So being on an auto race team usually means traveling a lot, unless you are the big rig driver, then it means that’s all you do, because you are either driving the big rig or working at a race. It is so common for people to say how cool or glamourous it must be, being on a race team. It really is not, you see airports and racetracks, that is about it. Hey, I am not saying that it isn’t exciting, most of us are adrenaline junkies, we cannot get enough of this stuff. Back in the 90’s, I worked on separate race teams in Europe and in the US, I traveled back and forth working at races on both continents, not to mention I had a budding new Porsche shop that I had just opened in 1992, so needless to say, I wasn’t resting much, but I loved it.
Currently, I am residing in a campground at Sardis Lake just outside of Oxford, MS. I had just spent a couple of weeks prepping the racecar at a close friend’s shop, Doc’s Bimmer shop. Doc opened his doors for us and our traveling circus. At times that’s what it feels like being a carney if I could only guess. You might ask, why not go home between the races? When the races are roughly a month apart or less, 8-10 days of driving would eat up a lot of the 3-4 weeks, not to mention the week on the racecar, plus the cost and liability of being on the road would eat up a lot of the benefits of trying to cross the country twice. So having said that, thankfully I have various great friends across the country who let us rent their shops here and there. I am very self-sufficient and try to not bother the host shop much at all, or at least that is the plan.
Okay so this morning I’m getting my second COVID vaccine here in Oxford, no it’s not the single dose J&J thank God. MS is totally open, the vaccine is easy to get, I just walked into a Walgreens and got my first shot a few weeks ago. I must finish some small loading details in the trailer and then the plan is to finish some orders for this weekend, rent a golf cart, make sure we have insurance on the Quad, the golf cart and the driver’s scooter, yes the track requires it. We also have team catering, race fuel and race tires to confirm.
We also have to make sure the team moto coach is washed and stocked with drinks. The series organizer requires us to have the big rig washed before we enter the paddock, which is called “Load-In.”Tonight, we have a farewell dinner with Doc and Linda. Tomorrow we head to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL which is only about 200 miles away. I will try to keep you up on things as they progress but being at the track can be quite trying on me, so we will see. Have a great week if we do not get to talk!
Thank you for reading.