GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham has a lot of fans, and it’s not just because he’s fast. Even when he’s not fast, he has legions of fans. That should be a lesson to a number of the younger riders around today: Fans like someone who is engaging, and who has personality. The speed is almost secondary. We talked to K-Dub after his podium finish in Indianapolis, where he led more than half of the main event.
Kevin Windham: Yeah, you know, I was pretty bummed about that to be honest with you, because everybody’s calling me this week, and it was on TV, and they’re all saying it was a great ride, and I agree that it was good to be up there, but you’re generally really pumped to be on the podium when you’re third, fourth or fifth-fastest, and all day long, I was the fastest qualifier, had all the gate picks... I think in the main, if I could’ve, like you said, just got a little bit of cushion... With the opening-lap fight all the way through when I led, up until lap 10 or 12 or something, I rode behind me the entire way. There just isn’t a future in that for me. I never allowed myself to get into my game, and if I could’ve gotten to my own lines and relaxed a little bit and opened up a second or two, it would’ve been a lot better for me. But the good news is that week-in and week-out, we’re consistently on the board, and not far off. As far as the GEICO Powersports Honda team and myself, we’re excited about that, because in ’09 that wasn’t in the cards for us. Soon, we’ll get a couple of guys back and we’ll be able to see where we’re at among the best of the best. But right now, the competition out there is pretty damned good, and they were holding their own against James and Chad earlier in the season, so we’re excited. Maybe this old dog’s got a little fight left in him.
And it’s true that it’s your MO to get away from guys and then run and hide, it might not have been better...
It’s always better. I’m just going to tell you that a five-second lead is good, but a 10-second lead is always better. Always.
Well, okay, but I’m saying that from the perspective of being a fan, it was a lot more fun to watch you fight it out with Davi Millsaps, and then with Ryan Villopoto. The passes you were making were aggressive, and it was fun to watch, regardless. It was cool to see the fight both between you guys, and also the fight in you.
I know you’re writing for Racer X, but Mike LaRocco has been calling me some pretty foul stuff that I can’t put online. The entire race, I was just thinking about Mike yelling at me, and that was the reason for my aggression. But in the opening races, I was slow to get started. I was moving backward in the opening laps, and I felt like there’s a lot that goes into being a great racer, and I guess a lot of it has nothing much to do with being fast. You’ve got to put yourself in a position, and give yourself a chance. As you get older, I’m starting to find out that those are the sorts of things that go away the quickest. Sometimes, it’s hard to hang it out in uncomfortable situations when people are crossing you on triple faces, boxing you out, and things like that.
Is that just the age, or is it knowing that there’s a life after racing now, so you’re more cautious?
Obviously, they’re one in the same – getting older and what you think about, and what you value in life. You get to a point in racing where everybody does it because they have to. It’s like taking a huge investment out in a business, and then quitting as soon as you’re fully invested. So, where I’m at in life, I’m opening health clubs and doing some other things that are going to keep me going, but I race because I enjoy it, not because I have to. I’m financially secure to the point that I don’t have to race anymore, which is nice, but it also kind of makes you think when some asshole crosses you on the face of a triple, when you’re about to fly 70 feet through the air, 30 feet off the ground, “I didn’t sign up for this!” The will to win always overcomes that, though. You always want to be up front. This sport, more than any of them, is geared toward the top one or two guys, not anyone else.
I appreciate that, and that’s a huge part of why I do what I do, and why I’m still out there. Through my career, I’ve tried to be an open book, and not necessarily told the fans what they wanted to hear, but I was honest about what was going on in my life, and I think that’s really what fans want to hear – honesty. It’s easy to follow a guy who tells you what’s going on in his life and opens up, and who has some peaks and valleys, where people have ridden some huge waves with me, and also helped get me out of the dumps. Fans and everyone else who have heard what I’ve been through – because I don’t sugar-coat it, and I don’t hide things, and I don’t say things just because I think that’s what I want people to hear from me, but actually say the truth – they stick with me, it seems. I think they would stick with anyone in this situation. I also want to be respectful, obviously, and that helps. I don’t want to be a jerk.
It creates an emotional investment that the fans have in you now. They see you out on the track and they want you to do well, so it’s one of those things that I don’t think a lot of the young riders understand yet, and it’s possible that you didn’t get it at first, when you were younger, either.
It’s definitely cool, and it’s just me, which works out well. It’s not hard to maintain something when it’s really you. It just comes easy. And also, if you’re a fan of the sport, or a fan of me, or any other rider, at some point it’s kind of owed to you, you know? You should be honest with the fans. It doesn’t make sense that some of these riders talk like they’re fearful of the facts. They’re so worried about giving their competitors an advantage by saying something that they end up holding themselves in so much that they can’t really be understood either as an athlete or as a person.
