Charles Krall (ARCA Racing): Okay we are going to do Ten Questions with ARCA Menards Series driver Ryan Repko, who drives for Venturini Motorsports in the No. 20 car on a part-time basis in 2020. Ryan, the first question is if you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go and why would you go there?
Ryan Repko: These are pretty tricky because they aren’t racing related. We went to Italy last summer, that was ptetty cool. Rome is such a surreal place. They are uncovering ancient artifacts and it just doesn’t feel like your typical city. It was a cool atmosphere to be a part of and to be able to see stuff I saw in school and learned about. To see it in person was pretty neat.
CK: As long as they aren’t throwing you to the lions in the Colisseum I think that would be pretty cool.
RR: Yeah, they should hold a Truck race there.
CK: Heck yeah, I am down. Okay, another non racing-related question. What is your favorite thing to do away from the racetrack?
RR: Definitely work out. I enjoy going to the gym and try to gain wait and work hard to better myself. It ties into racing because it makes me have more endurance for these long, hot races. It just enjoy it. It’s just a good time. It’s just a stress reliever. Pump some iron, listen to some music.
CK: I am on the other side of that. I am trying to lose weight which is why I work out. I have been walking five miles a day now that we’re on the lockdown so I feel pretty good about it.
RR: That’s pretty stout.
CK: I graduated from high school nine years before you were born. Thanks for making me feel old. You are a lot closer to this than I was. What is or was your favorite class in school and what is or was your least favorite?
RR: Believe it or not, I enjoyed taking accounting last semester. It’s just kind of how I think. I don’t know if it makes sense or not. My brain is just wired to think that way and I enjoyed it a lot. As far as my least favorite, it’s hard to tell. I enjoyed biology in high school and I took it as an elective in college and I struggled there.
RACING-REFERENCE: Ryan Repko’s Career Statistics
CK: I was not a fan of French history in college.
RR: Yeah, that sounds rough.
CK: If you could pick anyone, living or dead, racing or non racing, to share a pre-race meal with who would you want it to be and where would you want to go?
RR: I would have to go with Dale Earnhardt, Sr. because he was really good and successful at restrictor-plate racing and one of the races I have left is a plate race and I need all the help I can get. Somewhere before Talladega so we can get this deal figured out before we go racing.
CK: I am actually surprised the two guys in front of you did not pick Dale Earnhardt because there’s a lot of brain-picking to be done there.
You are a young guy so you probably relate to a lot of the young fans who watch you race and a lot of the young drivers that want to follow in your footsteps. What example do you want to set for those who come into racing after you do?
RR: It takes more than just showing up and driving. There is a lot that goes into this that people don’t see. The business side of this is really tough and that’s what most people struggle with. The working out. You have to do what you can to better yourself, whether it’s working out, watching film, picking people’s brains. I am really good friends with Mason Mitchell and he is a really smart guy. I ask him questions every day. He can attest to that. I try to do what I can to better myself as a race car driver constantly. It’s an on-going process. When I was 16 that’s what I was doing. I didn’t work out, I didn’t eat healthy. I would watch races before I went to the track but I didn’t pick them. When I met Mason that’s when the whole attitude about bettering myself as a driver came to be and I starting winning a bunch of late model races after that.
RELATED: Ryan Repoko on Twitter | RyanRepko.com
CK: The next question I have, and this one is tricky because you don’t have a lot of years on you like some of us do, what was the first car you ever owned?
RR: 2016 Ford Mustang.
CK: Was that one you picked out on your own or was it one that was gifted to you?
RR: A little half and half. I thought they were really cool and I liked them, and my dad went and got that specific one. He wanted it to be in the garage when I got home, but unfortunately they had to order it because I wanted the blacked out one. He brought me the sheet of paper that had everything on it and had it at my place at dinner.
CK: That was always your dream car?
RR: Kind of for the price range. Now I have to get into Toyotas.
