An Interview with former BriSCA F2 Stockcar Mildenhall Track Champion 377 Daz Shaw
(interview published September 7 2016 in the lead up to the BriSCA F2 Stockcar World Championship weekend on September 10 and 11)

Age: 35
Home Town: Castleford
Occupation: Mobile plant fitter
Family: Wife Charlotte, children Oliver and Jayden with baby daughter due to arrive shortly
Racing career: Started racing National Ministox aged 10 at Long Eaton, started BriSCA F2 Stockcars aged 19

This is your third time in the World Final, are you looking forward to the race?
Of course I am, it’s raced like this that makes us go racing in the first place, just for a chance to be in a race like this and to have a chance of winning it. It was a goal for the season to try and get into the World Final, or at least qualify for the semi-finals if nothing else. As soon as it was announced that the semis and World Final were going to be on shale this year, being a shale driver I wanted to be a part of the races so that was the goal. That said I only stuck to the shale rounds, I guess if I’d felt that wasn’t enough I would have tried some tarmac rounds towards the end but I didn’t need to do that as I got into the semis fairly comfortably and I even missed a shale qualifier as I couldn’t do the shale round as I wasn’t well but thankfully it didn’t prove too big an issue in the end. I wasn’t too worried about where I started the semi-final, as long as I was in the race and it helped that being at King’s Lynn, a track I’m usually pretty good at I was hopeful that just being in the race would be enough for me and thankfully it was!

This is your third World Final, but your first on shale, do you consider this your first shot at challenging seriously for the title?
To be fair it is really. The two years I qualified before was because the semi-finals were on shale at King’s Lynn and then at Mildenhall and to be honest had I not finished so well in each of those semis I probably wouldn’t have done the World Finals but because I’d qualified up the front of the grid I kind of felt obliged to make the effort and race in the World Final even though I pretty much knew the outcome. It was even the case in my first (World Final) at Arena in 2007 when I was actually doing a bit of tarmac racing at the time. I had a tarmac car mainly so I could race at Skegness because the track is pretty local for me but even then I was far from competitive with the top boys and I’ve never been as competitive on tarmac as I have been on shale so it’s great to finally be in a shale World Final and hopefully have a crack at it because the previous times that’s not really been the case.

Have you a target for the race itself?
Well there aren’t particularly good prize for second (laughs). I’m in it to win it but then you have to think like that in any race, if you aren’t out there to try and win you never will. I’m fairly confident I can do it, it would have helped to have been nearer the front but that’s how it is, but I’m confident in the car and Mildenhall is a track I like and go well at so it’s just down to me (laughs), if luck is on my side then why not?

You were one of many to experience engine issues in the semi-finals and while you did qualify for the World Final, the issues at the end dropped you to 10th. Were you pleased to qualify or disappointed to not get the result you were on course for?
I was disappointed, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t but at the same time, all things considered I’m pleased to be in the race because at the end of the day that was the target. If before the race someone had offered me tenth I would have taken it and I certainly would have when the engine started to slow with two or three laps to go because I really didn’t know if I was going to make it to the end, let alone stay in the top 10. But it was a pity as I think I was fifth at the time and still in with a chance of fourth and I think if I’d finished there and been starting on row seven or eight rather than row 14 it could have made a big difference but it is what it is and I’ll make the best with what I have.

Are the engine issues a concern ahead of the World Final?
(laughs) No, but it is causing a bit of a conflict with me and dad! The car is currently without an engine and the rear axle (this interview was conducted on Monday, September 5) and I’m still waiting for the engine to come back from Richard at Redline but he’s great and I know he won’t let me down, even if I have to get it Friday night and fit it then I know it won’t be an issue. But dad still thinks I should stick to running the engine I’ve been using since the semis and to be fair it’s been going well so I can understand why he thinks that but I want to use the one I had in the semis which Redline are fixing for me, the biggest job will be trying to put dad’s mind at ease (laughs)!

Is it a worry going into a race like this with an engine which you’ve just had work done on or does it reassure you?
I think if anything it’s a reassurance. Richard is great and I have every faith in him and his work and he will do everything he always does to make sure the engine is ready to go and that I think give me some added confidence when I put it in the car. Knowing it has come from him, I know it will be as good as it can be and that should be one less thing to worry about rather than one more. Once the race starts though, there is no time to worry about stuff like that, especially at Mildenhall, you just have to get on with it.

