The Off Season

           We are well into the off season now for the short track racer.  Its actually just the “Not Racing” season, because you really can’t take any time off anymore.  Its cold and the only place where anyone is racing is down in Daytona.  The Rolex 24 hour race is this weekend, followed by ARCA/NASCAR with their respective races.  It seems like the Saturday night short track racers have a long way to go until they fire their motors again.  This is the time, however, that is most important.  This is the most time you will have all season long- time to prepare your machines; cause once the season starts it doesn’t stop till October.         

            Last time, we left off we were in the off season of 2004, and the car was being rebuilt and was being gone through for the upcoming season.  I was going to run the whole season and make a bid for “Rookie of the Year”.  I had the guys in the shop working pretty well, and was trying to teach them all I knew, and help them become more knowledgeable about what they were doing.  I felt like I had things under control, and for the most part I did.

            What I didn’t count on, was that people make mistakes.  Mistakes cost money, and money is quickly spent.  So even when you’re not racing, racing will still cost you money.  It made me aware, very quickly, whose head was in the game and who was at the shop for a good time.  As the season approached, the car was almost finished; I turned my attention to removing some of the guys who were there for the wrong reasons.  That sounds so bad- I basically fired volunteer help, but it had to be done- anyone who races will tell you- we don’t do it for a good time, and I was serious about it.  After it was all said and done, I was able to retain 1 guy out of the original 7 I had- there were others that left on their own.

            While I felt like I was right back where I was 6 months ago, things were actually looking up.  The productivity was back up and there were less mistakes being made.  It was tough to lose that many people, but I think it was the best thing at the time.  I was able to put more time in on the car myself, instead of acting more like a supervisor.  The season was rapidly approaching, and the car was just about complete.  I needed to paint it, and put on the new vinyl, but all in all I was happy with the progress.

            The best part about this time, was that now I felt like I was taking steps to achieve my goals.  I had always loved racing, and always dreamed about driving.  All of the extra money and time spent getting the car ready- the late night calls to the girlfriend telling her I wouldn’t be able to come over, the busted knuckles, and all of the frustration- just seemed to go away when I looked at the car in the shop.  It is a part of racing you just have to experience to fully understand it, but I remember how great that felt, and how I was getting ready to compete in my first full season.  I never gave it a second thought that it might not go exactly like I wanted it too.

            While it may seem like things slowed down during the off season, they will pick up again next week.  While we are racers at heart, we spend 90% of our time in the shop getting ready.  You may have heard its where races are won and lost.  The work in the shop isn’t always the most fun, or most rewarding, but it is necessary.  Next week the season gets underway, and we look at what it takes to keep the car on the track for the whole season.  I know I ask each week, but please check out my sponsors on this page.  I appreciate your interest in the blog, and you can check me out on twitter @justinonderko. 

Decision Time. . .

            I have heard that racing is not a sport, that it’s not that difficult.  Let me be the first to tell you- I couldn’t agree more.  For those that are passionate about it; racing is not a sport- it’s a lifestyle.  Racing is not that difficult either- at times it’s next to impossible.

            To recap what has happened so far, I bought a car, I thought I knew what I was doing; I wrecked that car, rebuilt it, went in debt, and went racing again.  It literally happens that quick- racing can suck you in and give you the worst case of tunnel vision ever.  If you’re not careful, racing can take just about everything from you.  You can give it everything you have, and in the end you are just left wanting.

            Our season had just ended, and to be honest, I was relieved.  I needed a break, a chance to regroup and get a game plan together.  Up to this point, I had been going at it pretty much alone.  I had a buddy helping me but he had a girlfriend and a life of his own, my father helped when he could, but I had nobody really dedicated to the car- at least not as dedicated as myself.  My girlfriend was at her breaking point, we never spent any time together and she hated being replaced by a racecar.  Things needed to change.

