[RacerX]

It has been an interesting few days following the Championships….. Many thoughts and emotions, and reading these threads has, I can only guess, caused many of us, me included, to start writing responses, and then just deleting them…..

Well, for good or bad, here goes one that did not get deleted.

A couple points of clarification;

- I am new to the program, this being the second year of involvement for our daughter. From the first event that we attended a couple of years ago during a school field trip with our youngest, I was hooked. I think it is a great program. I only have perspective from my limited involvement.
- If it comes across that I am saying anything negative about the Teams that collaborated in this ‘Cheesecake Factory’ event, please note, I am not blaming Teams, I am only expressing my opinion about the structure that allowed such activity.

Also, let me state that this is only my opinion, not the opinion of the Team I am associated with, or anyone else, just mine….

Witnessing this activity reminded me of some experiences I had with another sport, and there are some similarities, and feelings. I just thought I would share my past experience. You can take it for what it is worth….

I have been involved with a race team and as a Team we worked very hard to compete, and with some luck and A LOT of hard, hard work and dedication by every member of our Team, we were able to compete at the highest level in our sport. Vying for the World Championship in a year-long battle that involved racing all over this great country of ours. It was an amazing experience, and one I will remember forever for the good and the not so good, for it all contributes in making experiences what they are.

We had resources, ie. $$$’s and a dedicated crew. We had the burning desire to be the best, and we did everything we could to make our Team as good as it could be. We did not have the same $$$’s as the top Teams, and we had not been in the sport as long as some of them, but we had desire and determination….. You cannot just make those things, or buy them…..

We had been steadily building our program, getting more competitive. We decided that we would make a run at seeing what we could do, and set out to compete as if we were running for the World Championship, to see how we stacked up against the best of the best. We started out the year reaching the Finals our first seven races, winning three of them. We were on a roll…… As the year progressed, we were leading the points chase, staying ahead of our competition….. People started talking about ‘upsets’ as we could be in a position to unseat a 4-time Champion..... We just kept our heads down and worked hard. Then, interesting things started to happen…….

Similarly to FIRST, we had an Eliminations format when it came to race day. Depending on the event, there were either 8 or 16 Qualifiers who raced on Sunday. It was true eliminations, you lost, you were on the trailer, no averages, no best of two or three, nothing….. Just two race teams, a race track and +/- 5.30 seconds to decide who was moving on…..

Now to the interesting things…… As the season began to wind down, we were still leading the points chase. We started seeing the Crew Chief from the rival Team talking with other Teams, especially the Teams that were in the lower qualified positions. Hmmmm……. Here we are qualified #1 or #2, and he is talking to the two lowest qualified Teams, the ones we would likely be racing 1st Round. If we were to lose early in Eliminations, our points total would take a hit. We worked harder….. Then it became more than just talking, it became replacement of key components, first a supercharger, then a complete motor, a tune-up…… Teams that barely qualified are now having another Team replace their complete drive-train and being told how to run their car, with the sole purpose to beat us…..

It was all within the rules…… Teams would help other teams with parts and crew when they needed it, that was something I always enjoyed, was helping others. But, when it got to the point that a Team was taking over another Team, in an effort to beat someone else, I thought that crossed a line. In the middle of all of this were all the other teams. Teams that worked hard, put everything they had into their operations and they competed at their best. They might have been a mid to high placed Team, but they got run over by the steam rollers of the Top Teams, and the newly created bottom Team with a bunch of new go-fast parts, and knowledge that was only given on a need to know basis……

So, how did it all end? We ended up losing the World Championship by one Round of racing. We crisscrossed the country, went to 23 different races, had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows…… It was fantastic, and I will remember it forever…… Likewise, I will remember experiencing activities that I thought were a detriment to the sport that I loved…..

When Mega-teams could out spend, and out work all of the others, it was one thing. We worked hard and did what we could with what we had to compete with them. But when it started to become Mega-team 1, and Mega-team 1 creating Mega-team Jr., it was dang, how many times do we have to beat them???? Often times Mega-team Jr. was extatic at given the shot to compete at a higher level. When it worked, they ran quicker and faster than they had ever gone, and often quicker and faster than they would ever go. Once the parts were taken back, they were where they were….. Maybe it was a good experience for them? They got to run with the big dogs…… Maybe it will fuel them to work harder, to dig deep, and figure out how to make their Team better, figure out how to become a Top Team…… Who knows…..

What I do know is, there was no shortage of Teams who were willing to scrap their program, yank their motor out and try to covet the attention of those who had the go-fast parts, and the knowledge……

Was there any redeeming value in all this activity? That can be debated for all eternity…… I am not claiming to know the answers…… But in my opinion, the redeeming value benefitted a very few, and not the program as a whole.

The cheesecake activity that we witnessed this weekend reminded me of what we experienced that year with our race Team, and our quest to see how we stacked up against the best of the best…… The memories were not the good ones, and I would hope that similar memories are few and far between as we continue this great journey in FIRST…..