Drag Illustrated Issue 151, December 2019 | Page 47
D.I. COLUMNIST
The Real Deal
A
with Tommy D'Aprile
s the race season
closes on the 2019 sea-
son, it’s a great time to
look back and reflect.
As for me, and I am sure many
of you, this season has been a
little trying. The traveling alone
from race to race can be enough
to drive you crazy. Coming off a
championship season, we were
ready to continue to hammer
down and set the world on fire
again. In 2018, we qualified No.
1 at almost every race and won
regularly.
Well, so much for wishful
thinking in 2019. Race after race
in 2019, we continued to strug-
gle. All the way to the last race of
the year it was a battle. At times
it felt as though we just couldn’t
catch a break and our winning
streak had come to an abrupt halt. We made some changes and just
when we thought we had turned the corner we suffered another
first-round loss. We previously had not lost first round for a year
and a half.
Some of you may be wondering why I am telling you all of this.
Well, the reason I share is to encourage all of you in trying times.
You see, it’s not always sunshine and roses at the races. Sometimes
it’s burnt parts and defeat. Sometimes rain and delays. Sometimes
annoying neighbors parked next to you with their generator blowing
fumes into your pit area.
So, ask yourself this question: If you never won another race,
would you still continue to go racing? Do you enjoy it enough to just
be happy no matter what the race outcome is? My team and I always
want to win, and we strive for excellence every time we go to a race.
Even though sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way we want, we al-
ways continue to strive to do better the next time. Our passion and
desire never falter. Even when we have burnt up parts we continue to
choose to smell the roses. My team consists of amazing people who
I love dearly and no matter what happens on the race track I never
want our relationship as a team to suffer.
Persistence is key. No matter what, be willing to persist in your
goals and dreams. Defeat for us is not an option. We choose victory
each race and that victory can never be taken away unless we allow it.
Too many of you are allowing circumstances to get in the way of true
victory. You lost a race and now you’re mad and everyone else on the
team suffers. Not good! You see, I determine ahead of time that my
victory is already secure no matter what happens on the race track.
The same can be said for your day-to-day life. If you dread ev-
ery day, start making some changes in your mind. Some of you are
grouchy and irritable most of the time and no one likes being around
you. Can you blame them? The only time some of you are happy is
when things are going the way you want them to. Well, that’s just not
reality. Maybe it’s your reality, but if so that’s a terrible way to live.
Start living with expectancy and when things don’t go your way, just
brush it off and come back stronger. Never allow the wrong thoughts
to take over your mind. “As a person thinks, so they become.” If your
thinking stinks, you’ll stink. Get it?
So 2019 may have not been the best race season for us, but I can
tell you that 2020 is going to be awesome. You know how I know?
Because I have already decided and chose it and you can too. As al-
ways, the choice is yours to make!
Email Tommy at
tommyd@dragillustrated.com
December 2019
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