August 7th, 2008 
T.C. It’s a quote you’ve probably heard a thousand times from drivers being interviewed. They always thank their sponsors, maybe the crew chief, and the guys back in the shop. Those all important ”guys back in the shop” are what separates the good teams from the bad.
For all the mechanics and crew members you see at the race track every weekend, there are many more that you will never see. This group covers the chassis builders, paint and body guys, mechanics, engine builders, and engineers. Without these people busting their butts all week building and prepping cars, we wouldn’t have any racing series. They often work long hours, sometimes six or seven days a week, to make sure their drivers have the best possible equipment to attack the competition.
And I also don’t want to leave out the small crews of test team guys that constantly travel and spend all their time at race tracks, albeit without any fans in the stands watching them. They are responsible for experimenting and gathering all the necessary data to continue improving the cars.
Being successful on raceday starts back in the shop. When the cars roll off the haulers for the weekend, they need to be damn near race ready, except for a few small changes. This allows the A-team mechanics to get right to work fine-tuning the setup for the drivers. I think a big difference between the haves and have-nots in NASCAR is the level of preparedness that the teams have when they hit the track. Practice sessions are short and every minute is extremely valuable. If you are wasting that time nut-and-bolting your racecar or fixing stupid little problems that should have been solved at the shop, you miss out.
I had an email question today from a reader asking why teams like RGM and Hall of Fame Racing continue to struggle even though they are aligned with major teams. I think the level and amount of talented people in their shops is a big reason. Evernham and Gibbs are sharing equipment and information, but they certainly aren’t giving away all their secrets. These smaller teams are still on their own to figure out the best ways to make these cars fast. It takes serious resources to stock your shop with the best and brightest of the NASCAR community.
Working in these race shops isn’t easy, and can often be a thankless position. When the race is over, these guys don’t get to stand in victory lane, celebrate, or pose for pictures. Most likely, they are already back working in the shop to get the cars ready for the next race.
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I think a good example of how prepared some teams are is when they had that rain before the All Star race in 2001. They wrecked half the field on the first lap and Nascar decided they could bring out their backup cars since it wasn’t a points race. Some teams were totaling scrambling, others had to change engines, or like eventual winner Jeff Gordon’s team, you just roll it off the trailer, tweak it, and you are just as fast or faster then you were before. I have always thought that was one of the most impressive wins for Jeff Gordon and Hendrick. To beat the best of the best and do it in your backup car was pretty awesome.