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If there is one thing I’ve learned about changing tires in my career, it’s that the only way to be successful is to get my head straight.  If I’m not focused when I step off the wall, I’m defeated before I’ve even started.  Hitting 20 lugnuts becomes very difficult, and mistakes are in my future.  But keeping my wits about me, remaining calm, and not letting my mind wander all lead to my success.  And while carrying tires and jacking might be the same, changing seems to me to take just a little bit more.

The actual technique and fundamentals to being a good tire changer are really very simple.  I could probably teach them to someone in just a few short sessions.  As long as you get a good set, keep your elbows up, wrists locked, square the shoulders, stay low, and hit them hard, you’ll have a good shot of doing well.  But where the trouble starts is when the mind wanders or isn’t focused.

When one pits a car during a race, there are a ton of distractions.  You are surrounded by thousands of people, both in the stands and on pit road; you’ve got a driver and crew chief yacking in your ears; and there are cars coming and going all around you on pit road.  When it’s time to go though, you’ve got to learn to block it all out and just see your own car and do your own job.

One area that was a struggle for me early on, and I would imagine is something that all changers deal with at one time or another, is confidence.  If I don’t believe I can step off the wall and hit just 20 lugnuts, no amount of luck in the world will make that happen for me.  I’ve heard it said that to be the best, you’ve got to believe you’re the best.  This certainly goes for pitting race cars too.  But there is a fine line between being confident and being cocky.  I’ve never understood those guys who think they are the baddest, yet make mistakes, and then blame others.  Confidence will get a guy a long way in his career.  Cockiness and a bad attitude will end it pretty quickly.

And to go right along with the idea of staying confident, one must be able to bounce back from mistakes and the crazy things that happen sometimes.  No crew member will ever go through their career mistake free.  Lugnuts will be dropped, jack posts will be missed, and tires won’t always be studded.  What separates the good guys from the great guys, besides consistency, is the ability to deal with the mistake, not make it worse, and then forget it ever happened.  Dwelling on a mistake and letting it affect you mentally can be extremely detrimental.

Every sport on this planet takes a combination of physical ability, hardwork, heart, and mental focus to be successful.  Pitting a race car is no different.  Crew guys must have all the tools to make it to the top and remain there.  But (and I’m going to give my profession some kudos here) where a mistake in a football game might get you benched, a mistake on pit road could get somebody hurt.  How’s that for pressure?

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I’m going to go on a rant here, so I apologize in advance, but this is something that has bothered me since I started as a tire changer.  When young guys finally get their first opportunities to jack, carry, and change they usually end up on Truck Series and some of the smaller Nationwide Series teams.  But many are over-matched and under-experienced for the situations they are put into.  And often times they will make mistakes that will cost their teams positions on pit road.  But instead of letting them make a mistake and learn from it, often times crew chiefs and managers are quick on the trigger and will fire a guy for one mistake.  That sucks.

The biggest element to success for a young crew guy is confidence.  He has to not only have the skills to do his job, but he has to KNOW he has the skills to do his job when he steps off the wall.  If he is hesitant or worries about making mistakes, odds are that is exactly what will happen.  Firing kids for making one mistake isn’t exactly confidence inspiring.

What I don’t think some of these crew chiefs and boss people understand, is that no pit crew guy is ever going to be perfect.  No changer is going to hit exactly 20 lugs on every pit stop.  No carrier is going to stud every wheel.  And no jackman is going to hit every post.  It’s just not possible.  But what sets the really good guys apart from everyone else is the ability to not only minimize those mistakes, but also recover from them. 

A tire changer who hangs a lug nut on the right side needs to realize that the mistake cost him time, but that he can’t make it back up.  Finish the stop the right way, and then forget it ever happened.  If the changer dwells on the mistake and beats himself up over it, he’s not going to be prepared for the next stop.  When he goes to start hitting lug nuts again, he’s going to be worrying about hanging a lug.  And often times, he’ll end up hanging another one, or worse.

The turnover that some of these teams experience with their pit crews is because of this exact reason.  They end up going through a ton of guys over the course of the season and they can never figure out why their pit stops are slow.  They are slow because your guys never work together long enough to build that chemistry that is necessary to be really good.

On top of that, I wonder how many guys have given up because of these experiences.  They maybe screw up a couple of times, get fired off deals, and then decide this isn’t for them.  When in reality, if somebody would have just given them a chance to get a little experience and learn how to deal with adversity, maybe they could have had a solid career.

Before I end this, keep in mind that in many cases, guys do deserve to get fired.  Multiple mistakes, especially if it’s the same mistake, warrant a change.  And having a crappy attitude and lame excuses won’t get guys anywhere.  I just wish that in those cases where it’s not necessarily warranted, teams would give these kids a chance.  You never know, they just might surprise the hell out of you.