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August 26, 1998 - Appreciation Where Appreciation is Due - Jane Smith
It takes more than just having alot of race cars and pit crews and fans at a race track to make it work, it takes the little people behind the track. These people are usually well known to the racers and their crews but the fans never really see them or even know their names. Yet, without them, the fans and the cars would not be there.
All tracks have track managers. All tracks have technical inspectors, flagmen, back gate flagmen, clean-up crew or crews for the track and maintenance people who not only cut the grass but do all repairs at the tracks. These are not easy jobs and at times, very unappreciated jobs. Very seldom do these people ever get told that they are appreciated for all they do or that their efforts are ever even noticed.
Before we started racing but went to the track every weekend as fans, I never really thought about what the people were like that ran the track. I was there to see my favorite drivers and racing. Never did I give a second thought to how much work and time went into running that track and all the work that had to be done during the week for the weekend fans.
But when we started racing, a whole new light came on and I began to know what it took to make the track work and how much time went into the weekly details of getting the track ready for Friday and Saturday night. Not only is there trash every where from the fans but the pits have alot of garbage too that must be cleaned up. There are bathrooms to clean, stands to clean, grass to cut, sometimes walls to paint, sweeping the track down, so many things.
Whatever needs to be done, must be done.
So, for all those track managers and every person who works at the track from the concession stand people to the track announcers, I appreciate you. For the flagman who holds our drivers' safety in his hands to the dune buggy driver or what ever type vehicle is used to clean your track that does his best to keep the track clean and not slick, you all are appreciated.
So next time you go to your local track, try a little experiment. Tell your flagman what a good job he did flagging the race, tell your concession stand person thanks for being so helpful and working in that hot kitchen, yell if you have to at the dune buggy driver and tell him good job and I can guarantee you that you will be doing a good thing. You will be giving appreciation to the people who really make your track work.
(Special Note To Tammy, Bruce, Elaine, Donnie, Van, Fred, Butch, Barbara, Art, Track Announcers, Scorers in the booth, concession stand personnel, ticket booth ladies, pit gate guards at Orlando, etc. - YOU ARE APPRECIATED FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO. YOU MAKE OUR TRACKS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR ALL OF US AND YOU HELP US ALL TO BE A FAMILY. YOUR NEVER ENDING EFFORTS ARE NOTICED AND GREATLY APPRECIATED.)
-Jane
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August 24, 1998 Winning at Daytona Jane Smith
It took almost two years and unspeakable amounts of money, work, sweat, tears and pain but I finally did it. I won at New Smyrna Speedway. For me, it was like winning Daytona, as my New Smyrna track is my Daytona track in my racing circle. It is my super speedway track. I have come close to winning but always, always, something vital to my running good would breakdown. I would get black flagged for smoking, throw one of my belts off, or just flat out run hot.
But not Saturday, August 22. Everything worked, my tires did their job and my dad did his job and I did mine flawlessly. Alex, my someday driver and who picked out my color scheme and car number, picked the number at the draw window that put me on the pole this night. Since I have those Jeff Gordon colors and the number 24, I had to be quic from the start. My 305 under my hood was running strong, I could feel that.
Even though my rear-end is not quite right for New Smyrna and better for Orlando SpeedWorld, it too was right tonight. My new belts that I needed from last week's sling-off were tight and my oil was clean. Tire pressure wasgood and battery charged. I am ready for the pole.
We have a new flagman at New Smyrna and all cars had their eyes on him as the race started. No false starts, no jumping the gun. I feel my dad shift me into second, hit the gas and the rest is my job. Engine is powered up and I am flying down the straight away and into the corners with just a little brake if needed. I stick, I hold my line and I am in the lead. Me, the Jeff Gordon Buick, leading the race and not messing up.
Three cautions, three re-starts, and I still have the lead. Tires, engine - DON'T FAIL ME NOW. Last lap, I see the white flag come out and hear someone right on my rear but I am determined to finally beat this track. And finally, checkered flag and I have won, me, the 24 rainbow car. I have done it with grace, not throwing a belt, or smoking or overheating.
Hey, someone is jumping up and down on my roof!! "What's going on up there?" I see, it is only my happy dad celebrating at long last for our victory. I feel Alex sitting on me and my mom and sister softly touching my warm hood. I hear "smile" and see Alex holding a checkered flag and trophy and I know that finally, I have done what I could not do. I won at New Smyrna Speedway and now my family can go to DisneyWorld when and if they ever take a weekend off from the tracks. And me, I get a sticker that says "Feature Winner - New Smyrna Speedway". Something I always wanted and now I have.
-Jane
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August 18, 1998 Clean Ears Jane Smith
Most people who love racing love not only local racing but NASCAR racing. But when it all comes down to it, those NASCAR racers and big track owners started out just like us "little people" - local racers and track owners. And what is it that we all have in common - it takes racers coming to the track for the owner to make money to run the track. They need each other just like the flowers need rain to grow.
