The Racing Circle of Life,  April 27 2002
Michael Wold-Steele

During a conversation with one of my best friends, who is also a racer, we entered into a conversation about "how to improve as a driver"  or "how to break through the plateau's" of driving a race car faster. You see, as much as I improve, it seems like my friend improves by the same amount. I was 6 tenths of a second faster this year at a recent race, but so was he. In a nut shell "he keeps raising the bar". The funny thing about it is, the way I felt about my friend, is the same way that someone, a couple of weeks earlier, felt about me. His comments were the same "You know I thought I had a shot at you this year, but then you went ahead and  got faster". I am sure that this cycle has worked it's way through the entire field.

Not so many years ago I thought if I could just qualify in the top half of the field I would be doing GREAT! My initial goal in racing was not to be lapped during a national race! Now I am complaining if I am not top five. It reminded me of the movie "The Lion King" with Elton John's song "Circle of Life" only I do not give me the impulse to hurl. With this in mind, we started to analyze the various levels of race car driving.

My father, who is still a great influence in my life, set the stage at my last race. He retired last December after 40 plus years of work. He did not have the opportunity to race cars when he was younger, although that was a dream of his. He was not quite as blessed as the rest of us are that do race, own race cars and some how justify throwing away thousands of dollars for a couple of wooden plaques. Or should I say that, my mother would not buy into the program. Yes, those of us that do race are blessed. (Some more than others, especially those that have motor homes worth more than my house) So, for his retirement I gave him his dream. We flew him to town, with the understanding that he was going to to drive my race car. So, during a test day before the race weekend. Steve Fenske gave him the low down on the car and how to drive it, what to do, what not to do, suited him up, strapped him into the car and watched him shake. He shook the way every young man shakes on "Fathers Day" wondering if he is going to get a phone call "Hi this is Buffy, you probably don't remember me, we were both drunk, but...). He the took the car onto the track for 20 minutes. When he returned to the pits, he was in seventh heaven! Remember that feeling the first time you drove? Was he fast? It depends on what level you are at. To him "Yes", to the the rest of the pack..... ummmm.... NO. But he had just jumped two levels on the "Racing Ladder".

So what is the racing ladder.

10) "Vidaholic" - The video game or computer junky that thinks their Sega or Xbox has made them into a real life Fangio. They really do believe that video games are real life.

9) "I'm the Man" - This is every young man/woman that gets his/her drivers license and thinks that he/she is Andretti, Senna or Shumacher on the street. The only thing is they have no idea who Senna is. They impress they're friends at how fast they can go around a corner in a Delta 88. This usually only last about 6 months until they total the car. They also think that the movie "The Fast and the Furious" is real life!

8) "Lounge Lizard" - Do not get this person confused from our disco days, hanging out in bars. This is the person that watches every Nascar race from their lounge chair recliner, has an Jeff Gordon "Rainbow Worrier" Jacket, Earnhardt clock, multiple Nascar t-shirts and can identify each driver on the Winston Cup circuit by number and sponsor. They can often be heard saying "I could drive better than that, now get me another Bud. !"

7) "Enthusiast" - This person actually know what road racing is! They also know what SCCA stands for! Usually has a subscription to Road and Track and Automobile magazine. Plus, they will have some type of NAPA performance products on their car. The "Enthusiast" has also watched the movie "Driven" at least thirty times and has learned some good driving lines. He/she is still trying to figure out how pick up the coins with the tires though.

6) "Our Hero's" - These are the workers that actually come out and support racing. Traveling hundreds of miles, not getting paid, working all day long for the excitement of being involved with Motorsports. Without them, we would not be able to race. These people are truly "Our Hero's". BUT, there have been times, after three or four beers at the worker party, that an occasional hero can be heard uttering the phrase "did you see how slow that person was! I could drive faster than that!".

5) "The Virgin" - This is the person that drives a race car for the first time! Usually rents or borrows a car for the session or school. He/she no longer thinks that they are a natural born Senna. They have been to the mountain and now can understand that driving a race car is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. They also have now figured out the the movie "driven" was full of %$#@.

4) "The Rookie" - They are easy to spot. Their cars are spotless, usually with nice nickel plated suspension, new driving equipment and polished everything, plus they have the complete Smith collection of books somewhere in their tow vehicles. There are many different types of rookies from the "my goal this year is to finish in the top five in the Runoffs, right after I get my national license" to the "how do I get faster". None the less they have made the leap into "Auto Racing". Also, usually after one or two national races their goal has changed and is now "not to be lapped by the leaders". The rookie also thinks that they are pushing the car to the limit and do not understand how the fast guys can be so fast.

3) "The Racer" - This person has learned that to run fast is going to take a long period of time. They are very competitive. They have also realized that the top guys in the class are actually VERY GOOD. He/she will start to go through depression, question how good they really are and start looking at the finer points in driving. There is also the thought that the front runners all have huge motors and if they just had one of those motors.....  "The Racer" also is always trying to get more information and has usually added additional toys to the cockpit. Stack dash, in-car camera etc. A Great bunch of drivers.

2) "The Fast Ones" - These people usually have been involved in racing for many years. They have the toys, and now are concentrating on the VERY fine points of driving a race car fast. You can usually identify this person in the pit ny huim/her talking about what tires they are going to use for each day. This person can feel the difference in car setup and on any given weekend can win. The only goal of "The Fast Ones" is to move up to the next level. The fast ones are also a gold mine for local dyno shops as they try to get that last little HP out of their cars. "The Fast Ones" also know what would make "The Racer" faster but will not share that info and figure that they need to learn it for themselves.

1) "The Elite" - They know who they are and so do you!  "The Elite" driver loves the competition, the dicing and really hope that other "Elite" drivers will be present. "The Elite" driver usually will not let other "Elite Drivers" follow them on the track, so that they do not give away any secrets. But no matter how good the Elite driver is, they know that there is always someone better. They will look at Shumacher, Andertti, Fangio, Senna and realize that they are just "Rookies".

So, Where do you fit in?

This is the way I see it. This is just for entertainment purposes.