Pursuing The Checkered Flag and The American Dream

The pursuit of the American Dream isn’t meant to be easy. An essential element to all stories about this figurative dream are tales of triumph over adversity, and turning what was nothing into something.

Tales of the American Dream are varied and can be found within any community across the nation. One place where the dream manifests itself vividly is on the auto racetrack where the pursuit of speed and the checkered flag continually test a person’s ability to stare defeat in the face, and emerge victorious.

For 10 years, Menomonee Falls resident David McCardle has weathered the ups and downs of running a racing team, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Although budgets are tight, the financial and emotional investment is heavy, and the potential for an expensive wreck looms literally around every corner — McCardle knows he’s living the American Dream.

“There’s not a lot of people that could afford to race or have the support to do it,” McCardle said. “Financially times are tough now and just to be able to do this — yeah, I’m living a dream. How many people in their lives get to race a car like this?”

In his 10 seasons racing the quarter-mile track at the Slinger Super Speedway, McCardle, his family, and his team may not have faced a year with more adversity — as well as success — than in 2011. The season, in a way, is a microcosm of what inspires others to achieve greatness and may be a clue to lifting this nation out of a recession.

Cruising over speed bumps

Before the season even started, McCardle found himself facing a huge obstacle to getting back on the track. He underwent knee surgery in December, and doctors told him he wasn’t going to race until at least July.

McCardle underwent a strenuous rehabilitation regimen three or four days a week. But with a true racer’s mentality, McCardle was determined to heal his knee as fast as possible, and defy what doctors had told him.

“It was a very difficult surgery to go through, and the rehab on a knee injury like that was awful,” McCardle said. “There was nothing fun about it.”

In just five months, McCardle recovered from his surgery. He was back on the track in May, a month sooner than expected. In a sense, he took the pole position for knee surgery recovery.

Recovering from a knee injury and getting back on the track was just half the battle toward pursuing a crown in the Late Model Championship Series at the Slinger Speedway. McCardle, second in overall points, notched his first feature event victory on July 31.

It was a race he wasn’t even supposed to drive in — let alone win.

Just a week prior, McCardle was involved in the worst wreck of his career. As he was driving down the backstretch at Slinger, he was fishtailed by a driver behind him and his car careened head-on into the wall. The car was a complete wreck. The team hit rock bottom.

“I had never hit anything that hard in my entire life,” McCardle said.

The wreck required his team to “knock the stub off the car," which basically means they had to remove the entire front end and completely rebuild it. For many teams, a wreck like this surely sidelines them for a few weeks if not the entire season. That evening, stiff and sore from the wreck, McCardle figured the year was over.

“As of that Sunday night, I wasn’t going to fix the car. It was too much money, and I didn’t think we’d be able to get it race ready,” McCardle said.

But on Tuesday, that all changed. McCardle as his team rolled up their sleeves and began working on the car — and didn’t stop. Typically, a team will put in about 20 hours of work on the car in a typical week. In five days, McCardle and his team invested $4,000 and 120 hours of labor to completely rebuild the front end of the racecar.

And by the way, McCardle also works full-time with his family’s car repair business. The week was filled with frustration, sleepless nights and financial investment. No doubt, it was emotionally trying for both himself, his family and his teammates.

“We got the whole team together and everyone pitched in to put the car back together,” McCardle said.

After that superhuman effort, the team was actually ready to race just one week after a devastating crash. McCardle qualified to start in third position for the July 31 feature race. He had a fast car that day, and there was a little magic in the air.

Once the feature race started, McCardle jumped out to a lead which he would never relinquish. With about eight laps remaining, McCardle realized he might actually win the race. When he crossed the finish line with the checkered flag waving at him, the emotions flooded through him and he couldn’t even speak over the radio.

“It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever been a part of,” McCardle said. “There aren’t a lot of times in your life when you can do something like that. Where you have such a tragic thing happen, and you come right back and win it all.”

Adopting the race team mentality

There’s no doubt that citizens across the country have been well informed of the economic struggles the nation is enduring. Everyone, in some way or another, has tightened their belts or changed their lifestyle to weather the economic storm.

Local, small-budget racing teams are also feeling the economic pinch as sponsorships dry up and funds dwindle. However, it doesn’t stop racing teams from pursuing faster speeds and the checkered flag. And in this universal recession, it might be prudent to adopt the mentality of a race team to overcome the difficult circumstances in which many find themselves.

First and foremost, although McCardle is the man that raises the checkered flag at the end of the race, the credit belongs to the dozens of team members and family members that make it possible.

During the team’s 120-hour repair marathon, family and team members all pitched in to build a winner. McCardle’s mother recalls running to Illinois for parts. His team members, all volunteers, were there with McCardle nearly every minute putting the car together.

“To me, racing is like a real-life soap opera. There’s always something going on, and everyone needs to pitch in to help out,” said Kelli McCardle, David's mother.

But the pitching-in mentality expands beyond individual teams. The past few years have been difficult for every team to generate sponsorship money, and in turn, they’ve come together to help each other out. The number of cars racing each week is lower, and attendance has dropped.

“Sponsorships aren’t out there like they used to be, and we’ve worked harder than ever to find sponsors for this year,” McCardle said. “The recession has definitely put a damper on that aspect of the sport, and it makes it very difficult to make sure the car is running the best it can.”

Unlike many other sports, where teams duke it out without concern for the success of the other team, McCardle said opposing teams will offer expertise and other assistance to teams in need.

“Racing is a different community,” McCardle said. “We are competitive with each other, but at the same time we want to help each other out. We don’t mind helping someone who has fallen on tough times, because you want to ensure you always race against the best.”

In a time when it seems partisanship has dominated every level of the debate on how to repair the nation’s economy, maybe racing teams have the right idea for success. Each person helps in their own way to make the “team” a little better, assisting the “opposing” side to ensure everyone runs a successful race and crosses the finish line.