Ten things that make your life worth living1 - The joy of driving my IndyCar, and knowing that it's mine and that I've earned the honor of driving it, and that feeling that this is what I was made for.
2 - The love of a good man, who I'm still not sure I deserve.
3 - My relationship with my father, whether it's family dinner at the house in Daytona or just knowing I can walk down pit lane at the end of a race and find him waiting for me.
4 - The community of my fellow racers, just how much of a pleasure it is to see them at work every weekend, and how many of them I can call friends and some of them even heroes.
5 - Anything that has to do with cars. If it's got four wheels and a seat and I can play with it, I'm a happy girl.
6 - The sense of pride that has come with winning the Astor Cup, and the subsequent motivation to do even better.
7 - NBC Sports Network and the countless hours I've spent watching it. I think it's the only TV channel on in my house some days. Or weeks.
8 - Brownies. Also funnel cake.
9 - Every kind word that's been said by a fan, reporter, colleague or foe.
10 - The idea of having a family, and continuing on the Manning family legacy, and having beautiful children that I can share my love and success and experience with so that they can have one of these lists, too.
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Shelby Manning Martin
Need for Speed OC
251 words