“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” These wise words by Nelson Mandela give us a new definition for a word that we use race after race. Whether it’s the reigning champ or the popular underdog, our race winners are not just those who cross the finish line first; they are dreamers that never stopped dreaming.
Dreams fuel life. They are our deepest desires and what many of us strive for day after day. You never hear a driver’s victory lane speech begin with: “Well, I’m not very fond of racing, but I decided to give it a shot anyways.” Instead you hear about how they ate, slept and breathed racing until they were given a shot to prove themselves. Then, they worked harder than all those around them to make something out of the dream they had.
Racing is a sport that would not exist without the dreams of those who partake in it week after week. Owners, drivers, and crew members alike, at one point in their life, strove to become a part of the sport we are witnesses to every weekend.
Sometimes even fans dream of becoming a part of the racing world. Fans, like me, become hooked so deep that they cannot think of doing anything else with their lives.
Ever since my father took me to the Indianapolis 500 back in 2006, I have been hooked to the sights, smells and sounds associated with racing. To me, the blur of colors, mixture of fumes and burnt rubber, and the cheers of thousands of fans mixed with the roaring engines, were something I never wanted to be away from.
My love for IndyCar became like a drug that quickly spread to NASCAR. Nothing could feed the hunger I had amassed for what others called a pointless obsession. Like any other addiction, my tolerance level grew, and suddenly watching from the sidelines wasn’t enough for me. Instead, I wanted to be a part of the action. Someone behind the scenes that could truly get a feel for what racing was all about.
At first, it was just a fleeting, far fetched thought. There was no way anyone in the industry would look twice at me. Slowly, though, with the help of encouraging words from family, friends, and actually taking a step back to think about things, my eyes opened, and my once fleeting thought, became a dream.
Like all dreamers, I felt a fire underneath my butt that kept me from giving up and settling. I changed my major from the medical field to Marketing and later added another in Public Relations. The fire grew as I got the chance to Intern with 140 BUZZ under the guidance of NASCAR spotter Mike Calinoff and an amazing mentor Amanda Ebersole.
Suddenly, I saw things coming together and my once far fetched idea, seemed plausible. My first glimpse into the behind the scenes part of NASCAR came at Charlotte Motor Speedway with my internship. The fire became a raging inferno as everything I had ever wanted in a job was shown to me first hand.
The inferno is still raging as I sit behind my laptop, trying to find the right words to introduce myself as a deserving part of the 2013 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Social Media Garage. Of course, I am ecstatic about the opportunity, but when looking at my fellow VIPs, I cannot help but wonder why I was chosen to be among them.
At first, I thought it was just some fluke decision. Maybe my name was drawn from a hat or something. Surely, I was not handpicked to have a great opportunity like this. However, after some thought about my journey so far, I think I have come up with an answer.
The truth is I am not a fan who knows everything about NASCAR or some social media guru. I have never even written a blog about the sport before. I am a just a dreamer and a fan that is passionate about all things racing.
The burning desire within me has been inside of every other member of the racing community at some point or another. Now, with this amazing opportunity I have been given, I can let the fire loose and show fans a side of the Super Weekend that they would not be able to see otherwise.
I’m here to be your eyes and ears for the weekend. To bring stories to the parts of the racing world that would usually go without witness and most of all I’m here to show the dreamers inside the winners.
