Jan. 12, 2008
On NASCAR: Dad Loves His Work
By Cathy Elliott
Last year, both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fell on Tuesday, offering most of the American workforce the challenge of looking for innovative ways to create two consecutive four-day holiday weekends.
In fact, since the day after Christmas has nearly gained official holiday status—60 Percent Off Day—some of us even managed to eke out five days off in a row. With pay.
When December 26th or 27th rolled around, seldom were heard these encouraging words: “Yes! It’s finally time to go back to work! I’m so excited!”
You may enjoy your job and derive great personal and professional satisfaction from it, but chances are you are not, as a general rule, impatiently knocking on the door waiting to get in at the start of each business day.
There is probably not a large crowd of spectators assembled on the sidewalk when you arrive at your workplace, applauding you and waiting for you to start pushing that pencil or painting that wall, just so they can watch you (through binoculars in some cases), and then head home to discuss each detail of your performance with their friends.
I can absolutely guarantee you, though, that when the gates to the Sprint Cup garage were unlocked on Monday morning, January 7 (the first day of the first session of pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway) there was a long line of anxious drivers and crew members waiting to get inside.
With no money or points at stake, nothing to win or lose, and only half a racing field, thousands of fans visited Daytona for a look at their favorite Sprint Cup Series drivers. Thousands more will do the same thing during the second test session, which begins on January 14.
They will remember what they saw, and it will provide them with plenty of speculative fodder to chew on and mull over and form opinions about until the track opens its gates for Speedweeks 2008 in early February.
A popular James Taylor album of the early 1980s informed us that “Dad Loves His Work.”
Obviously he was referring to the music industry, but Taylor could just as easily have dedicated that title to everyone who works in the sport of NASCAR racing, and that includes moms as well as dads, along with any other family members you can think of.
In fact, this may be the only profession I have ever personally been involved with where you regularly hear complaints that the vacations are just too long.
Regardless of which type of media you regularly consult for your racing news, you will probably see or hear Pre-Season Thunder, the cool name given to January testing, compared with the advent of an early spring after an arduous winter.
The stock cars, you will be told, are like daffodils bursting through the frozen tundra, shaking off the snow, and brightening our sports landscape with their color and beauty. I love this imagery, and it couldn’t be more appropriate.
For me, though, the start of the racing season basically boils down to something more plebian than poetic. It’s like that first moment after the alarm clock goes off, when you emerge from sleep and open your eyes to a new day full of challenges and possibilities. Anything can happen, and it will; you just don’t yet know what it will be.
Translation: From the season-ending Champions Week until Pre-Season Thunder rolls around in early January, there is a lack of motion and an absence of noise in NASCAR. It’s just too darned quiet.
Monday, January 7, was a significant day in the sports world. A new collegiate football champion was crowned when LSU beat Ohio State University to win the national NCAA title.
Most of these kids will now move on to other things and new experiences, and spend the rest of their lives dreaming happily of what, for most of them, will be a once-in-a-lifetime triumph. They will become living, breathing versions of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”.
For the majority of them, their work is done.
On the same day, another national champion didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in. Jimmie Johnson, who participated in the first pre-season test session at Daytona, got up that morning, zipped up NASCAR’s colorful version of the ultimate power suit, and went right on back to work.
Johnson probably didn’t get much sleep the night before, he was so excited about returning to work after the holidays. Maybe he even dreamed about his job that night, a roaring blur of sound and color that left him energized, emotionally gassed up and ready to go. The same can be said for each and every one of his co-workers.
The last time I dreamed about my job was the result of an improperly-used apostrophe in a headline; it was more of a nightmare, really.
While that’s not the sort of thing that makes you want to hop right out of bed and start all over, it does offer a certain type of incentive—namely, to fire up the engine, get back out there, and do it better than the other guys.
The best Johnson, the reigning series champion, can possibly do is repeat what he’s already done—win the Sprint Cup Series trophy. At least 42 other guys are lined up trying to take it away from him.
In keeping with the spirit of teamwork, NASCAR isn’t a dog-eat-dog environment, exactly. It’s more like a dog-chase-dog-until-you-catch-him type of deal. Then, when you do catch up to the lead dog, you do something much, much worse than eating him; you pass him and beat him to the checkered flag. Johnson doesn’t have time for dreams; he has work to do.
Someone once advised me that if your job is everyone else’s entertainment, you never have any fun. There’s a certain element of truth to that, but it doesn’t apply here. Once again, NASCAR has made it a rule to be the exception.
When these guys do their jobs, everyone — including them — has a blast. Bring on the daffodils and shut off the clock. It’s time to get up and go to work.
Cathy Elliott worked for seven years as director of public relations at Darlington Raceway. She currently lives in Florence, SC.
