My husband Brent is a drag racer.
He has a car, strictly for going down the racetrack. He has a trailer to haul it in and tons and tons of gear to go with.
5 or 6 times a year (or more some years) he goes to the racetrack and goes down the track at close to 100 mph of course there are many cars there that go even faster than that.
The passion for the sport eludes me but it is growing on me.
For me it is less about the sport itself and more about the people.
I see a passion in Brent that is truly amazing. I see Lucas experiencing every little boys dream. I see families with kids driving and dads beaming with pride. I see fans who would rather be at the track than anywhere else. I see the track owners working so hard because they love this sport and want to see it keep on even while they make no money.
Brent's Car
I never thought I'd be married to someone who drag races. Never.
When Brent and I got together he told me he was building a race car. I didn't think much of it. I thought he was like ever other guy and just talked a lot but never followed through. But he did.
While I was pregnant he worked on his car and took me to the racetrack to get acquainted with the sport I suppose. We also went to Las Vegas to a NHRA race when I was pregnant and I had never experienced anything like that before, still haven't. Everyone needs to go to a 'real' drag race one time in their life. It will
literally make your head spin!
Once Luke came along Brent put racing on the back burner for a while but it wasn't long after Luke was walking that Brent had to take him to see daddy race! Luke has been hooked ever since. I have countless pictures of Lucas sleeping at the racetrack. The noise has never bothered him and he's never been scared. Now there has been a few times that I have been scared and he could tell something wasn't right and would be upset.
I have seen one major accident in my short span as a racetrack wife, but I've also seen a few others that messed up the cars pretty bad and shook up the drivers and fans. Those really get to me all I can think about is Brent of course and how sometimes I think it's not IF you will wreck it's when. Brent assures me he will be safe. He has all the safety equipment and all will be fine but sometimes I get really truly scared. I think that's just a wife, momma, woman thing. :)
Something else that has been talked about since before he was born was Luke racing. He can race as a Jr Dragster when he turns eight! That's four more years! He talks about driving a jr dragster a lot! As a mom I am scared to put my baby in a car and let him go 'fast' but another part of me can't wait for him to share that with his dad. I know time will only tell weather Luke will have the racing bug.
And if I am being honest I've had plenty of times that I was annoyed by Brent's love for racing. I have thrown my fair share of embarrassing fits over being at the track late into the night or not wanting to spend money on car parts but the more I'm around it and the wiser I have become I am proud that Brent has a wholesome hobby to involve his kids in. I'm happy to see him spend his hard earned money on something he enjoys.
I'm not sure why I felt the need to get all this out there. I don't talk about racing a whole lot because I've always felt it's 'Brent's thing' but the older Lucas gets the more I can see it becoming his thing too and if both my boys are at the racetrack where else would I rather be. Odd how parenting will always change ya :)
And see here is some evidence I do have some fun at the race track ;)
My first and only ride to date down the drag strip! Brent took me for a spin down the track in cousin Gary's car because his doesn't have a passenger seat!
I sure do love my handsome race car driver :)
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