One of the reasons I love racing is because, ultimately, when there are five laps to go and you're in Second Place, the responsibility rests completely on the driver's shoulders to win that race. You see, growing up when I would play team sports, like baseball, I used to get so frustrated at my teammates because in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, I wanted to be up to bat. Then when my teammate would strike out and we would lose the game, I couldn't talk to him for a week. Ignore the fact that I wasn't any good at baseball. That's why I love being in the driver seat, in that situation-it's all on me.
Recently while our race team was preparing for our third race of the year, we weren't sure if we were going to have the money to be able to go to the race. The track at Langley Speedway in Virginia was about 6 hours away which means 2 nights in hotel rooms for close to 12 people. We started to realize that we didn't have the money to do it right. Anyone who has ever had to sit out a race because of finances understands how frustrating that can be.
So on Monday morning of the race week, we did the deed of calling our team and letting them know the bad news. While we were already making other non-racing plans for the weekend, the crew was calling each other and making a plan of their own. Later that day we received a phone call that surprised us. It was our spotter John Gunther who was saying that the crew wanted us to know that if it meant that we could go racing that they would sacrifice their pay for the race weekend. Understand that this race was on Memorial Day weekend, it would have been extremely easy to plan the weekend sitting around the lake, but instead they volunteered to work for free at the racetrack.
I was blown away! By volunteering to work without pay my crew showed me that racing is a team sport whether you're running a Street Stock every Friday night or a World of Outlaws Late Model. Their sacrifice helped lift our budget over the top and we were able to make the race. Without them doing so, we would have had to sit the race out. Not only are these guys caring enough to forgo pay but they're, in my view, the best crew up and down pit road. Last year we came into pit at Rockingham running ninth, and we came out second. The guys really know what they're doing.
The old adage "You're only as good as your weakest link," is so true in today's racing world. But it extends past your crew as well. You could have a great engine package, but if your chassis is outdated or has been damaged thanks to an accident, you won't perform as well as you'd like.
As much as I love racing because of the responsibility to win the race resting upon my shoulders, the thing I had to realize is it's no longer about me. If I'm running second with five laps to go, it's more than likely because my crew knocked out an amazing pit stop somewhere in the previous 245 laps.
So I want to thank all the guys on my crew: Josh (Cornbread), Sprecher, Rob, Villela, Gunther, Ricky, Mckinney, and Justin, and also everyone that helped us get to the racetrack this year. Without their help we wouldn't have made the first three races this year.