What Racing is All About

luvtolean · 05-30-2003, 4:44 PM

'What Racing is all About'

It's about money, of course; for most it's about finding it, finding enough of it, and then finding more. It's about guzzling money like water, about living with the guilt of burning up so much hard earned cash. But it's much more.

It's about supremacy, being top dog, king of the hill, head honcho, the big kahuna; standing out above the crowd, being number one, the best.

It's about speed. It's about riding the fastest, scariest, hold-onto-your-hats-geez-I'm-gonna-wet-my-pants-best-damn-roller-coaster ever invented.

And it's about power. It's about leading the charge of a thousand screaming banshees, having your body wrenched and twisted and tossed about by the hands of great unseen forces; and it's about taming a blind raging Herculean monster, and bending it to your will.

It's about brilliant colors, flashes of light, ear-splitting shrieks, and bone-rattling rumbles. It's about the unforgettable smell of burning rubber, smoldering brake pads, and gear oil. It's about reaching through the steering wheel all the way down to the tires and feeling the road slipping past your fingertips. It's about sensing the weight of the car shifting from tire to tire, like water in a pan. It's about the tug of the shoulder harness across the collar bones, and the cramp in the leg from
pressing the gas pedal through the floor.

Racing is about all of these things, and much more.

It's about passion; burning desire, insatiable hunger. It's a perverse yet overwhelming love affair with steel, glass, and rubber. It's about a relentless courtship with speed.

It's about conceiving and nurturing a child--the benefactor of your skill and wisdom, and a victim of your ignorance. It's about saving a rusting pile of disregarded scrap from the crusher and making it stronger, faster, more real and alive than it ever was, or ever deserved to be. It's about
caring for your creation, loving it; pushing it to its limits, exalting in its greatness, and forgiving its weaknesses, because they are your weaknesses.

It's about dreams and hopes and fears. Dreams of glory; dreams of carving out a small niche in history, like Mario, and Sterling, and 'King Richard'. Hopes. Hopes that the many long winter hours of lonely toil in the cold, dusty garage will bring smiles come May, and a nod of approval from the brutally indifferent stopwatch. Hopes that the brakes will be there on call, as you hurtle without recourse into the unforgiving concrete canyon. Hopes that, in the end, you'll be able to look back on the whole experience and find it worth the price, while living with the fear that it won't be.

It's about determination, perseverance, and the strength of resolve. It's about patience and discipline. It's about putting in the time, double checking, attending to the critical details. It's about concentration, and focus. It's about controlling the overpowering urges, sticking to the game
plan, and keeping your head when the unthinkable happens. It's about testing, and measuring, and worrying, and sweating the small stuff

It's about faith; faith in yourself, in your crew, in your fellow competitors, in the workers, and in the men and women who designed this car, these tires, and this track. It's about believing in your roll cage, and your safety harness, your Nomex suit, and the fire system that has never been put to the test. It's about knowing that no matter what happens, you chose.

It's about deep and lasting respect, caring, and friendships; about sharing joys and disappointments, pitching in, and easing the load.

It's about living life in the cutting edge of a razor, hanging it all out there, going for broke. It's about knowing, without doubt, by-damn, that you're alive. It's about putting your heart and soul into something and letting the whole world see what you can do. It's about knowing that in the
midst of the confusion and emotion and heart-stopping action, you were the one that mattered.

Anonymous

2OHOH2 · 05-30-2003, 4:49 PM

wow...

abtech · 05-30-2003, 4:51 PM

It's also about people, sanity and actually living for a few brief moments . . .

luvtolean · 05-30-2003, 5:06 PM

Quote:

abtech : It's also about people, sanity and actually living for a few brief moments . . .

That is probably the best one line description of racing I've heard. *Especially the 'actually living' part.

Edit: But I think the guy covers that stuff.

Baketech · 05-30-2003, 5:26 PM

Of you lucky upper percentiles endowed with the genuine competitive spirit describe above, I am infinitely envious.....

As for the rest of us, we will remain demonized by the appreciation of motorsports without the burning desire to always be in front.... A frustrating paradox, for while we enjoy the bliss of a well turned wrench, or a good corner carved, we will never truly understand....

