Space, the familiar frontier

America's Apathy for the Space Program

Dad! Twelve hours of moon landing shows, REALLY? The DVR was full and my daughter needed some recording space for her favorite Disney Channel shows. I tried to explain to her it was the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and the importance and significance of the event. Unfortunately, she simply could not relate to anything I was saying.

How sad! My daughter is 13 years old, a straight A student, and especially strong in science and math. She is the age when students should begin waking up to the bigger world around them and be in awe and wonder of our amazing planet, nature, and mankind’s most amazing triumphs.

When I was 13 the idea of astronauts blasting into space aboard rockets and returning to earth was nothing short of astonishing. Is this a “guy thing”? While young boys may be more interested in this sort of thing, I believe the primary difference between my childhood intrest in space and my daughter’s indifference is societal.

When was the last time you saw the US Space Program in the news? When was the last time you cared to see it in the news? Sadly, when I ask friends these questions, most respond “when the Space Shuttle Columbia burned up over Texas”. This is sad for many reasons. First, the US lost seven of it’s finest astronauts and heroes. Second, the only time the US Space Program makes the news anymore is when something goes wrong, rather than when things go right. Third, the US public has become apathetic towards the program.

I divide the blame for this apathy evenly between the public, the media, and NASA.

The US public has an incredibly short attention span and prefers shallow gossip and dirty laundry stories over scientific achievement news. People like dirty laundry stories (especially about celebrities) because it makes them feel better about themselves. 40 Years ago the entire world watched as Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on another planet. Among the greatest heroes of all time, in my book, the Apollo 11 astronauts made all Americans feel better about themselves and in fact all humans alive feel better about themselves. They did this through human triumph, not by putting others’ woes and misfortune on public display. This is where the Media has culpability, specifically the “news broadcasters” and TV journalists.

It was ironic that Walter Cronkite died so close to the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, which he considered one of the proudest personal and career moments in his life. Would Cronkite today lead an evening’s news with celebrity scandal updates and football star arrests before squeezing in a brief mention about the Space Shuttle docking with the International Space Station creating the largest gathering of astronauts in space ever? Of course not. Yet this is exactly how today’s media is using their valuable air time to spoon feed the American public mental junk food. The constant battle for ratings and thus advertising dollars has turned our news programs into little more than entertainment and our TV journalists into little more than reality TV stars. Walter Cronkite stuck to the facts, challenged the sources, and relentlessly pursued the truth, every single night! Today’s celebrity anchors stick to the script, challenge the facts, and relentlessly pursue the ratings.

Lastly, NASA has done little since the moon landing to energize the public’s imagination about space. How many Americans even recognize the name Michael Griffin, NASA chief for the past 4 years? Will President Obama’s choice for NASA chief, Charles F. Bolden, be more familiar to the American public?

Scientists and engineers are not known for marketing, selling, or communication skills. So, it’s not surprising that many significant space discoveries over the past forty years have gone almost unnoticed in the general media and public. Additionally, scientists often don’t care for the spotlight or if the general public is aware. It’s often felt the public won’t comprehend the significance of the discovery and thus is not worth the effort. Scientists and engineers tend to derive their satisfaction from the approval of their colleagues, who can fully appreciate the importance of their work.

“PUTTING A MAN ON THE MOON” is a simple and understandable as any space mission has ever been. Not only could the public comprehend it, they could get behind it. Every space mission today is still a building block to bigger achievements in the future. However, exactly which conquest that may be is uncertain due to a divergent scientific community, fluctuating budgets, and unpredictable politics. The US Space program badly needs another clear and bold objective to rally behind and re-capture the public and media’s imagination.

So, how do resolve this situation? Well, it sure would be nice if President Obama would challenge NASA and the American people to put a man on Mars within 10 years! (or another equally compelling goal) However, since this is not likely to happen, what if a NASA or private scientific leader did so and partnered with a media outlet for regular progress updates? A popular web-based media outlet might do the trick and may even have advantages over TV. What if NASA supporters and scientific/engineering companies put their advertising dollars behind such a program by placing banner ads and links to the program on all the “mental junk food” websites? I believe it would start out with a geeky following, but with good marketing, selling, and communicating could gain momentum and exposure at the national and global level. Such an effort could lead Washington, by example, to next big thing in space and recapture the American public’s interest.

