It is one of the most anticipated sporting events on the calendar--at least in my house. Not amongst my whole family you understand-just me. No, it's not the Olympics. Nor is it one of the endless Stanley Cup playoff games that hockey fans like myself can choose from. And since the CFL season hasn't kicked off yet it isn't Rider related. No, the event that fans like myself watched last weekend was the Indianapolis 500, the crown jewel of the Indy racing season, the event billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing.
Held on Memorial Day weekend in Indiana, the Indy 500 features the 33 fastest qualifying cars and drivers racing around a two and a half mile oval at speeds in excess of 220 mph to see who will cross the finish line first, grab the checkered flag and go down in history as a champion of this storied race.
They go round and round and round the same track 200 times to complete the 500 mile distance. For those who aren't racing fans it may, at first glance, seem to be a rather monotonous competition. Around and around the same track; lap after high-speed lap. But when you take a closer look you find that each of the four curves around the oval are a little bit different and present specific driving and mechanical challenges. But what makes each lap unique is the presence of the other 32 cars and drivers racing the same circuit. Since anything--and everything--can happen, no two laps are the same.
I have seen races impacted by any number of things: a stray rabbit who hopped on to the track, a driver who was unable to complete a single lap, races that ended under the yellow caution flag, driver errors, faulty engines, fires, accidents in which serious injuries have occurred, and crashes that look horrific only to watch the drivers somehow emerge from their cars and walk away.
What really makes the race fun to watch is the performance of the pit crew--the members of the racing team who keep the car running well and decide when it needs to come in for fuel, mechanical adjustments, or fresh tires, and their ability to do so in less than 10 seconds is a critical element to the success of the team and a possible victory on race day.
As our days turn into weeks, months and years it may begin to feel like we are circling a track that goes round and round. Monday rolls around and we know where we'll be and what we'll be doing. One day follows the other and we are governed by the schedules and agendas that we've established, and round we go again. Another dayanother weekanother lap.
But it is far from monotonous or routine. Each lap brings new elements into play and each curve we travel through requires skill and preparation. Just when we think we know how to maneuver with greater precision we are tossed unexpected caution flags: interruptions that require course corrections, lap speeds that are faster than we are comfortable with, mistakes that we and those with us on the track make, and inevitably the collisions that occur. Dreams collide with obstacles, health collides with illness, goals collide with disappointment, truth collides with dishonesty, and respect collides with scorn. They are not the majority of the laps in our race but they are the ones where much can be learned, character defined and priorities aligned.
So round, round we go, learning from the last lap to eagerly anticipate the next. We head out tomorrow to do what we need to do, and that day rolls into the next and that one into the next because each one is remarkable, significant and important. Some laps are familiar and comfortable, others bring surprise or discomfort.
But we aren't alone on those laps. Take a look at those that make up your pit crew; yesterday and today. Parents, grandparents, siblings, children, teachers, coaches, friends, mentors, bosses, colleagues, teammates, caregivers, health professionals, and every other person who joins us on the lap, pushes us to do better and encourages us through each curve, straightaway, yellow and green flag. Because it's not about winning any trophy or collecting endorsement cheques. It's about those who are with you when they pass you the checkered flag. That's my outlook.
