Zachary Foster

Professor R. Arnold

Writing 1101

14 September 2015

Dear Robert,

My topic is literacy in auto racing and the steps I took to improve and expand my knowl-

edge in this area. My planning of this paper was minimal. I brainstormed a couple of experiences

I had in racing that were big influences on me during my progression as well as some sponsors of

my literacy. I began writing the introduction and wrote until the conclusion was completed, bas-

ing each paragraph from my brainstormed ideas and from previous paragraphs. In my writings, I

struggle with building a nice flow, which I try to fix by constructing new paragraphs based off

previous ones instead of creating an outline beforehand. While constructing the first draft, I

briefly explained my ideas and attempted to be concise without being wordy, but this also tends

to be a flaw in my writings.

The peer review was helpful because I was given two separate perspectives on my writ-

ing. Since I know my story, I can easily piece my ideas together, but others who only learn my

story through my writing, they can assist me with filling in the gaps. A couple of ideas recom-

mended to me was to further explain my experiences, further explain how my sponsors and other

influences inspired me, and adjust paragraphs and sentences to improve the flow. The readers

were able to point out flaws in my writing I have come accustom to, which seem normal to me

when I write.

In this paper, I revised several things my peers pointed out. I further explained some of

my personal experiences so the reader could understand more about what I was feeling and

thinking during these times. This also allows the reader to see a change in my literacy as they

compare one experience to another. Secondly, I revised details about my sponsors and influ-

ences. I added additional information establishing their credibility and what influence they had

on me during situations I mentioned in the paper. The last major revision I made was adding a

new paragraph explaining my improvement of literacy from when I began racing until now.

Also, within the paragraph is an experience explaining a new literacy that I discovered through

my racing. This paragraph sums up skills I learned, which are mentioned earlier in the paper, and

how these improved me as a driver and a person.

Becoming literate in a certain area takes time and focus. There are different levels of lit-

eracy and the level of literacy is dependent on the amount of interest in a topic someone has and

the amount of willingness one has to obtain more knowledge in that specific area. For me, how-

ever, I am at a higher level of literacy in the sport of auto racing. Racing has been a part my life

since I was born and I became interested in racing as soon as I was able to comprehend what rac-

ing was. I have increased my literacy in racing over the years by being introduced to different as-

pects of racing and people involved in the sport. Being as literate as I am today was a process,

which included me being observational, experimental, and attentive. My sponsor(s) of literary

and my personal experiences have significantly increased my interest in racing and my racing

knowledge. Experimenting in the go-kart myself as well as receiving advice from my sponsors

and peers were important to understanding the racing challenges and skills needed to be success-

ful. The process to becoming more literate was similar to stepping stones. Every piece of infor-

mation has the potential to be important at some point and the information connects to other

pieces of information. Whether the information was learned through my personal observations or

given to me by a peer or mentor, it increased my level of literacy and improved my skills on the

track.

My personal experiences of racing include being present at the variety of professional

race tracks and racing go-karts in a formal and informal manner. As I increased my literacy, I be-

came more motivated to improve my skills, physically and mentally. However, the more moti-

vated I became, the more frustration that came along with it. The physical skills that I aspired to

improve on would frustrate me, of course, since I could not get them on point. I seemed to have a

natural talent for racing and was a quick learner, normally achieving objectives in my first at-

tempt, but the goals I could not achieve, even with multiple attempts, would bring frustration and

a little bit of discouragement. For example, in go-kart racing, the tracks are similar to a road

course, which requires certain skills to maintain and/or increase speed. The angle and speed in

which one must enter and exit the turn is crucial to the amount of speed one has after exiting the

corner, which affects overall time and, more importantly, the distance between opponents. My

frustration would come from not being able to enter a turn at the correct angle at maximum

speed. Not being able to execute this combination in, not just in one single turn, but in multiple

turns equals a loss. Accuracy is vital in every race, similar to other sports. Accuracy is ultimately

the main goal and is what I have always been improving on, but failure is always present. I have

always enjoyed the challenge and knowledge that could be learned from attempting and achiev-

ing new objectives, but continuous failure becomes repetitive and frustrating after a while. A

specific time in which I failed an abundance of times was during an attempt at a new track. Even

though I had experience at other tracks, learning every detail of a new one resulted in many fail-

ures. The first practice I participated in was extremely sloppy. In every turn I slid outside of the

groove, the preferred line the racer drives, and lacked speed. The challenge to perfect a new track

is entertaining, but frustrating. Overcoming this challenge was an achievement that motivated me

to become more literate in racing, even though failures occurred often.

Along with the physical skill, the mental skills were also needed to expand my literacy.

One mental skill I have improved on is thinking. Having the ability to think ahead and anticipate

every action that will be made, while under pressure, has improved my skills. Even though I was

content with the execution side, my racing was not complete without “thinking”. I became more

literate after learning about the mental skills required to be successful in racing. Thinking ahead

and understanding the situation that I am placed in is important so that I can react accordingly.

Also, the focus and determination is required to become successful in winning races effectively

without any errors. I learned these skills through experimenting in the driver’s seat, observing

others on the track, and by acquiring advice from peers.

