Having a healthy relationship with family when pursuing a career as a successful NASCAR driver is not an easy task. The race tracks are filled with stories of failed marriages and tragedies that were the result of the imbalance between personal and professional life. This is probably what led 22-year-old Rajah Caruth to pose Landon Cassill a question about work-life balance, on The Athletic.
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The Craftsman Truck Series regular asked him how getting married and having children affected his racing style on the track. He’d also wanted to know how being a family man impacted his preparations off the track.
Cassill, a father of four, responded by clearing that creating a family has not affected his decision-making or the level of risks that he takes. But, he said, what it does affect is the amount of time that he has.
Maintaining a high level of professionalism while fulfilling one’s duties to his family is the challenge. He added, “That doesn’t mean nobody should have families.”
“I have a pretty big family of kids and I love it, but as you grow older and you add to your responsibilities, you have to button yourself up when it comes to your organization. For the (22)-year-olds like Rajah, he might as well start doing it now,” he added.
So, how did he manage to do it? The 35-year-old explained that he had the habit of playing a tonne of video games during his downtime before getting married. When he did, he simply used that time to satisfy other obligations.
He consciously pushed himself to not sacrifice his training period since he was well aware of the added responsibilities that he had asked for better performances on the track.
Cup Series veteran Joey Logano on work-life balance in NASCAR
Logano is one of the drivers who has been in the sport for a long time and mastered the art of balancing the game with the demands of a happy personal life. How he has managed this is by having strict rules for himself. For instance, he doesn’t take any work calls when he is at home spending time with his wife and kids.
He stated the necessity for this back in August, “If you’re going to do this for a long time, you have to find balance to do it correctly. If you’re going to give 100 percent to your job, you have to give 100 percent at home, too, because if things aren’t right at home, you’re probably not going to be at your best at your job, either.”
Racing cars full-time might seem like a dream job on the outside. But like any other profession, it comes with its set of issues. The admissions of these drivers reflect that it is not everyone’s cup of tea.
