Ask The Insiders Wednesday #55

It’s our last Ask The Insiders Wednesday of 2009!  It’s been a great year of reader questions, and we hope you continue coming back and asking questions in 2010.  If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here.  So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us.  On to the questions…

1. From mangopants:

Hey all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Hope this hasn’t already been asked (I’ve tried to search on your site) – can you talk a little bit about what kind of training drivers get?  I’m sure only “experienced drivers with talent” get hired on, but once the contract is signed – what other training do they get?  Media coaching?  Partnered with an experienced driver?   Watching the replays and breaking down what went right and wrong?   What works and what doesn’t? Appreciate your site and knowledge!!!

From the competition side, if a veteran teammate is available, a young driver will be paired with them to aid in development.  Also, in recent years, we’ve seen guys like David Green get hired by teams with young drivers to both serve as a spotter and driver coach.  And some drivers will watch race replays if they haven’t been to a track before, but once they get to a certain point, watching race replays isn’t really relevant. – T.C.

Professional media coaching in the sport is a hit and miss thing. Some bigger name guys with more carefully crafted images have certainly done some, but it just depends. It all comes down to having the capability to do it (i.e. the money) and not everybody does. - Journo

2. From Steve:

I have a multi-part, rambling, question about the cars.  How many cars generally comprises “one” car? Does it vary widely from the big teams to the small teams? Or does every team at the Sprint Cup level have approximately the same inventory?  Also, how many of the different categories of car do those (say 20) cars fit into? 4 for superspeedways? 10 for 1.5 milers? 6-8 for short tracks? 4 road course? Etc?  I assume there is a plan laid out before the season starts that maps out which 2 cars are going to be taken to each race for the whole season? (Barring wrecks or desire to build a new car superseding the original plan?) Then about paint; If a car is going to run more than once in a season, do the teams try to ensure they will be 2 races that are supposed to run with the same sponsor/paint scheme? Or, is paint not even a factor, and they’ll just strip/repaint one car (with different schemes) within a season because (obviously) the car itself is more important than what it looks like.

Bigger teams definitely have more of a car inventory then the small teams.  One team may have as many as ten or twelve cars.  The COT has helped some with not having so many specialized cars.  Cars are more interchangeable between track types.  Teams will usually have a few cars (2-4 usually) dedicated to one type of track.  Also, the teams try and map out which cars will go to which races as early as possible, but wrecks, building new cars, and other changes will dictate the schedule.  In terms of paint, you don’t want to obviously be constantly re-doing graphics, because it can be costly, but with that said, paint schemes aren’t saved.  Cars run where they need to be run and are painted accordingly. – T.C.

3. From Savannah:

Hi Guys, I have a curious question this week.  Have either of you ever almost exposed your real idenitites by accident?  Or, haveyou ever signed an email by your alias to a friend/co-worker/ or relative?

Honestly we are both so conscious of it, it has never been an issue (knock on wood). I’ve had dreams where I’ve accidently sent someone an e-mail with my actual name signed to it and then woke up and frantically made sure I hadn’t. TC is the same way. I know personally I get into TNI modes when I’m doing stuff for the site and then as soon as I’m done it’s pushed to the back of my mind. The only people we talk to about the site are each other, so it coming up in conversation is never a problem. – Journo

And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close.  Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.  And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!

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