My interview subject this week is Travis Hydar. He’s a 22 year old driver who won the championship for his division in his rookie season. But just like any racer at Stafford Speedway, his crew consists of himself, and his family. So even when he wins a race, its back to work completing whatever mechanical work is needed to put the car to rest for the night. This video shows him in the winners area of the paddock after his second victory this season. Surrounded by his family wearing his t-shirts while he works on his racecar. This video will likely be used as b-roll in my episode about travis, and played back in slo motion as its a short clip.

Travis Hydar Questions

1. Introduce your name, car number and division.
2. How old were you when you started racing?- how many years have you raced at Stafford?
3. Why do you choose to compete at Stafford over other tracks?- what’s your favorite thing about the track? Atmosphere, facilities, racing competition, etc?
4. How many races have you won this season?- which win was your favorite?
5. Walk me through the final lap in the June 26th race where the car broke at the line.-where you happy to get the podium even though it meant getting damaged in the process?
6. Was the third place winnings enough to cover the damage?- how many hours in the shop did it take to repair the car?
7. How many people help out with the car on a daily basis?- is there a driving advantage that comes with knowing the ins and outs of your own car?
8. What was the biggest contributing factor to finding speed early in the limited late model?-did any of the driving skills from the street stock carry over?
9. What has been the biggest challenge in your racing career over all? Is it more on track challenges or off track challenges? – how have you been able to overcome them?
10. How would you describe your driving style?- does it match your personality?- Do you believe in being a different person when you are in the car vs out of the car? 
11. What are your hobbies outside of racing?- is having a balance important for keeping racing fun?
12. What are the biggest things you hope to accomplish in your racing career?- what’s the next step to achieving those goals?
13. What would you tell someone who isn’t a racing fan about why they should pay attention to Stafford Speedway?

This is a list of my questions for my upcoming interview with travis. Some are fairly surface level, and will help the audience get an understanding of who he is. While some are more specific based on my knowledge of him through research. I made sure to add a follow up question to almost every question.

As I do more interviews, I am learning that follow ups are just as important as the question itself. They help you get the subject to dig deeper into their answer and guid them to think about the question in a different light. Creating questions and follow ups are a skill I need to improve. I look at them as a foundation for the story. Another skill I am discovering I need to improve is creating follow ups on the fly about interesting material the subjects bring up.