2NR: What was the point in your former life of success that made you guys want to try something like rally racing?
Dave: Probably age. [laughs] The Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race that I won was my first opportunity to try motorsports. We're all competitive and competitive with ourselves, and challenges are reasons to try new things. And understanding cars and how they work has been a welcomed challenge.
Ken: I've always been competitive--I raced dirt bikes during my career at DC--and I like to go out and be physically active. I'm very lucky with DC; we have some of the best snowboarders, skateboarders and motocross riders in the world and I've been able to ride with all of them and educate myself on the physical and mental side of competing. So, going from my business background to rally wasn't that unusual.
Travis: After my 12th knee surgery, and discovering I didn't have an ACL or PCL that was going to put me out for nine months, and finding out that I still could drive a car is what got me into rally. [laughs]
2NR: What's the difference between an action sports or "extreme" athlete and a regular one?
Dave: Competing with Bucky Lasek at the Long Beach celebrity race against more mainstream athletes, it was interesting to see how Bucky and I were able to catch on to motorsports so quickly. I don't think people realize how much precision something like riding vert takes--if you're going 13 feet above a 13-foot ramp and if you pull out six inches . . . wow, that sounded kind of gnarly. [laughter]
2NR: Whoah Dave, TMI. [laughter]
Dave: [laughs] . . . How can I say this? If you drift out a few inches while up in the air, you're going to land low and eat it, so there's a lot of precision, hand-eye coordination and depth perception that goes into a vert run.
Travis: What separates us is the ability to react.Not just under pressure, but from imminent injury. On a dirt bike, when you're in the air and you know you're going to crash, you have to be able to think, "If I stay on this bike, I'm going to break my neck. But if I jump off, I'll break an ankle, and that takes a long time to heal. But if I jump and roll this way, I'll only dislocate a shoulder and suffer a concussion--but I'll be able to ride next week." So, to be able to calculate all that, make an adjustment in the air according to what's going to injure you the least, and to be able to get up afterward . . . that's what makes an action sports athlete. In situations where most people freeze up, you have to use your adrenaline to slow time down instead of going blank.
Dave: Shooting blanks . . . just after he pulls out six inches? [laughter]
2NR: What about rally racing makes it "extreme"?
Ken: I don't necessarily think rally is an extreme sport. For us, it's the closest motorsport for our interests. I think the only reason why some people call it an extreme sport is because of its tie-in with X Games and how the cars jump and slide around in a stadium. Beyond that, it's one of the oldest, and to me, one of the most amazing motorsports. People around the world respect it as one of the most difficult driving techniques to learn.
2NR: How steep was the learning curve for car control and competing in the Rally America series?
Travis: It wasn't an overnight success. There's a whole lifetime of experience that helps to build your foundation. Rally is a precision sport, but you have to pull from so many different aspects that you can't be just one type of driver. There are so many techniques to learn and you have to be available to pull stuff out of the air.
Dave: It's a collaboration of skills. It's not easy to jump a rally car, but it's easier if you have experience jumping other things.