Traver Mullen Interview
Traver ran a partial series in RC Pro in 2006 and then in 2007 took the National Championship. Let's find out about this young racer and what his plans are for 2008.
Traver
1st congratulations on you RC Pro Intermediate Arena Truck Championship. Let's get some background for everyone. How old are you and how long have you been racing?Traver. I am 15 years old and started racing in June of 2005. My first RC car was a Associated RC 10.
RC Pro. I know your family is really involved in your racing, I've seen you Mom, brother and Dad at the events. Did your Dad get you into RC or did you get him into it?
Traver. I got my dad into it, my first car came from a garage sale.
RC Pro. What track do you consider your home track?
Traver. My home track is Real R/C Pleasant Hill, Missouri. http://www.real-rc.com/ Steve Hale and all the guys at Real R/C have been very helpfully.
RC Pro. I know with a lot of family teams Dad does most of the wrenching. Is that the way it works with your team to?
Traver. My dad helps me when he can but I build my own cars. I also do all the maintenance. At nationals the day before the Mains I completely tore my truggy down to the chassis and put it back together checking all the parts. I will ask my dad if I have questions about something. My dad has never raced he has probably less than 5 minutes on any RC car. My dad is always there for me and he is the Number 1 pit guy and I wouldn't be able to do this without him.
RC Pro. To me it seems things are really moving along fast for you. Are you finding it hard to believe things have taken off like this?
Traver. Yes, things worked out very good for me last year. I am very excited about the sponsors I have picked up. I owe a lot of thanks to people for helping me along the way.
In 2006 when I went to Nationals I had only attended one of the RC pro events. When I got there and ended up pitting next to Steve Slayden and Tim Roberts that was cool. I get several of the RC magazines and to be able to meet the people that I had been reading about in the magazines was very exciting. When we were on the way home from Nationals in 2006 I told my parents that some day I was going to win Nationals.
RC Pro. Now that you have won that National Championship and are moving up to the Expert class what are your expectations for 2008?
Traver. My expectations for 2008 are to qualify for the A-main at Nationals and attend as many races as I can. I plan on attending all of the RC Pro Series races, the Kansas Pro Series Races, Truck Nats, Futaba Race and local club racing.
RC Pro. Also what sponsors have you picked up since last year?
Mugen Seiki http://mugenracing.com/
247 Design Works http://www.247designworks.net/
OS Engines http://osengines.com/
Futaba http://www.futaba-rc.com/
Team Helotes http://teamhelotes.com/
RC Pro. That's quite a schedule how hard is it to work that in with school?
Traver. Most of the races are in the summer. I work for my dad during the summer so my hours can be flexible. The races that are during school I have to get my homework done in advance and keep my grades up.
RC Pro. Is there time for anything else?
Traver. Not really I spend most of my time working on my cars, practicing, and racing.
RC Pro. Sounds like RC is a good incentive to keep the grades up!
Traver. One thing I would also like to mention is my brother. I have a brother (Tyler) that is 2 years older than me and he has autism. There are a lot of things we cannot do as a family with his disability. Tyler is not able to race but he has a lot of fun going to the races and being around all the people. My family and I are always looking forward to the weekend to hit the track. My Mom, Dad and Brother look forward to the races as much as I do. We spend almost every weekend at a racetrack somewhere.
RC Pro. Yes, I've met your whole family and Tyler really seems to enjoy the races. It's great he can go to the events and root for you. It seems like a great way to keep the family connected.
RC Pro. Was it a shock to the system when you started getting the sponsors?
Traver. Getting sponsors has been very exciting!! I never thought this would happen to me.
RC Pro. Do you have any tips for other racers out there that are looking for sponsorship?
Traver. Tips for other racers are to work hard and not to give up.
RC Pro. I want to add something to that tip.
A lot of racers feel sponsorship is the ultimate thing to shoot for. Meeting a lot of racers like I do each year I see the most important thing as enjoying what your doing. If you do that you will do your best and the sponsors and wins will come.
