Helmet

Wear Your Helmet

Ladies and gentlemen of the North Suburban Indoor Driver's School of 2000:

Wear your helmet.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, a helmet would be it. The long term benefits of a helmet have been proved through many years of racing, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own racing experience. I will pass along this advice now.

Find the beauty and reliability of you current race car instead of always thinking of that next car. Oh, never mind. You will not appreciate the beauty and reliability until you’ve spent 6 mosquito filled nights working on the new car trying to synchronize the cool multiple carb set up. But trust me, next season, you’ll look back at videos of yourself finishing races and recall in a way you can’t grasp now, how much good that other car really was and how much fun you had. Your car is not as slow as you think.

Don’t worry about upcoming race weekends. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to win a Formula One race in a Miata. Preparation and organization is the key to have a successful and enjoyable weekend.

Don’t do anything that scares you or your instructor.

Rest.

Don’t be reckless on the track. Don’t put up with people who are reckless on track, eventually they will spin out of your way.

Relax.

Don’t waste your time on go fast parts. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember your victories you have. Forget the DNF’s. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old trophies. Throw away your old tires.

Pre-register.

Don’t feel guilty about leaving your chores and worries behind. The happiest people I know have some-thing that gets them away from it all. Some people realize too late in their life that there may have been more to life than work, mowing the yard and watching must see T.V.

Use all the track. Be kind to your tires. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll win, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll race at Road America, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll quit after one school, maybe you’ll be doing victory doughnuts after winning the 2002 Trans Am Championship. Whatever you do, don’t brag too much, or berate yourself either. Your victories will be half chance. So are everyone else’s.

Enjoy your brakes. Use them as efficiently and as late as you can. Don’t be afraid of late braking or of what other people behind you might do. Brakes are one of the greatest assets you have during a race.

Practice, even if working on your lines getting on and off I-90 or pushing that stroller though Woodfield this weekend.

Come in if you’ve been black flagged, even if you’re positive you possibly couldn’t have done anything wrong.

Do not read the Dupont Registry. It will only make you feel poor.

Get to know your competitors. You never know when you’ll need one or more of them for a part, tool or assistance. Pay attention to your guests at the track. They are your best shot at keeping you organized and most likely will help your weekend run smoothly.

Understand that race weekends come and go, but the memories will last a life time.

Work hard to bridge the gaps between your car's capabilities and your own, because the more you spend, does not equate to lower lap times.

Own a British car once, but sell it before if breaks. Buy a GT-1 car once but sell it before it breaks your bank.

Thank your spouse.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Fuel prices will rise. IT guys will cheat. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, race gas at Blackhawk was cheap, tech people were reasonable, and drivers paid attention to the flags.

Pay attention to the flags.

Don’t expect anyone else to fund your racing. Maybe you’ll have a sponsor. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your car settings at one time or by the time you’re done you’ll never get the car right again.

Be careful whose advise you get, but be patient with some of us who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of getting a rusty MG from the junk yard, cleaning it up, painting over the ugly parts and trying to sell it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the helmet.

Alex Talbot - 2000