I think theres a few points not hit on here that are significant-and a few I'd like to say-yeah-your right. One for sure is that young kids today play a lot of video games. Even young guns in F1 and NASCAR are known to learn tracks on video game counsels long before they run on them in real life. Montoya comes to mind in his first year in F1. I just turned 39 on Saturday and I have actually started playing racing games on my newly acquired Xbox (first time in 5 or 6 years I bet). Why? Well I loved racing sims back in the day anyways-but I also see it as a siginifcanty beneficial tool for racing. Works for 13 yr olds!! Hand eye coordination and More significant-learn to control something you are NOT hadrwired to in nay way. I raced karts for a long time-I held the steering wheel and the gas and brake pedals were a thin piece of leather away from my skin!!! Video games teach you to trust what you can only see!!!
I sadly cannot blame my eyes yet. In fact my eyesight was just chcked and it was awfully darn good. 20/40 I think?
SO-whats my excuse for taking 6-years to start achieving some small degree of success? I am not 100% sure. I know I have maturity (youll never see my slam my radio down, kick my car, throw tires across the room), a lifetime of racing and wrenching on cars and karts and a true LOVE for motorsports. Those sort of things make it easier to understand what makes a RC racing car go and why it wont. But-it seems I have no gift for it. Any gains on the track and on the stop watch are brought upon by pure desire and determination (OK-and a adequate racing budget and good equipment).
Maybe-what you dont see are how many young immature racers just give up!!! WHile you see guys like myself who hit the same walls as younger guys-stay in it. Keep pounding away and hoping to achive some degree of success. Much as others have previousely stated.
Now my next challenge-run Modified. Again-no natural talent for it. I will apply the same principles as before.
I look on the brighter side of things always!! SO I figure-I race against some guys 10 years younger who have raced 10 years longer than me!!! I might be pretty fast when I am 49!!!