Now you are probably thinking that it is not hard to keep racers, fans and track owners happy. WRONG. Just because you may own a race track, does not mean you will get racers to come and run your track. If your track is in bad need of repair, your pits are the "PITS", and your track officials leave a little to be desired, not many racers will repeatedly come to your track. And on the other hand, track owners get upset when racers come and leave huge messes in their pits for their maintenance people to clean up especially when they may have a garbage can at every pit stall.
But the difference between local and NASCAR tracks is that the tracks and their owners seem to listen to their racers more. If you watch, they are constantly improving their tracks and stands for the racers and the fans. They realize that if the cars won't come, neither will the people. Even the purses had to grow for the drivers or they just flat would not come.
In local racing, purses are important but not everything. Most local racers just want to race and they know when they start racing that you just never get ahead of the game doing this on the weekend. You pay out far more than you ever win. So this is why track conditions and track officials are so important to local racing. You want to run at a good track with qualified officials and be treated with the respect you deserve as a racer.
In my own personal observation of the tracks I have been to, track owners and track racers need to listen to each other with open ears. One needs the otherto have a successful track and that is the absolute truth. And to find this level of communication you need to have mutual respect for each other. This may not be NASCAR but it still needs to be treated in the same manner or we will have alot of empty stands and small classes of cars at our tracks. Fans and racers are human, they will follow the bigger crowds and better tracks.
Racing is and always has been one big family. Once you have entered that union, no one can ever break it. But owners need racers to keep their tracks open and racers need tracks that are well maintained, safe and fair. And ALL need clean ears to hear.
-Jane
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August 12, 1998 Red and Yellow Jane Smith
My heart is very heavy right now and not only am I confused but so are a lot of my racing buddies. Most of us have been racing together now for almost two years so we know each other fairly well. We basically get the same treatment as far as teching us but not the respect that the other cars get. That in itself is mind boogling since every race car starts out the same. We may have different body styles, motors, etc., but we are all cars. We all have rules that we must go by and even at our low standing in the race world, we expect to get treated fairly.
Fairly means just that fairly. We may be novice at racing but most of our drivers are NOT fools. They know we have set rules at the track and that we need to watch the flagman or the caution lights during a race. When we see yellow, we know to slow down and when we see red, we know to stop right there.
Maybe every blue moon or so, a new car and driver will come out and be concentrating so hard on not wrecking and finishing good that he forgets to look at the flagman or the lights but this is not that often.
Knowing this as I do and knowing that my fellow race cars and owners know this, how could every car but one be disqualified for not stopping on a red light?? Puzzling is not the word to use, communication is. Because we are such a low-life race car and novice on top of that, we are not given any respect or courtesy. Cautions are not always given when we wreck or turn around just as this one was not given at first. If it had been thrown when the car first hit the wall, no one would have been endangered. But, at last, it was not thrown. To think that any of us would ever endanger purposely another car or driver is ignorant. When five of six cars get disqualified from a race for not stopping on a red light, maybe we should ask why and not accuse them of something that is totally false.
Being a race car is not easy, especially in my class. Although alot of those"Big Guys" started out just like me, they tend to look down on us at times. When was it decided that a stock car is not a stock car unless it has a LateModel, Limited Late, Sportsman, etc., body on it??? We are still all the same,- just a car with different bodies and motors going to our local track or tracks to have some Friday and Saturday night fun. We do this because we were purposely built with loving hands to race around a dirt or asphalt track for ourselves and our friends and fans. And yes, we read the rule book and know what yellow and red mean.
__________________-Jane_____
August 10, 1998 Maybe Now Is That Time Jane Smith
I have always loved racing. First as a fan and now as part of the racing family. Because we do consider ourselves family and even though we are lowly run-a-bouts we are still racers. We must go by the same rule book that applies to the Late Models, the Limited Lates, etc., etc. We pay the same amount as any other driver and pit crew to get into the pits even though wenever win enough to even pay our way in. But, none of us race for the money or the trophy that you get for the top five finishers, we race for fun and because we love it.
As we all know, sometimes there are calls made that even the fans do not understand in racing. And sometimes, as racers, we put our safety and well being into the hands of unqualified people. When you don't have a personal spotter and you are trusting a track official to warn you of any trouble on the track and they don't see well, you are in trouble. This problem is happening too much and personally, I do not want to see any driver hurt but this is going to happen.
When cautions are thrown late and it endangers someone's life, that is not one of the driver's faults but the track official himself. Once someone has hit the wall, the caution should go up. Waiting to see if the driver restarts his car is not an excuse and to restart a race is no big deal. This happened this weekend. A driver was put in danger, a father was very upset, and a whole bunch of good guys were disqualifed because of a late call. What is really puzzling is the field was lead back to green and allowed to finish a race and then told that all top five finishers were black flagged from that yelllow-red flag that was thrown late by the official. It was decided by the track official to let them finish the race and help dry a wet track and then tell them they were black flagged.
