dealing with fear

I was just sitting down to write my next column and I have been thinking about fear when racing. How many of you race? Are you scared when you race? What scares you?

Any other thoughts on the subject?

Sure I'm scared. Every time I'm on track usually. Scared of dying. Scared of wrecking. Usually just on the high speed sections. If it is a slow section, just like an autocross to me - worst case scenario is that I slide a bit off-track. However, the high speed corner thing scares me - mechanical issues, gravity, etc...all come into play in my head.

Most autocross days I get the fear before my first run. Fear of not doing as well as I "should", and fear of breaking something on the car. If it doesn't stop when the green flag drops, I stuff it with a sandwich and it shuts up.

Okay, so I am not the only one.

On another note, while I have seen some wrecks on an autocross course, there is potential of danger and I have done some sick things sliding a car sideways, I have never been scared while autocrossing.

Thoughts on this?

After two LeMons races the only thing that scared me was catastrophic mechanical failure on the high speed parts. That and looking like an idiot. I bought Jensenman's Abomination with the intention of doing some hill climbs. That is already scaring me and I haven't even driven one yet.

Though it's been 6 years since I've been on track in wheel to wheel racing, I'm not sure it's fear or just insane amounts of excitement. Not sure if I ever got my mind to really over come what my heart was trying to stop. Or was that the other way? Not sure I've been scared to die, I work in I.T. so my soul died some time ago but it's more mind over matter to me. To really talk to yourself and tell yourself that you can push it even just a little more. It's that internal battle. I'll leave the "Grand Prix" quotes to the others responding, I don't know if I slept like a baby the night before a race but I really liked just being by myself in quiet the night before a race. Only once can I remember thinking about a mechanical failure and that was at a FF race at Pocono when I really started looking at that big wall compared to my little open wheel death trap. It was a fleeting moment since I quickly concentrated on the next corner but it did give me something to think about.

Man, this is going to be a very interesting article.

Tim Suddard wrote: Are you scared when you race? What scares you?

I am never, ever scared or even apprehensive when I'm in the car. I guess I'm just not wired that way. I know I should be - but even when I'm instructing I don't get "jumpy" with the bad students. I have a lot of seat time and that really helps slow things down but even when I started out I never had any real fear of death or carnage. I think being cool headed (even if its unwarranted) has saved my skin on more than one occasion so I'm not looking too hard for the "Why".

I'll tell ya what does scare the crap out me... when my kid races a kart my heart is in my throat the whole time. He is just like me too - I know exactly what he is going to do before he does... and it is really hard to watch.

On the auto cross - that notion of being in a more controlled environment helps a lot. I went to a 4 day race school in Vegas back in '03 and I don't think I was concerned once. I was at a "school" so there's no danger in that, right? Even though I was in cars faster than my race car I felt comfortable. That and being busy, not having the time to think.

Heck yeah I feel fear. It's part of what driving on the track is about. You confront things you're afraid of and conquer them (I'm the same way about rock-climbing).

Usually I get the fear in sections where I know I'll be fine because I've done them dozens of times. Turn 8 at T-Hill (flat out at 90mph) is a big one for me. I still have to make myself take several deep breaths, relax my grip on the wheel, and perform the turn like I always do.

I believe it was Gavin de Becker who said something to the effect that: If you're afraid of something, that means it isn't happening. When something bad happens you deal with it and you're not afraid. Fear just primes you for dealing with emergencies.

One thing I notice in both climbing and driving is: I don't get scared in the difficult sections. I don't have room to do anything except deal with the situation at hand. I get scared when there's something easy and I start to think about all of the ways that things could go wrong.

Fear on the track is the "What If?" voice. "What if I apex too early." "What if I hit a berm or rock and unsettle my car." "What if I spin out."

I don't see how fear and driving flat out can be with you at the same time. Maybe that's just me...

Speaking of fear, my son Tommy ran Road Atlanta a few weeks ago, at 15 years old. I wasn't real afraid of his abilities, and the NASA event he was at and his instructor, Ron Delvalle, had things totally under control. I was a little worried if something went wrong I would be buried in the patio with the rest of the people that pissed Margie off.

