10 more questions with Shane Butler.

Given our name was on the car, and we flew up to help crew and spot for Butler Motorsports, it only seems apropos to follow up with Shane Butler about his take on the Little 500 outing up in Anderson, Indiana.

Enjoy.

Shane, you have been going to Anderson for as long as you can probably remember. Kindly tell us what your favorite moment has been and why. That would definitely be making the Little 500 in 2005. I attempted the race in 2004 during the summer that I spent in Michigan. But making the race the first time was surely the highlight of my world at the time.

In 2007, the Little 500 paid special attention to the fact that Shane (The Bushnell Bullet), Stan (The Legend) and Keith (I’m No One’s) Butler all ran together. This was a first for the race track to have an entire family of sprint car drivers competing at the same time. How did you feel about racing with your father and brother on this day? It was very neat! Stan was not only my teammate, but my Crew Chief. I should also mention that he finished better than I did at this one! But it was great knowing that we all were on the racetrack together!

Shane, Keith and Stan Butler competing at the Little 500, and making a nice Simpson ad.

How was this year’s planning different from years gone past? Well, we started planning for this race about a year ago. This year we were fielding our own car, so there were several different aspects that needed to be coordinated. I am sure that my wife did more planning for this trip than our wedding! She’s a good egg.

Knowing that Stan has been already inducted into the Little 500 Hall of Fame, who would you induct in the class of 2011? Must I even take a breath to say his name? Dave Steele! Just his list of accomplishments at Anderson Speedway alone really should be able to speak for themselves and get him in.

Speaking of which, were you heartbroken when you learned that His Holiness Dave Steele was not gracing the field with his presence at this year’s Little 500? Now that you mention it, it was nice knowing that he was one less top competitor that I needed to work on! Make no mistake about it, Dave is a great racer!

Overall, how did you feel about the race car that you put together for this race? It felt great! Jerry Stuckey makes a fantastic race car, there is no doubting that. Just thinking about the work that went into the shocks, done by our very own Don Heckman, well, I was amazed.

How bad is the pressure knowing that you have to live up to “The Legend” Stan Butler and his history at Anderson Speedway? All I have to say is that there are very large shoes to fill – look at those lap times he put down to make the show this year! I am taking it one step at a time. Maybe next year we can get in more than 250 laps!

What would it mean to you to be the first father/son inductees at the Little 500 Hall of Fame? To be able to live up to those expectations, and have the ability to be inducted would be one of the greatest honors I could imagine. All I need to do is keep taking those cues from my father and I hope that one day it will happen.

How was it working with our very own FSCF.com staff and having us actively working on the car? We can’t even tell you how much we appreciated all the help that we received from all three of you! Having Todd, Brian and Josh working their magic was a big help. And I must say that Todd did an excellent job spotting for me!

Now that the race is over and that you have had the time to take the car apart, what would you have planned differently or worked on more? It is obvious to say to work on the motor program, but that is hard to put your finger on. Motor issues can rear their ugly head at any time, to any driver, that’s just the way it goes. Next year will have just as much planning now that we have an even better idea of what needs to go into a race like this. Don’t count us out; we are already putting plans into the works for next year’s race!

We here at Butler Motorsports, need to take a moment and thank some very special people: Red Fox Run Racing (John, Mike, and Scott), Eddy Curry, Stephenson International, JB Banta Ent, 4 Star Products, Heckman Motorsports, Bilstein Shocks, Landrum Springs, Katz Well Drilling, Bell, MK Graphics, American Sheet Metal and Roofing, Triple “G”, the boys at FSCF.com (Todd “The Wiz Kid” Michaels, Brian “Penpal” Penrose, Josh “Never On Time” Wichers) Dick and Sandy Hickernell, and Larry Woods!

We would not of had the chance to run without all of their support!