Life Lessons from the Drag Strip

 

(Photo credit: Rachel Kuskie)

(Pictured: Bristol Dragway, "Thunder Valley," 2013)

 

In my old blog I did a post similar to this. It's unfortunate that I was young and dumb and thought, "no one gives a shit about this blog, screw it," and deleted it into the abyss of the internet. But hey, you live and you learn.

 

And that's what this post is going to be about!

 

Any hobby helps shape who a person is. Whether its building a person to becoming a hardworking, dedicated individual or to become a detail-oriented perfectionist (ironically racing makes you become both of these!), anything a person puts their energy toward will always end up becoming a big part of their heart and soul.The things I have learned from drag racing can be applied to everyday life, and have (thankfully) had a positive influence on who I am today.

 

 Even though any racer can relate to these little "hints" of life, I also think anyone can get something out of them, so here I am to share with you my "Life Lessons from the Drag Strip"

 

5. It's Just You and The Tree

When you're racing, there's always that pesky little guy (or girl!) in the other lane who you're trying to beat. Something we are taught early in drag racing, when you're up on the line, it's just you and the tree. What the other guy does just doesn't matter. The thing about drag racing is even though there is an opponent you're up against, there's only one half of the race you can control and that's yours, so you might as well focus on that reaction time because that can make or break your round right there.

Life lesson:

There's always someone out there trying to mimic you, beat you or be better than you at anything. Just focus on yourself and do the best you can, because that's all you can control. Work hard to be your best!

 

4. Cut A Light and Take the Stripe

Winning a race overall is simple, actually doing it can be the difficult part. An easy way to do it, cut a light and take the stripe: beat the guy on the tree and beat him to the end. If you really got him on the reaction time you'll have enough room to lift and ensure you don't run under your dial. If you can do this, we'll see you in the winner's lane.

Life lesson:

Be as damn near perfect as you can in everything you do. Ensure that you're the best. Stand out by showing how hard you work. It always pays off, maybe not at first, but eventually it will always turn your way.

 

3. Keep Your Head in the Race 

This isn't a problem for everyone, but sometimes it just creeps up on you...or if you're me, more often than you want to admit. You're suited up and ready to go and for some reason your mind starts drifting, whether it's onto how badly you want to win, or maybe you're hungry or you have to pee...and before you know it, bang! You cut a horrible light and you're going home without even standing a chance. It is imperative to stay focused. And I mean focused. We're talking about ten thousandths of a second, here. You don't have time to think about anything else! Keep your head on point, eye on the prize, be in it to win it...and any other competitive cliché I may have missed...just do it (like Nike!) and success will come your way!

Life lesson:

No matter what you're doing, if it's schooling, work, exercise, or any other hobby...keep your head in it. The results are always better when you stay focused, and sometimes they're even better than you imagined they could be! We are all capable of so much if we work hard and keep the end result in mind.

 

2. Run Every Round Like it's the Final

Don't ever sit back on a race. It doesn't matter who you're racing, where you're racing or when you're racing. Never take your head out of it. If you take every round like it's the final, no one can tell you that you didn't try your hardest. Each round takes you onto the next, so each one counts! Keep the intensity going...it won't happen every time, but it will take you to the winner's lane eventually if you can do this.

Life lesson:

Approach all your passions in life to the fullest. If you're going to run, run as hard as you can. If you're going to work, do the extra work to land your dream job (or one that doesn't suck). If you're going to write, proof read that son of a bitch like it's going to be the next New York Times best seller. If you take the "go hard or go home" approach to life, you're bound to be more successful in your endeavors than the average person. If you fail, pick up and go at it even harder.  

 

1. Run Your Own Race

Race how you are comfortable. Do what works for you. There are so many theories out there about bracket racing and what to do to win. So many of us will turn to online tutorials, blogs or even on-track schooling to try to find the secret to success. While some of these things work for some people, they don't work for everyone...if they did, we would have a problem. I went through some tough stages trying different things with racing, and all it really did was stress me out more. When I did what came naturally to me and what felt right to me, even if I didn't win, I was able to put better packages together and feel better about trying again the following week. Every racer is different and we all have what feels right to us.

Life lesson:

Just be you. This is so hard when growing up, sometimes even as an adult. I struggled with that for a long time personally. What I learned was once I became comfortable, hell even proud of who I am, my morals, and where I come from, life became a whole lot easier. Stand your ground, even if you stand alone. Doing what someone else says to do, or being who someone else says to be, doesn't always make it right just because someone told you to do it. Listen to your heart, and stay true to who you are, and you can never go wrong!

 

So there they are. My top 5 pieces of advice that you can take from the track to your everyday life. I hope my insights can help some of you, or even just made you laugh and nod your head. Life can be tough, but finding a passion and a code to live by can make it much easier and a lot more fun!

 

 

 

 Anyone else out there find they have learned something from racing they have applied to their lives? Or maybe vice versa?