All the World
is a Stage
The 2006 racing season at
Riverhead Raceway is just about to get the green flag and at
the rules meeting held this past month we were told that we were
no longer in the racing business, but now we are in the
entertainment business. Well my first thought was “no,
you
are in the entertainment business and we as drivers, owners, and
crew members come to race
at your entertainment facility.” Then I started to think about
it and I came to the reality that the powers to be may just be
right about this.
It has been said that the world
is a stage and we are just playing a part. If you think about
racing in any form, it has always been entertaining in one way
or another to the fans right from
the beginning. It is not just the fans we have to entertain now,
it is everyone around us. As in
all forms of entertainment, you have your villains, favorites,
rivals, standouts and the people
behind the scenes and racing is no different. No matter how you
look at it, we are in the entertainment business. That’s why
during the off season some teams rebuild their racecar,
some just clean the racecar up and are ready to go racing, some
get a new paint scheme and wild graphics, some get new
equipment, and some of us are told the we have too much time on
our hands and do stuff the cup guys don’t do. During the race
season we bang out the dents, replace damaged body panels, touch
up the paint and lettering on the racecars, make sure that the
team uniforms are cleaned and pressed (for those of us who wear
some type of uniform) and
for what? To entertain the fans, sponsors and peers. So if you
think that you’re not an
entertainer you couldn’t be more wrong.
Even after the races are over and
the fans and families come into the pit area, we are still
entertaining them by signing autographs, giving out photos and
just being friendly with the folks and the fans. Whether they
are first timers or diehard race fans, we should remember we are
there entertain. I as an owner and a team member take pride in
my team and equipment and
want it to look and be the best it can be. I learned a long time
ago that whether you run well or not, you have to look good. In
closing, I just think that we all should start to realize that
yes, it
is now a business of entertainment.
Nevertheless, this is just one of my
views from the tailgate,
Carl Rackoff
Want to comment to directly to Carl? E-mail him at
CRackoff@longislandjam.com.
