An Interview with 823 Sam Wagner

How do you feel about your grid position on the outside of the second row?
I'm much happier about it after I won the final (on July 27) which gave me a bit of a boost going into the championship. I think I'm probably like a lot of people and would prefer to start on the inside but it's stockcar racing and these things are often out of your hands so I'm happy to start there, I think it is a race where you probably will need to be towards the front to have a good chance of winning and I'll give it my best shot from there and see what happens. 

Do you feel being on the outside could be a disadvantage, especially at the start?
I honestly don't know. You never know what to expect, especially from a race like this, it is very unpredictable and you cannot make any plans because whatever plans you make will soon go out the window! I think being on the inside does have a bit of an advantage simply because from there you shouldn't have anyone diving up your inside where as on the outside the car is already there. I've been really lucky so far in that I've almost always started big races like this from the inside. The only exception was the World Final last year but I qualified in the consolation semi final so I was at the back and that doesn't really count. Having said that I did really well in that race so maybe it'll happen again! Who knows.

Who do you rate as the favourites for this race?
There are a lot of quick drivers in this race and they all pretty much go well round Mildenhall so there are plenty of people I think who are going to be up there. You've got Chris (Bradbury), George (Turiccki) and (Andrew) Palmer with me on the front two rows and they are all going to be leading contenders in this race for sure. But we've got got Toon Schut behind and I think he is one of the key threats in the race, he is every bit as good as anyone else and knows Mildenhall well so I think he's going to be in there as well. 

You are a relative newcomer to the World of Shale Championship, this being just your third appearance after debuting in 2011. Is it a race you look forward to?
Yes it is. I only started racing more seriously on shale recently because I've bought a house and so I needed to cut back on what I was spending on racing. I decided to sell one of my stockcars and put the money into the house fund and basically I knew I could get more money for the tarmac car so that was the one we sold. Shale racing is generally cheaper to be competitive on and now I've got a bit more experienced with it I really enjoy it, the big difference for me is that when I race on shale I usually come off the track smiling and so do the majority of other drivers. I don't know what it is but tarmac racing seems to be a bit more serious and people can get a bit stressed out with it and not enjoy it like they should. You can have a bad race on shale and still enjoy it but I'm not sure it is as easy to do that on tarmac because usually when you have a bad race, you have a bad race. It's hard to explain. The World of Shale is a big deal yes but I don't think it is the World Final. The World Final is the World Final but it is definitely more of a series for drivers who race on tarmac because there are more qualifying rounds on tarmac and even if the final is on shale, chances are the semis won't so it's hard for drivers who just race on shale to compete in it. I'm lucky because I race on both (shale and tarmac) and do pretty well on both but drivers like me are becoming less and less which is a shame. I would very much like to see more dedicated tarmac and shale series in the sport for those who stick to one surface. At least now the World of Shale has a roof grade which I think is important but I would like to see something similar for the driver who scores the most points on shale in a season because lets face it a shale race is never going to challenge for the National Points. I don't know if it will ever happen but I would like to see more of that.

With that in mind, changes have been made to the World of Shale Championship to try and enhance its stature, how do you feel about the changes?
I think having the overseas drivers in the race is brilliant, especially because there are so many good drivers that are being added to the grid and they are going to make the race more special. Also it establishes the World of Shale title because having these titles without the overseas drivers doesn't really work for me so I think that is great. Personally I would love to see the event staged overseas as well. I think it's wrong that the World Final is always held in England and Scotland not overseas because it stops it from being a true World Championship, I think it would be great if the World of Shale did, after all the Dutch drivers all come and race here with us so why shouldn't we return the favour?

Your best result in the World of Shale Championship is a third last year at King's Lynn, do you think you can beat that and what is your target for the race?
I would be happy to finish in the top 10 and drive off with the car intact! You can never go into these things with great expectations, I'm not sure there is anyone out there confident they will win because there are so many top drivers out there you just don't know what is going to happen. It's always nice to do better than the last time and I got that third from a few rows down the grid last year so it is possible if I have a good race but you just don't know and that's what is so good about a race like this. The thing is that while there are people who say I've got a chance I honestly don't consider myself as good as some of the drivers around me. When I first started in the formula I would like up to the guys like Chris Burgoyne, Chris Bradbury, Gordon Moodie and John Fortune and to be able to compete with them is amazing. For me Rob Speak is one lf the biggest legends in racing there is and standing on the podium with him at the British Championship at King's Lynn in May was just brilliant so personally I'm pleased enough just to ba hanging with these guys who I still have the utmost respect for. 

Is there anyone you would to thank or mention?
My family and my main sponsors, my sister dad and sister in particular who back me a great deal and also my girlfriend Becca who is very supportive, my main mechanics Andy and Allo and everyone else who has helped out.