God I'm glad it's over! Something that a self-proclaimed race fanatic like myself would never dream of saying. It's just been a long season and I'm happy that it's finally finished. My lawn and my house, (both being in sad states of disrepair) are more than thankful too.
With 18 championship point races and 1 race outside of the series, we've spent a lot of time at the track this past summer and have met a lot of great people along the way. We've had some frustration in our first few times out, and worked very hard to get to where we finished today. Without the help of people like Willie and Pete Kootstra we would have never excelled as quickly as we did. And the days were a lot more fun when you had people like Tom and Alex Rosenquist, and Brian and Kathya Lundy racing with you. Being involved in this sport, as well as spending time with these people and others, have taught us a few valuable lessons.
You can't take anything for granted. That's what my son and I did as we were reeling in the 5th place driver in points and pulling away from 7th. We knew that fifth was going to be a stretch, but we also knew that at the pace we were going, and the fact that we were beating him easily over the past few weeks, it would only be a matter of time before we'd catch him. It ended up being too little, too late. All it took was one bad finish on our end and one great weekend for them to drop us out of contention.
We also felt pretty confident in our 6th place spot. Our lead was mounting on his friend Kathya and with all of the bad luck they had been experiencing we pretty much thought it was in the bag. Well it was, that was until the last race when they pulled a rabbit out of their hat and were running like they were on rails. Nothing that we could do would allow us to catch them. With 30 points between the two of them, all she had to do was finish 3 karts ahead of us and the championship spot was hers. Seeing that she had done that easily in the two heat races before the feature we knew we had some work, and good old fashioned praying to do. Lady luck was on our side as she did finish ahead of us but Sam managed to only allow 1 kart to get between them. She finished fourth with us in sixth place giving us 6th spot in the points out of 16 total drivers. Not bad for his first time behind the wheel. I truly couldn't be more proud of him.
A good time is what you make of it. It's alright to be very competitive, but at this level with this young of a driver you can't expect everything from them. And in this day and age of people being as busy as they are and never being able to find time to do anything as a family, Isn't just being involved in something that brings all of you together enough? Some people that I've come to know this season either didn't know this, or lost all comprehension of it. I've got an axe to grind on this one and will explain more of this later.
I've always loved racing. Everything about it. The thing that I love the most about it now is that at this level there is something for everyone to do. It can be something as small as cleaning tires after every session out on the track. A job my 9 year-old daughter has taken very seriously. You don't find this type of value in Soccer, Baseball, or Football. Like I've said before, if you're not part of the coaching staff you'll sit on the sidelines with no real involvement. While this may be perfectly fine with some parents, it doesn't sit well with me. I've always been a hands-on person, and I want to have an active role in my kids interests. I say that tongue-in-cheek because I know there's probably never going to be a day when you see me execute a perfect back handspring, or Tap Dance my way into the history books with my daughter. She's voiced her interest in driving, and I'll have plenty of help and support for her should she want to race. I just think that multiple cartwheels at my age is not such a good idea.
Getting back to the fun part. Years of racing on my own has given us an advantage in this first year. It's helped us avoid a lot of the learning curve problems that are normally associated with being new to the sport. This I feel has saved us a lot of anguish, allowing us more time to just have a blast. We set out this year to just have fun. Anything else was gravy as they say. With the exception of a few tough moments, there were never any times that he got out of the kart without a smile on his face. And regardless of how he did on the track, I was usually beaming myself. There's a 2-cycle class that usually races a few classes before us that I watched almost every chance I'd get. The kids ranged in age from about 12 to 15 years old. Before every race they ALL would knock fists or shake each other's hand, wishing each other good luck. A little friendly smack talk would occur sometimes too. After each race they would come in and be smiling from ear to ear, laughing it up and shaking hands in congratulation with each other. It did'nt matter if you were first or last, they ALL got together and did this. Race after race. Weekend after weekend. I had as much fun watching this as they had doing it. I can only hope that my son is involved with a group like this, and can show this type of sportsmanship as he gets a little older.
For the most part, everyone is willing to help. The racing community as a whole is made up of many different types of people. There are people that have money and all the right equipment, and there are others scraping by with what little they have. Regardless of what demographic they fall into, the one thing that they have in common is a love for the sport and a willingness to help anyone who needs it. If you would break down or crash, there would most likely be someone there to help you get it back together or loan you the parts to do it. This is something that I came to realize years ago when I drove Formula Ford and had my share of teething problems. It was also apparent when my son had his big crash this season. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity from people in his own class that volunteered their help, parts, and even an entire kart! That's right, one of the fathers of a driver in our class actually offered to have his child sit out the day so we could drive their kart and chase after the points. How's that for generosity?
This looks like too much fun to be on this side of the fence! I thought I had it out of me, but the bug must still be there. I thought that wrenching on Sam's kart was going to be enough for me but it just isn't. I gotta' get back in this thing myself. Dont get me wrong, I learned a lot. Had a ton of fun doing it. But a return to the driver's seat would be nice. I don't know how I'd do it. Aside from the financial commitment, the time needed to prepare two if not three karts could make it impossible. The only shot I may have is that Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies is close to inking a distributorship deal with Reynard Karts. If this happens, I might just have to get one. I mean, how can we succesfully market and sell something if you don't have first hand knowledge of it. I'd be taking one for the team here. I'd be the sole person in the newly formed R&D department conducting crucial information gathering sessions to determine the viability of this chassis' success. Or at least that's what I need my wife to believe!
Whatever you do, never live through your children. You'll just flat out look like a fool when things don't go your way and you have one of your hissy fits! Yes, hissy fit. A childish phrase for childish people.
