AceInHole

How do you guys handle getting psyched up for an event??

Right now, I'm not very psyched up at all, with a good 3 - 4 hour drive ahead of me for the next AutoX event (man, I hate when people whine "Oh!! I street race cuz the nearest drag strip is 30 minutes away!!").

Before the first event I was psyched. It was with a club that I'm not really looking to compete in seriously, so I knew I was going to have fun. I was .071 seconds off my mark (the time I thought I could reach with a really good run) so I felt like I was ready for the first NER event (where I take things more seriously).

Going into that event, I was like "Oh man... competition is gonna be tough... (2 SR's, 2 KAt's in my class alone)" but I felt as though I was gonna give them a good run for their money. So before that event I just couldn't wait to get my runs in, and was riding off the confidence I had built in the previous autox, where I felt I had learned the car enough to be smoother with it. As luck would have it, the course was boost friendly, and I came out with a win.

The most recent event, I wasn't as mentally prepared, I think. I had that 1st place finish, but the confidence really wasn't there, since tech found I had a loose drive nut (from the e-brake install) and I had to fix that, giving me enough time for only 1 walk through. I didn't really know the course as well as I could have, and I was worried about the win from event 1 going down the drain, and I was worried about my suspension still lacking, only to find out Jeff (JMCN from FA) had SusTech swaybars the whole time and never knew it till I looked at them (they apparently came on the car when he got it). Suffice to say, I ate cones that afternoon. 2 on my 2nd run, 1 on my last run (which I at least hit my target time with, but the cone ruined it). I ended up in 6th place for that event, leaving me a 1 point lead for the series only because the guy who finished first this event wasn't there for the previous event (although if the driver in 2nd chooses to come back for more events, we're all screwed. He was 4th at Nats., and 10 seconds ahead of the next fastest guy during that event for our class.)

Now, I feel as though I'm not really psyched up about going to race. I know that I'm a capable driver, even with the disadvantages of having an underdamped suspension. I proved that at the first NER event. I know my car is capable too, even with supposedly "worse tires" and such (FM901's). Right now, it feels as the only ting that's slowing me down is my state of mind.....

So, reiterating the original question: how do you guys get psyched up before a race??

p.s. I tried out my magnets that I just made ($15 shipped in materials). It looks great... but I'm still down....

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