[Bluteam]

TJ Hartman - the T stands for Tyler. His mom wanted a TJ, but stated that one Ted in this world was enough for everybody. What did she mean by that? In part 3 we unveil that Tyler J Hartman has some unique personality traits. He has not, does not, and will not ever, eat cake. Not even for his own birthday. He doesn't like it. We're not sure how he would know that, as he has never tried it - cake that is. He prefers "cupcakes". He says they're different. He insists they're not "cake", and he is perfectly content to go without "cake" on his birthdays so others can enjoy the tradition of cake and ice cream.

Who can hit the softest? TJ. He ALWAYS wins too. "Because that's what you're supposed to do". Doesn't even matter who goes first, he'll win. How could anybody be so silly as to TRY and hit hard in the game who can hit the softest? It's an easy win, and one that he still celebrates each victory. Oh, he has tried to lose, but his conscience always gets the best of him the minute he sees someone celebrate their victory, and he instantly demands a rematch. The jury is still out on whether or not TJ is really that competitive, or just that nice of a kid.

He has shown indications of both. For those who don't yet know him very well, he is hard to read. Always appearing calm and relaxed, it is hard to figure out if he is ever excited or nervous. Although his quiet demeanor dominates his personality, he has always risen to any challenge. Just before he is pushed off, I use the same words to encourage him every time. Do what you know how to do. Have fun.

He could never imagine eating cake or hitting someone hard. He would also never allow anyone to convince him that cupcakes are really cake, and to win at who can hit the softest actually requires him to hit hard. Believe me, we've tried to convince him. He won't have any of it. He knows what is right, and he also knows what he wants. The only thing about TJ that has changed since the first day he climbed in a race car, is the size of the clothes that he wears. Oh, and his hair is longer (his mother likes it that way). But the attitude, the fortitude, the dedication, and the smile, are all exactly as they were a little more than ten years ago now. One would think I would have known all of that after all this time.

Follow along as we discover the importance of consistency and planning in TJ's life. We also come to the realization that this skinny freckled face kid with glasses isn't so easily manipulated.

Here are his thoughts - enjoy.

CA: With the no cake rule in effect, what are your plans for wedding day?

TJ: (laughing) A whole bunch of cupcakes! I don't plan on getting married anytime soon though. Maybe when I'm 20 something. Probably 10 years or so.


CA: OK - back to the important stuff then. You live in the same house, sleep in the same room, comb your hair in the same mirror, and look out the same windows at the same trees, as the day we brought you home from the hospital. What does that tell you? What does that mean to you?

TJ: It tells me that we didn't move back to Indiana! (laughing) But I think it was better that we don't move around a whole bunch like other people do. It's good to know your surroundings, so you don't have to worry about something new all the time.

CA: So for a kid who values consistency in his life, why the infatuation with racing where you need to constantly adjust to different surroundings?

TJ: Because I like seeing new tracks, and meeting new people, but I like to go home. (giggling) I'm not sure what it is about racing. I tried some other sports, like basketball and baseball, but it wasn't the same. Racing is just more fun, and they never passed me the ball anyway, so ...(laughing)

CA: This past year you got a small dose of racing with a wing and without. Explain how, and why this plan came about.

TJ: There wasn't even a plan to really race, just to get the cars ready for the 2008 season. We ended up with the wing car being basically ready, and our friend said he would let us use his motor, so we decided to schedule a few races. We decided we should try a few races away from my home track, just so I could feel more comfortable without any distractions. We went to Madras to run with the wing, and it was easy for me to focus on the driving. We came home and finished the other car, because I wanted to try a few races without the wing. We found out I couldn't run with the Oregon group because of my age, so we called some people in California and they said to come down. That was a big step for me.


CA: Now that you have made the jump straight from quarter midgets into sprint cars, what are your thoughts on this? Should you have tried an intermediate step, like mini-sprints, or something else?

TJ: We could have tried mini-sprints, but there wasn't a track close to us that would work. Deming races on Friday, and that wouldn't work. I think the quarter midgets were really challenging, because of the fast lap times that we go. Your reaction time has to be really fast in quarter midgets, and I think that helped me get in the sprint car.


