Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A little bit of history:

Well........ here we go, another blog to add to your list. I wanted to use this as a way to keep a log of our racing activity so that anybody interested could view as they pleased.
Recently it occurred to me that motor sports of some sort is the only real hobby i have ever known, or maybe not, but I have no real memories of anything else. I believe something similar could be said for my Dad and Grandfather, at least since I have been alive...... hence the sub-title of the blog...."Going down the only road we've ever known"

For clarification, McCombs Racing is nothing new. I would say that it started long before I was born, and it encompasses the motorsports related activities that started with my Grandfather Doug McCombs, past to his children (mainly my father Mike), and now to the present. I am not the best person to give the history, so i will not attempt to give decades of background now, but as time goes on (with a little help) I will try to post what I can from the past tractor pulling, drag racing, hot rod, and bonneville ventures. For now i will just pick up at the current state of the racing.

I think it is important to note there is nothing mainstream about McCombs Racing. Historically it has never been 'over funded' in comparison to the competition, generally not comprised of all "off the shelf" purchased technology, but somehow competitive, based on ingenuity and overactive dreaming turned to reality. This is how i recall it, my best guess is that this is partly because the funds did not always exist, and partly for the challenge of doing more with less............ there is some genetic mutation in the McCombs family that inhibits mainstream thinking, and avoids the ease and convenience of buying parts off the shelf and bolting them together. Maybe it's the satisfaction when someone tells you "that will not work, thats not how its done" and when the rubber meets the road, it does work, and even better than the status quo. Or maybe its the look on someones face when they come lurking around your ride, trying to figure out what the heck that thing is, but to prideful to ask..... whatever the cause, it's just the way it is, we just have to work with it.

Doug McCombs is no longer with us, but there are a few things that each person leaves behind when they move on. For me, he left the legacy of higher level thinking, doing more with less, overcoming the seemingly unsurmountable obstacles, and enduring to the end. I have a long way to go, but I feel it is a legacy worthy of passing on, and at this point, nobody under the McCombs Family umbrella has shown an interest in passing the torch, so i figure it is my chance to give it a shot with my family and attempt to pass the torch that was passed to me by my father and grandfather..... my best attempt at McCombs Racing.