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.
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on Aug 7th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Journo,I experienced that first hand. When I was a guest of JTG/Wood Brothers racing for the Armor All Challenge The group was invited to have dinner with the team before the Dollar General 300. Although not very fancy,the food was awesome! It also helped,I’m sure,that key sponsors were charcoal and BBQ sauce. Can’t forget the variety of Little Debby snacks either.
The atmosphere was of a cook out one might have while camping with a real nice camper!
on Aug 7th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Michael- Great point. Those sponsors can really help out when it comes to things like that. I know of teams having deals with companies to get meat and other food items. You can’t beat free M&Ms and Little Debbie snack cakes. Thanks for reading!
on Aug 15th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
You hit the nail on the head in the Thankless Jobs department. For a few years, my wife and I helped with the cooking at Texas for the Orleans/South Point racing team (and for both fall 2006 and 2007 they ended up parked next to BHR, so they shared the bounty). For those guys, it really was a nice morale boost for some folks to come in who had the resources of home, a few weeks to scour the local markets for the best meals at the best deals, and a hard-work attitude. For the guy normally saddled with cooking duty, we were Superman and Wonder Woman! The end result was not only would the guys get bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp for race-day dinner, it would be fresh and was bought at a sale price.
Obsessed-fan types need not apply for this duty, you work your tail off so guys on the team can concentrate on other areas and always know that anyone with a team and anything with wheels has right-of-way, so grow a few extra pair of eyes! Still, I’d be a little ashamed to show my face if I ever got a garage pass and my only contribution was to get in the way! Would I trade it? Well, I might rearrange that June truck race to a little cooler time but otherwise, of course not. We’re hoping to do the honors again for the Circle Bar team come October.