Thrill of the Chase : Competition Serves as Raschke’s Driving Force

Chris Raschke, a Mini Stock driver at Ventura Raceway, defines winning differently than most racers.

In fact, finishing down in the pack has on occasion given the 26-year-old drag-car mechanic much the same euphoric feeling as winning a main event.

“To have a good race is satisfying, but it doesn’t always have to be a win,” said Raschke, a Ventura native.

“I love a good race with clean, hard competition. I’ve enjoyed some of my best races when it was real hard driving and I finished in fifth place.”

Fifth-place finishes have been rare for Raschke at Ventura Raceway this season, however.

With five oval-track, main-event wins to date, Raschke has driven his avocado-green 2300cc Mini Stock Pinto to more such victories than any driver in the Mini Stock or Street Stock divisions, and he is locked in what has been a seesaw battle with Ventura’s Marty Desbrow in the season points battle.

At midseason, Desbrow holds a 1,760-1,555 lead over Raschke, with 160 points up for grabs each weekend.

“I’ve had a lot of mechanical problems the last four weeks,” said Raschke, who nevertheless managed to win the Firecracker 50 on July 6. “These setbacks have hit me solid, but they happen to every driver once in a while.”

Raschke began his driving career at Ventura Raceway in 1988. The following campaign, he had gained enough experience on the quarter-mile dirt oval to record two main-event wins and place fourth in the points standings behind champion Rock Ake Jr. of Moorpark. Moreover, his finish put him ahead of two former Ventura Raceway champions, Paul Moore of Oxnard and Richard Webster of Camarillo.

Although they did not result in victory, some of Raschke’s most satisfying races took place with Ake in the field.

“I have had at least three races against Rock where on almost every lap we were swapping the lead position,” Raschke said. “It wasn’t a horsepower thing but a driving-skill race. It feels just as good as a win because it was a good clean race, and that’s what racing is about to me.”

The race, then, is not necessarily to the swift. And Raschke, in his brief career, has come to this realization while becoming a fine scholar of his sport.

“The experience of the past years have helped Chris,” said Cliff Morgan, Ventura Raceway general manager. “He has learned to be patient, to race side by side, and he has used his abilities to learn the track and the other drivers.”

Raschke, too, credits experience for his improvement this season, noting, “It’s the same car as before and I haven’t done anything different to it.”

He said that patience and smoother execution on the track also have helped pave his way to the winner’s circle more often.

“When I’m patient on the track I do a lot better, but sometimes I still get impatient and I bump some people, and then I get myself into trouble,” he said.

An easygoing personality and a winning-isn’t-everything credo have served Raschke in good stead and seem to be keeping troublesome situations to a minimum.

“You have got to leave what happened one week behind you and go on to the next and not always worry about getting a win,” he said.

“I think I’m driving harder, though, because I’ve become smoother and I pay more attention to how I drive. Now I drive into the corners and I don’t just go slamming around the track.”

He uses this controlled form of aggression to complement his race strategy. It sounds as though he is putting racing philosophy in reverse but Raschke, unlike most drivers, would prefer not to start from the pole position.

“I do better coming from the back than being out front,” he said. “I like doing different things in the car, like having to go low or to get high to get by the drivers. I can baby the car when I have to and I can stand on the gas when I need to, and it makes me more aggressive in the car coming from the back.”

Barring major mechanical problems, Raschke feels confident about his chances to win the points championship--if he can remain consistent. Then again, if he finishes down in the standings, it will still be a satisfying season for him because of the thrill of the race itself.

“I have a goal to run in the top four in qualifying, the heat, and the main event this season, and I think I can win the championship if I’m consistent,” Raschke said. “If not, I can still feel good because of some of the good races I have run.

“The racing at Ventura is very competitive this year. I don’t think the season championship will be a cakewalk for any driver. It will probably come down to the last race of the season, and I hope I’m right there in the thick of it.”

If Raschke does win the championship, don’t count on his moving on to greener pastures or the bright lights of bigger tracks. He is quite happy at his hometown race track.

“I don’t want to drive all over the world to race,” Raschke said. “I will be happy to keep on racing here. I like the dirt and this is close to my hometown family and friends.

“It’s a real fun thing every weekend. I get in the car and everything smoothes out and I just go for it.”

So far, Raschke’s bid for a season points championship has been a smooth ride. However one views winning, Raschke is enjoying a rewarding season at Ventura Raceway--no matter where he finishes at season’s end.