CK: Now you have to go for the Supra!
RR: That’s probably the next goal right there. Either that or a Tacoma. Toyota builds some great cars and they have given me an amazing opportunity this year.
CK: Make it happen. So what is the biggest contribution you think you give Venturini Motorsports as the driver of that No. 20 car?
RR: That I give my all. I am really competitive and I try to work hard to be the best version of myself that I can be and I try to give my all in all I do. They give it all back. That’s a great organization. I can’t think of anyone that has won more races than them. I don’t know who was good thirty years ago or whatever. It’s just a great organization to be around. They are very competitive. They have the relationship with Toyota and I couldn’t be in a better situation.
CK: Do you have any pre-race rituals that you absolutely have to do before you climb in the racecar and go race?
RR: I can’t think of any. Before my first start at Daytona I had been working with our nutritionist at Toyota, Stephanie, to come up with a hydration schedule for the day. At Daytona you don’t quite move as much in the car, your kind of stable and you’re smooth wheel as much so you aren’t really working as hard inside the car. I drank however many ounces it was before driver intros, then I went up and waved to the crowd then did a full-on sprint to the restroom before I could get in the car. Like as fast as I could. There was no way I could have survived 80 laps like that.
CK: What’s your policy on an emergency in the car? Corey Heim said that’s absolutely a 100 percent negative.
RR: Oh no, I couldn’t do that.
CK: You’re a good man.
RR: That’s rough. I couldn’t do that.
CK: Help those crew guys out, right?
RR: I have heard plenty of stories on that. I don’t want to name names, but I know a guy who was the interior guy for a Truck team. He was going to take the seat out after a race and no one told him so he assumed it was sweat. That’s just a bad deal for everybody.
CK: We were at a race last year and we were getting up to driver intros and I bumped into one of the young kids and he had a panicked look on his face. I said hey man what’s wrong? He said you have to point me to the bathroom. I said good thing we figured this out right now! It’s right over there.
I have one more question for you and then we will ask you the question that Corey Heim had for you and then we will get a question from you for the next so-called victim of our Ten Questions. The last question I have is kind of simple but kind of not. It’s two laps to go, your teammate is right in front of you.
RR: I got asked this forty times at Daytona.
CK: Probably! So what’s the outcome of that final lap. Let’s say we are at a short track somewhere. Let’s say it’s at your home track. How does the final lap play out?
RR: Am I right on their bumper?
CK: You are right there. There’s a sheet of paper between you and he or you and she.
RR: I am going to say Hickory because that’s my home track. What we are going to go is get a wide arc going into turn one, then I am going to make the back straightaway really long and I am going to get a nose under him into three and then from there if I need to wash up to door him coming to the line to get a little momentum that’s possible but I am not going to wreck my teammate, that’s kind of dirty. But contact coming to the line that’s fair game to me. I try to race as clean as I can. But the last lap, that’s not dirty. That’s doing what you have to do to win. As long as you don’t turn somebody. Turning someone is kind of cheap. Or really punting someone up into the marbles. But dooring someone coming to the line, that’s great for everybody. It’s great for the fans, it’s great for promoting the sport, that’s just great for everybody.
CK: I always like the old Jimmy Spencer “all is fair in love, war, and the last lap.” So the question Corey Heim had for you, is he would like to know all about your $500,000 gym membership.
RR: I have no idea what that means.
CK: Well, obviously your gym membership is very prized by you.
RR: I guess he is talking about me going to the Toyota Performance Center. I guess he is talking about what the facility is worth. They really have done a great job with that. Toyota has gone above and beyond. It is a great facility to work out and better ourselves. The value of that place is probably north of that but that’s besides the point. I love that place. I look forward to it every day.
CK: One more question. What would you like to ask Drew Dollar?
RR: I saw a picture of him with a legend car win. I am going to assume that was the first win or one of the early ones. I would like for him to go through with you guys what it was like to win his first race.
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