HURRICANE ALLEY . . . Fast And Loose

Sprint Cup Conf ident ia l . . . Framed

2017 Sprint Cup

AeroLite2017 Sprint Cup

AeroLite2017 Sprint Cup

AeroLite

HURRICANE ALLEY . . . Fast And Loose Team Penske At 50, And Counting

Cherry-Picking Champions – The Captain Speaks

Up Front

4 Pace Lap

5Motormouth – Spider Webs

Features

8 Team Penske 50

By Ted West

15Captain’s Orders

By George Damon Levy

19Hurricane Alley

By Ted West

24Hard Card Interview:

Brian Scott

Echoes & Backfires

28By George Damon Levy

Photo-Genics

29Art by Brad Schloss

Vol III / Issue 22

CONTENTS

Volume III / Issue 2

PublisherBob Weber

Editor-In-ChiefTed West

Editor At LargeGeorge Damon Levy

Design Director Larry Crane

Technical DirectorRob Grady

Staff PhotographerBrad Schloss

President/CEOKen Sullivan

President/COOGeorge Richter

Corporate VP/Global CIOMansour Zadeh

Manager – MobilityJashmin Shrestha

This, and every issue of Hard Card, isprovided free of charge to the fans ofthis great sport. We at SmithfieldFoods are passionate enthusiasts(just like you!) and want to share ouraccess with fans as never before.

We welcome your comments,thoughts and requests at

hardcard@smithfieldfoods.com.

Vol III / Issue 23

elcome to another issue of Hard Card Access—the elite SprintCup media credential that takes you inside the garages, inside

the cockpits, inside the heads of Cup’s fiercest competitors. The 2016 Cup season is roaring past, and the racers are Chasing.

The best of the best are winning ... and the points-battlers fight hardto keep their place.

But already, Cup has had a taste of 2017. Hard Card takes anexploratory look at the experimental 2017 aero package fromMichigan and Kentucky and its implications for another hotly competi-tive Cup season next year.

We also look at the 50 record-breaking years of one of the greatestorganizations in world auto racing—Team Penske. No group anywherehas had more consistent success in more kinds of professional racing... but for decades, NASCAR has provided the toughest challenge forthe man the racers call The Captain.

We also interview hardened Xfinity-series veteran Brian Scott, rac-ing a Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports in his rookie 2016Cup season. We ask what he’s learning ... and what more he needs toknow.

And Motormouth examines the most basic—and demanding—ofCup car elements, the NASCAR racing chassis ... how it’s made, andwhy it’s made better.

So click-in, and come into the Sprint Cup garages with us. We askthe questions you would ask, and get the insights you need to have.They’re just a scroll away.

We’re your Hard Card Access.

PACE LAP

Vol III / Issue 24

WW… for decades,

NASCAR has provided the

toughest challenge for the man

the racers call The Captain.

race car is a madhouseof warring forces ...forward thrust, rear-ward thrust, down-

force, sideforce, lift, drag. Foldin the violent forces in the dri-vetrain, suspension, steering,and brakes. Add dimensional,thermodynamic, and aerody-namic efficiency ... the impera-tives of strength, lightness, andthe ultimate imperative,absolute reliability.

Designing a race car is, well... just awful!

No one who knows will everclaim the “perfect” car. Everyavailable minute, dollar, andounce of stomach lining isspent making the car just a bitbetter, faster ... “perfect-er.”

But nothing gets better ifyou can’t build a brutally toughstructure to hold all this turmoiland conflict together.

Consider the lowly, grunt-

simple NASCAR “space-framechassis.” We’ve all seen it inpictures. Triangulated tubinggets bent and bonded togetherin a three-dimensional spiderweb. At a glance, it doesn’tlook like much. It has a frontclip for the engine and frontsuspension, a rollcage tohouse the driver and controls,and a rear clip for the differen-tial and rear suspension anddrive wheels. It needs to belight and strong, and for safety,it must be protective in someareas, yet brilliantly crushablein others.

Simple.Yet the degree of finesse

that locates each NASCARframe member exactly here—not there—is the result ofdecades of thought and experi-ence, not to mention, the occa-sional 200-plus-mph crash-test. Every detail of Cup chas-

MOTORMOUTH

sis technology has been puz-zled out, agonized over ...thought right to pieces.

So we decided we’d like toknow more about this “grunt-simple” structure. Of course, inSprint Cup, nothing is everreally simple. To learn more, wewould have to be invitedbehind closed doors, whereCup chassis are built. Weasked our good friends atRichard Petty Motorsports for apeek, and with the stipulationthat we take no pictures—everyone has his secrets—theysaid, y’all c’mon in!

Gaining Speed

For a middle-level Ford teamlike Petty, it’s always the

Vol III / Issue 25

same—they’re battling hard tocatch up with the top teams.The bad news is, the topteams aren’t standing aroundwaiting. All is unfair in love andwar.

But catching up in anintensely competitive war likeCup, the path forward is rea-sonably well understood. Itbegins with that ancient TVcommercial where the crankyold woman is constantly grip-ing, “I’d rather do it myself!”

The key to Cup success isfinding enough in your racingbudget to rise above simplybuying store-bought racingcomponents from other teams.Why? Because if those com-ponents were dead-certainwinners, they’d never sell

By Ted West

The Sprint Cup chassis—perfect vs. perfect-er...

SpiderWebs

A Fixture fit for a Camping World Truck Series rollcage structure.

them! To obtain winning com-ponents, you need to buildyour very own, designing themexactly the way you think isbest. And that gets expensive.It means buying expensivemachines, advanced technolo-gy, and brilliant engineers tomake it all work.

Petty Motorsports, withserious financial help fromsponsor Smithfield, has beentreading that narrow, expen-sive path one machine, oneprocess, and one or two newengineers at a time. Like wesaid—expensive.

But RPM is getting there. Inrecent months, for the firsttime, Crew Chief Trent Owenshas taken several critical tasksin-house. To achieve the high-est quality control, they nowdo their own body-hanging,taking full responsibility foreach car’s absolutely consis-tent configuration and optimalaerodynamic efficiency.