Nice topic... I own a miata. I started at AutoX a few years ago, and the only fear I had was making an idiot of myself. Never worried about car failures or wrecking. In 2008-2009 I dipped into Time Trials. And with my miata, safety items were a rollbar, seat, harness, and firesuit. Once again I was scared to look stupid, but that is past me after the first event. While behind the wheel, I have never been scared, whether I am in a 4 wheel slide on entry, put 2 wheels off on exit, seeing a car in front of me at a 45 degree angle to the correct direction, etc. I have also run a few Lemons races. The only thing I am scared of at lemons, is some dumb &$$ chopping me or getting into the quarterpanel and sending me to the penalty box. Never during the lemons races did I even have it cross my mind that what I was doing was not very smart. But it is fun. At this exact moment I am making my miata more street friendly, and dont know if I will ever have it on the track again. In hind sight, with only a roll bar, driving over 100mph around other cars with no door protection scares me. I have a wife, 2 kids, a sister and parents. I worry each time I timetrial about my stay at home wife having no income to raise 2 kids without me. For some reason I dont feel the same with lemons, perhaps a full cage, a roof...etc, I dont know. This topic is very timely for me as I am right in the middle of this hard decision to not TimeTrial my miata.

My fear on the autocross course isn't fear for my life, as it's awfully hard to have an accident with damage on the autocross course, it's fear of looking stupid or not doing my best. There's always a group of us that run similar times and you never want to be the back of the pack.

On a road course my fear prior to setting tire on the track is mechanical issues. Once I'm on the track that goes away, mostly. That little bit keeps me from going 11/10s at some point in the track and is probably what keeps me from being #1 instead of #2 or #3.

I've raced Vipers, Z06 vettes, high powered Locosts and many lesser stock cars like Miatae, S2000s, RX7s and you know that little bit of fear makes me prefer the "slower" cars like the S2000. The upper speed limits of the better weight/power cars puts me out of my comfort zone.

I'm dealing with a different sort of fear lately. I've had my daughter roll our off road style go karts and break her arm in several places and then a friend of mine was killed in a car crash where his seat belt broke and he was thrown from the car. Now any time I get an unexpected phone call or my kids go on any type of trip I am afraid. I know it's irrational and when I've read about people with the same issues I've said "That's crazy, just get over it." Well, I've found out that's easier said than done.

I guess I've gotten old enough to not feel immortal anymore like I did when I was in my 20s.

When i raced circle track it wasnt really fear as much as just pure adrenaline. The waiting around before the start of the race, the prep work was the worst time i guess, in that i had on my mind all the possible things that could happen, (crash, part/driver failure..ect) but i think it helped me as a driver. The best way i found to deal with it was by going over all nuts and bolts, making sure theyre tight, looking over all potential weak points, checking my safety equipment to ensure it was in proper order, constantly critiqueing the last race and my driving style in my head.

As soon as i strapped in though and fire up the engine, i was in the zone. All the fear/adrenaline was gone, and i was just focused on the race ahead. To be honest, as wierd as it seems, the insanity of a race was when i was most at peace with myself and the world. It all just felt right.

The last time I was scared was at an auto-x riding with my daughter, her first auto-x, first time driving a stick and it wasn't my car. Scared the begeezus out of me. She still hasn't got that "you've got to use both feet when driving a standard" thing down yet. Not scared when roadracing, although there is some fear at times depending whom I'm around at the time.

Really interesting topic.

I don't think I've ever really felt fear in a car competition. I definately get the jumpy stomach before hand, but I'm sure that's just adreneline. I feel the same thing when I'm about to give a speech, or go on stage (I'm a musician, too). Adreneline is good, it's there for a purpose. If you don't feel it, you are in trouble. In the car I guess I feel that I know the vehicle, I know my limits and its limits, it's just up to me to perform correctly. Sort of like soloing in a familiar key, or doing a song that you really know well.

That said, my driving experience is limited to solo events - autocrosses, track days and a couple of hillclimbs. No really high speed stuff. But I have been a stage rally codriver (14 SCCA nationals back in the day), and pretty much the same thing applied - but I was VERY picky about who my drivers were. I had to trust them completely, or I wouldn't call routes for them. No fast idiots for me! I knew the risks and the possibilities, but if we had everything under our control that we could, and we knew the car was well prepared, and we had excellent safety gear (in excess of what the rules required), then the only worries were outside factors, and racers just put them out of their minds during the event. But again, stage rally is essentially another one-car-at-a-time event. My biggest fear (or concern) there was screwing up - definately said Shepard's Prayer pretty regularly!

