With Christmas now behind us and New Years coming this week, the 2011 season will quickly be up on us. Only eight weeks stand between us and the 2011 Daytona 500. And teams know the clock is ticking.
This week between Christmas and the New Year is traditionally an off week for the teams. While some will still have employees working, many shut their shops down almost completely. It gives the crews and shop guys the chance to recharge and spend time with family and friends before preparations begin in earnest. This week is literally the calm before the storm.
Starting on Monday, Jan. 3, the race is on. From there, teams will have about six weeks until the haulers are due to pull into the Daytona infield for Speedweeks. Many will be working long hours to prepare everything from race cars and haulers, to pit boxes and tool boxes for the long season ahead. Teams will be running out of time to finish any remaining business deals, hire the last few needed employees, and do things like get firesuits and hero cards made. This time is also used by many sponsors to film commercials and create their NASCAR centric ad campaigns for the season.
These next six weeks will also be the return to a normal training schedule for the pit crews. As I’ve mentioned before, some teams have already begun getting their crews ready for the new style stops, but a regular schedule including practice and plenty of gym time will commence. With many cold days still ahead of us, you can be sure the crews that practice outside will be ready for warmer climates come February.
For myself, I’m going to spend this quiet week relaxing and getting ready to have some fun with friends for New Years. Come Monday however, it’s game on. Daytona will be here before we know it and there is a lot to do.
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NASCAR Hard Card: The annual credential issued to NASCAR officials, drivers, media, and team personnel.
One of the most important articles I bring with me to the race track each weekend is my NASCAR hard card. A hard card is a plastic ID card that is very similar to any school or employer ID card. It’s about the size of a credit card and has my picture, my name, what series I work in, and what team I work for on it. On the back of the card is a NASCAR disclaimer statement, and a place for the holder to sign. This very important piece of plastic grants me access to the infield, garage area, and pit road. Without it, I’m stuck on the outside of the fence looking in.
I’ve often been asked how or where somebody can get their own hard card, or if I will let them buy or borrow mine. I obviously can’t help with either request, but it shows how sought after these credentials can be.
While we are at the track, our cards must either be displayed on our person (as they say) or somewhere very close by. If you get the chance to get into the infield, you’ll notice that many choose to wear their hard card on a lanyard around their neck. When one receives their card from NASCAR, they usually provide a lanyard for you. For some however, the basic lanyard just isn’t good enough. The many wives and girlfriends, along with the many PR and business women are the usual offenders for elaborate and ornate hard card display devices. I guess they figure if they are going to wear a piece of plastic around their neck, they might as well bling it out a little. Bedazzler sold separately.
On the flip side, many crew guys choose to just leave them in their wallets, as wearing it around their neck can cause issues while they are working on the cars. For the rest, the standard lanyard works just fine.
For the young or up and coming crew guy, obtaining that first hard card almost becomes a career goal. It signals that you’ve made it to a solid place in your advancement. Why is this so? It boils down to money. Everyone that works at the track for a NASCAR team must have a NASCAR license. This license costs around $500-$600 a year. A hard card however, costs a few thousand dollars for the year, and means it’s owner can forgo standing in line at the NASCAR credential trailer to get a paper pass each weekend. Only teams with a solid footing can afford to get hard cards for their employees. So having the plastic means you will probably be at the track each weekend and you work for a solid team.
The next logical goal once someone obtains the hard card, is figuring out how to keep it. Racing is a tough, performance driven business, and hanging onto this little piece of plastic can be very difficult. When a guy is fired from a team, the hard card must usually be returned before the last paycheck is given. The reason being that hard cards are transferable, and teams can use it for someone else over the course of the season. Having to give back the card when you aren’t ready to sucks.
The license and hard card are also used by NASCAR as a way to have power over the many team personnel. As a form of punishment for some infractions, NASCAR sometimes pulls hard cards from their holders. NASCAR can also refuse to give people these credentials, if for example, a fine hasn’t been paid or suspension served. No hard card and license, no access.
