Expectations

When it comes to our favorite driver, or even least favorite driver, we as fans seem to heap great amount of expectations on them even when they aren’t asked for, and sometimes not deserved. When we see a proven talent take the track, we automatically assume that they’ll be an instant contender for the Championship even when the driver admits a championship isn’t a realistic expectation, and then we get upset when our expectations aren’t met. On the flip side of that coin, no matter how talented a driver is, if we don’t like them than we set the bar so extremely low, that it would be nearly impossible for them not to exceed our expectations and then we’re upset that we didn’t see it coming or that they were somehow better than we thought that they should have been.

I hear people talking about how this driver and that driver didn’t live up to the expectations set out for them, but why is it that we let the media dictate to us what expectations should be for a driver instead of actually thinking for ourselves and listening to the driver as to what expectations for the season are ? Are we not capable as people, and fans of the sport to make up our own minds on a subject, but instead feel the need to be spoon fed by the media as to what we should and should not think ? We want to sit and wait and let the media do our thinking for us, but then we verbally crucify that same media when they do not say that which we thought they should have said. We’ll await their expert opinion, their analysis, and hang on their insight, but the moment they make a bad call or a wrong decision, we immediately blast them as loudmouth idiots who should retire from the sport all together. Is it that we as fans are afraid if we were to venture out on our own and actually start to think for ourselves that we won’t have anyone to blame but ourselves when that bad analysis is made, or is it that we simply prefer others to do that which we’re afraid to do ?

When it was announced that Hendrick Motor Sports had signed Sprint Cup veteran Mark Martin, the media and fans alike immediately started traveling down the road of thought that this should be his year, that he should have no problems winning the Championship finally, that he can finally retire happy. Yet when asked about this thought process, Mark Martin all but called everyone an idiot who heaped that expectation on him. He had no idea where anyone came up with that, or who thought that they knew more about what his future held than he did. You see, the expectation at HMS was never to ensure Mark a championship, it was simply to give him the car needed and the chance to win it. This is quite different than the expectation heaved upon him, as it doesn’t create the unneeded pressure of championship or fail. It simply means that he wasn’t supposed to have to worry about car issues, sponsor issues, crew issues, that the only thing he should have had to worry about was getting out there and driving the best he could. Now of course, even by their own standards, they have come up short thus far as they have indeed forced Mark to worry about if this will be yet another week filled with car issues that will take him out of the race before he’s ready.

Week after week, we hear how Joey Logano is supposedly a bust, how he can’t stay out of the wall, and how he’ll never win a race, and that he should just retire now and give his ride to someone else. Yet, at no time did Joe Gibbs Racing nor Joey Logano ever mention these expectations of winning a race, contending for a championship, or even staying out of the wall for that matter. Their expectations were and are extremely simple. Their goal as a team is to simply get Joey as much time behind the wheel as possible, and to finish every lap of every race, that’s it. Now through no fault of his own, he hasn’t been able to complete every lap as he was caught up in the wreck at Daytona that put him out of the race, and his car suffered engine troubles at Bristol which took him out of the race. Through that which he has been able to control, he has indeed lived up to the expectations that were set down ahead of time, and has actually surpassed them by leading a lap, having a top 15 finish, and twice starting in the top 10. There isn’t a member of JGR that isn’t thrilled with how the season has progressed thus far, and he’s showing that given the chance he can indeed get a car around the track.

Prior to his coming to NASCAR, there were insane amounts of expectations both good and bad heaved upon and around Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán. It was stated that he would ruin the sport of Stock Car racing, yet we see that hasn’t even been close to the case even in the least bit. It was said that he would never win a race, yet less than half way through his first full season, he went out and won with a very solid performance. It was said that he’d never last, yet here he is in this now his 3rd full season and there isn’t a race that he has failed to qualify in and currently sits just outside the Chase. Now there are various reasons to why these expectations were cast upon him. It’s obvious he doesn’t look like the other drivers, and some people quickly formed their opinions simply based on that. There are some people that instantly took issue that he was a former open wheel driver, but had forgotten that Tony Stewart also came from open wheel. Then there are those that simply saw what amazing results he had in the past and immediately assumed they would carry over and he’d contend right away for a championship. For whatever reason one uses as to why they came up with these preconceived notions about how his career would turn out, they should also come up with a reason as to why they were wrong in doing so.

You see, it doesn’t matter if those expectations laid upon a driver are good or bad, as more often than not, the driver as well as the owner do not share those same expectations. A driver and an owner sit down and actually discuss in great deal what they think would be a set of goals to driver towards, and at no point do either of them hang expectations so far in front of the driver that it creates undue stress. A driver’s job is to simply get out there and drive, that’s it. If they win races then that is a good day, and if they don’t, then depending on their expectations that could be a very bad day. If a driver or owner has an expectation that season to win the Championship, the driver then has that thought hanging over his head the entire season and will often make ignorant mistakes as he does more than he should in playing catch up so that they aren’t left on the outside looking in. This is why very seldom will you hear a driver say that winning the Championship is a goal for that season. Now of course, they will all say that they would like to win it, and that they even have a goal of contending for it, but very rarely will you get one to admit to that being the goal for the season, as it creates a scenario of anything less becoming a season of failure and disappointment.

So next time you hear a commentator, an analyst, or even another fan start to classify a driver as a loser, a disappointment, or even a bust, stop and ask yourself where this is coming from. Question their thought process behind it, and think to yourself if this is something that has been cast upon the driver by someone that is simply doing so due to their preconceived notions about a driver, or is this something that the driver and owner would actually look at as a failed goal. You’ll often find that the latter is not the case, and that people simply cast upon others that which they often can not obtain themselves. When you hear someone be they a driver, a fan, or an analyst start to talk about how a driver will never win a championship, you can pretty much guess that they themselves have not only never won a championship, but likely never will. When you hear someone talk about how a driver who hasn’t had a chance to prove himself is a bust, you can almost guarantee that they themselves wish they were in that car.

Now this isn’t to say that analyzing a driver is wrong, or uncalled for. When someone actually looks at the whole picture and actually brings fact into the situation rather than simply running with what they think, then often times it’s a good prediction. If a driver after ten seasons hasn’t produced more than a win or two, chance are good that they’re not going to be a champion anytime soon. On the other hand, if a driver after just a season or two already has multiple top 10’s and maybe a win or two, chances are good that they indeed very well could be contending for a championship in a few short years.

It’s all a matter of perception and where that perception is based. One must have the ability to approach it with an unbiased and well thought out mentality else they will be unable to view the picture without distortion. One has to be able to set their personal feelings about a driver aside otherwise they are simply viewing them through their perception of reality instead of the actual reality itself. If one refuses to admit what everyone else has seen already, then there is no point in trying to explain things to them, as they have proven that they have the inability to be objective. Each person must decide for themselves just how objective they are being towards a driver, and just how realistic preconceived notions about a driver truly are, it’s then and only then that one can make an educated analysis of a team, a driver, a season, and a career.