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Three Lessons from Auto Racing-Apply it to Your Business
Posted on June 27, 2011 by Coach Kevin
This article was written by one of my clients, Taryn Sparacio. Taryn and her husband, Carlo, own TC Motorsports, the premier auto racing repair and support business in the Pacific Northwest. Her lessons on the track can apply directly to your business. Enjoy the article.
This last weekend I raced for the first time in five years. I would be lying to you if I said I had a great time because, in fact, I had a horrible time…I was frustrated, angry, and I struggled most of the weekend. However, I learned some very important lessons, which I want to share in this post.
Lesson 1: Confidence Matters
The race was at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, British Columbia. It’s a track that I’ve loved racing at in the past; it’s tight, technical, and surrounded by walls. I was driving a BMW PRO3 car for the first time. I figured it couldn’t be all that different than the Spec Miata I drove to two championships. Boy, was I wrong! EVERYTHING was different.
The weekend started wet. I headed out Saturday morning with rain tires on the car, wipers blazing. I started slowly, very slowly, tip toeing my way around the track trying to get the feel of the car, the tires, and the track.
Most everything was fine except I was having massive issues with braking. I was getting lockup (which of course happens in the rain), but I couldn’t get the tires (Toyo R-888) to come back to me after they’d locked up. The tires were just not behaving like I was expecting (I was expecting more like a Toyo RA-1) and I was having a really hard time adjusting. This then caused trouble with my downshifts because one change in brake modulation when blipping the throttle during a downshift would cause wheel lockup.
Not being able to get my head around how to deal with these braking issues shattered my confidence in the car and in me. I just didn’t understand how I could be struggling so much. Five years ago I would have driven around the problem, but I couldn’t do that today. The tools in my proverbial toolbox were buried so deeply under the cobwebs and dust of time that I couldn’t access them. With no tools to drive the car and no confidence, I was going nowhere.
Lesson 2: Go Back to the Basics When You’re Stuck
Sunday morning I woke up and it was still raining. After my dismal Saturday, I was seriously considering packing up and going home. But, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t give up. I had to sack up, get behind the wheel, and get my a** back out on that track.
During the two wet qualifying sessions on Sunday morning, I continued working on the issues I had the day before, braking and downshifting. I knew I was slow during the sessions, but goal #1 was to get some confidence back in the car and me.
It finally dried out in time for the first race. I started near the back, which didn’t matter because I was still focusing on building confidence in the car and me. I went back to the basics: hitting my marks, getting on the gas earlier out of the corners, releasing the brakes earlier, carrying more speed during corner entry, going deeper into the braking zones—I needed to get racy again. After hounding a Rabbit for most of the race, I passed him under brakes in Turn 5 on the last lap. I was building confidence. My lap times improved with every lap and on the third to last lap I turned a 1:23.55.
For the second race, I started at the very back of the grid (a.k.a. DFL). My main goal for this race was to stay with the pack; I didn’t want to get left behind. So, I kept working on the basics and found myself hounding a car in my class. I tried a couple of passing maneuvers under braking into Turn 1. Looking at the video now, they were pretty meager attempts and you could see my lack of confidence written all over them.
But, I kept working, corner by corner, and technique by technique. I was there to pounce on the next to last lap when the same car I had been hounding most of the race went wide in Turn 2. I ducked to the inside and made the pass stick. On the last lap, I turned my fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.58. Not bad considering the guys in front of me were turning laps between 1:18.24 and 1:21.47.
Lesson 3: I Didn’t Let Anyone Down But Myself
The most amazing thing about the whole weekend was that everyone I ran into was so excited to see me racing again. The Conference family welcomed me back with open arms and they didn’t seem care where I was on the grid, they were just happy I was there.
After my first race on Sunday, my 3 ½ year old daughter came up to me and said, “You’re not crying, Mommy!” It was the first time I hadn’t gotten out of the car in tears all weekend. It was then that I realized I hadn’t let anyone down but myself. My family who were there to watch was proud of me; my friends were proud of me. Looking back on the weekend now, I can finally say I am proud of me, too.
About the Author
Taryn Sparacio, the “T” in TC Motorsports, has won two road racing championships (she was the first woman in the world to win a Spec Miata championship), won multiple endurance races, was named Driver of the Year by International Race Drivers Club (IRDC), and was nominated as Conference (ICSCC) Driver of the Year in 2005.
