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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Traveling With the NCMA: One
Racing Team’s Perspective by Debbie Shipherd |
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Racing in a
touring sprint club for the first time has been a fun experience.
How does it differ from racing at a home track weekly? In many ways,
the differences are very positive. Prior to joining the club, our
team had been testing the waters, having the opportunity to race at This
season our team joined the club and got a much closer look behind
the scenes, got to know all of the drivers and crews, and our
experiences were all good. First, a racing club is a lot like a
team; formed by a common goal, with individuals that each have
different talents, abilities, opinions, and weaknesses, yet the team
members acknowledge and accept those differences and learn to work
together. The common goal in this club is to have fun racing. For
the most part, most racers will say a fun night of racing means
loading a car up at the end of the night in one piece after having
their car run well, winning is a close second. A top 5 finish is a
good night, a fast paced race with lots of passing action, and not a
lot of cautions, is a fun race. The biggest difference in running in
a club in this aspect is that the drivers and crews themselves are
ultimately responsible for making the races fun. Assuming that
responsibility means putting more effort into keeping the racing
running clean , being responsible for keeping it all fair, as well
as the multitude of other details that go into the total picture.
That takes a lot of work equally shared by all, but like anything,
it makes it more worthwhile when you have to work just a little bit
harder to attain a goal.
While each track has flagmen, scorekeepers, and officials
running the show, this club also has two elected driver reps, one
each for dirt and asphalt. They have the responsibility of being
available to drivers should the drivers have any racing related
problems, and an elected pit director and safety tech also help to
keep things running smoothly. Camaraderie among
the drivers and crews as well as families is an obvious bonus in a
club that travels together. There is more sharing, more time to get
to know people a little better, and much more interaction in the
pits as well as during the week. In many race reviews, it is briefly
mentioned how much help other drivers and crews give their fellow
teams. It makes a good or bad night better when there are teams
willing to share their spare parts or labor, and is a very common
sight in the pits in this club. This good sportsmanship is not just
an occasional occurrence, it happens weekly. The average
wingless sprint car driver is not racing to make money, and the same
can be said for drivers in this club. The drivers and crew members
themselves are the ones that go out and find the sponsor money for
purses, as well as make financial arrangements with track promoters.
We have attended several races where the drivers attending decided
to split purse money evenly to help everyone out with travel costs,
and at one of our earliest races this season, we learned that a
driver towing from Any
racing group will usually have a mix of veterans and rookie drivers.
The NCMA had three rookies this season. It was beneficial for them
and to other drivers that they had experienced drivers available to
take them under their wing to help and give them the benefit of
their driving knowledge. For the new drivers, small improvements
were acknowledged weekly. As they each enjoyed small victories along
the way, they seemed to be more patient with the learning process, a
valuable lesson for any driver. Time
and money to travel may seem to be an added racing expense in a
touring club. It is, however, our repair costs during the season
were considerably lower than ever before, and that factor, combined
with the entertainment and educational value of racing at a variety
of tracks of different sizes, shapes, and surfaces, more than made
up for the travel cost issue. At one of the races where most of us
made it an overnight trip, we had a pot luck barbeque in a parking
lot, and a birthday cake, too. This just added to the social aspect
and helped us all to cut costs. The road trips just made every race
an exciting new adventure, as we got to meet a lot of other drivers,
teams and fans, and see new places. The biggest plus to the
traveling was the valuable learning experience in expanding the
driver and crew’s knowledge of setting up and driving on a wide
variety of tracks. For
racers, the business of promoting themselves and racing is a big
responsibility. The NCMA teams all made concerted efforts to promote
the club, visiting with track promoters and announcers before the
races and by connecting with the fans after the races. After trophy
dashes and feature events the drivers had frequent t-shirt giveaways
and frisbee throws for free pizzas for the fans. Promotion in the
media was done by a crew member who volunteered to photograph and
write race reviews for racing newspapers and on the internet. The
club has its own web site, NCMAracing.com, run by a driver who
volunteered his services. Additional help in promotion came from the
invaluable support of other racing web sites, Lance Our point season
has come to an end, and club members are now involved in the process
of discussing and planning for the next season. Drivers and crews
will continue to devote extra time and energy to racing during the
winter on top of their regular jobs and family responsibilities. A
banquet celebration is scheduled next month, as well as meetings to
work out the details to ensure another fun season of racing. Drive
safe, have fun, and take care. |
