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Tuesday, February 13
Getting rid of the butterflies
By Royce McGee
Special to ESPN.com
I think the most mentally challenging part of my job is behind me now. I
called my first NASCAR Winston Cup race as crew chief of the No. 31 Lowe's
Home Improvement Warehouse team last Sunday in the Bud Shootout at Daytona
International Speedway.
I was as nervous preparing for that 70-lap race as
I was the first time I jumped off pit wall to change tires years ago. But I
guess when you tackle something of this magnitude ... when you reach your life's goal ...
you're always a bit nervous at first. Luckily, I was fine a few
minutes after the race started.
While I was walking down pit road before the race, the thoughts racing
around in my head were moving faster than a pack of Winston Cup cars. Did I
have all my paperwork in order?
Crew chiefs don't just sit on top of the
pit box and randomly call the race. There were multiple tasks I had to do
that afternoon that I hadn't done before on a regular basis -- everything
from figuring gas mileage to writing down pit road speed and telling Mike Skinner
when to turn on his electric fan to reminding Mike to check his gauges
during the pace laps and pull his seat belt tight.
On top of that, I had to remember to make sure that the guys got Mike's
window net up securely. With my advancement as crew chief, several other
guys were given new responsibilities. Some of them have been around as long
as I have, but they need to be familiar with their new duties and I have to
oversee that.
It was very good for the Lowe's team to be in the Shootout
because we all got to adjust to a race situation before the Gatorade 125s
and the Daytona 500.
The Bud Shootout was a valuable learning experience for all of us. The
biggest thing I learned is that not everything we do at Talladega works as
well at Daytona. Even though they're both superspeedways, they're still two
entirely different tracks.
Daytona is more of a handling track, where speed
is more of an issue at Talladega. We took some things we learned about the
new aero package at Talladega in the fall race and tried to apply them to
the Bud Shootout. That concept didn't work as well as we expected and the
car got loose. Now we've backed up a bit and we'll look at doing something a
little different for the 125s.
Our biggest accomplishment in the Bud Shootout is that we improved on our
starting position. The Lowe's Chevy started last by virtue of the
qualifying draw but we improved to tenth position. Unfortunately, we weren't
as competitive as I had anticipated.
We had some problems in the
beginning because another car was leaking oil and it covered our windshield,
blocking Mike's view. That situation threw us off schedule a bit but we
tried to recuperate the best we could.
We went into the garage Monday morning and changed about 12 different
things, including the springs, shocks and track bar. We evaluated our
scenario Sunday after the race and knew we needed a major change to make the
Lowe's Chevy better.
We also looked at what Dale Earnhardt had in his car
because our race cars are so similar. If the Lowe's Chevy and the GM
Goodwrench Service Plus Chevy weren't painted, you wouldn't be able to tell
them apart.
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It's so different now because I'm the final stop in the process. When we're bouncing ideas off each other, the ideas always seem to stop bouncing with me. But this is what I've always wanted to do and I wouldn't trade it for anything. ” |
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— Royce McGee |
We applied some of Dale's setup to the No. 31 car and it
seemed to pay off for us. Mike ended up with a better-balanced car that he
could drive and maneuver the way he wanted, and he posted the second-fastest
lap time in Monday's practice after Sunday's race. I felt much more
comfortable with our Lowe's Chevy after that practice.
My new role as crew chief has become even more defined since we got to
Daytona. This has been a huge jump in responsibilities for me and now all
the crew members are looking to me for guidance. Whether it's the guy
putting air in tires, the guy driving the car, or the guy measuring the fuel
can after the pit stop, everyone comes to me for a reply and I have to
answer all their questions.
But I have tremendous supporters and helpers.
David Smith has been our team manager for four years and has worked at Richard
Childress Racing for more than 20 years. He's a great guy and has a lot of
knowledge, but even he turns to me and asks what I think about certain
situations.
Just like I used to go to Larry McReynolds and ask his
thoughts, these guys come to me and ask what's going through my head. It's
so different now because I'm the final stop in the process. When we're
bouncing ideas off each other, the ideas always seem to stop bouncing with
me. But this is what I've always wanted to do and I wouldn't trade it for
anything.
The support I'm getting from everyone at RCR is making this transition
easier for me and I really appreciate it. I'm not just referring to the guys
on the No. 31 team, but to all the people at the shop who have already
backed me so much as a young crew chief. I just hope the Lowe's team can
thank them with a Daytona 500 trophy next week.
Royce McGee is the crew chief for Mike Skinner and the No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He will be providing a weekly diary to ESPN.com throughout the season.
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