This wrinkled face has felt the sweat from many chases,
I had once been at the top of the heap in winning races.
Now I’m much too old of a man to sit in someone’s hot rod-
But I wish I could still feel those front tires cuttin’ sod.
I’ll not go on ‘bout how much I did or who I once knew;
You, young man, will figure this out on your own to.
You seem like the hot shoe, all dressed up in black and red,
But I could tell you ‘bout racin’ without a helmet on my head.
I want to help ya boy, I’m real tired of just being a fan-
But young lad, I don’t want it wasted on a flash in the pan!
Tell me boy if your serious, if your for real, I wanna know,
I can get you to the front, if this chance you’ll not blow.
My years have been spent and I have not much left to give-
My knowledge I have to lend, but not much longer I’ve to live.
I have watched you from the stands, you run a really good line,
I want to make you the champ, then your win will also be mine.
So how ‘bout it, is it a deal, will you let this old man have a thrill?
Give me a month, give me two, a championship will cover the bill;
I am ready, times a wastin’, I’ll bring the scales and you the desire,
I’ll have you freed up, wound up, and setting the field on fire.
Well old man, thank ya for your thoughts, yea I’m a young buck,
I know my way ‘round the track, but some say it’s a lot of luck.
I’ve won a time or two and I got a lot of ‘em left in me-
With a car that's good, a motor that's strong, a championship I see!
If you think the winner's circle is what your skill will bring me,
Then old man, by all means, to the checkers your setup will be!
Don’t you worry about my desire or my black and red drivin' suit-
There both gonna fit well when we’re winning in that 3200lb brute.
Well then boy, let’s get started, we gotta ways to go before we’re ready-
Gather your crew and your tools, we’re gonna make this car fast and steady.
We’ll start with the chassis, then on to the motor, leaving the driver for last-
That last part is the tough one, but it’s the one that will make you go fast!
Here's a little speed secret, something you never did know-
With the spindle like that, that right front’s gonna really grow.
And changing the angle on the pinion - more torque will surely follow,
I'll tell ya this as well, some speed will come if that part is hollow!
Old man, you worry me, we ain’t never set one up like this,
This car’s gonna be all wrong and the handling will be a'miss!
And what’s that your doing right there on that centerlink?
I am certain that to drive this car will have me on the brink.
I know what I’m doing lad, your rais'n too much heck;
Maybe your suit needs pressin’, you’d better go and check.
I’m gonna twist and tweek this crate like no one's ever seen;
Back on the track, you’d better be on the wheel of this machine.
Ok, Ok, old man, now am I ready to terrorize the front five?
I’ve watched us work for a month now and listened to the jive.
We’ve tweaked, twisted, polished, and adjusted anything that moves,
Surely this car of mine is ready to run in the groove!
Alright my boy, you need to listen up and listen real good-
You are the most important part, all the tweakin' stops at the hood.
You gotta see the race from a whole new perspective and view,
This car’s gonna get you there, but finding the holes are up to you.
Race with your whole head and not with your whole heart;
Think your way through the turns, and the traffic will begin to part.
You'd better never drive that car from just ahead of the front bumper;
You had better be way up front, planning your next race stumper!
Now my boy, I’ve told you all, from the springs to the shocks,
To the bumpsteer and the Ackerman, I’ve got you through the roadblocks.
I’ve told you how to drive and the front five now you can find-
Now go out there and race that car, and give me some peace of mind!
That was the year that me and the old man laid the field to waste,
We saw top fives and victorys in just about every single race.
The old man was as no one had ever seen him before;
Bright eyed and ready to race, he was always lookin’ for more.
I’ve moved on from that little track, so many years ago;
I was a nobody then, but now I’m a real racin’ hero.
The fans out there think that it’s all me drivin' that race car-
But I know better, as the old man still speaks to me from afar.
I can still hear his words as through the traffic I dart-
“Race with your whole head and not with your whole heart”!
I have discovered over the course of my many racin’ years,
No truer words have been spoken, and they still bring tears.
I miss the old man, his life really made a difference in me;
Funny thing, now when I look in the mirror, it's the old man I see.
Soon I will be lookin’ for that young buck to take under my wing,
Then he will hear me say, “peace of mind to me bring!”