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?
You may not realize it, but while the 2009 season still isn’t officially over yet, preparations for 2010 have already begun. One area that teams will spend the last few races working on, is changes to their pit crews.
To the untrained eye, it may appear to be business as usual for your favorite driver on pit road. The car comes in, four tires go on, the car leaves. But many teams take the opportunity to use these last couple of races to plug some new crew guys into their teams and see how they fare. Do they gel with the existing crew guys? Are they rattled by the pressure? Could they make it next year? These are all questions teams are trying to answer.
You won’t usually see this from the Chasers, but many teams outside the Chase will tinker. It is inevitable that some guys will stay with their current teams, while others are looking to move on. And some will be looking for a new spot involuntarily. Either way, the teams need to find new guys to fill those holes. These races can give them that chance to see what a guy, or guys, has.
Besides lateral movement within a series, these races also give teams a chance to see some younger guys in action. Maybe a guy is brought up from the Truck Series to the Nationwide Series, or from the Nationwide Series to the Cup Series. Crew chiefs and pit crew coaches can see first hand if a younger, inexperienced guy might be ready to move up the ranks. Some will thrive, while others will need more time to mature.
When you watch any of the races this weekend, the Cup race in particular, be on the lookout for helmets on pit crew guys that don’t match the rest of the crew. Often times, a gray helmet on a team means a new guy is involved. And if you really know your favorite driver’s team well, take a look at each crew member. Do you recognize every face? In many cases, I’ll bet you will be able to spot some fresh faces. It’s just another example of how teams are always working to be better for the future.
And then there were two.
Phoenix and Homestead are the only two remaining races before we put the 2009 season in the books. And I’ve got to say, I’m a little bummed.
This time of year is always a little bitter sweet for me. I know there are a ton of guys that look forward to off weekends during our short offseason, but I’m not really one of them. Yeah, it will be nice to spend some time with friends and family this winter, and maybe get in a nice vacation (or two), but as soon as we leave Homestead I’m going to be counting the days until Daytona. As I’ve said here before, I’m very fortunate to be doing what I love, and it’s a pleasure to head to the track each weekend. There is nothing else I would rather be doing.
It has definitely been an interesting year, not only for my own team, but for our sport as a whole. From brutal layoffs, to Jeremy Mayfield, the emergence of some young drivers, and Jimmie Johnson’s continued dominance have all made for intriguing story lines. Who knows what 2010 will bring the world of NASCAR.
For those teams out there right now without sponsorship or who are unsure about the future, it can be a very uneasy time. Many crew guys don’t know if they will have a job following Homestead and the Thanksgiving break. There will certainly be more layoffs in the coming weeks. Teams like the new RPM/Yates group, RCR, Roush, and many smaller teams including those in the Truck and Nationwide Series may have a tough couple of months ahead. The last few races always bring the inevitable “so do you know what you are doing next year” conversations. Some years that question is okay to answer, other years you’d rather not hear it.
I’ve still got two races left, but looking back over the year, I’ve got to say that I’m pretty happy with how things went. I’m a better tire changer then I was when I started the season and my career continues to progress. And a year always has to be looked upon as a success if you make it to every race! I was able to work with a great group of people all year, and that always makes the race weekends even more fun.
When we head down to South Florida next weekend for the finale, you can be sure I will be both excited and disappointed. I really enjoy going to the track at Homestead, as it is a great venue. But knowing it’s our last hurrah for 2009 will be tough. Hopefully the offseason goes by quickly though.
Before I end this post, I’m curious what your thoughts are as we close out 2009. Are you bummed it’s over? Or are you ready to forget ‘09 and hope 2010 gets here quick? What will you now spend your weekends doing? Will you have a countdown timer set for that first weekend in February?
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.
It’s the last day of September, and fall is in the air. The Cup and Nationwide teams take the fight to Kansas Speedway this week, but before they do, it’s question and answer time. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Steve:
Re: RPM – Yates merger and the loss of Petty engine jobs. Isn’t it likely that Yates is going to need to hire at least some more people – perhaps from the RPM engine shop – to handle the increased workload?
