By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
(Editor's note: This article was an April Fools Day spoof.)
Confirming what multiple anonymous sources had revealed recently, Kevin VanDam admitted to BassFan this past week that the primary reason he'll retire from tournament fishing after the 2023 season is to take a crack at racing stock cars before he gets too old for it.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time – ever since I started hanging around the Bass Pro Shops team at some of the big NASCAR races," said the 55-year-old VanDam, who's far and away bass fishing's leading all-time money-winner with more than $7 million in tournament earnings. "I don't know how good I'm going to be at it, but the only way to find out is to try."
VanDam is finalizing terms for the purchase of a car that he'll drive in the Super Stock division in several races around his home state of Michigan this summer. He'll run a limited racing schedule this year as he concludes his stellar angling career, then will fully immerse himself in the sport in 2024.
The car, a Gen 6 Toyota Camry built in the the late 2000s, will get a red and black paint job and and will carry No. 29 on its doors in reference to his record total of tournament victories with B.A.S.S., FLW and Major League Fishing combined.
"I'd really like to win at least one of these last few (Bass Pro Tour) tournaments to get the car's number up into the 30s," he said. "I feel like 31 would be a really cool number because I've been a big fan of Baskin-Robbins ice cream ever since I was a little kid.
"I definitely like my chances at Guntersville and the three northern events, and winning two of them certainly isn't out of the question. It wouldn't be a major deal to change the number – I'm going to go with big decals instead of getting the digits painted on. I could do both sides myself in an hour, easy."
The venture will be a family affair as his pit crew will consist of his twin 25-year-old sons, Jackson and Nick. Lacking any real mechanical experience, they initially weren't on board with the idea when their father hatched it last fall, but came around quickly when shown photos depicting the type of sharp-looking fire suits they'd get to wear. They've since spent considerable time taking apart and attempting to reassemble lawn mowers, weed-eaters, chainsaws and other small machinery to prepare for the job.
"They've still got a lot to learn, just like I do," said VanDam, noting that both sons have successfully performed oil changes on their own vehicles that that Nick recently used a floor jack to swap out a flat tire without assistance in less than 30 minutes – a feat that's earned him the crew chief designation for the debut race in June. "They've always been fast learners and they'll be ready to wrench by the time the first green flag drops."
NASCAR Cup Series star Martin Truex Jr. (holding crankbait) says VanDam could become a good driver, but success will have to come quickly due to his advanced age.
Johnny Morris, founder of longtime VanDam sponsor Bass Pro Shops, is backing the four-time Bassmaster Classic champion in this endeavor as well – for the time being, anyway.
"I figure I owe him that much for all the rods, reels and baits he's sold for me," Morris said through a company spokesperson. "I believe in him, but just like tournament fishing, racing is a results-based sport and it's really expensive.
"If he's out there getting lapped every Friday night by guys who race just as a hobby and pay their bills by running a jackhammer on a road crew or cutting up meat at Costco, we're just going to have to say 'Hey, sorry Kevin, we gave it a shot and it didn't work out.' He's a competitor and he understands that's the way it has to be."
Eyewear manufacturer Costa is another company in VanDam's fishing-sponsorship portfolio with crossover potential, and it's thrown in some performance incentive for him: It's promised to add the wave-shaped "C" logo to the car if VanDam ever advances to higher-level daytime races and can rock Costa sunglasses at the track. The fact that such races usually feature TV coverage on at least a regional basis plays into the Costa initiative.
Martin Truex Jr., who drives a BPS-sponsored car on the NASCAR Cup Series, said VanDam has exhibited a lot of knowledge of the sport and great enthusiasm for it on the occasions when the angler has visited pit row.
"I think he has a chance to do pretty well in the local stuff," Truex said through the BPS spokesperson. "He's kind of tall (6-foot-2) for a driver and the ride might be a little bit cramped for him, but he won't feel any of that once the adrenalin kicks in."
Truex was blunt, however, in assessing VanDam's chances of ascending to the Cup Series.
"If he's going to make it to the top level, he's gotta do it pretty quick. We can't have a 60-something guy out here with no reflexes or reaction time who's banging around like Mister Magoo and sending the rest of us into the walls."
After reigning at the pinnacle of his sport for more than three decades, VanDam will be the equivalent of a rookie BFL competitor in his new pursuit. He said he won't be crushed if he fails to make it to the top level and never starts a Cup Series race.
"It's just something I've got to get out of my system – an itch that I need to scratch, so to speak," he said. "I don't want to look back 10 years from now and say I really wish I would've done it, so I'm just gonna go for it and we'll see what happens."
He said he has no fear of the danger inherent in operating vehicles at extremely high speeds in tight quarters.
"When I first started fishing professionally, the morning blast-offs were as wild as any auto race on the planet," he said. "I learned to never give an inch and never ask for one. After you'd been through a few of those, you knew you had to put any fear you had on the back burner and just focus on the job in front of you.
"It'll be the same way on the track."
Notable
> For BassFans too young to grasp Truex's reference to Mister Magoo, or for those who need a refresher on the iconic animated character's driving style, click on the YouTube video embedded below:
