Some days it’s hard to find the positive things in life and racing. It’s as if the world loves to dwell on the negative. I too sometimes get caught in this rut. I will sit around and talk about the bad things that are happening way before I think and talk about all the good that is taking place.

Is it my fault? Or is it the society pressures and influences that make us or me to think this way? Tonight when you watch the evening news whether it’s a local broadcast or national, how many stories are told about the good in the world? How many of the stories are about the bad? In most cases the accidents, deaths, and destructive events of the day fill the airwaves and newsfeeds. What the mainstream media has figured out is that humans (like you and me) love to hear about bad things that are happening to other people or places as long as it’s not about us. We’re drawn to it like fish flies to a bright light and we can’t get enough of it.

I think it’s gotten so bad that this influence has infiltrated our thoughts and minds so much that with just about everything, we look to find something bad before we look to find something good. I think this also effects how we see racing. In our current day of message boards, face book and instant twitter feeds; it sure seems to me that there is more negativity and complaining than positive remarks. The reality of life is that nothing is perfect, no race is perfect, no race track is perfect, no person is perfect and so on. In our modern age is just seems that if anything is not perfect, someone is saying something negative long before someone is saying something positive. And with more messaging about the bad that influences others who read it, that too makes them think badly about the race, race track or people involved. It hurts racing!

So tell me what you see: BEINGPOSITVEISNOWHERE

Do you see, “Being Positive is No Where” or “Being Positive is Now Here”?

Our psychological programing interprets what we see and if we are filled with negativity we see “No Where” versus “Now Here”. When we go racing we do the same thing. It becomes very easy to be upset or get upset if the dust is bad, the track has a rut, the race had a lot of cautions, the night went long, the feature was follow the leader. You see these are all things that bother me and I’m tired of being negative. I’m dragging myself down and others if I talk about it.

Now I do believe in Constructive Discussion and Continuous Improvement. It’s what makes racing better. When real issues emerge, they need to be discussed, analyzed and improved upon. This is done with all the stakeholders and then our racing product gets even better. Yes, we’re all stakeholders and have a seat at the table but destructive criticism on public forums and hiding behind a screen name is not constructive. We all have a voice and can vote with our ticket and pit pass. If a race, track or people are so unsettling, then don’t go. Go do something else that makes you feel bad. Leave racing alone.

What we can do and should do is enjoy and be positive about our sport. Let me ask you something else. What would you do without racing? Personally I can’t think about not having racing! It’s my passion, my life style and what I want to be when I grow up. If you’re like me then we have a duty to be positive about our sport.

We are all in the promotion and sales business of racing if we want it to sustain, grow and flourish. Negativity does nothing to promote racing to potential new fans and sponsors. Why would anyone want to attend or participate in a sport where all they hear is lies, rumors and innuendo? Racing is supposed to be fun and it is! It’s great sport that most of us call a hobby, while others make a living from it. The completion is fierce and the action is thrilling. It feeds the soul for speed and excitement. We all need to sell and market what we love about racing and pay less attention about what is wrong about it.

Now I have a small bucket list on what I think could make racing better but those ideas are for another day for constructive discussion if anyone would listen to me. In the meantime I’m going to work on re-programing my mind and accentuate the positive. If things at the track don’t go right or in my opinion how I think they should, oh well. A night at the race track is better than a night just about anywhere else.

So tell me what you see: BEINGPOSITVEISNOWHERE

I see, “Being Positive is Now Here”. I hope you do also.

Mike Ruefer
Photographer & Writer