DSC_4179Today I opened up some of the questioning to some of our readers and other ML@S writers.  Thanks for everyone participating at the MyLife@Speed Facebook page!  Please support Nate and Brandye in 2012, by joining their Facebook page!  – Mitch Snow

Andy DeVol: What is the best part of your X Games experience?
Nate Conley: The whole thing.  From the road trip down here to the road trip back.  Every part was amazing, but it finally hit home at the start of today’s first heat when we were sitting on the line with all the ESPN cameras around you and, a national anthem and a fly over.  Then start against the best drivers in the world.  I will remember those few minutes for the test of my life.

Chris Nazarenus: So Nate, what is it like to be on the line, with the best of the best, what goes through your head at the start??
Nate Conley: It’s hard not to get to pumped up.  All I could think about was how bad I wanted this.  I had a few minutes before the start of the first heat today and all I thought of was how much I wanted this for Brandye since she should have been able to compete with me in the 2008 X Games since there were still co-drivers that year.  Since she never got to experience being in the car here and I felt like I had to do it for here, but things didn’t work out this year.

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Colin Brandt: Do you think that ESPN/X games should bring back the real rally stages from X Games 12, where rally based machines would race, and keep the rallycross event for rallycross cars only?  Therefore allowing teams with smaller budgets to have just as much TV time as the factory rallycross cars.  I know a lot of America doesn’t know the difference between stage rally, and rallycross.  Would this help the mass public learn more, and be better for TV?
Nate Conley: I really like this format of racing.  Rallycross is an extreme format of motorsports.  It fits perfect with the X Games life style.  Rallycross is hard to be competitive in but it’s easier then stage rally.  Stage rally is hard to film so I’m not sure if it should come back or not to X Games.  Our future is in the rallycross format so I really hope it takes off and sponsors come in to allow people like me to compete at a higher level.

Gabriel Davila-Ruiz: My question is, did you enjoy the event?!  How about the course?
Nate Conley: I had so much fun this weekend.  We had the time of our lives.  The track was so much fun.  Hard to pass on but it sure was a great venue for a race.  The only thing I would change about the race would be to make the jump bigger.

Stoneyard Boilermaker: If track configuration were up to you what would that look like?
Nate Conley: I would add more technical areas and limit the amount of long straights.  It would make it more of a driver’s race and less of a HP race.  I might also get rid of the joker so everyone is on the same lap and you have to jump every lap.

Ken Stouffer: How has becoming a father changed your driving?
Nate Conley: It hasn’t really changed my driving.  If anything it has made me drive harder.  I want to show him that you need to do everything in life to it’s fullest and never have any regrets.  I might not be the best driver out there but I drive with my heart.

Photo by Emotive Image - www.emotiveimage.com

Greg Tracy: Describe the balance between risk and reward, you know pushing too far and not far enough.
Nate Conley: If you never take the risk then you will never see the reward. That’s the addiction, pushing yourself to the limits and never giving up. If you don’t push yourself then you never continue to grow. I would rather die tomorrow knowing I gave it everything I had, than to have regrets for the rest of my life.  You never know where that fine line of control is and I’m always going to try and find it.

Greg Tracy: How much had Ryder influenced your racing?
Nate Conley: Having the family around at the races makes you want to give it 110%.  I haven’t changed my driving because of being a dad.  The one thing that effects me the most is when I do bad, it feels like I let my family down.  Brandye and Ryder are so supportive I know they don’t care about the final result but I just want to do them proud every time.

Ken Stouffer: How did you get hooked up with the folks over at Revolutions Performance? How has that relationship improved your team?
Nate Conley: I originally hooked up with Revolutions when we first started racing the wagon in 2006.  We have always used them for tuning but PPIR was the first time they crewed with me.  They are like a second family now.  It feels like we have been doing this forever.  They are the driving force of getting me to X Games and will always be a part of our team.

ML@S: What’s next for you in your career?
Nate Conley: Career!  You mean hobby?  I sure wish it was a career.  We are going into next year all out.  It might be our last year so we are going full out to see if we can make it a career, I know the chances are slim but achievable.  I know we can hang with those guys if we had the right set up.  Our goal is to find partnerships that will allow for us to compete against the best of the best, on a level playing field.  Plans now are to build the wagon into a Pikes Peak car and a new rallycross car.  Not sure yet if it will be with bullet or not.

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ML@S: Who would you like to thank for helping get you to X Games?
Nate Conley: My family, friends, fans and the following companies for their amazing support: Revolutions Performance, BFG Tires, Mishimoto, Motegi Wheels, Flatirons Tuning, Grimmspeed, DBA Brakes, Advanced Clutch Technology, Justice Brothers, Mechanix Wear Gloves, Emotive Images, MyLife@Speed, and MCR Motorsports.

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