It’s possible. At the end of the day they’re only adding two teams though. That may or may not mean more positions at Roush-Yates. I would say even if there are new jobs it’s far from guaranteed someone from RPM would be hired for them, and even if they are I’m sure they would take a pay cut of some kind (which means they may not even be interested). – Journo
2. From Walt:
At the first of the year alot of the teams were having problems with the lug bolts because they were longer. How have the teams adjusted to this issue?
The tire changers have just gotten used to the new stud length. It forces guys to slow down a bit, and it was just going to take some time for it to happen. You’ve got to remember, some of these changers have been doing it this same way for five or ten years. Changing the rhythm overnight was just not going to happen. Plus, I believe NASCAR has relaxed the rule just a bit. - T.C.
3. From Larry:
Is their anything brewing, in the garage area, pertaining to Johnny Benson landing a ride and sponsorship, for 2010?
Yeah, as we reported a while ago the buzz is JB is heading to Kyle Busch’s potential new team next season. Ray Dunlap reported a couple weeks ago that he’s hearing Conway is a potential sponsor for the team. – Journo
4. From Dan:
Any idea how much a guy like Dave Blaney gets for qualifying and starting a “start and park” car? How are they looked upon from the rest of the teams? Is there an understanding they will stay out of the way as long as they’re on the track after the green flag waves?
A guy like Blaney probably gets a flat fee plus a percentage of the winnings, usually in the 20-40% range depending on the driver. I can’t speak for everyone, but as long as a S&P doesn’t interfere with my team, I really don’t care. I know NASCAR isn’t fond of them, and neither are teams that want to race but can’t out-qualify them. Most of the S&P’ers do a decent job of staying out of the way. But not always. – T.C.
5. From Martha:
Can you please tell when the 2009 Nascar Chase cup winner banquet will be held and shown on TV? Date, time, and channel. We missed it last year and we want to get it on the calendar for this year. Thanks.
Unfortunately NASCAR hasn’t released a lot of information pertaining to the banquet. We know it’ll be on December 4th a the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, but other than that nothing. When it gets closer and we hear more about it, I’ll be sure to update you. – Journo
6. From Jeanette:
I noticed some time ago that Red Bull Racing has been very clever with the numbers on the car. Brian Vickers in the 83: Inside of the 3 is a sideways “V”! On the 99 Nationwide car of Scott Speed, the numbers look like “SS”. Any idea who was behind this hint of creativity? Team? Driver? Sponsors?
You know I’ve honestly never noticed that before. I don’t know if there is anything to that or if it’s just the script they use (it’s the same on all the cars) and it’s just a coincidence. Usually the designs for the cars come from the teams and are approved by the sponsors. In this case they’re one in the same. Sorry I can’t give you a more conclusive answer. – Journo
7. From Denny:
I have noticed most of the pit boxes have around three monitor screens on them. One looks to be the ABC TV-feed and where does the feed come from on the other couple of screens? One looks like the running order on the track, maybe?
Teams will usually have the live TV feed, timing and scoring, their various engineering programs, and views from the pit stop cameras available to view on the monitors on the pit box. – T.C.
8. From Lee:
I thought Hendrick always prides itself on their open book policy. So why then is Johnson bragging about some small adjustment they made, when it seems the other Hendrick teams don’t know what that adjustment was. It’s from this articlehttp://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=newton_david&idE09691and the phrase below: Those are pretty strong words from a driver considered to be one of the hardest workers in the garage. But Martin is right. While most were watching college football, gambling at the Dover Downs casino or sleeping Saturday night, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were looking for an edge. Finally, as Johnson said, they “just hit something in my stomach.” It was a small adjustment, one that made Johnson better in the corners. It turned into a huge advantage, one Johnson knew he had two laps into the race. Not even a new rear tire changer slowed the team.
Those are pretty strong words from a driver considered to be one of the hardest workers in the garage. But Martin is right. While most were watching college football, gambling at the Dover Downs casino or sleeping Saturday night, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were looking for an edge.
Finally, as Johnson said, they “just hit something in my stomach.”
It was a small adjustment, one that made Johnson better in the corners. It turned into a huge advantage, one Johnson knew he had two laps into the race. Not even a new rear tire changer slowed the team.
