35. Buckle Up: Timing, Driving, and Scoring Auto Racing with Legend Judy Stropus

For a normal shift On the Dogwatch, we proceed at the measured pace of a ship under sail, looking out at the natural world, considering interesting ideas as if we were having a conversation on an evening dogwatch shift. Today, however, we ramp the speed significantly as we learn how to time things that go very fast. We visit with Judy Stropus, who is a legendary timer and scorer in the auto racing world, and has also been involved as a driver as well. She is author of the Stropus Guide to Auto Race Timing and Scoring, is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame, and is the current Grand Marshal of Concours d’Elegance in Greenwich Connecticut. In our conversation we discuss the ways in which timing and scoring was done before the advent of electronic timers, and how Judy’s career developed both in the pit as a timer and on the track as a driver. We discuss a wide range of perspectives, including how timing and scoring is done, the place for fear on the racetrack (spoiler, there isn’t one), Judy’s friendship with Paul Newman, and her participation in what is casually referred to as the “Cannonball Run,” driving a Cadillac Limousine. So buckle up, and let’s get to our conversation with Judy Stropus.