Just about every extremely successful person can point to at least one key moment in their journey to success: a chance meeting, a pivotal mentor, or an unexpected opportunity that years of effort and talent and sacrifice prepared them to seize and take full advantage of… but without which, the level of success they achieve might never occurred.
Usually that moment takes place quietly and out of the spotlight. In fact, oftentimes they don’t even realize the moment’s importance until months or even years later.
And sometimes it happens in front of millions of people, and that person is totally aware of just how cool it is.
On Sunday, Ross Chastain ran his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. Normally he drives in the Xfinity Series, one step (although a huge step) down from the highest level of the sport.
How did he end up in a Cup car?
The Delaware Office of Highway Safety runs a “Protect Your Melon, Buckle Up DE” campaign to raise awareness of the importance of wearing seat belts. To further that initiative they sought to sponsor a car in the race. Since Ross has long been affiliated with the National Watermelon Promotion Board — he grew up on his family’s Florida watermelon farm — and his Xfinity car often sports a watermelon-themed paint scheme, “protect your melon” made for a natural fit.
And as sometimes happens in a sport where talent is important but funding is everything, a one-race deal with Premium Motorsports put Ross in a Cup car.
And a good thing happened to a good guy.
I went to Dover in part hoping to wish Ross well. He’s a great interview, he helped me go faster in a go-kart, he once convinced me to ride along with him on the bed of a truck during a driver introduction parade at Bristol Motor Speedway…
Granted I don’t know Ross well, but I was still happy for him. Here’s a guy whose first race was in a truck his dad borrowed from a friend, a truck that had been sitting outside for so long that during the race stray pine needles blew around inside. Now he was about to do what countless people only dream of: drive, in a Cup race, against champions like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick….
“Look at you, running on Sunday,” I said when I saw him in the garage area a couple of hours before the race. “How cool is this?”
He shook my hand and smiled. “Hey, we’re going to the drivers’ meeting,” he said, introducing me to his crew chief. “Why don’t you come with us?”
“I don’t have a pass for that,” I said. “And I don’t want to embarrass you guys when they turn me away.”
“Nah,” he said. “Who cares? Besides. You’re with us.”
Why not? I thought. I’m always up for doing something I’m not supposed to do.
On the way we talked about adjusting to a car that is heavier, faster, and tougher to drive. (Generally speaking, the faster a car potentially is, the harder it is to drive for mere mortals. While I’m exaggerating to some degree, you and I could probably go faster around a short- or medium-size track driving our street cars than driving a Cup-level car; without experience and exceptional talent, a race car is nearly unmanageable.) We talked about all the sponsor-related events he had attended over the past few days, a non-stop slate of appearances.
We talked about his goals for the race. “One, finish the race. That’s the big thing. And then,” he laughed, “stay off TV for all the wrong reasons.”
In the meantime we passed through several security checkpoints. No one gave me a second glance; for all they knew I was Ross’s PR guy.
So I decided to play the part: as he worked his way down the red carpet outside the entrance to the drivers’ meeting, signing autographs for the crowd pressed against the rail, I lingered a few few away, chatting with a few of the Monster Energy ladies (if you ever want to be invisible, stand beside one of them and I promise no one will see you) and pretending I belonged.
“I told you we’d make it,” he said as walked inside.
And that, in a nutshell, is the thing about Ross.
Here he was, on his way to his first Cup-level drivers’ meeting. Here he was, about to race in front of tens of thousands of people in attendance and millions watching on TV. Here he was, about to fulfill a lifelong dream.
In fact, after just a few hours of practice in a Cup car, he was about to avoid a number of accidents, stay off of TV for all the wrong reasons, and not just finish the race but actually seize the opportunity and finish in 20th place, handing the Premium Motorsports team its best result this year.
And yet, on a day he woke up at 4.30 because he was nervous and excited, on a day that was not necessarily an audition but definitely a chance to make an impression, here he was just as worried about doing something nice for someone he hardly knows — because he’s genuinely nice guy.
Sometimes, good things really do happen to good people. When you find yourself on the downside of advantage, remember that. When you’re wondering if you will ever get the one break you need, remember that.
And never forget that perseverance, determination, and hard work will prepare you to seize your opportunity when it does come — because while you can’t control when an opportunity may present itself, you can control whether or not you’re ready.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.