Nascar: 2010

[tcrist]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Terry,

Due to the amount of spotters and radio talk, I have heard some drivers just want their spotter to say high or low if there is a car above or below them. They all want the Clear High or Clear Low from the interviews I have watched.

Ron

Ron,
I know if it were me in the car I would not want the same words being used in comunication meaning two different things. Low and clear low meaning two different things would be confusing. To me it would have to be "inside" if someone was there and "clear low" if it was clear. That way it would be known exactly what was being ment.

Of course I am old and need to have things clear and concise or I can get confused. My stroke did not help with that either.

[Ron61]

Terry,

I agree with you about limiting the words used. I guess it is just what you get used to. Myself I had rather hear Clear Low or Clear High when it is clear and just low or high when there is a car there, Inside and outside would work just as well if I was racing and used to those words.

Ron

[Silverback51]

NASCAR still sucks and will continue to suck in my opinion until they go back to running "stock" cars.

[Ron61]

John,

They can't run stock cars any more because all of the new ones have some kind of electronic fuel injection systems. They claim it would be to hard to keep them from cheating.

Ron

[Wayne Maybury]

I bet that Jr. (and others) would not be singing that tune if he (they) had won the race. I like his comment about kit cars considering that they are driving spec race cars.

I agree that restrictor plate races are boring until the last few laps when unfortunately they end up wrecking a bunch of cars virtually every time. They have these long tracks with high banking so every driver puts the gas to the floor and leaves it there until a caution come out. Whoever happens to be at the front of the line of cars at the end of the last lap ====> wins. Like it or not, that is NASCAR restrictor plate racing.

Wayne

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by Ron61

John,

They can't run stock cars any more because all of the new ones have some kind of electronic fuel injection systems. They claim it would be to hard to keep them from cheating.

Ron

I'm talking body shape Ron.

[Ralphy]

Jimmy Spencer on JJ. "He's driving like an idiot."

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010...ml?MostPopular

[Wayne Maybury]

One driver that must be happy with all of this is Carl Edwards now that everyone has something else to talk about rather than about him putting Brad upside down.

Wayne

[Ron61]

John,

If they could use the newer body shapes and keep the current engines then that would be interesting. They may even come up with some things that would improve the versions sold to the public.

Ron

[Don]

Considering the distance from the spotters location, car speed, closing rate, angle of vision , depth perception, determining/guessing what the other driver may or may not do, and any other variable such as the drivers style, not an easy task. Watching the TV's multiple replays, such as the overhead shot from the blimp, or the action taken place while at home, no comparison to having to react, under split second pressure, in the real time mode at the track.

One of the reasons Dale SR resisted using a full face helmet, his peripheral vision was restricted, another reason for the spotter.

**** The role of the spotter along with Q & A:

by Ashley McCubbin Correspondent

" When you hear people talking about the different teams, you hear of the drivers and their impact with their driving ability. You hear about the crew chief and car chief and their impact with strategy and setting up the car. You hear about the pit crews and the impact that they have on pit road. You hear about the car owners and how they put the perfect team together. You hear about the guys back in the shop who build the pieces to fit the puzzle. But how often do you hear about the spotters?

The only time that a spotter enters the discussion is strategy at the restrictor plate tracks, or when they get criticized for supposedly making the wrong call.

So to those who don’t know about spotters in racing, what is their job? Well instead of giving you my take, I’ll let Joey Meier explain.

“Primary job of a spotter is safety,” Meier, spotter for Brad Keselowski told me. “With the restricted vision out the cockpit these days, we are the extra set of eyes for the driver. When time permits we can fill in the holes of what the driver doesn't know as well.”

And when it comes to a pit stop?

“Depending on what the crew chief wants, some spotters talk the driver all the way to the pit box and other won't talk at all while on pit road,” Meier said. “At the very least, we will communicate to driver a reminder of pit road speed and when we are pitting.”


Joey Meier, Cup and Nationwide spotter for Brad Keselowski.

Meier started at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated in 1998 as a secondary spotter (a spotter who helps the main spotter at the road courses and super speedways). In 1999, he moved up to doing all the practices and then became the primary spotter in 2001.

In talking about the criticism, Meier said it’s something that generally comes with the job.

“Criticism comes with the job,” he told me. “If you are not going to have broad shoulders, you have picked the wrong job. You are gonna get yelled at occasionally. That's the way it works. That being said, most people realize we don't have the ability to take a 43rd place car and drag it to first (though some guys think they can) but we can take a first place car and through some poor communication allow it to be involved in an incident and end up 43rd.”

Meier said, for him, the hardest part of the job is making sure to have the right answer for the crew chief.

“Personally, the hardest for me is to try and have all the answers when asked by the driver or crew chief,” he said. “Whether it was a race situation or a football score. I try and immerse myself with as much info as I can to be the answer provider when called upon. Secondly, not having to use the restroom during a race.”

There are some tracks that make that decision harder than others.

The picture chosen for the article is a shot from the spotter’s stand at Phoenix, which is considered by both Meier and Rocky Ryan, spotter for Jeff Burton, as one of the worst spotter’s stands due to its positioning.

According to Brett Griffin, spotter for Elliott Sadler, it’s one of the worst stands due to the depth perception angle sucking from that vantage point.

Meier said if it was up to him with where the spotter’s stand would be located, he recommends that it be high and over towards the front stretch. He says for fans that want to find the best spot to spot, watch the races on TV closely and see where the cameras are located as that’s a good indication.

Other tracks that are tough to spot from would include Indy, Pocono, and Walkin’s Glen while Michigan, Bristol, and Atlanta rank on the other side of the spectrum.

In talking of key points about the job of a spotter, another key in being a spotter is being able to work with the specific driver you’re paired with.

“There is a large variance of what drivers want to hear, it's our job to listen and learn and then communicate in that way,” he explained. “Some drivers wants coaching, pep talks, cheerleading, others simply want a CLEAR HIGH, OR CAUTIONS OUT!”

So in talking of what makes a good spotter, he says you got to make your driver happy.

“A good spotter is strictly defined by doing whatever makes the driver happy,” he said. “He has to make nobody else happy. And what one driver may want another driver may despise. If a spotter works with more than one driver, he does need the ability to adapt to the different styles of each driver and NOT just do it HIS way.”

Also, when it comes to being up on the spotter’s stand, there’s a certain reason why everybody gets along for the most part. This comes to be key when it comes to strategy on the restrictor plate tracks.

“Most spotters would all hang out if time permitted,” he said. “We all respect each other, for the most part. We all know we are not driving the cars and only have so much input as to what our driver is doing. For the most part, it's a self-policing job. Those guys (or gals) that are good at spotting, will stay on the roof for a while…some come and go for a reason.”

[Don]

From Vavoline.com

Michigan Race:

" Tony Stewart, post-Pocono. "I've seen some of the worst driving I've ever seen in my life in a professional series right here today. So for anybody that's looking for drama for the next couple races, start looking, 'cause I can promise I'm going to start making the highlight reel the next couple weeks."

[Wayne Maybury]

I saw that interview and I figure that (love him or hate him) Tony is the kind of guy who means what he says. He maybe fun to watch the next few races but of course NASCAR will also be watching him.

Wayne