Rusty Roads
The race car driver Rusty Roads has never won a race.
In fact, the best he’s ever done is thirty-seventh place.
He likes to find the scenic route and take it nice and slow.
He’ll stop to ask directions then forget which way to go.
He’ll honk the horn and flash the lights, but then forget to steer.
He’ll holler, “Vroom, vroom, vroom!” while driving in the lowest gear.
He slams the brakes at every turn but barely taps the gas.
He likes to smile and wave at other drivers as they pass.
He’ll pull off on the shoulder when he wants to have a nap.
He’s proud to take his time and come in last on every lap.
And if you ask him why, without a moment’s hesitation,
he’ll tell you, “Life’s about the journey, not the destination.”
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2026. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 3
Topics: Poems about Kooky Characters, Sports
Poetic Techniques: Alliteration, Descriptive Poems, Imagery
Word Count: 141
About This Poem
Every once in a while, I find myself coming back to one of my favorite kinds of poems to write. I especially enjoy creating characters who are terrible at the one thing they are supposed to be good at. There is something inherently funny about that idea. Over the years, I have written poems like “The Pirate of Pickletown,” “Lorenzo Liszt, Non-Scientist,” and “Steve the Superhero,” all featuring characters who somehow manage to get everything completely wrong.
This poem began the same way. I started thinking about a race car driver, someone whose job is to go fast and win races, and wondered what it would be like if he did the exact opposite. Instead of speeding ahead, what if he took his time, got distracted, and treated the race more like a leisurely Sunday drive?
This is how Rusty Roads came to be. As I wrote, I had fun imagining all the little things he might do differently from a typical race car driver, especially the kinds of habits that would make him a very polite, very careful, and very unsuccessful racer.
I hope you enjoy meeting Rusty as much as I enjoyed writing about him. You may even find that he has a pretty good reason for doing things his own way.
Use This Poem
Would you like to use this poem in your classroom? Would you like permission to reprint, record, recite or broadcast this poem, or set it to music? Please click on one of the following links for permissions and reprint rights information:
