A Thoroughbred Racer

I had a sponsor once and their motto was "start positive, stay positive" ( by the way they make good batteries too! ) - After spending last weekend at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA, with my ole buddy The Race Guy Pat Patterson, who was kind enough to let me sit in on the broadcast on Sirius NASCAR Channel 128 - I ran into a lot of ole racers I raced against and had friendships with many many years ago. After kicking around old times, it was time to get down to business and help call the race.  I saw many young driver with lots of talent racing hard - knowing the likes of Rusty Wallace, MIchael Waltrip, Robert Yates and several others were there watching them for the equivilant of their Daytona short track 500. I evaluated a lot of drivers from their actions on the race track to their actions on Speed during TV interviews or after a crash/ mechanical failures, even penalties - It was not hard to separate the real thoroughbred racers from the nags that probably won't get too far in their racing careers. While the thoroughbreds often critized a situation, which some folks in our sport would post as negative, myself along with most of the media saw it as somebody who was very competitive, passionate and dissapointed in the situation - but found the grit and professionalism to plug each and every sponsor in the most postive manner.  So sometimes perception is not reality...my hats off to the young racer that is passionate and not willing to settle for less than a win and be happy about it.  So with thought in mind, I am driving my bus down to Daytona - to cheer on old friends and competitors...and continue my hunt to find the right ride that will accept my desire to be a thoroughbred.
peace, Mike Skinner