“Had good stuff just no budget”: Ken Schrader reflects on how running for underfunded NASCAR teams was a “tremendous help” in shaping his career

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Ken Schrader was recently featured in an interview with FrontStretch Media. During the interaction, Schrader highlighted how competing for underbudget teams was a big help and shaped his career in the series.

The 70-year-old began his racing career in the USAC Stock Car Division and made his first Cup Series appearance in 1984. He competed in five races for Langley Racing, driving the #64 Ford, and the team was small and underfunded. The team faced ignition problems, but despite that, the team owner, Elmo Langley, knew how to make the best of the situation.

Following his two top 20 finishes in his rookie season, Ken Schrader got a chance to prove himself and landed his first full-time seat in his sophomore year. He moved to Donlavey Racing in 1985 and piloted the #90 Ford for the team for three years. Schrader pointed out that Mr. Don Levy had "good stuff," but he lacked funding.

The former driver claimed that the underfunded teams focused on finishing the race instead of taking risks. He further explained [01:49 onwards]:

"Mr. Don Levy had good stuff, just no budget, yeah, but they knew what to do with their stuff, and we were able to be there for three years. So we drove some underfunded stuff, and I was trying to learn something. So I had finished races to learn something. And when you're driving for the underfunded team, you've got to finish races to get as much money as you can and tear up as little as you can." "So compared to now, what it did is it really let me learn stuff instead. Now, you know, their kids get thrown in those cars, and I was like, "You got to go, you got to go, we got to perform, you don't get dearly, you don't get nearly as much time today to prove yourself, dude." No, I wasn't under that pressure, so you know that that was a tremendous help," he added.

Ken Schrader competed in 763 races in his Cup Series career. He secured four wins, 64 top fives, and 184 top tens, followed by 23 pole positions. Additionally, he led 2,489 laps with an average start of 19.7.

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"I got a $10k fine, and I probably shouldn't say it, but they're both dead now": Ken Schrader recalled his Darlington fine

Earlier in November 2024, former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader was featured on the Herm & Schrader podcast with Kenny Wallace. During the podcast, he recalled his run-in with Morgan Shepherd, who piloted the #89 Chevy for Shepherd Racing Ventures.

The incident resulted in a DNF for Schrader, while Shepherd continued his race. Following that, team owner Rick Hendrick asked him to stay in the trailer, but the former HMS driver went home. However, later, Schrader told the officials it was just an on-track accident, and the governing body still fined him $10,000.

“I got a $10k fine, and I probably shouldn't say it, but they're both dead now, so it's okay,” Schrader said as Wallace broke into a fit of laughter. “Beaty and Richter… They said, Okay, we'll give you $3k a week off if you don't try to kill him.” (0:50)

As a result, Ken Schrader was furious about the situation and had no races for the upcoming three weeks. Although he received a $1K bill, the former driver threw it away.

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Edited by Karan Yadav