There is a purpose to the madness at Indy, of course. The driver who completes 200 laps around the oval in the fastest time wins. But there are other lessons from auto racing that might rev up your career:

Speed is essential — and sometimes overrated. No Indy driver goes at full speed all the time. Besides slowing down for obvious things like traffic, curves and crashes, sometimes drivers will ease off to conserve fuel, making it to the finish line with one fewer pit stop.

Certainly it’s important to do most jobs quickly, but the fastest worker won’t necessarily get most of the rewards. Does your company truly emphasize speed, or do people get recognition for something more than that, such as making the fewest mistakes, coming up with the most innovative suggestions or building up the best rapport with customers — or managers?

Before you get all revved up, make sure you know what you’re racing for.
Even competitors can help you. Racing drivers often follow each other closely, making the car ahead of them absorb most of the wind resistance. It saves them energy.

Some of the best lessons workers can learn are from watching people at other companies — even in other industries. How do they overcome obstacles? What shortcuts do they use? What skills do those workers have that you need to have in order to compete?

Don’t be fooled by the obvious. Yes, the driver gets honored for winning the Indianapolis 500, but he needs the help of sponsors, pit crews and many others. No driver could do it alone.

You probably can’t, either.