Resilience and Determination

[War Eagle River]

A MRE last word. Worth the read.

Few drivers can be as competitive anywhere else as they are on their home track. Their cars are set up to the optimum for power, grip, gearing, and handling, for what they race with every week. It is hard for any visitor to beat the local "aces" around their home circuit. A few do manage it, but they are in the minority.

How do these "local experts" get on when they visit other tracks ? The same applies as above - very hard to beat the locals wherever you visit. Also as above, a few can manage it sometimes, but you could never find a driver who can win everywhere.

So what are the benefits of visiting other tracks or entering meetings at places you are not familiar with ? First, you learn about the power and therefore your controller settings. Then you quickly find out about the grip level and take a sneaky peep at what tyres the locals are using. Then it is down to your own car setup and getting it to perform how you like it. Many racers will have a choice of cars to use - one that may not be the fastest around your home track will often work very well somewhere else, and be the base level for the track you are visiting. But even with just one car, the real skill comes with adapting it for racing. You will see the more serious guys with the car in bits at their pit boxes - they may be changing the gear ratio, ride height, guide height, weight, tyres, anything that could make a difference.

But its not just the car is it ? The driver is the one in control and this is where experience counts for a lot. Changing from a wooden track to a plastic track and vice-versa needs a different driving style and car setup. You may be an expert around a rally track, but how would you cope with SlotStox or a big raceway circuit ? The difference can be immense, and if you find out you don't do very well you are not likely to try it again. After all, there are plenty of tracks that you are more familiar with, so no need to embarrass yourself any more.

Having said that, visiting different tracks and trying different types of racing gives you a lot of experience. It no surprise that the best drivers have a lot of this - and I don't mean the guys that are fast around your local track, I'm talking about the drivers who can get respectable results almost anywhere. How long have they been racing, do they set up their own cars, how many tracks have they raced on ? You can't buy that sort of experience, you can only learn from doing it yourself. Give it a try - if you don't like it you don't have to do it again, but I guarantee you will learn something useful.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

A world championship competitor and my good friend who used to be on HRW a lot, is a classic example of a driver who is good anywhere. Better than anyone I ever saw. His car, your car, my car, my track, anybody's track- its like he has wood magnets in his pockets and sneaks them into the car. Its spooky watching him. Good thing he's such a fine person- he'd be a nightmare if he was a competitive jerk like you find sometimes.

Its the same thing as the old joke, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer is, "Practice, practice, practice."

[slothead]

In addition to racing slot cars for decades I coached many levels of sports, mostly football. I've seen players, from 10 - mid 20's who the universe blessed with real talent. Kids who at 10 could run, catch, and throw as well or better than a 14 year old. Players who only had to have something told or explained to them once and they got it - next rep was picture perfect. But, talent can be undermined by big headedness or laziness. I've also seen average players put in the work to rival those with more talent. Then, there are those instances where you come across someone blessed with talent and a work ethic to match and you are in awe of what they can do.

A.J. Foyt stands out to me as that sort of race driver, as does Joe Leonard who was a motorcycle champion before racing at Indianapolis. Mark Donohue as a driver and engineer. Jim Clark in F1 & at Indy.

I've only known one slot car racer I'd put in the elite ranks, a guy named Ray who was meticulous with building and preparing his cars, and had ice water in his veins when racing. As noted in the prior post, I think the best of the best do what's needed to win before the game or race starts. And whereas most of us get PO'd or laugh it off when things go wrong, the standout performers do the mental math to know what needs to be done to create a better outcome and then do the work to implement it.

[HO RacePro]

The common characteristic of the elite drivers I have known is -- smoothness.

Not just the drivers, their cars too. When I have had the opportunity to drive one of their cars it has been instantly obvious that it was an extraordinary drive. A sheer pleasure to drive. It would make speed in a remarkably undramatic fashion.

What is the secret sauce that produces smooth? I wish I knew that! I'd buy it by the barrel.

One of the very best drivers I have known -- and I won't name him for reasons that will quickly become obvious -- is, shall I say, a little dim. My theory is that driving a car takes up all of his circuits. The result? Absolute focus. The background brain chatter that I struggle to damp down just is not his problem.

There is a state I call "The Zone". It has a relationship with Zen. It is a state of harmony where the car, the track and the driver become one exquisitely performing entity. I believe I've been there, and while it lasts it is damn near mystical.

I'd bottle that too if I could!

Ed Bianchi

[slothead]

Ed - I agree with your comments about 'the zone' but also think it's not a question of being 'dim' when people devote all their 'circuits' to a single task at the exclusion of others. While for most people the majority of our intellectual resources are used for social, and language based processing, there are amazing individuals who are oddities in social circumstances, with diminished communication skills, paired with extraordinary abilities in some other capacity. We used to refer to extreme cases like this as idiot savants, but as our understanding of how their brains function grew we thankfully no longer considered them as idiots.

Most relevant to this conversation is the story of a guy who was once the president of the Learning Difference Association (LDA) and wrote a book about his life. Despite many challenges he became an engineer who worked with large factory machines. He had his wife helping him read manuals and had difficulty with schematics, but he could listen to and touch a piece of machinery and isolate the problem that needed fixing. He'd take machines out of service that seemed to be running fine, but when disassembled there was a bearing or other part about to fail.

