The Road Less Traveled: Finding True Friendship in Supermodified Racing

It was only supposed to be a short overnight stop on the way back to Oswego, but it has turned into another extended stay with friends from the world of supermodified racing.

“Hey, we’re going to be rolling through Sandusky around 3pm the day after Christmas and I thought maybe we could hang out for a while on the way home,” was how I began the conversation with Gene Lee Gibson on Christmas Eve.

“Yeah, come on over, I’ll let Cindy know, you can stay as long as you want,” he replied.

And so I left my family in Goshen, IN, one more time and began a leisurely drive across US 20 to Toledo where I planned to pick up RT 2.  I’ve become very familiar with the back routes to a destination, this owed in large part to the fact that it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to stay off of the Turnpike, Throughway, Toll Road or any of the other main thoroughfares that you have to pay to use.  It maybe a little risky this time of the year to attempt taking a two lane highway but I don’t often shy away from adventure and I figure that at the very least that I may very well find some interesting things to see.

Even when I’ve been, shall we say, temporarily detoured, (I refuse to use the L word that my girlfriend likes to allow to drip from her anger ridden tongue which is generally followed by the report that she needs to visit the ladies room), I’ve always seemed to find some good in getting to where I’m going even if it takes a bit more time.

To me, it’s the journey that is most enthusing because when you finally arrive at your destination, you seem to have a lot more to talk about concerning the things you have encountered on the route there.  This trip to Sandusky would be no different and I’m glad that I took the time to get to where I was going.

We arrived and were greeted by a guy that I have both revered, and cheered for as well as sold photos, written about, and drank beer with for over 25 years.  It is good to be back ‘home’ in Sandusky and to be able to listen to the stories and look at the photos of what it was like growing up a son of arguably one of the greatest open wheel short track racers in the country.

This is the second time this year that I’ve been fortunate enough to spend an extended amount of time with Gene Lee in Sandusky and I’m relishing every minute of it.  When I first started to talk to him it was as a kid selling photos and I always felt nervous approaching him or his father because their reputed attitude towards journalists.  As the years went by and our paths continued to cross, I can now say that when we talk it is as equals both interested in many other aspects of life other than just supermodified racing, but having that one common bond that makes it easier to always have something to discuss.  Had I continued to listen only to those that had only negative things to say about Gene Lee and Todd, I wouldn’t have the friends I have now.

This stay is once again proving to me that many times in life you don’t really know the person until you talk to the man.  I try to convey that all the time on this blog, WingSideUp.com, and Wailing with Wing Side Up, sometimes I think I am getting through, and sometimes, well, let’s just say, I have a long ways to go to realize some of those lofty goals.  It is also reminding me that I need to make a few phone calls myself to do some talking to a few people that I have allowed myself to speak ill of and get their side of the story so that I can be fair and just.

The fact remains though, that by taking the time to talk to someone, that many others choose to regard as unapproachable, you may find that you can relate to them and become their friend, or at the very least you will recognize that you need to respect them for who they are.

Remember that the next time you choose to sit in the grandstand and complain about the way someone drives their supermodified, runs their race track, or announces a show.  It usually always easier sitting there with a beer in hand, and I suggest that we all, (me included), can take the time to stop being negative and start looking for some positives.  If we don’t, we will only have ourselves to blame for the lack of a strong DIVISION.

I know it’s pretty tough sometimes to always see the forest for the trees, but even those that we don’t agree with can often times be the ones we can learn the most from and you may just celebrate New Year’s with new friends, or like me hang out in Sandusky with old ones.

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