A couple of things. Even if they did share whatever this minor adjustment was, there is no guarantee it would have done anything for the other teams. They’re all likely working with different setups, which means adjustments affect the cars in different ways. Remember too, all of these teams are running for a championship at this point, so you might not necessarily want to give away all your secrets. – Journo
9. From Phil:
Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions and get replies. You guys are great!!!This weekend, the rain washed off the rubber at Dover before the race and had to be built back up. Can you explain how rubber on the track affects the cars. Does it increase or decrease grip? Increase or decrease tire wear? Does it make the car tight or loose? Does it make passing easier or harder? Sometimes it seems if it?s hot, the announcers say it makes the track greasy and slippery. Other times, if the track has no rubber, it seems like the announcers and drivers look forward to getting rubber build up. I?m totally confused!!!!!Incidentally, as a side story, my only experience with rubber on the track is walking on the track at Bristol before a race. I told my wife to climb to the top of the banking in turn 4 while I stood at the bottom to take her picture. She got up there but was afraid to walk back down for fear of falling so I had to walk up and hold her to walk back down. The rubber on the track was like walking in glue and I almost walked out of my shoe. We looked like total idots in front of 100,000 people!!!!
As a weekend rolls along, a track will get “rubbered in.” The more laps that are run, the more rubber gets laid down. How exactly the cars are affected by the rubber really depends on the track, the surface, the weather, and what tire compound the teams are using. For maximum grip, there needs to be some level of rubber laid down. Without it, you end up with situations like last year at the Brickyard. A green race track will usually wear tires faster. For a more detailed (and scientific) explanation of track surfaces and grip, check out this post. - T.C.
10. From windowlicker:
When the cars or trucks come in for a fuel only pit stop, they are told not to slide into the pits so as not to flat spot the tires. But when they’re leaving the pit it seems they’re always spinning the tires & sometimes smoking them. Does this affect the grip in the rear tires at all, especially if the tires are past due to have been changed?
I’m sure that some rubber is lost, but compared to what the tire goes through during a normal lap, I would imagine the amount isn’t significant. If it was, you’d see crew chiefs instructing drivers to not spin their tires leaving the stall. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
One Chase race down, nine to go. It’s Wednesday again, so if you’ve got questions, we try really hard to have answers. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Pat:
Simple question: what tool do the pit crews typically use to pry the fenders up off the tire after contact? Is it just a pry bar or something more specialized? Thanks!
Teams use everything from their hands, to hammers and baseball bats, to specialized tools. Roush has a fender rolling tool they developed some years back that some teams use. – T.C.
2. From Ric:
I have heard that the Michael Waltrip we see on TV is not the real Michael Waltrip. That he just plays the country boy / hick / hillbilly / country bumpkin / image. Any truth to that? Are other drivers out there that are totally different on TV / in front of the fans, then they are in real life / behind the scenes?
I think to some extent the TV side of Michael you see isn’t real. He’s not quite as funny and goofy as he’d like you to think he is. And I think because of how corporate NASCAR has become, drivers are more polished when they are on TV and in front of the fans. They are going to be a little different when they are just around friends or their teams and can loosen the collar a bit. – T.C.
3. From Matt:
What plans does Hendrick have for Landon Cassill? I thought he would have been a perfect driver for the 88 car in NW.
I honestly don’t know of any plans. I believe he is still doing testing for Hendrick and he is running some dirt modified races, but as far as next year goes, I haven’t heard anything. I too think Landon would have been a good candidate for that ride, but with Bires you get someone with a bit more experience and a little bit more assurance. – Journo
4. From Steve:
Each team has their tires for the race laid out in rows behind the pit box. Is there anything to this, are the tires in any particular order? Or is a tire a tire? And while I saw pressures being checked before the race, are pressures double checked just before they’re used?
Before the race, all sets of tires will be numbered and then will be used in the race according to a specific order. The tire specialists will match tires according to stagger, and strategy will dictate which order the sets are used (for example, when to use stickers and when to use scuffs). – T.C.
