He came east, like so many before him, seeking the satisfaction of being the best by beating the best. He was California restless, eager, hungry and determined, nearly alone but never uncertain.
Damion Gardner has been nicked and bruised over the past year, making the difficult transition from regional West Coast sprint car hero to playing on USAC’s biggest stage. But a year filled with challenge and disappointment is only a memory, as on Saturday night he took an enormous step toward becoming a bona fide national star.
Gardner, known affectionately as the Demon, scored an impressive victory at the 22nd Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals, beating an all-star cast and earning a very significant boost of confidence for the coming season. It was by far Gardner’s biggest career win, and as he savored the victory in the waning hours of Saturday night he seemed to understand that, after tonight, his career will never be the same.
He debuted in a sprint car almost 10 years ago, racing near his Concord, Calif., home. Within a couple of years he was racing with the tough SCRA, enduring  baptism under fire at places like Perris and Manzanita, getting a stark and startling education from Griffin, Williams, and Gaunt, et al.
The kid could have scurried home to the Bay Area, but he didn’t. That’s because there is a toughness to the Demon, a rigid sort of composition that puts fire in his eyes and a burning ambition in his gut.
When you step back and size up the man, it isn’t at all difficult to see not who he is, but what he is. He is a sprint-car racer, from the hard dome of his skull to the taut tips of his fingers, tense and nervous. He’s strung tightly, like a race horse, twitching and flighty and always just on the edge of civilized behavior.

The other entity, the one they call the Demon, emerges whenever he approaches anything resembling a race car. His eyes narrow and harden, and his body seems to tense. His attitude grows cocky. The smile turns to a taut line above his chin, and there is a focus that sweeps over him, blotting out all the scenery and atmosphere, leaving only an all-consuming blur of competition.

There are, in essence, two entities named Damion Gardner. The first is actually a pleasant gentleman, polite and friendly and genuine, quite acceptable in mixed company. He has a mischievous sense of humor. He is outgoing, and direct with his opinions, but cordial.
The other entity, the one they call the Demon, emerges whenever he approaches anything resembling a race car. His eyes narrow and harden, and his body seems to tense. His attitude grows cocky. The smile turns to a taut line above his chin, and there is a focus that sweeps over him, blotting out all the scenery and atmosphere, leaving only an all-consuming blur of competition.
In another time, another place, he would be a gladiator. A bullfighter. A mercenary. A gunslinger. A samurai. But in today’s refined world, Gardner fits nicely in one of the last bastions of untamed life, that of an open wheel racer. On the edge, outside the norm, supremely confident, living a life that few men — or women — would dare choose.
Last year, relocating from California to Indiana to pursue his dream of winning a USAC National sprint-car title, Gardner struggled. New tracks, a new team, a new home, new friends; it was an exciting but difficult transition. As the year progressed, the stress and worry were visible on his face.
Gardner chafed and fretted as the off-season loomed, determined to improve. He and car owner Jason Leffler hired veteran mechanic Daryl Saucier, an intense, deeply competitive man who is as consumed by winning as Gardner. Saucier paid immediate dividends, helping the team win the Chili Bowl this past weekend.
Now, as he turns to face the 2008 season on the heels of his breakthrough victory, the impish smile has returned to Gardner. His eyes glow, and that ornery sense of humor comes easy, along with laughter. He’s happy. That’s good news for those who cheer the Demon, the man who won the Chili Bowl.