Slow Emotion

At the Walton Derby, the moment means more than winning

A A A Comments By Silke Tudor Wednesday, Mar 19 2003

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When asked what went wrong, Kirk Roberts chuckles.

"I think the announcer's repeated mispronunciation of the name really hurt the car's chances," says Roberts with an almost serious face. "The first four or five heats it was OK, but finally just broke his spirit down.

Paul Trapani

On this track, the slowest racer wins.

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"In all seriousness, I think this was a great event, and he could really make this a huge event if he advertised."

To the question of profit, Lee Walton shrugs. "It's not about that -- admission was free, registration was the price of the car, less than a beer. It's about having everyone's eyes glued to the finish line as a car inches forward. It's about that moment when I could look up and see that little, irrelevant line meant everything in the world to all these people. The cars will now sit in the gallery for a week, but [they] will be cut up because the value is not in the cars, it's in the moment."

I smile, happy to know my little Caterpillar is nestled away in that rubbish heap.

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