To be a successful athlete in any venue requires a dedicated and selfless support crew. Motorsport athletes have even larger support crews than athletes in other sports just due to the equipment side of racing. I view myself as holding a position in the support staff. If I stop and think about what my job entails in the bigger picture, I am assisting a rider and their family in pursuing a dream, usually a childhood dream. This dream may have started on Christmas day as a 5 year old or watching dad race at the track as a toddler.

Being a part of the support crew allows one to share in the victories but also in the defeats. It can elevate you to the highest of highs and drag you to the absolute bottom, following the ebb and flow of results, injuries, athlete moods and just the tension produced by the pressure cooker that is racing on any level. At times it can be seemingly hopeless as all the time, energy, money and emotional input may not currently be producing the expected results. But, life goes on and the next race is just around the corner.

I have to do this sometimes if I get down: I have to actively remind myself that chasing and achieving a dream is accomplished by very few and if it was easy, well it wouldn’t really be chasing a dream. Chasing a dream is not a short term project or something that can be done by simply throwing money at it. Chasing a dream takes courage and an unrelenting desire to achieve a goal that transcends income, popularity or other trivial pursuits that occupy much of society. It’s attempting to give yourself or someone you care about something that will define their lives. It is rare and it is the most precious of commodities.

AND…

You and I are part of this along with all the others in the support team. You and I have the BEST job in the world..imagine filling out an application and when it says “occupation” your response can be “chasing dreams.” What a great thing to do…for all of us in this three ring circus that is racing!