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This is a place for me to express my thoughts on racing, the environment, science, politics, and whatever else might cross my wandering mind.
It will be an overflow of random ideas, reflections, notes and quotes to be enjoyed by those of you who take the time to read it.
Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you down the road...
Peace,
5.29.05 woman power
Congratulations to
Danica Patrick for her impressive run today in the Indy 500. Danica is a perfect example of what can happen when a talented female driver is supported by a full time sponsorship and a top quality race team. A couple years ago, Danica and I sat next to each other at a dinner and we cheered our glasses to her someday winning the Indy 500 and for me, the Daytona 500. Danica almost realized her dream today. I have a few more mountains to climb before I get close to mine, but right now I would settle for just going racing full time. I am honored to have a top-quality, cream-of-the-crop NASCAR team waiting to get me on the track, it's the sponsorship mountain has been the toughest to climb, but I'm making gains. While I wait for my shot in NASCAR, I will be cheering for Danica.
UPDATE: I just found out my sponsorship for the USRA race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 11 has fallen through. Good news is there are other sponsors talking to me about future races. Danica said it all in Indy, "I think that the teams need to know that females are no different than males. You know there's a lot more guys that do it, so to find a good girl sure takes a while. But if they are good, they're no different. They just need the rides." Amen to that.
Photo: My boyfriend and I visiting with my father in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
5.25.05 surfs up!
Thanks to some innovative Kiwis, someday I may actually be able to go surfing in Charlotte, sweet!
PS. And now I find out I'm going to have to add snowboarding to my list of year round sports as well! Gotta love those Kiwis...
5.05.05 hi from darlington
Checking in from a cold and rainy Darlington. I've never been to this racetrack before, it's definitely... well, one of the older tracks on the circuit. Everywhere you look, in every crack in the pavement, you see a piece of history. Darlington has all kinds of nicknames-- the Lady in Black, the track too tough to tame-- and when you scrape the wall here for the first time (and trust me, you will) they call it "The Darlington Stripe." As a rookie, you are expected to get a stripe, it's part of the journey, part of the honor of racing here. It's her way of saying "welcome" and "respect me" at the same time. The historic Southern 500 was once run here and when it was moved to California Speedway, a lot of old school (aka, southern) race fans were upset. It was the old NASCAR having to give up a race to the new NASCAR. The west coast, the big city had stolen a race from the south. People were upset. The rest of the world has taken notice of our sport and like it or not, things will never be the same. I know people look at me as representing the new NASCAR, partly because of my gender and partly because my career started on the short tracks of Southern California. I just ask for the same consideration that the Lady in Black gives her rookies. You can beat me up a little bit when I arrive, but then you have to let me race.
Peace, Leilani
PS. Special thanks to Brian Renner at Discount Tires in Concord, NC!
Upper right photo: A Hooks Motorsports crew member and I at Texas Motor Speedway after my fourth place qualifying run in the First Convenience Bank 100. Hopefully the crew and I will be returning to TMS with the No. 27 Monte Carlo on June 11, the weekend of the IRL and Craftsman Truck races.
4.17.05 dance like nobody's watching
People are hilarious, but some more than others. Check out this kid...
This voice mail has become such an internet hit you have probably already heard it. Just in case you haven't had the pleasure, I am posting it here. It was left by a guy in Dallas calling his boss to let him know he's running late for meeting. No further explanation needed, the rest of the story speaks for itself. It's so good, it even made the news.
4.8.05 a photo essay
"On one single day-- April 8, 2005-- fifty of the world's most talented female photographers will be positioned throughout the United States and abroad, spending 24 hours capturing extraordinary images of an ordinary day in the lives of American women. The resulting photographs and the accompanying words will make up A Day in the Life of the American Woman."
It was certainly an honor and privilege to participate in such a historic project. Special thanks to my dear friend and award-winning photographer Acey Harper and to Ami Vitale of Barcelona, Spain who spent the day documenting my adventures here in North Carolina. That's me working on a race car at Bodies In Motion Paint and Body, where I have been working part-time for the past year.
3.29.05 let it ride
Life is a gamble and we've all been dealt different cards. Play big and you either win big or lose big. People in the racing world inherently bet big-- the car owners, the drivers, the crew chiefs, and let's not forget the marketing folks. It's tough to find a safe bet in racing. The split second decisions made by the crew chief on the pitbox, the big time financial investments car owners must make in their team, the marketing people who spend months of their time dedicated to landing the big deal, and, of course, we all know the risks for the driver. All this amounts to a lot of high risk gamblers and like a good game of poker, high drama with big losers and big winners. You see it every year-- car owners closing up shop, drivers out of rides, packing up their helmets and going back to where they came from. But every once in a while it goes the other way-- a rookie driver winning races, a new team owner signing a big time sponsor. Life is the same way-- sometimes you've got a 15 second lead, sometimes you're two laps down. Remember, you don't win the race on the first lap. Maybe you'll get get the lucky dog pass, maybe you'll be penalized for speeding down pit road. Maybe you will land a big sponsor, maybe someone at the race shop will accidentally Fed Ex a multi-million dollar contract to UPS. Who knows. But whatever happens, understand that everyone you meet is fighting the battle. We are all pulling from the same deck. Your chance of getting the ace is the same as everyone else's. So which side do you end up on? What are your odds? And are you folding? Or are you all in?
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