From the Fog of War Within to the Fire of the Stages: This is Lost By Choice Motorsports

We’re talking about the silent, gnawing battles waged in the confines of your own skull, the ones that carve you up from the inside, leaving scars no one sees but you feel with every damn beat of your heart.

For too long, my world was a suffocating fog. Call it what you will – the ghosts of past traumas, the relentless pressure to just keep going – but it was a thick, disorienting haze that muted colors, muffled sounds, and cast a pall over everything, my career, my passions, my very will to push forward. It wasn't just "feeling down"; it was like being buried alive, clawing at the darkness with no way out. You function, you go through the motions, but inside, you're screaming, and no one can hear it. That’s the real hell of it – the isolation inside your own head.

I needed a shock to the system, not a gentle nudge. I needed something to rip through that fog, something to force me to feel again, to focus, to fight. I’d always had this fire for auto racing, a primal pull towards the roar of engines and the ragged edge of control, especially rally. It was a whisper from a younger, less damaged version of myself. Turning back to it wasn't a casual decision to pick up a hobby; it was a desperate lunge for a lifeline, a conscious choice to plunge into something so demanding it would either break me completely or forge me into something stronger.

And rally? It wasn't some gentle therapy session. It’s a goddamn crucible. It’s brutal, unforgiving, and it demands every ounce of your attention, your grit, your resilience. Every stage is a battle against the clock, against the terrain, against your own screaming nerves. Off stage, it’s a relentless grind of mechanical problem-solving, logistical nightmares, and the constant pressure to keep the machine – and yourself – from falling apart. It’s in that fire, that relentless demand for focus and immediate action, that the fog began to burn away. The sheer, visceral reality of it – the smell of race fuel, the scream of the engine, the feeling of the car alive beneath you – it drags you, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the present moment. There’s no room for the ghosts of the past or the anxieties of the future when you’re fighting to keep it on the road at speed. That’s where growth happens, not in comfort, but in the teeth of the challenge.

That’s the brutal truth that forged Lost By Choice Motorsports. This team, this mission, it wasn't born from some detached business plan. It was clawed out of my own fight for air, for clarity. It’s built on the raw understanding that sometimes, the only way to silence the demons inside is to find a louder, more compelling call to action.

Myself, Gary DeMasi, Boyd Smith – the core of this crew – we’re not looking for people who have it all figured out. We’re looking for those who are tired of the fog, who are itching for a challenge so consuming it gives them a new focal point, a way to either lose themselves in a task or find a new, sharper version of themselves. We hunt for team members, crew, anyone who feels that gnawing need to redirect their energy, to pour themselves into a project that demands precision, teamwork, and unwavering commitment, even if it’s just for a week, a month, an event. The American Rally Association community provides the bigger arena, the shared understanding of this insane, beautiful struggle. But within LBCM, we cultivate that focused intensity.

Our mission isn't just about engines and speed; it's about ignition – igniting that dormant fire in your soul. We believe that true healing, true growth, often erupts when you deliberately step out of the suffocating confines of your old battles. We provide a visceral, demanding outlet – a space where the roar of an engine can drown out the insidious whispers of anxiety, where the laser focus needed on the track, in the build, or during a service, forces you into the fierce, undeniable present. This pulls you, hard, out of the paralyzing grip of past trauma or future worries.

We don’t coddle. We challenge. We push you to get your hands dirty, to step into the uncomfortable, because that’s where the alchemy happens. It’s in the stress of a tight turnaround, the shared exhaustion of a problem solved in the dead of night, the learning, the pushing of your own perceived limits, that you unearth a new sense of self, a new way to cope, a strength you forgot you had. Whether it's the adrenaline spike of a stage start, the unbreakable camaraderie forged in the pit, or the deep, visceral satisfaction of building or fixing something with your own damn hands, Lost By Choice Motorsports offers an escape hatch, a relentless focus, a tribe, and a journey into the raw, unapologetic unknown.

Because sometimes, the only way to truly heal, to truly find yourself again, isn't to tiptoe around the pain. It’s to take the wheel, grip it tight, and drive straight into the storm.

If this resonates, if you feel that fire, or even just the faintest flicker of it, you know where to find us.