There was more than once when someone clipped someone else and their cars started to swing their rear ends back and forth across the track. But these guys, amazing as they are, managed to fight the wheel and get those vehicles pointed back in the same direction as the rest of the pack. I was amazed.

I guess I shouldn’t have been in awe; after all, they are the best of the best. Sometimes we forget that the amount of skill needed behind the wheel in the Sprint Cup Series is more than just a quick hand and a daring heart…its pure talent. It’s not just learning to drive, heck; most of us can handle that.

NASCAR has carried with it the picture of laid back folks that have their history tied up with bootleg whisky and running from the law. A fascinating history I might add, but it’s not what makes these guys what they are when they’re out on the track. Some of our guys have engineering degrees and other diplomas of honor and some don’t. So that’s not the reason they’re so good. Some have been around racing all their lives some haven’t taking that out of the puzzle.

So what is it that makes these guys so unique? It’s what we can’t see, and most of us will probably never experience. It’s in their gut, in their heart, buried in their souls. Most of our guys have raced for many years, working their way up to the big show.

So why did they make it? There are literally thousands and thousands of racers across the nation that are absolutely sure they’ll be in the top NASCAR series someday, but only a handful will.

I think our guys have something that can’t be taught, learned or practiced, and that’s what separates them from all the other racers. I’m not saying they don’t have to be taught, learn or practice. I’m saying along with that there is a gift, a special gift they’ve got that only they have.

Our jaws drop when a little 10-year-old girl can play the violin better than the guy in the orchestra who’s been playing his violin for 40 years. How does this happen? It’s a gift. Sure, she had to learn to read music, hold the violin correctly and practice to sound so perfect, but beneath all that she had something special that other kids didn’t…a gift.

Here’s where it gets a little weird. Because our boys are in cars, which every boy loves, and because our boys are pretty much driving around and around, they’re looked at as just being good ole’ boys that like to win. They might have a family name going for them, or family money…but that’s not what makes them good either. Their amazing talent is rarely looked at without all the redneck stipulations tied to them, helping to hide the real gut talent.

The casual fan often states that they can’t figure out how we can watch men drive around and around…how boring they think it is. That’s because they have no clue what goes into that split second decision not to pass going at 190 mph, or what happens in the brain of a driver as he picks up the draft off the guy next to him, calculating in a split second how long he’ll be able to hang on to it, who’s coming up that he can tag onto next and who’s ahead that might get in the way. Not to mention figuring out whom he can trust, where the rookies are, when the sun is going to hit him in the eyes…oh, and he’s got to keep track of the oil and water temps, the way the tires feel, the way the car feels when it’s coming into and going out of a corner…and on and on. These guys are more than just drivers or sponsor magnets…they have a gift.

Sounds redundant huh? A gift…a gift…well, it’s hard to put into words, that’s for sure. But it’s there. It’s what separates them from the rest of the thousands that want to be there. And while the average Joe doesn’t “get” it, the rest of us do.

The next few days the race will be dissected, analyzed and criticized, but not once will you read about the intuition of the driver being the reason he passed so many others, or the quickness of his mind being the reason he got through that wreck…it will all be about the reactions of other drivers, the errors they made, the owners thoughts and teams reactions all mixed in with NASCAR’s thoughts and statements. But some of us will look just a little deeper, and nod our heads, because we know there’s a whole lot more to racing than just what we see…there’s a gift. And somehow, someway, maybe during the next race, we’re going to get a glimpse of it if we look past the screaming fans, the sponsor decals and all the hoopla that surrounds these guys. It’s there…very well hidden under layers of cooperate stuff, but it’s there.

NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expense, it would be appreciated:

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