Finally, what if Washington doesn’t get behind such efforts in the future? What if private companies and entrepreneurs do instead? Is there money to be made in space? YOU BET! Would this be a good thing or a bad thing? . . . that sounds like a good topic for a follow-up installment!

Leader of the Free World ?

Two of the top five reasons I didn’t vote for President Obama were expectations that he would take an extremely liberal approach to:

• national security
• foreign relations

Recent events in Iran are providing President Obama one of his first high-profile opportunities to demonstrate his approach to foreign relations and national security. Unfortunately, his response thus far is confirming my worst fears.

Soon after taking office in January, President Obama commented, "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fists, they will find an extended hand from us".

Like most Republicans and conservatives, I did not disagree with this comment. If fact, we hold the very same hope, that Iran’s current leadership will recognize the error of their ways, soften their stern grimace to the world, embrace human rights and democratic freedoms, accept Israeli sovereignty, relinquish their uranium enrichment program or open it up to full inspection/validation of energy production, and stop arming Hezbollah and Hamas.

Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives all want the very same thing . . world peace and freedom for all. So, obviously, the difference is in their beliefs and approach to how the “leader of the free world” should work towards these ends.

History is extremely clear on the record of dictators, tyrants, fascists, and oppressors. They pursue their own deluded beliefs and self-interests, often at the expense of their own people. They can not be negotiated out of these beliefs. They do not respond to diplomacy. They lie, cheat, steal, and murder to further their own agenda, in complete disregard to their own people’s wishes and the rest of the world alike.

How can anyone believe that today’s tyrants will act differently, especially those that have already demonstrated the same patterns for decades?

Throughout the entire George W. Bush administration, Tehran made promise after promise to Secretary of State, Collin Powell and President Bush. They committed to temporary suspensions of uranium enrichment, to honor the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and to open their nuclear program to inspections.

Based on history’s lessons, I simply never believed any of it . . and true to history, Tehran never meant any of it.

On March 19th President Obama released a “Nowruz Message” to Tehran and the Iranian people. In it he made the following statements:

• "This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."
• "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right - but it comes with real responsibilities."

Once again, this was a very eloquent proclamation of what every American and most other countries and citizens of the world want. President Obama’s initiative to open a dialogue and extend a “firm” hand is understandable and his renewal of US Sanctions against Iran just days before this message release was almost universally supported.

However, Tehran’s response to President Obama’s “extended hand” was provided to the world press by Ali Akbar Javanfekr, senior advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In his response he stated:

• “the US had to recognize its past mistakes if it wanted to engage Iran”
• "By fundamentally changing its behavior America can offer us a friendly hand”
• “What is the new administration actually offering, that George Bush didn't?“

Does this response offer any signs that Tehran is willing to engage in open and honest dialogue in working towards a diplomatic solution that would involve their cessation of:

• Nuclear program/technology development?
• Arming Hezbollah and Hamas?
• Ending human rights violations?
• Accepting Israeli sovereignty?

OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD THE FREE WORLD

The stage was now set for the coming showdown of freedom vs. tyranny!

Could it have been any more obvious that the June 12, 2009 Iranian presidential elections would not be fair?

I literally laughed out loud as I watched pre-election interviews of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking proudly of the democratic presidential election process in Iran and his commitment to it. Conversely, I felt the building anguish of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi as he released his carefully crafted, optimistic messages to the Iranian people and the world with muted concerns for the post-election future of Iran, should Ahmadinejad “win”.

The election day allegations of irregularities and fraud were immediate. The landslide victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in stark contrast to all polls and statistically valid predictive measures taken prior to the election..

Immediate protests erupted, most non-violent, some not so much. Tehran Police and Ahmadinejad supporters engaged immediately and with force. Protests quickly became riots, including violence, destruction, injuries, and death.

If President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was truly committed to the democratic election process, why were they not open to neutral Iranian and international observers?

NOW was the time for the “Leader of the Free World to lead!” . . . to insist President Ahmadinejad accept the international community’s (not the US alone) assistance with investigations into election irregularities and ensuring a truly free and transparent election process be provided for the Iranian people. This was an opportunity to truly stand-up for the Iranian people and for freedom and democracy all over the world.