Posted on June 27, 2011 by Coach Kevin
This article was written by one of my clients, Taryn Sparacio. Taryn and her husband, Carlo, own TC Motorsports, the premier auto racing repair and support business in the Pacific Northwest. Her lessons on the track can apply directly to your business. Enjoy the article.
This last weekend I raced for the first time in five years. I would be lying to you if I said I had a great time because, in fact, I had a horrible time…I was frustrated, angry, and I struggled most of the weekend. However, I learned some very important lessons, which I want to share in this post.
Lesson 1: Confidence Matters
The race was at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, British Columbia. It’s a track that I’ve loved racing at in the past; it’s tight, technical, and surrounded by walls. I was driving a BMW PRO3 car for the first time. I figured it couldn’t be all that different than the Spec Miata I drove to two championships. Boy, was I wrong! EVERYTHING was different.
The weekend started wet. I headed out Saturday morning with rain tires on the car, wipers blazing. I started slowly, very slowly, tip toeing my way around the track trying to get the feel of the car, the tires, and the track.
Most everything was fine except I was having massive issues with braking. I was getting lockup (which of course happens in the rain), but I couldn’t get the tires (Toyo R-888) to come back to me after they’d locked up. The tires were just not behaving like I was expecting (I was expecting more like a Toyo RA-1) and I was having a really hard time adjusting. This then caused trouble with my downshifts because one change in brake modulation when blipping the throttle during a downshift would cause wheel lockup.
Not being able to get my head around how to deal with these braking issues shattered my confidence in the car and in me. I just didn’t understand how I could be struggling so much. Five years ago I would have driven around the problem, but I couldn’t do that today. The tools in my proverbial toolbox were buried so deeply under the cobwebs and dust of time that I couldn’t access them. With no tools to drive the car and no confidence, I was going nowhere.
Lesson 2: Go Back to the Basics When You’re Stuck
Sunday morning I woke up and it was still raining. After my dismal Saturday, I was seriously considering packing up and going home. But, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t give up. I had to sack up, get behind the wheel, and get my a** back out on that track.
During the two wet qualifying sessions on Sunday morning, I continued working on the issues I had the day before, braking and downshifting. I knew I was slow during the sessions, but goal #1 was to get some confidence back in the car and me.
It finally dried out in time for the first race. I started near the back, which didn’t matter because I was still focusing on building confidence in the car and me. I went back to the basics: hitting my marks, getting on the gas earlier out of the corners, releasing the brakes earlier, carrying more speed during corner entry, going deeper into the braking zones—I needed to get racy again. After hounding a Rabbit for most of the race, I passed him under brakes in Turn 5 on the last lap. I was building confidence. My lap times improved with every lap and on the third to last lap I turned a 1:23.55.
For the second race, I started at the very back of the grid (a.k.a. DFL). My main goal for this race was to stay with the pack; I didn’t want to get left behind. So, I kept working on the basics and found myself hounding a car in my class. I tried a couple of passing maneuvers under braking into Turn 1. Looking at the video now, they were pretty meager attempts and you could see my lack of confidence written all over them.
But, I kept working, corner by corner, and technique by technique. I was there to pounce on the next to last lap when the same car I had been hounding most of the race went wide in Turn 2. I ducked to the inside and made the pass stick. On the last lap, I turned my fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.58. Not bad considering the guys in front of me were turning laps between 1:18.24 and 1:21.47.
Lesson 3: I Didn’t Let Anyone Down But Myself
The most amazing thing about the whole weekend was that everyone I ran into was so excited to see me racing again. The Conference family welcomed me back with open arms and they didn’t seem care where I was on the grid, they were just happy I was there.
After my first race on Sunday, my 3 ½ year old daughter came up to me and said, “You’re not crying, Mommy!” It was the first time I hadn’t gotten out of the car in tears all weekend. It was then that I realized I hadn’t let anyone down but myself. My family who were there to watch was proud of me; my friends were proud of me. Looking back on the weekend now, I can finally say I am proud of me, too.
About the Author
Taryn Sparacio, the “T” in TC Motorsports, has won two road racing championships (she was the first woman in the world to win a Spec Miata championship), won multiple endurance races, was named Driver of the Year by International Race Drivers Club (IRDC), and was nominated as Conference (ICSCC) Driver of the Year in 2005.
