50 Little Things I've Learned Since I Married My Husband

50 Little Things I've Learned Since I Married My Husband - Number Five

"It's always possible to go Faster."

(That's a tractor...pulling a HUGE, HEAVY sled. Impressive, I know.)

I was never into racing. Growing up my brothers and I would huddle around the television to watch football but we rarely watched any other sport. We were something to see too. Nothing is ever a 'small' event in my family. A big football game meant dragging out our jersey's, painting up our faces and hanging posters up all over the house. We'd even go as far as to seperate the living room into two; fans of opposite teams are just not meant to sit together when watching football.

When I met my husband, I was immediately thrown into the world of engines (Racing would be a better word here but this extends so much further than the realm of racing. It's about power and torque. It's about what's in the car, not the car itself. You would have to know my husband, ya know...the high performance engine builder that he is...to understand.) And when I say immediately, I mean IMMEDIATELY. Our first date was a trip to Muncie, Indiana to watch some drag racing. We ate at Taco Bell afterwards, not the most romantic date but I will never forget it. After that day engines have become a huge part of my life.

I can not begin to tell you how many dinners I have spent smiling and nodding my head, pretending to understand how the heads work with the pistons and why it's important to have the right gasket or how a big block is different from a small block and etc. I've also learned that NOS is never to be said as 'NOS'... it's nitros people!

But despite the lack of understanding, I've found myself over the last two years actually enjoying the exhiliration of starting up a race engine for the first time or watching men and women race. I have found myself parked in a chair or a bleacher many hot days, cold nights with wind, rain...and of course dirt blowing in my face just to watch a good race. Eldora is just a hop and a skip away and so is KilKare. NASCAR, NHRA, NTPA...I know them all. I've watched men strap six engines on a tractor (AIRPLANE engines, I should add) just to get a little more power. I've been through many pair of earplugs and hoodies, shoes and chairs. (Yes, chairs.) Through it all if there's one thing I've learned it's that just when you think you've seen it all, someone will go faster, pull harder and push the limits to new heights for the next guys.

"It's a never ending battle of making your cars better and also trying to be better yourself." -Dale Earnhardt Sr.