Unfortunately, as is usually the case with a liberal foreign policy approach, President Obama did not lead the free world on this occasion. Instead, he once again made a simple public declaration of what he, all Americans, and free nations and people around the world believe. You can watch it here . . . http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/video/president_obama_s_statement_on_iranian_presidential/

President Obama did not seize the opportunity to stand with the people of Iran and the free world to stare down tyranny and oppression.

Again, history has proven that liberal foreign diplomacy with dictators does not work. Successful diplomacy with oppressors only happens when the price of failed diplomacy is severe and believed by the tyrant. With the obvious perfect example of this having been played out on the world stage so recently by President Ronald Reagan, I am completely befuddled as to why our current sitting president prefers to ignore history’s lessons and believe he will be the first in history to reform global bullies by simply preaching goodness.

Surely John McCain, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, or Ronald Reagan would have taken more action than releasing yet another soliloquy.

What is the conservative foreign policy difference? Diplomacy backed-up by real consequences. There can be no doubt in the minds of the world’s dictators and tyrants that the “Leader of the Free World” will act when that moment in history arrives.

Well, that moment just arrived, and passed by President Obama, spurring him into the only action he seems capable of . . pontification of the obvious.

I can only hope that the Iranian people are better students of history than President Obama. History shows the way to freedom through true “leaders of the free world”, like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. . . with or without the current sitting American President at your side.

Set-Up Success

FOLLOW-UP #2 TO: “WHY WE RACE”

A couple years ago at an SCCA Southwest Division National Race one of my top rivals (and good friend) beat me. It’s not that getting beat is unusual or surprising. It’s how my good friend and rival won the main event that Sunday that has always stuck with me and motivated me on to some victories of my own.

The race was the annual “Sunburn Grand-Prix” at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). I consider TMS my home track. It’s 20 minutes from my house, I have a fast set-up for the track, and I hold the track record for our class. I start each TMS race weekend with more confidence than usual and feel I have a better than normal chance to win.

Like many amateur racers, my friend Cory’s crew is whatever family and/or friends he can line-up for the weekend and convince to work their butts off for food and beer. Some crew may be “regulars” and thus familiar with the car and race weekend routine. Others may be new and needing much guidance. Either way, the amateur racer is often in the role of crew chief, mechanic, and driver. In Cory’s case, “driver” also includes driving the trailer from his home in Memphis to Ft. Worth.

The weather was not perfect, but very nice for racing. During practice the car felt good and I was running within one second of the track record. However, a former dirt tracker named Chris from San Antonia recently joined our class and was very fast out-of-the-box. He was running the fastest laps in Friday practice, .5 seconds quicker than me, and had my attention. Meanwhile, another rival, Jack, from St. Louis was just a couple tenths behind me, promising to capitalize on my mistakes as he had done many times in the past.

As the weekend progressed, I was focused on catching Chris and staying ahead of Jack. This was a classic set-up, strategy, and driving battle to find that extra couple tenths of a second that will make the difference.

My friend and rival, Cory, was several seconds off the pace with a fairly new car and in a near-by garage stall. Sincerely wanting to help, I asked what the problem was. He said the car was well sorted and prepared, the handling felt good, and the engine felt good, but he believed the CVT clutching was not putting the power down.

CVT Transmission is one of the unique characteristics of our small formula cars. They are highly efficient and effective when properly set-up. However, proper set-up is a bewildering exercise of matching spring rates with cam shapes and weights, helix angles, etc. CVT Clutching is so complex, you’re more likely to get it wrong than right. Therefore, many in our class find one clutching set-up that works good (not great) at all the tracks, and stick with it. However, for those who study clutching, work hard at it, practice, test, tune, tweak, repeat . . . it can become a competitive advantage.

Having heard that Cory was chasing a clutching issue, I wrote him off as a serious competitor for the weekend. I assumed there was just not enough track time for him to test the set-up combinations he would need to find the optimum settings. Furthermore he did not have any crew that new a thing about clutching, so he would have to do it all himself. Being my “home track”, I had my best crew with me, but none who knew about clutching since I choose to stick with my “good, not great” clutching set-up and spend wrenching time elsewhere.

When changing set-up at the track in search of a few tenths of a second, you must be careful not to make the car worse/slower by changing a setting too much or by changing too many settings in combination. Minor tweaks were made to carburetor jetting, ride height, tire pressure, etc. With these relatively minor adjustments made and comfortable with our car for the Friday afternoon session, we all went to lunch. Cory was unable to join us because he had too much clutch work to do. When we returned from lunch Cory was still clutch tuning. And so went the weekend . . he worked non-stop on his clutch set-up while the rest of us enjoyed what seemed like a “smooth weekend” with comfortable time to tweak the set-up.

