2009 series Champion interview 2009-10-06

Caddell Meets the Press

TOOELE, UT (6 October, 2009)--2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Champion Andrew Caddell had a season that any racer would be jealous of as he amassed four race wins on his way to his second consecutive title in the category. After picking up the custom-designed Miller Cup from Miller Group CEO Greg Miller at the Series' Championship banquet at Miller Motorsports Park following the season finale race, Caddell was recently invited by Ford Racing to meet the media and discuss his remarkable season.

2009 marked the second season of operation for the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge, which utilizes the history-making Ford Mustang FR500S as the competition platform for the series, which is the only nationally operated race series to be owned by a race track (Miller Motorsports Park).

Transcript, Andrew Caddell meets the press with Ford Racing:

For Andrew Caddell, those championship dreams have become a reality after winning his second back-to-back championship title in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Series a few weeks ago.

ANDREW CADDELL -- 2008-2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Series Champion -- YOU'VE HAD A COUPLE OF WEEKS NOW TO LET YOUR SECOND MUSTANG CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP SINK IN. HOW DOES IT FEEL?

"It feels great. After last year, we went into this year thinking it was going to be another tough year, but I didn't think it was going to be as tough since we were going to race the full year. We struggled at the beginning of the year and just had to work that much harder, which made the second championship even more special."

WHAT DOES MENTAL TOUGHNESS MEAN TO YOU? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR BRAND OF RACING IN A SPORTSCAR COMPARED TO OTHER MOTORSPORTS?

"The mental toughness aspect of racing is pretty big because you have to have that mental toughness just to be able to go out there and show what you have the whole time. If you don't have the mental toughness, you're not going to do as good as you should be able to."

HOW DID THIS SEASON PROGRESS, AND NOW THAT IT'S OVER WHAT IS AHEAD ON THE HORIZON FOR YOU?

"We won the first race of the year, and then we struggled after that. After the Barber Motorsports Park and the 45th Anniversary of the Mustang, we took the car to the dyno and found that we were 12 horsepower down. We changed the motor, and once we did that, the rest of the season went great. We won in New Jersey, we finished second at Laguna, we came from the back of the pack, and then we should have won at Mosport. We finished the season off with another win. It was just a great year.

"Next year is still up in the air. We're talking to a bunch of different people to figure out what's going on, just to be able to get in the seat next year. We have some potential sponsorship stuff happening, and then we have some teams that we're talking to. It would be great to run in the KONI GS Series and run a Mustang there, but it's all up in the air right now. We have a short winter so we have to start working even harder."

IS THERE EVER A TIME THAT YOU GET A CHANCE TO ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE OF RUNNING WELL AND BEING SUCCESSFUL OR IS ALL YOUR TIME AND ENERGY FOCUSED ON THE JOB AT HAND?

"Up until New Jersey and Laguna we went out there to try and win races, because Ted Anthony Jr. was putting a lot of pressure on us. We went to Mosport and Ted and I had a little bit of an incident on the first lap. I came back up through the pack, but he was riding around me the whole time, but he ended up getting into another wreck so that ended up giving us a little breathing room. After Mosport is pretty much when we started getting into championship mode and just go out there to try and win the championship. At Miller we looked at the points, and we had it pretty much wrapped up. We wanted to go out there and go out on top and just wanted to win the race. You can't let your guard down when you're trying to win the Championship. We knew that from the year before so this year we just kept it going."

LHM
Every car in the 2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge championship carries a small black "LHM"decal to commemorate the passion, vision, and commitment that Larry H Miller had for Ford and the Ford Mustang. The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge is just one of the countless living legacies of Mr. Miller, and the drivers, team, and fans of the Mustang Challenge are proud to honor his memory and carry on his passion. Thank you, Mr. Miller.

-credit: www.mustangchallenge.com