HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- The simplest way to put it is that after 26 years in the fast lane, Cliff Champion traded down to one of the slowest lanes possible.
The former crew chief for the likes of some of the most recognizable names in NASCAR -- Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Phil Parsons,Richard Childress, Alan Kulwicki, among others -- now serves as the captain of a different crew. He has made his living for the last seven-and-a-half years as captain of an 80-foot Somerset luxury boat that offers charters for "corporate entertaining, holiday parties, bar mitzvah celebrations" and other events.
Champion sails the waters of Lake Norman, just outside of Charlotte, N.C. His three-story boat holds up to 125 people and moves at a leisurely pace, leaving his hectic previous life in its gentle wake.
"It's like going from 200 miles an hour to 5," Champion said. "We run about 4 or 5 miles an hour out here."
Champion grew up and went to school with Ricky Rudd and Rudd's brother, A.J. More or less on a whim, they went to see Cliff's cousin, Bill, run the July race at Daytona International Speedway in what was then known as the Grand National series in 1974.
Bill offered Cliff a job as his crew chief -- as his entire crew, as a matter of fact -- and suddenly Cliff Champion's 26-year foray into NASCAR was off to a start.
"I went down there and he offered me a job. It was July 3, 1974 -- my 21st birthday," said Champion, now 54. "I started doing it then and it was kind of like, 'Join the Navy. See the world.' I just kept doing it after that."
At first it was just him and Bill. But soon Bill, who was much older, stopped driving and Cliff started serving as crew chief to others. In 1975, he was crew chief forJames Hylton -- the longtime driver who resurfaced in the news this past February when he narrowly missed qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72.
"I stayed with Bill, and then I went with James Hylton in '75. What a great guy," Champion said. "I learned the most from him, because he took the time to teach me and he was a great mechanic. I learned the most from James Hylton. We actually finished third in points that year."
As time went on, Champion said the crews slowly started expanding and the sport started changing -- and, in his mind, not always for the better.
"It was fun back then," Champion said. "You still only had two or three guys on a crew. And then you would have a couple other guys come and help you. But mostly that was just guys who worked in gas stations, local guys who would come and help out. They would show up on Sunday. There was a lot of camaraderie.
"We'd get to the racetrack and you didn't worry about the point system so much. You'd sign in and however you got in line, that's how you got in the racetrack. So we would get there early and sleep in the truck. I remember you'd wake up and you might not even sign in until noon, and we'd be out there with [guys like]Sterling Marlin and Ricky [Rudd] and his brother [A.J.] and we'd be out there playing football, waiting for the track to open and waiting for the signups to start."
When practice or qualifying was over, the same guys who had been playing football out in front of the track usually would find their way into the nearest town together.
"You'd go back to the motel, and maybe one team brought a van," Champion said. "So you'd get enough guys from four or five teams, and you'd all go out dancing together. You'd go to clubs or go to the movies or do something together. We thought it was something if someone just had a van.
"And then it later developed to where if someone had one of those Comfort Coach vans with those Captain's chairs you could lay back in, you thought you were something then. We didn't think about no airplanes back then. You thought you were really something if you just had a van with a seat to lay down in."
Champion witnessed firsthand NASCAR's transition from basically a regional sport wildly popular in the Southeast into the national phenomenon it is today. But right around the turn of the century, after what seemed like about a century in the sport to him, he decided it was time to get out and slow down.
"I did it for 26 years. It was just time for a change," Champion said. "You know, racing has changed. It just wasn't fun for me anymore. I was in it when there was a lot of camaraderie in it and stuff like that. It just got to where it wasn't fun anymore.
"I've never been a guy to do anything just for money. It just became too much of a business for me. I'm not saying the sport's not good anymore; it's just different. It's like going to work for a mom-and-pop operation. You know everybody and everybody has fun, and then it was like a big company coming in and buying it out and then you're just another employee. It just wasn't any fun for me anymore."
So in March of 2000 he bought the charter boat and founded Championship Yacht Charters, with no idea of how successful it would be or how long he would stay in his new business.
"I've never made long-range plans," he said. "I just do whatever comes along in life. I had no plans to be a big this or a big that or do something. I enjoyed doing something, and as long as I kept enjoying it, I kept doing it."
He doesn't pay much attention these days to the sport that helped him earn the money he used as a down payment on his new life.
Asked if he watches Cup races, he shrugged and replied: "I do if I happen to be somewhere and it comes on. But I don't intentionally go out and look for it. I never was a real big race fan, to be honest. I get too bored. I can't sit there and watch the race. If the sun's out, I'm going to go out and go skiing or I'm gonna go do something. I've got too much to do. I might record it and watch it that night; they're going to show the highlights, all the good stuff, on the 11 o'clock news, anyway."
He stays in touch with NASCAR types by frequently renting out his boat to them, including recently to Humpy Wheeler and a group from Lowe's Motor Speedway, where Wheeler is president and general manager.
"The best thing about going out on the lake with Cliff is that if the boat breaks down, he'll know how to fix it. Cliff is a great mechanic," said Wheeler, smiling.
Champion said he stays busy by renting out his bout for roughly 140 events per year, with some months busier than others. During the month of July, for instance, he captained 27 charters -- including the occasional Cup team celebrating a race victory.
"We do a lot of the team parties when they win a race or something like that," Champion said.
Proving that he can still command the attention of racers when he has to, Champion stated that he's always sure to make sure they listen up when he goes over the safety rules for his boat as it pulls away from the dock.
"I make 'em. I've come close to throwing one or two off who shall remain nameless," Champion said. "But I've said, 'Boys, either pay attention to my rules or we're going in.' And they say, 'OK, Cliff,' and they straighten right up."