Throughout the weekend Cory made progress on his clutch set-up and went a little quicker each session. We were glad to see his hard work paying off to some extent, but it still looked like he wouldn’t have time to really get it right in time for the Sunday race.

Chris, the dirt tracker from San Antonio, grabbed pole on Sunday with a new qualifying lap record. I was along side on grid in 2nd with Jack in third a few tenths off my Qual lap. Cory was in fourth, but over two seconds back during Qual. There were a few cars behind Cory that ran a similar pace in Qual. I assumed the race would unfold into two battles, the three top qualifiers fighting for the podium spots and Cory and the rest fighting it out for 4th on...

When the green flag fell, Jack got the jump on me and passed me in turn one while Chris sprinted off into the distance. This is the natural order of things . . being a dirt tracker, Chris had tremendous car control and is very fast on cold tires . . and Jack has always been exceptionally good at the start and first couple crowded laps. I’ve always been the opposite of both...a bad starter, slow on cold tires, but fast and consistent when the tires come in. I’ve been able to run both these rivals down in the past, and was counting on doing so again to fight for the win. I was able to catch and pass Jack within the first couple laps and then turn my concentration to running down Chris, who had opened a large gap. I focused hard enough to set a new race lap record in pursuit of Chris. However, Chris was running fast and consistent also, and the gap was no closing fast enough. Then lady luck intervened and handed me the lead...Chris’ crew had made a mistake in refueling and he had run out of gas.

I quickly reassessed my situation. I was now leading the race with just several laps to go. My car was working well. I looked into my mirrors to gauge my lead. I had to look past a white Formula Vee (another class in our race group) to see Jack several hundred yards back on the front straight. After pushing so hard to catch Chris for many laps, I had opened up a comfortable lead over Jack. I relaxed a little to ensure I could cruise home safely to victory. It was only then that I realized I had not recently passed a white Formula Vee, which are much slower than our class/cars! It was already too late...Cory, in his white F500, was inside me in turn 1. Being surprised and now off-line, I lost momentum and fell back. Cory completed his pass before turn two.

I quickly tried to regain my focus, remain calm, and figure out where and how I would catch and pass him back. However, Cory laid down three very fast laps, making my job difficult. He maintained a gap of several car lengths until a double yellow flag came out for a crash in turn 7, which became a red flag, making his victory complete.

We climbed out of our cars at tech , both with a huge grin from ear to ear. I was literally smiling so hard, I couldn’t speak...Cory spoke first...“I got the clutching right!”

Racing is a Series of Accomplishments

FOLLOW-UP #1 TO: “WHY WE RACE”

In explaining “why we race” I distinguished between “drivers” and “racers”. Racers love the competition and love to win. They will do whatever it takes to win or at least beat that guy/gal that’s finished just ahead of them the last couple races. Winning might be a personal best or beating a rival or friend, regardless of the final finishing position.

I also described racing as a “series of accomplishments”. Successful racers think critically, plan thoroughly, and execute completely. When these activities are focused on making the car/driver combination go faster, they are collectively referred to as “development”. Along with routine maintenance and repairs, development is a constant in motor racing, and by far the most rewarding and enjoyable of the three. Development requires deep thought, creativity, innovation, trial and error, and provides the opportunity for invention and accomplishment (speed). Racers and teams work hard to maximize their time and resources spent on development, making the car/driver go faster. This is why crashes and mechanical failures are so costly, because they take time and resources away from development.
It’s important to note the reason I always say the “car / driver” combination. This is because the driver is often the most important variable in the speed equation. Every driver has preferences and a style. Every driver goes fast differently. One driver may prefer oversteer, a low steering ratio, and firm suspension vs. another driver who likes understeer, high steering ratio, and soft suspension. Of course these are just a few of dozens of car/driver factors, all of which are relative measures.

