The car’s too hot, the car doesn’t handle well, the season’s too long and so are the races.
Give me a break.
I don’t often agree with NASCAR officials, certainly not with Mike Helton, but this time, he actually has a point.
I drive a 10-year-old Ford Taurus, the air conditioning hasn’t worked in a couple of summers and the heat is iffy at best in the winter. But, it’s free and clear and gets me where I need to go.
Your million-dollar race car is too hot. Wah.
I live in a 60+year-old house, albeit a bit rebuilt from a fire four years ago. It has good heat in the winter. Cooling, well, I have windows to open and fans to operate, along with one small room air conditioner to keep me and the dog comfortable in that single room living space in the summer.
It’s not a mansion on Lake Norman, but like my car, it’s free and clear.
I work 52 weeks a year, well OK, a few less if you factor in vacations and my broken wrist. I don’t make a six-figure salary, let alone get a SEVEN-figure payday. You drivers couldn’t live one day on what most of us make in a year.
Heck, your designer sunglasses cost more than what we earn (gross pay) in a week. For some of you, your shoes cost more than what we make in a month.
Grow up!
You chose the life of a NASCAR superstar. You didn’t have to select jumping in a car and driving 300, 400, 500 or 600 miles in one day. I really don’t want to hear you whine about your job.
Yeah, yeah, we know. "But I raced for years with $100 payouts on dirt tracks across the country and had to sleep in my car because I couldn't afford a room. I shared a Happy Meal with my girlfriend because we didn't have the money for a full meal." Some of us will have to work until we're 70 or 75 to be able to retire, too.
It takes a year of saving for most of the 100,000 people a week who come see you on a Sunday afternoon get out there and do what you do so well.
You’d better appreciate what the working folks do.
They are the ones supporting your multi-million dollar homes wherever. They are the ones providing the means for you to keep megabuck sponsors on your cars. They make possible those jets that take you back and forth so you can race Trucks, Nationwide and Cup in one weekend. They buy the products, t-shirts, gasoline and tickets.
Seriously. Don’t whine about your job, at least not were we can all hear you. And certainly don’t be sarcastic about it all when someone reminds you how much you should appreciate getting to do what you do.
If you don’t like the job or working conditions, quit. Find something more to your delicate liking. Go back to sweeping floors, road construction or whatever else (if there ever was anything else) you did to earn money. Or let mom and dad support you. See how long you can keep that lifestyle you've become accustomed to living.
Continue grousing about the job, and the fans may not show up in the numbers you've been enjoying.
