The Path to Winston Cup Soon after graduating from law school in 1988, Little devoted his attention exclusively to racing. Prior to stepping into the fastest stock cars in the world, Brother Little earned a reputation for being disciplined and committed, and a winner. After law school, Brother Little moved east to pursue his racing dream . "I started beating down doors and finding operations and teams where we could fit together," he said. "I kept at the grindstone and it led to the organization I am with now." That organization, Mark Rypien Motorsports (MRM), is co-owned by Greg Pollex, a partnei" in the 33-office firm of Structured Financial Associated, Inc., and Mark Rypien , a quarterback for the NFL's St. Louis Rams who earned Most Valuable Player honors when he guided the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXVI. Little teamed up with MRM in 1992. In the ten year period from 1986 to 1995, Brother Little raced in over 150 N ASCAR races (regional races held across the nation) and Busch Grand National races. His greatest success came after joining Mark Rypien Motorsports. During the 1995 racing season, Brother Little was incredibly successful on the track. On his way to being voted the Busch Series Most Popular Driver, he won backto-back races twice, and set a 10
DELTA UPSILON QUARTERLYIlULY 1997
Chad Little's No. 97 Pontiac Grand Prix hits the banked corners on NASCAR's superraceways at speeds in excess of J90 m.p.h.
single season earnings record of over $525,000. For the year, Brother Little had six wins, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, while finishing second in point standings in the Busch Series. This past year, 1996, he scored two top-five and seven top-10 finishes, while earning his first career Busch Series pole position . By year 's end, he had his second top-five finish in the Busch Series point standings. All on his way to the "big race."
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The Fastest Stock Cars in the World . ~
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On any given NASCAR Winston Cup race weekend, Brother Little can be found behind his No. 97 John Deere Pontiac. This is anything but your average Pontiac. It packs a 358 cubic inch engine, powered by a V-8 that generates over 700 horsepower of pure force. Brother Little needs that much power when moving the 3,400 pound machine around the track. These cars move around banked corners in excess at 190 m.p.h. and well over 200 m.p.h. in the straight-aways. What's it like moving this fast ? "Surplisingly, you really don't feel the speed," confessed Brother Little. 'The most exhilarating is racing side by side in competition. That 's the exciting part." What does it take to put these "rockets on wheels" on the track? "At the Winston Cup level a top team operates in the $6 million range,"
Brother Little stated. "These costs include the driver, cars, engines, travel, a 20-person staff, and maintenance."
Winning
The single focus in stock car racing is winning. "That 's the ultimate goal, right there," shared Brother Little. "That's what we shoot for and it's a very exhilarating, very exciting feeling and that's probably what is the most unique about racing. It's a team sport, but at the same time it is so competitive. There are 40 teams going out to win each weekend. In most sports you have a winner and a loser. In racing, you have a winner and 39 losers." The Winston Cup Circuit started in February of thi s year. After 13 races, Brother Little has started and finished in nine of them . He finished as high as 8th at Bristol. Soon, NASCAR will make its way to the world capitol for auto racing, Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, undoubtedly the most famous raceway on the planet. NASCAR 's fourth annual Brich.)'ard 400 will be run on the 2.5 mile oval in August. To commemorate the event, Brother Little's John Deere Pontiac will wear a special black-and-bronze paint scheme. Brother Little is not intimidated by the Indy track, however. "It's no different than any other race," he stated. He then offers, "Although , it certainly is a big one."