            I had an idea one night when I was working in the shop, I was going to go back to my high school shop teacher and float an idea by him.  I needed help, and I needed help that didn’t have wives, or girlfriends, or kids, or anything else that would get in the way of their time.  That sounds so selfish on my part, but racing is just that way- sadly, it does not reward the thoughtful.  My shop teacher thought it sounded like a good idea, and said he would put it out to his more mechanically inclined students.  What could it hurt?

            Over the next few weeks, I was introduced to a number of guys that expressed interest in helping out.  I had them come down to the shop, one by one to evaluate them and their knowledge base.  I am aware that beggars can’t be choosers, but if I was going to put my life in their hands (literally)- then I wanted to be sure that they had their head in the right place.  This is the point in my life where I started to learn management skills.  Each one had his own strengths and weaknesses, which was fine- everyone does.  After all- they were juniors and seniors in high school, and not industry experts.  I learned quickly that having everyone in the shop at the same time was more of a free for all, and less a productive work environment- but it was help.

            This decision had freed up just enough time to keep my girlfriend from leaving me, and things were kind of starting to click with the guys.  I remember ignorantly thinking at the time- I felt like Rick Hendrick, I felt like I had things under control.  Things were looking up, I was kind of paying the credit card down, the girlfriend was off my back, and the car was on its way back together after going through it.  If only that could’ve continued, it would have made things much, much easier.

            Looking forward to next week, we’ll see how it all falls apart, and what I try to do to get things back on track.  I hope that everyone is enjoying this blog, and getting to see what goes on behind the scenes.  I appreciate the comments; it means a lot to me that you take the time to leave them.  My sponsors thank you for the interest that you have shown in them, please continue to click through them and show your support.  Thanks for stopping by.   

Pressing Onward. . .

            Last week I told everybody how the hangover of the first race felt.  Realizing that getting the racecar on the track is the easy thing, keeping it racing is another problem all together.  So now we have to fix the car and get it back together so we can go racing, just buy the new parts and slap it all together- yeah right.

            Remember what you could do at age 19?  Remember how you knew it all, and you didn’t need advice from anybody?  Remember that bubble that you lived in- all the cool things of becoming an adult, yet all the carelessness of being a kid?  There is a reason you remember the lessons in life that you learn the hard way.

            That brand new credit card I had gotten a few weeks ago was nearing half its capacity, and more parts needed to be ordered.  My girlfriend was becoming more and more upset with all of the time I was spending in the shop.  My boss was getting tired of me dragging at work, and I was tired of not sleeping.  I was 3 weeks out since the first race and I was having trouble getting the car back together.  The car was in worse shape than I had thought originally, and I was buying tools to fix it- expensive tools.

            Each day I would head to work around 6am, get home at 5:30-600pm go have dinner and head out to the shop.  I am certainly not complaining, mind you, I look back on those times with a fond recollection, but at the time I felt completely overwhelmed.  Not only was it taking a toll physically on me, but the rapidly rising costs were starting to hit home as well.  I started looking for ways to cut down on some of the money I was outlaying.  I learned that a pack of Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter could get you through a day, and sleep was not necessary as long as you drank lots of coffee and took a few No-Doze pills to keep you awake during the day.  This is not only a bad way to take care of yourself, but it’s also really stupid- it always catches up with you- and I do not advise it.

             As the seasons started to change, I realized I could make the last race of the year if I really buckled down and got the car finished.  For those of you who have been around racing, girlfriends/wives really love it when you are spending lots of time with a car, and then you tell them that you need to spend even more time at the shop.  So unless they are willing to come to the shop and sit there, while watching you put the effort into your racecar that used to be reserved for them, they will never see you.  Yeah- they love that.  In the end, though, you work harder on the car- hoping they will understand, and try to pay a little bit on the credit card- that’s starting to get a little out of control now.

            Looking back on those first few months of my racing career, I sit and think about all the things I learned.  I foolishly self-taught myself most of what I needed to know- not because someone wasn’t willing to teach me, I was just unwilling to take what was being offered.  This is also something I don’t recommend, it always costs extra to learn something, always.  Some of the greatest life lessons, I learned during that time.  There is one underlying theme to my thought processes today- especially if I am undertaking something new-There is always someone who can do it better than you, learn from that person, and ask lots of questions.  It saves lots of headaches.

