Some End of the Season Thoughts

From John Dearmore

    Wow!—it’s time to stop racing and start looking at what am I going to do next year. That is what 99% of the sportsman racers do. Should I keep what I have and am I happy with how things are going? What would I like to change? These are all hard questions to answer. Why? Because it all takes money to keep racing. How involved is my family with what I do? Does the wife want us to stay the same and keep expenses down or does she want to make the move to bigger and better?

    We all have our wants and needs and the trick is not to confuse them. I’m sure everything needs to be freshened up in order to get ready for next season. First, though, there are some late year races and early season events that might be something to look at before we start making changes.

    By now you are asking yourself a bunch of question, and you should be. All good racers do that when you are paying the bills. With the most expensive time of the year coming up and family items that need to be taken care of, what is a guy to do?

    If you get Saturdays off, sit down with pad and pencil and make a budget. Like in the business world, you may have to do this several times - they call them drafts - so draft up a budget that you think you and the family can live with and then consider the car. As I see it after 50 plus years of racing, the car is like part of the family.

    Once you have the budget down on paper walk away and wait a few days before going back and looking at it. You might ask why wait, but it allows you some time to think and see what is really needed and what is not. After crossing out the items not needed, then - and only then - can you put a figure to it. Make sure you let the wife see what you are doing as she may have some great suggestions that will help for the next season.

    I, like many others, enjoy doing other things as well - bowling, playing golf, and so forth.  That’s okay, but racing has become the main sport I – and you - have chosen for the entertainment part of our lives! So, just as a suggestion, and this comes from my many years of racing, I always try to figure out what one item can I get for next year that might save me money in the long run. Most of you don’t give rocker arms a second thought, but maybe you should. It has so many positives that will work in your favor that you might want to do some research into how it can help. If I can be of any service please give me a call. I should be able to give you some answers to your questions that could help you race better and win more.

    I do want to say this: It was wonderful a few weeks ago seeing a lot of friends, fellow racers and cacklers, and customers at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion at Bakersfield, California. What a great event and I’ll see ya at the next one!

    We’ll talk again next month and, as always, if you need help give me a call…..

John Dearmore

DRE Racing

Nostalgia Drag World - by John Dearmore; photo by Connell Miller

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