DE, Why Bother?

[KJinDC]

Unfortunately over the past 2 years I haven't been able to do as much of either race or DE as I would like. I both race and do DE. And I enjoy each for different reasons. I'll agree that DE is like a vacation and racing is going to work. However, for me, I guess it's like having a job you enjoy. I find racers to be just as social as the DE crew. Maybe I am lucky that a fair amount of people that I DE with are racers as well.

I'm not going to be the next Nigel Mansell so I don't need to pore over data for hours after the practice or qualy session when I race. My race car is out of class and certainly not optimized so I have little chance of winning (NASA GTS3 and PCA I). But, i'm usually at the sharp end of the grid and I have fun safely racing those around me. Maybe I'm the aberration since I don't care if I win so long as I am competitive. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I optimized my car to chase that last tenth of a second. I also realize if I put Pobst in my car, he'd probably pull of a win. so it's really not the car holding me back. I love the competition and truly dancing with the car on that edge and I miss that at DEs.

I love the relaxed nature of DEs. Often i go with my mother (60+ y/o and a transplant recipient!) and I enjoy the bonding. At the DEs, I can skip a session if I want or I can ride with other instructors and pick up tips or I can spend extra time talking to my student about what they are doing and why i do things a little differently perhaps. The lack of intensity throughout the overall event is refreshing.

I'll continue to do 5-10 DEs a year and hopefully race more than the 2-3 times a year (win or lose) I've done lately. Both types of events bring their own rewards.

-KJ