Phoenix 4.09

Saturday -  Race Day!

The crews got to sleep in today -- good thing since a few of our guys had one too many margaritas the night before -- as the garages opened around noon today.  My day started off on an autograph hunt since I did not have a chance on Friday to get the Kurt Busch hat autographed that HoosierRacer won for naming the backwards Victory Lap the "Unwind Lap."   Pat Tryson was in the hauler so that was easy but Kurt was in his coach and was unlikely to come over until race time so TR (Kurt's PR guy) walked me over to the coach lot (my first time ever in there!) and we hung out for a bit watching the Alabama crimson and white scrimmage on TV until Kurt popped out and did the deed.   Mission accomplished Hoosier!         

TR is a HUGE 'Bama fan and was glued to the TV so he trusted me to "let myself out" of the coach area.   Given that I was dressed in my usual Miller Lite garb I was hardly inconspicious so I did a brief run around the coach area but it was impossible to tell the coaches apart.  Saw lots of drivers out and about but not the one I was really looking for...LOL

After safely tucking the autographed hat away I headed out to pit road to see the pit crew.  They had flown in that morning and had the pit box all set up already.  I caught up with the guys and asked them about the problematic longer studs.  

There appears to be two issues.  First, the reason some teams are having more problems than others is that they were cutting back on the threads. So rather than having 6 threads holding the lugs on some teams were down to two threads (not the Penske teams of course -- you might recall some other teams losing wheels last year...now you know why).   The longer studs ensure that teams cannot skimp on the threads which is obviously a pretty dangerous modification.   Neither Jay (Front Tire Changer) nor Travis (Rear Tire Changer) said the longer stud affected their rhythm much but some teams are having much slower stops now because of this issue.

The second issue has been more widely reported on, which is the glue problem.  Teams are experimenting with different glues and how far in advance to glue the lugs onto the wheel wells before the race.  If it is too sticky they it gets the lugs all gummy and clogs up the air guns but we are also seeing lots of lugs popping off when they slam the tires on.  Penske has found something they like.

I then had to get back to my tool box pulling duties since the crew had the Blue Deuce ready to go through inspection for the final time.   We were nearly the last car out which is unusual for this crew and were stuck waiting baking in the sun for nearly an hour and half!   During that time the future of Penske Racing popped by...

Yup, thats "lil Gator" -- Justin Algier, Penske's NW driver with Billy whose job it really is to pull the toolbox!    I was also able to get to know Dave Winston, the new team engineer much better while we waited.   He used to work on Biffle's team when Kurt was still at Roush and then moved to Red Bull Racing before coming to Penske.  He has clearly made a huge difference and is one of the main reasons the team has figured out how to get that COT to turn better for Kurt. 

We had a "camber issue" on our inital pass through the height/weight inspection site and had to circle back around after fixing it which put us nearly last pushing out onto the grid...nearly last...we cleared the final inspection area that measures the wheel base and checks to see how offset the chassis and suspension are and who is stuck parked next to the final inspection spot?  The 88 team looking glum...guilty?

We pushed the car out all they way up to the third starting spot on pit road -- I tell you that is a good workout! 

 

I headed back to the hauler to grab a quick bite to eat as driver introductions were only about 10 mins away.   As I was stuffing down some steak and baked potatoes off the grill out came the Gordon family!  (Personally I really like her hair short...)

 

On my way back out to the track I passed by the final inspection site and sure enough, the 88 was still on the template and Tony Eury Jr was having a heated discussion with several officials. 

 

    

I asked the crew, "Isn't that kind of an odd inspection site to get stuck at?" and they all agreed it was very odd.  The best they could guess was maybe the car was too wide or the suspension was offset too much.   By the looks of the conversation Tony Eury Jr. was having I thought Junior might not ever make it out on the track.  

Driver introductions were already in progress and I managed to get out to our pit box in time to get some good pictures.   Of course you all know it is tradition for me to have at least one funny photo of a driver in a compromising position so here it is...Junior's crotch shot! 

 

And then comes another favorite part of mine...lining up with the crew for the prayer and anthem...

Just before the start of the race, the Ray (Jack man) was sweeping our pit stall and this adorable tiny baby bird (morning dove?) haphazardly flew into our pit.  The tiny thing was clearly trying to learn how to fly and RAY swept him out of our pit and he ended up inside the outer pit wall!   The HORROR!!   

He walked along the wall until I couldn't see him anymore and God only knows what happened to him after the first round of pit stops.   That poor bird!  

Something I had not seen before...we had an Official in Training in our pit stall for the night.   He is the one taking notes.  He worked our pit while the veteran official supervised.   I am sure it takes a while to learn, they keep track of everything the team is doing from the pit stops themselves to every air pressure change in the tires.   

I staked out a great spot right up against the pit wall in the opening next to our pit stall.  Matt Yocum was next to me the whole night and the Fox cameras were shooting our pit stall just over my shoulder.  Perhaps I should have pulled  a "Digger" and popped up in front of them!   

We had stellar pit stops most of the night...

 

 

and had a happy crew as a result... 

Course we all know who won...

As Mark drove down the pit road to Victory Lane, I headed down pit road to the post race interviews.   Many of you saw me on TV walking behind Kurt during his interview..

And sneeking up to take Jimmie's picture as well.  (Really I think the beard looks fantastic on him..) 

I followed Kurt to the media center for his post race print media interviews and on the way he made a detour to Victory Lane to congradulate Mark.  Of course, I did not hesitate to follow him right in!

 

 Then he settled in next to his best bud for more interviews...

And finally, I headed back out to the garages where the Brew Crew was busy tearing down the #2 for the officials.  They had several hours of work left before flying out making it a very long two days but two very good ones at least! 

Thats it - I'll have another blog up more focused on Kurt and the Miller Lite team in a few days...Kurt was in rare form this weekend and funny as heck so I'll share some of those stories next time!