Oh yeah, Daddy still has it!

Old habits die hard.  And going fast in anything shows no signs of mortality in my book.  Not for now anyways.

After a ten year stint in the SCCA racing Formula Fords, I put down the driving gloves and hung up the helmet for what I thought would be for good.  That was almost nineteen years ago and today I find myself just as fast, just as talented, and just as good looking as I...

Alright already!  Deflate that fat head of yours and come back down to earth.  I can almost hear each and every one of you saying it.

But when you have a drive like I had this past weekend you are almost certain of those things, even though they are a bit far fetched.  When half the field has half the horsepower than you, and the only real competition that you have out weighs you by about a hundred pounds it's easy to lose touch with reality and fantasize about being the next FIA Formula One World Champion.

All silliness aside and before I go any further, I want to say that I have all the respect in the world for today's karters.  Boy, girl, young and old alike.  Anyone who can make it out to the track a dozen and a half times a year and consistently drive one of these things quickly has my attention.  These are not toys.  And with some classes having the ability to hit triple digits it can be a handful to just keep yourself on course much less maneuver through traffic and squeak out a win.

I learned this firsthand when my son graciously allowed me to drive his Merlin LM30 in the annual Mechanic's Race at Dousman this past Sunday.  With no practice, I jumped into the kart and pulled out a win.  Made it look simple right?  If only it could have been that easy.

With a traditional Le Mans start, yours truly was the second slowest guy to take to the track.  And after two back to back spins (in the same corner) I finally found a rhythm and reeled in the leader.

This leader I speak of is the "heavy" guy I mentioned earlier.  Dave Elliott, A large man with an equally large heart.  He's the guy who loaned us an entire kart last year so my son and his co-driver could compete in an annual endurance race.  A man who will always find time to help you with a problem and give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it.  And now I have to pass him.

How does the old saying go?  All is fair in love and war?  This is kind of like war... aww hell just pass him! 

So around him I went, but not without a fight.  He left me plenty of room but didn't just hand the lead over.  After a couple of turns I emerged in front and was bound and determined to stay there this time.  I made certain that every lap was conducted in a smooth and precise manner, making not one single mistake.  I thought it was an eternity but it turned out it was only three laps before I finally took the checkered flag and found the chance to nurse my numb limbs back to life.  Ten laps, and you would have thought I raced for 24 hours by my weak handshake up and down pit lane.

These things pound the daylights out of you!  I say to anyone who has access to someone who owns one of these little darlings (and I'm not talking about the karts at the Dells) get in it and see just what I'm talking about.  I guarantee you'll come away from the experience understanding why the best professional drivers in the world have come out of karting.  With things coming at you as fast as they do, and just the plain strength needed to control one (they have no suspensions) you'll quickly have an idea of how the transition to cars comes so much easier to those who began their careers in karts than to those who have not.

I digress, since joining the ranks of the professionals is clearly not in my future.  Sure I'd love to get back in it and see what I've got, but even if I had the time and money it just wouldn't be as gratifying as that one time each year when you treat yourself to something like this.  No expectations, no disappointment, just one day to have a blast, come what may.  We'll see you next year Dave.  And to any other worthy opponents I say bring your A-game because it ain't gonna be easy...

I really have to stop that.

The lost art of relaxation

In this day and age it appears that we've all come to accept a hectic lifestyle as the norm.  It's almost as if we feel worthless or lost if we're not constantly involved in something.  I find it hard to understand how our country leads the world in obesity when a fair percentage of us can't sit still for even ten minutes!

To say my life has been busy lately is quite the understatement.

Between my full time career and my time at the firehouse I barely have enough ticks in the clock left over in a day for myself.  And if it wasn't for my son's never ending racing season or my daughter's athletics I probably wouldn't see my family much either.  Now try and toss in a fitness schedule, a new class one night a week, and a plethora of other personal issues I have going on and I quickly find that I have the recipe for a ten gallon stress stew with only a five gallon pot.

