Stock car racing does have its similarities with other sports. There is a starting point, and an ending point, and a clearly defined span of time or distance stretching between the two. But NASCAR has been saved for last in this discussion because in motorsports, the word ‘drive’ is a no-brainer.
Unlike most other sports, where participants are usually referred to as players, what NASCAR competitors do is also what they are. They are drivers.
The most cursory Internet search turns up some interesting results on how to execute a successful drive, generally consisting of five major points.
The first is control, of both mind and body. A sports contest changes in the blink of an eyelash, and an athlete must be prepared to change with it. This involves things like balance, alertness and simply maintaining the fitness level necessary not only to compete, but to win.
Next is the attack move. An athlete must possess the ability to assess a situation while it is happening, and to take the necessary measures in order to improve his position when presented with the opportunity, and to do it fast.
Third on the list is preparing for help. Good teammates work together, and the well-prepared athlete should always know where to look for help if he needs it.
The fourth item on the list is good decision making. It is almost never a good choice to take a bad chance.
And finally, in order to execute a successful drive, you must truly care about the end result.
Not a single one of these websites mentions racing, but that composite list virtually screams NASCAR.
Of course racers must be in control of their minds and bodies ... and let’s not forget those 3400-pound stock cars. It’s important to be in control of those, too.
They must be able to judge the best time to pass, and when it is wiser to lay back and wait for a better opening. When their vision is obscured by smoke from an on-track incident in front of them, they must know where to go. Their crew chiefs, spotters, fellow drivers and other team members are critical to this process, and everyone must act – you guessed it -- fast.
If they ever reach a point where they consider second place good enough, they might also want to consider a second career.
‘Drive’ is not just a verb, but a noun as well. We see this “strong, organized effort to accomplish a purpose” at Daytona International Speedway, which recognized fans’ impatience for racing’s Opening Day and responded by opening its grandstands and campgrounds and arranging driver autograph sessions and other activities for a testing session in January.
There’s an old adage warning that if you don’t drive your business, you run the risk of eventually being driven out of it. We see NASCAR’s drive as, in the wake of the most exciting racing season in decades, it continues to look for ways to improve the quality of the product and the experience it offers its legions of fans.
We see it in the drivers themselves who, along with their families, give up so much of their personal time for the duration of their careers. There’s no denying it’s a lucrative ‘sacrifice.’ But equally true is the fact that their continued dedication not only to winning races, but to providing fierce competition week after week, month after month, fulfills our drive to spend our own personal time watching nothing but the best.
Perhaps most importantly, we see the drive of the fans, who save up their money and their vacation time to make odysseys from Michigan to Martinsville, from the Carolinas to California. They know the journey, however long, will give them exactly what they have traveled so far and so faithfully to see.
On NASCAR’s map, ‘drive time’ is defined as the distance between the green flag and the checkered, and it is well worth the trip.
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