Drag Racing Family
Some say that in the final days of
your life the one thing that will matter most to you is your family. That recently had me reflecting on what a
true family is and what it looks like. I
don’t have a large biological family. In
fact, like most of you reading this article, my biological family is fairly dysfunctional.
As I scroll through my list of
Facebook “friends” I tried to capture how I know each person and what part of
my family they fall into. Some folks I’ve
known a long time, some a short time, and some for a good time (i.e. funny
memes). Some people I’ve never even met
in person, but we share a common thread in life, and have connected through a
virtual web. I receive friend requests
from complete strangers and also from people I haven’t talked to in a long
time. I tend to believe, and have found
it to be true, that every person comes into your life for a reason and a season.
As I reflected on these thoughts
for this article, the one glaring truth to all of this is that I’m incredibly fortunate
to have such a great family. My drag
racing family has been an absolute blessing to my life and I’m amazed by how we
all come together in times of need. A
friend that I recently met had a major medical episode that hospitalized
him. I was reminded of the frailty of
life and I was also amazed by the outpouring of support from friends and
family. He is currently recovering and I
must believe that all the prayers and supportive words have had power in this
turn around.
Most of you know that this has been
an incredibly challenging year for the No Mercy Nitro Funny Car as we made some
unforeseen changes at the start of the year.
As it is, we are attempting to do something that is incredibly difficult
and we have struggled to find the success we are searching for. Some “friends” probably look for us to fail,
as sometimes that is the natural reaction when you see someone attempting
something as challenging as this.
Ultimately, far more have supported and encouraged us through this difficult
time. I am amazed by the words of
persistence and perseverance that came from some of the most unlikely
places. A simple, “Don’t quit, you can
do it” text from Tim Wilkerson, supportive words from Jeff Arend, Robert Hight,
John Keigley, Robert Schwab, Chad Head, Chris Nance, John Hale, Bobby Cottrell,
Brandon Welch, Brian & Ron Hope, and so many more. I hate to leave other names out because there
are many of you that continue to offer encouraging words. Many people that I served with in the
military wrote to remind me that since they’ve known me that this has been my
dream, and to never quite. Understanding
sponsors never pressure us to perform and continue to stand next to us as we
make difficult decisions. Crewmembers,
past and current, continue to refer me to our team mantra that supports our
dream; persistence, perseverance, NO MERCY!
Sometimes it’s hard to see the
forest through the trees. Much is the
case with what we are currently accomplishing.
For some, the fact that we’ve managed to put together a complete ready
to run pro NHRA nitro funny car, is a goal achieved. For others, making a handful of runs down the
strip, is a goal accomplished. Maybe
once I’ve achieved the license upgrade notch, the goal will be
accomplished. Or possibly, qualifying
for the first national event will be the pinnacle of this journey. This dream is quite elusive as the goal post
will continue to move further and further away the closer we get, much like it
should. There’s a reason that John Force
continues to pound the pavement every weekend.
Family Reunions
Every race, event, show, or racing get
together is a family reunion of sorts as the drag racing family from around the
world comes together in one location. It
is incredibly warming to reunite with racing friends from around the world and
catchup on everything we missed. Even
though I grew up in a racing family in the U.S., my racing career started in
England. Even though I didn’t know a
single person in that country, the fact that I built a car and took it to a
dragstrip immediately made me a part of a family. I was adopted into their family and given a
name, WB17. It’s always a pleasure to
see those great folks when they cross the pond to attend a race in the US.
Going to a race track is always
something I look forward to as I know that I will see someone that I know. We may not always agree on politics, global
warming, or whether a Prius deserves to be in the fast lane, but I know at the
end of the day we agree on one thing; Drag Racing. We share a common bond and we are
friends. A friendly face in a sea of
disgruntled angry people.
Heroes
Who are
your heroes? When I was a young red-headed,
buck toothed, pale skinned kid riding my Huffy (couldn’t afford a GT) bike around
the pits of Orange County, Riverside, Irwindale, Carlsbad, Palmdale, Pomona,
etc., my heroes were The Snake, John Force, Brad Anderson, Rod Hynes, Chuck
Beal, Kenny Bernstein, Ray Higley, and many many more. One person rose well above all of them as the
best drag racer in the world and that was my dad, Jeff Bennett. In my mind, there wasn’t anybody else out
there as talented as him, somebody just needed to give him a chance.
It makes
me incredibly proud that all of these years later I’ve been able to carry on
his heritage and dream while doing it with him right next to me. I used to always think that if I could be as
half as good of a driver as him, I’d be pretty damn good. My dad is my best friend and we have built a
special bond that was forged over a monstrous hemi in the garage.
Folks,
whomever your hero is, they are not getting any younger, which is why you need
to take the time to be around them.
Every year, the drag racing GREATS are making their final pass. Take the opportunity to support events that
bring out the drag racing GREATS such as Steve Gibbs’ Nitro Revival at Barona
Dragstrip on September 30th (http://nitrorevival.com/).
Thank You
The main
purpose of writing this is to tell you THANK YOU. If you’ve made it to the end of this
diatribe, then I thank you for your friendship and support. Maybe we’ve only known each other a short
time, but just by reading the words that I’ve put to print, I thank you. Your friendship is dear and sweet to me and I’m
grateful to know you my friend. Welcome
to my family!
