S²T Marketing Promotions©

As the evening events concluded, I sprinted from
the tower and headed for the pits once again. I
arrived just in time to watch her preparing the
crews evening dinner. I popped my head into the
trailer and to my surprise she smiled and offered
me something to eat. I was half heartedly afraid to
open my mouth, as I never intend to cause pain or
problems for anyone.

It was that of a caring mothers voice that asked, “I
know that you have something on your mind, what
is it”?

I was caught a little off guard, but I began to ask
several questions about the car and about what
she had to offer as a competitor at the event. I
feared the thoughts about saying the wrong thing
when all of a sudden I got “The Look”. It’s that
look that you see in your mothers face when she’s
telling you about the real facts of life. That look,
as to how you better pay attention, because you’
re caught with your hand in the cookie jar… That
look, that only a caring, understanding, and
compassionate person can pass on to you, which
says… I understand.

She spoke of how things never came full circle for
her. She spoke of the love of the sport, the love
of her husband, and the love of her family. She
told me about the wreck that almost took her life,
and emphasized not of the bad that had become
of it, but rather the good that had been bestowed
upon her. I found myself entranced with each
story that she told.

I had to have looked like a kindergartener at story
telling time. Eyes wide open, and ears the same.
I could offer nothing that she wouldn’t talk about,
or answer. For a women that has battled from the
first days as a woman in a sport of many men, to
the doctors that told her she would never compete
again, she has played every odd in the book. And
she won.

With the coming of the 40th year of her life in the
motor sports world, she sees no reason to call it
quits just yet. Although the doctors have told her
that it’s only a matter of time before she looses
the mobility that allows her to compete, she still
sees a light at the end of that long tunnel. Also re-
assuring me that all of her faculties are working
fine and we’ll be the second to know when things
change.

I was lucky to have fallen where I did, as I can tell
you now what makes a seasoned competitor
continue on under such adversity. It is formulated
into three parts.

They are best surmised by Bunny’s own words,
“Because they said I can’t or couldn’t… Two,..
because I can. Finally, for the fans that watch and
believe that anything can happen”.

By the end of our discussion I felt as though I had
just taken a lesson from a Tony Roberts Self-help
course. My problems seemed small, my heart,
big. While all this time I wanted to plead for her to
tell me more. Those marks that we strive so
diligently to leave when we pass are only as
noticeable as we make them. Bunny Burkett has
left her marks in just about every state, county,
and even those 'dink' water towns and cities that
Drag Racing has reached. It will be her opus, her
legacy, and her 15 minutes of fame that will replay
in the heart of men, women, and children, who
have met her.

The lady that opens her heart to the meek and
stands her ground when others tried to take it
from her. A true voice of reason that only a mom
can provide. All of these features that she
displays are true. There are no plastics or hidden
agendas.

I voiced my thanks to her for being so open to me
in my quest for finding my answers. I left offering
her a few words of hope and strict orders for her
to write her stories down on paper. She told me
that things that happened yesterday are behind
her, and that she’s more interested in what’s forth-
coming. But think about it, what a great book it
would be. A book about Drag Racing, life, and the
pursuit of happiness…. Even if it is told looking
through a cracked rearview mirror. After all, what
better way to make your mark on society?

As one question about the reasons we are so
drawn to the sport of Drag Racing gets answered,
four more will have already arose. I’ll continue to
relay my findings to the cure of our shared
addiction. From down in the pits, remember…
“never look back, as something might be gaining‘
on you.”

It is a fact that the human trait consists of the
need and will to survive. We all are on a
quest for our 15 minutes of fame, and a
chance to leave our mark on society for
those that will follow. How we achieve this
mark is based upon what we do within the
short time we are allotted in this world. How
we succeed in scribing this mark maybe
another story all together.

I have spent the better part of the last two
years, trying to align the stars in just the
perfect order, so that I can understand the
wild world of Drag Racing, and those that
have chosen to imprint their lives into this
particular faction.

I have seen competitors hide behind the
smiles that they paste on for each fan, even
though they know that all is lost in their
efforts of achieving the big brass ring . I
have also seen a child’s dismay turned into a
lifetime reward by the efforts of that same
competitor, while I have seen the beast come
to life from within the friendliest of faces by
the uttered cry of the words “to the staging
lanes”. The answer that I sought to find this
past week was one that not everyone would
be as reluctant as to answer, or for that
matter, simply stated as a situation which
might cause me bodily harm if taken in the
wrong content.

It is said that there is a fine line between
being sane and being crazy. There is also
the adage that a good competitor will know
when it is time to quit. I had to know what
makes the average racer, want to continue,
even though all the odds are stacked
against them?

As I have found from past experiences, the
only place to find the answers to my
questions, was to seek out that one person
that has dwelled into the darkest of times,
but remembered what it is to baste in the
spotlight.

So into the pits I dredged. Only this time I
was looking for that one person, hence any
child would feel safe to huddle next to. That
one person that would understand, that my
question was not about being ‘outdated’ or
‘affronted’, but rather one of insight and
understanding.

I’ve spent so much time talking to the
Sportsman competitors, and I knew that
these competitors are limited to the glory
moments. I had to expand my horizons and
look farther into the field. I walked along the
narrowed pit lanes searching for that one
person that would be that 'extraordinary'
subject who would fit the mold.

I staggered into many racers pits, only to
declare that they were too young to have
encountered the pains of time, while others, I
opted not to open my mouth as I feared
reprisals. It was just about that time, when I
thought that I’d leave empty handed, when I
stumbled by a very warm and caring face.

She was perched in her studio chair out front
of her pit area. She was signing autographs,
and talking to everyone. The children stood
by with glazed over smiles, while her words
ran soft as velvet, and in a tone that would
warm any heart. Her name: Carolyn “Bunny”
Burkett.

I had only ever read about her trials of
tribulations from the billboards and small
postings on the Internet. Her life was filled
with the makings of a superstar, but the
constant words “if only”, seemingly, came
attached to her life story. These facts I
already knew about. But, if ever there was
that one person to ask about facing odds
stacked against you, this was that one
person that I knew for sure, would
understand my plight.

I waited for the crowd to thin. Funny thing, it
never did. I watched as she winched every
now and then from the constant pains in her
back. But she continued on making sure
that all of the fans were blessed with a
smile. Time was running short for me but I
made a note that I would return at the end of
the day and see if that inviting smile would
welcome one last late comer before turning
in for the night.