And instead of buying themelsewhere, this year the teamis now also making its ownracing chassis—with oneimportant exception. For 2016,the team is being suppliedchassis center sections from

fellow Ford entrant TeamPenske. The Penske rollcagesare fully robot-manufactured,which means that as nearly aspossible anywhere this side ofNirvana, every rollcage is “per-fectly identical” to every other.We put this in quotes, becausein NASCAR, “perfect” is just aword—like “unbeatable” is just

a word. Yet if anyone comesclose to “perfect,” it’s TheCaptain and his respectedengineering department.

But wait a sec—what’s sodifficult about making struc-tures “identical?”

Remember, we’re speakingof NASCAR, a racing estab-lishment that is as demandingof precision as any in theworld. Where “identical” chas-sis are concerned, minusculevariations in hand-weldingtechnique may fundamentallyalter the placement and load-bearing characteristics of criti-cal chassis elements. This cansignificantly alter the handlingand performance of the finalrace car. To say that in such avital matter NASCAR demandsprecision and absoluterepeatability is like saying dia-monds are hard.

So when RPM invited usinto the inner sanctum wherethis extremely demandingwork is done, we talked indetail with Petty’s chassisbuilders about the fine distinc-tions between TIG and MIGwelding, and the highest andbest uses of each in buildingPetty Motorsport chassis.

Bonding WithPerfection

Beginning this year with a“perfect” Penske rollcage,Petty adds its own front andrear clips. Doing this them-selves allows the highest con-trol in creating correct toler-ances and repeatable tech-nique. From there, the resultsare “on Petty.”

One of the most importantcharacteristics to understandabout welding is, due to theintense heat applied, theprocess “draws in” the metal.In order to make this “draw”consistent from weld to weld,chassis to chassis, the weldermust exert extreme controlover the heat applied duringeach weld.

In chassis welds whereabsolutely consistent locationis critical to strength and func-tion, TIG, or tungsten inertgas, welding is used. With TIGwelding, a foot pedal is usedto precisely control the flow ofgas and heat applied to theweld. TIG welding requiresadvanced skills and is moretime-consuming than MIGwelding. It produces an

MOTORMOUTH

Penske rollcages

are fully robot-

manufactured…

as nearly as

possible,

every rollcage is

“perfectly identical”

to every other.

Vol III / Issue 26

The Romer Absolute Arm makesexact chassis measurements.

exceptionally light, strong weldthat, done skillfully, causesminimal draw. And thanks tocareful control of the heatused, a skilled welder canrepeat accurate TIG weldsagain and again with great uni-formity.

On less critical welds in thePetty front and rear clips, MIG,or mixed inert gas, welding isused. This more conventionalmethod lacks TIG’s precisepedal-operated flow and heatcontrol. MIG welding is quickerbut less precise than TIG andgenerally produces greaterdraw. Both MIG and TIG havetheir place in a chassis.

A Petty front clip takesabout 16 hours to complete,we were told, and building acompleted chassis onto thePenske rollcage takes six toseven days. Petty purchasesadditional finished machinedpieces—upright mounts,track-bar mounts, and such—fromFord supplier Roush to com-plete their chassis. Roush,they say, has been a helpfulpartner during Petty’s transi-tion to in-house chassis fabri-cation.

The Three L’s

All space-frame chassisthinking in NASCAR is guidedby the age-old Three L’s:“Light, Low, and Left.” Everyelement needs to be as lightas possible; weight needs tobe located as low as possible;and except in a road-coursechassis, all possible weightshould be located to the leftside to aid stability turning left.

The war against weight is aconstant, yet NASCAR rulesdon’t always cooperate. In thewake of Austin Dillon’s horrify-ing flip into the catch fence atDaytona in 2015, for instance,post-crash analysis dictatedadding a 0.125-in. floor plateto all cars to provide betterprotection for the driver.Improved safety is always atop priority in Cup, but in thiscase, the new cockpit floor-plate handed chassis buildersan unwelcome 18-lb. weightpenalty.

The 2016 chassis we sawwere designed to incorporatethis stronger floor plate—yetRPM’s 2016 goal is to elimi-nate any increase in overallweight. In fact, the team goal

is ambitious—to eliminate 100lb. from the finished car.

But why, you ask. Cup carsare allowed a minimum weightof 3250 lb., and everyonemakes the minimum. Whysweat a few pounds?

We repeat: the ruling princi-ple is Light, Low, and Left. Themore your car beats the 3250lb. minimum, the more ballastyou add in the frame rails.Composed of tungsten andlead, ballast is mounted as lowas possible in the car and canbe moved fore or aft to tunechassis balance and handling

for different tracks. Then, andonly then, is weight yourfriend!

RPM is building 20 cars for2016, “downforce cars” for theintermediate-length tracks,then short-track cars, andfinally, road-course cars.

Speedway cars, for Daytonaand Talladega, will be pur-chased directly from Roush.

With 2016’s reduced aeropackage (and still less aeroprojected for 2017), aerody-namic downforce will play asmaller role in handling. Thismeans mechanical grip—therock-steady control of the sus-pension, holding the car ‘smass directly over the tiresthrough the turns—becomesincrementally more and morecritical. And mechanical gripdepends on the constant, stur-dy structure of an efficient,tough space-frame chassis totransmit all cornering loadsand slip angles directly to thetires’ tread face.

The NASCAR space-framechassis may look simple andOld School. But the burdensthis three-dimensional spiderweb supports at 200 mph,hour after hour, are astound-ing. And when you see thelacy perfection of the count-less welds we saw going intothese never-seen structures,the impression of “simplicity”vanishes. Forever hidden frompublic view, they are elegantworks of technological art.

MOTORMOUTH

We repeat:

the ruling principle

is Light, Low,

and Left.

Vol III / Issue 27

othing is more fundamen-tal to long-term successin racing than five resist-

less syllables ... de-ter-mi-na-tion.

Take Roger Penske, “TheCaptain.” At 79, he is exactlyas determined today as hewas the Friday I first met himin June, 1968. He was 31then. Two-year-old TeamPenske was racing a nominally“stock” car that day, too—anSCCA Trans-Am Camaro forChevrolet. In the hands of bril-

PENSKE

Vol I / Issue 28

liant Mark Donohue, it wascompeting claw and fangagainst the best racingMustangs Ford MotorCorporation could invent.Pride, new-car sales, and per-sonal worth were on the line.No one could lose.

The racing that Sunday waslike the first twenty minutes onthe beach at D-Day. Youcouldn’t watch without worry-ing ... what’s going to happen!It’s what makes you and I rac-ing fans. If you’re committedto a favorite driver, you searchthe field for him (or Danica)every lap. You need to know... what’s going to happen!

