Some might think its a bit hilarious to take a racing sim game and call it a career. Well, it is. But, this career is something any athlete would understand. When you love a game so much, and have a passion for it that is deep within the blood that pumps through your veins, you virtually have no choice. Racing is something I have loved since the first day my dad took me to the track. Well, it wasn't the first day, but as a child, you remember things that stick with you forever.
My father was a sportsman class drag racer. He always brought a 70's era Chevy Camaro to the track, first street, than later, sportsman class. He still goes to the track to this day, taking a decade off to race pro stock at the dirt circle track. Drag racing is a mechanics sport. It is the hot rod lovers sport. My father loved his Camaro, and he might not admit it, but he is a damn good mechanic as well. His brain and the engineers gene was given to me. That is probably why I am such a freak about mechanics and engineering.
The days we spent at the drag strip were hot, full of Gatorade , and always a great way to spend the weekend. I remember loving it. There was a patch of grass near the tower, and I would run around and play, ride my mongoose bmx bike all around and watch the line waiting for his turn to run. When his car was in the last slot, I would run up to the tower and watch him run. Then I would run down, hop on the bike, and meet him at the truck. If he won, we went on to the next round. If he lost, we packed up and sat down and watch the rest of the races.
The best part would be the dragsters, and the funny cars. Funny cars were not actually funny, but was a name given to the roadsters that had the engine placed in front of the cock pit, versus the dragsters that had the engine in the back ( hence the name, drag ). Funny cars originally looked liked dragsters minus the engine position, but in the modern day, had a lift-able body. They were awesome, loud, and burned alcohol , which was the best smell in the world, especially mixed with the smell of cooking hot dogs and hamburgers. Yeah, these were the things that stuck with me the most. The smell of racing and the quality time with Dad.
The really inspiring time came when they built the circle track in the same park. Dad went to work on building a pro stock race car and started racing. We watched NASCAR on Sunday, and raced on Saturday. That was our life, well his, and I was more than happy to be part of it. The smell of racing fuel , wet clay dirt, and burning antifreeze was everything and more. And of course, my favorite part was a Pit Dog. A huge hot dog smothered in onions and cheese, mustard and pickled jalapenos, washed down with a arctic frost Gatorade .
Dad would wrap a damp towl around his right leg to help prevent scolding from the heat of the exhaust. The race car was just an engine, a roll cage, and some thin sheet metal. It really was the coolest race car I had ever seen. Granted , the pro stock class was the smallest class of race cars not including minis, it was the working class race car. Hence the name, stock. There used to be caps on how much and what kind of components could be on the car, and so it made it a level playing field.
It was a 1/4 mile track, and so you never really left second gear. The top speed was around 70 to 80 mph, which doesn't seem like much, until you are drifting through the corners with a field, getting pelted with balls of clay. No windshield , just a thick wire mesh, perfect for catching more of that flying clay. Not only did you have to navigate through a field of cars, but you had to look past all of the wet mud, and tear off from your helmet.
I only raced once. I am pretty sure it was a qualifying race, and I ended up high siding on the backstretch wall. I can't really remember what all happen , but I do remember wishing I had more time to practice.
It stuck with me forever.
Now, more than ever, I want to race. As it is and has been, I have never had weekend nights off, working a job that never really permitted any kind of hobby. The Peak Antifreeze NASCAR sanctioned and sponsored circuit on iRacing was televised for the first time this last year, and I watched a few of the races, and pondered heavily on the awesomeness of such an event. I watched a few of them and thought to myself "this would be a heck of a lot cheaper than the real thing" .
I originally set out to be the next champion, only to be quickly humbled when I realized how damn hard it is. The sim, just like real life, is extremely challenging, and in all reality, is missing a bunch of things that make it even tougher. Things like, extreme heat, massive G's , the impact of collisions, the risk of bodily injury ( even if bodily injury is extremely rare now days ), the weight and encumberment of a ten pound helmet on your head, etc,...
Yet, thousands of us still race, and many don't really care, and some of us really care, but even if it is a sim, it is a game, just like the real thing. There is a fine line of caring a lot and not caring to much that it enrages you when you get involved in a incident. That is just first part of the balancing act, the second is the car, going as fast as you can with out over-steering into the wall.
There is that, the desire to win, and that is the absolute center of racing. So now, I realize it isn't about becoming a champion, its about being the best I can be, and being grateful and thankful for the opportunity to just race.
This is that journey
