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Article from the Arizona Republic:
Bit of everything makes perfect NASCAR driver
By Mark Armijo
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 10, 2002
Picture baseball great Barry Bonds in a logo-plastered jumpsuit hawking motor oil.
Puh-lease.
Bonds' surly attitude wouldn't get him to first base in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, where today's stock car drivers not only must be proficient in driving at breakneck speeds on the racetrack, they must be engaging off it.
One minute they're glad-handing fans and sponsors, the next they are hopping into a roaring automobile and negotiating corners in excess of 100 mph, such as in today's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
NASCAR drivers take their lives in their hands every time they get behind the wheel. Their 36-race season runs from February through November, from East Coast to West. Travel and time demands are grueling. They not only have to drive the car, but possess the mechanical expertise to work with their crews in the garage to squeeze every ounce of performance from it. Away from the track, they can frequently be found schmoozing sponsors, pitching products, wooing fans and making numerous public appearances.
The multifaceted athlete
Mix it all together and you have a recipe for what some suggest is one of the toughest jobs in sports, one that combines the bravado of a matador and the panache of a public speaker.
"I guess you could say it is," said driver Jimmy Spencer, who sits behind the steering wheel of the Target-sponsored Dodge Intrepid. "I know it's one of the most dangerous. Maybe skydiving is worse.
"But I'm not afraid. If I was, I wouldn't drive. I even like all the autographs we do and all the hospitality tent visits we make. It's fun. It's what made this sport what is today."
But what it is today, owner/driver Kyle Petty said, is something much different from what is was several years ago.
"The days of just waving to the fans and signing autographs is pretty much over," said Petty, son of NASCAR great Richard Petty. "You've got to be able to get up at a corporate event and talk to sponsors about why their product should be integrated into NASCAR. If a driver has tons of talent but is not a very good speaker, (owners and sponsors) will overlook some of it. But you've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time."
Big money at stake
Unlike leagues such as the NFL or the NBA, NASCAR teams exist solely because a corporate partner is willing to fund the operation to the financial tune of $15 million per season in some cases. In exchange for their dollars, the company logo gets a prime space on a car's hood or door panel, which translates into an unbelievable amount of television airtime.
Drivers such as Petty and Jeff Gordon also are required to make several personal appearances for the sponsors, either at the racetrack on Sunday mornings before the race or at different locations throughout the country between race stops.
In addition to 36 scheduled races, there are two race weekends for All-Star type events and seven test sessions allowed per team. Even so, the time spent actually driving the race car might amount to no more than 10 percent of a driver's workweek.
A life spent on the road
"Off the top of my head, I'd say I do somewhere between 45 and 60 appearances a year," said Petty, who had a sponsor-related commitment in Las Vegas earlier this week and a two-hour appearance Friday evening for Sprint, the team's primary sponsor. "I laugh about it because I give about two months out of my life every year to signing autographs."
Before Gordon, who is arguably NASCAR's most popular driver along with Dale Earnhardt Jr., arrived in the Valley on Thursday night, he spent nearly an entire day in Atlanta for a photo shoot, then left his home in North Carolina on Wednesday for Los Angeles, where he appeared as a talk show guest Thursday afternoon.
"I try to give him Mondays off so he can have some time of his own, but Monday, he ended up coming into his business office for five hours," said Jon Edwards, who coordinates Gordon's schedule. "He's always busy with something."
Gordon, a proven winner with four championship trophies and 61 career victories since 1994, is one of a small number of drivers to excel on and off the racetrack, behind a steering wheel or a microphone, Edwards said.
So, too, are drivers John Andretti, who drives the Cheerios Pontiac and is a nephew of the famed Mario Andretti, and Bobby Labonte, who drives the Interstate Battery Pontiac for former NFL coach Joe Gibbs.
"We wanted to sponsor someone who's a real family man and has upstanding character," said Lori Sutherland, motorsports manager for Interstate. "Bobby fits that mold perfectly. And I can't tell you what it means to our clients when we can bring in Bobby and Joe Gibbs for an autograph session or just to speak to them. Things like that are important to us."
The superman next door
Laurie Greeno, vice president/director of motorsports for General Mills, said Andretti's personality played an important role in their decision to sign a sponsorship contract with Petty Enterprises.
"He's a tremendous fit," Greeno said. "He's wholesome, clean-cut and a wonderful family man. We had a good feeling that if (Petty Enterprises) hired John Andretti, then he shared the same values they had, which is also our values."
But those values wouldn't mean squat if a driver was unable to perform on the racetrack.
And one of NASCAR's best performers is Gordon.
"It's not just the driver," Gordon said. "It's the team behind him, the chemistry, the budget, everything. To be successful, a driver has to be able to communicate to a crew chief the things that can make the car better than it is. Communication is a big key. If you can't tell your crew chief what the car needs, you're out of luck."
Genius behind the wheel
Essentially, any driver making it to the top of the NASCAR food chain is at the top of his or her profession. But aside from the team, which is an organization's backbone, some drivers are able to separate themselves from others with their uncanny ability to maneuver around a fickle asphalt racetrack.
They are able to see order in chaos and make snap decisions in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 200 mph.
It's where greatness comes in.
"Every driver rides the limit of their cars," Andretti said. "Some just ride the limit better than others. Guys like (the late Dale) Earnhardt could ride the ragged edge and jump over it five times in a single lap and still keep going. That's what made him so special."