But if you look at RogerPenske during a race—then ornow—you see no worry. Nonervous excitement. No pon-dering long-term conse-quences.

You see only one thing—determination.

It is “living in the instant” asfew of us ever experience it—unless we’re racers ourselves.

We Call It “Sports”

Nothing says a NASCARfan shouldn’t also like football

In the world of sport,

the New York Yankees are royalty,

because they’ve won 27 championships

in 103 years. Step aside, Yankees—

Team Penske has won 28 championships

in just 50 years.

TeamPenske At 50... TheCaptain At 79

By Ted West

N

Vol III / Issue 29

or tennis or paddle-boarding.They’re all “sports.” To varyingdegrees, they involve physicalstrength, skill, and often, com-petition. Football, fighting (inits ever-changing forms),rugby, and a few others, are“tough” sports. Losing can becostly.

But no sport is as complexand demanding as racing.Before a wheel turns, vastnumbers of experts combinecountless precision mechani-cal components in uniqueforms. Huge sums of moneyunderwrite research anddevelopment. A tiny elite ofworld-class talents drive theend-product of this effort andexpense—to win a contestthat, after three-plus hours,may be decided by thou-sandths of a second!

In all of “sport,” nothingdemands the technological,financial, organizational, tacti-cal, mental, physical, evenmortal, might it takes to winone world-class race. And allthat effort and expense canstill be defeated by an instantof bad “luck.”

No wonder we’re fascinat-ed!

Now imagine standing incommand of a race team.Imagine taking responsibilityfor getting all of these unthink-able complexities perfect. Ittakes a degree of determina-tion, clarity, and discipline fewdare imagine. It takes a FieldMarshal—a Ferrari, aPetty, a Hendrick.

A Roger Penske. “The Captain” and

his Trans-Am Camarolost the lead at mid-race on pit strategythat June day I remem-ber 48 long years ago.But Team Penske wasdetermined. They got the leadback. They won that race, alot more races, and the 1968Trans-Am Championship.They had speed, strategy,technological superiority, butmost of all, such steelyPenske determination that noone else had a prayer.

Elite From The Start

When Roger Penske was14, he bought a motorbike,because he was determinedto make his paper route gofaster. He loved cars, and his

PENSKE

Mark Donohue and the Trans Am Camaro

Vol III / Issue 210

father encouraged that love bytaking him to Indy at age 15.He loved it. He got a job work-ing on import cars, and by thetime he was enrolled at LehighUniversity, Penske didn’t havetime to graduate—he was toobusy making a life.

U n d e r t h e w i n g o fPennsy lvania ’s Nat ionalChampion Porsche racer BobHolbert, he quickly rose to thetop rank of young professionaldrivers. He drove everything,everywhere—Ferraris,Chevrolets, Coopers, Porsches,Fiat-Abarths, Maseratis. Hewon four SCCA national cham-

pionships and was soon win-ning major races in cars likethe Zerex Special, an F1Cooper he personally recon-ceived as a sports-racer. In1962, he won the USAC RoadRacing Championship, and notmuch later, he was at the peakof American road racing, driv-ing Jim Hall’s ChevroletChaparral, and when neces-sary, managing the team.

Which was when it hap-pened ... Roger Penske real-ized he had a knack for man-aging a race team. He steppedaway from driving and in 1966founded Team Penske. But

this was no fledgling newcom-er. From the start, it achievedelite status with its new, unbe-lievably gifted young drivingtalent, the great MarkDonohue.

When we asked Penskeabout his uncanny ability todiscover brilliant young driv-ers, his answer was straight-forward. “We try to identifydrivers that will be a good fitfor our team and for our cul-ture. We look at drivers thatknow what it takes to win, butalso know how to communi-cate and work with our teams,so they can figure out the best

ways to be fast and stay upfront. We also have been for-tunate to work with driversthat understand how we workwith our partners and repre-sent their brands both on andoff the track.”

Another characteristic ofthe Penske management styleis its all-business approach.Penske makes alliances withthe deepest pockets available,whenever possible, the automanufacturers themselves.Even as a new team “brand,”Penske was able to establish

PENSKE

Roger Penske

realized he had

a knack for

managing a

race team.

He stepped away

from driving

and in 1966

founded

Team Penske.

Dot

y C

lend

enan

pho

to

elite presence from the start,while most racing teams werecontent to settle for lessersponsors and wealthy non-manufacturer backers. Weasked Penske what previousexamples served as modelsfor his approach. His answerwas enlightening. “When itcame down to building ourteams and our organization,”says Penske, “there has notbeen one type of blueprint tofollow. Much like we have inbusiness, we make the mostof the opportunities we seeand make sure we executewhen we get those opportuni-ties.”

Put another way, RogerPenske is an original.

In the fast-moving profes-sional opportunities of racingin the Sixties, Penske sawopenings no one else saw.And his highly visible way ofexploiting them became a fun-damental element of hisbrand. While other racing carsof the time were often last-minute, slipshod devices, rightfrom the beginning, Penskecars appeared for a race inimmaculate condition, exquis-itely finished, gleaming in the

sun. “When we came to the

racetrack,” Penske says, “wewanted to make sure ourteams and our cars were pre-sented in the best way possi-ble. I know it maybe tooksome people by surprise at thetime, but to me, it was simplya way for us to show that wewere professional, and wewere serious about winning.”

Point made. Penskeshamed others into imitation.Within a few years, all teamswere presenting their race carsin immaculate condition—itwas the professional thing todo.

Life At The Front

The path to racing domi-nance is plain: be perfect.That’s impossible, of course.But Team Penske’s constantstriving to perfection has pro-

duced decades of success atthe highest levels of competi-tion. Penske cars have won 16Indy 500s and 13 Indy CarNational Championships, col-lecting over 200 poles and 170wins along the way. No oneelse has come close.

But anyone can win Indy,you say—this is NASCAR!

PENSKE

Vol III / Issue 211

Team Penske’s debut inNASCAR came in 1972, withDonohue, Donnie Allison, andDave Marcis sharing the driv-ing. Allison scored a third atRiverside, and brother BobbyAllison scored Penske’s firstNASCAR win at Riverside1973. Bobby won again in1975, driving a Penske AMC

Mark Donohue and the AMC Matador.