            We finally did get back on the track that year- finished 8^th our first race back, and brought the cars home in one piece.  That was a big plus- since I didn’t have anymore money to fix it again.  Its funny, it’s not so much the races I remember about that time- it’s the times in the shop that stick the most.  All of this, though, would serve me well later on in my career.

            Next week we will touch on getting ready for the next season and continue to talk about how racing becomes a lifestyle of living this sport, and how money, time, and relationships continue to endure as I climb the ladder of the sport.  I know I sound like a broken record- but please check out my sponsors on this page, they help me live my dream, and a special thanks to those of you who have visited them.  Don’t be afraid to let me know what you think about this blog, I am a little new at this aspect of it, but I like the interaction with my fans, and like to know who they are. 

The Aftermath. . .

           My introduction into stock car racing had just been completed, and to say the least it was not pretty.  I was once told that nothing is a failure, as long as you learn something.  So far the only thing I had learned was racing gets expensive quick, and I just set a speed record.

            I remember the long drive home.  There was absolutely no traffic on the roads and it was very peaceful.  I thought it was an odd contrast to the mayhem that was, just hours before.  Everyone in the truck was asleep, leaving me to ponder the day.  Had I made a mistake buying this car? Did I bite off more than I could chew?  Did I even have enough money to fix the car before the season ended?  In all the trips to racetracks I have made since that night, I think that one felt the longest.

            We rolled back into town around 2am, and had to back the whole trailer into the shop because there was no way we were getting the car off at that time.  It somehow looked worse that it did at the track.  It was a surreal experience looking at my racecar- the trailer wet with water and oil, parts ripped open and torn from their mounting points, the odd smells that accompany wrecked racecars.  It was more than I had bargained for and as bad as the car looked; I felt worse.

            The next day I headed over to the shop and opened the doors up to the sight of what I had left there last night.  I spent the night tossing and turning about what I was going to do.  I was in such a hurry to get the car ready to race, I didn’t really take the time to see how it was put together.  How was I going to fix this?  I chained the car to the back wall of the shop and pulled the trailer out from under the car and got it set up on jack stands.  I figured that I couldn’t do anything until I got all the broken pieces off the car. 

            I spent all afternoon, unbolting and cutting the pieces of the car that were no longer useable- and in some cases; identifiable.  I remembered sarcastically thinking that things were starting to look up.  I only needed an upper and lower control arm, a spindle and a hub assembly, a tie rod along with the center link and idler arm, a new radiator, a new wheel, and a brake rotor.  It might as well have been a whole new car. 

            It was time to make some new friends.  I had no idea where to start looking, and neither did anybody else on the team.  I started calling other race teams, and speed shops to find some answers.  A little piece of advice for anybody in a similar situation- don’t call your competition for ideas on how to fix your racecar.  Not only do they not care, but they will find it humorous that you are in tough spot.  After a couple days I was able to find what I needed at some local speed shops. 

            It is at this time I would like to thank the credit card company Mastercard.  Not only did they accept my credit application, but granted me with 7200 dollars in credit and gave me a wonderful interest rate of 21 percent.  At a very unintelligent age 19, I had just found my funding to get the car back on the track.   Its funny how you remember things like that. 

            After taking up about a quarter of my credit, and shipping all the parts to the shop, I was at a point to start reassembly.  I figured we could get back to the track for the final 3 races of the season if we worked really hard.  So, once again me and my buddy (Adam is his name) set out to rebuild the front end of my racecar.  There was just one problem; we really didn’t know what we were doing.

            In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing about getting us back on the track and the toll racing can take on relationships, work, and your finances.  I will be updating this blog every Thursday, it makes it easier than posting a date, so make sure you check back often.  As always- I welcome your comments.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the blog, or anything pertaining to racing for that matter.  I do ask that you check out my sponsors on this page- as in any racing, sponsors make it possible and they help make it possible for us.