Racing ... she's a jealous mistress

by Darrell Waltrip

Updated: December 27, 2007, 3:26 PM EST

He asked, "How about your sport, what type of year did you all have?"

I replied, "Well, It was an interesting year. A lot of things happened, a lot of things that got swept under the rug or noticed when they happened but were soon forgotten. That's kind of the way racing is. You're busy, it's 24/7/365 and you are always thinking about racing. No matter what is going on in your life, it revolves around racing. For most of us who have done it our whole lives, racing is really all we think about."

My friend said, "Whoa! Stop right there. Those are the ingredients for a disaster."

"How do you figure that? I've always been under the opinion that if you want something, you have to invest everything you got — all your energy, all your time, everything else if you are going to be successful. That's kind of the way most people in racing feel."

My friend just started laughing after I said that. "DW, I hope that at your age that you realize that there's more to life than being a great driver or having won a lot of races."

Well, at this point in my life I have realized that, but there are a lot of my buddies that haven't yet and they probably don't realize what lies ahead. This conversation is what got me thinking about how jealous racing is, because if you don't give her everything you've got, and if you don't invest everything you've got into her, then she becomes very unhappy.

This past year, I've seen racing take people's money, wreck some homes, break up some friendships, take guys' health, make people tell lies, make people look really dumb and break people's hearts.

Anyways, I was just going down this list with my buddy and he stopped me.

"DW, do you know what the problem is here?"

"Yeah, I do now. But there are a lot of my buddies who don't."

"Well, they need to get their priorities right. You can't neglect relationships, your family nor your faith in order to be successful at something that you do for a living. You've got to have balance in your life."

That's something I had to learn, and I had to learn it the hard way. I really never cared about anything but racing. That's all I ever did, that's all I've ever wanted to do — and I gave it all I had all the time. And I know a lot of guys are that way right now.

The only reason I am telling you all this is because when my friend left that day, I was wishing that some of the young drivers in the sport were sitting there with me for this conversation. Some of these young guys don't have families of their own yet, they have their mom and dad, but they don't have a wife and children.

I'll pass on this little bit of advice. No matter who you are, you've got to take the time to hug your wife, hug your kids, you've got to take time to pray, you've got to take time to invest in friendships, you've got to invest in other things besides racing. I know that racing is a jealous mistress, and she wants everything — all of you — and she wants it all the time. But you've got to be wise enough, and smart enough, to not let her have it all.

You know folks, it's Christmas time, and this is the time of year when giving is what it's all about. We should be giving all we got to our families and to our friends because those are the things that last, trophies don't last, victories don't last. You can ask anybody that's ever won a race, won a championship, won anything really — ask them how long do they last? Those things are only for the moment, then they are gone and you have to worry about if you are ever going to win another one.

Winning moments are fleeting. But relationships last forever. Your relationship with your God is something that last forever — and it's something that will give you the strength and the wisdom you need to not have that jealous mistress take everything that you really care about away from you.

This is not meant to be a downer, it's just meant to be a wake up call. Every now and then old DW gets philosophical, and every now and then I have to look back and see where I went wrong and see the mistakes I made so that I can share them with my young friends so that they don't make the same mistakes I did.

This is the most wonderful time of the year, and it's the most joyous time of the year.

Merry Christmas and my prayer is that all my friends and all my fans stay healthy, that they are saved, and I look forward to 2008 and getting back to the track. But you can believe one thing, as much as I love racing and as much as I cherish what I've done, I don't cherish anything more than I do my relationships — and that's the most important thing in your life.

Oh, by the way

Been working with the people here in Nashville on the Sprint Sound & Speed festival, which will take place Jan. 11 and 12 at Nashville's Sommet Center. It's a great event that is in its third year. There's a big auction Friday night at the Wildhorse Saloon and a great autograph session and driver Q&A session Saturday with fans getting to ask questions to some of the biggest stars in NASCAR. And oh yeah, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift and a bunch of others host a concert Saturday evening.

Put that on your calendar, Jan. 11 and 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be there, so will me and my brother Michael, Richard Petty and Kyle, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Richard Childress and a whole host of guys, all there for the event. It'll be kind of like the old NASCAR Preview Week from the Winston days, except we got country music — it makes it that much better.

It should be a great time. Can't wait to see you all there.

Oh, by the way, too

If you have DIRECTV, you can watch DW and Amy Grant's Songs of Praise all day long on channel 103 from now through Christmas Day. I think you'll enjoy it.

Oh, by the way, three

If you haven't done all your Christmas shopping yet, or are looking for a gift for yourself, there's still some good items left on DWStore.com