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Wurlitzer:  What is your association Anthony with POG Racing?

Anthony Stuart: POG Racing (Peck-Oconner-Go Racing) is one of Second Life's oldest and most successful racing teams. I am the founder, a co-owner with Buford Slade, and a driver with Buford, Allusion Nandahar, Kurama49 Minotaur, and Jeff Go. Stuart-Slade Racing is the second life division of POG and all our races on second life are done under the SSR banner.

Wurlitzer: Where is Stuart-Slade Racing located at?

Anthony Stuart: At the moment, we don't have a home location other than the race track at Kokopelli Raceway sim, but there are a couple things in the pipeline, unfortunately it's too early to say publicly.

Wurlitzer: Was there anybody to help you out while developing Stuart-Slade Racing Team?

Anthony Stuart: Jayson, Jeff, Buford, everyone that's driven for the team

Jayson Peck and Jeff Go have always been there from the beginning in different ways, Jeff currently manages our Forza 2 racing team under the POG Racing name and Jayson has been there right from the start. Buford's pitched in a lot and gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Wurlitzer: How long has Stuart-Slade Racing Team been with POG for?

Anthony Stuart: Stuart-Slade was formed just a few months ago to oversee all of POG's second life racing. it was formed as a merger of Buford Slade's racing team and my own team POG Racing. at the moment, Stuart-Slade is a division of POG, while all racing off of second life goes under the name of POG Racing.

Wurlitzer: Explain how does racing translate into Second Life?

Anthony Stuart: With the exception of the risk of injury and the multi million-dollar costs, pretty much everything is here: pit stops, yellow flags, crashes, rivalries, victory lane celebrations, it's all here.

Wurlitzer: What's your resume been like in Second Life?

Anthony Stuart: It's pretty big in all honesty, I'll abbreviate it here: founding ex-owner of Teller Motorsports and the BNT All Star Challenge; security, host, advisor to several clubs in the past; founder of the SL motor sports hall of fame and inducted after handing it over to Mango Birdbrain; recently unretired racer with 102 wins in 10 different leagues, competed in over 30 divisions in 10 different leagues around SL; builder of 7 successful tracks and 40+ successful cars; freelance musician outside second life, may start broadcasting in second life sometime soon; creator of many modern techniques used in car building such as current layered template method of race car painting; all-star retired goalie for the Wolves in GOHA; competitor: SLIROC; competitor(driver and team owner) at Kokopelli Raceway Park.

Wurlitzer: In what age brackets do the teams usually range in?

Anthony Stuart: Teams are generally up to 4-5 years old as that's how old the community is, drivers are anywhere from 18 to the 60s and beyond. One thing that's happened relatively recently is Kokopelli Raceway, which I've mentioned and where Stuart-Slade mainly competes today. Like any track, KRP has it's flaws, but Kokopelli Raceway and the local sanctioning body (OSCA) are so far ahead in so many areas that many drivers(including myself and teammate Jeff Go) have come out of retirement just to compete there.

Wurlitzer: If one is interested in joining a team, what are the steps one should follow?

Anthony Stuart: The First step is to get your feet wet by going to the track and looking around(but be careful not to stand on the race track, you'll get run over :P). Kokopelli offers free demo versions of all of their cars, which vary in difficulty, so new drivers can try their hand in it without investing any money.

After that, you might try showing up for a race and trying your hand at it. I recommend trying spectator stocks or the 300 series at Kokopelli, which are designed for new racers.

After running a few races, you may catch someone's eye, or you may want to start your own team, which is really easy to do for a single-car team.

Essentially, if you compete in races and say you have a team, then you have a team. it's what you do with that team that matters.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the perks for being involved with Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart:

FOR DRIVERS:

we help find sponsors

professionally-done paint schemes

talented teammates for advice and help on and off the track

FOR SPONSORS:

exposure in a big market on crowded race days

chance to invite employees for a day at the races

your name on a race car, let's be realistic, how cool is that!

FOR FANS:

get to meet drivers

updates on Stuart-Slade events and progress

occasional events limited to drivers, sponsors, and fans.

Wurlitzer: What are the rules/regulations of Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart: If you give it all you've got and show up for the races, you're in good shape with us, although being a good person is a big plus too because you need to get along with your teammates.

Wurlitzer: How did you conduct your research as to making sure everything works out racing in Second Life?

Anthony Stuart: I've been racing for almost three years now, and experienced in racing off second life before that, and experience is definitely key in anything like this. for example, you'd want to get someone with club experience to run a new club. I've also surrounded myself with experienced people such as Jeff Go and Buford Slade and several others not officially part of the team, so Stuart-Slade has a wide pool of knowledge to draw from.

Wurlitzer: Is there anything that you had to compensate, in order for racing to work in Second Life?

