Does washing your car make you go faster? Not on the street, it doesn’t. But, having been around the back gate of racing for as long as I have, I do believe it makes you go faster on the track on an average night.
It’s not that it makes you more appealing to fans and, thus, leads to sponsorship support for better equipment. Although there’s truth to that argument. It’s not that you have better aerodynamics. At least not in dirt track racing. It’s not just that you end up looking at every inch of your car and likely notice good and bad things sooner. Although that’s true, too. And it’s not that other cars are distracted by the glittering sheen of your body panels (SQUIRREL!).
Look how helpful I am at the car wash. Wait, is that a SQUIRREL?!
It’s the mindset that makes all the difference.
Washing your car is a seemingly unnecessary task that takes time. It takes energy and effort. It takes at least $10 at the Buffalo Express Lube in Sarver. And it requires these things of you before you do anything else you need to do.
But the type of people who wash their race car before they do anything else are the people who understand what it takes to win.
It takes more than building a car. It takes more than showing up on a Saturday night.
It takes more than the minimum.
Whether you’re a driver, a track promoter or a business operator, there are tasks that are the equivalent of washing your race car. I would argue that marketing is the car wash of all three of these categories.
It’s not enough to do your track prep and place your concession stand order. It’s not enough to open your doors and stock your shelves. It’s not enough to put your logo on a race car.
If you want to be successful, you can’t just do what needs to be done to operate. You have to spend time a portion of your time marketing yourself, too.
You have to wash your race car.
xo.
Kristin
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