Pauken Remains His Own Toughest Critic

By Scott Douglass
Oct 26, 2010

Paraphrasing Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam executive Ken Hudgens’ remarks as he introduced the new World Freestyle Champion at the annual Champions Award Ceremony at Harrah’s in Las Vegas last March: if winning the World Championship somehow validates the career of Charlie Pauken to some, then so be it, but make no mistake about it, even before he grabbed that coveted title Pauken had already established himself as one of the greatest drivers ever to strap into one of these amazing 10,000 pound machines. The respect Pauken has earned from his peers over the years is almost unparalleled, and his popularity among the sport’s fans is off the charts. Those factors were in place before Pauken’s magical run in Monster Mutt last March at Sam Boyd Stadium that won the sport’s 11^th World Freestyle Championship and there is no question that winning the most coveted prize in the sport will just continue to grow his legend. 

It’s easy to get a read on how popular Pauken’s championship win has been among other drivers and fans, but getting the chance to spend some time chatting with Pauken I wondered what all this means to him now that he has had more than six months to digest that amazing night, and now that he hears the sport’s announcers introduce him to the fans as the reigning World Freestyle Champion. When I asked what it has meant to him, to have finally won it all, to stop me from calling him the greatest driver never to have won a world title, he paused at length, trying to put it all into words. It means so much to him, you can tell, but it hasn’t changed him and how he approaches his craft. “It’s something that I never thought would actually happen. I still have a tough time believing that I pulled it off. It’s an honor,” the champ answered. “But you know I’m not one to just walk up and throw it out there and be flamboyant about it.” 

There’s the crux of it all regarding Charlie Pauken. Adding the words World Champion to his incredible resume is a crowning achievement to one of the greatest careers that we’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t change what Charlie Pauken is going to do when he straps into his Grave Digger or Monster Mutt truck. He’s always looking for the next level, he’s never satisfied, and he is without a doubt his own toughest critic, and that includes the way he views his championship winning freestyle performance. “After I get done with a run I’m still criticizing myself, thinking about what else I should have done, I never think that it was the best I could have done,” Pauken explained. “Even after winning the World Finals I go back and look at that run and think that I could have done this better and that better , so I’m just critical of all my runs.” 

Still Pauken admits that it has been the reaction of the fans that has really made the Vegas accomplishment special, to go to places like Arnhem, Holland, and see a huge sign on the front row that a fan had made at home, simply stating “2010 World Champion: Charlie Pauken.” It’s been that way everywhere that he has appeared since winning this year’s title, and Pauken says that is the best part. “It’s been great and the fans are great about it, coming up and congratulating me, that’s what makes it special, the reaction of the fans to the whole thing,” Pauken gushed with a huge smile on his face. “I’ve always said it’s what the five year old fan thinks that matters. To put a smile on their face is everything. There’s nothing that can top that. It’s what drives me through the pit parties and the events and the post show autographs, seeing those kids come through with smiles on their faces. Because it’s everything to them. You look at them and see them turn to their mom and dad smiling, all happy, it’s like: now that’s cool. To make them happy, to make the whole family happy, that means a lot.” 

This column started by making the point that while Pauken is a deserving champion he was already considered an all-time great whether he had a championship trophy or not, especially by the others who make their living in this sport. Ask almost anyone in the business about Charlie Pauken, whether a fellow driver or crewmember, and you are likely to hear comments that show the high regard that he is held in by teammates and competitors alike. It’s something that Pauken appreciates but it’s not something he has tried to garner, it’s just Charlie being Charlie day in and day out, on the track and off of it. “It means a lot to me but at the same time I don’t put myself up on any kind of a pedestal.” Pauken reacted to the whole topic of his respect within the industry. “I don’t consider myself that good. I’m like my worst critic. That’s just how I am. Someone can tell you how good they think you are but to believe it, that’s another story. It may sound stupid but you are who you believe you are. I’m always striving for perfection. I’ve always loved freestyle. Freestyle is just a great extension of what you can do with a truck. You can do different things with different trucks. But to bring out the true creativity within the truck that’s another thing. That’s a different ball game.” That creativity and the ability to make the truck do so many amazing things is clearly Pauken’s forte, and his willingness to share that creativity and his experience with others, especially newcomers to the sport, also adds to the respect that he has earned in a career that stretches back more than 20 years. 

I then asked the champ about his thoughts when he plans out his freestyles. I’ve watched Pauken before an event. I’ve seen him walk the track slowly, studiously, planning out his run for that night, looking at the obstacles to see what he can do that will thrill the fans and impress the judges. So it’s clear that he has a game plan figured out before show time, but I wondered how much he adapted the plan as the event unfolded. The question I had was, does Pauken pay attention to what the others who go on the track before him do in freestyle? Charlie’s answer: “Without a doubt. I mean I’ve already got an idea of what I want to do when I get out there for freestyle but I also like to take certain aspects of what I see others do. If I think that I can do a higher sky wheelie, for instance, than the one I just saw someone else do, then I’m definitely going to throw it out there. Anything that someone else does that looks cool, if it’s getting the crowd into it, if the other drivers are doing a good job and the crowd likes what they’re doing then I want to do that and see if I can do a little bit more. As an example, there’s one show that stands out. Dan Evans remembers this show, because he did a slap wheelie off of a stack of cars and headed for another big stack and he set it down just before the big stack. I was like ‘wow, man, if he would have just stayed into it he could have rode that wheelie up the next stack.’ So when I went out there that is exactly what I did, no one had done it before , and I pulled it off. I told Dan that. I went right up to him and I told him ‘you pushed me to that limit’. It showed me, at that time, this is what needs to be done now.” 

That answer is Charlie Pauken in a nutshell. One of the best, most respected talents in the history of the sport, yet a champion who is not satisfied. He’s always planning that next amazing move, always studying others to figure out how he can raise the bar and give the fans even more of what he does best: deliver some of the most amazing freestyle performances ever seen in Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam.