One of the biggest struggles teams face every week is what to feed dozens of starving crew members. From Friday to Sunday, they are responsible, either through per diem, or at track cooking to make sure their guys (and gals) do not go hungry. In recent years some teams have sub-contracted their dining needs during the weekends. For the ones who cannot afford that luxury, or choose not to, the burden usually falls on the hauler driver.

Come race weekend the transporter not only serves as a shop on wheels, but a pantry and kitchen as well. Most haulers have fridges, food storage and the all important candy drawer. For those drivers who take on the responsibility of cooking (they make up a large portion of the three series’) the barbeque becomes a necessity. The grub along pit road ranges from burgers, to steak, to pork tenderloin. Whatever the meat of choice is, the ultimate menu decisions fall on the chef (and are limited to what can be made on the grill or in a crock-pot). While some make full meals with meat, potatoes and salads, others just put out lunch meat and call that good. Some are certainly more ambitious than others. Beyond the large meals there is the constantly available cookies, crackers, candy etc. to suppress hunger. For those who decide taking the time to cook is not worthwhile, there are choices.

Perhaps the easiest option for teams who do not want to spend the time organizing meals is to pay for someone else to provide them. There are a couple of companies who do this, some are better than others. While these do remove the weight of planning a meal for a couple dozen crew guys, I know many crew members find the menus less than appetizing. I have heard recently about several teams throwing large amounts of the food away because the guys simply will not eat it. This ultimately leads to them eating less than healthy food items, and the teams wasting money.

One of the biggest factors in deciding the best route for a team is their budget. Hendrick certainly has more money to spend than BHR. With grocery bills averaging $200-$500 per week, the costs can really add up. While the choices are left up to the cook, discretion is a must. Sometimes the option is not steak or tenderloin, it is chicken or ground beef. In addition to this, many large teams have begun implementing (or trying to implement) strict dietary menus. This helps to keep costs in line and ensure the team is not getting loaded up on garbage.

Whatever the case, the food down on pit road is usually pretty good. While you will not find Emeril or Bobby Flay in the garage, some of the guys are not too far off.

I have…

The Nationwide and Cup Series are heading north this weekend to the Finger Lakes region of New York and the historic Watkins Glen road course.  The Glen and Infineon always present unique challenges to the drivers because all of a sudden they need to turn left and right.  What you will also see challenge these teams this weekend is the backwards pit stop.

Infineon Raceway’s pit road is situated so that the cars come down like they do at any other track.  The Glen’s is not.  When the drivers come out of turn eleven, instead of hanging the normal left, they go right.  This means the cars are in the stalls backwards.

And when it comes to attacking backwards stops, I feel like every pit crew coach has their own idea about how they should go.  Some teams swap and have the front guys on the rear, and vice-a-versa.  This is done so that movements around the car are still the same (yeah, I know it sounds weird, but its true).  Other teams will keep the normal arrangement, so that their guys are in familiar places and jumping from the wall at the same times.

In terms of the actual pit work, hitting lugnuts and hanging tires is still the same.  The only difference for carriers and changers is the movement around the car.  Jacking becomes an issue because now the tougher to jack left side is the first side to be completed.  Also, now the jackman is coming at the right side jack post from an unnatural direction. 

When you show up at the first practice for the week, it normally takes a few stops to get your brain to cooperate with your legs and feet to get you going in the right (which is the wrong) direction.  We do many hundreds of pit stops a year, maybe more, between practices and races and our movements become almost automatic.  It definitely takes a little focus to convince your body to zag when it’s used to zigging.

If you watch either race this weekend, pay attention to pit road.  Doing things backwards will certainly create problems for even the most prepared teams and will make stops noticeably slower then you might be used to seeing.  You’ll see a lot more little mistakes, and those little mistakes could affect who comes out on top at The Glen. 

Outside the race track every weekend the village of souvenirs, car displays and sponsor tents appear seemingly out of nowhere. They offer samples of sun screen, chewing tobacco, and Coca-Cola. You can even play video games, or test your skill as a member of a pit crew. Whatever your pleasure, the city of tents and trailers serve a pivotal part of any weekend and it is only with the hard work of perhaps the most under appreciated men and women at the track that the midway is so flawlessly executed.

