Monday Morning Crew Chief
Written by Jonathan Ingram · May 28, 2007
Monaco, Indy, Charlotte, Champagne, Or not
Every fan and participant has their own series of memories that mark the days of racing past. They inevitably flash by like a series of Burma Shave signs, itself an old-fashioned roadside advertising technique that literally marks the passage of distance and time.
On this Memorial Day, another immortal 500 miles at Indy and 600 at Charlotte have rushed into the maw of history just as the gates to the summer season were thrown open. In a remarkable sign of cooperation in an often fractious world, the Monaco Grand Prix aligned with these other great racing events to provide a grand slam of hot rodding.
At Monaco, McLaren-Mercedes teammates Alonso and Lewis flashed by regularly in the closing laps of the race like a roving Burma and Shave as the chasing rookie scrubbed rubber on the barriers before leader Alonso, now using a razor for the clean-cut McLaren look, took the checkers.
There’s the memory of sitting with friends on the rocky hillside known as “Le Rocher,” which overlooks the harbor portion of the seaside circuit of Monte Carlo. I won a bet for a beer by suggesting the winning lap time (by that Schumacher guy aboard the scarlet car) in qualifying would come down to the 1:19’s. And jeez, that was just seven years ago and now they’re down to the 1:15’s as Monaco’s street course continues to stand the test of time with satisfying grace.
But the Darwinian nature of F-1 stood clear again as Alonso’s old team, Renault, ate cheap dust in the world’s richest city and the scarlet guys ate their hearts out like forlorn Romantic poets over their lost hegemony. Ah, the black-and-white blood lust of racing.
In America, racing hedges all other sporting bets on this weekend.
A big bet at Indy came from Dario Franchitti’s Andretti Green team, which gambled that the lead on a re-start was the place to be, not often the case. Having come from mid-field due to a cut tire, there was nothing to lose by leaving him out when others pitted prior to the short run-up to the rain. Sometimes better to witness lucky and good, especially for those who have been cheered by Franchitti’s unflappable love for the job of driving race cars.
There’s the memory of first meeting a very young Franchitti at Hokenheim, where he was driving in the German Touring Car Series for Mercedes. The next time we crossed paths was at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan during the exhibition weekend for CART teams at the new track. Finally, we had time for a real conversation during CART spring training in Homestead, Fla. several months later, where the Scot took the time to suggest, “I guess the next time I’ll see you will be in Australia.” It’s that extra effort to turn the often grimey process of “star race car driver” into a friendly one that goes a long way with writers and fans.
This was my year to be in Charlotte, where a fuel gambit brought an O. Henry finish and victory for Casey Mears, recently suffering as an expendable driver in the Hendrick Motorsports empire for those who thought Dale Earnhardt Jr. was irresistable. Mears, also long suffering as a sure bet to win his first race, is the son of Roger Mears, the less-heralded brother of the famed four-time Indy winner Rick. So what a remarkable chapter and delightful irony that Roger Mears’ boy gets his first Nextel Cup victory in NASCAR’s 600-mile classic on the same day as Indy.
To pit or not to pit? That was the question that decided Indy and Charlotte, where Rick Hendrick again looks like a genius when it comes to picking drivers. Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond, latterly Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Mears come to mind. And, on the weekend Jack Roush (himself a sharp judge of talent) claimed Hendrick took the Car of Tomorrow races by the throat because they broke the spirit of the testing rules, well, Mears won it the old-fashioned way in a Car of Yesterday.
What comes to mind is standing on the top of the old media center roof in 1994 as Crew Chief Ray Evernham made the call for a two-tire change on the final pit stop for his young charge with the learner’s permit mustache named Gordon, getting the kid his first Cup victory versus Rusty Wallace, who took four Goodyears.
These days, as then, it’s often a slim margin between sipping the champagne or falling prey to the slippery slope of second place (first loser) in F-1, Indycar or NASCAR’s upper echelon such is the level of commitment and competition. Green flag, stuff happens, checkers, champagne, or not, then look for the next set of signs coming down the road.
P.S. Earnhardt Jr., Richard Childress Racing, 2008, Budweiser.
Jonathan Ingram can be reached at jingram666@cs.com.
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Jonathan…thanks for the “PS” - but what about the #8? Any rumors on that coming with?
very interesting for sure
I missed the entire weekend and when I was looking over the qualifying results. I am curious why Michael Waltrip didn’t make the race. Can anyone explain?