Does luck really explain how a young boy from Hopewell, Va., with a talent for drawing became one of the most influential designers and artists in America’s fastest growing sport? In its traditional meaning, in which rabbit’s foot charms, ladders and black cats figure heavily, the answer is probably no.

From an academic standpoint the Roman philosopher Seneca had an explanation for Bass’ good fortune way back in the first century A.D. when he observed, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Bass began preparing for his career early in life with the discovery he could create images on paper, a talent his mother recognized from the onset. That type of encouragement by itself has created some of the world’s greatest painters and portraitists – Bass certainly had the enthusiasm and skills to succeed in those disciplines – but another interest would soon have a profound influence on his art. At Southside Speedway in Richmond, a local bullring of a track, Bass was introduced to the excitement of stock car racing. His uncles’ stories of camping during race weeks in the Daytona infield sounded as appealing and incredible to Bass as the tales in his favorite Marvel and DC comic books.

Southside is also where he learned the joy of having a favorite competitor to follow through the season after meeting Bobby Allison. Bass was immediately impressed with the Hueytown, Ala., driver whose aggression on the track was the opposite of the friendly, easygoing manner Allison displayed in public. Bass was prompted to become a charter member of the Bobby Allison fan club.

Perhaps the truly lucky aspect of those formative years is that the Internet and 400-channel cable television were still many years in the future, leaving the NASCAR-starved youngster to occupy his days with imagination, Crayola crayons and watercolors. Because the fledgling sports souvenir industry had not made much headway into racing, Bass used paint and ingenuity to make the kind of toy cars children today buy right off the shelf. The aspiring designer never met a Matchbox or Hot Wheels model he couldn’t improve with the right paint scheme and sponsor decals.

Entry into teenage years – the threshold that usually dampens enthusiasm for childhood hobbies – only accelerated Bass’ devotion to racing and art. He and a couple of friends became slot car fiends, with competitors painted to match the rides of his favorite drivers.

“Homework” is a common synonym for preparation, and when it came to NASCAR Sam Bass was a straight-A student with a perfect attendance record. He read everything he could get his hands on about the drivers – Stock Car Racing Magazine and Southern Motorsports Journal were particular favorites – but paid attention to every detail about changes in sponsorship as that always necessitated a new paint scheme. Back when teams picked a look and stuck with it as long as possible for economic reasons, the off-season was his favorite time of the year as it provided weekly inspiration for his ever-changing fleet of model race cars.

1981 found Bass full of artistic talent, enthusiasm and an unwavering passion for racing, majoring in fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and soon to marry his high school sweetheart. Opportunity was about to knock on the Basses’ door for the first time.

The artist and a friend drove to Talladega in August, as Bass had a 30x40-inch painting of Bobby Allison’s Buick Regal he wanted to have autographed. To Bass’ surprise, the image was so well liked that several members of the team also signed it and he left Alabama with commissions for more driver paintings. While that moment may seem the result of pure luck, it should be mentioned he had no garage pass and stood in the scorching sun for three hours before the security guard would let him enter. If “luck” figured into that weekend, it’s that he’s lucky he didn’t pass out from heat exhaustion.

A year later, Bass began making his own moments of opportunity when he showed up without an appointment to see Paul Sawyer at the Richmond fairgrounds track. A portfolio of watercolor paintings secured Bass his first garage pass and an invitation to display his work in the track’s media center during the next race.

After college Bass took a job as a buyer for the federal government, grateful for the regular paycheck but devoting evenings and weekends, holidays and vacation time to his passions for painting and racing.

In 1984, confidence bolstered by an ever-growing list of clients and an impressive body of work, Bass visited Charlotte Motor Speedway and had great success. It was as if speedway president general manager Humpy Wheeler had been waiting for someone to ask about creating artwork for the track. Bass’ proposal to paint an original piece for the speedway’s next souvenir race program cover met with such enthusiasm it began an uninterrupted chain that today numbers 41 paintings and counting.

In 1987, with two racetracks and numerous race teams as clients, Bass cut the safety line that had kept him attached to a predictable income by leaving his government job. Almost immediately, Bobby Allison opened another door for Bass’ career by asking him to design paint schemes for his Busch and Winston Cup cars, to be debuted the weekend of the 1988 Daytona 500. In an amazing stroke of luck – or preparation meeting opportunity – both Allison cars won their respective races. Bass didn’t believe his career could get any better than that.

Three years later the Basses were working their small racing art and design business full-time from Virginia and Sam was eager to try his “luck” in the nucleus of stock car racing – Concord, N.C. Since proximity brought with it more work, the idea of trying to run his business from his new house soon proved to be impossible. Bass briefly rented office space in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s new seven-story tower, but heard there was room to lease at the site of the old track administration offices. He and his wife moved into the new location on Tax Day, April 15, 1991.

As Bass’ reputation spread through the racing industry, the list of drivers taking advantage of the artist’s talents increased. Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, a new kid named Jeff Gordon and many others asked for and got more colorful paint schemes for their cars, helmets, uniforms and transporter rigs. Team sponsors realized that race fans recognized and appreciated Bass’ style and began featuring his artwork on a variety of products ranging from cereal boxes to tool chests.

During its nine years in the Speedway Plaza location, Bass’ staff grew from two to 10 full-time employees, and the combination studio/gallery went from spacious to claustrophobic. To give the company some growing room, in 2000 the Basses constructed a 10,000-square-foot building across from the speedway fronting Morehead Road.

The Sam Bass Gallery, which occupies 3,500 square feet of the new building (the rest is for his studio, offices and warehouse), features hundreds of the artist’s original paintings, prints and memorabilia. There is also an area highlighting Bass’ philanthropic work with Speedway Children’s Charities, the Mark Collie Celebrity Race for a Diabetes Cure and SpeedStreet.

Standing in the new home of Sam Bass Illustration & Design, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the unique career that built it and the many opportunities that contributed to its existence. Most artists never have the chance to own a gallery entirely devoted to their work, so Bass is indeed fortunate.

If preparation and opportunity are two key factors in his success, there is yet one more, expressed very simply by founding father Thomas Jefferson: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."