Some things in racing that keep me going

My non-racing friends have asked me for years. Why do you like racing?

Most know I am not into cars and the mechanics of them. I don’t have the talent to drive a race car and I am the first to admit that. Besides not having the talent, I don’t have the money, either.

So knowing those things, why would a guy who has been going to races since he was 5-6 years old still like it so many years later?

It’s hard to explain.

I will admit in recent years, especially late in the season, like right now, I am more than ready to be done with racing. I am really going to debate long and hard this offseason whether to do year 10 of RaceChaser blog in 2027. There are many things in the sport right now that frustrate me as a fan. Too many classes. Shows taking forever. Mediocre track prep leading to one-lane bore shows.  The off-the-track drama. The (sometimes) vicious social media back and forth between people, which has sucked a lot of fun out of racing. Tractor tires.

It’s a fair question that people ask, why would I continue to follow a sport that gets on my nerves so much?

First, it’s the people. Almost every driver I interview, when I ask what he/she likes about racing, they say the people. Friendships. The camaraderie.  Some folks in racing have been friends for 40-50 years or more.

For someone like me, who is not a great friend maker or great at staying in touch with people, people have been the best part of racing. A few I can even call good friends.  Most people in racing are good people who do it simply because they love the sport. And many of those folks would drop everything in a second to help a fellow competitor, whether it’s on or off the track. It is true racing is a community. Example: watching drivers and crew members work together quickly to get Jon Carlson’s Midwest modified ready to get on the track for a heat race at Viking in August (pictured above).

I can think of a few things that keep me into it, too. Tom Corcoran of East Grand Forks winning a late model feature against a tough field at River Cities in August. And in his 57^th season in a late model, and at age 72. Or Kelsi Pederson becoming the first female driver to win a late model feature at RCS.

It’s seeing guys like Rich Thomas and Clarence Washburn race late models past the age of 80. It’s seeing the Saurer family pitting next to each other every night. Or watching the Compson boys hang out with their dad, Tim.  Or watching Cole and Erica Schill busting their tails at the track getting the car ready along with their two young kids. Or talking to Jonny Carter pretty much any night you see him at the track. Or talking to some of the long-time veterans in the street stock class.

Or seeing father and his kids race against each other, such as Rich and Jayden Pavlicek, Zach and Regan Reinke, Joey and Tucker/Kelsi Pederson, Scott and Kelly (and Nicholas) Jacobson, Ryan and Carter Restad, John and Zack Nord,  Tony and Bodie Croninger,  Jason and Christian Kast to name some.  Or even watching a husband and wife – Blake and Brittany Swenson – race against each other in the Gen X Late Models.

It’s seeing more and more female drivers get behind the wheel and thriving. Or listening to the legendary Ron Krog at I-94 weekly. Or watching an IMCA Stock Car feature pretty much anywhere. Or seeing 71 late models at the John Seitz Memorial. Watching drivers like Karter Reents, Matthew Taves, Brent Wilkinson, Weston Olson and Joe Thomas just keep getting better each year and now be consistently near the front.

Watching first-time winners. Watching kids run up to their dad/mom in victory lane.  Talking to guys like Al Schmidt who at age 75 still loves getting behind the wheel.  Seeing hope for the future of racing with younger, talented folks who are good guys like Cole Greseth, Andy Pake, Brody Carlsrud, Tucker Pederson and Brody Troftgruben.

For all of the headaches racing can give me, especially as a blogger, those are the type of things that have kept me going. Will they keep doing so? I don't know.

I don’t know if I will blog next year – I am going into hibernation for a while now and I have some serious thinking to do about the future of it. A lot of things, as I said, frustrate me. But there are also things that keep me going throughout the season, and keep me coming back year after year.