What drives a person to want to race? There are
certainly less stressful, less expensive, and less
tiring ways to spend a weekend. While some people are
content to channel surf or grow roses, I'll wager that
the readers of National DRAGSTER have a different idea
about the best way to occupy their time.
People race for a variety of
reasons. For some, racing is a business - a fortunate
few are actually paid to drive race cars, or they earn a
living from the sport as a parts manufacturer, engine
builder, mechanic, or some related occupation. Others
participate because they relish the challenge of
competition or the rush of driving a fast car. Racing
can be therapeutic, too - a welcome escape from the
daily grind of deadlines and minor aggravations.
So if racing fills so many
needs, why do I encounter such unhappy people at the
races?
I'm not one of those Pollyanna
types who perpetually sees the glass as half full. I've
had my share of bad days at the drags, and I expect that
I'll have a few more before I finally lock up my
toolbox. But I've also learned to appreciate the time I
spend at the track.
One of my customers gave me a fresh
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perspective
when he observed that racing is like a trip. "You
should enjoy the journey," he said, "not just
focus on the destination." I think that's excellent
advice.
Listening to some people
complain about everything from the starting line
traction to the track dogs, you would think that they
had been forced to go to the drag strip at gunpoint.
Presumably there was a time when these folks actually
enjoyed going to the races - what changed?
My theory is that some racers
get too wrapped up in ego and emotion. A car's
performance is not a report card on the people who race
it; whether a car is fast or slow does not reflect a
person's ultimate worth as a human being. Unfortunately,
some racers have tied their egos so tightly to their
race cars that they can no longer separate them.
When emotions overwhelm reason,
you can't see the world clearly. If you are miserable,
angry, or upset about your race car's performance, it is
very difficult to make rational decisions about how to
improve it.
I watch this drama nearly every
weekend at the races: A car makes a poor run, and |