Sort of like playing in a unfamiliar key, or doing a song that you haven't rehearsed much.

On the other hand, when I'm around other idiots in big city traffic I can get REAL scared because of all the unknowns out of my direct control.

I think fear is probably related to previous experience. If you're in a new situation - lots more power, a new track, in traffic for the first time, etc - you will feel more feart or apprehension than if you are at a track you know well, in a familiar car, just going for a new personal best time.

Autocross? Never. In track days there isn't fear going in, but strong reaction to individual moments - spinning, almost being pushed into the guardrail, missing the brake (!! - thank god for a large runoff area)...

Tim Suddard wrote: Are you scared when you race? What scares you?

Yes, and no.

I never was scared, but after crashing hard a few times, and getting a little older, it started to happen. That's when I quit.

You can't be scared, have fun, and be competitive at the same time, IMO. I'm over it now, and think I could step right back in, but for now, I'll stick with something safe, motocross.

Autocross?

Low speeds, no other cars on the course (this is what really scares me). I think driving on the highway is more dangerous than autocross.

I've only ever autocrossed.

I'm scared before, but more of a scared in a kind of how good will i do. But during the actual driving, there is nothing but pure adrenaline going.

I like scary things. Cause any time that you actually do it, you figure out that its not scary. Except for spiders. Those are always scary no matter what.

Only done autocrosses and back road hoonage.

Autocrosses, maybe nervous about doing well or what ever for earlier events. But not really. Things tend to slow down and I don't think about much I just do. I guess to some degree I do think about "OK this time a little bit earlier", ect.. but for the most part it feels right and natural.... Till I do something wrong and all of a sudden the car is going fast again.

Hoonage... Well I never really push it enough to be scared, usually try and keep it just below that level.

When I look at some of my in-cars videos, I would honestly expect myself to be terrified.........I'm surely not any big, brave, hero-type. Large dogs, tall ladders and dark alleys scare the hell out of me.

But, to be honest, I'm so damn busy when I'm racing that I don't really think on that level.

I fly and it's the same thing.......I'm completely distracted by the task at hand.

It helps if you are familiar with a course. Years ago, when I first ran through "The Boot" at Watkins Glen, I found it singularly breathtaking. These days, I can't wait to get to that part of the track, because it has such great passing opportunities.

Maybe not up to fear, but apprehensive, semi-hyper, don't want to eat and my mind is whizzzing a bazillion miles an hour.

But all this is good, like the fight or flight reflex, it makes me alert and see more.

Scared? Only when on a mountain road on a motorcycle going into a corner in the wrong gear and waaay too hot. The ole schvincter gets sucked up into my neck and my eyes always go the wrong way; toward the obstacle and not the line.

...but I'm still here to talk about it! Must be that fight or flight thing.

Dan

Good topic. Fear is something I've always felt right before I hit the track.

I feel it is something that prepare's me to perform. It totally melts away when the car starts rolling off the grid. It's almost like someone hits the switch and I go from worrying about what could go wrong to how many people am I going to pass because they're sleeping at the start.

Fear...hell yes it what keeps me alive at the track. I've hit the wall head on, back it in to the wall at over 90mph (thank god for styrofoam walls!) gone end over end, rolled and end over end, sailed in the air to land cross wise on the guy who spun me hood, snaped axles while in the lead only to spin while 20+ car come at me So yes I've got fear. I have my own little richual i go through in the staging lanes. 1) A few deep breaths. 2) Hit steering wheel three times hard! from behind to make sure it's locked on! (seen a guy once have his wheel come off goping in to a corner!!) 3) check the switches. (fan, feul pump, alt, helmet blower.) 4) fold my hands and pray everyone makes it out safe. 5) pull sholder belts snug. (lap belts never get loosendand get snuged when i crawl in) 6) Wait for pace car. 7) Thumbs up pit steward and fire / saftey crews as i pull up. 8) Grab sholder belts once more and pull hard. 9) Flip sheild down and hell at my self HAVE FUN!

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I road raced motorcycles for 10 years and used to try to scare myself every lap. Brake deeper, corner faster to the point of sliding the front wheel, spinning the rear. I have autocrossed my Miata, and to be honest I felt like like you feel when you get into bumper cars. "this is going to be fun, but there is it will no wayl be dangerous"