Both his shoulders are bung, but nothing would keep him away from a 50th New Zealand Grand Prix.
That’s the immortal thoughts of veteran driver Kenny Smith, as he gets set to line up this weekend at Hampton Downs and tick off another major milestone.
Smith told 1 NEWS it’s fair to say the race has changed since he first hit the grid all those years ago.
“It's massive when you look at the old car,” he said.
“The whole thing is totally different.”
Smith has won the Grand Prix title three times – a record he holds alongside legends such as Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss - with his first being 45 years ago.
Father Time hasn’t quite caught up with him yet either although Smith admits recent surgery on his left shoulder has reminded him he’s there.
“You have ups and downs and you think, ‘what the hell am I doing this for’?”
The answer to that has never quite caught up with him either.
“You’re back out there the next day like a lunatic.”
Due to Covid-19, a Kiwi is guaranteed to write his name on the trophy on Sunday alongside greats like Moss, Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, and Keke Rosberg.
If Smith gets it right though, he could go that one step further and be the first four-time champion – and wait for yet another challenger to try and catch him.
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