As we have said here before, NASCAR is much like a circus, in town to entertain, but quickly moved to the next venue. This is perhaps most true of the people who work in what I will call the midway. For 36 weekends a year they make sure sponsors are happy and fans fulfilled. They provide entertainment when none is happening at the track, and give fans a place to spend their hard earned souvenir money. They also provide a place for sponsors to showcase their product and connect with their supporters. Their hard work enhances the fan experience, with little benefit. 

Team members are a visible part of the NASCAR world, and have TV segments and entire websites dedicated to them. When was the last time you saw a roster with the names of midway workers on it, or watched a segment on Fox saluting their efforts? It does not happen. They often work non-stop for several days to make sure the displays best represent their team or sponsor only to tear it down and begin anew in another city.

While crew members and transport drivers are able to pack up and fly, or drive immediately home, many of these people have to spend hours deconstructing a display that may have been up for less time than it took to build. I remember a couple seasons ago the Sprint (or Nextel) fan display was actually built out of large glass panels (see the above picture). It took at least a full day for that team to set up and then they were working immediately after the race to deconstruct. Following that they would have to transport those materials to the next venue. Not to mention they worked the fan zone during the whole race weekend. Their story though is not unlike the many others who make the midway possible.

Be it the Chevrolet display, one of the scanner companies or the many souvenir haulers, each and every person gives up a lot just to be at the race track every weekend. In fact, most of these people do not ever get to see races from inside the track. They are cleaning up or leaving while the race is going on. Many spend nine months of the year away from their friends and families, for little compensation, all in pursuit of the NASCAR dream.

I challenge everyone to thank the people who make the midway possible next time they are at the track. They work hard to build displays and then in turn to enhance your at track experience. Do you have any stories of your midway experience? What is your favorite display? How did a midway worker enhance your weekend?

This is a topic I’ve been asked about before with email questions, and something that was an issue today at Pocono: dealing with brake dust.  As pit crew members, and tire changers especially, brake dust is an issue we deal with usually at short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville.  With the introduction of the new car though, and the handling issues that go along with it, brakes have become more important to the drivers at bigger tracks.  More brake use equals more brake dust in your face during pit stops.

As a changer, I’ve been on both the front and the rear.  Dust doesn’t usually come into play as a rear changer, because rear brakes aren’t abused as much.  It is definitely an issue for the front guys though.  When you stomp down on the brake pedal, all the car’s weight shifts to the front, and the front brakes work harder, hence more dust.  There are a few different ways to deal with the dust as a changer.

I think more and more guys these days are starting to wear safety glasses over the wall.  I know if its a sunny day, I’ll wear my sunglasses during pit stops.  If its starting to get dark or completely dark outside, I’ve got a pair of clear glasses I wear.  I never step off the wall during a race without something.  Wearing eye protection can help with keeping some dust and other debris and projectiles out of your eyes.  And when I say projectiles, I mean lugnuts.  Yeah, they don’t feel too nice when they hit your face.

Another method to avoiding brake dust is the full face helmet.  You’ll see a few changers on pit road wearing them.  When you wear a full face helmet, closing the shield will keep most of the dust out of your face and eyes. 

A couple of other ways we can help the situation is to make sure our lugnuts and studs are painted bright so we can see them through the dust, and to blow off the left front with compressed air.  You can’t do this for the right front, but if they show close up views of a pit stop on TV and its a track with excessive brake use, normally you’ll see a crew member reach over the wall and spray compressed air onto the wheel to blow some of the brake dust off the left front.  Its not easy trying to hit lugnuts with a face full of dust, and blowing some of it away helps a lot.

Besides brake dust and lugnuts, other eye dangers include speedy dry (this stuff is brutal), fuel (110 octane in the eye doesn’t feel good either), and I know a lot of guys struggled with the tiny bits of tire rubber last weekend at Indy. 

Dealing with these problems is just another part of the game though, and more reasons why we need to be 100% focused when we hit the ground for our next stop.

Tires dominated discussion this week following the debacle at The Brickyard. NASCAR issued an apology, but the speedway refused to do the same. In other news Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson announced he will be piloting the #81 Randy Moss Motorsports Chevrolet at Bristol. This will be Johnson’s first time in a truck. David Newton over at ESPN struck again this week, angering Ryan Newman at “news” that he was a definite to Stewart-Haas Racing next season. And tragically former Truck Series crew chief Tim Kohuth was charged in a fatal DUI accident that killed a 71 year old man. This is the NASCAR Week That Was: July 27th to August 7th, 2008.