Many racers classify development activities into four categories:

1. Engineering – car design, redesign, strengthening, lightening, improving in every way.
2. Preparation – ensuring the car/driver are in optimal condition (mechanical/operational/mental) for the upcoming session/s in their current form. This involves checking EVERY nut & bolt on the car, wear items like belts, hoses, brake pads, checking for cracks in chassis, rotors, calipers . . . so basically checking every single piece of the car to ensure it is in proper/optimal working condition. However, driver preparation is also critical . . studying the track/line, notes from previous sessions, planning for driving improvements (where/how you will go faster than last time out), mentally preparing for the expected competition, weather, etc.
3. Set-up – the search for the optimal combination of mechanical and aerodynamic settings that result in the lowest lap time. Common set-up factors include: tire compound, suspension settings, camber/caster/toe, ride height, wing angles, etc.
4. Driving – The constant struggle of the driver to optimize his inputs (steering, throttle, clutch, brake) to the car/package he has resulting in the lowest possible lap time. This includes optimizing the racing line, braking/turning marks, braking/turning style . . threshold braking, trail braking, early/late apexing, and managing traffic . . passing, defending, etc.

It is the ever-growing list for each of these areas from which the “series of accomplishments” is generated. There is always twice as much to do as time or money to do it. Strategy is required. Prioritization is crucial. Planning essential. Time management pivotal. The final accomplishment, winning, makes it all worth while.

Leading by example

FOLLOW-UP COMMENTARY TO: “CASTING STONES”

I was happy to hear the news about President Obama’s Commencement Address at Notre Dame.

This is the season for commencement speeches and sitting Presidents often leverage a high-profile Key-Note invitation as an opportunity for public address. What makes the Notre Dame ceremony special is that President Obama was invited in the first place, and second, that he accepted.

In case you’re somehow unaware, Notre Dame is the most prominent Christian and conservative university in the country, and one of the most famous in the world. The university administration’s ideology and political positions are well established, well known, and mostly opposed to President Obama’s. The majority of the student body is not only conservative, but among the most active Christian proponents in the country.

Knowing this, President Obama accepted the invitation to deliver the key note address at the Notre Dame Commencement ceremony. He undoubtedly had dozens of invitations to choose from for a high profile public address. Yet, he chose to accept the invitation from the university/constituency most opposed to his views and platform.

BRAVO PRESIDENT OBAMA

At this point, it’s important to point out that I am also opposed to most of President Obama’s policies, positions, ideology, and values. I’m a Christian conservative, did not vote for Mr. Obama, and am quite sure I never will.

Nevertheless, I have always had much respect for Mr. Obama’s intelligence, commitment, and willingness to openly discuss and debate the important issues. I recognize him as a fellow “lifetime student” who never misses an opportunity to discuss, debate, and learn. . especially from the opposition.

His speech was not particularly insightful, original, or moving. However, it did hit the mark on the most important point for stimulating positive public debate on these important and divisive issues. That point is that both sides of an issue should commit to attacking the issues and working hard to find common ground. This, as opposed to attacking the opposition themselves, as was the unfortunate case for Carrie Prejean and Bristol Palin the last couple weeks.

Positive public debate has many benefits:
• Identifying common ground / areas of agreement
• Stimulating critical thinking in defense and promotion of each side’s positions and ideas
• Giving a public voice to the experts and thought leaders on the subject/s
• Removing or reducing the emotion from both sides
• Educating the public on the facts, positions, pros & cons to help them form their own opinions.
• Enabling policies, programs & processes to operate amidst a divided public and leadership
• Changing minds and moving a population towards consensus.

Same-sex marriage, birth control, and abortion are just a few examples from the long list of divisive left vs. right type issues. These issues are polarizing and tend to elicit strong emotions. As any successful business leader knows, emotions can derail a productive debate, thwart progress, and prevent both sides from realizing the benefits listed above.

These issues are not easily solved. In fact, if a “solution” is defined as agreement or strong consensus and support by a large majority, they may never be solved. Again, as any successful leader (or marriage counselor) knows, agreement may not be the proper immediate goal for the most divisive issues. Instead, a positive debate may identify just enough common ground to allow both sides to better appreciate each other’s position and “agree to disagree”. With respect and open communication, both sides can work to maximize the common ground and minimize the factors causing contention (i.e. teen & unwanted pregnancies).

Business people often use the term “Co-opetition” to describe business agreements where competitors cooperate on areas of mutual interest/benefit, while competing in other areas. In some cases, competitors work together to grow a market (mutually beneficial) while continuing to fight it out in that very market for each customer, new or existing.

