car on the track and into a Sports Renault, it was at first a bit degrading. Most people look at it that way but from my aspect, here was a class that had a pro series and if you won a pro race you got $10,000 in reward money, up against the $10,000 car I bought in a kit.”
“What the car did is it reinforced what makes a race car go fast and what makes a race car driver go fast. It didn't have any power. It had less power than the Spec Racer Ford does, so you had to keep momentum up. You had to keep it straight and you had to work with other drivers around you and not mess each other up on corner entry and middle of apex. You had to use your head a lot in that class in order to win.”
Not only were the cars good at forcing a driver to learn race craft, the SCCA set up an impressive pro series that showcased the cars and drivers on some of motorsports' biggest stages.
Schroeder remembers vividly running with F1. “Here we are in the Sports Renault class running with Formula One in Detroit, in the downtown streets of Detroit,” said Schroeder “How cool was that? We were parked right next to Formula One garage and my mouth was right to the ground open.”
“It opened up opportunities. We ran with stock cars in Charlotte, we ran with Formula One cars, we ran with Indy Cars. It put us in an arena that we were in no way able to get to in any other class. It was substantial money payback. I won 6 races in 1985 which was $60,000 in winnings.”
“It made my career. What happened was a guy named Terry Earwood was with the Dodge Firestone Firehawk team which was a factory deal and his grand mother had died. They were going for a 24 hour race in St. Louis and they needed a substitute driver and Terry said I know this guy from the Runoffs and he's damn fast and he runs the school there.”
“I got to test drive with Dodge which led to me getting the Dodge ride for three years. Then I switched over to the GTU car and that got me into IMSA. I won in GT. Then from there I got the ride from Jack Roush, winning the Trans-Am championship and winning the IMSA championship and right on into to NASCAR.”
“All of that, based on the momentum from Sports Renault. If it weren't for Sports Renault I wouldn't have had any of those opportunities, ever.”
Now I think I understand why Schroeder enjoys spending so much time at the worker party. He's someone who understands his roots and thinks it's important to give back.
Shroeder won't be attending the Spec Racer Ford 25th Anniversary festivities because he will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL calling the Grand-Am race for SPEED. He does send his regards.
Note: The Spec Racer Ford 25th Anniversary Celebration is April 10-11 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA. There will be racing on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon with a VIP race ending the day's activities on Saturday. Information regarding the event is available at www.srf25.com.
