Gentlemen Racers

[speedtalk]

Nice article on how to be a nice guy
http://racingarticles.com/article_racing-38.html

[Tami Eggleston]

As a social psychologist, I find it sad that our society encourages people to be aggressive, mean-spirited, and in general bad sports. The ironic thing is that many premiere athletes are both awesome in their sport and awesome people. As you work on being a better racer, you just might notice that these same traits may make you a better person.
The old notion that "nice guys finish last" is probably not the case, because nice guys are going to get more help, be able to obtain more sponsors, and certainly be happier and more motived than the non-nice guy....and they are certainly going to have a lot more people in victory circle!

[teamdirt]

As a father of my seventeen year old racer it is a challenge to teach him to remain calm among some very irate drivers. And although we might not have finished in first place, we have gained the respect of many because of our easy going attitude on and off the track, As he matures i hope he has a sence that racing is just what you make of it win or loose,

[Tami]

The time to teach sportsmanship is when people are young...I do beleive you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it is just a whole lot harder!
I think talking with young people about how other people can be such jerks and how they make others around them unhappy. I know a few racers who are pretty good racers but they are such miserable people that no one wants to be around them. They yell at their crew, they yell at the track staff, they yell at other racers. I think this is "nice guy" "jerk" can really be seen when you go up to the stands at a race when the race is down to 6 or so guys left. Watch how people cheer for the nice guy and how they applaud when the jerk gets beat. Showing that to a young person I think could be very impactful. Mike and I may not always win, but when we win people cheer and when we lose no one is cheering that the big jerk got beat....
As we go through life we want to be successful, but do we want to do at the cost of risking our friendships and our integrity?
I love it when you see a nice guy win and watch all of their friends come to say congratulations.....
I think simply talking about goals, the future, and what type of person you want to be is a great thing!
Good luck ignoring the jerks and try to spend more time with people who have integrity

[camarokid]

Im 13 and my lil brothers are 5 now and im getting them into racing and im trying to teach them how to be good sportsman more than ne thing right now. i agree it is alot eisier to teach them while there young.

[Bucky1]

This is an interesting topic. I think there will always be times, where being the nice guy costs you and frustrates you. But it is important to remember that in the long run, you are better off being the nice guy. I have found that nice guys stick around in racing longer, and enjoy the sport much more overall than hot heads. Part of the reason this is true, is because they gain more friends. I can count the number of times I have lost my cool after a race, but I always gather myself up, put on my sportsman face, and congratulate the other guy. I found that those times that I did lose my cool, it was a good time to step back and reevaluate my place in racing and why I do it. Keep in mind the big picture, and is pays to be a gentleman.
Tami always has good advice, and it pays to read what she has to say. I have had the opportunity to talk with her in person, and she and her husband are the benchmark for gentleman(woman) racers. I would like to see them at more MWSC races! I would like to see me at more MWSC races too!

[BirdMan]

I know this is an old topic but I am Old too! 68 yrs old. Years ago I won quite often and for the most part all the loosers or winners would seek me out if I didn't go to them and congratulate me on a good run irregardless of win or lose. No ill wind here, but a couple of times I was charged with cheating and had a crowd (50 or so) come to my car and wanted me to rerun the last round as I had won, not a fighter I said okay and then lost that round. I was very upset about everything and just about quit racing. Wife and I talked and I continued racing and at least being cordial to everyone and helping anyone who wanted/needed it. I was determined to not let that bother me. It didn't and I won a bunch more times. As I have aged, reaction times seem to be a bit slower and don't win very many rounds anymore I usually still enjoy talking to everyone.

[racertube123]

hey guys I am a auto racing fanatic, and sometimes I would stop watching it from my TV non-stop or I'll go to where there is some race activity. But I was wondering really which is more entertaining and a little bit dangerous: sprint car racing or that of stock car racing.