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)
muserevival2016-11-30 03:08 am
shelbycobra) wrote in muserevival2016-11-30 03:08 am
Entry tags:
134.2.1 - quote
"I prefer physical exhaustion over mental fatigue any day."
Monday was my first full day back at the race shop and one of the conversations was about the idea of team orders. I'm sure you've heard the controversy that arose out of the Formula One final with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. With Team Penske in a similar position here in IndyCar we couldn't help but talk about what might happen if we were ever in the same situation. It's really not that far off, since Will and I were competing for the championship this year just like Hamilton and Rosberg were.
Team Penske's policy has always been that there are no team orders. The only unwritten rule is not to crash each other out of the race. Otherwise we are allowed, and frankly expected, to race one another as if we are not on the same team. And everyone in the room knows that our own worst competition is each other. We are the elite team in this league - statistics bear that out - and so we are also the four drivers who are constantly expected to win. It's the strange dichotomy that comes with representing this organization.
And it's not just business; it's definitely personal. The other three guys I was standing there talking with are not just my teammates, but also my friends. Will was the first person I met when I joined the team two years ago. Helio is Helio; everyone loves him. And Josef, even though time has passed since we worked together originally, is still the guy that I drove in two different leagues with. I want to see them succeed and I know that they want me to succeed but we all also have to fight for ourselves. If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing our jobs.
Does it sting a bit when I have to pass one of them or do something to keep them out of my way? A little. But I also know that they understand, because chances are they're going to have to do something to hinder me eventually.
The other thing that separates us from Mercedes is that we are a team. By all accounts Hamilton and Rosberg don't particularly like one another. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Will and Helio and Josef, as I do for everyone else in the IndyCar paddock. So that makes the double nature of our relationship easier. We know that as long as the team scores a victory then that matters, even if it's not us individually who pulled it off. We can work together to share data and points of view, because we know that we are ultimately benefiting the whole. And besides, if you can't do something with that information on race day that's on you, no matter how many other brains you've picked before that.
So team orders? Even if Mr. Penske wanted to give them we wouldn't need them. We understand what it means to be on this team and we all share the same commitment to it.
If there's anything on my mind it's how much more I can get out of myself. I had a record-breaking season last year, winning six of our sixteen races and earning seven Verizon P1 Awards in that same span. That's close to half the schedule. It's also completely freakish given the high amount of competition in the Verizon IndyCar Series. No matter how hard I push I know that it's unlikely that I'll be able to get better than that, or even uphold it. I'm probably not going to have a season that good next year, so I find myself mentally preparing for a fall.
That's not stopping me from doing everything I have to do in order to be ready. I've been on an accelerated fitness program for a month now getting prepared for the Race of Champions that takes place at Marlins Park in January, and I may wind up going almost right from that into the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It's not easy to get myself back into shape so fast; in fact I'm not sure that I'm not going too fast. There are days I hurt all over. But I would rather have that than anything else. That physical exhaustion also means that I care. I'm committed enough to go out on that limb.
If I lose that commitment, if I ever stop being nervous or having conversations like the one we had today thinking about what it all means, then I have no business being part of this team or even part of this sport. The constant thinking and search for improvement is what makes us who we are. Racing is so much more than being able to drive fast; it's being able to talk it out, think it out, and make the decisions that change the course of your career - and your life - forever. And for that, it's good to have teammates.
--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
822 words
Monday was my first full day back at the race shop and one of the conversations was about the idea of team orders. I'm sure you've heard the controversy that arose out of the Formula One final with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. With Team Penske in a similar position here in IndyCar we couldn't help but talk about what might happen if we were ever in the same situation. It's really not that far off, since Will and I were competing for the championship this year just like Hamilton and Rosberg were.
Team Penske's policy has always been that there are no team orders. The only unwritten rule is not to crash each other out of the race. Otherwise we are allowed, and frankly expected, to race one another as if we are not on the same team. And everyone in the room knows that our own worst competition is each other. We are the elite team in this league - statistics bear that out - and so we are also the four drivers who are constantly expected to win. It's the strange dichotomy that comes with representing this organization.
And it's not just business; it's definitely personal. The other three guys I was standing there talking with are not just my teammates, but also my friends. Will was the first person I met when I joined the team two years ago. Helio is Helio; everyone loves him. And Josef, even though time has passed since we worked together originally, is still the guy that I drove in two different leagues with. I want to see them succeed and I know that they want me to succeed but we all also have to fight for ourselves. If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing our jobs.
Does it sting a bit when I have to pass one of them or do something to keep them out of my way? A little. But I also know that they understand, because chances are they're going to have to do something to hinder me eventually.
The other thing that separates us from Mercedes is that we are a team. By all accounts Hamilton and Rosberg don't particularly like one another. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Will and Helio and Josef, as I do for everyone else in the IndyCar paddock. So that makes the double nature of our relationship easier. We know that as long as the team scores a victory then that matters, even if it's not us individually who pulled it off. We can work together to share data and points of view, because we know that we are ultimately benefiting the whole. And besides, if you can't do something with that information on race day that's on you, no matter how many other brains you've picked before that.
So team orders? Even if Mr. Penske wanted to give them we wouldn't need them. We understand what it means to be on this team and we all share the same commitment to it.
If there's anything on my mind it's how much more I can get out of myself. I had a record-breaking season last year, winning six of our sixteen races and earning seven Verizon P1 Awards in that same span. That's close to half the schedule. It's also completely freakish given the high amount of competition in the Verizon IndyCar Series. No matter how hard I push I know that it's unlikely that I'll be able to get better than that, or even uphold it. I'm probably not going to have a season that good next year, so I find myself mentally preparing for a fall.
That's not stopping me from doing everything I have to do in order to be ready. I've been on an accelerated fitness program for a month now getting prepared for the Race of Champions that takes place at Marlins Park in January, and I may wind up going almost right from that into the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It's not easy to get myself back into shape so fast; in fact I'm not sure that I'm not going too fast. There are days I hurt all over. But I would rather have that than anything else. That physical exhaustion also means that I care. I'm committed enough to go out on that limb.
If I lose that commitment, if I ever stop being nervous or having conversations like the one we had today thinking about what it all means, then I have no business being part of this team or even part of this sport. The constant thinking and search for improvement is what makes us who we are. Racing is so much more than being able to drive fast; it's being able to talk it out, think it out, and make the decisions that change the course of your career - and your life - forever. And for that, it's good to have teammates.
--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
822 words