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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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Coming Out of Roger The Racer by Norm Bogan |
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How often have you heard a race fan utter the words,
"If I had a good car I could whip all those guys"!
Many a fan is quite bold and the older the story, the faster they get.
Every so often, you get to witness one of these braggarts get their
comeuppance, when because of some fluke, they actually end up behind the wheel
of a racing machine. Once in a great while, you will hear the story of an
unknown, who will enter his first race and go home, the winner.
Believe me, these are few and far between.
For most any rookie racer, the road is quite bumpy and the most important
thing is to get a lot of laps behind the wheel and if the talent is there, you
will become adept at the sport and soon be ready to challenge the established
heroes. Roger the Racer, was a longtime spectator, who had
watched enough racing to know what was the "hot" setup for a
particular track and what line to drive to overcome the competition.
Through whatever means, he had talked his way into a RIDE!!
Now in his spiffy new driving suit, with his name embroidered over the
breast pocket, he was set to enter his first competition. The car was prepared and ready as "hot laps"
neared. Roger was very excited, as
he was about to lose his virginity. Well, excited may not be quite right, as he had already made
about ten trips to the restroom, since arriving at the track.
Finally, it was time to crawl into the labyrinth of
pipe and strap into the seat. Roger's
first thought was, they could have made this thing just a little bigger and the
seat must have been for someone with a skinnier butt. Now I'm settled into this thing, its time to fire the engine
and enter the track. Well, it
started okay and sounds strong. I'll idle this thing onto the track, WOW!!, this
throttle response is a little quicker than my Geo Metro.
Ah, yes, I'm on the track and everything is going to be okay.
There's nothing to this, just step on the gas and steer, everyone is
staying in line pretty good. What's
happening, they are all speeding up. Oh
my God, the green light is on and there is a guy right on my tail.
If I stay with those cars just in front of me, I'll be okay.
Just go to the corner and turn left!
Wait, I've got this wheel all the way to the lock and I'm going straight
to the wall, whew, it finally turned, I probably need to change my line, but
what is my line? It's sure hard to see out of this helmet, like driving in fog.
Upon pulling into the pits, he finds out that the facemask is steamed up
from heavy breathing. Roger's first
thought is, “Boy, I've got to get to the restroom!” The pulse rate is almost back to normal, when they
call to line up for qualifying. Now
everyone gets to see you make a fool of yourself all alone on the track.
Your turn has come and you proceed onto the track.
The car doesn't seem to handle at all like it did earlier, as you nearly
spin out just pulling on the track. As
Roger fights the wheel, his leg is shaking so bad that he can't keep the
throttle down. His heart is beating violently, from a heavy adrenaline rush.
Somehow, Roger completes his qualifying session and gets his position at
the rear of the heat race. Roger starts the heat race right behind the two
biggest heroes on the track, Parnelli Unser and Jeff Earnhardt.
His car owner tells him to just follow them and he'll stay out of
trouble. Well Roger had the gas
pedal to the floor, lifted at the starter's stand and Unser and Earnhardt just
ran away from him. It seemed as if
it was only a lap or two and the two stars were passing high and low.
Suddenly, the car swapped ends going into the corner and Roger was
backing 900 miles per hour into the wall. The damage to the racer was minimal and would be fixable. Roger had run the gamut of emotions on this night. The spiffy driving suit was now soiled and wet and Roger felt as if he had just completed the Marathon. In the one night, he had gained a great deal of respect for the skilled front runners and also for those back-markers, who run week after week, sometimes with an ill handling car and sometimes with an engine down on power. There is the old expression; "If it was easy,
everyone would do it!" This
applies to racers also. So the next
time, you criticize one of the weekly warriors, try to understand that it takes
time to develop the skills, both driving and car setup to gain success.
Financially, they may not be able to buy new tires or the new "hot
set-up" shock absorber, but depend on hand me down parts from the better
financed teams. Just remember what
happened to old Roger and be a little more sympathetic, toward all those who
have the fortitude to do battle on the track.
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