As mentioned you will start on row 14, how do you feel about your grid position?
It would have been nice to have been a little closer to the front but I’ve won plenty of races from the back of the grid before and that’s how I’m looking at it that it’s just another race to win from the back and try to forget about all the good drivers up the front (laughs). Being further back does change things for me a bit though. I’m trying not to think about the race too much or make plans but you can’t help yourself. I do know that now I will have to push a bit harder at the start than I might have liked to had I been closer to the front. Had I been on row seven or eight I think you would be able to be a little more cautious at the start and just make sure you survive the start. It’s going to be a long race so there is nothing to be gained by crashing on the first bend but being on row 14 I know I can’t afford to let those at the front get too far away so I think I won’t be able to be quite as cautious as I might have liked to have been.

You are also set to start the race on the outside, is that a disadvantage?
Yeah, I think it is really but again you just have to make the best of it, the idea will be to try and get on the inside as soon as possible, I’m hopeful that might be easier towards the back of the grid because I think there will be a few who might hold back a little hoping for a big crash at the start and that might create an opportunity to find some space and get onto the inside but we will have to see.

Who do you rate at the biggest contenders for the win?
I think all the usual top shale drivers really, guys like Carl Issit, Andrew Palmer, Dave Polley and Rob Mitchell have a really great chance because they are so good and they are starting up the front but the truth is there are a lot more drivers beyond them that have a great chance and that is what is going to make it so exciting to watch and be a part of. Personally I’m hoping those guys trip over each other to help me get up there (laughs) but I think everyone on the grid will have a chance. You can’t rule out the qualifiers from the consolation semi-final because there are so many good drivers in the race as well and the overseas as well, especially the Dutch because they have some excellent shale drivers.

You come into the World Final second in the Mildenhall Track Championship, do the Mildenhall regulars have an advantage over other drivers, even the other shale regulars who don’t race at Mildenhall very often?
I think they will because Mildenhall is so different to any other track. The size is the main difference, being so small but it’s still quick and I think that catches people out who don’t race there often but the track changes a lot, possibly more than any other shale track so it makes a race there very challenging, especially if it’s hot because the track will be wet at the start, then dries and then gets slippery again when it gets slick so I think the drivers who race at Mildenhall a lot will also know how the track changes and that might help them with set ups.

It has just been announced that BriSCA will supply the fuel for all the world finalists in a bid to reduce allegations of cheating, is that something you are in favour?
Yeah I think it’s a good idea, they do it in Holland and it works well over there so why not here and I’d like to see it done at other big races but I don’t think it’s something which be done at every meeting as it would become a pain, but big meetings and races like this is a good idea.

It has also just been announced that next year’s World Final will be at Coventry, are you pleased about that?
I am, I like Coventry and think it will be a good venue for the race, the racing is always fast and exciting there so I think it will be good, it’s just the semis are at Cowdenbeath which isn’t so good for me (laughs). I guess I will just do the qualifying rounds on shale and see if it is good enough to get me in a semi and if it is I’ll go (to Cowdenbeath) because at least then I’ll be able to do the consolation semi-final as I doubt I’d qualify at Cowdenbeath (laughs). I understand why people say about it being good having the semis and World on tarmac and shale but personally I think it’s worse because while when they are both on the same surface like this year you get drivers who don’t race on that surface who then take no interest in the World Final but when you have a set-up like last year it’s only really to the drivers who do well on both (surfaces) who benefit and that’s even fewer. That said, it is a two surface formula and I do see why it makes sense to have the races on opposing surfaces, I’m just not sure how well it works. But it’s good to see more big races on shale. I’ve heard a few say that the World Final shouldn’t be on shale because we have the World of Shale which would be fine if that carried a gold roof rather than just two stripes and there are championships which are always held on tarmac so it’s good to see more being on shale.

Is there anyone else you would like to thank or mention?
Richard at Redline, especially as he has my engine right now (laughs), my dad as without him I wouldn’t be able to do all this, he’s a huge help, Paul at TLF for building me some excellent stockcars and my wife for putting up with it all.