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Most local racers work their rear-ends off to go racing on the weekend.
Some even work two maybe three jobs to pay their household bills and
manage to put enough money aside to have a weekend of rubbing and
bumping sportsmanship.
For some, local racing is not real racing but for others, this is the REAL
racing. Here it is the knowledge and skill of the driver most of the time
that makes the cars handle, run and finish a race. This is the birthplace
and nursery for NASCAR Winston Cup. Here stars can be born and here
stars are never forgotten. Mark Martin, Dick Trickle, Broadway Joe, Tony
Stewart, Steve Park have all had their local times here in Central Florida.
And even though some may have been long ago, these stars still remember those days with a smile and I really loved that time.
Today, with all the name calling and complaining that our tracks get, it
makes it hard to enjoy why we came to a racetrack. The smell of
burning rubber, the roar of the engines, the excitement of the fans, the
high banked oval tracks that touch our hearts forever and make us return
week after week. The way the asphalt shines at times when the light hits it just right, the first feature win for a new or old driver, the treasure
hunt thatgoes on after the races when the kids walk the track for goodies, this is REAL racing.
Racing has come along way since it began. Some good, some bad but
constantly changing in Winston Cup. Where you could go to a race for
a reasonable amount of money, now you must save for quite awhile
especially if you plan to take your family. But no matter what the costs,
we still have full stands.
But local racing, well, it is the heart warming, touchable arm of the sport
that we all love. Support your local tracks, support your local drivers and
their sponsors. Go as often as you can and smell the air, feel the heat,
enjoy the sound and you too will see that this is the REAL racing. Racing
that is totally done on personal skills and small budgets. Racing as racing
was begun - a car, a man, a good back and greasy hands.
AND....... The Spirit of the Track
Some people will know exactly what I am saying and others will
wonder about it. Racing and being a racefan can bind you to
others more than any other sport. Somehow, someway, you become
a family and as such, you take care of, love and protect each other.
In fact, you can just know each other by computer since you met
because of racing and still you are a family.
Recently, my children and I learned that we had a stranger in our home
for nine years, a stranger that invaded every corner of our lives that he
could. Devastated is not the word for this, there are no words but if it
was not for my racing family and the love they share with me and my
family, I could have easily fallen off the earth. They have picked me
up when I needed it, let me cry when I needed it, let me show my anger
when I needed it. They have always been there for me and my kids.
Racing is something we did as a family long ago, we went every weekend.
But eventually we got a car and we became one of the racers. When we
joined that league, we met some extremely special people, our racing
family.
This is a thank you to racing for giving me the wonderful people in my life.
This is to racing for giving me something that I do and can be proud of.
And this is a heart full of love for everyone who has helped and is helping
us deal with our personal tragedy. Your support is overwhelming, your
love never-ending, and your patience a virtue. Thank you.
-Jane
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September 29, 1999 The Restlessness of Racing
If you have gone to your local track recently, you have probably noticed
that the car counts are lower and the racers that are there have gotten
very cut-throat. There is entirely too much "taking out" drivers and like
Dave Marcis said last weekend when hit by Chad Little, "this is not
racing". Racing is rubbing and bumping but not purposely putting
someone in an out-of-control spin and into the concrete wall because
you want by but just can't make it.
As our car counts get lower, I have found that it is not so much the
purses at the tracks that have done this but the lax in teching cars
and making them go by the rules. If you are competitive but not
rich, it is hard to come out and play with the other cars when you
know that alot of them are cheating and that more than likely, you
will be a lap car. To alot of drivers' egos, they rather not come out
than to be a lap car.
So, how can we solve this? How do we make our car counts bigger
and the cars more equal? First, we have to inspect each and every
car in each and every class to see if they have gone by the rules. Then
somehow, we must figure out a way to seal an engine so no new parts
are added after inspection. No engine should be without this and when
an engine is replaced, it must also be inspected. Make the cars equal
and maybe the car counts will go up. Racing locally should never be
based on the size wallet you have or the secrets you know to cheat.
Make it fair to all and drivers will come because they will know that
the track is fair.
I have always thought that racing should be divided into two groups -
those with money to burn and extra cars and those with just enough
money to run and out for fun. Racing is expensive even on the poorest
racer but it should be fair to that racer also. He should never be ashamed of what he has because he did his car legal but still has no chance withthe cheaters.
Racing is definitely a two-way street for the racer and the track personnel.The racer is expected to go by the track rules and the racer expects the track to keep the cars equal. Maybe now is the time that the two-way street runs into one and everyone benefits. The racer, the track, the fans,and the families. -Jane Smith
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