So as you can see, these pieces of plastic we often wear around our necks carry an awful lot of power. Mine gets me access to places others can’t go, but it can also be used against me. And that’s the mystique of the NASCAR hard card.
It seems that everywhere you go in Mooresville, or really the entire Charlotte area for that matter, you always seem to run into somebody who works in racing. Those of you who read this blog that live in and around Charlotte will know what I’m talking about. And maybe it is something that shouldn’t surprise me with as big of a community as NASCAR is and how concentrated the area is with racing people, but it always does.
I was out with my significant other recently, and as we walked into the restaurant for a nice dinner, I spotted a very well known Cup Series crew chief. He was out with his family and blending in quite nicely. Shockingly enough , he wasn’t decked out head to toe in his race gear (we do have normal clothes too), so I doubt anybody even recognized who he was. I wonder though, if certain folks were out and about in other cities if they would be recognized.
After thinking about this, and wondering about these guys being recognized, I’ve come to believe there are probably two types of people in Charlotte. There are those who are into racing, recognize people, but leave them alone and let them be normal people. And the rest aren’t into racing and are clueless to those around them. I guess maybe there is a third group who do approach these guys, but I’m guessing it’s small.
In Mooresville specifically, it seems that you run into or see somebody all the time. From seeing NASCAR officials in the Target store, to filling up at the gas station next to a driver, or running into another crew buddy at a bar. Even when we are away from the track, we can’t stay away from one another!
I would imagine that being in certain places in Los Angeles would warrant similar sightings for actors, as would hanging out in Nashville for country singers. If you want to be in or around NASCAR, Charlotte is the center of the Universe.
So if you don’t live here, and happen to make it once to attend a race or visit some shops, here is some advice. When you are out and about, keep your eyes peeled, because you never know who you might see or run into! Just remember to be respectful.
This post may end up sounding self serving, but hear me out first. I think it’s time that NASCAR and the media partners start putting more of the spotlight on the faces behind the drivers. If the fans knew some of the people that work in the garage, shop, and on pit road every week, I think it would make the sport more compelling.
I’m personally not much for attention, and tend to like working behind the scenes. This blog may make you think differently about me, but one of my reasons for remaining anonymous is that I don’t necessarily want the attention. I want to bring you into the sport, but I don’t want or need any credit for doing it. Anyways, I digress.
Everyone knows who all the drivers are. You know where they are from, how they came up, and what they are involved in. The sport and the media coverage revolve around them.
Now, outside of the main players, how many crew chiefs can you name? How about crew chiefs outside of the Cup Series? What about pit crew guys? Can you name the car chief for your favorite driver? I’m betting you can’t.
Years ago, crew guys were given a little tiny piece of the spotlight. For a brief time, pit crews were featured on trading cards, and at various times during the TV broadcasts. But since then, the crews don’t get much air time.
With the recent advent of the pit crew helmet cam, a few names have started showing up during the broadcasts. Guys like DJ Copp and Dennis Terry come to mind (if you don’t know, Dennis Terry is the front tire changer for Martin Truex Jr. He has a blog over at That’s Racin that he updates regularly regarding his own experiences. Check it out). And while that is a good thing, I think it’s time to start featuring more people.
I believe it was NBC who used to intro pit crews at various points during the race. That should be brought back (for all three NASCAR series). Also, it would be cool if during the pre or post race shows each week, maybe a team or a few crew members were featured. Maybe talk about where they are from, how they got into racing, and what they do. The group of people that we are around from February to November is a very diverse bunch, and there are people from every part of this country and some other countries. And they all have a story to tell.
Wouldn’t knowing that there is somebody from your town who works on Carl Edwards team make you more interested? I know it would for me.
And this concept doesn’t have to just be the team members, as NASCAR officials could be included.
We currently have one of the best championship battles in the history of our sport brewing, and yet many headlines still continue to focus on the negatives like sponsorships and TV ratings. Letting fans get to know the real face of our sport would only benefit it in the long run.
Let that roll around in your head, and let me know your own thoughts.