Have you ever worked with a certain person or group of people that you just couldn’t stand? And no matter how nice you were or how hard you tried, they were still just a big a-hole? This is a situation that I’ve found myself in before in racing. I’m sure it probably happens at any job, no matter the industry, but I feel like its especially bad in NASCAR. It makes you want to ask them just one question: “who in the hell do you think you are?”
I don’t know what it is about the sport, but the attitudes that some of the people have are just out of control. I guess when you give a person a hard card, a decent wage, throw them in front of a racecar, and put them on TV once a week it goes to their heads. I’m definitely not saying everyone is like this, but there is a small population in the garage that think they are just the cat’s meow. Their damn heads are so big they have trouble walking through normal doorways. And it doesn’t just apply to crew guys. Some of the business people, TV folks, and support people get the attitudes too. Its like a contagious disease.
I’m sure the first thing people are going to think about when reading this is the drivers. But to be honest, the drivers that are really cocky or full of themselves, I can understand. These guys get paid millions a year and put their lives on the line each week to entertain the fans. If they are cocky, I can justify it. It takes a certain type of person to do what they do, and there aren’t a whole lot of individuals on the planet that can do it and be successful.
But for everyone else, its not really necessary. Yeah, there are guys who are better crew chiefs, tire changers, truck drivers, pit road reporters, writers, and tire specialists. And (I think) we are all aware that we are blessed to be in racing, and that there are tons of people who would kill to be in our position. But that isn’t justification for their behavior. We all put our pants on the same, one leg at a time.
I would imagine that the vast majority of people working in the sport were all at one point race fans. And after a while they decided that just watching wasn’t good enough. They wanted to be involved. I think that over time though, everyone loses that perspective a little bit. And sometimes, I believe we all need to be knocked down a rung or two just to keep that perspective in mind.
Now that I’m done ranting, I’d love to turn the discussion over to you, the readers. But instead of hearing about all the jerks, I’d love for you to post a comment and let us know about a situation where you met a driver, crew member, or TV person and the experience was positive. Maybe they took an extra second to sign an autograph or answer a question. Feel free to talk about recent or past experiences, inside or outside the track.
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on Jun 18th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
One year ago I took my then 5yr old son to his first race. We had an opportunity to meet Dennis Terry (front tire changer) and he was awesome with my son. I got to visit DT again this year and he remembered my son and asked how he was doing.
That was awesome and something my son will never forget.
on Jun 18th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I met the shell/pennzoil crew guys in the infield at Talladega this past spring. Great group of guys. They were just riding around in a van and seeing the sites. Offered food and beers which surprisingly they didn’t take. Loved just talking with them.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I have met Robby Gordon and I cant tell you how fan friendly he is. He was signing autographs at his trailer and he stayed longer then he was going to just so he could get everyone that was in the line. Also when you asked him a question he seemed genuinly interested and he commeted back. Unlike some drivers who just sign and move on to the next person.
I go to the California Speedway and Robby is one of the only drivers who I have seen that drives his golf cart around the infield and meets and waves to the fans. At first I figured because this is his home track he makes time for the fans. But then the following year we were at Phoenix Raceway and we were in the camping area and who comes driving threw? Robby Gordon. He was stopping at camps that had Robby signs, Jim Beam Banners or just camps that looked to be having fun.
This guy owns his own team and drives the cars and yet he still makes time for the fans! Why cant some of these other (Just) drivers make that kind of time?
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 4:39 am
We just had the pleasure to hang out on pit road at MIS and I thought everyone was very nice. Lots of crew guys were taking time outs to talk to the kids and take pictures or answer questions. The NASCAR officials were all very friendly and the MIS employees were very friendly and fair trying to accommodate everyone’s wishes for pictures or to just look. Then a very funny thing happened. We were walking behind the pit stalls and I kicked something on the ground. It turned out to be a stray lug nut so I picked it up for a keepsake. Not 5 minutes later when we were walking back up pit road in front of the boxes, I saw another lug nut. Not thinking anything of it I reached down to pick it up and it moved away from me. Some of the Paul Menard guys had it tied to a string and were having a good time with the fans. We all had a good laugh and they gave me a lug nut as a consolation prize. It was a great way to spend Father’s Day with my Dad. If only we could have scored garage passes!