A rare opportunity presented itself to slow our lives down (if only for seven short days) when my wife and I visited the Cayman Islands last week.  An absolutely beautiful place with plenty of people who let's just say don't move very fast nor do they envy those of us who do.

I'm ashamed to say that I started my vacation as one of these people.  Once I mastered the art of piloting a right hand drive car on the left side of the road I felt myself pushing the pedal further and further into the floor boards on my daily trips.  I wasn't on the island for more than twenty four hours when I began passing some of the locals like they were standing still.  And with the exception of one fouled attempt at a roundabout (and a near head-on miss) I felt that I was the undisputed king of the road.

But then in an instant it was gone.  The need to be somewhere right now.  The desire to move faster then the next guy.  Wanting to get in line before the others.  It didn't take very long to throw out old learned ways and adopt this new system.  Island Time.

Maybe it was the sun or the sea air.  It surely could have been from the lack of outside distractions like news, movies, television in general.  Or it could very well have been from the the indigenous distractions like rum.  Something happened in a very short period of time that took me from someone who constantly checked his watch to someone who had trouble recalling what day of the week it was.  Did I already mention alcohol?

Surprisingly for the first time in this control freak's life I can honestly say that I wouldn't have had it any other way.  No co-workers or deadlines.  No pagers, sirens or phones.  Just a book case full of books, 450 feet of beach at my disposal, and not an idea of what was going to happen or what I was planning on doing until... well, I was doing it!

And to all of you with minds like me, get them out of the gutter!  That wasn't the only thing going on there.

I came away from the week completely relaxed and a bit more culturalized and enlightened.  I read a fantastic book that solidified my respect for the Dalai Lama and made it all that more important to me to slow down and be eternally thankful for the little things in life.  I came to the conclusion that I am not a fan of Rachmaninoff (actually his music scares the hell out of me) and that my wife is a bit of a princess.  Sorry babe I had to say it, but let me rephrase that by saying you're not as hearty of a soul as I am.  Even though our little beach house was growing on her by the end of our trip she would take the Ritz Carlton over it any day.

So now the test begins.  I'm back home in my own bed.  In my nosey little sub division with people who are more interested in my business than their own.  I'm back at my desk, telephones ringing and people asking you to move the earth for them.  And somewhere in all of this I have to stay true to my vow made last week that I'm going to be a more peaceful and patient man.  To those of you who know me well you know that this is not going to be a simple task.  After all I did overreact and get totally bent out of shape within the first ten minutes of my return.  The dog had an accident...again!

But I am driving on the proper side of the street again.  My kids aren't 1,679 miles away from me any more.  I'm still employed, and (touch wood) I'm finding myself above ground every morning.  It may not be a tropical paradise but it's the only real paradise I know.

Life is good.

34/30

So I'm in the restroom staring at the back of my jeans and like it's some sort of surprise to me I see 34/30 on the tag and I wince.  Christ! if you split me open like a vanilla bean and laid me out on a counter I'd be wider than I am long!  For me, this and many other reminders of my fleeting past have become all too common in my life lately.

I just got my first pair of prescription eye glasses about four months ago and I absolutely loathe using them.  But I positively can't function without them either.  And what's harder on me than hanging them on my nose every day is the memory of my fighter pilot vision that I still possessed less than a year ago.  I reveled in the fact that I could spot troopers out on the highway farther ahead of me than most mere mortals could see.  And I used to think that I could even see better at night but all of that is slowly coming to an end.  The reality for me and many others in my age bracket is that things like this that we took for granted twenty years ago are all slowly leaving us today.  Or in some cases, making it twice as hard to hold on to.

I just hope I don't become the fifty-something guy I see at the gym every night.  The one with the hair so ridiculous you ask yourself time after time if this guy is serious.  The same one who walks around in his zuma pants or full spandex and refuses to take his weight belt off even to ride the stationary bike, fearing the entire world might actually see the true size of his gut.  You know this person, he probably frequents your club as well.  And unfortunately this same guy looms inside every one of us who are approaching our fourth and fifth centuries.  It's whether or not we decide to age gracefully that determines if this clown is going to be let off his leash or not.

