NASCAR is More Than A Driver: What Does the Rest of the Team Do?

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In: Regional Racing News

If you are a NASCAR fan, you will have your favorite driver or a favorite team you support. But NASCAR is not an individual sport; it is, in fact, a team sport. Lighting McQueen was taught early on that he, as a race car, could not succeed alone.

Pixar was not wrong when they taught the youngsters about teamwork in the Cars movie franchise. Like in the movie, a team stands squarely behind the NASCAR driver to ensure his success.

In this article, we introduce the NASCAR team to you to give you a bit of insight into what goes on behind the scenes. We look at everything from how the car gets to the races all the way through to the driver’s success on the racing day. Let’s start by looking at the mover.

The Movers – Hauling The Car From Race To Race

We will continue to use the Cars characters as examples for each role fulfilled in the NASCAR team. The mover in this instance would be Mack. He needs to ensure that the NASCAR is on time and at the right location; this can only be achieved through careful driving.

So let’s move away from the movie for a little bit; race teams do not necessarily need to have their own trucks to haul their racing cars; they can make use of outsourced companies. If they use outsourced companies, they will make sure that they choose the best in the business because their cars are usually worth millions of dollars.

These hauling companies are specialists in their fields; they are used to hauling all sorts of vehicles. These guys are focused on ensuring the safe and timely delivery of your car, which is why you can get the best auto shipping quotes at sites like Vehicle Haul.

The Fixers – Making Sure The Car Runs Smoothly

Now let us look at the fixers. Who isn’t a fan of little Luigi and Guido? These little guys filled the positions of pit crew members, tire specialists, general mechanics, and so much more.

In real life, these positions can not be filled by only two people. A pit crew can have up to seven people helping the driver on the day. The engineers need to calculate the car setup and ensure that every little spring is in the right place. The general mechanics can do a bit of everything, and your tire specialists are there to ensure that the car’s tires are perfect.

The rapid overview of some of the fixers in the team doesn’t do them justice because they are responsible for the car’s safety and, in turn, the driver. These guys work tirelessly behind the scenes without receiving all the glory that goes with the sport, but the race would not be possible without them.

The Planners – Organizing Everything

To use an example from the movie again, the planners are the owners and the sponsors, such as Tex Dinoco. There is a difference between the owner of the NASCAR team and the sponsors.

The team’s owner is the main boss; he is the person who has the final say on all the decisions. He can decide who to hire or let go; he is the person that needs to ensure that the best people form part of the team. With the proper leadership and decision-making skills, this guy can lead the team to success.

Now the sponsors are the guys with the big pockets. These guys usually spend millions of dollars during a racing season. These guys typically do not have time to be invested in the daily operation of the team. In many instances, they are more focused on the marketing of the team and supplying the big bucks to pay for all the expenses.

The Driver – More Than Just A Driver

Lightning Mcqueen is the star of the show, and he starts off in the movie certain that he can do it alone. He quickly realized that with a team as support, it is easier to succeed.

The movie analogy was used throughout the article to put the positions of the team into perspective, but when it comes to the driver, there is more to his role than driving. He needs to be an effective communicator and listener so that he can relay to the team any valuable information during or before a race.

He should have the ability to work with his team in the workshop and on the track. With patience and understanding, the driver and the rest of the team work together towards the glory of winning the race.

In Conclusion

We started the article by saying that NASCAR is more than the driver alone; in this article, we looked at some team members and how they can affect the team’s success.

If the NASCAR team members do not work together through active communication and planning, there is no way that the team will be able to succeed.

Speedway Digest Staff
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