Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Getting a little better in every category

I'm not a "NASCAR guy" but I respect the intense competitiveness of the drivers and their teams, who approach their sport just as any other athlete does.

Yesterday, I happened to catch a quote from Rick Hendrick, one of NASCAR's most successful owners. During a race this past weekend, Hendrick was on the radio with Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of his drivers, working "to calm Earnhardt down and get him back in the game. It was, to hear it on the radio, one of Hendrick's masterful performances."

Here's what Hendrick had to say after the race (in which Earnhardt finished fifth):

"If you let things get to you, you will not win. But if you turn all the negatives into positives … if you have a bad race, if you go back and say ‘How can we be a little bit better in every category, whether it is chassis, motor, pit crew, whatever….' Those are the guys that are going to win it. It is just like a basketball game: guys lead, lead, lead and choke. You can't choke. And that is what I am trying to get them not to do, choke."