Pete McCluskey.
Lifetime Supporter
You might be a racer if ...
- You think the primary purpose of wings is to PREVENT flight.
- You take your helmet along when you go to buy new eyeglasses.
- You feel compelled on a road trip to beat your previous best time.
- You are happiest when your street car's tires are worn to racing depth (wear bars showing).
- When something falls off of your car, you wonder how much weight you just saved.
- You change engine oil every other week.
- You sometimes hear little noises from your passengers when you get on�the throttle right after turning in.
- You thoroughly enjoy showing the tailgater behind how to drive around a�highway off-ramp.
- Your racing budget is one of the big three -- mortgage, car payments/maintenance, dating.�
- Your email address refers to your race car rather than to you.
- You walk proper lines through the grocery store.
- You bought a race car before buying furniture for the new house.
- You find that you need a new house because you've outgrown your garage and the neighbors are threatening violence if you park one more vehicle on the street or in the front yard.�
- The requirements you give your real estate agent are (in order of importance):�
1) Climate controlled garage with an attached shop.
2) Outside parking for 6 cars, a motorhome, a crew cab dualie, a 28' enclosed trailer and a 34' 5th wheel.
3) 3 phase 220V outlets in the garage for your welder.�
4) A grease pit.�
5) Convenient to a hazardous waste disposal site.�
6) Deaf neighbors.�
7) Across the street from a paint and body shop.
- You sit in your car in a dark garage and make car noises while waiting for your motor to get back from the machine shop.
- You look at the purchase of tools as a long term investment.
- Your wife says, "If you buy another set of tires, I'm getting a new mink."
- Your garage holds more cars than your house has bedrooms.
- More than one racer supply house recognizes your voice and greets you by name when you call.
- If you can't remember when you last worked on weekdays and rested on�
weekends.
- You have a separate drawer for 'garage clothes'.
- Your reading material in your bathroom consists of racing supply catalogs and 400 racecar magazines.
- People know you by your car number, make, and model.
- You talk to other cars on the road, calling them by the manufacturers name.
- Your first date involves asking her to crew for you.
- You plan your wedding around the race schedule.
- Your family brings the couch into the garage so they can spend some time with you.
- You complain when cars in front of you on highway off-ramps don't stay on the line, causing your exit speed to drop.
- You refer to the corner down the street from your house as "Turn One."
- You look at the fire hydrant at that corner and see an apex marker.
- You always late apex the intersection and try to pass a few cars coming out.
- You can't stand understeer.
- You always want to change something in your street car to make it handle better.
- You will gladly pay up to $8 for a litre of engine oil.
- You hate long distance driving, but you will gladly drive 800 miles to the race track.
- You think that traction control and ABS are for those who can't drive.
- You save broken car parts as "mementos".
- Your last several freeway forays included just brushing the curbs as you apexed the on-ramps perfectly....
- You've found your lawn mower runs pretty good on 108 octane gas.
- You would choose a roll bar over air conditioning if it were an option.
- You consider the redline a "conservative suggestion" and the rev limiter "a fun limiter"
- Your idea of a good time is sitting around figuring out gear ratios and the ideal final drive ratio for given situations.
- You own five cars and only one of them is street legal.
- You've embarrassed your significant other at least once by insisting on wearing your full face helmet while driving.
- You know the "racing line" of every turn in your daily commute, including�your alternate routes, and practice hitting them every day.
- You quote your street tire wear life in weeks rather than miles.
- You regularly live test your rev limiter on that straight that's a little too long for 2nd but not worth going into 3rd for.
- You've started looking for sponsors for your daily commute.
- After you tell your wife where you'd like to go on your vacation she answers: "Why... is there a race there?"