But in all this gloom and doom I can find some comfort in my current developmental stage.  That in the fact that I have life experience over my younger, leaner and cleaner brethren.  Don't get me wrong, most of the young guys that I know are very bright individuals, they just make rookie mistakes that a guy my age usually sees coming a mile away.  And when things like this happen to them, they pound their chests harder and charge right back in, usually to find the same results.  I read somewhere that this is the definition of insanity!  Maybe, maybe not, but it certainly is indicative of a lack of maturity.

So with all the systems slowly failing, and the chips and dings showing on the old body, I can confidently say that being right most of the time and having a head full of experience from the college of hard knocks takes away plenty of pain and shame of a 34 inch waist.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Just a little something I threw together for my wife. I love you dear, have a Happy Valentines Day.

Click on Lou to see for yourself.

Ever wanted to be part of a race team?

Racing.  It's something that I've always been involved in since I was young.  Whether by foot or wheel, I've always had a passion for competing and I still continue on in this tradition today.

But sixteen years ago that changed for me when my first born arrived.  Then it wasn't so much about what daddy wanted as much as it was about the child.  And I subscribed to this new paradigm lock, stock, and barrel.  I sold all of my auto racing equipment, quit the sport totally, and focused all of my time and money on the little ones.  And (stop me if you heard this one) I still continue on in this tradition today.

My son has been racing karts competitively for seven years now.  He drives, I wrench.  Oh and I pay for everything, I'm the driving coach, chauffeur, engineer, and all around morale booster.  And where once I found it painful to think that my remaining years in the sport were going to be spent behind a wrench and not a steering wheel, I've really grown to appreciate all of the work that goes on behind the scenes to manage a winning team.  And one of my tasks that I'm proud to say I've enjoyed some success in is securing business partners.

Racing takes money.  And like the old saying goes: speed costs, how fast do you wanna' go?  Flat out would be the common answer in our pit.  And if it wasn't for the people who see potential in marketing their goods in our form of motorsport we'd be moving at much slower speeds.  We truly appreciate all that these individuals bring to the tabel for us but we're constantly searching to bring new people on board.  Whether you're a business owner looking to expand your market, or a race fan looking to get up and close to the sport, we may have something that can help you.

Shamless plug moment

New for 2011, Inch-Hi Motorsports has put together a basic sponsorship plan which covers several investment levels in the team.  For business owners, they can showcase their products on a stage set in a fast paced world that only motor racing can offer.  And with demographics touching virtually every corner of the market from child to adult, male and female, and just about every income bracket in between, there's every reason to believe that your ROI will be swift and your bottom line fat.

And for those of you who share a passion for the sport but lack the time or funding, we have entry level plans that can get you one step closer to the action.  From simply receiving honorable mention for your contribution to joining us on pit road, we have a level that can get you as close to the team as you want.

The list below outlines what we have to offer and I would encourage anyone who is interested to e-mail us for more information or to request an application.  We can be reached at mjm@pegasusautoracing.com


Premiere Sponsor (Unlimited number of spots available)

• Silver - Share in the dream and receive honorable mention on the team’s website. $25

• Gold - With the Gold level, you will receive an honorable mention on the website but with the addition of an autographed team picture. $50

• Platinum - At this level you’ll receive the benefits of our Gold sponsor level with the addition of a small graphic on the kart. $100


Executive Sponsor (Two spots available)

• Standard - Platinum level Sponsor with larger graphic on kart and up to four (4) tickets to one event including lunch at the track. $500


• Preferred - Standard level Sponsor plus four (4) tickets to two (2) events including lunch at the track. $1000



Marquee Sponsor (Single spot available)

• Featured link on team website
• Framed and autographed picture
• Team apparel
• Admission to any event(s) during the season. Up to four (4) tickets per weekend with lunch served at track
• Up to an 8 square foot section of trailer gate for company logo or graphic
• One afternoon test session behind the wheel of a team kart at Badger Raceway with full crew support
• Driver (and team) available for shows, open house, grand openings, etc.

Call for rate