On CMT: Characters  

Sarah McCune
Sarah McCune refuses to drive a pink car. She doesn’t need to -- she stands out anyway. This Ohio native has already broken track records held by NASCAR superstars Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. A natural behind the wheel, she has amassed more than 50 wins and earned several titles, including that of National Champion in Quarter Midgets. After retiring from Quarter Midgets, McCune made a name for herself in the United States Auto Club (USAC) consistently finishing in the Top 10. Despite making great strides towards a career in IRL/CART, she has decided to turn her sights on stock cars, and her focus is unyielding. In addition to her successes on the track, McCune graduated with honors from Indiana University in 1999 with a degree in marketing and public relations. Her ambition is to enter the ranks of NASCAR’s elite and is adamant about not wanting to be the best female driver, but the best driver -- period.

"You just can't control your destiny. You don't know when your time is up." -- Sarah McCune

Sarah McCune Fun Facts:

To stay in shape: Pilates, yoga
Favorite music, group: U2, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies
Favorite TV channels: MTV
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite movies: Breakfast at Tiffany's, It's a Wonderful Life, For Love of the Game
Favorite vacation spot: Aruba
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Chicago, Indianapolis, Phoenix
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Bandera
What I admire most in others: Determination, perseverance, honesty
First job: YAAW (Young Artist at Work) for the City of Toledo
First street car: Toyota Four Runner
What made you fall in love with racing: The challenge and competition
How did you get into racing: My grandfather was a very successful racecar driver in the 1960s. So, racing has always been a part of my family. My father took me to see a race when I was a child, and I have been racing ever since.
Siblings: Sister
Favorite charity: SAVE-A-PET
Favorite song: "True Companion"
Racecar driver you'd love to meet: If I could meet with any driver, I would give anything to spend a few more minutes with my friend Kenny Irwin.
Pets: Scottish terrier, Madison
Childhood dream: Win the Indy 500
Favorite superhero: Wonderwoman ... of course!
Favorite non-racing sport: I like to watch college basketball, but I love to ski.
Speeding tickets in the last year: One
Last concert attended: Dave Matthews Band
Favorite quote: "The challenge is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else."

Zach Niessner
Zach Niessner doesn’t care if you like him as long as you know who he is. Juice Batteries is betting that by the end of the year you will. If they have their way, he will become a household name just like the company’s other young, hotshot spokesperson LeBron James. Racing competitively since the age of 10, Niessner moved to Indianapolis in 2003 to drive eight races in the ASA series. Today he is determined to prove his talent. Admittedly from a privileged upbringing on his father’s large potato farm in Washington, Niessner feels the pressure to prove that he has worked hard to earn every opportunity he has gotten. With Juice Batteries’ sponsorship, he will be able to focus unconditionally on his goal of winning ASA’s rookie of the year award in 2004.

"Every time I get in the race car, it's almost like an audition because somebody out there is watching." -- Zach Niessner

I just need the right opportunity, and we'll set the world on fire." -- Zach Niessner

Zach Niessner Fun Facts

Favorite music, group: Korn and Dave Mathews Band
Favorite TV channels: SPEED and The Food Network
Favorite TV show: The Sopranos
Favorite food: Anything off the barbecue
Favorite movies: Silence of the Lambs, Hanibal , Red Dragon, basically I like Anthony Hopkins.
Favorite vacation spot: Vegas
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Whichever one is closest to home
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Roosewood Grille, Las Vegas
What I admire most in others: Everybody has some kind of skill or talent. I like watching for those and possibly learning from others actions.
First job: Changing water on the farm
First street car: 1953 Willys Jeep
What made you fall in love with racing: The challenge of proving to people that I can do it
Nickname: Maniac Zach
How did you get into racing: My grandfather Don Kerslake
Siblings: Sister, Jennell, age 25
Favorite car: Cadillac Escalade
Favorite things to do when not working: Riding my Harley or cooking
Favorite charity: Anything to help children or Zach’s racing fund
Favorite song: “Blind” by Korn
Racecar driver you’d love to meet: The legendary Deon Deneau from Canada
What I would like to do after I retire: Give my children and grandchildren the same opportunities I got when I was young
Pets: Coming soon
Childhood dream: To some day give back to the people that helped me so much
Favorite superhero: Scuba Steve
Favorite non-racing sport: Weight lifting (particularly 12 ounce curls)
Speeding tickets in the last year: Zero
Last concert attended: Ozzfest
Favorite quote: "Quit being a lazy ass!" my dad

