Trading Memories
“I missed 52 days of high school during my senior year. Days that I'll never get back. You hope that those things you miss out on are worth it, but those days where you work night after night and miss your birthdays, hanging out with your loved ones, important life milestones. Days when you go to an event, absolutely suck and lose every race. There've been many times I've looked back like, ‘Is this worth it?’ ‘Why am I doing this?’ But you need to believe in the trust and the process.”
It's not just RJ that's sacrificed, it's also what his team has missed out on— One year, one of RJ's main mechanics attended one of the races, and his expectant wife delivered their baby early. He ended up missing the birth of his child while at the race.
“It's those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, you know, some things never happen again. And we all go through things. Everyone sees that life's so good because social media paints such a good picture. That everyone's life is so perfect, but everyone has had something they missed.”