Anthony Stuart: Getting heavily involved in anything on second Life hurts real life, takes time and money, and can wear on friendships, so I'm slowly phasing out of second life into first life, but make no mistake, the race team will always be high in my priorities. Stuart-Slade Racing is my biggest passion right now and if anything , racing success helps me get through the rest of my day. Just a week ago today, I was involved in a real life car accident and totaled my beloved Volvo S80 beyond reasonable repair, and I was pretty down until Sunday, when i led all 40 laps in the Spectator Stock main event from the pole to take my first win at Kokopelli Raceway and end the longest winless streak I've yet had. After that I may have had a couple of tears, but they were definitely not from any negative feelings. There's just nothing like the thrill of a win to get you through the week.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any plans to take Stuart-Slade Racing outside of Second Life?

Anthony Stuart: My teammate Jeff Go has imminent plans to go racing in northern Florida under the POG Racing banner in what's known as the Legends Series, which would make POG Racing the first team on second life to expand into real life racing. I also have plans to go Legends or Dwarf racing (not short people, the type of car), though much more long-term due to short-term plans to move out of California. In addition, POG Racings first two championships came at the hands of Eddie Cheevers in on line racing in NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, and POG is en route to contend for two more championships in Forza 2's FASCARS Le Mans and COT series under Jeff's direction.

Wurlitzer: Does Stuart-Slade Racing have any plans for future growth?

Anthony Stuart: We do not have any immediate plans to expand to anything else on second life, though we always run the occasional race at other tracks, and expect to announce an entry into a new racing league in the r Factor racing simulation.

Wurlitzer: What are your ties with Global Online Hockey Association?

Anthony Stuart: I played two seasons for the GOHA Wolves team in the North American division, played in the season 6 All Star Game, and was named Wolves MVP in season 7, and I will always support the Wolves and the GOHA whenever possible, including the occasional sponsorship of one of my race cars at no cost to the team. It was such a great experience playing with the Wolves, and had things gone another way with me personally I would probably be playing in Season 8. I'd love to return sometime as well, but that would not be possible in the near future.

Wurlitzer:What are some upcoming events you are having for the month of May?

Anthony Stuart: Every Sunday at Kokopelli Raceway, we compete in the OSCA Spectator Stock Series, Factory Stock Series, and Checkers Sportsman Series with practice at 12PM SLT and events starting at 1PM SLT.

Every Monday we compete in the OSCA InDrive Series with practice at 4:30 PM SLT and events starting at 5:30 PM SLT

all other races are normally entered on a whim, though we might expand to another series before too long.

Wurlitzer: What made you decide to start Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart: I love racing, pure and simple. One racing win by our team can offset almost anything during the week, such as the car wreck i mentioned, and there is nothing, -NOTHING- in this world, that can even remotely compare to the thrill of leading a race or winning one.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the drawbacks that your experiencing with promoting Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart: The only real drawback is that it's hard to stay friends with someone while you're trying to beat the stuffing out of them every weekend on the track, so some fierce rivalries develop that can wear on any kind of relationship, but if you're mature enough to be friends off the track and leave on-track incidents on the track, the good invariably outweighs the bad.

Wurlitzer: Does Stuart-Slade Racing feature any sponsors?

Anthony Stuart: GOHA Wolves, Beachwood Club, Toy's Toys, Neo-Realms Fishing, San Diego Motors car company, Skybeam Estates, and many others on a week-to-week basis support the team with sponsorships of various levels.

Wurlitzer: How do you go about promoting Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart: Winning races doesn't hurt, but otherwise I just talk to people I meet out on the grid. To a large extent, a racing team can promote itself with some results.

Wurlitzer: If you didn't have Stuart-Slade Racing, what would you have done instead?

Anthony Stuart: I would have found some way to get involved in racing with or without racing on second life, be it racing on Xbox, PC games, or who knows, maybe even real life racing. That's just who i am, there are two things i can't live without: racing and music.

Wurlitzer: How do you keep transparency in making sure who you are in RL becomes the same in SL?

Anthony Stuart: It's really not hard, I just treat situations the way I would treat them if they happened in real life. If you don't really make an effort to hide who you are, it's easy to show who you are.

Wurlitzer: What would you like your future in SL to be?

Anthony Stuart: I'd really like for it to be not much different to how it is now, though I'd like to take my car company to the next level with things such as the upcoming release of the S.D. Motors Torino.

Wurlitzer: What do you like to do in your spare time in SL?

Anthony Stuart: I usually spend my spare time hanging out with friends, building and texturing cars, or practicing for the next race. Especially texturing cars, I love doing that part of the build.

Wurlitzer: Is there anywhere that we can go to keep up to date on the progress of Stuart-Slade Racing?

Anthony Stuart: The group Stuart-Slade Racing is open to enrollment for fans, and we always keep the group updated with group notices for major announces and group chat for minor ones. You can also come to the races, and experience them for yourself at Kokopelli raceway sim!