Thanks, Kevin, for your insight.
Whatever. No problem. See you in Atlanta.
Kevin Windham: Yeah, you know, I was pretty bummed about that to be honest with you, because everybody’s calling me this week, and it was on TV, and they’re all saying it was a great ride, and I agree that it was good to be up there, but you’re generally really pumped to be on the podium when you’re third, fourth or fifth-fastest, and all day long, I was the fastest qualifier, had all the gate picks... I think in the main, if I could’ve, like you said, just got a little bit of cushion... With the opening-lap fight all the way through when I led, up until lap 10 or 12 or something, I rode behind me the entire way. There just isn’t a future in that for me. I never allowed myself to get into my game, and if I could’ve gotten to my own lines and relaxed a little bit and opened up a second or two, it would’ve been a lot better for me. But the good news is that week-in and week-out, we’re consistently on the board, and not far off. As far as the GEICO Powersports Honda team and myself, we’re excited about that, because in ’09 that wasn’t in the cards for us. Soon, we’ll get a couple of guys back and we’ll be able to see where we’re at among the best of the best. But right now, the competition out there is pretty damned good, and they were holding their own against James and Chad earlier in the season, so we’re excited. Maybe this old dog’s got a little fight left in him.
And it’s true that it’s your MO to get away from guys and then run and hide, it might not have been better...
It’s always better. I’m just going to tell you that a five-second lead is good, but a 10-second lead is always better. Always.
Well, okay, but I’m saying that from the perspective of being a fan, it was a lot more fun to watch you fight it out with Davi Millsaps, and then with Ryan Villopoto. The passes you were making were aggressive, and it was fun to watch, regardless. It was cool to see the fight both between you guys, and also the fight in you.
I know you’re writing for Racer X, but Mike LaRocco has been calling me some pretty foul stuff that I can’t put online. The entire race, I was just thinking about Mike yelling at me, and that was the reason for my aggression. But in the opening races, I was slow to get started. I was moving backward in the opening laps, and I felt like there’s a lot that goes into being a great racer, and I guess a lot of it has nothing much to do with being fast. You’ve got to put yourself in a position, and give yourself a chance. As you get older, I’m starting to find out that those are the sorts of things that go away the quickest. Sometimes, it’s hard to hang it out in uncomfortable situations when people are crossing you on triple faces, boxing you out, and things like that.
Is that just the age, or is it knowing that there’s a life after racing now, so you’re more cautious?
Obviously, they’re one in the same – getting older and what you think about, and what you value in life. You get to a point in racing where everybody does it because they have to. It’s like taking a huge investment out in a business, and then quitting as soon as you’re fully invested. So, where I’m at in life, I’m opening health clubs and doing some other things that are going to keep me going, but I race because I enjoy it, not because I have to. I’m financially secure to the point that I don’t have to race anymore, which is nice, but it also kind of makes you think when some asshole crosses you on the face of a triple, when you’re about to fly 70 feet through the air, 30 feet off the ground, “I didn’t sign up for this!” The will to win always overcomes that, though. You always want to be up front. This sport, more than any of them, is geared toward the top one or two guys, not anyone else.
I appreciate that, and that’s a huge part of why I do what I do, and why I’m still out there. Through my career, I’ve tried to be an open book, and not necessarily told the fans what they wanted to hear, but I was honest about what was going on in my life, and I think that’s really what fans want to hear – honesty. It’s easy to follow a guy who tells you what’s going on in his life and opens up, and who has some peaks and valleys, where people have ridden some huge waves with me, and also helped get me out of the dumps. Fans and everyone else who have heard what I’ve been through – because I don’t sugar-coat it, and I don’t hide things, and I don’t say things just because I think that’s what I want people to hear from me, but actually say the truth – they stick with me, it seems. I think they would stick with anyone in this situation. I also want to be respectful, obviously, and that helps. I don’t want to be a jerk.
It creates an emotional investment that the fans have in you now. They see you out on the track and they want you to do well, so it’s one of those things that I don’t think a lot of the young riders understand yet, and it’s possible that you didn’t get it at first, when you were younger, either.
It’s definitely cool, and it’s just me, which works out well. It’s not hard to maintain something when it’s really you. It just comes easy. And also, if you’re a fan of the sport, or a fan of me, or any other rider, at some point it’s kind of owed to you, you know? You should be honest with the fans. It doesn’t make sense that some of these riders talk like they’re fearful of the facts. They’re so worried about giving their competitors an advantage by saying something that they end up holding themselves in so much that they can’t really be understood either as an athlete or as a person.
Thanks, Kevin, for your insight.
Whatever. No problem. See you in Atlanta.
