12 Out Of 12: An Interview With Regan Smith

Our weekly series of interviews continues: 12 questions with NASCAR drivers who aren't currently in the top 12 of the Sprint Cup Series. Since the Chase drivers already get plenty of publicity, we thought this would be a good way to get to know some of the non-Chase drivers a little better. This week: Furniture Row Racing driver Regan Smith.

What's the best race you ever drove?

RS: I guess I gotta go with Talladega (laughing). Actually, I take that back – probably Kentucky, the last year I ran Nationwide. We were dominant there, but we ran out of fuel and our day was over [won the pole, led 45 laps but finished 19^th]. We had a straightaway lead on the field though, just driving away. You don't get cars like that every day – even Jimmie Johnson doesn't. Sometimes you have cars where you can do no wrong, and it takes something stupid like that to mess it all up.

Who's the most talented driver in NASCAR?

RS: I don't see how you can go against Jimmie right now, personally. I think there's a lot of guys that are maybe equal talent level, but maybe the packages they have, there's just a little something missing. But when you look at Jimmie and [crew chief] Chad [Knaus], that's the total package they have going on.

What's the best time for a fan to get your autograph?

RS: Anytime. Anytime they see me walking around. That's what we do, you know? That's what makes our sport so much different than the rest of them – I think most of the drivers share the same mentality that we're the most accessible of all the sports in the world. Those guys [the fans] are the reason we do what we do on Sundays, and you've got to remember that when it's all said and done.

What's something people don't understand about you?

RS: That I'm not David Ragan. There's a difference between David Ragan and Regan Smith. We came along in the same year. He said he gets it too occasionally. All the time, people are like, "Hey David! How's it going?" I'm like, "I'm not David, but thank you for asking!"

What's the worst track to visit?

RS: I really don't care much for Pocono, so I've got to go with Pocono. The fans there are some of the best fans of anywhere we go, but it just seems like every time we're there it's either raining or it's 1,000 degrees out. It's just a long race, it seems like.

If you ran the sport, what's one thing you'd change?

RS: Put a boxing ring in the middle of the infield. [If] guys get into it during the race? Alright, let's do a little pay-per-view then after the race. Here it goes! I think it would be a nice little addition to after the race. You have a problem with a guy and call him out, put on those big huge air-boxing gloves and just have a fun matchup. You don't want people to get hurt, obviously. We're not hockey players – none of us are, and we don't pretend to be – so you don't want to be knocking teeth out or anything.

Who's the one driver outside of NASCAR you most admire?

RS: I don't want to be cliché and say [Michael] Schumacher, but he's pretty awesome. This year is going to be interesting to see how he does coming back after a couple years off. I'll personally watch Formula One more often because he's racing. But most of my heroes are all NASCAR drivers – there's not anybody that I sit there and get ga-ga-eyed about outside of NASCAR.

How long do you see yourself driving?

RS: Well, I'd say until all my hair falls out, but I'm working on that already. Just keep going as long as I'm having fun and enjoying what I'm doing. Obviously, you'd like to sit here and think you could keep racing until you're 50-plus years old and be that competitive, but that's a pretty rare example. It's pretty incredible what Mark Martin's done at that age. So maybe you lose that drive at 40, maybe you lose it at 50. You just keep going until you lose that drive.

What's the first thing you do when you get home after a race?

RS: Probably the first thing I do is to get the dogs to stop from jumping all over me as soon as I walk through the door, because they all go absolutely bonkers. You've got Champ, who's about a 120-something-pound Doberman. He tends to get a little bit clumsy when he's excited. I've got my dog, Champ, and [girlfriend] Megan's got two dogs – a little Chihuahua and a little mutt who are like four pounds each. They get along, and actually the little dogs will walk right up to Champ and take a bone right out of his mouth. He's trained really good.

Do you have any superstitions or routines you have to do on race day?

RS: I take three shits before a race on race day. I just have to! First thing in the morning, right after breakfast and about an hour before the race, usually. But you know, the biggest thing is that I get up and try to eat a really good breakfast. That's important to me. A lot of guys won't eat on race day, and if I don't eat on race day, forget about it. I'm miserable, moody and tired as hell by the end of the race – and I tend to be moody anyway.

Who wins the Sprint Cup in 2015?

RS: I gotta go with Regan Smith. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think it was possible. I think we've made a lot of good steps toward doing that with our team this year. We've got a lot of good people that are working for Furniture Row Racing, we've made some big strides in performance. I really hope and believe that by the mid-point of this season, we're going to be one of those teams that they're talking about on TV and all you guys in the media are going to say, "Holy cow, where did these guys come from? We didn't see this coming in the offseason."

Would you rather be known as a good person or a good race-car driver?

RS: Definitely a good race-car driver. Definitely. I'm a great person already, come on! I'd much rather be known as a good race-car driver. You know what? I think if you get one, the other comes. Look at Dale Sr. – great race-car driver, but people hated him. Then you start hearing some of the stories of stuff that he did that no one ever knew about. And it makes you realize, you know what? He was a great person too, on top of that.