No, I’m not talking about the ridiculously amazing show on HBO. I’m talking about those that follow some drivers to each and every race. Some are good, and some are not so good. Either way, they are a reality in the sport because those at the top are young, well paid, and popular.
The entourage usually consists of friends, family, moochers, or some combination of the three. They arrive at the track and are given pit passes which allow them almost unrestricted access to garage areas and pit areas, all so they can hang out with their guy.
Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes these folks are good people. I like the groups that just want to enjoy the race, maybe ask a question or two, and are smart enough to know when to stay out of the way. It usually takes one of two experience levels to be one of these people. They’ve either been to races before, been through the deal, and know how they should behave; or they have never been before, think they are in the way all the time, but are smart enough to ask questions and pay attention.
It gets annoying and frustrating when you get the group who think they own everything, are entitled to everything, and don’t realize most of us are at the track to do a job. I’ve been around some of these type of folks at various points during my career. This type of entourage eats the food prepared for the crew, leaving none for the guys, drinks all the water and sports drinks on a hot day, again leaving nothing for the crew, and aren’t smart enough to not stand on my air hose as I’m jumping off the wall for a pitstop. (If I come back across the wall cussing like a sailor at you, maybe you’ll learn not to stand on my hose next time…)
If you get the chance to see a race from pit road, look around you. You’ll notice many teams now rope or chain off their pit areas to keep certain folks out. Often times, the entourage is included in this group who are not allowed in. In addition to standing on air hoses, the bad ones always demand a radio or scanner to listen in during the race, insist on standing on tires, crowding around pit box TVs, and deciding to take photos at very inopportune times.
Okay, now I’m going to apologize. I just read over what I’ve been writing and I totally just went on a little rant. It wasn’t intended, so I’m sorry. Besides, like I said above, some of these people are great. But it’s the few bad ones that always ruin it for all the good people. So I’m going to ask you to promise me something going forward. If you are apart of the entourage or are just the random Joe who gets a pit pass, please don’t be one of the bad ones…
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on Oct 29th, 2008 at 8:57 am
That’s a great post. It’s unreal how many people think you are there to entertain them while you try to win in one of the most competitive race series in the world. They are clueless and many times drunk to boot. Maybe you could increase prices to keep these low lifes out.
on Oct 29th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I saw exactly what you are describing this past weekend in Atlanta. Seems like AMS, being a fair weather fan base, must get more than it’s share of entourage and free-loaders.
Bottom line is these people obviously have the mentality that because they are being entertained, that the crew is there just because racing is a “fun” sport. All the time forgetting about the fact that this is your “job” and you’re not there simply to make their experience more pleasurable. Maybe on Monday morning the crew should show up at their office and “camp out” at their desk, eat their lunch and play w/ their laptops and paper clips.
on Oct 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am
LOL, I’m old enough to remember that at our local track, only racers and crews were allowed in the pits. No wives, kids, friends or pets allowed in. And once in the pits, you were not allowed out until racing finished. The officials thought that if you were allowed out, you would make a straight line to the beer tent and come back to the pits drunk. Times have certainly changed in 25 years.
on Oct 30th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I like Neon’s idea of the crews showing up on Monday morning messing around peoples offices…eating their lunch and playing with their laptops and paperclips.
I do promise though should I be in the pits (highly unlikely)…not to stand on anybody’s airhose, drink anyone’s water or eat anyone’s food if I ever find myself in the pits. And I definitely won’t sit on the tires. I would probably just stand in a corner and snap a couple pictures….and if I had the nerve maybe ask a question…but that might be too much for me!