Mike Calinoff: #17 Team Dream Season Review
Written by Josh Katinger · December 9, 2003
The following is our exclusive Q&A with FastMachines contributor Mike Calinoff. Mike is the Spotter for Matt Kenseth and the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship team…
FM: What kind of pressure was there during the season? Did it increase as the year began to wind down?
MC: You know, I’ve been doing this spotting thing for a long time. Whether it’s Daytona or Martinsville, I try to keep the same composure for each race. If I allowed myself to feel pressure I might not perform to the best of my abilities. I needed to be on my game each week. However, after mechanical problems in Talladega and a crazy weekend in Kansas, reality sunk in a little. Having the points lead reduced dramatically put a different spin on the whole deal – but I worked with it and tried as hard as I could to stay in the game.
FM: When did the Matt and the team really start talking about winning the title?
MC: Actually, it was very late in the season – maybe later than you would think. I started to think about it in July, which was pretty premature. I don’t know when the other guys on the team started to think about it because we really didn’t start talking “Championship” until Martinsville. We all knew that we had this huge lead, but I think that everyone was afraid to jinx it. Matt was probably the most realistic out of all of us. He literally refused to talk about the title until we knew that it was pretty much in the bag. In fact, he sent me an email the evening of Martinsville saying, “let’s go out next week and clinch this thing.” I think one of Matt’s greatest attributes, as a driver is his ability to see the whole picture. Whether it’s at a specific race or for the season as a whole, he understands the game and knows that it can all change in a heartbeat.
FM: What was the highlight of the season for you?
MC: By far it was the fall race at Bristol. When we put tires on the car at the end and passed a bunch of guys to finish fourth – that was wild. Matt did some amazing driving as usual. It was such a “show” that I was literally laughing during those final laps. That was a cool night.
FM: How was Robbie (Reiser) to work with toward the end?
MC: Robbie never changed his stance. Talking to him you would almost never know that we had such a lead. Each week he told us to go out and do the best job that we could and that everything would fall into place. One thing that makes him such a great leader is his ability to remain even. We all fed off of that and knew that we just had to do our respective jobs and everything would be okay.
FM: What was the hardest part of running for a title?
MC: I guess the hardest part was really all of the peripheral things that needed to be put into place. Obviously, we had to prepare for the banquet in advance. Getting measured for the tux was big. But I think that when Robbie called me one day and asked if I knew my ring size – that kind of did it for me. That was reality. But the downside to that is knowing that all of these things are being planned and there was still a chance that we would not win the thing. It’s like having something dangled in front of you only to find out that you can’t have it. That would have been such a huge disappointment for all of us.
FM: Matt has been accused of being low-key during all of this. What do you think?
MC: I can tell you emphatically that Matt is a total realist. I sometimes wish that I could possess that quality. He was probably the strongest of all of us. What bothered me most during the year, though, was all of the press that Matt received for being “boring”. Matt is not boring. I’ve said it in dozens of interviews and I believe it wholeheartedly. He has a great personality. He’s hysterical, quick-witted and loves practical jokes. But when he shows up on Friday morning at the racetrack, he’s got one thing on his mind: How Can I Make That Car Go Fast? That is what makes Matt tick. That’s what he’s there to do. And he does it better than anyone I’ve ever seen.
FM: They say it’s hard to repeat as Champions? What do you think of that?
MC: I think, “the hell with what they say!” You know, if I personally am never part of a Championship team again, that will be okay. My teammates and I have accomplished something that few will ever get a chance to enjoy. That’s why we had so much fun in New York – knowing that there’s a chance that we’ll never be able to do this again. But, on the other hand, after being able to experience this it makes you hungrier to do it again. It’s such an honor and so much fun to be part of something of this magnitude that you strive to enjoy it some more. I think that next year is going to be another great year for the DeWALT team. Roush Racing is putting some exciting technical plans into place and we, as a team, are going full force to defend the title. It’s been done before and we want to be one of those repeat performers.
FM: Any final thoughts?
MC: Who am I, Jerry Springer!? I’ll just say that NASCAR teams endure so much during the year. I am one of the lucky ones, who get to travel with his “better half”, but most guys are away from their families so much – it’s got to be very tough. But it’s really all worth it. This is something that thousands upon thousands of people would give their right arm to do: Be part of something so special and something that wins. I know that every week when we show up at the track we’ve got a shot at winning the race – that’s an amazing feeling. And now I know that with each of those weeks, we have a shot of winning the title. And that’s something that I can’t even begin to describe.
Mike Calinoff, regular contributor to FastMachines.com, is a twenty-five year auto racing veteran. Mike has been involved in most aspects of racing and was featured on NBC’s pre-race show with Benny Parsons. Aside from his consulting work, team management skills and professional speaking, Mike works weekends for Matt Kenseth in the Winston Cup and Busch Series as the Team Spotter. Click here to learn more about Mike. Here are some of Mike’s recent contributions to FastMachines…
This article is not necessarily the viewpoint of this site or any person, company or organization that Mike Calinoff is affiliated with.
Comments
2 Responses to “Mike Calinoff: #17 Team Dream Season Review”
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Great interview with Mr. Calinoff! He’s definately not Jerry Springer!!
Thanks Mike!