American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 7 | Page 18

Risk Is the Price You Pay For Opportunity
All of the steps attempted to be
choreographed with any type of
high-speed racing machine can be
quite an adventure for everyone,
including the driver, the crew, and
spectators too. The crew’s responsibility is to ensure the machine is
safely prepared to the best of their
ability. The person in the precarious
position of piloting a powerful and
perfectly prepared machine is theoretically the only one at risk when
he or she steps on the loud pedal.
Let’s face it: There is some risktaking in everything we do in life.
From a young child going through
the adolescent stages of walking,
running, riding a bicycle, swinging,
swimming, and now-a-days attending school. Parents hope and pray
for their kids’ well-being!
In motorsports, you start out going
through the adolescent stages of
learning to drive and control a highhorsepower machine. Some drivers
have jumped in with both feet and
skipped the slower class machines,
but the risk is multiplied without
early-on experience.
Risk, literally means a situation involving exposure to danger with the
possibility that something unpleasant or unwelcome will happen. No
one involved in motorsports wants
any unpleasant situation to arise.
For the driver, it is ultimately risky
for their physical well-being. For
the crew and family the risk is an
emotional one where they are fearful for their loved one for a few
seconds during a high-speed highrisk run down the track.

Racing associations and promoters
face risk too. But theirs is based on
a financial risk of not having a successful event or a successful season. There are many factors where
these risks can come into play during the course of any given year,
with the weather probably being the
greatest factor, along with the state
of the economy.
When a nitro powered engine
comes to life—whether in the pits
or out on the track—there is always
the risk of parts breakage which can
be the first cause of a disaster. Even
changes in track or atmospheric
conditions can have a serious effect
on how an engine performs.
An all-aluminum racing engine is
purchased to perform at a high-level, but there are no ten thousand
mile warrantees. Once the engine is
in its place, it doesn’t know it is at
risk. But the person paying the bills
knows there’s always a risk this
seventy-five thousand dollar motor
may only perform for a few seconds
before
expiring…right
after
firing…maybe it’s a problem with
the wiring…or the crew you were
hiring…you were too busy looking
and admiring…and with a big nitro
load it may become simply too tiring.
As humans, we are designed to be
fruitful and multiply, but we don’t
always consider the risk of parenting. It’s easy to become a parent;
almost everyone can do it, but how
many of us really sat down and
considered the actual cost of raising
children (not the monetary part). If

we knew then, what we know now,
we might reconsider all of our options.
The opportunity to have grandkids
is within reach of most of us, but
first we must start out with our own
kids, and then allow them to multiply too. A few years ago we took
two of our grandkids to the Grand
Canyon. When the older one said
she was going to push the younger
brother over the edge, I realized
being the one responsible to get
both of them back home safely was
scarier and riskier than simply being a parent. I told her, “I wasn’t
going to be the one to call your dad
and say we are only bringing one of
the kids back!”
The opportunity to raise some trouble as youngsters, race, raise kids,
reap the blessings of life, realize the
importance of a good job, learn the
responsibility to live the Golden
Rule is a noble risk we take for the
rewards it brings. It is worth the
risk, but unfortunately far too many
others who have given up on their
responsibility to whom they are responsible for.
Consider other types of risk in today’s world: Riding a dirt bike or a
quad, taking your lake boat out for
a full-throttle day of water skiing,
hiking in 110 degree heat in Arizona, climbing the Himalayas, going
to an amusement park, big game
hunting, even football and baseball
have inherent danger.
The truth is, until we allow God to
manage our life; we will be man-