Drivers offer ideas for tire solutions

Manufacturers in Cup for the long ride

It was just a matter of time

Johnson to drive in Truck race for receiver Moss’ team

NASCAR tempers rising at ESPN’s reporting

Vintage Insiders

The NASCAR Duopoly

Pit Road Explained: Pit Boxes

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**

Just past the halfway point of the season, the much anticipated (and criticized) open wheel transplants are finding the transition into stock car racing was perhaps not as easy as they first thought. From Jacques Villeneuve to Scott Speed the success these men have had has varied, but the common theme among them all has been a season plagued by adversity.
 
Let’s start with Jacques Villeneuve. He is the son of former F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve and the 1995 Cart Champion, 1995 Indianapolis 500winner and 1997 F1 champion. By every indication he has great talent behind the wheel of a car. His foray into NASCAR began in August 2007 with Bill Davis Racing. In two Cup series starts he has a best start of sixth and best finish of 21st. After failing to qualify for this season’s Daytona 500, BDR shut down the team and sent Villeneuve packing. Since then he has been competing in the Speedcar Series where he is currently 14th in points. He will be making his first NASCAR start since Daytona this weekend in the Nationwide Series race at Montreal for Braun Racing, but it appears it’s a one off deal.
 
A fellow French Canadian, Patrick Carpentier joined Gillett-Evernham Motorsports last season after 10 years in CART and IRL. The highlight of his season came at Loudon earlier this year when he picked up his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole. Despite this, his average qualifying position hovers around 26th and his average finish position is about 30th. His less than spectacular season may end with him out of the #10 car. Jayski has reported and I am hearing similarly that Carpentier is on the way out at GEM.
 
Dario Franchitti joined Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates last season after winning the Indianapolis 500 and IRL championship. He was at the top of his career in that series, but after several severe wrecks, and the need for a new challenge Franchitti made the leap to NASCAR. After just eight races this season Franchitti was injured in a wreck at Talladega that kept him out of the car until Pocono. Despite some decent finishes in the Nationwide Series, Franchitti’s average Cup Series start was 28th and average finish was 34th. Just before the July event at Daytona Ganassi shut down the #40 cup team, citing lack of sponsorship as the reason. He will now compete in seven races in Nationwide beginning next week, while he presumably tries to figure out what to do next season.
 
Team Red Bull teammates Scott Speed and AJ Allmendinger are on opposite ends of the success spectrum. Speed, a former F1 driver, has won races in the ARCA series and in the Craftsman Truck Series. I know he is very confident about where is going and might just have what it takes to back it up. Allmendinger on the other hand has struggled over the last two seasons. He failed to qualify for 19 races last season, only achieving an average start and finish of 28th and 31st in the races he did make. While he has shown some improvement over the last couple of weeks with new crew chiefJimmy Elledge, they are still a long way from where they need be. My bet is, he is just warming the seat until Speed can get some more experience.

That brings us to the final two open wheel newcomers, Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr. JPM has shown himself to be the most promising of the transplants. He has a win in both the Nationwide Series and Cup Series and a top 20 position (most weeks) in the points. The former CART Champion, Indy 500 and F1 winner came to NASCAR amidst great fanfare. His unique personality has meant clashes with other big name drivers and a definite division with fans. While he has struggled this season he is doing better than any of his open wheel counterparts. If Ganassi can get past their COT block he may be able to show something. On the other end is Sam Hornish Jr. who hesitantly made the transition into stock car racing. The former IRL star has 19 wins in 116 starts and three IRL championships. Despite great success on that end, he has struggled in NASCAR averaging a 30th place finish.
 
The great disparity that exists between a NASCAR car and an Indy car has made the transition very difficult. While an Indy car has great grip, is light weight, stops quickly and turns on a dime, a NASCAR car is heavy, hard to control, stops very slowly and does not turn very well. It is the difference between a Ferrari and a Crown Victoria and most have found that difficult to acclimate to. While a few more drivers may make the switch, my bet is the open wheel invasion is over. The plan has blown up in a lot of team owner’s faces and the idea they would take the risk again is highly unlikely. Likewise for those drivers who are out or on the way out they will likely not find a ride waiting for them if and when they do find sponsorship. The open wheel boom looks to have finally gone bust and those caught in the middle are paying for it with their careers.

So I was clicking around today, and came across this blog post from the NASCAR.com Community blog section.  It was featured on the front page of NASCAR.com and has had quite a few responses.  Long story short, this guy is doing yard work for a lady on top of his actual job to earn enough money to pay for his trip to Bristol, and she questions if Bristol is really worth it.  The writer ends the post with this quote: “some people just don’t get it!”  I’ve got to say, I agree with him 1000%.

If you call yourself a NASCAR fan and you don’t understand why this guy is killing himself to pay for the trip, then you are shaming every true fan the sport has.  My first experience at Bristol was as a fan several years ago, but I had the amazing chance to get a pit pass for the Truck Series race (gotta love connections).  Walking through the tunnel in turn three and out into the infield for the first time was a breathtaking experience.  Their TV commercial calls it the “Last Great Coliseum,” and I can’t say I disagree. 

When you are heading south on Hwy. 11 out of town, you come around a little hill and the race track sits off to the left.  That first drive up there from Charlotte, I came around that curve and was amazed at this place.  If you ever get the opportunity to attend a race at Bristol, I’m telling you, you have to go.  You will not regret it for a second.

I look forward to the Bristol events every year and I think its immensely popular for a few reasons.  First, the action.  I think the old surface was a little better for this, but the rootin’ and gougin’ that goes on at this track is unlike any other.  Sometimes the bump-and-run is just necessary.  Second, the noise.  You haven’t heard loud at a NASCAR event until you go to Bristol.  They don’t call it Thunder Valley for nothing.  And third, I think it takes everybody back to the roots of racing.  Short track Saturday nights are what racing is all about.  A bunch of guys, under the lights, duking it out for the win is why we watch racing.  No fuel strategy, no aero crap to worry about, just racing.

Although you can’t usually see the entire track, the view from pit road is pretty cool for these races too.  The race track is only a few feet from the crews standing on the pit wall, and the action is right in your face.  And having 150,000 race fans right on top of you is something not many professional athletes get to experience.

During my long tenure as a fan, and my shorter tenure as a tire changer, I’ve been to a lot of race tracks.  Daytona and Talladega are cool tracks, there is nothing like the history at Darlington, and Martinsville is the essential half mile.  But there is no other Bristol.

The rumblings that Mexico City was going to be removed from the schedule began late last week. As the weekend came to an end the rumor became a reality. NASCAR had decided after four seasons and plummeting attendance figures to end their trek south of the border.

Personally I have never heard so much excitement over a change in the schedule. The safety concerns and logistical nightmare made it a trip that has become increasingly less worth while (and popular). Teams preface their visits by telling their employees not to leave the hotel compounds and to of course stay away from the tap water. This though is not the worst of it.

I know of at least one team going into a local bar, ordering a round of beers and when the check came around it totaled thousands of dollars. They were told if they did not pay the check the police would be called. I have heard of bus loads of team members being stopped by local police demanding payoffs. This of course is the norm within the country. Crew members were not even immune inside chain restaurants. I know of people going into Hard Rock Cafe, paying for their meal with a higher denomination bill and not getting any change back. They were told no change would be made.

These stories are just a few of the many. Some are better, some worse, but the common theme is that it was not the safest trip. These teams are seen as well funded, soft targets and people took advantage.

Perhaps one of the more bizarre things about the journey to Mexico were the military escorts the transporters were given into Mexico City. The teams would be split up into several large groups and move together through the country. This was of course to avoid kidnapping from drug traffickers and other opportunists that roam pretty much unchecked through the northern part of Mexico.

Beyond the safety though, the cost of traveling to Mexico far outweighed any benefit. The teams incurred the brunt of the expense as they had to put up dozens of crew members in expensive hotels (you can not stay in a Best Western), and pay to transport their equipment the thousands of miles to Mexico City. Granted, while traveling to Mexico is not as expensive or as labor intensive as traveling to Japan (if you did not know NASCAR traveled to the Suzuka in ‘96, ‘97 and Motegi in ‘98), it is still an unnecessary expense.

On top of that, attendance numbers have dropped by 40,000 in just four seasons (I would venture to say the novelty has worn off). I can not imagine NASCAR is seeing much benefit from the event. NASCAR’s goal was to raise the presence of the sport in Latin America, but I really am not sure how effective that was; I think the dwindling attendance numbers speak for themselves. 

The removal of the track from the schedule is one of the better decisions NASCAR has made in a while. I will miss the second road course on the Nationwide circuit, but I think there are other, better options out there. Mexico was certainly an interesting venture but its time was up.

Have you been to the Mexico City race? Any interesting stories from that event or your trip? Let us know.

