August 24th, 2009 
T.C. Each week when we set up on pit road for the race, we’ve got two neighbors. One on each side. Most pit stalls, both over the wall and behind the wall, are clearly marked. Everybody gets about the same amount of real estate. And in being neighbors, you try and work with the teams around you to ensure pit stops go smoothly and everyone works together. But sometimes that is easier said then done.
Let me give you a quick scenario to illustrate my point. Our driver hits pit road, stops in the stall, and we start work. As the carrier is rolling the right side tire back to the wall, it takes a weird bounce and kicks into the stall in front (or behind). A good neighbor will help you out and knock that tire down so it doesn’t get away and we don’t get penalized. They do this hoping that if the situation were reversed, you would do the same. But if that tire somehow impedes the neighbor’s pit stop, or they don’t want to help you, that tire might magically make its way back away from the pit wall.
As in anything else, there are some people and teams in the garage you get along with, and some you don’t. For whatever reason, they don’t like you and you don’t like them. That may be one reason they don’t want to help you.
Or, at the beginning of the race, there may be no problems between two teams. But something that happens during the race might create a problem; say one team blocks another in on pit road. A driver who is blocked in is going to lose track position, and both the driver and team will be mad. Your team will probably hear some choice language at a high volume from the neighboring guys, and later on, don’t expect them to help you.
Remember when Marcos Ambrose’s gas man, Jimmy Watts, ran into the infield grass at Atlanta under green to chase down an errant tire? There were some that said the team behind them on pit road pushed the tire back away from the wall. I’m not going to confirm or deny this, but if it was true, this is a perfect example of how bad blood can affect a pit stop.
I’ve said this before on this blog, but sometimes the competition on pit road is more fierce then it is on track. Teams are shoulder to shoulder on pit road, and they battle each other for every inch. We are all competitive people, and sometimes things boil over. You will have that from time to time in big time auto racing.
Won’t you be my neighbor?
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TC, Did you realize that this is a great movie idea? I can see it. You need to flesh it out and pitch it to hollywood, no kidding.
Combine your “movie treatment” line of thought with the movies “The Warriors” and “Gangs of New York” and you would have a very entertaining movie.
May I suggest names? “Gangs of Pitroad” or maybe “Pitroad Warriors”.
Might I add that imuho the pit crew is the most important facet of a race team. I understand that the driver and engine/car designers and sponsors are keys, but the underrecognised pit crew can break a race. Unfortunaley the crew memers are usually not mentioned until someone makes a mistake, and that is too bad. Just like the catcher in Baseball, no one notices the great work, until there is an error. btw-I beieve the MLB catcher is the hardest positon in all of sports, but I wont dewll on that.
Maybe your movie could change the public perception of the pit crew. Your movie could cause the pit crews to be as recognized as the drivers. I am not kidding. Just as Joe Mauer, catcher for The Minnesota Twins, is raising the awarenss of the importance of the catcher’s position in baseball.
here are the movies I referred to;
“The Warriors”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/
“Gangs of New York”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217505/
TC,
I realize that you are in a predicament based on your anonymity as well as not wanting to make enemies, but this post would have been much more interesting if you have some more real life examples. I am just saying.
Great post. The only thing that would make it better would be if you named some names, but I know you can’t do that. It would be interesting, though, to put together a list of the worst things one pit crew has done to the another during a race, with or without names.
Thats a great song TC, along with a great post.
Garry,
Like your idea and think we ought to consider “Any Given Saturday Night”. (In honor of Bristol and because ‘Sunday’ was already taken.)
Fast forward to the end and Al Pacino says, “We fight for that inch. We claw for that inch. We scratch for that very last inch.”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146838/
Thanks RAEckart, that is a great title
.
I really think TC should try his hand at being a Hollywood screenwriter , he does write well., and this could be a great movie.
I like the idea, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about writing a movie. I’m trying to decide who I would want to play me in the movie though…
The first thing you write is called a “treatment”.
A treatment is not a full blown script, it is an idea for a movie. It lays out the charactors, the setting, and some plot lines.
I have no idea what you would want to say, but I bet that if you reviewed all your threads, many ideas would pop out at you.
WHAT IS A TREATMENT?
I searched google for an explaination of treatment-
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ei=bemVStDQJJXVlAe078mrDA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=what+is+a+treatment&spell=1
One result is this website, which actually explains treatments quite well( btw- I guarantee that I am NOT related to this website in any way, I just found it
http://www.writingtreatments.com/html/home.html
or just searcch TREATMENTS, or something like that.
I am just having fun, I have no agenda, it just occurred to me as I read you post that this could be a good idea : ), If you do a good job at it and present it to “them” the fact you are you, YOU ARE THE REAL DEAL PIT CREW MAN, “they” would probably respect the source of the script/treatment. GO FOR IT.
ANYWAY…it is all for fun for you.
Figure out if you see the movie as serious, like
“Days of Thunder” or a funny like “Animal House”.
I know some might say funny like “Ricky Bobby” but I do not like that actor and I did not like the way that movie depicted racing, but that is just my opinion.
Maybe find some happy middle ground.
I see an “Animal House” or “Caddy shack” style, but set on PIT ROAD. There is humor, but the main charactors are smart, and they have a plan.
This sets a background for the story to unfold.
Then write up the good guys ( You, Journo and the gang )(our heros) VERSUS the bad guys ( the dastardly enemy pit crews) (the villians). Maybe you could write up the politics of pit road, and how the good guys do it right, and the other guys…..well you have to tell us.
then juts tell stories, tie it all together.
Mainly, Have fun, cuz fun is a good thing to have: )