Kevin Switzer won early and often on Saturday afternoon en route to securing his 3,000th career driving victory in front of the hometown fans at
Scarborough Downs.
Switzer wasted precious little time in engineering the milestone win, claiming victory in the second behind veteran pacer Magic Dancer before adding to his tally with wins behind Bubba McGee and NF Sinfull, the latter of which took a brand new lifetime mark of 1:54.4 in the $7,000 Free-For-All.
“I raced all week long at Bangor and I knew I was closing in on the 3,000th win,” said Switzer, “and when I realized I wasn’t going to get it at Bangor, I was actually kind of happy because I wanted it to be on the track where I’ve had most of my wins, and that’s here at Scarborough.”
The 55-year-old Switzer, who has been driving for decades, claimed the very first driver’s title of his career in 2011 at the Downs. His three-win performance on Saturday vaulted him back atop the leaderboard for the very first time in 2012.
“I was thinking this morning on my way down here,” continued Switzer, “I’d probably hit it today, and I couldn’t help but think of all the people that I drove for that helped me along the way that aren’t here anymore – like Dana Childs Sr., Roosevelt Susi, my father. I drove horses for those gentleman and they were the ones who helped me get to where I am.”
Switzer, a mentor to many, was able to impart some words of wisdom to the next generation of drivers, even on this day of grand achievement for himself.
“You have to do what your heart tells you. Before I drove my first horse, I was a construction worker, and I did quite well. The money was very good. But my heart wasn’t in it. My heart was in the horses. And I actually walked away from a $38,000 a year job to go work for $200 a week because my heart wanted to be there, and I wound up here today. So apparently, I made the right choice for myself. So, to the younger drivers, if that’s what you really want to do, and you’re willing to sacrifice everything – all your spare time, your family life and everything – you should do it.”
Nicknamed “The King” at Scarborough for his dominant performance during the 2011 season, Switzer is also known as the “Money Driver” for his ability to always put his best effort forward on the big stage. Today was no exception.
(Scarborough Downs)