ENDURING RACING FOR A RACE-CAR DRIVER, THE GREATEST PROFESSIONAL FEAT IS PERSEVERING LONG ENOUGH TO CALL IT A PROFESSION.

A COMMON SENTIMENT IN MOTORSPORT IS THAT A DRIVER NEEDS TO BE 80 PERCENT BUSINESSPERSON AND 20 PERCENT RACER. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE, YOU REALIZE IT'S TRUE.

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WHEN YOU HEAR the word endurance in a motorsport context, it's natural for your mind to default to the world of endurance racing. Grueling six-, 12-, and 24-hour contests challenge drivers, cars, and teams in sometimes impossible ways, pushing human beings right up to—and occasionally past—their breaking point. The ebb-and-flow battle of exhaustion versus adrenaline persists until the flag falls. Those races are often roller coasters of emotion, where fortunes can change hour to hour, lap to lap. You need a steely resolve to keep it on track and continue pressing forward when you hit the valleys between the peaks.

In a lot of ways, an endurance race is a microcosm of the years-long journey most drivers face as they navigate a career in motorsport. Drivers start their career like they do a 24-hour race, full of hope and optimism. Anything can happen. You can win. You will win. Invariably, there are ups and downs along the way, but you can’t let the bad moments kill your desire to win.

Here's how it looks:

You start strong, with a solid career in karting, winning regional and national championships. You garner some attention in the industry as an up-and-comer. Maybe you earn your first test in a race car.

Good first stint. Long way to go.

That initial season in cars goes well enough, but without enough money to run with the best team and do all the available test days, it’s tough to compete for wins regularly. You show promise, but your shine has worn off a little. You’re not fighting for wins every week as you used to. Your confidence gets shaken.

A bad pit stop. You’ve lost some momentum.

You're down a lap, but it’s nothing you can’t bounce back from.