Vol III / Issue 212

Matador to the win at OntarioMotor Speedway.

It wasn’t until 1991, though,that Penske Racing South wasfounded in NASCAR, withRusty Wallace’s Pontiac cam-paigning full-time. Penske hadwon in every kind of racing,from Can-Am, to Indy Car, toFormula One. But we don’thave to tell you how hard win-ning is in NASCAR.

So we’ll let Roger Pensketell you—but he’ll do it in his

paigner like Penske con-fronting a struggle likeNASCAR, you need vastreserves of patience. And forPenske, emotional reactions todisappointment have no place.“There are probably plenty ofsituations we could have han-dled differently when you lookback on it,” he says. “But Ialways try to look forward. Atthe time, it was the best deci-

sion we could make given theinformation we had. But wewill not dwell on the past,there is too much to focus onnow and in the future.”

Take a deep breath, lookcloser to understand the prob-lem, then try again. ForPenske in NASCAR, it hasmeant trying hard for years!

So we asked him what

of success inNASCAR. We havelearned that youneed to have that right chem-istry and consistency to suc-ceed, and sometimes thattakes time.”

We mentioned Penske’sdetermination. In this answeryou’ll find no hint of discom-fort or failure. Rather, his is acoolly analytic assessment ofwhat was wrong, and how tomake it right. To be a cam-

own inimitable way. It took awhile for Team Penske to beconsistently successful inNASCAR, and we asked howthe Captain dealt with thosetrying seasons of working hardand having only middling suc-cess. His answer was vintagePenske.

“I think it was a matter offinding the mix of the rightpeople and equipment,” hesaid, “before we started toexperience a consistent level

NASCAR Star power: Bobby Allison

Vol III / Issue 213

PENSKE

keeps him on the path whenthings aren’t going his way.Again, his answer was calmand determined. “I havealways subscribed,” he says,“to Effort Equals Results, inour businesses, and that stillapplies today. I think youalways strive to over-deliverfor your customers. And youshould be open to new oppor-tunities. You never know whatchances might be waiting rightaround the corner.”

Oh, did we forget to men-tion ... The Captain’s business-es beyond motor racingemploy almost 50,000 peopleand generate annual revenueswell over $20 billion? Howdoes he manage all that, andstill command a race teamweekend after weekend?

“I’ve said it before,” Penskenotes, “we are racers—it iswhat we do. I still have a greatpassion for racing and thecompetition within the sport.That is my golf game or myweekend fishing trip, and ithas always been a key part ofour business, as well. Thereare many aspects of racingthat apply directly to the busi-ness world, and I think we

have used those lessons toimprove our performance.From discipline, to teamwork,to technology, and the abilityto adapt in a constantlychanging environment, thoseare all key things you learn inracing that can make you bet-ter in business.”

Getting The Power To The Ground

Penske South’s early evolu-tion began with the switchfrom Pontiac to Ford in 1994.Rusty Wallace achieved winsand consistently high finishes.He was joined by Jeremy

Mayfield in 1998, and in2001, stand-out rookie RyanNewman joined the team. In2002, Newman was Rookieof the Year, winning at NewHampshire and taking sixpoles.

After scoring at least onevictory in 16 straight sea-sons, Wallace retired in 2005,replaced by Kurt Busch.Busch and Newman gath-ered numerous poles andwins in the following sea-sons, and in 2009, BradKeselowski joined the team

in Nationwide, NASCAR’s jun-ior series. But by 2011, bothBusch and Keselowski madethe Chase for the CupChampionship. The followingyear, 2012, Keselowski andTeam Penske achieved thehighest goal, winning theirfirst-ever Sprint Cup SeriesChampionship.

In 2013, young JoeyLogano joined the team,immediately proving his worthby winning a race and qualify-ing for the Chase. Since then,the Penske Fords ofKeselowski and Logano havewon regularly and been con-sistently among the fastest

Cup entries. By this pastJuly’s Daytona race, aKeselowski victory broughtTeam Penske’s total NASCARvictories to 100. A model ofconsistency throughout, TeamPenske has won a Cup victoryevery year since 1991.

During all this furious activi-ty, racing full-time in SprintCup and Indy Car, RogerPenske has captained hismassive business interestswith growing success. His for-mula—in racing and busi-ness—has been to find thebest people, delegate respon-sibility, and apply his guidingprinciple—

But for this entrepreneurand racer extraordinaire, rac-ing is the model that driveshis thinking. “Racing,” Penskesays, “has been the commonthread to our business and tothe growth of our organiza-tion. We learn so much fromour experiences in racing, andit really has been a great plat-form for our brand. I feel for-tunate to have all the experi-ences that we have hadthrough motorsports.”

Effort Equals Results.

Brad Keselowski with his 2016 Las Vegas Kobalt 400 trophy.

Vol III / Issue 214

PENSKE

“... before we started to experience aconsistent level of success in NASCAR,

we learned that you need to have the right chemistry.”

Vol III / Issue 215

PENSKE

could win at Cup level. Whynot more established nameslike, oh, Jeff Gordon ... CarlEdwards....

What on earth told Penske,native son of Shaker Heightsand the world, that these twominor comets should be the“future” of his NASCAR fran-chise!

HardcardAccess.com satdown with The Captain andasked him that very question.

Cherry-Picking

When Penske signed BradKeselowski for the 2010 sea-son, the Rochester Hills,Michigan driver had—count’em—one Sprint Cup win in 17starts and six Xfinity wins in

Captain’s OrdersBy George Damon Levy

Maybe the rest of us should just shut up and admit Roger Penske is smarter than we are.

ake Brad Keselowski andJoey Logano ... goahead and try. In this

young duo, Roger Penske—“The Captain,” to everyonewho counts—has two of thehardest chargers in Cup. Yetseveral years ago, when hefirst signed these “little-knowns,” many wondered ifhe’d lost his bearings.

Why Keselowski? WhyLogano? Why now!

Neither had proven he

T

16

104 races. He was fast, sure. But what

on earth told The Captain thatKeselowski had the tempera-ment, versatility, or depth tocompete for Cup champi-onships?

Roger didn’t think twice.“I saw Brad when he drove

a car for JR Motorsports, theNavy car [in the Xfinity series].He was from Michigan [in atown not far from Penskeheadquarters], so I had a littlemore interest in just that therewas a driver. I think I knew hisdad, because when we ownedthe Michigan Speedway, hisdad would come out and run.We had ARCA or somethingrunning there on the Saturdayor the pre-show.”