CA: Nine years in quarter midgets, hundreds of races, tires that are old and hard, incompetent crew chief, and maybe five spinout's total on your own. Four races in a sprint car, four spins. Comments?

TJ: (sheepish grin) (long pause with a giggle) Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough in the quarter midgets? The reason I kept spinning in the sprint car is because of the brakes. We don't use those in the quarter midget very much, and that was something new for me to learn.

CA: We see you coming down the back stretch heading straight at us. I know what I'm thinking because I can taste it in my mouth as I'm curled over. What is going through your mind?

TJ: Well I'm not looking at you! (laughing) I'm thinking about making sure I hit my marks so I don't mess up. There is a lot more time to think about it in the sprint car than the quarter midget and I know I'm going a lot faster but the track is so much bigger, it's just something I have to get used to.

CA: When I was in school, I would have been horrified to have my teacher or school principal interested in my extra curricular activities. It just wasn't cool. You're different. Can you explain that?

TJ: Well I told my friends about racing, and then everyone ended up knowing about it - including the teachers and my principal. A teacher, who I never had a class with, heard about me and told one of my friends to come in and see her, because she wanted to talk about racing. She even knew what sprint cars are! That made it easy to talk about it. It makes me feel good that they're interested in racing. My grade school principal and a teacher even came down to watch a quarter midget race. That was surprising, but it was cool.

CA: Describe yourself off the track.

TJ: I'm kind of quiet. I like watching Spongebob. I like school, and talking with friends. Math is my favorite subject because it's challenging. I take an advanced class. I don't have to have things even, like you dad! (laughing) I'm beginning to enjoy talking with people who I don't know. I never used to be like that, so it's kind of interesting.


CA: Do you think you're a different person once you put the helmet on?

TJ: No. Off the track I treat people and act the same as when I'm on the track. I just try to stay calm all the time. That way I won't make mistakes - at least I try not to.

CA: Describe your style of driving.

TJ: I take things slow and work my way to the point I'm comfortable. I don't throw the car around - I just try to be smooth. (laughing) Sometimes that hard to do on a rough track.

CA: Is there anything about racing that stands out in your mind where you find yourself amazed, or maybe hesitant about? Or do you simply envision yourself with the capability to do whatever it is that you're seeing?

TJ: Every time we've watched a sprint car race, you always ask me if I could do that, and I say yes. I just feel confident. We were at Eldora one year and I walked down to the fence and the track was straight down. When I saw the cars going around the track I said "I can do that".

CA: This leads me into something that only you and I, and a few people close to us know about, but I want you to talk about it now. We asked you to write out some goals and ambitions following your last race this year. In that, one of the things we asked was for you to state your desires on where you would like to race. One of the places you listed was Indiana. Having been there in the quarter midgets, and knowing the significance of open wheel racing back there, it is easily understandable that this would be on your list. When your mother and I sat down and talked about this, we came to a decision that we would uproot and move back there. Then you turned it down. My question to you is - why?

TJ: I actually meant I wanted to be there in a couple of years. I know I'm not ready for that yet. This is just my first year of racing, so I want to make sure that when I do go back there I'm ready. I always wanted to race at Elma. That's where I raced quarter midgets, and that's where I met a lot of friends at the big track. I don't like to take big steps, and I think going to Indiana would be a really big step right now.

CA: Do you have a set goal to achieve before you make that move, or is it something you'll know when you feel it?

TJ: No, it's just something I'll know when I get there. When I'm ready, I'll go.

CA: OK, so tie this into TJ Hartman - the kid who gets a tummy ache when they change the lunch room around.

TJ: (giggling) I don't like big changes, and I'm mostly over that lunch room thing now. I don't know why they wouldn't let us sit wherever we want.

CA: I heard a young driver make a statement in his interview that the particular race he was at that weekend was the first time he was racing without his dad present. His dad was at home and couldn't make the trip. This got me thinking about you and I. Can you foresee a time when I'm not there to offer my awe inspiring wisdom in person?

TJ: (laughing) I'm not sure because that's never happened yet. But there's gonna be a time when you don't have to be there dad. But I'm not gonna fire you.

CA: The Federal Government outlaws peanut butter. What do you do?

TJ: I guess I would become an outlaw. I'm not giving up my peanut butter - or jelly.

