Racing…..Is it really worth it?

[robfrey]

I agree!

[Peter Jack]

Thanks Louise, very well written.

Pete

[RogerL]

you are on the button Lou. thanks.

[SPARKY]

They way I behaved before my kids came along and after they left home has been entirely different.

 I did not know Bill but I admired him---he was willing to shoot for the BIG MARBLE---" it is better to loved and lost than NEVER love at all!!


I decided a LONG time ago that my prayer to the Lord was to be able to leave this life with NO Major "Well, I wonder what if's".  So far I have been BLESSED with enough COURAGE to follow my dreams so that I haven't had to address the road not taken.

 I have always admired those who met misfortune and an untimely death by following their DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD SPEED BILL--I admire your courage and and your LEGACY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Frankie7799]

That question always seems to come up when someone in racing dies in a racing accident. Ive been going to and participating as a crew person and owner/driver at the drags for nearly 30 years. Some of my heroes have died in racing accidents during that time. In the last 5-6 years I have lost two personal friends in racing accidents. We all know the inherent risks when we strap into or throw a leg up and over a race vehicle. As I told Sparky last night, I feel much safer strapping into a race car than I do driving down the road on a daily basis.

Is racing worth it? In the end, as others have said everybody looks at it differently. I know my friends would want me to continue on even after their deaths. At some point wether it being on the salt or the lakebed or down a dragstrip I will return to racing. Ill know the risks as I strap in and am given the signal to start. Ill say a little prayer asking God to watch over me and make run. If the good Lord is willing, Ill make it through that pass and make another, then another and so on. If he determines its my turn, Ill accept that and knwo Ive lived a good life and that my wife and kids will be taken care of with the life insurance money. In the end, yes it was worth it. It was I am most passionate about and live for.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Kate's nephew, Nick Martin, who will be my crew chief this year, has a tattoo on his chest.  It reads,

"Don't die wondering."

It's a condensation - and a cautionary allegory to Thoreau's famous line -

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

Is it worth it?  Is racing worth the risk?  It really depends on your song.  There are soloists like Bill who break the new ground and leave a legacy.  There are back-benchers in the tutti like myself with modest goals, backed by a respect for the process and the legacy of those who went before us, and who simply want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  There are those who want to show off a new hat.  There are guys who just want an excuse to get out of the house for a week.  The motivations are varied, but all are valid.

At this level - amateur racing with no monetary motivation or reward - it's all about perusing dreams.  As human beings, what a privilege it is to be able to do that.

What kind of an example would I be to my wife, my family, my friends, if I didn't?

I'll take that privilege - I'll climb into my car, or I'll strap on a guitar, or I'll write that screenplay, or I'll fight city hall.  I'll tilt at windmills, and I'll keep rolling the rock up the hill - but I won't live a life of quiet desperation - and I won't die wondering.

I owe that to the ones I love.  And I expect the same from them.

[SPARKY]

I owe that to the ones I love.  And I expect the same from them.
 

See you all on the Salt!

[dw230]

All the previous posts are very inspirational. Funny enough, Joanie and I did not know of Bill's passing until we read the ship's internal newspaper. A single page news highlight which had the details in the sports section. While I didn't appreciate the news, I was glad to know of the tradegy.

Bill and I had a conversation at the salt a couple of years ago, following his 311 run. I asked him why he didn't participate at the salt even while crewing for the Steve Knekum, Mark DeLuca, Larry Forstall team. Bill mentioned he didn't feel safe at the salt which was OK with me, we each make our own decisons. Scott Guthrie and I have had conversations about how speeds have ramped up at the salt since we first met in the 1970s. Each time we throw a leg over or strap into a car could be our last ride. We do it because it is our passion, we are not stupid and have provided for our families in case of an accident.

Bill was not a member of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club but, we all share in his loss, our loss.

Thank you all,

Dan Warner
President
Bonneville 200 MPH Club

BTW, I finally have access to a real laptop. I have found out that iPad email and Internet suck

[Dean Los Angeles]

28,000 of your friends and relatives died in automotive accidents last year. Down from 43,000 in 2005. 3,572,000 total deaths in the U.S. since cars were invented.

Yet we still drive.

Bill was doing what he wanted to do. We all are. Risk assessment is part of what we do. The bulk of the rules are to reduce risk. The ultimate risk still remains.

[smitty2]

 How do you know if there really is a Devil if you don't poke him in the eye every now and then?

Racing may not have have a true worth, but the payment is in the satisfaction of trying, and doing.

Smitty   

[Seldom Seen Slim]

From a lighter side:

On the back of our pickup we've got a two-line saying printed.  The first line you've all seen a zillion times - "We're spending the kids' inheritance -" 

The second line, though, is what shows one reason we race:

"...but they'll have cool stories to tell about us!"

At least when I'm an old(er) guy, sitting in the old folks home and sucking on my gums -- I'll be able to think back to the times when I did something that most folks never took the chance to do. . .

[Ron Gibson]

On the rear of a trailer I saw at Bonneville, possibly paraphrased.

FASTER AND FASTER UNTIL THE THRILL OF SPEED OVERCOMES MY FEAR OF DEATH 

It's worth it
Ron

[SPARKY]

 

[mkilger]

I have worked the crash truck at Bonneville 10+ years and elmo (for a short time) have been at all those crashes. My job is to cut the driver, put out fires ect  so the EMTs can work on the driver or rider  .  Yes I  have had it cross my mind many  times ( do I want to drive a roadster 250mph??.  I have seen all the crashes, picked up the parts, helped EMTs remove drivers, cleaned blood for inside of cockpits so loveones don't see it.  every crash leaves a hole in me and YES I still want to drive my roadster and   It may this year. But I love the Salt and the racers and enjoy doing it.

[Glen]

I did it for many years before Mike took over, I think I helped him out as he and I talked many times regarding rescue and how to approach each incident as no two are alike. I think he was a good student.
Mike, drive the roadster, you worked hard to build it.