Brad’s dad, BobKeselowski, competed in theARCA series for 11 seasons,winning the championship in1989. He made one Cup start.

“[Brad] had a commitmentwith JR Motorsports,” Penskeremembers. “I called him, andhe came to the shop. Andwhat really turned me on tohim was that he came in, andhe sat down, and he said,‘Look, I can’t race for you thisyear, because I’m committed.’”

Many drivers wouldn’t thinktwice about breaking a con-tract to sign for a Penske orGibbs or Hendrick. ButKeselowski wouldn’t considerit.

“Number One, he wasn’tabout to break a contract—it

PENSKE

was before the season, but hewasn’t going to break the con-tract,” notes Penske. “But hesaid, ‘I want to race for yousomeday. I want to help youbuild a championship-winningteam, and I want to be part ofit.’ That was really important tome, that he said, ‘I’ll do what-ever it takes.’

“Technically, he was savvyabout the cars ... at that point,

“Number One, he wasn’t about to break a

contract—it was before the season, but he

wasn’t going to break the contract,”

notes Penske. “But he said, ‘I want to race

for you someday. I want to help you build a

championship-winning team’…”

Brad Keselowski

Vol III / Issue 217

PENSKE

I really didn’t know thatmuch about his personality.But the fact that he was abig buddy of Junior’s, infact, they were very goodfriends and still are, [meantsomething to me, too].”

Keselowski didn’t startwinning right away. Thechorus of skeptics gotlouder—that first seasonwith Penske, Keselowskihad no wins, no Top 5’s.He scored two Top 10’s onhis way to 25th in the Cupstandings. But in 2011, hewon three races, on hisway to 5th in the standings.Then in 2012, he won fiveraces and the Sprint Cup title.

“He came on board and hestruggled for a little bit, but itwas only until we got goodcars for him … and he helpedus with that, he pushed us.

“One thing I would say is,the championship [in 2012]and where we are today isbecause Brad is pushing us allthe time. He sees stuff.Sometimes he sees stuff thathe wants us to go down a lanethat probably doesn’t benefitus—but most of the time, wetake his input and try to run it

to ground. That’s been a bighelp to us.”

Keselowski has taken 18 ofhis 19 wins driving for TeamPenske, already putting him ona par with Davey Allison andBuddy Baker, with presumablymany seasons still ahead. Andhis Cup title in 2012 wasPenske’s first.

Buttered Bread

“From a Logano stand-point,” says Penske, “I mean,that was simple. Logano beat

Kyle Busch many times in thesame car on the Saturday[races]—in those days it wasthe Busch Series. We werelooking for another driver, andBrad talked to me about Joey.In fact, I went to [Joe] Gibbsand said, ‘Look, we have afull-time Cup ride, and I’d liketo hire Logano.’ They were try-ing to keep him, but they hadhired Kenseth, and [Logano]was just kind of hanging outthere. They said, ‘Give us aweek.’

“In the meantime, I was

“I mean, that was sim-

ple. Logano beat Kyle

Busch many times

in the same car.”

Joey Logano

Vol III / Issue 218

PENSKE

talking to Logano, and hewanted to come with us. Andit was just a matter of timebecause, look, with KyleBusch and Denny Hamlin ...and he’s the young guy, thethird ... he ate what was left, ifyou want. I think Gibbs did agood job bringing him wherehe was. He won races for him.I think it was just that the crewhe had around him and thecars he had at that pointmaybe weren’t as good.”

As soon as Logano, glow-ingly referred to in the garagesas, “Sliced Bread,” joinedPenske, his career seemed toshift into high gear. In his firstfive seasons in Cup beforePenske, he scored a total of16 Top 5’s. The first seasonalone with Roger, he scored11! Then in 2014, he won fivetimes for Penske. In 2015, heupped the count to a series-high six wins, including thecrown jewel—the 2015Daytona 500.

One of the keys to success,Penske feels, is the atmos-phere of trust within his teamand the fact that each drivergets the same equipment.

“Once we were able to get

such young guys, Penske canexpect to keep winning wellinto the future. Keselowski isonly 32, and Logano justturned 26.

“Joey came with the sup-port of Brad. He had been awinner. He was committed.

He’s a young guy, and I thinkbetween the two guys rightnow, we’ve got longevity,we’ve got good crew chiefs,and we’ve got real good back-up guys.”

Penske, who just turned 79,has made another investmenthe thinks will pay off in theteam’s future.

“We’ve got our guys run-ning the 21-car this year forthe Wood Brothers. It’s ourcar, it’s all our stuff, our peo-

together, [Logano] saw howwe didn’t have different carsfor different drivers. We buildour [own] cars. They all getbuilt by the same guys. Webuild them on an assemblyline, and nobody knowswhose car it’s going to be. The

only time they know is whenthey put the paint on and thebodies on the chassis.

“Our cars qualify close,because the cars are almostidentical. In fact Joey said,after we wrecked one inCalifornia, he got into thebackup car, and he didn’tknow it wasn’t the same car.That’s how [equal they are].”

For Penske, picking Loganowas a no-brainer, like bettingon four aces. And by picking

ple. We integrated into them.That gives us a chance tobuild some maybe not eliteguys yet—but they could be aleader if they moved over ontothe 2 or the 22. It’s a real farmteam. The Wood Brothers do areally good job.”

But for The Captain, it’sabout more than just a soundbusiness decision.

“Leonard and Glen andthose guys were good friendsof mine back in the ‘70s, whenwe raced together.”

Former President and D-Day architect DwightEisenhower once said, “Inpreparing for battle, I havealways found that plans areuseless, but planning is indis-pensable.”

That’s why, after describinga plan that seems almost per-fect in every detail, Rogerflashes a short, self-deprecat-ing grin. “We’ll see what hap-pens.”

George Damon Levy’s newbook, Can-Am 50th Anniversary, will be published this summerby Motorbooks.

“We’ve got our guys running the 21-car

this year for the Wood Brothers.

It’s our car, it’s all our stuff, our people…

It’s a real farm team.

The Wood Brothers do a really good job.”

is like aliving vine, climbing, search-ing, finding its way. Take therecent history of Sprint Cup’saerodynamic rules. While otherracing disciplines are huntinghigh and low for more elabo-rate downforce packages, Cupalone is going in the oppositedirection—and for the best ofreasons.

