We kick off this series with an interview of two-time FRL Series Champion Andrew Steppat.
FRL: Thanks for sitting down with us for a few minutes Mr. Steppat. I'll get started with the obvious question, where do you hail from?
Andrew: I was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska (Go Huskers!) and
still live here 31 years later.
FRL: What's life like for you outside the virtual cockpit of a
race car?
Andrew: Hectic, hectic, hectic. I'm married (Shannon) with 2 young
kids (Adalyn-4, Marcus-15months) with a 3rd on the way (Austin-due in
December). He was an accident haha! So between family, meetings, studying,
service, errands, and me and my wife both working full time, day to day life is
pretty exhausting. Some days I just want to scream and then 5 minutes later
I'll be busting up laughing at my kids or something.
I enjoy playing sports like basketball, volleyball and golf.
It just doesn't happen too often anymore. I enjoy weight lifting but kind of go
in spurts with that. Why is it so hard to stay motivated haha?
College Football is my favorite sport to watch. I love it
when Fall rolls around, the temperature cools down, and we can hang out with
our friends and watch Nebraska's defense give up 600 yds of offense. Then I
feel like crap! I'll watch some NFL. I don't really have a team that I follow,
so I just watch to watch, which is kind of nice. I like College Basketball as
well. I've been a big North Carolina fan since I was around 8. I pretty much
became a fan of Carolina because I hated the early 90's Duke teams with
Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley and I've been hating ever since! So
naturally I was drawn to Carolina. So if there are any Duke fans in the FRL,
they're getting punted off the track in turn 1 on Mugello!
FRL: What is your automotive background?
Andrew: Personally my automotive history is pretty sad. Growing up
my family had several cars, none of them being very exciting. Ford LTD station
wagon, Olds 88, '77 Bonneville, Dodge Dart Swinger (not a cool one, more like a
Granny one). My dad has owned a '70 Maverick for as long as I can remember. I
can remember riding in it one time. But after that it has just sat not running
for probably the last 25 years. My dad owned a '67 Firebird when he was younger
and sold it for like 300 bucks. To this day he still kicks himself for getting
rid of it. He has a big picture of a '67 in his office now. My older sisters
had an '80 Chevette and a '78 Corolla. My first car was an '88 Beretta. 0-60 in
16 seconds (no joke). But I still thought it was pretty awesome! My next car
was a '98 Grand Prix GTP. Supercharged 3.8L. Definitely had fun with this car.
It had decent performance. Right now my cars are the Grand Prix (not running),
'05 Corolla and '08 Town and Country. So yeah nothing exciting. I will say the
Corolla is amazing. We got it in '06 with 16k miles on it. It now has 95k and
not one single thing has gone wrong with it. Nothing. I guess I should clarify.
It has amazing reliability. Performance? Not so much.
So despite my lackluster automotive history, I have always
loved cars, trucks, machinery, ever since I've been a little kid. I love all
types of vehicles and racing. I love the sound of the low gurgle of a big block
at idle and the piercing shriek of an F1 car at full throttle. They both give
me goosebumps. If I stumbled upon a couple hundred million dollars, I would be
one of those collectors that has several hundred vehicles.
I don't know where to even begin as far as favorite
manufacturer or vehicle. There are so many that I like. I do really like just
about anything from Lamborghini and Pagani. I think Aston Martin make some of
the best looking vehicles. I would say my favorite car right now would be the
Aventador Roadster. But I'm definitely looking for to see more of the P1 from
McLaren. If I had an imaginary garage with a range of vehicles it would be
something like this-
Peterbilt 379
AM General M925 6x6
Lamborghini Aventador Roadster
Pagani Zonda R
McLaren F1
2008 McLaren MP4-23
Mercedes Benz AMG C63
Nissan GTR AMS Alpha-12
Corvette ZR1
Ferrari 458
Ferrari F355 Roadster
Ferrari F50 GT
Kooooeeeennnnnnnenigsegg Agera R
BMW M6
Ariel Atom 500
Aston Martin Vanquish
'69 Chevelle SS
'69 Camaro SS
I better just stop now.
F1 is my favorite form of motorsport. But I like just about
any type of racing. Except NASCAR. I just can't get into it.
FRL: What is your favorite aspect of Forza 4?
Andrew: Just trying to better my times on a track are what I enjoy
most. I like the challenge of always trying to find more time in every corner.
I enjoy experimenting with different lines and gears in turns. I feel very
satisfied when everything seems to come together over the entirety of a lap.
FRL: How do you feel about landing the championship for 2 seasons
in a row?
Andrew: I feel very good about the 2 championships but understand
that I've caught some breaks along the way. We have some good drivers in the
FRL and I know each week is going to be difficult. But I'm still hungry as
ever. Unfortunately I'm a competitive person. I don't get angry competitive,
but when I go into something, I want to win. So I'm dreading when a season
comes when I lose.
FRL: What are your thoughts on how this next season is going to
go?
Andrew: I think it is going to be very close all season long and
probably the most difficult season so far. With a bigger field and a new points
system, I think consistency is going to be crucial this season. I would say any
missed week will almost certainly eliminate anyone from the championship. So I
really hope no one has any connection issues. I hate to see someone lose out on
points for something not in their control. My goal is for top 3 finishes in
every race to keep my points average up high enough. But with a healthy amount
of racers and the inevitable contact with other cars, that is going to be
difficult. I'm looking forward to seeing how this season plays out!
Tune in next week as we interview last seasons runner-up, Paul Maestri
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