SPEED Transcript: Gold Medalist Clary Shares Racing Aspirations On Wind Tunnel

Tyler Clary, who won the gold and set a new Olympic record Thursday in the Men’s 200M Backstroke Final, is an aspiring racer...

Dave Despain | Posted August 06, 2012 Charlotte, NC

United States swimmer Tyler Clary poses with the gold medal after winning the men's 200m backstroke swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on Aug. 2. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

MEN’S SWIMMING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST SHARES RACING ASPIRATIONS ON WIND TUNNEL WITH DAVE DESPAIN

Clary: “… Just get me in a car and I’ll be happy … I just really have a passion for auto racing and I really want to drive.”

What does an Olympian do after winning a gold medal and setting a new record in the 2012 London Olympics?

In Tyler Clary’s case, he makes an appearance on Sunday’s Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED.

Clary, who won the gold and set a new Olympic record Thursday in the Men’s 200M Backstroke Final, is an aspiring racer gearing up for his next challenge after he retires from swimming. Clary shared his plans on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain Sunday. A transcript from the interview follows:

Despain: Is it true you want to be a race car driver?

Clary: “100-percent true. I want to take a serious shot at being a professional race car driver after swimming’s over. It’s funny because when you initially tell people that, you get laughs, complete surprise, but I know that this is something I could be really good at and, like I said, I want to take a serious shot at it.”

Despain: Where does that come from and how did motorsports catch your attention?

Clary: “I’ve been around it for a long time and basically when I was a lot younger, my family was constantly going out into the desert where you have all sorts of high-powered sand cars, so that kind of sound and gear-headedness has always been around me. One of the swim teams I used to swim for used to run one of the merchandise booths at Fontana raceway (Auto Club Speedway), so I’ve been to plenty of NASCAR races and just something about it … I always wanted to be in the driver’s seat. Recently – it was last year -- I was part of the off-road racing team with La Paz Party Mixes and they taught me a whole lot of stuff and by the time I had told them it was time for me to take a step back so that I could fully focus on the Olympics, I was working with them as kind of a fabricator, welder, mechanic and pit man, and basically doing everything except for driving. I’m really looking forward to using all that and trying to take a step forward.”

Despain: I gathered from something I read prior to the start of the competition that you had planned to switch sports from competitive swimming to motor racing sooner rather than later. Has that time frame, that plan, changed as a result of this Olympics?

Clary: “It’s kind of a complex answer at this point because there obviously is more motivation to continue going now. Not that there was a lack of motivation before; it’s just that extra kick in the pants because of what happened a couple of days ago. But I still really want to make that endeavor after swimming’s over, and over the next couple of years, I really want to do everything I can to get as much experience in the seat as possible so that once it comes time for me to make a step away from swimming, people really can see that I’m not just talking about it; I’m doing everything I can to give myself a serious shot at being successful as a race car driver. I’ve actually had the good fortune of meeting Michael Culver, who is the CEO of Skip Barber racing school. I met him at the Long Beach Grand Prix this year and he was talking to me about a specific program that they have. We’re trying to get something worked out where I can actually go participate in a couple of their different racing school programs and possibly a few race weekends with them to give me more seat time. And there’s also the possibility of a shootout in January where I could compete against some other regional hotshots.”

Despain: It seems to me that living the Olympics is about living a dream. What would your racing dream be?

Clary: “If I had a way of saying, as far as racing goes, ‘this is what I’ll be doing after swimming is over,’ I’d be in a Formula One car. But I’m the type of guy that’s … Just get me in a car and I’ll be happy. If it’s an Indy car, a rally car, a stock car, off-road racing would be amazing, too. Any of that stuff. I just really have a passion for auto racing and I really want to drive.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dave Despain

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