Bucky Lasek
Sports . . . Excitement . . . Racing . . .
 (03/12/07) People ask me why I got into this auto racing thing. Basically I was inspired by any type of activity that brought about competition and excitement. From the time I was a kid I was into everything…you know, I played baseball a little bit, and then I kind of got out of that and I started riding bikes, got into dirt jumping, and then from there I got into skateboarding, and I used to breakdance and do all that other stuff.
But mainly it was just anything that caught my attention, and skateboarding held it the longest.
I wasn’t really into racing until I was a little bit older. I mean, I was always into muscle cars when I was growing up. A lot of my uncles did quarter-mile racing. I guess I used to pay attention to NASCAR a little bit, too.
 Besides that, it was basically when I was around 18 -- when I started driving --that I became inspired to start hitting the track and kind of pursuing behind-the-wheel opportunities instead of just looking out at something that I liked.
And then came the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.
I think the race is a good bridge and entry point into professional racing because you get out there, and – take me for instance – I didn’t have any race knowledge at all, aside from going to the track and trying to improve lap times. Last year was my first time out there and it was a great experience, and it let me know that I do have potential to go further in this. And that’s it. I think that’s probably what everybody else captured from it, too.
This year, since I’ll be in the “Pro” category, my strategy is to stick to the pack as close as I can, try to get through traffic quickly and just hold better lines than everyone else.
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