"The Pits"
Why Rotter Wins
In the history of H.O. Champ Car, the league champion has absolutely dominated the competition. Dave Austin, Jim Kaehny, and Phil Cianciola all took their turns dominating the league.
In the new era of HOCC, defined as when club cars were introduced, that trend has continued with Larry Rotter assuming the mantle of butt-kicker. Fellow drivers marvel at his speed. They wonder what makes him so dominant in the HOCC.
"I know what Larry is going through because I have been there," says fellow 2-time HOCC champion
"Winning is fun. Once you win you want more and more of it!"
He should know. As the last champion of the original HOCC era before club cars, Kamikawa was wining poles, heats, finals, and championships much like Rotter is doing now. The other champions generated respect among the competition, however the competition was not running away from them screaming in fear like beat down dogs like they have against first Kamikawa and now, Rotter.
The comparison to Kamikawa is a good one.
Kamikawa won his first HOCC race in his 32nd start. He originally retired from the league roughly 80 starts later.
In those 80 starts he took 21 wins, 22 pole positions, 40 heat wins, and made 66 finals.
Since the switch to club cars, Kamikawa has 24 starts, 2 wins, 1 pole, 3 heat wins, and made 7 finals.
In the original HOCC configuration, Larry Rotter had roughly 50 starts with no wins, 2 poles, and roughly 4 heat wins.
Since the switch to club cars, Rotter has 22 wins, 17 poles, 39 heat wins, and 57 finals.
The ISF story is also one of opposites.
Kamikawa has started 115 ISF events (a combination of the 3 divisions of GTP, GT, and F1).
He has 30 wins in all divisions (9 GTP, 17 GT, 4 F1), 65 heat wins, 27 pole positions, 52 podiums, and 7 championships.
Larry Rotter has started 111 ISF events.
He has 11 wins (2 GTP, 7 GT, 2 F1), 48 heat wins, 12 pole positions, 62 podiums, and 1 championship. While the stats are close, the difference is Rotter hasn't won any championships since the inaugural 2000 GT title.
He also hasn't won in any division for three seasons. So despite his drought in the ISF, why does Larry Rotter so easily fell HOCC competitors?
The first reason is attitude. Sometimes this has been called "Rottertude." When racing, competitors have noted that nothing fazes Rotter. He doesn't smile or frown, and he rarely talks or shows frustration. A recent taunt by Dan Margetta that "bluegrass music sucks!" seemed to throw Rotter off for a heat race, however even that taunt bounces off his Teflon skin.
"The biggest thing a driver has to learn is how to win," Kamikawa explained. "Larry was always fast. He could dust off the lower half of the grid in the old days pretty easily, however he would rarely get to the final because he had a number of guys ahead of him. Once he got his first win, he knew he could beat anyone on the grid. That fueled his confidence and that built his attitude that he knows he can beat anyone on the grid at any certain time. He got over the intimidation factor. You hear about a certain drivers wins, championships, and see their speed and you think that you could never beat them. That is the intimidation factor.
Racing Cianciola, Kaehny, or Austin wasn't intimidating anymore once I knew I could beat them. If there was someone else that intimidated me; I would work on beating them next. Then the next driver who I was nervous to go up against, and the next driver after that, until I was on top. I'm pretty sure I've helped other drivers get over their intimidation of me by the losing I've done this year!"
Is there more to it mentally than just getting over being intimidated?
Kamikawa says there is.
"Anyone who says that they don't care about winning I'm a little suspicious of. Having fun in the car is great, however you can't convince me that these drivers who say they don't care about winning don't long somewhere in their hearts to have their name on a trophy. To know that just once you managed to beat a field of other drivers. If people don't believe that what I’m saying is true, than I challenge them to give themselves a little test. Let’s say God comes to you and gives you a choice of having fun and the races, or having fun at the races and winning a few of them. I bet people would take the second option every time! Winning is contagious. Whether it is a team sport, an individual sport, science fairs, debates, or a board game, everyone wants to be a winner at something. Once you win you want more of it. Not to rub any one's face in it, but to have that "high" inside ones self is a great feeling."
The second reason that Larry Rotter wins is luck. There is the luck of getting a good chassis draw or picking the right lane in the right heat with the right competition, however there is also the luck that you make yourself. That mostly comes with practice and experience.
"Larry runs in the ISF and that gives him a lot more seat time than some of his competitors," Kamikawa said.
"That may not seem like such a big edge given the differences in the two leagues; however it helps a driver learn to recognize situations like when a car is loose and when to try and pass it. It also helps learn car control and patience. If you notice, Larry is rarely caught up in a multiple car crash. That comes with learning to give everyone the room they need and having a strategy of when to pass or follow another car."
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The third reason, and probably the most important, is that Rotter's strategy is very sound. Set a blazingly fast time in qualifying, and scare the top runners from racing in the same heat. This forces other top drivers to take each other out in the rest of the heat races, leaving Rotter to run in a heat of slower cars. Rotter advances to the final. Since the other top drivers knock each other out in the other heat races, the level of competition in the final race is also not always at its highest.
"If Larry knows that going into a race he will have no problem beating the fourth and/or third car in the race, then all he has to worry about is beating his main competition. That takes a lot of pressure off," stated Kamikawa. "In my championship years people didn’t want to race me in the heats either. Even if I did get stuck with another top driver I knew I could beat them and it wouldn't faze me."
So how do you beat Larry Rotter?
Once again we give the last word to Kamikawa:
"You have to have the confidence and attitude that you know you are going to beat him. Then not be afraid to race against him in the heat races. He may beat you 9 out of 10 times, but you will gain a lot of experience racing one of the top drivers. Then that one time you beat him will lead to more confidence and that leads to more wins. We are complete opposites in terms of our performances in the last several HOCC seasons," Kamikawa said. "It is very interesting to compare our careers. He's got the bit between the teeth for the last several years, while I'm just trying to be more than a moving chicane! It is time I take my own advice."
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
This article was originally published in 2007