If you got the snot kicked out of you as a kid. If you finished in last place in everything you did. Don't be a drill sargeant and get up in your kid's grille every time they don't live up to YOUR standards. This is the section about those people that I told you I would explain more about. I'm firmly planted on my soap box and some of this may not be pretty, so have the kids leave the room and if you can't handle brutal honesty, hit the escape button. This is also the time when I must say the opinions expressed here are my own and in no way reflect the opinions of my son, my family, Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies, or any Firefighter or Fire Department in the country.
We've all seen it. Mothers and Fathers at little league games getting way too into things. A hockey dad kicking the teeth out of the coach because he benched his kid. Soccer parents attacking the referee for a bad call. These are all real good ways to teach your kid that it's ok to just go up and floor someone who you feel did you wrong. And we blame video games for this?. What get's real disturbing to me is when the aggression is directed at your own child for not performing to YOUR standards. I had very high hopes for Sam this year, and I'm proud to say he met them. But I never forced him into it. We had many occassions when he did'nt perform as we'd expected. And I knew that he was dissappointed enough himself so what would I gain by riding him? I'm not implying that I'm a psychologist or anything. It's just common sense to think that if someone comes down on their kid time after time, regardless of how well or poor they did, in due time they'll just give up! I mean if you're getting crucified either way, why try? I hope this doesn't happen to one driver from our class who seems to go through this more than usual. He's a great kid. all the other kid's seem to like him too. I just get the idea that his dad is all business and doesn't allow him to horse around with any of the others. You know, just being a kid. And look out if something goes wrong for them! It doesn't even have to be his son's fault. He could be a product of circumstance and have no real way to avoid it and the guy would literally bring his son to tears. I've seen it week in and week out. Most of what this guy did this season really angered me and drove me to this tangent.
I remember one time his son had gotten tagged on the start of a race and spun the kart. This relegated him to last place and he never really could recover. I had been one of the first people down pit road when the race ended and noticed that he was crying before his dad even got there! He knew what was coming, and I didn't catch everything, but his father's first words were "What the hell did you do!" Not, what happened? or anything like that. What did YOU do. This happened all too often. It all culminated into one event last weekend where for the first time I had a hard time minding my own business and not wanting to just break this guy's jaw. His son tangled with another kart that was pretty much off the pace of the rest of us. A backmarker if you will. I'm standing on the infield at turn one when I heard the contact and went running to see if they were ok. His son's kart had a seriously bent spindle which prohibited his turning the wheels so nonetheless his session was over. When Mr. Personality arrived he proceeded to verbally assault the other father shouting profanity right in front of both kids! He was screaming so loud I was sure the people down pit road could hear him over the karts. In his own charming way he was telling them that if they couldn't drive faster they should get the #U@! off the track. This is the kind of stuff that real men and strong families are made of. A definite role model I'm sure.
Aside from his obvious chemical imbalance, the other thing that bothered me was the fact that he had worn a "Proud to be a Firefighter" T-shirt once or twice to the track. Not a "Proud to know a..." or "Proud to be related to..." But suggesting that he was proud to be one. I don't know. With a personality like that I feel moved to paraphrase Senator Lloyd Bentsen's comment to Dan Quayle when I say "I know Firefighters. I serve with Firefighters. You sir, are no Firefighter." Yeah we aren't perfect either. I've known a few who lack some moral fiber but for the most part they're real good people. None of the guys in my house would ever treat people, much less their own kids that way. And yes we talk like sailors but never in front of children. I just bring this up because I take this job and this lifestyle very seriously and I hate to see shmucks like him screw it up. What he does to his family is his business. I'll give him that. It's when he's a bad representation of something important to me that he really rubs me the wrong way.
He's just a bad sport. A rotten individual who is obviously more concerned with what he's getting out of this than his son. I've been involved in racing for over 20 years now and never have I met a person who embodies the lack of sportsmanship and integrity that this guy has. He's kind of like the Bill Romanowski of the karting world.
I've wasted enough breath on this topic. I've now stepped down, My rant is over.
In Closing. The biggest lesson I've learned is you never really have any control over the outcome. The best of set-ups can be washed away in a bad start. As smooth as your driver is, there's always an erratic driver who could take him out. You just have to let the chips lay where they fall. Some days you're on, some you're off. If you can't always finish the day saying you had a good time, maybe it's time to move on.
What I want and don't want? I want us to do better next year in whatever class we decide to run in. I think Sam has earned it and deserves it. He's definitely proven that he can run with kids who have been driving much longer than him. I really think he has the talent to go further and can't wait to see what next season brings. What I don't want is to ever be so consumed with winning that I turn into Mr. Personality or anything resembling him. If anyone ever sees a trace of that emerging in me just beat me with a brick. I'll forgive you.
I want to thank alot of people for this season. Mainly my wife Lori who reluctantly went ahead with this idea. At first it was the investment, then safety issues, but ultimately she agreed to allow us to give it a try. She was also my timer, bookkeeper, scheduler, and the only person I could rely on to help me get the kart on and off the stand. My daughter Abi who put up with Sam, Sam, Sam, and karting, karting, karting, for 7 months. She also did a great job of cleaning the tires after every session and truly showed interest in learning how to work on other ends of the kart as well. Chris and Carla Heitman and Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies for helping us do this and do it right. John Haydon Jr. for his insight into many technical issues as well as his help in driver development. Reagan Vehring of 4-Cycle Central for his engines and all of the little things that he takes for granted that were of such value to us. And to all my friends and family who have shown their support by stopping by and cheering him on. This really motivated him. We hope to see you all again next year.
Mike Marmurowicz