The guy I mentioned in my prior post, Ray, had cars that were very smooth as you pointed out as a key factor. His cars were whisper quiet and coasted effortlessly after a track call. I remember him putting his car on a setup block and looking at it as if nothing else existed in the universe.

[HO RacePro]

Slothead,

I take your point that we all have different talents, and it should never be assumed that under-performing in one area precludes expertise in another. The fellow I referred to would routinely take me to the cleaners on the track. Part of my problem is driving does NOT take all of my circuits, and I struggle to keep all of my focus where it belongs!

When I DO succeed it is likely that I'll achieve The Zone.

I suspect my friend has a season pass to The Zone, and I envy him for that!

Ed Bianchi

[slothead]

Ed - didn't mean to disparage your point, just to present a different perspective on the ways humans express ability. I used to include a lecture on savants in a class about intelligence and am fascinated by unique abilities.

A fair question for this discussion is can being 'in the zone' be learned or is it purely a gift? Likewise are resilience and determination inherited or instilled early on by how someone is raised, or can an adult without those traits acquire them later in life? Learning more than one language is effortless as an infant, but can still be done later in life if the effort is applied.

We all do things for different reasons and have different objectives, which determines where we focus our attention and devote resources. I liked building slot cars and would retire a winning car in favor of a new one with a slightly different design. Some built one car and tuned it to the nth degree and were most interested in finishing up front. Others were never serious competitors but showed up every race night because of the camaraderie and chance to get out of the house. Perhaps the guys who consistently show up with a race car, regardless of scale or level, despite never getting to victory lane are the ones who most deserve the determination and resilience award.

[War Eagle River]

The Way of Zum

All mortal souls are bound to the Great Racetrack of Existence, wherein they
seek Enlightenment through achievement of the Perfect Lap.

The Disciple of Zum has respect for all who compete upon the Great Racetrack of Existence, but strives to whup their asses anyway.

Zum teaches reverence for all life, without which there would be no Chicken
McNuggets, with which the Disciple of Zum seeks Oneness.

To advance in the knowledge of Zum, the Disciple seeks always a more perfect
understanding of the elegant simplicity and infinite complexity of the
Slotcar.

The Master of Zum crafts all things from their most simple materials, by
which he gains understanding of his Slotcar, himself, and the Great Racetrack
of Existence.

All who practice Zum are obliged to offer help and guidance to any who seek
it. The greatest and humblest duty of the Master of Zum is to teach.

The Central Discipline of Zum is to drive the Slotcar. Through the mental
disciplines of Zum, the Master of Zum will enter the plane known as The Zone,
wherein he is one with the Slotcar and the Racetrack, and in harmony with all
Existence. It is there that the Master of Zum shall seek the Perfect Lap.

The soul that through mastery of Zum achieves the Perfect Lap shall break
free of the Great Racetrack of Existence and enter the Plane of Eternal
Harmony -– which doesn’t sound like near so much fun.


****************
PS - It's pronounced 'Zoom'

[Fast Co.]

Mazda drivers refer to this as "Zoom-Zoom". I know because I'm now driving my second Miata (Sold the Corvette, so I really should update my avatar.)

Anyway, this may be getting a bit off-topic, but I have a brother who has Asperger's syndrome. In his youth, he avoided social contact with almost everyone and seemed to be uncomfortable in his own skin. As a middle-aged adult his social skills have improved a great deal to the point where he tells complete strangers more about himself than they probably need to know.

Although for much of his life he was socially disabled, he has always had a sharp intellect and a great sense of humor. Additionally, he has an uncanny ability to remember statistics. Especially baseball statistics, but also football and music trivia. I don't know whether his memory is some sort of gift or whether it is due to his few, but focused interests. Since he was young he would jot random statistics down in the oddest places. I'd find them written on scrap pieces of papers, inside the covers and margins of books, anywhere he had ready access too. Ask him any statistic about any player on any team during any season and he will have an answer for you. And that answer will always be correct. I've rarely seen him stumped. He's actually once had a professional ball player tell him that he knew more about baseball than the pro did!

I'm studying Italian now and am reading a book about how best to learn a foreign language. The author of that book states that the amount of time it takes to learn a foreign language is easily quantifiable. It's just a matter of regularly committing your undivided attention for a certain amount of time.

I think one can excel at any endeavor, as long as they are focused and commit the necessary time to it.

[Dogsbody]

"I think one can excel at any endeavor, as long as they are focused and commit the necessary time to it." Truth...

[waaytoomuchintothis]

The Master of Zum spoke, and the disciples braced for the shock of Zum koan enlightenment... "If I highly detail my car, will there be no guard rails at the track I race on?" "What is the sound of a slot car with one motor lead?" "If I point to a deslot, will the marshal look at the car or at my finger?" And slot car Basha wrote a mystical haiku that was unintelligible. These are the sagas of Zum.

[slothead]

I like thinking the Perfect Lap is the portal to a level of existence where one can become the car, the track, the air passing over the spoiler, or even the friction between tire and track. That said, if ever about to complete the Perfect Lap I might opt to tap the brake to remain a mere mortal.

Perhaps the people we find most odd as we judge people, are totally in the zone on a level we can't relate to.

[War Eagle River]

[quote="If I point to a deslot, will the marshal look at the car or at my finger?"
Priceless