An Interview with BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship Semi Finalist 377 Daz Shaw
(interview published August 13 2014 in the lead up to the World Championship Semi-Finals at Mildenhall on August 23)

Age: 47
Home Town: March
Occupation: Fabricator
Family: Wife Louise, three children and two step-children
Racing career: Started racing Outlaw Stockcars aged 21 at Scunthorpe in 1989

This will be your 15th appearance in a World Champion Semi Final, is this a race you are looking forward to and was qualifying one of your targets for the season?
I never chased qualifying, I just did the meetings I wanted to do and the ones I felt I would enjoy and fitted in with what I was doing at the time and it’s just happened but it’s nice to know I’m still capable of qualifying for a race like this, even if I wasn’t really trying as such to get into the race. It’s always good to be a part of occasions like this because you should have a lot of the top drivers in the formula racing that night and so it’s always good to be a part of a meeting like that and see how you get on against them. Having said that, I’m not sure that if I qualify I would go to Cowdenbeath. I don’t really enjoy racing on tarmac now and I have no great desire to go to Cowdenbeath and race in the World Final. I’m not saying I definitely wouldn’t go if I qualified but it’s unlikely, I think if I got a top 10 finish I would be happier knowing I’d qualified for the final later that night (laughs).

There are some that would argue that drivers with no intention of competing in the World Final should not contest the Semi-Final race and make way for a driver who might want to go instead, what is your thoughts on this?
Well, I can see where they are coming from but I want to do the Semi-Final race because that way I get my £25 start money (laughs). I’ve only done four qualifying rounds so by doing the semi-final I will get my entrance money back and actually be a couple of quid up (laughs). Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying I definitely wouldn’t go to Cowdenbeath , I’m just saying that at my stage in my career it’s unlikely but at the same time I want to take part in the semi-final because it’s at a track that I race at and it should be a good race and I want to be a part of it and see how I get in.

You’ve had remarkable success in World Semi-Finals, not only winning five but five in a row, that must be something you are very proud off?
Yes, I suppose it is. I honestly don’t think about it too much but I suppose it would only be someone like Rob Speak whose had that kind of success in races like this so it’s a pretty cool thing to have done but I can’t see me being in a position to win another one this season, although I guess at Mildenhall anything can happen so who knows. One thing I do know is I don’t miss the feelings I used to have in my stomach back then. When I was up the front of those semi-final grids and the five times I started a World Final on the front row, the churning in my stomach was absolutely awful and I really would not wish that on anyone. This will be very different for me. I guess you could say that I’m just racing for fun now and I do really enjoy my racing and this will be no different, there is no pressure on me at all, if I crash on the first bend it doesn’t matter, if I get a top 10 then great but the result doesn’t matter.

Given your years in the sport and your current commitment levels, do you hope to continue racing for many more years?
I honestly don’t know. I keep thinking it is probably time to starting thinking about retiring but it’s a hard habit to kick and so I’m trying to get out of the habit slowly (laughs). All the while I’m enjoying it I will continue and I have started to think about maybe moving into another formula which would be a little easier for me than F2s but I love the formula so much so it’s very hard to think about doing anything else really.

You start on row 10 of the grid, do you think a top 10 finish is possible for you?
Yes, I would like to think it is. I’ve been going pretty well at Mildenhall this year and you never know what to expect when you race there, it’s such an unpredictable track and with such a mixed grid of people who race on shale all the time and those who don’t it will be even more the case and that might create a chance for me to get in the top 10. I think the size of the track will make things interesting. At bigger tracks when there is an accident you can sometimes have a little longer to react to it but at Mildenhall there is less time and that can catch anyone out so everyone is going to need a little luck on the night I think to qualify. Having no great desire to qualify I think might help me out because there won’t be the pressure on me and that can make a difference. There will be some drivers who desperately want to qualify and that can make anyone make a mistake so it’s going to be a very interesting race.

What kind of races do you think we might see in the Semi-Finals?
It’s impossible to say. In my race there are quite a few shale drivers a bit down the grid who are probably going to fancy their chances of qualifying for the World Final and so they are likely to be pushing really hard and when you combine that with some drivers who are not so familiar on shale who want to qualify just as much it will make things very unpredictable, but they should be good races, that’s for sure.

Do you think the shale and Mildenhall regulars will have a great advantage over the more tarmac based drivers?
They will but it’s hard to say how much of an advantage. The last time I was in a semi-final at Mildenhall it was me James Thackra and Mick Sworder in the top three and I think prior to the race no-one had given us any chance of even qualifying. At the end of the day, everyone in these races is good at what they do, regardless of what surface they race on the most, they all know how to drive and get the job done, I think your luck on the night will be the biggest factor.

You mention that there was a time when you were known more as a tarmac racer but now you race more on shale, what is the attraction?
Well now I live in March that makes a difference because there are more shale tracks close to me so it would be silly to not race at them but I do enjoy racing on the shale, I just find it more fun and not quite as intense. I think there is a big difference between a shale and tarmac meeting, I think you find the tarmac drivers and generally spending more money on their racing than the shale drivers and with that comes a greater expectancy to do well and that can make things more serious and intense and I just find the shale meetings to be a bit more laid back and enjoyable.

Your step-son Callum was a regular in the Ministox at Mildenhall last year before retiring from the formula, what is he doing now?
He’s done a few BriSCA F2 Stockcar meetings in one of my old cars but has been sticking to tarmac so far while he finds his feet. He is busy with exams at the moment and that needs to be priority over racing but he is getting there and enthusiastic to do more racing and hopefully we’ll get him back out at Mildenhall soon in an F2.

One of the big talking points in the closed season was the reduction in prize money in the formula, what were your thoughts on that?
I do understand how things are right now and ultimately the promoters need to earn a wage to keep the tracks running so if saving those few pounds at a F2 meeting helps then so be it, but my problem is it should apply to all formulas because I don’t think any other formula had their prize funds reduced and in some cases they seem to be racing for more money so it doesn’t make sense that the F2s lose out. The other issue for me is that with the money for the lower places being removed it’s likely that the drivers in the lower grades who get those places who miss out. The more established drivers are perhaps less likely to worry about £5 or £10 but for some drivers in the lower grades that money can really help.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Just my wife for supporting me all these years and Lyndale Engines for everything they’ve done for me.