Craig Lowndes and Mark Fogarty - The Inside Line: The High-Speed World of a V8 Supercar Legend Driver

Welcome to my world.

Those four words sum up this book, which is my debut as an author. Like any rookie writer, I agonised over the opening words. I had visions of something immortal like Once upon a time or Twas on a dark and stormy night. However, in the absence of inspiration, I settled on a simple statement that says it all. This book is about V8 Supercar racing, my life and me. My world revolves around race driving, my farm, and my family and closest friends.

The title, The Inside Line, is motor racing jargon that has a double meaning. On the track, the inside line is where you want to place your car going into a corner to defend your position or to overtake your opponent. Its also slang for information that comes directly from the source.

The aim of this book is to provide an insight into my life on the V8 Supercar circuit and a look at what I do and whos important to me away from the track. It is not an autobiography, which Im not planning to do until much closer to my retirement from fulltime racing. And I can assure you that as far as Im concerned, thats still a number of years away.

The following chapters are mostly a contemporary account of the ins and outs of competing in the V8 Supercars Championship Series, and my take on the sport that I and tens of thousands of others love. Beyond the hardcore fans, there are hundreds of thousands more who take an active interest in V8 racing, watching the telecasts of races from Bahrain to Bathurst.

Im very lucky that a sizeable group of V8 devotees also follow me, and that Ive done well enough over the years for most casual followers to know at least something about me. Hopefully, anyone who has even the most passing interest in V8 racing and me will find this book informative and entertaining; for the most ardent and knowledgeable fans, I hope it will satisfy their hunger for inside information. Ive tried to demystify a very technical sport without boring or offending those who have a deeper understanding of V8 racing.

This book also goes behind the curtain of my life, revealing my interests and activities away from the track. Plus there are personal reflections from those who are closest to me and who have profoundly influenced my career and my development as a person.

As a writer, Im a good racing driver. So because Im no wordsmith, I enlisted the help of a professional. My co-author Mark Fogarty is one of the most experienced and highly regarded motor sport journalists. Known to everyone in the business and his many thousands of loyal readers as Foges, he has given my thoughts and opinions the structure and style a tome like this needs and in many instances, made sense of my ramblings!

I specifically wanted Foges to be my literary co-driver because Ive always enjoyed his well-informed writing and his forthright, but balanced, punditry. Also, his hard-but-fair interviews with motor sport figures all over the world are legendary, so I figured if anyone was going to get the full story out of me, it would be him.

Due to publishing schedules, the chapters had to be compiled before the Australasian Safari desert rally in Western Australia, in which I competed for the first time in September 2010. I drove a specially-modified Holden Colorado ute prepared by PWR Racing, whose big boss (and former V8 Supercar team owner) Kees Weel was my co-pilot and we won!

It was a fantastic adventure and I had so much fun. I was extremely proud to win at our first attempt and I dedicated the victory to my good friend and mentor, the late great Peter Brock. It was especially moving to succeed in a grueling and thrilling event that Peter loved, but wasnt able to win in several attempts. The Safari was my first off-road event, but it definitely wont be my last.

These words were written the day after we won, capping a great month. Just two weeks earlier, Mark Skaife and I won the Phillip Island 500 in our first drive together as endurance race teammates in my TeamVodafone Holden Commodore.

Going into this project, I was like a nervous rookie before the start of his or her first race. I hope these introductory words are the smooth opening lap of a long race that you find absorbing and ultimately successful.

Towards the middle of 2009, during my fifth year with the Triple Eight Team, I started thinking about renewing my deal with them. I was out of contract at the end of the season, but didnt want to wait until the last minute to negotiate. If Im happy with a team, its in everyones interests to re-sign early and get it out of the way, so that rumours and speculation dont become a distraction.

After five years with Triple Eight, I was comfortable because Id had a lot of success and I enjoyed working with everyone there. It suited me to start talks about a new contract from 2010. There wasnt much to think about, really, but while I was leaning heavily in the direction of staying, I had to consider other options. I dont get directly involved in these sorts of discussions until Im ready to sign. The negotiating I leave to my manager, David Segal, who knows me, knows what I need and, most importantly, knows how to handle these sometimes tricky talks.

A couple of rival teams had approached David, sounding him out on whether Id be interested in exploring a change. Those discussions didnt get very far, though, because the other teams just werent right for me and didnt offer the complete package that Triple Eight did. So, I was heading well down the path to staying where I was and, short of some unexpected breakdown in the negotiations with my team boss, Roland Dane, it was looking good. In this game, stability is important and Triple Eight has a proven track record of fielding competitive cars race-in, race-out. I wasnt seeing any persuasive argument to move, to be honest, but its always nice to have options.

This all started going on around May 2009 and I talked through the pros and the cons with David and my wife, Nat. It wasnt just about money, although thats obviously always going to be factor. It was more about my prospects of continuing to win races and contend for championships, which is really what matters when everything is said and done.

I have an idea of my worth to an organisation and I want to command the best salary possible, but my view is that being in a competitive car is the priority. Everything else follows from that. Sounds pretty basic, I know, but youd be surprised how many drivers have compromised their careers by chasing the big bucks ahead of a good team with great cars. Okay, thats easy for me to say at this stage of my career; however, Ive never knowingly signed with a team just on the basis of how much they can pay me. My decisions without exception have been in the belief that I can win races and titles.

Having said that, I had to see what else was out there and try to get a feel for the latest market. Ill admit there was interest expressed by teams from both sides of the Blue and Red Ford and Holden divide. And it would have been silly not to have a look at what was available and, to be frank, what sort of money experienced V8 drivers were commanding. But the fact is, there was nothing close to tempting on any level, least of all a culture dedicated to success on the same scale as exists at Triple Eight. The only unknown about staying put was what type of car Id be running in 2010. There had been rumours around the place that Roland was considering switching from Ford to Holden, a big deal in V8 Supercar racing.

Under the current rules, there are only two makes involved and supporters are firmly divided between Ford and Holden. That Blue versus Red rivalry is part of the fabric of the sport and changing sides, especially if youre a driver with an established fan following, creates a lot of aggro. Its worse than star AFL or NRL players changing teams because V8s is a two-horse race. Its Holden versus Ford: you can race a Commodore or a Falcon and thats it. That may change in 2012 when the next-generation V8 Supercars start racing, and the series will be open to other makes. But right now and in the foreseeable future, I reckon you either bleed blue or red as far as the hard-core fans are concerned. Among a large section of supporters, it really is that tribal.