A full-size, 3250-lb Cupstock car generating heavydownforce at 200 mph isunique in racing ... it makeshurricanes of turbulence. Andas Cup cars began generating

approved and applied. As thepackages made less down-force, the drivers loved thereduction in turbulence andthe new freedom to maneuveraround competitors. Instead ofbeing smothered by a con-stant, overwhelming blast ofdownforce, the drivers wel-comed taking full responsibilityfor car control, relying happilyon their own inherent drivingtalents.

Hey, they’re racers!

pass to prove it. The fans wanted that, the

drivers wanted that ... and sodid NASCAR!

So starting in 2014, pro-ceeding in carefully measuredsteps, Cup’s aerodynamicpackage was reduced. Shortersplitters were prescribed at thenose and smaller spoilers fit-ted on the trunk. Each year, atrial package for the followingyear, using progressively lessaero, was tried. One by one,these trial packages were

more and more downforce,Cup drivers, the most aggres-sive racers anywhere, gradual-ly saw their ability to race hardagainst each other vanishing.Why? The faster they went,the more aerodynamic vio-lence surrounded them. Itbecame almost impossibly dif-ficult to approach another car,much less make a pass—andthe racers wanted to get backto racing! If one driver wasbetter, they reasoned, he orshe should be able to make a

Vol III / Issue 219

2017 AERO

By Ted West

Sprint Cup takes

an exploratory step

into 2017—

and wild is the wind...

Hurricane AlleyHurricane Alley

NASCAR

Science Marches On

At this June’s Cup race atMichigan, NASCAR gave its2017 aero package—the low-est-downforce package yet—its first trial. It was an eye-opener. It featured a skimpyyardstick-sized rear spoilerand drastically reduced drag,and at the end of thestraights, the fastest carswere doing a cranium-split-ting 216 mph!

Of course, after watchingfor 30 or 40 laps, we allshrugged ... big deal.

It’s human nature. Watchpeople do something blood-curdling for long enough, youforget it’s blood-curdling.

To a commercial airlinepilot, though, 216 mph isdead serious. Air moving at188 knots (216, to you) hasenough pent-up rage to fling487.5 tons of Boeing’s heavi-est 747-8 into the air like apaper glider. It is, yeah, a BigDeal!

In Cup, though, you haveto remember one nasty fact—bending a hairy great 3250-lb.Cup car into Michigan’s highbanking, Kevin Harvick or

Kyle Busch or Joey Loganoare sliding sideways like a wetseal on a slick rock. Lap afterlap, they slide up right wherethey should. Then a few sec-onds later—twice per lap—they take the same blood-curdling risk all over again!

Routine. Have some Michigan

bratwurst ... it’s delicious.But remember one more

nasty fact—the Cup car youwatch is being battered onto

the pavement by a wedge ofair mighty enough to flick a747-8 into the sky. Even with2017’s ultra-low downforcepackage, at Michigan (it hasthe highest lap speeds inCup—yes, it does), the car’smassive upper surfaces aremaking about 2000 lb. ofdownforce ... sliding sidewayslike a wet seal on a slick rock.

Horrendous! If Fate is in a good mood,

of course, your car will behave

just as it did the last 52 or 82turns. Ah, but if some otherwet seal slides up alongsideyour rear wheel in the bankingto “side-draft,” things changein a hummingbird’s blink. Allthat heavy air spilling off theother wet seal blasts your tailsideways. You go crazy loose!

Up onto the marbles—Into the fence! It happened two or three

times at Michigan. Wrecked.

Vol III / Issue 220

2017 AERO

Low-downforce “yardstick” spoilers.

Vol III / Issue 221

2017 AERO

In years past, ofcourse, the old largerear spoiler would’vekept you pinneddown—no spin. Andwith the old big spoiler, youmade such turbulence,nobody could get close any-way! Side-drafting slowed you,maybe, but it didn’t wreckyou.

In spite of this, the driversat Michigan whistled andstomped in favor of the 2017downforce package. Itsreduced turbulence madepassing way easier—if passingat 216 is ever “easy.” Excitingpasses happened all day long.If you weren’t the two or threedrivers who got crashed, theracing was fantastic. Low tur-bulence was good for every-one—especially us spectators.

The Best-Laid Plans

The 2017 ultra-low down-force package’s second 2016trial came in July at repaved,newly configured Kentucky. Itwas an eye-opener of a differ-ent sort. It didn’t help, ofcourse, that rain seriously lim-

entrance and a narrow racinggroove that had everyone talk-ing to themselves. No lessthan Jimmie Johnson, wholikes racing “loose” and prideshimself on car control, namedturn three the toughest in Cup.After crashing in practice andgoing to a backup Chevy forthe race, he owned thatremark.

So far, though, NASCAR’sapproach, reducing Cup’s aeropackage in careful stages, hadgone off without a hitch. Andthe drivers, enthusiastically in

favor of the process, wantedthe low-downforce packagefor next year—2017. But thelow grip and restrictive line ofKentucky’s turns three andfour, combined withGoodyear’s hard, sudden tire,would be a stern test. At mid-corner, the groove was barelya lane and a half wide, bor-dered by a forbidden waste-land of un-drivable “marbles.”Would the 2017 package anda difficult tire allow tacticalfreedom at the limit, as thedrivers hoped? Or would rac-

ited Cup practice and wipedout Qualifying—before therace, the teams got little tracktime with the new package.And because the surface wasbrand-new and abrasive, andbecause Goodyear wanted toavoid a serious tire-wearissue, they gambled by sup-plying a very hard tread com-pound that the drivers saidwas light on grip and difficultto drive.

And Kentucky’s reconfig-ured turn-three, in particular,presented a low-grip, flat

The Little Big-One—Allmendinger, Buescher, Scott, and company.Ryan Blaney (inset) goes around.

22

2017 AERO

crashes that caught the eye—it was the “why.” Almost allwere the result of, um, “unwel-come aerodynamic influence.”Again and again, someaggressive wet seal wouldslide up close to another wetseal’s rear quarter in a turn.Wet seal no. one would dis-turb the low downforce of wetseal no. two, and immediately,wet seal no. two’s tail wouldtwirl up to the fence at near150 mph. The list of solocrashes was long—MattDiBenedetto, Regan Smith,Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer,A.J. Allmendinger, LandonCassill.