I don’t know how many of our readers have been to a race (I’m hoping most if not all have), but if you are an inexperienced race fan, let me offer a tip: get a scanner at the track.  Whether you rent one trackside, or decide to purchase your own, you will not be disappointed.  And I’m not just talking about using it at Cup races.  Bring it to Nationwide, Truck Series, ARCA, Hooters, and any other series that has radio traffic going on during the race.

With just a little bit of research, you can find out the scanner frequencies of most drivers’ radios and tune your scanner to them.  If you rent one, most will come pre-programmed.  Sitting in the stands is great, don’t get me wrong, but if you really want to know what’s going on, scanners will allow you to be right there with the driver and the team.  You will be able to hear everything we hear.  A word of warning though, things can get heated during the race, and the language isn’t always PG.  Its something to think about if you have kids listening in.

Scanners give you the ability to hear eveything from setup and pit calls from the crew chief, to the spotters guiding their drivers.  I promise you will also hear some radio traffic that will make you laugh out loud.

Having been a crew member for a while now, my radio is a necessity, and something I think a lot of us take for granted.  When I’m getting suited up, its automatic to grab my radio out of the cabinet and plug my earmolds in.  We need them to be able to communicate in the pits and they have become vital to coordinating the team.

Besides the teams and the fans, you will also see the various media people listening in during the race.  Everyone from the TV and radio folks, to the writers and photographers will be wired for sound. 

Here are a few links to some sites where you get more information:
Racing Electronics
Racing Radios
Frequency Fan Club
Race-Scan
Sprint FanView

For those of you that are apart of the scanner club, feel free to use the comment section of this post to share any interesting or funny stories about radio traffic you’ve heard.

Tires, tires, tires.  I returned from a busy weekend to find my inbox full of questions and comments regarding the situation at the Brickyard today.  First off, let me say that days like today shouldn’t happen.  Having destroyed racecars and putting drivers in danger for what seems to be something that could have been avoided is obviously unacceptable.  And get ready, because all we are going to hear and read about for the next week is how bad the situation was and who is to blame.  All the drivers are going to say the same things, and all the writers are going to write the same regurgitated stories.

What happened this weekend cannot be blamed on one single entity and doing so would be unfair.  The new car partnered with a poor tire choice and a diamond ground race track are the causes.  The new car has a much higher center of gravity then the old car and the forces put on the tires are much greater.  Goodyear is in a tight spot when building tires, as they need to keep the competitors safe, yet provide a tire that allows for good racing.  This weekend they all misjudged how the factors were going to affect the tires, and they missed.  I think its really that simple.

As unfortunate as today was, dealing with poor conditions and adversity is part of the sport, and a major factor why any competitive sport is popular.  If everything was perfect and we knew how it would all play out all the time, it would be boring.  Not that I’m condoning or justifying the situation, but it did make for an interesting race, I think.  It became a fight for survival and really challenged the teams and the crew chiefs to work the strategy right to put their driver in contention.  Racing is a team sport and the teams that succeeded today were those that have good strategists on the box and good crews working on the cars.

An example that comes to mind in terms of poor conditions for a competition was the Pittsburgh/Miami NFL game last season.  It did nothing but rain the entire game and the players were up to their ankles in water.  It was also a situation where maybe conditions could and should have been better, but nevertheless, they had a game to play.  I believe Pittsburgh ended up winning 3-0 in one of the sloppiest games in the history of professional sports.  But, even with the messy game and the low score, it was still something to see.  It became a battle of wills between the two teams, and the better team prevailed.  Today was no different.

The win by the #48 team shows why they have won the last two straight Cup championships.  They dealt with serious adversity today, but were able to come out on top.

The other thing I wanted to mention was the pit work.  Today’s race really put the focus and some serious pressure on the pit crews to perform.  They needed to have good, clean stops to keep their driver in it, especially with so many varying strategies.  And when it comes down to do or die situations, sign me up.  I’m a competitor, and all I can ask for is my driver hitting pit road and knowing we’ve got to bust one off to win.  There is no better feeling then watching that car scream out of the stall after you just had a good stop, and knowing you did all you could for your team.

I know a lot of you have some very strong opinions about the race today, so lets hear them.  Now that you’ve had time to digest everything, what do you think?  If you were Goodyear, would you rather put a tire out that might wear faster, but provide a better race?  Or one that would hurt racing, but wear slower and have drivers complaining about no grip?  Do you think NASCAR did the right thing today, knowing they couldn’t do anything about the tires?