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On NASCAR: Dad Loves His Work
By Cathy Elliott
Last year, both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fell on Tuesday, offering most of the American workforce the challenge of looking for innovative ways to create two consecutive four-day holiday weekends.
In fact, since the day after Christmas has nearly gained official holiday status—60 Percent Off Day—some of us even managed to eke out five days off in a row. With pay.
When December 26th or 27th rolled around, seldom were heard these encouraging words: “Yes! It’s finally time to go back to work! I’m so excited!”
You may enjoy your job and derive great personal and professional satisfaction from it, but chances are you are not, as a general rule, impatiently knocking on the door waiting to get in at the start of each business day.
There is probably not a large crowd of spectators assembled on the sidewalk when you arrive at your workplace, applauding you and waiting for you to start pushing that pencil or painting that wall, just so they can watch you (through binoculars in some cases), and then head home to discuss each detail of your performance with their friends.
I can absolutely guarantee you, though, that when the gates to the Sprint Cup garage were unlocked on Monday morning, January 7 (the first day of the first session of pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway) there was a long line of anxious drivers and crew members waiting to get inside.
With no money or points at stake, nothing to win or lose, and only half a racing field, thousands of fans visited Daytona for a look at their favorite Sprint Cup Series drivers. Thousands more will do the same thing during the second test session, which begins on January 14.
They will remember what they saw, and it will provide them with plenty of speculative fodder to chew on and mull over and form opinions about until the track opens its gates for Speedweeks 2008 in early February.
A popular James Taylor album of the early 1980s informed us that “Dad Loves His Work.”
Obviously he was referring to the music industry, but Taylor could just as easily have dedicated that title to everyone who works in the sport of NASCAR racing, and that includes moms as well as dads, along with any other family members you can think of.
In fact, this may be the only profession I have ever personally been involved with where you regularly hear complaints that the vacations are just too long.
Regardless of which type of media you regularly consult for your racing news, you will probably see or hear Pre-Season Thunder, the cool name given to January testing, compared with the advent of an early spring after an arduous winter.
The stock cars, you will be told, are like daffodils bursting through the frozen tundra, shaking off the snow, and brightening our sports landscape with their color and beauty. I love this imagery, and it couldn’t be more appropriate.
For me, though, the start of the racing season basically boils down to something more plebian than poetic. It’s like that first moment after the alarm clock goes off, when you emerge from sleep and open your eyes to a new day full of challenges and possibilities. Anything can happen, and it will; you just don’t yet know what it will be.
Translation: From the season-ending Champions Week until Pre-Season Thunder rolls around in early January, there is a lack of motion and an absence of noise in NASCAR. It’s just too darned quiet.
Monday, January 7, was a significant day in the sports world. A new collegiate football champion was crowned when LSU beat Ohio State University to win the national NCAA title.
Most of these kids will now move on to other things and new experiences, and spend the rest of their lives dreaming happily of what, for most of them, will be a once-in-a-lifetime triumph. They will become living, breathing versions of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”.
For the majority of them, their work is done.
On the same day, another national champion didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in. Jimmie Johnson, who participated in the first pre-season test session at Daytona, got up that morning, zipped up NASCAR’s colorful version of the ultimate power suit, and went right on back to work.
Johnson probably didn’t get much sleep the night before, he was so excited about returning to work after the holidays. Maybe he even dreamed about his job that night, a roaring blur of sound and color that left him energized, emotionally gassed up and ready to go. The same can be said for each and every one of his co-workers.
The last time I dreamed about my job was the result of an improperly-used apostrophe in a headline; it was more of a nightmare, really.
While that’s not the sort of thing that makes you want to hop right out of bed and start all over, it does offer a certain type of incentive—namely, to fire up the engine, get back out there, and do it better than the other guys.
The best Johnson, the reigning series champion, can possibly do is repeat what he’s already done—win the Sprint Cup Series trophy. At least 42 other guys are lined up trying to take it away from him.
In keeping with the spirit of teamwork, NASCAR isn’t a dog-eat-dog environment, exactly. It’s more like a dog-chase-dog-until-you-catch-him type of deal. Then, when you do catch up to the lead dog, you do something much, much worse than eating him; you pass him and beat him to the checkered flag. Johnson doesn’t have time for dreams; he has work to do.
Someone once advised me that if your job is everyone else’s entertainment, you never have any fun. There’s a certain element of truth to that, but it doesn’t apply here. Once again, NASCAR has made it a rule to be the exception.
When these guys do their jobs, everyone — including them — has a blast. Bring on the daffodils and shut off the clock. It’s time to get up and go to work.
Cathy Elliott worked for seven years as director of public relations at Darlington Raceway. She currently lives in Florence, SC.
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