When you meet other car/track guys do they assume...

[ScottyB]

Do you guys get that sometimes?

definitely, and its REALLY easy to figure out the hardcore enthusisasts when i get into rallycross talk. they're either like "whoa i've heard of that, i like/don't like dirt driving etc etc" OR "WTF, is that like some kind of playstation Colin McRae thing, and have I rolled my car yet or caught it on fire?" its a good way to figure out how much you need to ease into the conversation sometimes.

i think what you experience has a lot to do with their own past issues in just talking to other Joe Car Guys about "racing", which leads to trying to get those guys to understand what actual track days are for those of us where its typically HPDE/TT/Instructing. most average guys we meet at work that read about fast things in Men's Journal whilst taking a shit and plunk down big car payments for shiny horsepower contraptions have a really blurry/unrealistic idea of what racing or performance driving entails, and after you work around enough of those guys its probably just an automatic safety mechanism to go Full Leeroy right into an in-depth synopsis right off the bat before things get even more confusing. if he didn't know you super well, i could see that happening.

it IS fun though when you finally do cross that line in the conversation and they realize that you actually know your shit. all the sudden the sky opens and the full geek out can commence.