Originally Posted by Cobra 14:
A Basic Equation that creates FUN
Lastly, but be no means least, yes it’s EGO. The bottom line is mankind has ego. Some people have bigger egos than others but in racing, people’s egos become more of a negative than a positive. I have seen teams want to “step up” classes based on nothing more than ego. No thought of cost. No thought of value. No thought of FUN. When a hobby becomes a 2nd job and for some a 3rd job, it tends to lose the FUN factor. Look around the ”big car” pits and you can see the pressure. (Try to find the smiles, let alone laughter.) The costs that drive the expectation of performance from sponsors, family and friends gets to the point that FUN becomes unobtainable. The cost of competitiveness only ever increases as ego becomes the driving factor. This cycle of disconnect repeats itself through generations. Each racer thinks that he can do it cheaper and better than the last one and because of their “unique” talent, will produce better results.
A 305 wants to be a 358/360. A 358/360 wants to be a 410. A 410 wants to join the All Stars and an All Star want to be an Outlaw. At those levels FUN is the least thing on the teams mind. The hobby ceases to exist and it becomes a full time job that only a very select few can make a living at. Below All Star/ WOO level and with egos in check the reality becomes that racing is a costly hobby at best.
I've been watching this post with interest but keeping my mouth shut up to now since I am not running a mini this year but I totally disagree with this line of logic. I moved up from minis to a 360 this year and have been having more fun than ever. I may not run a ton of races and I may not be a weekly contender for a win....yet, but it certainly hasn't sucked all the fun out of racing. Me and my crew have had more fun, smiled more and argued less this year than since I got back into racing. And it certainly wasn't for lack if adversity and issues. I made more friends and had more folks bending over backwards to help me and take time out of their own busy pit schedule any time I had a problem than ever before. Like you said, open wheel racing at a level below full time WoO\All Stars for the most part a hobby. I don't know anyone who participates in a hobby for anything but fun. Sure, there may be pressure, long work hours on the car and to support the addiction but if it wasn't still fun no one would do it. To dismiss all "big car" drivers as miserable slaves to their ego is wildly inaccurate. And sure, there is the desire to move up. I would love to throw a 410 in my car and go run with the big boys. Not going to lie, part of it is ego but an even bigger part is because I think it would be FUN. Who wouldn't get a kick out of being able to say to their grandkids "yep, I was in the King's Royal once" or to know that they had the chance to mix it up with their hero(s) once or twice. You may be in your happy place with a "little car" and that's awesome, to each their own, but don't think for a minute that big car=misery!
Don't even get me started on cost. It was actually cheaper for me this year in the big car than last year in a mini sprint when I looked at the spreadsheet at the end of the year..
Back to watching with interest in case I decide to keep the mini and just run both next season.