One of my absolute favorite songs is this Mark Knopfler number from his 2000 solo album Sailing to Philadelphia, which then became a staple of his live shows after that. It’s a great song, about the life of a mid-range stock car driver going from race to race. Knopfler’s songwriting excels at creating characters, and many of his greatest songs end with a killer lengthy instrumental. Indeed, that was the hallmark of Knopfler’s work with Dire Straits, and there’s a lot this song has in common with “Telegraph Road,” my favorite Dire Straits song.
Anyhow, here’s one of many stellar live performances of the song from a 2010 concert in Cordoba:
KRAD's Inaccurate Guide to Life 