Chad Wienen started out on his own, battling his way to the top of the ranks until he was picked up by Suzuki. After a rough year with injuries and his contract ran out he jumped in with Kawasaki. We caught up with him to ask him how he's doing on his new ride and what his thoughts are on championship contention.

So...my first question for you is about nickname... Neverlift? How did you acquire that?
Well, it was a couple years ago and we were all out at a local track by a friend's house and there's this one section that was pretty sketched out and I didn't lift up off the throttle through the section. They were pretty much amazed at that. That's pretty much how that came up.

You are quite a success story of sorts. You battled it out on your own and now you are with Kawasaki. What do you think kept you motivated all this time?
I have such a good time doing this and the training part of this doesn't affect me. Sometime it gets tough but I just enjoy doing what I do and of course I'm all about competition. I strive to win and I do it mainly for myself and I've been always growing up to give it all you got it in everything you do. You hate to waste your time just giving it half an effort. It's not about that. I give it my all every time with everything I do and when I go riding.

How are you adapting to the new team? Do you like your new ride?
Yeah, it's going great. It's a solid program for this year and I'm looking to get that championship I've been looking at for a couple of years. We've got a total package with everyone that's behind us. Everything's been going great. Testing has been going good. I just need to put the pieces together on the track.

What do you mean by putting the pieces together?
You don't know what's going to happen. The team is going to give it everything they've got. Josh Creamer and I are going to make a valiant effort to get on the podium every weekend. It's up to us to make it happen, really.

Height can sometimes be seen as a disadvantage in racing. Do you think so?
Not at all. ‚ Everything has its pluses and minuses. A smaller racer will have advantages on certain parts of the track and then a taller guy will have his advantages more so on the rough stuff.

After you became on the market again, were the other teams already after you? Or did you have to go out and find them?
Kawasaki was talking to me prior to that. I knew that my contract was up and I had to look out for myself and not keep myself hanging. I just wanted to find a good home that I could stay with for 10 years of something. I don't like jumping around from team to team. I want to stay on the bike. I believe this bike has a lot of potential and can be the next big thing.

What are you doing this year to get back in championship contention?
I'm in Texas, just north of Houston. I've been doing a lot of training. I've been doing testing out in Southern California. ‚ I've been stepping up my program and soaking up every moment because it goes fast. It seems like the season was over a month ago and now it's starting up in less than three weeks.

Are you doing anything special this year to get back into shape that you haven't done previously?
Nothing too much out of the ordinary. I do a little bit of everything just to keep it interesting and not make it boring or repetitious. You've got to get the seat time. The more seat time I get the more disciplined on the bike I am. I'm just trying to take it easy around the bike and be fast at the same time.

Do you think this is your year for a Championship?
You know I'm just crossing my fingers. Good things happen to people who wait. I'm being really patient. Last year I had an off year with an injury. This year I'm looking to bounce back and go get it. This is a long season and anything can happen. You've just got to be humble.