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)
muserevival2017-01-20 01:11 am
shelbycobra) wrote in muserevival2017-01-20 01:11 am
Entry tags:
word of the day 009
Serendipity
I'm sitting in a hotel room in Miami. My gear bag is packed at the foot of the bed. Tomorrow I'll get up early and put on my helmet for the first time this year before putting myself to the test against some of the best drivers in the world. As one-half of Team USA IndyCar my goal is to win the Race of Champions for my country.
I never sought any of this out. Never thought that I would be the one to get the call to stand for my nation. Never expected that I would be called a champion, even though I've always wanted it. All I ever planned for when I returned was just driving well enough that I could be a racer for a living. Now I look back at the past two seasons and all the opportunities that have come my way just seem surreal.
Even if my career ended today I'd be able to say that I drove in the Race of Champions. That I was in two Rolex 24 at Daytonas and won one. That I participated in two 24 Hours of Le Mans. That I won an Indianapolis 500. And my pride and joy, that I have not one two Verizon IndyCar Series titles to my name. It's a hell of a resume but one I wasn't trying to build. It fell into place because I drove like my life depended on it. Which it did, at least as far as I was concerned.
If I had screwed up again it would have been game over. I couldn't let that happen, not after a life spent in racing. I was only concerned with staying alive, and now I've never felt more alive.
I'm thrilled that tomorrow I'm making a new teammate. Ryan and I have known each other for years but we've never gotten to drive together. Now I get to work with him and see how he's different from Scott and Tony and Will and the other great athletes I've driven with in the past. Collaborating with so many of them has been another unexpected bonus of my resurgent career. I'm no longer walking alone; I'm sharing space with the best of the best and I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner.
And I'm happy that I've found a partner for my life. This is my first time really being apart from Connor and it's a new feeling, to miss him and know that there's somebody waiting at home for me. It's the first test of whether or not I can be both a driver and a partner. We'll find out when I get back to Chicago. But for now I have to shut him out of my head. My mind is set entirely on the Race of Champions. We're going to win this and I'm going to add something else to my resume. Just because I wasn't looking for it doesn't mean I don't want to win.
--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
499 words
I'm sitting in a hotel room in Miami. My gear bag is packed at the foot of the bed. Tomorrow I'll get up early and put on my helmet for the first time this year before putting myself to the test against some of the best drivers in the world. As one-half of Team USA IndyCar my goal is to win the Race of Champions for my country.
I never sought any of this out. Never thought that I would be the one to get the call to stand for my nation. Never expected that I would be called a champion, even though I've always wanted it. All I ever planned for when I returned was just driving well enough that I could be a racer for a living. Now I look back at the past two seasons and all the opportunities that have come my way just seem surreal.
Even if my career ended today I'd be able to say that I drove in the Race of Champions. That I was in two Rolex 24 at Daytonas and won one. That I participated in two 24 Hours of Le Mans. That I won an Indianapolis 500. And my pride and joy, that I have not one two Verizon IndyCar Series titles to my name. It's a hell of a resume but one I wasn't trying to build. It fell into place because I drove like my life depended on it. Which it did, at least as far as I was concerned.
If I had screwed up again it would have been game over. I couldn't let that happen, not after a life spent in racing. I was only concerned with staying alive, and now I've never felt more alive.
I'm thrilled that tomorrow I'm making a new teammate. Ryan and I have known each other for years but we've never gotten to drive together. Now I get to work with him and see how he's different from Scott and Tony and Will and the other great athletes I've driven with in the past. Collaborating with so many of them has been another unexpected bonus of my resurgent career. I'm no longer walking alone; I'm sharing space with the best of the best and I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner.
And I'm happy that I've found a partner for my life. This is my first time really being apart from Connor and it's a new feeling, to miss him and know that there's somebody waiting at home for me. It's the first test of whether or not I can be both a driver and a partner. We'll find out when I get back to Chicago. But for now I have to shut him out of my head. My mind is set entirely on the Race of Champions. We're going to win this and I'm going to add something else to my resume. Just because I wasn't looking for it doesn't mean I don't want to win.
--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
499 words