There are so many great family racing tradition stories out there. The Selenke family is one of them. After over fifty years of racing, third generation driver AJ is driving the familiar Conoco Phillips sprint car #43. Since I've known the Selenke family for so many years, I can tell you, that they are very proud of their racing tradition. I would like to wish them the best in the 2011 season.
Jim: How did Selenke racing get started?
The story I've heard for years, is my father Pius was working for Parker Oil in the late fifties. One of his jobs, was to go out and collect past due bills for Mr. Parker. One day, he went to one of Mr. Parker's customers who owned a service station, to collect a past due bill. The customer had no money, but had this old jalopy race car. The bill was four hundred dollars, and that's what he was trying to sell his race car for. Dad decided that was better then nothing, so he got the race car. I think his first driver was Charlie Hiner. That all started in 1959, and for the many years to follow, dad had some of the best drivers in Wichita and in the Midwest drive for him. Racing is something I was always around and loved, and we just continued with his love of the sport.
Jim: Did your dad ever drive his race cars?
He never drove any of his cars, and in fact, I don't know if he ever even started one of them. He was a mechanic by trade, and just loved working on race cars.
Jim: What year did you start racing, and why a sprint car?
I started in 1977 in the old hundred inch super modified cars. Today the sprint cars pretty much look alike, except for the paint jobs. Back when I first started, some cars had duck tails, victoran bodies, sprint car tails and a variety of body styles.
AJ: Your father is one of the many legends in the sprint car. Does this present any pressure on you?
I usually put more pressure on myself then by anyone else. Stepping into those shoes was difficult for me, especially since I feel he retired in his prime to allow me to race. It just got too difficult to run a two car team, so he gave up racing so we could concentrate on one car.
Jim: Do you ever miss driving, and any chance of you getting back in a car?
I miss it a lot, but there's no chance I will ever get back in a car. AJ tried to get me to race the Masters race in Knoxville this year, but after being out of a race car for ten years, I don't think a person has any business getting back into one.
Jim: How involved are you in the team now?
Pretty involved! I do most of the stuff during the winter and a lot of the maintenance during the week during race season. We have some guys that help us at the race track, but I pretty much take care of the race car when were not at the track.
AJ: I'm sure when you first started racing, your dad gave you a lot of advice. Is he still offering advice?
Oh, every night he is giving me advice. He has always told me to drive smooth, hard and fast, and even though it makes a lot of sense, it's hard to do. Even when I started driving street cars and even fork lifts, he told me to practice driving smooth, and it helped when I first got into a sprint car. We always talk about set ups on the car and track conditions before every race. When I'm strapped in, he's looking at the race track and seeing where everyone is running and then passes the information to me.
Jim: How important is reading the tra
I will quote Gary Lee Maier's dad. “Don't worry about racing other drivers on the race track, race the track”. He also explained, “if you beat the race track, you beat the other drivers”. Mr. Maier was one of the best in reading the race track. I remember when racing, I would watch the modifieds to see if their tires were squealing, if the track was laying down rubber and where they were running. I feel, watching the race track is very important
Jim: How many championships have you won, and which one is your most cherished?
Three at 81 Speedway, the Kansas State Fair and of course the Hutchinson Nationals in 1989. Most racers will tell you that the Hutchinson Nationals is very big, and that's how I feel. It's kinda strange how I won the Hutch Nationals. I had actually quit racing for maybe a year and a half, when Delbert Smith asked me to race a Nance sprint car he was building. He wanted me to race the sprint car when he was racing the late model. I told him that I'd pretty much retired. He said come out and hot lap it for me. I hot lapped it on a Wednesday at 81 Speedway, and drove it the next Saturday at 81 Speedway. That night, Delbert came down to my pit area and said he wasn't going to make the Hutch Nationals, and wanted to know if I wanted to take the sprint car to Hutchinson and race? The next weekend we head to Hutchinson with no tools, one gear, no spare tires and basically a race car on a trailer. I started back of the heat race and ran second. We qualified on the outside of the front row in the feature. Lavern Nance came over to me before the feature, and asked if we were going to change anything on the car? Lavern we can't change anything, because we don't have anything to change it with. We ended up winning the feature and it was nice to win it for Delbert and Laverne.
Jim: How has sprint car racing changed in the last ten years, and have some of those changes hurt or helped the division?
I don't think the cars have changed that much. The big change is the cost of engines and the bolt on titanium parts that make the car lighter. Tires on the right rear used to last five to six nights, but because of the softer compound used now, your lucky to get two nights on them. That alone makes your tire bill three times higher each year. The cost I think is what has hurt the sport more then anything else.
AJ: What chassis do you race and why?
We have always run Maxim since 2000. They have always been good to us and easy to work with.
AJ: Who builds your engines?
We just had one built by Brent Briley, and are excited about running it this year. Last year, dad purchased a Roush Yates Ford engine, and it's a runner!
Jim: You bought a Ford engine. How did that happen?
Several years ago, I was asked by Mr. Issac, who had some of the top notch sprint cars in the country, to come out and drive one of his Ford engines? I accepted his offer, and made the trip to Dodge City where the car was located. When the track was heavy, you didn't have to lift. That engine had more power then any Chevy I'd ever driven. The problem back then, there was no one running the injection system. When the track was slick and you let off the gas, it would burb and sputter half way down the straightaway, then take off and jerk your head back. About a year ago, I was looking in a racing magazine, and noticed that Roush was building ASCS 360 engines for sprint cars. I thought if anyone can build a competitive Ford engine, Roush Yates would be the one to do it. We are really pleased with it, and has worked out really well.
Jim: Do you have any idea how many features you've won, and any particular one you remember?
I probably remember the ones I lost, more then won. I never kept track of how many I've won. Anytime you win a feature, it's special.
AJ: How many features have you won, and is any one of them special?
I haven't kept track either, but probably in the double digits by now. I would have to say the feature that was memorable to me was in 2004, which was the last night at 81. I was in the run for the track championship and seventeen points down at the beginning of that night. I started tenth in the feature, and took the lead with two laps to go. I held on to the lead and not only won the feature, but also the championship.
Check out these great racing websites:
http://www.inthepits.net http://www.whowon.com http://www.dirtknights.com http://www.midwestdirt.com
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