He's quick, huh? Or is he fast?

It always irritates me when NASCAR says that so-and-so was quickest in practice or qualifying. Quickness and qualifying don't mix. The "fastest" car, not the "quickest," leads qualifying.

Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr. were both quick, but neither was fast. Joe Morgan and Lou Brock were quick and fast. They jumped out quickly, and their top speeds were far ahead of Robinson and Ripken.

It's like acceleration and speed. A car accelerates until the top speed is reached. When it crosses the start/finish line, it decelerates.

Unfortunately, I've been slow in getting those points across.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!