On July 4th, 1984, Richard Petty edged out Cale Yarborough by a foot to win his 200th career victory with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. That race, on that day, made Kurt Staple a NASCAR fan.

Staple developed a love for cars and their mechanics early in life. His dad was an amateur car collector, specifically a collector of Studebakers.

“He (my dad) was so into Studebakers, that after his death in 1972, when I was 18, the Sacramento chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club of America was named the ‘Karel Staple Memorial Chapter’,” Staple said.

Other members of Staple’s family are race fans including his sister and brother-in-law who have done timing and scoring for the Sports Car Club of America. Staple’s 87-year-old mother is a fan of racing, as well; she is a NASCAR fan and she loves Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Before discovering NASCAR, Staple participated in open-wheel Sprint Cup races as a sponsor and crew man. In fact, he met one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers before he even had his license.

“I met Jeff (Gordon) when he was, I believe 13, racing open wheel sprint cars here in northern CA,” Staple said of his favorite driver in the Sprint Cup Series. “I met him at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA. It was because of his young age and diving 700 plus horsepower sprint cars that the local and regional associations instituted a rule that you must be a licensed driver in order to run in their races. If I remember correctly, I believe this led to Jeff’s family moving to Indiana so he could continue to race.”

Over the years, Staple has met some big names in the Sprint Car world including Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell as well as Dave Blaney and Kenny Schrader, who are also NASCAR drivers.

Staple finally went to his first NASCAR race in 2007 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

“A friend got us tickets as an early birthday gift to me,” Staple said of his first race. “He had a coworker that worked on a crew for a NASCAR West car and we were able to get into the pits… Because we knew someone involved in the companion race, it was great to get into the pits around all the haulers, owners and drivers.”

Staple got to see NASCAR in a different light that day.

“Seeing the cars in person (was great),” he said. “TV does not do them justice on the colors. The cars are much more vibrant when you can see them at the track. And they sound a lot different on the road course compared to what you would think. What with all the shifting and RPM changes, the race seems more personal compared to only seeing them on TV.”

Now that he has seen NASCAR up close and personal, 55-year old Staple would like to see more races at different tracks.

“I would like to go the fall race in Phoenix, the Brickyard 400 at Indy, Bristol, Charlotte and naturally, the Daytona 500.”

That 200th victory for Petty was certainly a life-changing experience, even for a 7-time Sprint Cup Series champion, but it was a life-changing experience for Staple, as well. From that day on, he was a hardcore race fan.

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