Unbuckled: Getting to Know Brian Hoar
Driver of the #37 RPM Racing Engines Dodge
Hometown: Williston, VT
2012: Second place overall on the American Canadian Tour
What are your favorite hobbies in the off-season?
I’ve been running a lot the last few years; I’m training to run VT city marathon again. That’s what takes up a lot of my free time if I’m not chasing my daughters at gymnastics meets and snowmobiling. I usually get a little hunting in during the fall.
What do you do for work?
I am the dealer principle of Goss Dodge. It’s the family business. My Dad worked here for years and years, purchased the company back in the 70s, and I’ve worked here all my life on and off, mostly on. I run the company now. I’m the Dealer Principle and General Manager and get all the fun that goes with it.
What is your biggest life accomplishment?
My championships and racing accomplishments, I think. Family is very important to me, but can I really say it’s my great accomplishment to have raised my kids to this point? I feel like that’s my duty as a father. Racing has done a lot for me personally, and especially as far as self esteem goes and what not because I wasn’t successful at a lot of other sports. I was naturally successful in snowmobiling, and once I hopped in a racecar, I never looked back. I have a lot of pride in the things I’ve accomplished behind the wheel, and I think they’ve defined me as a person.
Big Plans for 2013?
We are actually running a partial schedule with ACT. Trying to spend a little more time with the family and chasing some other fun things that I like to do in the summer time and one will be supporting my daughter who got into horses and horse shows. We will run the first four races of the year, and run 10 or 11 races total which will include some ACT Tour races and big non-points races like the Milk Bowl, and the International 500. I toyed with it last year, decided to go for it another year. I just feel like I need to back her down a notch. Life is all about balance, I have to spend more time at the business and the kids are getting to that age where they are almost reaching the teenage years. I want to be there for them, and they still enjoy racing but not as much as they did. I love it, and I know on the weekends I’m not there, especially the points races, I’m going to wish like hell I was there.
What is the state of your car currently?
It’s all but ready to go. Very close. We didn’t do a lot of major overhauls to it. New tweaks everywhere we could, Andrew and Rick have the thing looking awesome.
What race are you looking forward to the most in 2013?
The first one, just to get back in the saddle. I like a lot of races, but the bigger shows obviously are more important. I love the first race just to get the cobwebs out, plus I like Lee Speedway a lot. We’ve been pretty successful there so I can’t wait to go back. I also can’t wait to get back to the Milk Bowl, and the Internationall 500. I love Airborne, and I’m glad to see the Tour will be at Airborne more this year.
What was the highlight of the 2012 season for you?
Winning my 9th championship, oh wait a minute…(laughs) Honestly, winning our third Can-Am 200 race up in Canada for a couple of reasons. It’s a big show up there, I like that track a lot (that is on my schedule again this year) and Rick Paya, my car owner, had just broken his leg and the whole team showed up and it was the start of our comeback to make a run for the title.
Do you have a hero? Someone you idolize as a racecar driver or try to emulate?
I grew up in Colchester and we use to go to Catamount Stadium often. My uncle worked on Bobby Dragon’s crew for years and years, so Bobby Dragon was a big hero, his brother Beaver was too, and probably I liked Robbie Crouch the best. I don’t really remember why, but probably because he was winning so much from the timespan I can remember which was the ‘80s. Robbie is so smooth and he was dominant when I started chasing titles of my own. When I first started racing in 1990, Junior Hanley came on scene and I learned very quickly who that guy was. I didn’t know. He did some things that were unbelievable in the three years he ran in the Tour. Always wanted to emulate him.
Who is your biggest fan at the track?
I’m going to say my father in law, Talbert Hill. Since he started racing with me and I started seeing his daughter, he became a supporter, and a die hard race fan. He has worked on racecars for years and years from Norm Andrews to my team for the last 16 years. Huge fan and obviously my family members are big supporters and we’ve got some great fans that we’ve developed over the years.
What is something about you that most people don’t know?
In the fall of 2000 my daughter was born after my 5th championship, and after she was born I realized I needed to lose weight because I wasn’t living for myself anymore. In October of 2000 I made a mission to lose weight and get in shape. Never in my life had I been a runner, in fact, I distinctly remember hating running. I didn’t play soccer because there was too much running involved. Got in pretty good shape and somebody signed me up at the end of 2001 for the VT City Marathon in 2002. I never dreamed of running 26.2 miles in my life. My idea of running was 3-4 miles. I got a trainer, got a schedule, trained like mad, ran my first marathon in 2002 and completed it and had a great time doing it believe it or not. I did a partial the next year and ran 16 miles. In 2002 I had just turned 30 years old, and I told myself when I turn 40 I’ll run it again. Last year I turned 40 and ran it again. I didn’t accomplish my goal for it though, and I’m pretty goal oriented. I will try to run the marathon faster this year. 3-4 days a week running and long runs on the weekends. I just get up early and crank out the miles! Most people probably don’t know that about me.
I’m also signing up for one of those Spartan obstacle races. After I get done these marathons my training goes to hell and I get into race season and what not so I want to keep it up throughout the year so I have another goal in the fall. Like I said, I’m very goal oriented.
How did you start racing?
In 1990 my dad bought a flying tiger car, which by 1992 had turned into Late Models, and he started racing over at Airborne when Tom had first purchased it. They had just repaved it, and that was his first year racing. I had just graduated from High School, and I think he was trying to find a way to make me stick around and stay out of trouble. At the nd of the year he had a hunting trip and he said why don’t you drive my car. I had done my first enduro that year at Airborne, and had a pretty successful run, so I drove his car last race of the year. In the offseason we built a brand new car as a dodge that was actually an old buick, and he let me race that with him. I ran the full season over at Airborne, and finished second in Rookie of the Year standings to David Gay. The rest is history.
Tell me about your family?
I work with my Dad still, he works for a few hours in the morning. He is trying to figure out how to retire. I have a sister who is a school teacher that lives in Williston, we’re very close. We actually live in the same development. It’s nice to be so close to her and my nephews and vice versa. My mom is also still around, though, she likes to spend more time golfing nowadays!
My wife is the domestic engineer! She stays at home and manages the household and does a lot taking care of my kids. My kids are both very active in gymnastics. My younger daughter does it 3-4 days a week, and the older one is couple days a week, plus another couple days a week riding horses year round. She’s really falling in love with that. We have Monday nights off, and after that it’s full bore. I love watching them and supporting them, and my oldest daughter just got her first horse. We’ve been leasing horses and just doing lessons, but she got her first last weekend.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Going for my 11th ACT Tour title! Kidding. I’ll still be involved. I love the sport a lot, I’m probably in better shape now than I was when I was 25, so there’s no particular reason to think I’ll be done except maybe reaction time! I don’t know if I’ll be running for points, depends on my family and kids, but I will be involved. My daughters will be 17 and 15 years old then, so I probably won’t be full time, but that doesn’t mean between now and then I won’t do another full time season. We’ll see how it goes. Like I said, life is all about balance.
Sources: ACT PR