On lap 87, Rookies of theYear Chase Elliott and RyanBlaney mutually crashed eachother out. Then just six lapslater, Kentucky staged its ownLittle Big-One, when Smith,Allmendinger, Patrick, ChrisBuescher, Kyle Larson, BrianScott, Ty Dillon, and ColeWhitt, though not in that order,all came together in a tantrumof flying trash worthy of aTalladega gang-crash.

Fortunately in all of this,only Allmendinger was lightlyinjured, suffering a hurt wrist.

ing close together with lowdownforce send them flyinginto the fence like a Saturday-night Demo Derby? After all, itwas Saturday night.

Showtime

Before the Kentucky start,no one knew how impatienttires and low downforce, driv-en in anger and raced close inthese nervous, narrow turns,would behave.

Blasting off from the start,those who went two-widequickly thought better of it.And the brazen few who wentthree-wide lost handfuls oftrack position—before takingtime to breathe again.

Then just ten laps into therace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., nostranger to life on the edge,stepped right over it and hitthe fence. It was nothing to beashamed of. In the first 100laps, he would be joined byhordes of barrier-bashers. Forthose who enjoy baseballstats, Kentucky easily shat-tered its record for cautionlights—11—each one a bonafide sheet-metal job.

But it wasn’t the number of

Vol III / Issue 2

Chris Buescher, with friends.

Vol III / Issue 223

If you didn’t own any of thewrecked cars, like excitement,and oppose physical injury,you were in medium-tall clover.

But well before all butStenhouse’s crash, two addi-tional early crashes might havecaught your eye. On lap 31, inturn three, Jimmie Johnson,winner of only six CupChampionships, got side-drafted on his right rear,stepped out, and spun mas-sively into the wall. And 22laps later, after an earlier brushwith the wall, Joey Logano,“Sliced Bread,” dove violentlyinto the wall, concluding (and

aero-induced spin-and-crash-es, the issue looked manage-able. At Kentucky, 16 carscrashed—Logano, Patrick, andAllmendinger more than once.It was a “show,” and promot-ers will say, that’s what Cup isabout. And most of the topdrivers up front escaped inci-dent. Write it off as “naturalselection.”

But the combination of itchytires and low downforce wasexpensive. And not every “lit-tle” crash is innocent—askAllmendinger. He was mad asa wet cat, after getting bashedaround all night. Matt

DiBenedetto, too, had doubtsabout low downforce—has itgone an inch too far? After a150-mph crash, you mightask, too.

In the end, of course, racersare racers. To a racer, whathappens to “me” is whatcounts. If what happened to“me” at Kentucky was okay,the rules are okay. Probably.By the same measure, if “I”could’ve done better, the rulescould be better.

To most at Kentucky (... andfor the record, BradKeselowski won on a last-lapfuel-economy run, his tankbone-dry at the checker), thelow-downforce package ischallenging but worth the chal-lenge. Kentucky’s many inci-dents came down toGoodyear’s wear-resistant,knife-edge tire. The low-down-force package remains promis-ing to the drivers, deliveringclose racing, available passing,and relative freedom tomaneuver in traffic. If you spinyour opponent in the process,well ... that’s racing.

But if your opponent spinsyou, of course, the packagemust be changed!

Racers are racers.

he said so himself), hey, youcould get hurt driving thesethings!

Why do we single out wall-bangers Johnson and Logano?

It might be tempting to dis-miss most of the Kentuckycrashes as the work of lesserteams, second-team drivers,or rookies. But when headlin-ers like Johnson and Loganoare just as powerless in trafficto control the combination oflow aero and hard tires ...Houston, do we have a prob-lem?

Michigan exposed the tip ofthe iceberg. With two or three

No less than

Jimmie Johnson,

who likes racing

“loose” and prides

himself on

car control, named

turn three the

toughest in Cup.

2017 AERO

Brian Scott and his wounds.

HC INTERVIEW

rian Scott, 28, is afresh new face inSprint Cup—buthe’s paid his

NASCAR dues. He was a full-time entrant in the XfinitySeries for six seasons, the lastthree driving for RichardChildress Racing. In 208

Xfinity starts, he scored 20Top-Fives and 77 Top-Tens,winning five poles. He scoredfour second-place finishes—atIndy, Richmond, Kentucky,and Talladega—and his bestseason finish was fourth, in2014. Scott also has two wins

in the Camping World TruckSeries, at Dover and Phoenix.

For 2016, the Boise, IDnative is driving Richard PettyMotorsports’ No. 44 FordFusion and competing forSprint Cup Rookie of the Year.He has made 32 career startsin Cup, in all, scoring one poleat Talladega. His best finish todate is a 12th in 2016 at

California Speedway.Married to Whitney, with

two children, Brielle, 5, andJoseph, 1, Brian has shownconsistent speed and strongracecraft in 2016. With half ofthe first full season behindhim, Hard Card wanted to see

how Sprint Cup looks aftermonths of full immersion.

HC: What has been themost difficult thing about jump-ing up to the Sprint CupSeries?

Scott: I’d say the most diffi-cult thing ... actually, it’s notone thing—it’s everything.Competing at the Sprint Cup

level on a weekly basis is verydifficult, with the added travel,the added length of the races,and just realizing how muchbusier our schedule is. Whenyou’re competing at the toplevel, and meeting your spon-sor obligations, I’d say the

main difficulty is managingyour time—managing the sea-son, and managing everythingthat comes along with it.

HC: What skills do you needto work on most to developinto a top tier Sprint Cup driv-er? If you had to make a list ofthings to improve on, whatwould they be?

Scott: I think communica-

tion is one of the most keythings in having a successfulrace team. To do the best job Ican, there’s always room toimprove how I communicatewith my team and crew chiefwhat exactly I need or want inthe car to race well. I think I

Vol III / Issue 224

The Hard CardInterview —

Brian Scott

B

HC INTERVIEW

decision?Scott: It’s just my genetic

makeup. I tend to approacheverything in life very logicallyand systematically, and I thinkI take racing the same way. I

try to stay within my meansand do what it takes to workon getting better, and I try tovery methodically learn les-sons piece by piece, whetherthat is to stay the course ofthe race, or stay the course ofthe season, or wherever. But Ifeel like I’m always gettingbetter.