Traver. Yes that is true if you are having fun at the track then you will do good.
RC Pro. You have raced on a number of tracks in your relatively short time in the sport which means learning how to adapt to new tracks.
Can you give some tips on how best to learn a track you have never been to?
Traver. What has helped me the most is Steve Hale at Real R/C changes his track every few weeks. That has helped me get use to racing at different tracks. Also get to the track as early as you can to practice and watch some of the faster guys and see what lines they take.
RC Pro. What's your routine when you get on track for the 1st time?
Traver. If practice has not already started I will walk the track and get a idea of what lines I will take. I will take the first couple of laps slow until I get a feel for the track.
RC Pro. Do you try to use one of the Pro's setups that are always online or do you just use the basic out of the box setup to start?
Traver. I start with the out of the box setup and change it from there. I am really just now getting to the point of knowing how to adjust setup's for different tracks.
RC Pro. Let's go back to 2005. What can you remember from your 1st race?
Traver. My first race was in Topeka, Kansas at D&M Speedway with a Rd logics Sho 1/8 scale buggy. I remember I had troubles with my wheels coming off. I also remember Joe, Larry, and Bill were always there to help me fix my buggy when it broke.
RC Pro. Did you ever think it would get to this point?
Traver. Since my first RC Pro Divisional race at Real R/C in 2006 I wanted to win a divisional race but I never thought I would win Nationals.
RC Pro. Is there a race last year during the series that seemed more important to the Championship run than any other? Can you explain why?
Traver. The most important RC Pro Series Qualifier was Round 3 at Omaha, Nebraska. The reason it was the most important was because I wanted to qualify in the top three in my division and I new I had to get TQ and 1st in Omaha in order to be in the top three. As it turned out I ended up tying with Stringbean and the tie breaker put me in 2nd.
RC Pro. Yes going into the Finals there was a 4 way tie between you and Stringbean from the North, Rod Mourney from the Midwest and Cory Gladish from the East so the Finals really came down to who could score the most points.
Did you feel any pressure or were you just concentrating on doing your best?
Traver. No I did not feel any pressure. I just wanted to concentrate on doing my best. The qualifiers started out pretty rough for me I was having electronic problems. John Stokes from Futaba helped me out with my electronics. We got that straightened out right before the last qualifier so I was able to get at least one good qualifier in. That put me 7th in the A-Main, so I new I had a lot of time to make up. I was just hoping for a good start and to finish the race.
I owe a huge thanks to John Stokes. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't of made it to the A-Main.
RC Pro. I'm glad to see the manufacturers representing at the Finals. That kind of situation is exactly why I try to get the manufacturers there.
RC Pro. Traver thanks for taking the time to do this interview and I'll see you at the North round 1 event at Real RC. Feel free to send out thanks to everyone that has helped you and list your sponsors for us.
Traver. I would like to thank my Mom and Dad first. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be able to do this. They are always there for me, helping me along the way and making sure I get to a track almost every weekend. I would also like to thank my brother for going to all my events and rooting for me. I have a great passion for this sport and so does my entire family.
I also owe thanks to all the guys at D&M Speedway, Real-RC Raceway and Timberline for helping me along the way. I have made a lot of very good friends at all the tracks and would like to thank all of them for there help.
Steve Hale and all the guys from Real-RC Raceway have been a big help to me and I owe them a HUGE thanks.
Thanks to Gary (pitdaddyracing@yahoo.com) for the great anodizing job on my truggy for Nationals.
I also owe thanks to my sponsors. They have helped me out a lot.
Mugen Seiki
Futaba
OS Engines
247 DesignWorks
Team Helotes
I would also like to thank all the track owners for their efforts in providing tracks for us drivers to run on. I know it takes a lot of time and effort to keep a track running and I appreciate it.
Lastly thanks to you Carlton and RC Pro for giving me this opportunity.
Traver thanks again and good luck in 2008!
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