Sunday marks the end of the 30-year NASCAR Cup series racing career of Fenton (MO) native Ken Schrader. Also on Sunday, the book will close on the 2013 Cup season when NASCAR crowns a champion in Homestead, FL. I ve walked around the garage area and I didn t see very many other 58-year-old drivers, he said in a recent phone interview. I have enjoyed what I ve done and what I ve accomplished. But I want to do other stuff. It s not like it s been a job. It s been fun and I have definitely enjoyed it. The biggest thing we ve done in the Cup car is being able to milk it for 30 years. Just being able to hold on that long. Every race that you didn t win, you wanted to win. Schrader, whose first Winston Cup start came on July 14, 1984 when he begged owner Elmo Langley for a ride at Nashville and finished 19th, will have earned more than $38 million (he s at $37,976,968 entering Sunday s race). Columbia, Mo., native Carl Edwards, who is a second cousin to Schrader, calls Schrader a great racer, first and foremost. He s a great guy, a guy that a lot of people demand respect from. I don t think there is one person in the garage area that hates Kenny. He s a racer to the core. Edwards, 34, said Schrader gave Edwards his start by letting him hang around and work at (Kenny s) shop for two years. Mow the grass, sweep. Whatever I could do. While Schrader is retiring from the Cup circuit, he will continue in NASCAR in 2014 running in the Camping World truck series, although the stop at Gateway Motorsports Park on June 14 is not on his schedule. This past July, when the trucks made their first dirt stop ever at Eldora (Ohio) Speedway, Schrader became the oldest driver in NASCAR s three series (Cup, Nationwide, trucks) to win the pole. But, he wound up 14th in the Mudsummer Classic. He will also continue running his ARCA car in 2014, in which this year he became the oldest driver to win a race, capturing the Menards 200 at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway on May 19. Most importantly, though, he will climb in his dirt modified. He has three more dirt races this season. It s not retirement from NASCAR, he said. There s just no plans to come back. If you don t have any other plans “¦ I wouldn t change anything. There are other programs we can do. ( St Louis Post Dispatch )
