Common Ground: Racing in a Bubble.

Life in the bubble.

    Unless you've been living under a rock in recent years, you've no-doubt been hit by the barrage of political, racial, and moral hot-button topics in seemingly constant circulation. It's nearly impossible to miss on television, and absolutely impossible to hide from on social media. While many of these topics are undoubtedly important to us as a society, the endless attacks and arguments from both extremes of these topics drains me faster than my car consumes fuel.

So what's a fella to do?

    RC racing in many ways is a microcosm of society in general. The participants are diverse, we usually have several hot -button topics burning at once, and we have disagreements. Lots of them. While conflict is a common occurrence within our hobby, there's one big difference between current society and our humble little sport: We genuinely are all working toward the same end - Winning a race. That singular goal is what unites all of us, regardless of background or preference. 

    So often, I just want to shut out social media and escape the "noise", but like most, I find it to be an exercise in futility. Simply shutting down my phone, or logging off Facebook doesn't quite do it anymore. When I finally feel like I'm at my wits end with the current state of the world, I completely immerse myself in my toy cars and block out everything outside my nerdy-ass hobby. In a way, maybe that's why we racers get along so well. Every single one of us gets so caught up in the task at hand and the overall goal, that we simply forget our differences and crack on with the job. Call it our "little bubble". 

Life in a bubble.
I've had a lot of fun with this 'lil bugger. The group of local F1 racers is about as welcoming a group as I've been around.

    Now, that's not to say that many of us don't have conflicting views on what's going on in the world today, as many of us do. While the difference of opinion will be ever-present in our world, without a common ground for us to stand on, all there can be is argumentative chaos. See the current state of affairs within the United States as a prime example of this. Debate is good, so long as the differing paths taken, result in a similar solution. Opposing views and differing values aside, I look forward to club racing with friends and fellow racers every two weeks now, more than ever in my RC career, but for a different reason entirely.

    As I've written and discussed previously, Radio Controlled car racing is as much an escape, as it is an exercise in competition. I used to get amped up to go racing purely to compete and be the best on that given day. Nowadays, racing is simply the escape from the doldrums of work, finances, and the shaky social climate we live in. While competition has always been/still is the name of the game, my cause for competing is much different, mainly because of the relentless negativity that surrounds us as adults in modern life. While it's true, the 5 or 6 hours we all spend together is a snapshot of modern society. Yet, throughout the arguments, frustration, etc., we continue to willingly come back for more, week after week, glutton for punishment. Why? because at the end of the day, we are all on common ground. We are all just racers trying to enjoy our hobby and win a toy car race.

One goal. No agendas. No politics. That's fucking rad. It's also pretty fucking rare nowadays. 

Life in a bubble, er, shitshow island. Remember to have fun, kids.

    I started writing this piece a little over a month ago, in the wake of the Stoneman-Douglas High School shooting in Florida. To be completely honest, I was pretty confused why these incidents were happening around the country with such regularity. I was also confused on how I would finish this post that started out talking about the very subjects I hated hearing about every day. Call it cowardly, call it ignorant, call it really whatever you want, but after just 5 minutes watching the news and 10 minutes on social media, I just wanted to turn off all the bullshit and bury myself in my hobby. I wanted to hide from the reality that the world I was living in was a VERY imperfect place. There's only so much negativity I can handle in a small period of time, and oftentimes I reach my limit by simply irritating my wife; It's no secret that she hates this hobby. I clearly get that life isn't a collection of rainbows and happy feelings, but damn man, I needed a breakaway.

What followed over the final month and a half of the indoor season, was about as prime an example of "living in a bubble" as I've ever felt, and how sometimes you just need to unplug and unite to have a fresh outlook.

    Each club race was a welcome break from adult responsibility, complete with questionable pit banter off the track and gut-busting good times on the track. Our Wednesday series finale was an absolute riot, with nearly every fast guy in attendance running our sportsman "Scale Spec" class. Our out-going local legend Andrew Cartwright TQ'd with a Euro Truck body, but not before I put an epic pit maneuver on him down the straightaway on the final lap of qualifying. With my eyes filled with tears from laughing uncontrollably., I blew every remaining corner on the way to the finish.

Life in a bubble.
Borrowed pops' Mi1 and played demolition derby with the boys at our Wednesday finale. Most fun in a single race ever.

    The good times continued right on through the Emerald City Classic, our indoor finale trophy race. I don't usually participate in bigger events for the simple fact that I start to take things too seriously and easily forget the simple reason I race, which is to just have fun. Nonetheless, I had a hall pass from my wife, and while I was reluctant to go, I packed my gear and headed out to the track. The next day and a half were a blur of off-color jokes, traction compound, greasy hands, great racing, and a lot of laughs. I raced two classes for the first time in years, and while it made for a busy weekend, it kept me right in my happy little bubble. I had little time for over-analyzing races, setups, or life. I just drove my toy cars and had a cracking good time in the pits. It was just what the doctor ordered. When you're around the right group of racers with a common goal, you'd be surprised what you can accomplish. Surrounded by good friends and good (more like questionable) influences, I had the most fun competing with RC cars in a very long time.

Life in a bubble.
P8 : A-Main: Stock TC / P2: A-Main: F1.
Such a bitchin' weekend with great people.

 It's crazy to think, how when a collection of differing people come together, block out the outside world, forget their personal agendas for a second and unite for a singular goal, just how unmeasurable the amount of progress made truly is. For a fleeting moment, the world doesn't seem as much of a shitshow. It may not solve a single one of the world's problems, but sometimes being in a bubble is a necessary evil. In the age of perpetual bombardment, unplugging and remembering to have fun is an absolute necessity. The common ground us racers come to when we enter our "bubble" could serve as an example for the rest of the world. 

See honey, all this hobby shit really is for the greater good!

Thanks for reading, see you outdoors.
-Jesse