25 July 2010

Team Captain

Kevin is crew-chiefing on our friends racecar this weekend. It's a regular thing now, including probably going to Vegas in November, as the official crew chief.

In a zany coincidence, the engine builder that built our engine in California was the crew chief for this exact same racecar; it just has a new owner now. This has nothing to do with anything, I just felt the small world thing needed to be acknowledged.

I stayed home yesterday because the b-i-l and nephew went, it was going to be hot, and it just didn't seem like a good time for me to go. I stayed home today because it was supposed to be even hotter and I had a realization.

I have to begin thinking about this as Kevin's job. I wouldn't tag along at his regular job. This began as a friend giving another friend a hand and has turned into so much more. It's no longer helping but working. Even though the owner is a friend of ours and probably would disagree, it's a job. He is responsible for another persons safety & well-being.

He called today to tell me about his day and reminded me that I could watch online. We were still talking when I logged on & began to watch.

How fantastic and weird to watch your husband on "television". I texted him afterward: "I'm watching you!" which had to be a little stalkery for Kevin.

Here is the screen capture I got after many failed attempts. The racecar on the right is our friend's car and the guy standing in front of it is Kevin. It's grainy & Zaprudery. He has to wear a headset on his head, which makes me giggle every time I see it, a team shirt (really? black?!?) and a look of concentration. The group of guys standing behind the car includes one of my favorite racers of all time. He was guiding Kevin through the weekend and I could hug him until he can't breathe.

Kevin came home tired, hot, frustrated but he had a good time. Being responsible for someone is stressful and the transition between car owner and crew chief can be a tough one. But he did it and I'm so freaking proud of him.




2 comments:

creative kerfuffle said...

that is a big responsibility. does this mean he won't race his own car at all?

Surely said...

He will. It will take some juggling but he'll still race. I don't think he'd quit racing for anything. He raced two weeks after radiation after all. (:-D