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Nicest driver…. probably a tie between JJ Yeley and Ryan Newman. Casey Mears is very nice too. I’ve met a lot of drivers and they are the three that stand out the quickest in my mind. Ryan especially since he’s come to South Georgia Motorsports Park a few times to run small races and he will sit outside after the race and sign autographs until everyone has gotten one. He doesn’t just pass the autograph along… he stops, looks you in the eyes and says hello and talks to you.
TV Personalities… I think the nicest ones I’ve met while working for Fox Sports as a runner was Chris Meyers, Larry Mac, and Mike Joy. If you remember how cold it was leading up to the 2007 Daytona 500, I was outside all day long in the wind driving a golf cart back and forth to the infield. I was so cold at one point that I had to go in and take some papers to the Hollywood Hotel and Chris Meyers offered me a chair to sit down in and a cup of hot coffee. Larry Mac and Mike Joy were awesome because they didn’t act better than anybody else like some unnamed TV personalities. They would go into food tent and eat with the people who kept ice on the drinks for all the other people. It didn’t matter to them. That was awesome.
Crew members… I got the chance to meet Todd Foster from the #20 Home Depot / Tony Stewart crew and he was very nice and sat and talked for a few minutes before the 2006 Pepsi 400.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 7:43 am
In 2003, a friend and I decided to make a trip to Charlotte and visit all the race teams, look at the shops and collect postcards. We were in Roush Racing’s truck shop in Mooresville, minding our own business and looking through the window into the shop when a door opens and out walks Carl Edwards. He hadn’t even won a truck race yet, but he introduced himself to us, offered to sign anything we wanted and then stood there for about five minutes and chatted with us. That’s become a favorite story to share and earned Carl two die-hard fans in the process.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Two drivers stand out in my mind as fan friendly. I aked both
Ricky Rudd and Jeff Gordon for autographs on different occassions and when I thanked them, they each said no, thank you. I thought
that was so nice and my opinion of one of them was greatly enhanced.
I have had many opportunities to have Rusty Wallace sign autographs and I remember it was really late when after winning
a race in Martinsville when he came down from all the pr doings and he sat and signed autographs at his hauler until everyone one of us got one.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Anytime I have been in the pits I have found most of the crew members to be very cordial in answering any questions and signing autographs. Three years ago I had the opportunity to be in the pits in Texas and talked with a crew member from Kevin Harvick’s team. It was Steven”Slappy”Brown,the tire specialist.Even though he had his job to do he took the time to chat with us and explain his job and answer all our questions. We will never forget how nice he was.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I was a finalist in the Armor All DIY challenge 2 for 2007.
The competition was held at the shops of JTG/Wood Brothers Racing.
When the competition was over a bbq was held for guests and visitors followed by a tour of the shop. The crew members could not have been more hospitable. Whenever they saw someone pausing looking at something a member of the crew always came over to explain what they were looking at or working on. They never made you feel you were a nuisance.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
TC - What caused you to write this post? It seems a little raw.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
J.L., I’m not quite sure what you mean by raw, but there was no particular thing that made me write this post. There are a select few that work in the sport that have serious egos and I wanted to talk about it. But I also saw it as an opportunity to recognize and point out some folks that are pretty cool (which most are).
I think for some, its easy to let a lot of what we experience go to your head, and maybe with our growing readership I might be able to reach one or two of them. Thanks for the comment!
T.C.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
this story is third person but it is a good one.
i was working in home remodeling the cabinets just last week.
it was the home of an Army Paratrooper who had been released from duty for medical reasons.
he told me that after 12 yrs of service he was finally able to do something for his 8 yr old son who he had missed most of the years of him growing up.
his sons driver is Ryan Newman. he emailed the Penske organization about wanting to take his son to the pepsi 400 (he lives less than an 1 1/2 hr from daytona). he had not expected any response, but within 24 hrs he had a response and that the person had spoken to Ryan and he would be honored to meet them a the race.
this American Hero said that Ryan Newman met them personally gave them the grand tour of the garage, the team hauler, and took his son to the team merchandise trailer let him pick anything he wanted and than signed every last piece.