Was this, is this, FAIR? Maybe the people who write the rule books for our tracks, should read them once again themselves. No driver, no matter what division, would ever endanger a fellow racer and disregard a caution flag or red flag. But it is not the racer who throws the flags. It is the flagman. He is the watcher of the cars and he should have someone helping him so eyes are all over the track. Sure, he can make a bad call but if he has other eyes also watching, surely one set of them can see.
When faith and trust is lost, it is time to question why. Maybe now is that time.
Jane
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August 6, 1998 Is It The Car Or The Driver? Jane Smith
Lately, I have heard alot of arguments about whether it is the driver or the car that wins all the time. So, whether it is your local track or a NASCAR track, maybe this will answer those questions.
If it is the driver who wins all the time, simply take him out of the car he is driving now and put him into another car. He should be able to win no matter what car he is driving. If it is him, his talent should follow him no matter what he is driving.
Now, take the car and put another driver in it. If it is the car that wins, then any driver should be able to win with that car. If those particular engine builders know a few more secrets to making a winning car, time to get your homework done. All cars are suppose to be equal in all divisions of racing.
And just maybe, it is a little of both. The driver and the car and the pit crews and all the people behind that team. You see it at local tracks, you see it at big tracks.
Why is it that fans like certain drivers and when they start winning alot, they no longer like them? Sure, it is nice for new and different people to win but when they don't, and that same old driver wins again, do we have to boo him?
Is one car better than another, is one driver better than another? Jeff Gordon is not the first driver to ever dominate NASCAR in a season. There have been plenty more before him and probably after him. Even at our local tracks, in my area and your's, we have drivers that win every week. Sometimes they get cheered and sometimes they don't but put yourself in their place for just a minute and see how it feels to be disliked because you won again.
Car, driver - who knows which is the winner!! But next time, before you boo someone, think how you would feel if you were that person. It would hurt, you might not say it, but it would. Support all the racers because they all deserve it no matter what.
-Jane
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August 3, 1998 There Are No ‘Has-Beens’ Here Jane Smith
The other day I was talking to one of our local drivers from our tracks about getting his driving profile. I explained to him how fans and other racers would enjoy seeing how and when he started racing and he really took me by surprise. Very serious he looked at me and said "why would anyone want to see a profile of a "has been"." Just like all of us, he is going through a winless streak but by no means does that make anyone a "HAS BEEN".
A driver's profile is not based on how many wins or loses he has. As long as he can get into that race car, strap himself down with his harness, adorn that racing helmet on his head and put forth the effort to run a good, clean race, there is no "HAS BEEN". I could not and have not ever considered Dave Marcis or D.W. (two men I really respect in NASCAR) HAS BEENS. And when you retire from racing, you are still no "HAS BEEN" because you are instilled in the hearts of the fans who love you no matter where or what you are doing.
Everyone wants to win but common sense tells us that no one can do that job every single race, no one. Racing, unlike other sports - football, basketball, baseball, does not have one certain age to retire. Some racers grow old with their race cars very grateful to God for giving them that priviledge of doing what they love for so long, others may get hurt and have to retire but somehow they always find their way back to the track. They may help young and naive drivers or old friends but racing never leaves the heart. Are they "HAS BEENS"? No way.
This is from a true fan of racing and I do mean every kind of racing. As long as you get into that car, fasten that harness, put up your window net and put your racing helmet on, YOU ARE NOT A HAS BEEN. You are loved and respected by fans and fellow drivers for the standards you set for yourself in racing.
Fairness, sportsmanship, graciousness, fan and fellow driver friendly make you a winner always and you will find there are no "HAS BEENS" here.
-Jane
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August 1, 1998 What We Go Through Jane Smith
"Man, have I got a headache!" First on Friday, I hit another car full speed ahead when someone else turned him around and he went right into my pathway. My brakes would not work fast enough to stop me so we had an initimate moment on the track. Not planned but still happened. I messed up that car alittle and lost some of my Jeff Gordon orange paint but that is okay, my driver will fix it.
Then Saturday, my big day at a larger track, my driver is in second and suddenly I feel something come off my right front tire. Now understand this is the tire that I just got today to replace the tire I blew last night from that mishap. It certainly looked good to me, had pretty good rubber but my tire man was busy and there was no one to tell me which way the tire had been run in the past. So, I just had to guess.
Suddenly in the 5th lap of the race, something came off that tire. Now my driver did not know it, he thought it was someone else's tire but no, it was mine. Before I could warn him, between turns l and 2, the tire blew and I found myself heading straight into the wall. There was no stopping me, no correcting me, just hold on and hope for the best. As everyone knows, even the real BIG GUYS, a blown out right front tire puts you straight into that wall.
I must say that hit does give you a headache. I bent my a-arms, my horns, even folded up my unfoldable bumper and spent one whole day being chained to the old oak tree in my front yard with a come-along pulling on me constantly.
Had some nice man next door do alittle welding and I look pretty good for an old race car. What we go through for our guys!!
-Jane