CA: Your sister brings home a boyfriend. What do you do?

TJ: I keep a close eye on him, like go on their dates with them and stuff (laughing), and I guess if he's OK, then I ask him to scrape some mud.

CA: You can't do both. Knoxville Nationals or the Oval Nationals?

TJ: Well, Knoxville I guess because its first. Then I find a ride for the Oval Nationals!


CA: The Front Row Challenge. Do you take it?

TJ: Ya!

CA: Where is TJ Hartman headed in his life?

TJ: Wherever there is racing. I do want to go to college. I want to race some non-wing, and then just see how far it goes.

CA: Describe any obstacles that you think will stand in your way of achieving your goals and dreams.

TJ: We had to write about this in school, and I didn't think there was any obstacles that would get in my way, so that's what I put.

CA: If you can't be TJ Hartman, who would you be and why?

TJ: I wouldn't want to be anybody else. I'm happy with the way I am.

CA: What could I do as a parent to discourage you from racing?

TJ: I guess if you weren't interested in it. It wouldn't be the same if you weren't there to help. I guess I better not fire you huh? (laughing)

CA: Give us one thing that you do not like about racing.

TJ: The people who don't make it fun. Everything else I like.

CA: Give me the one question you want to be asked.

TJ: (smile) Just any question about what is fun in racing.

CA: Aside from the things you have learned in and about the car, give us the one thing that racing has taught you that you think will stay with you for the rest of your life.

TJ: Well, it would be what you said that we have lots of time to be an adult. I guess I realized that after I drove the sprint car and now I'm not a kid anymore. But I still like Spongebob.

CA: Send a message. What do you want the world to know about TJ Hartman's innermost thoughts, dreams, ambitions, etc.

TJ: That I know I can accomplish anything that I want to.

CA: Blondes, redheads, or brunettes?

TJ: Blondes, but not right now.

CA: Describe a day in TJ's life.

TJ: Well, on the weekends I get up at noon because Spongebob's on at 12:30! (laughing) I wake up and get some Cocoa Krispies and wrap myself in my blanket. Then I put on my boots and get the pressure washer going to wash my dads truck. After that I ask mom for a PB & J. Sometimes two of them. The trailer is already loaded, so we head for the track and get signed in, find our pit stall, unload the car, and get everything ready to go. I go out for hot laps, and come back in and tell my dad not to touch it!

That is my son - my friend. CA.

I could go on forever with TJ, but you would be sick of just another dad writing about his son. The fact is, he is a genuine kid who knows exactly what he wants, and how he wants to get there. I proudly say he gets that from me - when I was younger. Thankfully, he is smarter than I was at his age. He is making better choices, that are conducive to longevity in his life. TJ may not realize or want to admit it just yet, but having things symmetrical in his life is an inherited trait that we share. He thrives on consistency, things remaining the same. He needs, and knows his own level of comfort. But he is not afraid to challenge himself, be it in a race car, or undertaking a harder math course in school, because he also knows what he wants, and what it is going to take to achieve his desires. Nobody knows how to get there better than TJ himself.

What we are talking about is a kid whose right arm is literally bent from driving a race car. It was never broken, it just formed that way. Much like a river that will eventually cut it's own path, TJ's life and body form has taken on a course that could never have been planned. I just wanted to avoid motorcycles. That was my plan. I was just winging the rest of it. Who would have guessed it would morph into TJ teaching me about the lessons in life.

I want to thank TJ for keeping me on track. For the past ten years you have continually amazed me with your talent, your attitude, and most important, your ability to encompass what is right, and what is wrong. You made it fun, and I know we'll never have to worry about you keeping it that way.

I still do not know who described TJ that day as "the skinny freckled face kid with glasses." But I do know one thing. That person could foresee the future course of this river. I wonder if they envisioned the fun part. For the record, TJ always looks to his left - the logical side. Well, except for the time he needed to figure out how to get his next PB & J. That time he looked to his right.

Some things in life are worth getting creative for.


:greenflag: :checkered:
Green to Checkers,

Ted Hartman

Part 1 http://www.nwracechat.com/view_topic...36&forum_id=59

Part 2 http://www.nwracechat.com/view_topic...65&forum_id=59