10 Questions with 2014 NEMA Lite Champion Ryan Krachun

10 Questions with Ryan Krachun – By: Pete MacDonald

It’s very rare when someone is a major touring series champion at the age of 15, but that is what Ryan Krachun accomplished last season winning the North Eastern Midget Association (NEMA) Lites  title. Ryan is also starting to dabble in some Asphalt Late Model racing down south with the Pro All Star Series (PASS) and is the youngest driver ever to be approved to race a Dirt Modified in the State of New Jersey. I recently had a chance to sit down and do a 10 Questions segment with Ryan about his racing career.

PM: If someone gave you an unlimited budget to build a race track, What would it be? Surface type?, Size? Banked?
RK: ½ mile banked dirt oval.

PM: If you could Race any race car in history what would it be?
RK:  Any type Sprint Cup Car.

PM: Best experience you’ve ever had due to racing?
RK: Winning my first midget race at one of the most famous and historic short tracks in the US, Hickory Motor Speedway.

PM: What type of surface do you prefer? Dry/Slick or Tacky/Heavy?
RK:  I prefer asphalt tracks, but if it had to be dirt it would have to be dry and slick because you really have to drive the car on that type of track.

PM: What do you do away from the race track besides race?
RK:  I hang out with my friends and I off-road in my Polaris RZR.

PM: If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive who would it be?
RK: I would have dinner with Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress or one of the other car owners to try and get a ride in NASCAR.

PM: Where do you want your career to go?
RK: I would ultimately like to end up racing for a living in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

PM: You could win one race you haven’t won yet what would it be?
RK:  I would like to win the snowball derby because it would be a great accomplishment and I would get a lot of exposure from that win.

PM: $10,000 to win, your running 2nd, do you crash the guy to win?
RK: No I would not crash the leader to win the race, it would not be a true accomplishment if I had to race the guy dirty to win.

PM: Last Question: If you could change anything, What would you change about the sport?

RK: I would have the bigger race teams focus more on the talent that the driver possesses than who’s daddy can write the bigger check.

It sure does look like Ryan Krachun has a big future ahead of him in this sport, and with such an impressive resume already at the ripe old age of 15 who knows how far he will go. For more information on Ryan Krachun you can visit his website at www.ryankrachun.com, he is on Twitter @RyanKrachun or Facebook @Ryan Krachun Racing.