Mike Ritch
One roll at the craps table put Michael Ritch back on the map. Originally from High Point, N.C., his racing career has been wrought with equal parts success, failure and sacrifice. Following outstanding back-to-back seasons in Hooter’s Cup, Ritch seemed destined for the top. His undeniable talent earned him a shot at his dream when in 2000 he was funded for a full season in NASCAR’s Busch Grand National series. Unfortunately, at the end of the season, he found himself out of money and out of racing without getting the opportunity to fully prove his skills. Instead of looking for luck, luck found him. One roll at a Vegas craps table earned Ritch $28,000 and a fresh start. Now he and his wife Heather and newborn son Jake continue to sacrifice their time and money for what may be his last chance at his dream.

"I tell you straight up, I feel like I'm the best driver out there, and nobody will ever take that away from me." -- Michael Ritch

Michael Ritch Fun Facts:

Favorite music, group: Metal, Ozzy Osbourne and "Old school" Metallica
Favorite TV channels: Discovery Science; Discovery Wings; Discovery, SPEED and The History Channel
Favorite TV show: Home Improvement
Favorite food: Country cooking
Favorite movies: Shawshank Redemption, Alien Trilogy
Favorite vacation spot: Paradise Island, Bahamas
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Lakeland, Myrtle Beach, Bristol
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Don't have one
What I admire most in others: Honesty
First job: N/A
First street car: 1976 CJ5 Jeep Renegade
What made you fall in love with racing: The idea that you could achieve champion status
Nickname: Smooth
How did you get into racing: Father bought me a go-kart for Christmas.
Siblings: Amanda
Favorite car: BMW 760
Favorite things to do when not working: Gamble and play golf
Favorite charity: Goodwill
Favorite song: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica
Racecar driver you’d love to meet: Michael Schumacher
What I would like to do after I retire: Gamble and play golf
Pets: Three Jack Russell terriers – Toby, Jenna and MoeMoe
Childhood dream: To be a Winston Cup/Nextel Champion
Favorite superhero: Spiderman
Favorite non-racing sport: Football
Speeding tickets in the last year: None
Last concert attended: Metallica
Favorite Quote: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961

Davin Scites
Davin Scites’ dream may be like a thousand others, but he has one undeniable advantage: a public relations manager who just happens to be his girlfriend. No one who has met Susan Mims questions that this fireball is the perfect complement to Davin’s down-home attitude. Davin’s love of racing drives everything, pure and simple. When he is not running errands for the family-owned sawmill, this West Virginian is working on his ASA stock car in his family’s garage. Every dime he makes goes into making his racecar competitive. In 2003, his efforts paid off when he was the only ASA rookie to win an event. With Mims at his side, selling him to potential sponsors and marketing him to fans, this veteran of Legends cars and Late Model racing is confident that all it will take is the right break, the right sponsor and the right car. Until that happens he will keep forging ahead. For Scites, there is no plan B.

"Everyone is going after this big goal, and everyone thinks they're the best driver out there." -- Davin Scites

Davin Scites Fun Facts

Favorite music, group: Country, Terri Clark, Johnny Cash
Favorite TV channels: SPEED, CMT
Favorite TV show: CSI
Favorite food: Steak, potato
Favorite movie: Armageddon
Favorite vacation spot: Florida
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Concord, Tenn.
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Burger King
What I admire most in others: Knowledge
First job: My family’s sawmill
First street car: S-10 truck
What made you fall in love with racing: My dad raced.
Nickname: Skites
How did you get into racing: My dad
Siblings: Rhonda
Favorite car: Corvette
Favorite things to do when not working: Ski, boating, ride 4-wheelers
Favorite charity: Icthus
What I would like to do after I retire: Be a car owner for a team
Pets: Simba
Childhood dream: To be the best racecar driver in the world
Favorite superhero: Superman
Favorite non-racing sport: Marshall football
Speeding tickets in the last year: Yes
Favorite quote: “You know what I mean.”

David Stover
Don’t let David Stover’s easy grin and irreverent humor mislead you. Behind that disarming demeanor is a fierce competitor driven by the rush of life at 180 miles an hour.
The racing bug hit Stover at the early age of 8 when he first competed in a go-kart race in his hometown of Tulsa, Okla. He went on to win nine national go-kart championships. With his sights set on NASCAR Winston Cup, he has risen through the ranks of go-karting and open-wheel racing to Craftsman Trucks. Stover is currently wooing fans in the Hooter’s Pro Cup stock car series. The son of a carpet salesman, he knows that if he doesn’t make his mark in racing by the time he’s 30, he will be forced to take his business degree and sell carpet with his dad. Anyone who knows Stover knows that that will never happen.