i am sure that up and down pit road that kind of story could be repeated with every driver and every team (at least i would like to think so), but Ryan Newman gained two lifetime fans and gave NASCAR the kind of PR that all other sports combined wish they could have.
i wish the races werent so expensive (not just ticket prices, but concessions, parking, and merchandise, etc.). i would love to be able to get my family (there are six of us) more involved at the races, but it is the only sport that we follow as a family because we can count it being family friendly and not filled with a bunch of street thugs getting rich at our expense and not appreciating it.
sorry for rambling during that last paragraph.
thank you for keeping it real with your blog.
on Jun 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I’ve had the opportunity to meet several drivers and get pics and autographs over the years. Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, JJ Yeley, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne, PJ Jones, Ken Schrader, Joe Nemechek…a whole bunch really all of whom were very nice. By far the friendliest of all those I’ve met are Brendan Gaughan and Robby Gordon. We also had a chance encounter with Jeff Hammond two years ago and he was fantastic. He talked with us for a few minutes and posed for pictures with us. Every person was down to earth and a fine representative for the sport.
on Jun 20th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I was fortunate enough to eat dinner at a restraunt in Texas where Kyle Petty, Eddie Gossage and a large group of other Nascar and track employees and their families were seated next to us. I can not imagine how unpleasant it must be sometimes for the drivers and their families to be constantly hounded by autograph seeking fans, I was there with my father and a couple of buddies and we had just left the track after watching a Busch race. I did not want to bother them but my father was dying to get a picture with Kyle so I sheepishly asked him if I could take a picture of him with my Dad and my two buddies after his group had finished eating. Not only did Kyle go out of his way to be as friendly as he could possibly be, his wife grabbed my camera so I could be in the picture. I am there feeling like the worlds biggest ass for imposing and they did everything that they could do to show their appreciation to their fans. I’ll never forget that, nor will I ever forget the near encounter that I had with Darryl Waltrip at the the first Nascar race I ever attended in ‘01 at Texas. After watching Bill Elliot set a track record in qualifying I was walking to catch a tram back to our campground when I hear some asshole yelling “get put of the way!” I turned around just in time to jump out of the way of a speeding golf cart. Some ass kissing production assistant was driving and DW was yelling for people to move. If he had been trying to make to the set to do a broadcast I could have understood the rush but that wasn’t the case. DW wasn’t driving but it sure as hell didn’t bother him that his cart was nearly running people over. DW has no class.
on Jun 23rd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’ve been very lucky to meet several drivers and most have been very good about signing autographs and acknowledging fans. Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards, Michael Waltrip, and Greg Biffle took extra time with me to chat and make sure pictures turned out okay before they went on. I was impressed with Kasey Kahne at the Daytona 500 this year. He made sure he signed ALL autographs before he got on his golfcart.
I’m still waiting for Junior (my favorite driver) to slow down and get a picture with me. Wishful thinking- I know but I’ll be out there trying at Daytona.
on Jun 24th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I’ve never had garage or pit passes–I’m not one of the lucky or the rich, I guess. But a couple stories–at the Glen I saw Kyle Petty signing autographs for a half hour (not at the trailer, he just hung out at the fence with the regular folks…) Also, I saw Robby there signing autographs for a few guys waiting in the pouring rain on his way to an appearance. (A friend of mine ran into him at a truckstop once and he signed stuff for their whole family; couldn’t have been nicer.)
I was walking with my friend outside the backstretch at Richmond for the truck race. A man was headed toward us on a motorbike in a big hat–sure enough, as he got closer we realized who it was and both waved–Richard Petty gave us a big Petty smile and waved back. It was worth more than a thousand autographs. Jerry Nadeau once rode by us in a golf car smiling and waving as people recognized him. Saw Jack Roush and Benny Parsons years ago trying to politely sign things as they were walking in a hurry to get somewhere. I’ve heard the bad stories too but haven’t personally seen it myself.
This is a little different–once I was at the Glen by myself watching the garage, and a (then) Busch official asked me to be the ‘go between’ as they tried to get some Italian sausage from a vendor out of their reach (the gates are always locked.) We managed to get the dozen sandwiches under the fence, the official gave me cards from as many garages as he could.