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Sulka: Racing Days (Must Read)
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Racing Days
By Mike Sulka - Senior Correspondent
In racing, there are good days.
In fact, some of the best days of my life have take place at the racetrack. I simply love racing. It has become a drive, a thrill, and a passion.
In my thoughts, I’ve acquired many special memories over the years.
Standing next to the fence at Michigan International Speedway for the first time. Watching a future CART champion blast past at full throttle. The cars speeding past, so close that the draft “wake” can be felt on my smiling face. The engines powering along at full song. I can feel the sound resonate… right here in my chest and in my ears. The smell of burnt methanol fills my nostrils.
For an instant… the cars are so close.
And then… just like that… the sound trails off into the distance.
I wait…
Anticipating the opportunity to relive the entire experience again. A mere 32 seconds passes. It seems so long. But as the howl from the back stretch reaches my ears, ahead of its’ pursuer… It barely wins its’ race against the turbo-charged machine tracking it down.
This time by, the experience changes… if only slightly. Instinctively, my hand reaches towards the fence . I can feel the fence reverberate from the commotion, and the adrenaline fills my entire being. I am in awe of this terrific beast, carefully controlled by its’ tamer.
My memory tries to recreate the complete feeling, but it can’t. So I’m drawn out, time and time again… to relive the experience, as often I am able. My part-time passion is a full-time pursuit. I just can’t get enough of this game.
But in racing, there are bad days.
The painful reality of this sport can reach just as deeply with its bad days. It can reach inside you, and force you to deal with mind-numbing questions. The simplest questions are the toughest to answer. The answers… can tear you apart… wishing you never had the questions.
Death is the worst event that can happen in racing. It leaves a mark in the heads and on the hearts of each person caught up in the sport. It touches fans, fellow drivers, teams, and sponsors. It reaches across the walls of racing series, and reminds us again of what is important. That life, above all else, is fragile. That life is important. That life…is not guaranteed.
No one is left unaffected by a fatality in racing. No one.
It is with great sadness that we observe the passing of racecar driver Tony Renna. We will never know what he could have become. 4 laps…. Into his day… his life ended. His future suspended in an instant.
My prayers go out your family, your fiancée, and your friends.
The good days in this sport are wonderful. The good days are an intoxicating thrill that demands to be repeated. The good days are what we live for….
…But there are days… that I hate the sport I love.
Mike Sulka
Msulka@champweb.net