The Gentleman racer.

When I first started racing.  almost a whole ten years ago.  I was lucky to become track friends with an accomplished racer.  Sadly we lost him a few years ago, and  like many things you don't realize how someone has affected your life, or how much influence they had until they are no longer around.  This friend had great cars and great skill, and always took the time after a race to stop by my trailer and spend 15 minutes of his time discussing how my race went.  He almost always was in the top two cars and would usually put a lap on me during the race.  Initially when he would come to talk I would be horrified that he might be coming by to tell me how I had screwed up.  Which may have been the case, but he never made it seem like that.  It was always about passing, or using the accelerator pedal or when and how much to brake.  Always a positive 15 minutes or so about race craft.  I hope some how he knows just how much those talks meant to me and how much I think back on them now. 

We are all just Amateur racing enthusiasts at our level.  Driving many types of cars that we are passionate about.  Various income levels and racing budgets and skill levels.  Competitive to a fault sometimes.  Passionate and Emotional sometimes, always wanting to be the best.  I actually had some skills when I started.  I was fast, and usually made the right moves at the right time.  Over the last few years, time, budget, and life has taken its toll and I have lost my edge.  I still loved to race, but had lost the direction that I needed to be good at it. A year ago at the ProAutoSports Thanksgiving weekend.  We were building a new car, going through some teething pains and not getting along so well.   A fellow racer and good friend came up to me after the qualifying race and said he needed me to bring the car by for him to look at because he knew I was not that bad a racer and I was making moves that weren't good.  A not so subtle, much needed reminder to get my shit together.  It was a reminder of how this sport should be and was meant to be.  Road racing at the amateur level is not NASCAR.  There are no sponsors or T.V. contracts. Just a bunch of local car nuts paying the bill to race whatever make and model car they are passionate about.  It was a reminder to me, to keep your car in good working order.  You're not the only one that is out there competing and if your car breaks at the wrong time there are consequences.  It was a reminder that this is a small community and you dont want to be that guy that the rest of the racer mother fuck because your on track behavior is one sided and reckless.  It was a reminder that we are all responsible for racing with integrity and honesty, we class our cars, we have an opportunity during every race to act responsibly and be an example of how good amateur racing should be.  Don't get me wrong, he is the fiercest competitor there is as we all should be, but it was a reminder to me of what acceptable track behavior is. 

I would like to think that I have spent the last year re-learning most of those traits and becoming the gentleman racer I should be and that the sport deserves.  Maintain your car because your safety and the safety of people you call your friends depends on it.  Nobody wants to be that guy what causes a wreck and ruins it for everybody else.  If you do, be humble and accept the responsibility.  If you re on the front row at the start remember that everybody behind you is relying on you to be smart and play fair.  Jumping the start is cheating.  You may get away with it, but there are subtle ways and not so subtle ways you can be brought to see the error of your ways.  Most of all be a smart racer.  We are racing for a club trophy.  Your tires cost more.  We are out there to win, but we are also out there to hone our craft and become the best we can be. 

I LOVE THIS SPORT,  more than I ever thought I would.  I love the cars I love the people, I love the camaraderie and the competition but most of all I love learning how to race and be a better racer. 

Oh and that gentleman who called me out a year ago, has most definitely evolved in the Gentleman racer that we all look up to and will lead us into the future for a time as an example of where the bar is.