Lumle, Carmichael, Baker, and their cars
Their names are Red, Stinky and War Pig - two BMWs and a Porsche, currently residing at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, about 30 minutes southwest of Fort Worth.
Their owners: three Fort Worth executives whose off-the-clock hobby of choice is speeding well over 100 mph on a racetrack. But for Lisa Lumley, Ross Carmichael and David Baker, racing is more than an adrenaline high - it's a way to clear the mind after a busy workweek.
Lisa Lumle
Attorney, Lisa Lumley Law
My Car: Red, an upgraded 1995 BMW M3
Lisa Lumley is a gearhead. When she got into racing, she traded her newer BMW for two older ones, keeping one as an everyday car and turning the other into a racecar. She gutted the interior down to bare metal; installed a custom-made cage, race seat and fire extinguisher; and upgraded everything from the chassis to the suspension.
It's still a work in progress. "There are still some remaining upgrades I want to install," she says.
Lumley says she discovered racing when she was invited to participate in a Mercedes car demonstration around a racetrack. She loved it so much that she went on to earn a racing license through the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). Since then, she's regularly participated in - and won - numerous club events. Last year, she won two of the four races at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma.
She got her husband into racing too. He also drives a BMW, same model as hers. "He has expressly forbidden me from taking parts off that car anymore," she says.
Ross Carmichael
Director of Compliance and Operations, Higginbotham
My Car: Stinky, a 1992 BMW 325i/M3
Ross Carmichael has always been a "car kid," playing with remote control cars and subscribing to car magazines when he was young. He would eventually own a MINI Cooper and join the Metroplex MINI Club, where he learned about the performance driving school The Driver's Edge. He worked his way up to become an instructor there, but he didn't discover racing until he attended a race school hosted by the Lone Star Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America. There, he earned his racing license and has since participated in numerous club races and sprint races through the NASA.
One of his most memorable races was 24 Hours of LeMons - a 24-hour endurance race for cars that cost less than $500 - at MSR Houston in Angleton, Texas. He won the race in a 1967 SIMCA.
But don't call Carmichael an adrenaline junkie. Rather, he prefers the mental challenge - "being able to go out, do some laps, come in, look at my time, try to figure out where I could pick up more time, what turn I could take a little faster, where I could brake a little bit later, play around with how the car is set up, go out, try to do it again and get better."
David Baker
President, Apex Capital Corp.
My Car: War Pig, a 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup
A video of the 2017 Watkins Glen International Porsche GT3 Cup race shows a violent, multicar crash - one that sent four drivers to the hospital - and out of the smoke, a car emerges with the word "Apex" printed across the hood.
That's David Baker, who narrowly escaped that crash. He says there have been plenty of moments when his life flashed before his eyes during a race, but that's just part of the experience.
"It's intense," he says, "but it's a lot of fun."
Baker's love for racing began at a young age when his dad took him to a race in North Richland Hills on a rainy day. "There was a short wheel base Porsche 911, probably "67 or "68 model, that just kicked the butts of everybody in the rain - and racing in the rain is treacherous," he says. "I fell in love with that car."
Years later, Baker bought a Porsche of his own - a 914 with a Volkswagen motor. "People joked, "That's not a real Porsche." But that's okay; that was my car."
He'd continue to own Porsches through the years, which eventually led him to joining the local Porsche Club chapter and racing in club events. Among his most notable wins - the 2017 Masters Championship in the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup.
And while the thrill has worn off 15-plus years into the game, Baker says he's learned to approach racing differently.
"The more seasoned you get, the more calm you become," he says. "But you get into a zone, into a rhythm, that requires a tremendous amount of focus and concentration. For that moment, however long that race is, you find yourself totally focused and nothing else enters your mind. It's like a mental break from everything else."
TAGSExecutive Life & Style FWinc Off The Clock Stinky And War Pig