Co-opetition between conservatives and liberals could serve to minimize the need for solutions they disagree on. Over time, this type of positive working relationship between rivals usually serves to accelerate innovation and creativity which can further minimize the conflict or even result in major discoveries that may eliminate it altogether.

As a business leader, I’ve always been a firm believer and proponent for applying “best practices” whenever possible. American capitalism and competition has created an enormous wealth of proven strategies and tactics for almost every situation.

Although I will not soon agree with President Obama’s philosophies and direction for our country, I hope to see many more examples of sound leadership from the White House.

Casting Stones: Easier than responsible journalism

The past couple weeks have seen the U.S. national news dominated by conservative vs. liberal agendas. A liberal frenzy was kicked off when gay activist, blogger, and Miss USA judge Perez Hilton asked a very divisive question of Miss California, Carrie Prejean, during the competition. The question asked for the contestant’s opinion on legalizing same sex marriage. Prejean responded that she believed marriage was between a man and a woman.

This answer sparked a firestorm of bitter, personal attacks towards Prejean and anyone who supported her or her position. Same sex marriage activists uncovered and proliferated bare breasted fashion photographs of a younger Prejean. Additional dirt that Prejean may have had breast augmentation surgery was also dug up and thrown into the mix.

About the same time, Bristol Palin went public with her support of abstinence for teens. Bristol Palin was also personally attacked for this opinion. Much of the media and liberal pundits based their attack on the fact that she was herself, a teen mother. Additionally, Palin was attacked for having previously felt and stated that teen abstinence was “not realistic”.

Neither of these two divisive issues is new to anyone with liberal values, conservative values, or anyone who reads or watches the news. We all know the issues and where each side stands. There are plenty of politicians, pundits, news writers and readers on both sides of the issues. So, why the personal attacks against these two conservative advocates?

The answer lies within the attacks themselves. All of these attacks focused on tearing down the person rather than the position. Liberals, especially the media, realize the dispute on these two issues is academic. These are classic ideological debates.

True ideology is a realm of values, morals, beliefs, and spirituality. We attempt to define, or categorize ideologies on the simplified liberal vs. conservative, or left vs. right continuum. Even with such a simplified, one-dimensional model for ideology, the media recognizes that staking out a position as right vs. wrong, or moral vs. immoral might violate journalism principles and risk alienating the audience.

Consequently, it is safer for the media to attack the person, rather than the position. This is the realm of opinion, emotion, attitude, and judging others. Facts and diligence are not even required, hearsay is perfectly acceptable. As I watched regular updates to these stories unfold, it occurred to me that the mainstream media is under pressure to constantly provide the latest updates, hold the audience’s attention, and sustain ratings. New irrelevant photos and quotes are easy to obtain, and salacious. This is lazy and irresponsible journalism.

In comparison, intellectual debates on opposing ideologies by true thought leaders can be hard to orchestrate and uninteresting to those wishing not to think hard.

Do the liberals and media truly expect us to believe that is perfectly OK for a sitting President of the United States to commit adultery with an intern/employee but a U.S. Citizen voicing a position on a single issue should be ignored because of a comparatively minor personal mistake from their past?

Trash journalism; what was once the exclusive domain of the tabloids, has now become a core tenet of the mainstream American media.

Why we race

One afternoon, while completing a “personality profile” questionnaire I came across a question that really made me think. You are probably familiar with these questionnaires and may have even taken one, like the Myers-Briggs or maybe a different one given to you by your employer or a college career counselor, etc. These exercises attempt to categorize your personality in order to help you better understand yourself and how and why you interact with other people the way you do.

Most of the questions are very straight-forward and don’t require much thought to answer. This particular question was no exception. However, it did linger in my thoughts for days, weeks, even months later . . .

Does driving a racing car appeal to you?

I’ve been driving cars competitively now for six years. Many family members, friends, and even acquaintances express an inability to understand why anyone would “want” to race. In fact, I’m quite sure my wife is still in this group. The reason I find the question above so interesting is because many other friends, acquaintances, and family members understand instantly and completely. I’ll refer to this group of people collectively as “racers”. The initial intrigue was because people are so divided on this subject, either “no way” or “absolutely”. To understand what’s behind people’s reasoning, the first logical question you ask is “Why?” The “no ways” top reason is almost always...

Racing is too dangerous.

