Car trouble. Lost wallet. Best day ever. I didn’t see it coming but, yes, it turns out that trio of trouble and triumph can go hand in hand.

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to Austin, Texas, for the first Formula One race in the U.S. in five years, and my first F1 race ever. I waited almost 15 years for this. But like Bilbo and his buddies, I had my own unexpected journey.

My husband, friend from California and myself planned to drive down on a Thursday, spend the three-day race weekend in F1 heaven and head back on Monday.

We were staying with friends in Texas, and since they often traveled from Durango to Austin, they gave us the road less taken, which was about two hours quicker than any other. It also took us through an area with no cell phone reception or glimpse of civilization. Great for making time, if only your car doesn’t break down.

That Thursday, after 14 hours into a 16-hour journey, the car stopped accelerating. It just wasn’t getting gas. And we were heading into the hill country outside Austin. Just imagine, three racing fans in a car creeping up a steep hill at 20 mph on a road with a 70 mph speed limit for almost two hours.

But like most of life, it’s all about the attitude. I watched as my friend, who was driving, and husband in the passenger seat laughed, willing on our crippled car and cheering every time they gained speed on the downhill. I was humbled and inspired.

Here I was in the back seat, feeling rather down in the mouth about our troubles. Here they were, making the most out of a potentially tragic situation.

The other upside was that the car kept going. Slow and steady worked for the tortoise and it worked for us, too. Eventually we made it and got a few hours of sleep.

The next morning was the start to the race weekend. For us, it began with a call for a tow truck, which got stuck in the heavy traffic caused by the race. While we waited, I realized that I left my wallet in a gas station restroom five hours away. But, like the slow and steady road trip, that also worked out. I talked to the station attendant who kept my wallet in the safe with winning lottery tickets, and I could pick it up on my way back through on Monday. Then our friends in Austin let us borrow their car for the day, so we could get to the track.

Things were starting to look up. And after waiting for almost 15 years, I was on my way to my first F1 race. All that time I had only watched the races on TV or read about them on my computer. For a long time I didn’t believe I was actually going to see one, but when we arrived at the Circuit of the Americas, I jumped up and down all the way to the track entrance, a completely sober adult actually jumping for joy.

I had two main goals in mind for the weekend. I wanted to hear the engines and see the drivers. I’ve been told by those who have seen these elusive machines that they’re incredible. They’re V8s now, but they’ll soon go to four cylinders. So, I had to hear them now before it’s too late.
It turns out they were real, not mythical creatures but real pieces of machinery that screamed past me revving at more than 18,000 rpm.

I listened for some time, to the quick acceleration out of the hairpin corner as the cars flew out sight and to the downshifting, particularly from the Force India team, which had the most remarkable earsplitting bang on the grid. Eventually, I put on my ear protection in the hopes that this would not be the last time I listened to F1 engines.

As for the drivers, seeing is believing. Besides, two of my favorites were racing this year: Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Schumacher was retiring at the end of the season (for a second time), and Raikkonen just came back after a three-year hiatus spent behind the wheel of rally cars and a short tryst in NASCAR’s Camping World truck series (don’t ask).

I wanted to see these two in action. And, I wasn’t the only one. It was amazing how common the respect and love for these two racers was. Schumacher is the greatest race car driver in history, with more wins, pole positions and championships than anyone else – ever – by far. Raikonnen has natural talent that transcends team loyalties. He’s the only driver in F1 history to go from last to first.

The rest of the weekend offered a few speedbumps, but we had already passed the true test of F1 fanship: getting there. I expected hiccups, logistical issues, miscommunications and randomly placed construction cones on this trip. After all, it was the first event at a brand new track. And, yes, the race did offer those. Lawns on the track map that were just grass seed and dirt, and port-a-potties so ripe I actually wept for the driver of the honey truck.

What I didn’t expect was a reminder that life isn’t just about what we plan for, but what we get when we don’t. What I wanted was to hear the cars, see the drivers and know that it’s real. What I got was so much more.

– Tracy Chamberlin