Sofa Sideline – Jason’s Story
One of my racing ‘buddy’s from down Chattanooga was has been giving me the
"heat" the past couple of days — we’re basically not agreeing on
anything about anybody for the 2003 season. He thinks Ryan’s going to falter
because of the switch to Dodge; that the "uniform" body style will
create even greater disparity as the teams with the "big bucks" will
gain the advantage and have the ability to find the means to adapt. I could go
on, but basically we are on opposite sides; the good news being that it leads to
creative bantering…
It’s been a busy week; haven’t given much thought to "Part II" so I
thought I’d send along a piece that my friend and cohort, Jason Jarrett, put
together this week. The essence of this article rings true to so many of us (in
one form or another) that I thought I’d share it with the racindeals.com
readers.
Oh, one more thing; how about that Bobby Hamilton; gets to Daytona testing
with his truck team and kicks butt. All the ‘fussin about his supposed
retirement; and the reality is, he’s just not going to drive for a WC team that
can’t give him a competitive ride….a man with integrity. Although the deal is
set with the truck series, I can’t help but think that there will be a shake-up
(in one of the "big teams") fairly early into the season, and we’ll
see Hamilton back in Winston Cup.
As written by Jason Jarrett:
Fire that Burns"
The "Fire that Burns" – I heard this expression used by someone at
one of the pre-banquet gatherings; referring to the intensity of one of the team
members he works with. The fire burns in each and every competitor in the sport
of racing. Whether you are an owner, worker, or driver; it makes no difference.
This is the time of year that the fire gets rekindled, if you will. The
owners get ready, the workers are working harder than ever to make their car
better than the next team, and yes, the drivers are now getting ready to do
battle again.
I am going to give you my take on the types of "fires" that I think
burn in us as we try for those hard to come by wins. The first, "fire"
is the flame everyone can see, "external," I guess is a good name for
it. This person shows everyone his competitive spirit. They make it known that
they love to win and hate to lose. Now we all do not like losing, but these
people will pitch fits just to show you that they do not like losing one bit.
All of us know competitors like this, and have come to know that it is just
their way of expressing their pleasure or displeasure about something.
The next type is just the opposite; the "internal" fire that burns
in some competitors. I would say that this is the one most misunderstood. And, I
would probably consider myself one of this breed. This person is not
confrontational and few people know just how they feel about competition. There
is a quiet fierceness to their spirit. You will rarely, if at all, see this
person blow up or lash out, unless they have thought it through for a while.
This personality often gets mistaken for not having that competitiveness inside,
but I am here to tell you that it most certainly is!
I want to win races just like the next competitor, but most of all, I want to
know that I had the highest expectations of anyone on any team. That fire
burning inside me is the way I know my expectations are higher than everyone
else’s. It’s sometimes hard to explain, but the person that has the internal
fire is just as competitive, if not more so, than that person with the external
fire.
The third and final type of fire that I believe burns in people is, yeah, you
guessed it, a combination of the two above. This person can somehow balance
between the external and internal modes. Some days you will see that external
flame and some days that internal flame burns brighter. So, does that mean that
this competitor is only competitive on the days in which you see this fire? Does
this mean that he is more fired up on the day he shows nothing? I don’t think
so; it’s just the way the flame burns for that particular person.
I want to conclude by saying that there is nothing wrong with any of these
"types" of people. My main point goes back to something that I learned
a long time ago, and that is not to judge people. At the end of the day we are
all competitors and we are all trying as hard as we can to win. So, whether you
burn that flame bright, keep it inside, or let it show at certain times, know
that we are striving for the same goals.
Up next, Daytona and we will all be burning those fires as bright as we can
make them burn. Burn on! Drive on! Feel the heat…
That’s it for now!