Paying it back and seeking respect

By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive

June 4, 2001
3:49 PM EDT (1949 GMT)

Commentary

A father’s quest for straight-line speed has his son driving in circles seeking respect and an outlet to pay back two decades of support.

Dave Rodman

Kevin Lepage never thought about Winston Cup racing, other than making annual trips to the cozy short track in Martinsville, Va., when he was scrambling around dozens of rough-cut short tracks throughout the northeastern United States and Canada.

In a story typical of many that blossom in the upper reaches of NASCAR racing, the son of a former drag racer from Shelburne, Vt., has befriended Dale Earnhardt, worked for some of the most high-profile owners in the business and is looking at maintaining a long-range career as a car owner in the sport.

But it wasn’t that long ago that Lepage and his wife, Donna, might have wondered if they’d succeed in their life’s choice.

He’d raced multiple events in a weekend, crossing three states and maybe a province in the course of two days, all the while having the reality of punching a clock on Monday morning staring him in the face.

He’d regularly put in all-nighters that were so draining, lifetime sponsorships from Visine and Hills Bros. coffee would offer scant relief.

He’s kissed the cow at Thunder Road and been the baddest to haul butt through the Sanair kink -- which was perfect preparation for Pocono’s Tunnel Turn.

Lepage has never met a race track he didn’t like, and the current driver of Morgan-McClure Motorsports’ Kodak Film Chevrolet in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series never once questioned his decision to move south in the early 1990s to pursue a dream.

“When we left Vermont, there were a lot of people who thought we weren’t going to make it (in southern racing),” Lepage said in an informal gathering before the Dover race weekend. “But for Donna and I, there was never any question we would try and we would make it.

Kevin Lepage

“Yeah, there were a lot of unknowns, but we didn’t want to be sitting there when we were 60, 70 or 80 years old saying ‘I wish we had tried to do that when the chance was there.’”

The Lepages did it their way, buying a race team and bringing their own sponsor, not surprisingly the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, to the NASCAR Busch Series in 1994. It created an unforgettable icon for Lepage, who like many other drivers who go on to succeed in NASCAR’s “big leagues” did not have phenomenal success, though he was a winner, in a variety of Northeast touring series.

And it got him noticed.

“People think because of where I’m from I must’ve been good at NHIS,” Lepage said of the one-mile superspeedway in Loudon, N.H. “I had never raced there when I first went there in the Busch Series, and I was having trouble.”

“I had gotten to know Dale Earnhardt a little bit because he wasn’t running the whole Busch Series so he was stuck back in the garage with us new guys,” Lepage said. “I went up to him and told him I was having a problem with the race track.

“'Hey, Teddy Bear man,'” Lepage said the late seven-time Winston Cup champion greeted him. “'Stay off the apron in Turn 3.'”

“I walked away flabbergasted that he had even been watching me and even had any idea what I was doing,” Lepage said, “but I tried it and picked up three-tenths. In the race, I ended up finishing ninth.

“The next time I saw him was here at Dover -- he walked up to me and put his arm around my shoulder and said ‘Hey Kevin?’ I am wondering, ‘Oh, man -- what did I do now?’ Turns out he wanted to know if I could get him a Vermont Teddy Bear for Taylor, his little girl.”

That day, Lepage had scuffed the wall on his qualifying lap and was scrambling to get the car repaired, but he dispatched Donna to the appropriate trailer and the critter was secured.

“The next day at the drivers’ meeting I brought him a bag with Taylor’s bear in it,” Lepage said of Earnhardt. “He couldn’t believe we hadn’t forgotten about him with the trouble we were having. It meant a lot to him and (wife) Teresa.”

Personal friendships were one thing gained. But Lepage had also gained Earnhardt’s respect as a driver when, through his work with team owner Joe Falk’s minimally funded Winston Cup team, he was Earnhardt’s first choice to replace DEI driver Steve Park when he was injured in 1998.

Lepage said Darrell Waltrip’s guaranteed starter status through his past champion's provisionals was the deciding factor in Waltrip being the choice of DEI management. But he eventually signed with Jack Roush and was there for a couple full seasons.

But as much as he cherishes the memories he’s accrued in his journey, Lepage appreciates the opportunity his position gives him to give back to Winston Cup racing fans, which are some of the sports world’s most ardent.

“I really appreciate the fans, because if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to be doing what we love to do, and be making a living at it,” Lepage said. “I’m definitely not a Mark Martin, or a Jeff Gordon, but my recognition is getting better.”

“That’s the difference between the athletes in our sport and those in a lot of other sports -- we give back to the fans,” said Lepage, who listed the charity events he consistently tries to attend.

“Whether it’s doing an autograph session or a mall appearance or something at The Home Depot, even if it’s only for an hour or so, those couple hundred people we get to meet -- they’re gonna talk to their friends -- they’re gonna try to get to the next race they can.”

Lepage continues to try to move ahead with his own Busch Series race team, competing in as many races as he can and trying to add to his two Busch victories. He continues to cultivate his 21,000-square-foot shop on five acres of property, while trying to convince his dad that when he’s truly retired he needs to move south and keep up the property.

His son, Armadee is racing karts and if he keeps progressing he might keep up the family tradition as the team’s first full-time driver whenever a sponsor is ready to step up to move it ahead. And so the saga of a family that was brave enough to make a move, and committed enough to each other to make it work, continues.

Kevin and Donna Lepage are not the whole deal, obviously but pieces of the puzzle cut in their shape are why NASCAR racing is the sport that more and more people daily feel has the most to offer in terms of family values and personality, as well as competition.

Dave Rodman is a writer for NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are those solely of the writer.