Shelby Manning (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shelbycobra) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
muserevival2015-08-31 12:53 am
shelbycobra) wrote in muserevival2015-08-31 12:53 am
099.7.3 - random
"Our greatest glory is not never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
I don't know what to say right now and yet I feel like I have so much I have to say. Actually, I feel like I'm exhausted and probably dehydrated and I need a shower and a nap and a good cry, but right now I need to write this. I need to tell you what's just happened because I still can't believe I can say the words.
'Shelby Manning Martin, 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion.'
They're words I always hoped that I would be able to say. There isn't a driver out there that doesn't want to hear that sentence with their name in it. It's what we all work for, for five months out of the year and for our entire careers, and today it happened for me.
I am beyond grateful. I am grateful for my crew and Terry, for giving me the best possible car every week, especially today when I needed it most. I'm grateful for Shane, for finding ways to get me onto the podium even if it meant pushing us both past what was supposed to be possible. I'm grateful for Derrick and my teammates and obviously for Mr. Penske, for giving me the seat in the first place that hopefully he'll let me have back next year. (Everyone says there's no way he won't re-sign the reigning series champion. I say I'll believe it when the contract's signed.)
But I'm also grateful for everyone who got me to this point. I don't think this season would have been possible without everything that came before it, both good and bad. I'm grateful to Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for two good years, to Tobey and the Marshall Motors guys for being there during the one bad one, and to my father for always being in my corner even when we had to go our separate ways. And to Scott; even though he beat me today, I've always been chasing his example and today I feel like I finally got there.
2015 has been an unbelievable year and one that has taught me a tremendous amount, not just about being a racer but also about what it means to be a good person and a member of the IndyCar community. There have been crushing lows that have made me question my dedication to this sport for the first time ever, and like tonight there have been tremendous highs beyond my wildest dreams. It reminds me how thoroughly invested we have to be, physically, mentally and emotionally, to succeed at what we do.
But we are also a wonderful group of individuals. I started my year working with Scott as a teammate at Rolex 24; I ended it with him congratulating me on winning the IndyCar title. In between, I've shared so many moments with everyone. I drove pace cars with Ryan at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and by myself at the Brickyard 400. I was terrible at everything at the Indiana State Fair. Graham and I laughed hysterically when the media dug up pictures of the two of us as kids in the paddock. I got to take my car across the Golden Gate Bridge. Everything I've done, I've shared with someone. This is my family; this is where I belong.
Now I naturally can't stop myself from asking what happens in 2016. If Mr. Penske offers me a contract extension, my thoughts will be on my title defense. Or at least showing up well enough that no one thinks of me as a one-season wonder. But I'm worried that nothing will be as good as this year. This season was special, because there was only one thing that mattered. It was all about picking myself up from nothing and discovering that I could find everything. Now that I've proven myself, both to the world and to myself, where do I go from here? What's a good enough year after you've had the year that you never imagined you'd have?
I suppose that's a question for next year. Or at least Tuesday. Tonight I'm tired, and tomorrow I have a championship celebration to attend. But I really don't want it to be the last one. I want this to be the start of something. At least, I have hope.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need For Speed OC
717 words
I don't know what to say right now and yet I feel like I have so much I have to say. Actually, I feel like I'm exhausted and probably dehydrated and I need a shower and a nap and a good cry, but right now I need to write this. I need to tell you what's just happened because I still can't believe I can say the words.
'Shelby Manning Martin, 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion.'
They're words I always hoped that I would be able to say. There isn't a driver out there that doesn't want to hear that sentence with their name in it. It's what we all work for, for five months out of the year and for our entire careers, and today it happened for me.
I am beyond grateful. I am grateful for my crew and Terry, for giving me the best possible car every week, especially today when I needed it most. I'm grateful for Shane, for finding ways to get me onto the podium even if it meant pushing us both past what was supposed to be possible. I'm grateful for Derrick and my teammates and obviously for Mr. Penske, for giving me the seat in the first place that hopefully he'll let me have back next year. (Everyone says there's no way he won't re-sign the reigning series champion. I say I'll believe it when the contract's signed.)
But I'm also grateful for everyone who got me to this point. I don't think this season would have been possible without everything that came before it, both good and bad. I'm grateful to Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for two good years, to Tobey and the Marshall Motors guys for being there during the one bad one, and to my father for always being in my corner even when we had to go our separate ways. And to Scott; even though he beat me today, I've always been chasing his example and today I feel like I finally got there.
2015 has been an unbelievable year and one that has taught me a tremendous amount, not just about being a racer but also about what it means to be a good person and a member of the IndyCar community. There have been crushing lows that have made me question my dedication to this sport for the first time ever, and like tonight there have been tremendous highs beyond my wildest dreams. It reminds me how thoroughly invested we have to be, physically, mentally and emotionally, to succeed at what we do.
But we are also a wonderful group of individuals. I started my year working with Scott as a teammate at Rolex 24; I ended it with him congratulating me on winning the IndyCar title. In between, I've shared so many moments with everyone. I drove pace cars with Ryan at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and by myself at the Brickyard 400. I was terrible at everything at the Indiana State Fair. Graham and I laughed hysterically when the media dug up pictures of the two of us as kids in the paddock. I got to take my car across the Golden Gate Bridge. Everything I've done, I've shared with someone. This is my family; this is where I belong.
Now I naturally can't stop myself from asking what happens in 2016. If Mr. Penske offers me a contract extension, my thoughts will be on my title defense. Or at least showing up well enough that no one thinks of me as a one-season wonder. But I'm worried that nothing will be as good as this year. This season was special, because there was only one thing that mattered. It was all about picking myself up from nothing and discovering that I could find everything. Now that I've proven myself, both to the world and to myself, where do I go from here? What's a good enough year after you've had the year that you never imagined you'd have?
I suppose that's a question for next year. Or at least Tuesday. Tonight I'm tired, and tomorrow I have a championship celebration to attend. But I really don't want it to be the last one. I want this to be the start of something. At least, I have hope.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need For Speed OC
717 words