Bit of everything makes perfect NASCAR driver
By Mark Armijo
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 10, 2002
Picture baseball great Barry Bonds in a logo-plastered jumpsuit hawking motor oil.
Puh-lease.
Bonds' surly attitude wouldn't get him to first base in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, where today's stock car drivers not only must be proficient in driving at breakneck speeds on the racetrack, they must be engaging off it.
One minute they're glad-handing fans and sponsors, the next they are hopping into a roaring automobile and negotiating corners in excess of 100 mph, such as in today's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
NASCAR drivers take their lives in their hands every time they get behind the wheel. Their 36-race season runs from February through November, from East Coast to West. Travel and time demands are grueling. They not only have to drive the car, but possess the mechanical expertise to work with their crews in the garage to squeeze every ounce of performance from it. Away from the track, they can frequently be found schmoozing sponsors, pitching products, wooing fans and making numerous public appearances.
The multifaceted athlete
Mix it all together and you have a recipe for what some suggest is one of the toughest jobs in sports, one that combines the bravado of a matador and the panache of a public speaker.
"I guess you could say it is," said driver Jimmy Spencer, who sits behind the steering wheel of the Target-sponsored Dodge Intrepid. "I know it's one of the most dangerous. Maybe skydiving is worse.
"But I'm not afraid. If I was, I wouldn't drive. I even like all the autographs we do and all the hospitality tent visits we make. It's fun. It's what made this sport what is today."
But what it is today, owner/driver Kyle Petty said, is something much different from what is was several years ago.
"The days of just waving to the fans and signing autographs is pretty much over," said Petty, son of NASCAR great Richard Petty. "You've got to be able to get up at a corporate event and talk to sponsors about why their product should be integrated into NASCAR. If a driver has tons of talent but is not a very good speaker, (owners and sponsors) will overlook some of it. But you've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time."
Big money at stake
Unlike leagues such as the NFL or the NBA, NASCAR teams exist solely because a corporate partner is willing to fund the operation to the financial tune of $15 million per season in some cases. In exchange for their dollars, the company logo gets a prime space on a car's hood or door panel, which translates into an unbelievable amount of television airtime.
Drivers such as Petty and Jeff Gordon also are required to make several personal appearances for the sponsors, either at the racetrack on Sunday mornings before the race or at different locations throughout the country between race stops.
In addition to 36 scheduled races, there are two race weekends for All-Star type events and seven test sessions allowed per team. Even so, the time spent actually driving the race car might amount to no more than 10 percent of a driver's workweek.
A life spent on the road
"Off the top of my head, I'd say I do somewhere between 45 and 60 appearances a year," said Petty, who had a sponsor-related commitment in Las Vegas earlier this week and a two-hour appearance Friday evening for Sprint, the team's primary sponsor. "I laugh about it because I give about two months out of my life every year to signing autographs."
Before Gordon, who is arguably NASCAR's most popular driver along with Dale Earnhardt Jr., arrived in the Valley on Thursday night, he spent nearly an entire day in Atlanta for a photo shoot, then left his home in North Carolina on Wednesday for Los Angeles, where he appeared as a talk show guest Thursday afternoon.
"I try to give him Mondays off so he can have some time of his own, but Monday, he ended up coming into his business office for five hours," said Jon Edwards, who coordinates Gordon's schedule. "He's always busy with something."
Gordon, a proven winner with four championship trophies and 61 career victories since 1994, is one of a small number of drivers to excel on and off the racetrack, behind a steering wheel or a microphone, Edwards said.
So, too, are drivers John Andretti, who drives the Cheerios Pontiac and is a nephew of the famed Mario Andretti, and Bobby Labonte, who drives the Interstate Battery Pontiac for former NFL coach Joe Gibbs.
"We wanted to sponsor someone who's a real family man and has upstanding character," said Lori Sutherland, motorsports manager for Interstate. "Bobby fits that mold perfectly. And I can't tell you what it means to our clients when we can bring in Bobby and Joe Gibbs for an autograph session or just to speak to them. Things like that are important to us."
The superman next door
Laurie Greeno, vice president/director of motorsports for General Mills, said Andretti's personality played an important role in their decision to sign a sponsorship contract with Petty Enterprises.
"He's a tremendous fit," Greeno said. "He's wholesome, clean-cut and a wonderful family man. We had a good feeling that if (Petty Enterprises) hired John Andretti, then he shared the same values they had, which is also our values."
But those values wouldn't mean squat if a driver was unable to perform on the racetrack.
And one of NASCAR's best performers is Gordon.
"It's not just the driver," Gordon said. "It's the team behind him, the chemistry, the budget, everything. To be successful, a driver has to be able to communicate to a crew chief the things that can make the car better than it is. Communication is a big key. If you can't tell your crew chief what the car needs, you're out of luck."
Genius behind the wheel
Essentially, any driver making it to the top of the NASCAR food chain is at the top of his or her profession. But aside from the team, which is an organization's backbone, some drivers are able to separate themselves from others with their uncanny ability to maneuver around a fickle asphalt racetrack.
They are able to see order in chaos and make snap decisions in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 200 mph.
It's where greatness comes in.
"Every driver rides the limit of their cars," Andretti said. "Some just ride the limit better than others. Guys like (the late Dale) Earnhardt could ride the ragged edge and jump over it five times in a single lap and still keep going. That's what made him so special."