Its a rare gift.....

abtech · 05-30-2003, 5:44 PM

Since I began 'teaching' several years ago, I have come to the understanding that some people are meant to race and others aren't. Simple as that. I have had several classes of 30 students with the shining faces, tricked out bikes, new leathers and all the spunk you can imagine come in after the second or third session and about 75% are all wound up while the balance have already decided it's not what they want to do. After the final session where you sign their certificate and invite them to race the following day (after their school race) the number of takers has dwindled down to 2 or 3. The next day all three make the grid, but after their race, only 2 decide they want to do it again. The following event, only one of them shows up.

Pretty interesting, but risk management is a bitch and my hat is off to all the riders that give it a shot.

Baketech · 05-30-2003, 5:58 PM

Quote:

abtech : Since I began 'teaching' several years ago, I have come to the understanding that some people are meant to race and others aren't. *Simple as that.

Totally.....much to my chagrin...

abtech · 05-30-2003, 6:09 PM

Don't feel bad. MY long time mechanic is a huge bike whacko and has had several (more than 15) street bikes. After my last championship season, we bought him a race bike, since he had been chomping at the bit to get out on the track and try his hand. We did about 5 track days, where he did very well and then he went to the new riders school for CCS. After the school he was very quiet and I tried to find out what was up. He said he wasn't really sure he was going to be able to race, but was upset because we had all spent so much time, money etc. helping him that he felt he was letting us down. I told him that was BS and that as long as he didn't feel comfortable racing, then he should forget about it.
We still work together whenever possible and I believe he made the right decision.

That's him on the left . . .

http://www.absotech.com/images/absor...rtrait_mid.jpg

Baketech · 05-30-2003, 6:14 PM

Cool story....

I am fully okay with my reality....it doesn't diminish my appreciation of bikes, riding, or life in general.....but I admit to sometimes feeling like a 'Salieri'.....

luvtolean · 05-30-2003, 6:25 PM

And I sometimes think shooting heroin would be cheaper and less addictive.

abtech · 05-30-2003, 6:33 PM

Cheaper, yes. Less adictive? no contest . . . Racing is a lifelong, no help-group, in your blood, lose the house, change your name addiction.

ratter · 05-31-2003, 7:48 PM

Quote:

luvtolean : And I sometimes think shooting heroin would be cheaper and less addictive.

I know which i would rather do and it has nothing to do with needles.

stegen · 05-31-2003, 9:30 PM

Who the hell is Anonymous?

Cool read tho

Bacchus · 05-31-2003, 10:33 PM

After reading that post, I think it must be Chain *

It WAS definitely a cool read!

DCEMotorsports · 06-02-2003, 9:23 AM

ltl, Good read and thanks. Puts into words what I've been feeling for a while.

Cheers, DCE

ZX9RCAM · 06-02-2003, 2:00 PM

you did realize he was taling about cars....not that it changes
the feeling any....

tigerblade · 06-02-2003, 2:04 PM

The whole atmosphere of just being 'at the races' is so cool. I'd go hang out even if I wasn't participating.

lfg929 · 06-02-2003, 2:52 PM

It is cool. I would say age tempers some of that though. When I was younger I would let it all hang out and go for broke when racing my quad. I could have played it much smarter and been much faster and had less spectacular crashes. Age and wisdom has caused me to take a different approach with road racing. My main goal is to get faster through technique and experience, and to finish. I figure the by-product will be podiums.

Trackho · 06-03-2003, 2:03 PM

Quote:

luvtolean : Quote (abtech @ May 30 2003, 4:51pm)It's also about people, sanity and actually living for a few brief moments . . .

That is probably the best one line description of racing I've heard. *Especially the 'actually living' part.

Edit: But I think the guy covers that stuff.
Sounds alot like doing blow to me

Just curious how many racers are recovering amphetimine addicts--I know of one

Ummmm-I think Racing is a tad more financially draining, than a major drug addiction---at least it was in the 80s

gerry · 06-20-2003, 12:15 AM

I would love to be part of racing i just have worries of how to break into racing.

The money investment just seems to much. I'm a 22yr old. Right now my main worry is getting money to get my own place and a good job. Btw, rent in Manhattan, minimum $1500 for 1 bedroom

Racing seems like a sport for the priveleged few who are young, or those who are already a little older and already have established themselves. Unfortunately i dont fit into either category.

I guess i'm just gonna start slow. Go to a few tack days and maybe eventually get a racing license. When i have enough money maybe racing will be a part of my life (something i used to dream about when i little).