The Word Of The Day Is.......ENOUGH!

If you have clicked on this title thinking that there is some kind of a rant coming, you are going to be disappointed. This short and sweet little entry on the Back Stretch is motivated by the hours that I invested watching the Saturday evening portion of the Tulsa Shootout as well as so many interviews that I have seen over the past couple of years.

Yes, I had more than enough down time to watch New Years Day bowl games in between the actual racing and I have to wonder if there was enough in the purse checks for Emerson Axsom's car owners to cover the extra expenses after he won the 600CC Non-Winged main event and then roasted the motor doing donuts and later when he flipped violently crossing the finish line in the Outlaw Non-Wing as he was pinched off by winner Jeffrey Newell. Yes, the kid put on quite a show, but ouch.

The reason why the word of the day is ENOUGH is because so many in our sport forget to include it during their interviews and I counted it at least seven times during Saturday's show, and who knows how many I missed when I was back watching football. 

For many, many years the standard interview would include "I would like to thank"

- My sponsors

- My crew

- My parents

- And so on and so on

Then a few years ago somebody came along and properly said "I can't thank my sponsors, my crew and my parents enough for all that they have done for me." And suddenly this was the "go to" line for drivers and promoters in nearly every interview.  Now though when you see somebody try to pull it off during the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, especially these younger drivers, they nearly always leave out one key word.

ENOUGH

And it completely changes what they are actually saying!

"Wow, this is just incredible! I can't thank my sponsors, my crew, the engine builder and my family, this truly is a dream come true"

" Yea, this is really disappointing, but I can't thank my team, my Mom and Dad and all of my sponsors who allowed us to be here."

Really, why can't you thank them? They were the ones that helped get you to this incredible moment, weren't they? Oh yes, I know what you really mean, but since you left out the word ENOUGH as you went through the list of those that you really need to thank, technically in the end you didn't thank them at all.

My suggestion? Go back to a simpler phrase that will be easier to pull off in such a joyous or disappointing moment.

I would like to thank.......

I really need to thank......

Thank you so much to......

Thank you, thank you, thank you to........

I have to thank.....

A big thank you goes out to......

That should be enough to get you started.

Happy New Year! The 2022 racing is not far away, I have had enough of winter already.