The Unsung Heroes Of Racing
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
HAMPTON, GA - When Craig Barnes told me I knew how he and his buddies felt, he wasn't far from the truth.
Barnes, along with his brother Tony Barnes, Scott Eldridge, Tim Frantz, Jeremy Marsh, Ken Nisley, Carson Kintzel, Greg Stuart and a list of others, are crew members for the ML Motorsports No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Monte Carlo in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series.
Last weekend, through four states, over 89 hours, 1,611 miles and during a 162-lap race around Atlanta Motor Speedway, I was, as much as they would allow me to be, one of them.
It's so hard to find people involved in sports today because they truly love to be.
Yes, Michael Jordan left his emotions on the court and played a child's game with a tongue-sticking-out attitude that had kids flocking to blacktops. But you know what, MJ - the reason we started drinking Gatorade and shaving our heads - demanded high-dollar contracts. He made what, $30 million the last year he played? Police officers, people that put their lives on the line, don't even make that much money. And then there were endorsements. I think it's safe to say if the money wasn't there, he would have found another job.
Look at Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time. He's just as recognizable around the world as MJ.
Recently, I read somewhere that Tiger was demanding a cut every time his name was used with the sport of golf. The youngster hits a little white ball with a metal club, for crying out loud, and makes millions and millions doing it.
Until last weekend, when I hooked up with the ML Motorsports team, I doubted there were people involved with sports for the sheer love of it. I was looking for someone who didn't turn it into a business of "I won't do this unless you give me this much money."
This weekend, traveling through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, I found what I was looking for. And it's right here in our back yard, and most people don't even know it's there.
Barring Eldridge, Tony Barnes and Brian Ross, who are the crew chief, tire specialist and driver, respectively, the crew volunteers its time. As in they have other jobs. As in they do it because they want to, not because it's a business.
Frantz, better known as "Flounder" to the rest of the crew and his buddies at Petro Bros., could be paid off in Honey Buns and beef jerkey.
In the game of football it's the linemen, in the world of racing it's the pit crew - probably the most important people and the ones who get the least credit.
Today, I tip my hat to these men, and give them credit, though it's nowhere near the amount they deserve.
If you're a racing fan, you won't go to a racetrack and stand in line to talk to the guy who makes the track bar adjustment, changes the tire or builds the engine. No, you're there waiting for a glimpse of the guy who drives the car and preps his hair and bends his hat just right before a TV interview. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy to drive a car 200 mph for 500 miles. What I'm saying is, while the driver presses the gas pedal and steers the car, it truly is the crew that is the car's fuel, what makes it go.
Just as Walter Payton never would have gained the yards he did without his offensive line, a racecar won't circle the track by simply sticking someone behind the wheel. It takes a total team effort, and that's exactly what I saw in the ML Motorsports team this past weekend. [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
HAMPTON, GA - When Craig Barnes told me I knew how he and his buddies felt, he wasn't far from the truth.
Barnes, along with his brother Tony Barnes, Scott Eldridge, Tim Frantz, Jeremy Marsh, Ken Nisley, Carson Kintzel, Greg Stuart and a list of others, are crew members for the ML Motorsports No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Monte Carlo in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series.
Last weekend, through four states, over 89 hours, 1,611 miles and during a 162-lap race around Atlanta Motor Speedway, I was, as much as they would allow me to be, one of them.
It's so hard to find people involved in sports today because they truly love to be.
Yes, Michael Jordan left his emotions on the court and played a child's game with a tongue-sticking-out attitude that had kids flocking to blacktops. But you know what, MJ - the reason we started drinking Gatorade and shaving our heads - demanded high-dollar contracts. He made what, $30 million the last year he played? Police officers, people that put their lives on the line, don't even make that much money. And then there were endorsements. I think it's safe to say if the money wasn't there, he would have found another job.
Look at Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time. He's just as recognizable around the world as MJ.
Recently, I read somewhere that Tiger was demanding a cut every time his name was used with the sport of golf. The youngster hits a little white ball with a metal club, for crying out loud, and makes millions and millions doing it.
Until last weekend, when I hooked up with the ML Motorsports team, I doubted there were people involved with sports for the sheer love of it. I was looking for someone who didn't turn it into a business of "I won't do this unless you give me this much money."
This weekend, traveling through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, I found what I was looking for. And it's right here in our back yard, and most people don't even know it's there.
Barring Eldridge, Tony Barnes and Brian Ross, who are the crew chief, tire specialist and driver, respectively, the crew volunteers its time. As in they have other jobs. As in they do it because they want to, not because it's a business.
Frantz, better known as "Flounder" to the rest of the crew and his buddies at Petro Bros., could be paid off in Honey Buns and beef jerkey.
In the game of football it's the linemen, in the world of racing it's the pit crew - probably the most important people and the ones who get the least credit.
Today, I tip my hat to these men, and give them credit, though it's nowhere near the amount they deserve.
If you're a racing fan, you won't go to a racetrack and stand in line to talk to the guy who makes the track bar adjustment, changes the tire or builds the engine. No, you're there waiting for a glimpse of the guy who drives the car and preps his hair and bends his hat just right before a TV interview. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy to drive a car 200 mph for 500 miles. What I'm saying is, while the driver presses the gas pedal and steers the car, it truly is the crew that is the car's fuel, what makes it go.
Just as Walter Payton never would have gained the yards he did without his offensive line, a racecar won't circle the track by simply sticking someone behind the wheel. It takes a total team effort, and that's exactly what I saw in the ML Motorsports team this past weekend. [[In-content Ad]]