If racing doesn't work out, I might as well be dead, because I can't see myself doing anything else." -- David Stover

David Stover Fun Facts

Favorite music, group: Robert Earl Keen and Jason Boland
Favorite TV channels: Discovery and SPEED
Favorite TV show: CSI
Favorite food: Lobster
Favorite movies: Gladiator and Bad Boys
Favorite vacation spot: Kerrville, Texas
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Probably Myrtle Beach; plenty to do there and Concord, N.C.
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Hooters
What I admire most in others: Integrity and a good sense of humor
First job: Drove a forklift at warehouse
First street car: 1987 Lincoln Mark VII
What made you fall in love with racing: Go-karts
Nickname: Stover
How did you get into racing: When I was 7, we took a yard cart we had bought at some lawnmower shop and took it to the racetrack. We found out quickly that this was not going to cut it, so we purchased a race kart. I have been racing something ever since.
Siblings: I have three younger brothers -- 22, 18 and 14. We are all very different.
Favorite car: Ford Lightning
Favorite things to do when not working: Sleep
Favorite song: "Cowboys Like Us" by George Strait
Racecar driver you'd love to meet: Probably one of the World Rally Championship drivers to see what it’s like to drive one of those cars and to see if they really are crazy
What I would like to do after I retire: Move to a ranch in Texas in the hill country
Pets: I have two beagles named Rascal and Rowdy.
Childhood dream: Be a racecar driver
Favorite superhero: Definitely Superman
Favorite non-racing sport to do: Fishing and hunting. To watch: College football
Speeding tickets in the last year: Four so far
Last concert attended: I saw Jerry Jeff Walker at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas.
Favorite quote: "To each his own"

Michelle Theriault
You would never look at Michelle Theriault and guess she is a racecar driver. But at 17, this bubbly, high school senior is poised to make her mark on the world of stock car racing. With 12 years of competitive racing already under her belt, Theriault’s family relocated from Bristol, Conn., to Atlanta to focus on her goal of being the first female NASCAR champion. The only female to win a championship in Legends racing history, she can also boast being the youngest female to have feature wins at both the Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. She has competed at 24 racetracks all over the United States in both Quarter Midgets and Legend Cars. Now racing in the Pro-Late Model, Super Late Model stock car division at Lanier Speedway, this popular honor student is planning on attending the University of Georgia next fall. Watch out guys -- Michelle Theriault is about to change the face of racing.

"It's so hard to describe the feeling you get when you are in the race car. That's the greatest feeling in the world. And until that goes away, I'm racing." -- Michelle Theriault

Michelle Theriault Fun Facts

Favorite music, group: Blink 182
Favorite TV channels: MTV, SPEED
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite food: Grilled chicken caesar
Favorite movies: Days of Thunder and Happy Gilmore
Favorite vacation spot: Hawaii
Favorite cities on the race schedule: Nashville
Favorite restaurant on the race schedule: Ruby Tuesdays
What I admire most in others: Respect and honesty
First job: Internship at the Gem Group/CSS- Stellar
First street car: 93' Pontiac Grand Prix
What made you fall in love with racing: The adrenaline rush, always wanting to do better and go faster, can never get enough of it.
How did you get into racing: Would go watch some friends of the family race quarter midgets up in Connecticut. One day a car was for sale and I hopped in it and said, “Dad, I want this!”
Siblings: Tina
Favorite car: Corvette
Favorite things to do when not working: Working out, shopping, going to the movies
Favorite charity: American Cancer Society
Favorite song: "That’s Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews
Racecar driver you'd love to meet: I've met most of them, but I think Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. are pretty cool guys.
What I would like to do after I retire: Move to some island and relax. As long as I am with the people I love, I will be happy. New York City is pretty cool, too!
Pets: Miniature dachshund, Oakley
Childhood dream: To become a racecar driver, like Dale Earnhardt
Favorite superhero: Don't have one
Favorite non-racing sport: I love playing soccer but love watching hockey and football.
Speeding tickets in the last year: Never have had one; don’t plan on getting one.
Last concert attended: 98 degrees or Backstreet Boys
Favorite quote: "You never know!"