I have obtained more knowledge in racing from observing the professionals as well as

racing with them. One example that sticks out in my mind would be when I raced with a profes-

sional by the name of Joey Logano. I was at the intermediate stage of my literacy when I had the

opportunity to race with Joey. While racing against him, I would watch his hands, feet, and his

kart and took mental notes simultaneously. I experimented with the new information I received

and attempted to adjust his driving style to mine. Afterwards, I spoke with him and took any ad-

vice he had and, later, I utilized those tips to hopefully improve my skills. He explained extra

subtleties that could be done with the kart itself and his success he has had over the years of rac-

ing. His early years of racing related to early years of racing. The conversation was brief, how-

ever, the connection of similar racing backgrounds allowed me to connect to his advice. This in-

spired me to remain determined and continue improving on my skills. This was one experience I

had that increased my literacy in racing. During that time, I knew there was more to learn, but

did not realize what there was to improve on until observing and speaking with someone else.

Also during the time in my literacy stage, I had the opportunity to work with a short term

mentor, who was a minor sponsor of my literacy. My minor sponsor, Steven, was willing to ad-

vise me to the best of his ability. Steven, being a racer himself, was literate in everything there

was to know about the kart and racing. Meeting him through racing connected us, which led to

me asking for advice on improving my racing. I realized he had knowledge I did not, which

made him a faster driver and excellent racer during competition. My goal was to become more

literate in understanding the kart and racing with other drivers. Once we chose a track, we

walked the entire track pinpointing each individual “invisible mark” before the turn and in the

middle of the turn. The marks were where the kart needed to be in that specific turn. Afterwards,

we drove the track side by side, which was a significant learning curve for me. This taught me

the importance of where to be on the track according to my opponent and also the dangers of be-

ing in a certain spot/position on the track. This also taught me to think ahead and “know” what is

about to occur next. Anticipating an action and capitalizing on it before it even occurs is crucial

and was a skill I acquired and improved on every race. Both of these experiences were signifi-

cant to my literacy. Knowing how to maneuverer the kart as well as mentally being active were

two aspects of racing I learned from these two experiences.

My major sponsor of literacy in racing is my dad. Since he has been professionally in-

volved in the sport of racing as a mechanic, the sport was passed down to me. Racing came al-

most natural to me. I have attended the tracks with him as well as received advice from him. He

has provided me with opportunities to race and support. Since we race together on occasions, we

have been able to learn from each other. He introduced me to professionals, such as Joey, and

pushed me to participate in more formal racing competitions. As these competitions progressed

through the individual races, he provided me with tips on how to effectively advance through the

field of drivers cleanly while maintaing a high speed. His experience in the karts allowed him to

learn other subtleties, subtleties I had yet to pick up on, which he could then transmit to me.

Since he is professionally involved, I have also learned about the mechanics outside of the car.

The building and preparation of the car as well as other subtle details have been introduced to

me. I have become well-rounded in racing by learning about the details inside of the driver’s seat

and the details outside of the car. My dad is my major sponsor since he initially introduced me to

racing and has assisted me in my personal racing. My minor sponsor, Steven, of literacy was pre-

viously mentioned. I learned, from my minor sponsor, more about racing with others at different

distances and what to do in those situations. My sponsors of literacy have introduced me to dif-

ferent aspects of racing and assisted me with improving my skills.

My most recent challenge was an endurance race, a non-stop race putting one’s endurance

to the test, that last lasted nine hours in below freezing weather. My literacy of the track, kart,

and the racing of others was strong, but I came more literate about myself as a driver through this

experience. My physical and mental skills were put to the test during this arduous race. Though

the nine hours was split amongst five of us, swapping of drivers over the nine hour period, the

experience was physically and mentally demanding. Every muscle was used at some point during

each lap to maneuver the kart, the frigid air against my skin, and endurance were the physical

conflicts I had to overcome. Mentally, I had to overcome: the temptation of quitting my racing

segments because of the physical conflicts, the possibility of losing focus in each and every turn

on every lap, “forgetting” my execution of my feet, hands, and kart, and lastly maintaining my

thinking skill and being patient. I knew I could execute the motions consistently and accurately,

especially during short races, but during longer races, I had to remain focused and motivated to

accurately hit every mark and not to reduce my speed. My expanding of my racing literacy was

not the goal during this experience, but my literacy of being a driver was the priority. Racing is

not only a hobby, but also a learning experience, teaching me more about myself.

My racing hobby is a sport I have become literate in. Each year has been stepping stones

and has lead to where I am today. Personally experimenting in the kart and observing others

were ways of learning I could do myself. Most of the driving knowledge is self taught through

personal experiences. However, listening to others for advice was important because I was given

a different perspective on how to achieve the same goal, either more efficiently or with the same

amount effort. Knowing multiple ways to achieve the same goal may be needed if a new situa-

tion arises. Without any sponsors, my literacy would not be as strong as it is today. My dad intro-

ducing me to racing and getting me started sparked my interest and motivated me to become

more skillful and knowledgable. He has also provided me opportunities to allow myself to be-

come more literate in racing. My other sponsor introduced me to subtleties on the track and

taught me how to apply them to different situations, whether it be on the track or in the outside

world. My literacy continues to expand and there is always more room for improvement and

more knowledge.