Tonite I participated in my first "Faster Pastor" event at Sandia Motorsports Park. What a great time! Thank you, Mario Rico, for dragging me out. After all, you must remember that this racing deal is a temptation I have resisted for more than 30 years! And, although I have a major-league fan resume, I have never, never ever driven any kind of a race car on any closed-course in all my life. Kinda like watching Brett Farve on TV for years, and then expecting to catch a pass from him during an NFL game!
After classroom instruction, we were set to practice in randomly-selected mini-stock division racecars. I got the blue 31, a newly-built Acura regularly driven by A.J. Davis (thanks for the help getting me strapped-in and settled-in, A.J.!). I ran the first practice session, and I could tell during warm-ups that this was a fast car. We did at least 15 laps under green, and I found a speedy line (even tho I did get a little ragged going into turn one a little low a couple of times!). During that session, I passed every car, and all but two cars twice. Now, that felt good!
So all afternoon, I was the "fast new guy". It was flattering, as some of the quick guys who had done this before were saying that if I got the same car in the race (which was not guaranteed), and if I started up front 'cos I was new, that I'd be gone by the time they came thru traffic. Just what I was hoping for! But as racetime neared, I still didn't have a car, and the owner of the 31 had two of his other cars crash or fail during the heat races. Finally, they offered me another car, and as I was walking to it, they gave me the 31 again. I was set!
Before the feature race, we did parade laps carrying kids from the stands for ride-arounds. That was fun! But now it's showtime. Time to get gone! They started me inside the 2nd row. The polesitter, directly in front of me, was a quick truck with a slow (woman pastor) driver. I remembered her from my practice session. Next to her was the guy who had won the past two pastor races, in the car he won them with (09). I knew that if I was to have a chance at him, I'd have to get around the car in front of me post haste. So when the green flag dropped, I quickly went below and around the polesitter at the start line. I was 2nd, but too low going into turn 1 to be at maximum velocity. On the backstretch, the 09 was six lengths in front of me, but I cut that down to 3 by the end of lap 1.
We raced that way for 5 or 6 laps, neither gaining on each other, but pulling away from everybody else until we caught the end of the field to start lapping traffic. Stacy (McDermott, not Compton) and Mario (Rico, not Andretti) were racing each other so nasty that they were hard to pass! That was probably the most fun I had, racing with them. I'll bet we were a sight! As I finally got around Mario, I saw the 1 car coming on my low side, challenging me for 2nd in traffic. But now that I had cleared Mario, I knew I could get back with my groove and try again for the 09. Just then, going into turn 3, I heard and felt a rattle and chatter in the left front of the car. I backed off a little, and when I felt it get worse, not better, I knew it was a tire (the LF -- the tire which gets the least amount of wear on a left-turn oval track!) going down. After all, this was a new car, and A.J. had earlier blown a RF tire during his regular heat race. By turns one and two, I knew I'd had it, so I pulled to the high side of the track, stuck my hand out, and limped the 'ol 31 into the pits, undamaged but for the tire.
My race, my night, maybe my entire racing career was over. DNF. Last place. Hero to zero. Even the lady in the truck outfinished me. But, boy did I have fun! And what a run! Could I have caught and passed the 09? Probably not, not tonite. Would the 1 have gotten me for 2nd? Probably not. I was a hot rod. You should have seen me.
And that's the feeing I take away with me tonite. After 30+ years of wondering, I know that I am a racer at heart. I always thought so, but now I know. So now, more than ever, my most profound Spiritual question remains: I know there will be racing in heaven, but can I ever beat Jesus? (That is, if I don't blow another tire!)