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Anytime I go out to eat I’m typically a sandwich guy. Which means I typically get French fries too. I like French fries. Usually, with ketchup. But sometimes I’m at a place that has good ranch dressing, so every once in a while, I’ll get the ranch. Then even less frequently I’ll be at a place that has good onion ring spicy dipping sauce, so I’ll have that. Each time, I eat the fries and really, there’s nothing to complain about most of the time.
I also know what to expect in the consistency of my French fries. McDonald’s always offers a mix of crisp and not so crisp. Chili’s has good consistency, but again every once in a while soggy. Steak and Shake has the shoestring fries, so they’re more crispy usually. But for the most part, whatever you serve up to me, I’m gonna eat because I’ve come to expect that French fries are inconsistent due to the many variables. Quality of potato, age of oil, temperature of oil, the person cooking it, and whether or not fries are being used much when I’m out to eat.
So what the hell does this have to do with track prep? I don’t expect a “perfect” track every night out. Most tracks have their own characteristics. Doesn’t make it good, doesn’t make it bad. Just different. I don’t go to McDonald’s expecting Chili’s French fries. As such, I don’t go to Lawrenceburg expecting a Kokomo track. I don’t go to Putnamville expecting a Plymouth track. Some of you are saying “Damn right, I wouldn’t either!” See what I just did there? You get it. Every track is different, every track has unique characteristics, and every track responds differently to weather trends, patterns, etc. Sometimes I go to McDonald’s and the fries were perfect. Every single one. Sometimes I go to Chili’s and they’re just not as good as the last time. But I’ll be back to give it another try. Even when “bad” its still not too bad, and its certainly better than eating at home.
I love tacky, hammer down, multiple groove race tracks. I love dry slick “single-lane” race tracks. I love dry slick tracks with a cush. I love slimy greasy tracks up to the wall. I like different types of French fries- crispy, soggy, seasoned, thick, thin, etc. As a fan, I have mad respect for the challenge of running on multiple tracks, multiple types of surfaces, and the adjustments in equipment and driving that occur.
If you only like one type of French fry, let’s assume Chili’s- what would happen if you went to the owner of a McDonald’s franchise and said “Your fries suck. They should be more like Chili’s.” That owner would probably think something along the lines of “Then go to Chili’s.” or “Then don’t eat them.” Would you incessantly continue to complain? Imagine what would happen if McDonald’s changed their fries to be more like Chili’s? You guessed it. McDonald’s fans would be like “What the hell? If I wanted Chili’s fries, I’d go to Chili’s.” Or perhaps you’d be like me and think “Those fries were more like Chili’s, not McDonalds. Still good though. If you like Kokomo, support Kokomo. If you like Lawrenceburg, support them. If you like them all, support them all. But my god… it amazes me the amount of “experts” there are across this state who know the exact recipe that creates the ultimate French fry. And are willing to tell everyone their secret.
Then there’s always the luck factor. Have you ever had French fries and after eating them think to yourself, “Well, those were good. I must have gotten lucky.” I chuckled at someone that said “Plymouth got lucky because it rained a lot that week.” Or last night “The rain caused Kokomo to be too fast on the bottom so the racing wasn’t good.” It is what it is. Sometimes you order fries that just got a new change of oil, and sometimes your fries have been sitting under a heat lamp.
Folks, let’s just enjoy it for what it is. Badass sprint car racing. The fries are good too.
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