5. From Kenny:
What do you hear about the #9’s engine? I kinda wonder if someone who was upset about the lay-off notices at RPM might have just forgotten to tighten a bolt, or fasten a nut…
We actually heard it was a broken crankshaft that did Kahne in. Honestly I can see where all the conspiracy theories are coming from, but it’s just not true. Not only would the sabotage have had to have been the greatest the sabotage ever (he makes it 66 laps, qualifying and several practice sessions?), but despite many of these guys probably losing their jobs at the end of the season, they are still looking at bonuses if Kahne wins the championship. In the end they would only be hurting themselves. I honestly believe it was nothing more than a coincidence. – Journo
6. From Amy:
My question revolves around Tony Stewart’s loose (broken?) axle cap at Louden. One of the announcers said during the broadcast that they probably didn’t even need to bother to fix it? If that is they case why did the team take the time (losing positions) to fix the issue?
The rear axles actually have two caps. The first is a flat cap that actually holds the axle in the tube. The second cap screws to the first cap and is a cone shape. It aids the tire carriers in indexing the new tires during pit stops. The cap that gave Stewart trouble was the outer, cone shaped cap. It sounded like the screws were not tightened properly and came loose. Not fixing the loose cap wouldn’t have led to any mechanical failures, but it would have made subsequent pit stops very difficult for the rear tire carrier, probably resulting in slow pit stops. – T.C.
7. From Amy:
Here is another question I just thought of- this one is directed more towards T.C. In the last two races, two different crew members have sustained hits on pit road during stops. In this article on NASCAR.COM (http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/09/22/five.things.dwayne.moore.dreutimann/index.html) Dwayne Moore (hit by Tony Stewart at Richmond) mentions that drivers who hit crew members should get penalized (he specifically mentions tail end). Do you think this is a good idea? When you are over the wall how much trust do you put in the drivers around your pitstall? Is there a way to make it safer?
It might not be a bad thing to consider. If drivers knew they would be penalized for hitting a guy, they might be more careful. But the problem is, is none of these incidents happen on purpose. Drivers aren’t trying to hit guys. These end up being wrong place, wrong time type of situations and there just isn’t enough time for either party to react quickly enough. When I’m over the wall, I just have to hope that my guys around me will watch my back and that the drivers are paying attention. But part of doing what we do is knowing that there is a chance you could get hit. That is why we now wear firesuits and helmets. – T.C.
8. From Doug:
I feel the new restart rule in the cup series has had an unexpected fall out. It seems now since the lap down cars don’t get any air time (by starting on the inside of the front runners), that sponsors are pulling out and will continue to do so. Since NNWS has gone to this rule you’ll start seeing this trend also.
I’m not really sure what evidence there is of this. I can promise the recent announcements by Jack and Jim had nothing to do with the restart rule. Other than them, I can’t think of any sponsors at any level pulling out. The TV the back markers get really wasn’t all that great before the restart rule, and still remains not great. TV exposure while important, is not the only reason a company sponsors a Cup car though. I don’t think the restart rule has/will have any effect on sponsorships. – Journo
9. From red8814:
Hey TC, when a car ends up backwards in the pit like Ragan did this past weekend, are there any changes in who does what on the stop? Also, can you extend our “get well soon!” thoughts to Clint Pittman? You guys in the pits don’t get enough credit for everything you do in the middle of that chaos!
Teams will usually keep their positions, but the problem lies in the tires. With fronts now in the rear, the rears now in the front, and the sides swapped, guys have to be real careful about knowing which tires they are putting on. They end up needing to swap tires front to rear, and left to right. – T.C.
10. From ronfrankl via Twitter:
Which teams are likely to have sponsorship issues in the closing weeks of the season? Any teams that might fold?
None that I’m aware of before the end of the season. As far as next season goes, look to those teams, even individually within bigger organizations, that have lost sponsors or are having trouble finding sponsorship. Most of those problems are ones that have been well publicized. – Journo
11. From 4wide via Twitter:
With 5 tracks in the Chase that have lights, why only one Saturday night race and the rest on Sunday against the NFL?
I think this is simple. ABC needs something to go against the NFL on Sundays and they have NASCAR. While in a lot of situations the NFL game is going to do better than the NASCAR race, it will still give ABC a formidable NFL opponent. – Journo