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PERSONAL BEST
By LeRoi Tex Smith

When we were teenagers, these were vital words in our vocabulary. Mine’s Bigger Than Yours. Mines Better Than Yours. In one case objective, in the other subjective. In one event, what we thought, in the other, what other’s thought. And some of this was even about our cars. Eventually, we learned that neither was particularly important in world matters, especially when we discovered that there were two other words that really did matter: Personal Best.

I learned early on in sports that PB was the real goal of any effort. I might be very good at something, but there would always be someone come along who would be better. The real reward was in the trip, not in the crown!

That's the way I see it in hot rodding.

There are no hard and fast rules in this hobby/sport. No unchanging guidelines guaranteed to produce undisputed superiority of either vehicle or owner/builder. We have but one measuring stick, and that is performance. The old Put Up Or Shut Up dictum that is, often, the final law.

In racing, he who gets there first be the winner. Second place is only first loser! But that is not the case in street rodding. Or old car restoration. Or show cars, or a host of other car thingies. If hot rodding is objective, we can proclaim a number one. At least for that moment in time. But not in he overwhelming car enthusiast field. There everything is subject to interpretation, to the viewpoint of he who makes the decision.

Which is why the vast majority of automotive enthusiast activity should be accepted with a huge grain of salt. Winner of a major car show? To me, everyone who attends that gathering, as participant or spectator, is the winner. Grab the big trophy at some shindig or other? Who else but you really cares, therefore it only matters to you. Which is where the Personal Best comes in. Just making it cross-country to do a gig in Austin, or LA, or Indy may not mean a thing to most of the rodders present, but to the builder of a fresh ride, here is an accomplishment of major credit. And next time the achievement will be better, each time becoming a new personal best. All the applause in the stadium, all the chest inflation that comes with a magazine feature, all the back clapping in the world is secondary to personal knowledge of doing better and better.

This is why I try to never criticize a person's efforts in building his own vehicle. If he does his best, that is. A half-assed attempt at anything shows immediately in the result, whether it be the New York Marathon or a first time attempt at restoring a model A Ford. I do not, ever, include a Personal Best salutation to anyone who merely writes a check for a result.

It is very easy for an old hand at anything to scoff at the efforts of a fresh face. It is equally easy to dismiss as unimportant the young guy or gal who wander into a hot rod gathering in something that is obviously early in the making, or hardly of a quality with other vehicles present. It is much more difficult to consider the vehicle, and the participants in light of their credentials. Rare, indeed, is the teenager who has all the talents to create masterpieces. Rarer, still, is the mature grey hair who tuns his attention to a lifetime dream and tries to either build, or design the perfect ride. but, for them, whatever they accomplish is a personal best. That is all that matters, bucko. Put away the critique sheets and extend the hand of fellowship. That might just be your very own personal best.

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