Yet statistics and experts agree that racing safety equipment and technology has improved dramatically in the past few decades, making racing a very safe sport. In fact it’s now commonplace to see horrifying auto racing crashes that make your heart sink, until the driver emerges unhurt and waives to the crowd. Joey Hand’s recent crash at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is just one of many examples of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiZ9Wc1yh8s

In fact, if you research dangerous sports, racing is rarely discussed in this context when based on actual injury/fatality statistics or any scientific analyses of inherent dangers when all typical safety equipment and procedures are used.

Commonly mentioned as “Dangerous Sports” . . .

Base Jumping l Street Luging
Heli-Skiing l Mountain Climbing
Cave Diving l White Water Rafting
Bull Riding l BMX
Big-Wave Surfing

Yet this common response only serves to demonstrate the “no ways” misunderstanding of the sport and thus motivate me to help people understand. Therefore, let me dispel some of the other most common misconceptions . . .

“Racing is a bunch of guys that refuse to grow-up”

This statement is wrong in multiple ways . . . first, women are the fastest growing segment in racing. Second, anyone at the track to live out a childhood dream will likely not be there long. This is the case because racing, in any form, takes an extraordinary amount of time, hard work, mental focus, emotional energy, and commitment. Various forms of “track days” have flourished in recent years catering to driving enthusiasts. I still consider myself one of them and love a good track day. However, my first love is racing, which is altogether different. When confronted with what it takes to “go racing”, those that have not “grown-up” run home to mommy.

“Racing is expensive”

Like any other sport, racing can be expensive. However, many real racing options exist that cost no more than a serious golf habit or boating hobby. For example, karting is fun and affordable sport the whole family can enjoy. The Sports Car Club of America (my club) also has many affordable auto racing options for anyone with a driver’s license. In fact, I’ve compared my racing costs with friend’s passions and have spent less than many hunters, fishermen, or boaters.

But dispelling misunderstandings doesn’t necessarily help anyone understand. And therein lies the heart of what interests me most about this divide. It’s not what racing isn’t, but what it is that draws racers to it. Unfortunately, when asking a racer what it is about their sport that compels them to expend enormous effort on it, they often respond with something like . . .

“I’m just addicted to racing like it’s crack!”

So it’s obvious that racing is an addictive type sport. But why they’re addicted is what I’m really interested in. It’s understood that the speed aspect of racing results in adrenalin and endorphins being released in a driver, resulting in feelings of euphoria, excitement, and pleasure. However, just like any roller coaster fanatic can attest, this effect diminishes over time. Racing drivers barely notice these effects after just several races. This fact is actually important to safe, controlled racing and is part of the reason racing school’s and licensing bodies require so much track time.

When prodded further, most drivers then come out with something like . . .

“It’s something I just can’t put into words for anyone that hasn’t experienced it!”

Again, this doesn’t help anyone “get it”. I believe the truth is they simply haven’t ever tried hard enough to translate their true thoughts and feelings on this subject into words for others to understand.

So, in order to not be a hypocrite, I will try . . .

“First and foremost, racing is a competition!”

My father gave me an over-active mutant competitive gene. I love to compete at anything and everything-athletics, board games, trivia--you name it! I’ve found this mutant gene in every racer I know. Funny thing is, this gene causes racers to enjoy competition so much, they even enjoy losing to a competitor that beats them “fair and square” on-track. Respect, honor, and friendship grows amongst racers as they take turns out-doing each other. Racers will even go out of there way in order to help a competitor-in-need (time, parts, etc.) make a race and possibly even win. I’ve been on both sides of this “honor amongst racers” and look forward to sharing some of those stories in future articles.

“Racing is a series of accomplishments”

My wife often asks me “are you ready for your upcoming race?” I usually answer with a yes, no, or “I will be after…“ However, going through my mind is an enormously complex list of things to do to be ultimately prepared for the race. The legendary Carroll Smith wrote a series of books on how to engineer, prepare, set-up, and drive your car to win. These books are considered amongst the “Bibles of Racing”, and reveal that no car, engineer, mechanic, or driver is perfect, or even close. However, it is the non-stop pursuit of perfection in all aspects of racing that provides the many goals along the way to the final objective, winning.

“What’s your personality profile?”

I can’t remember what the result of that personality profile test was. However, that one question I do remember has helped me to better understand what makes me tick and how that might be different from others. So, if ever asked that question, I’ll just reply “RACER!”