Every Lap A Story

I think I have a very different perspective of NASCAR than most people.

Why's that, you ask? While most fans just see it for the cars and drivers, I see it as much more. I've always been fascinated by the community and the goings-on in the world of NASCAR. It's far more than a bunch of cars driving around a concrete or asphalt oval. Every lap is a story. Every driver, team member, owner, fan, they all have a story to tell about how they got to that point.

My story began when I was a small child - as most things do in NASCAR these days - growing up in Summerville, South Carolina. We had an asphalt track maybe two miles away from my house and every Saturday night you could hear the racing going on well into the night. That track closed down in 2004, but Summerville Speedway was one of the first experiences I had with racing.

My grandfather, Edgar Lloyd Driggers, was a devout Ford man who listened to the races when my father was a young man. He was a huge fan of the Wood Brothers and David Pearson. After Pearson left, he became a Mark Martin fan. Growing up, my father and I would go to visit with my grandparents every Sunday after church, and 95% of the time my grandfather was watching NASCAR. I began to take more of an interest in it as I got older, and in 2000 I became a casual fan, cheering on Dale Earnhardt Jr. as my driver.

As I grew older, I began to fully appreciate what it was to be a fan and what it really took for the guys that strap into those cars to do what they do. On Sunday, they seem super-human, wheeling a 3400 pound, 800 horsepower machine like it was nothing, braving the constant chance that they could wreck and injure themselves, or worse.

There is a common thread, however, with every person involved in NASCAR, and it's this: despite what happens in the world, despite the things we fear and worry about, despite the pain of sickness or the sadness of loss, every weekend for 9 months out of a year, there is NASCAR. It is one of a handful of constants that has endured for over 60 years now.

I guess you could say I have a very romantic view of racing, but that's my feelings on it. We all have our reasons for being NASCAR fans. At heart, no matter who you are, or what you do in the sport, there's a fan in everyone. It's a lot more than just going around in circles.

I'm truly privileged to be able to say I lead a business working with NASCAR teams. For me personally, paint schemes are the visual representation of everything a team, driver, and sponsor wants to be seen as. It's much more than vinyl and paint - as with the people in the sport, every car has a story. Every design I do has a story, and that's no joke.

Anyway, this week is shaping up to be a busy one, so I better go get to work on some stuff. Until the next one,

Guy Driggers