HC: You’ve said before thatyou would like the Sprint Cupcars to drive like the driverswant them. Has the new “low-downforce” package achievedthat goal?

model for you?Scott: I’d say Jimmie

Johnson. I think that from thesuccess standpoint, he’s hadthe most of any modern-gen-eration driver. He just has an

uncanny ability to always capi-talize on situations. He man-ages a race really well. I think,with the schedule we all haveto keep, he also manages hishome and family life with thekids and wife as well as any-one I have seen. I just thinkhe’s a good role model and agood person to try to emulate.

HC: You’ve always seemedto have a more deliberateapproach to racing—youapproach it methodically withevery move up to a newseries. Is that a conscious

need to work on restarts, and Ineed to work on overtakingcars when I catch them—andnot waste as much time. Ithink I do a good job of man-aging my tires. Normally, I’mpretty good in long runs inplaces where tires wear out.

HC: Do you think SprintCup is as competitive as it hasever been? Are these the mostcompetitive teams and driverssince you began your career?

Scott: I certainly believe so.It’s hard for me to say,because this is my first year inSprint Cup. But with the addi-tion of the owner medallionsand the franchise teams, Ithink it’s made the depth ofthe field, especially from about15th on back, a lot more solidbecause of the additionalfunding and resources theowners can contribute to theteams. The top dogs are stillvery competitive, really talent-ed and hard to beat week inand week out—but the fieldhas really strengthened thisyear from about 15th to 30thplace.

HC: Who do you want toemulate as a Sprint Cup driv-er? Who serves as a role

Scott: I think sometimesdrivers can be their own worstenemies. You have to be care-ful what you wish for, becauseyou might just get it, and itmight not be all you hoped for.I think the low-downforcepackage has been a step inthe right direction, and I thinkwhat we saw at Michigan thisyear with the even lower-downforce package, at leastfrom my standpoint, was a lotof fun. It made the racing bet-ter, it made the restarts hairier,it made the drivers really haveto drive the cars a lot more. Itmade the cars so that theycould literally just jump up andbite you. I think drivers feltlike, in the past, there hadbeen too much “push” andtoo much room. You were ableto make mistakes because ofthe tires and all the downforce,and it never really cost you—the cars were too forgiving. Ithink what drivers want to seeis, if you make a mistake, it’sgoing to hurt you. You get thecar out of shape now, and it’sreally hard to get it gatheredup again. Or you can abuseyour tires and have them falloff, or blow, or not have a tire

Vol III / Issue 225

It’s just my genetic makeup.

I tend to approach everything in life

very logically and systematically,

and I think I take racing

the same way.

HC INTERVIEW

last through a fuel run,because of things you did as adriver. I definitely think theseare steps in the right direction.But I’m a bit leery about driv-ers continuing to ask for moreand more and more.

HC: When you are strug-gling as a team or driver, howdo you overcome that?

Scott: I think you just workhard. When you’re struggling,it’s important to put your nosedown and just dig in on yourjob. You do everything you canto get better and not getcaught up in the drama, orhearsay, or the he-said-she-said, and end up starting neg-ative chemistry in your team. Ithink hard work and persever-ance can pull you out of anyswamp or dry spell.

HC: How has having a fami-ly transformed you, personallyas well as professionally?

Scott: Personally, it’s beenthe biggest change in my life.To be a husband and fatherand have a great wife and twogreat kids has really changedmy outlook on life. I’ve defi-nitely reprioritized the way Ilook at things. I no longer lookat what’s best for me—now I

always look at what’s best formy family. I try to think for fourpeople instead of just one.And professionally, it’s been ahuge help, because when youhave a solid family life, and

you’re doing things to put foodon the table and make sureyour family is taken care of,you have more people count-ing on you. And from anextracurricular standpoint,having a family kind of keepsyou out of trouble. It keepsyou from doing the things that

maybe a young, single profes-sional athlete would do—goingout, maybe getting into troubleand doing things that areimmature. I think the maturityaspect improves your perform-

ance at the professional leveland makes you more focused.You’re doing healthier thingsweek in and week out at theracetrack to prepare for therace.

HC: You’re an avid sports-man, including extreme sports.What are some of the activities

you’ve participated in, andwhat is it that drives you tothem?

Scott: Yeah, I think what ini-tially drove me to someextreme sports was just that

my dad did them, and I want-ed to do things with my dad.My dad always wanted toinclude me in what he did. So Istarted snowmobiling withhim, and the kind of snowmo-biling we do is very back-country. We kind of just takeoff through the woods and the

Vol III / Issue 226

HC INTERVIEW

Vol III / Issue 227

mountains in Idaho. We workon climbing mountains andfinding ways to get to the topof some pretty impressivepeaks. We’re always cognizantof avalanche dangers andthings of that nature, and heli-skiing, or helicopter skiing,sort of naturally tied intothat, as well. What led me tothem and why I like them is,it’s very much a family activ-ity—the way I grew up. It’sthe way we bond and spendtime together and enjoy allthat Idaho has to offer.

HC: What is the most ill-advised thing you’ve everdone in a racecar since join-ing NASCAR?

Scott: I’d say the dumb-est thing happened at myfirst truck race, at Daytona in2008. In the driver’s meetingthey told you, if you need toindex your wheel to straightenup your steering wheel posi-tion, you should pull to theoutside wall entering turn 3,change your wheel, and thencome back to your qualifyingposition on the starting grid.So I pulled up to the outsidewall in turn 3 on our initialpace lap, pulled my steering

wheel off and put it back onlike I wanted. And when I wentto go, because I’d stopped onthe steep banking at Daytona,when I tried to resume going,my back end slid downhill,and I started sliding back-

wards into the second groupon the pace lap. Basically, Istopped on too much bank-ing, and my back tires justwent down the hill. I startedsliding down the hill while Iwas in first gear trying to goforward. I slid down right infront of the whole second halfof the field! Luckily, it didn’tcause a wreck.

HC: What is the wisestthing you’ve done in a racecar

since joining NASCAR?Scott: It was the final

restart of the truck race atPhoenix, when I beat KyleLarson. Kyle and I battled forthe lead all day, and I reallypaid attention every restart to

see where he liked to start andwhere his truck was good. Onthe last restart, which was agreen-white-checker, I knewexactly where he was going togo, and I was able to time myrestart perfectly to be side byside with him going into turnone. I could hold him down,get him loose, and have thelead off of turn one. Once I gotinto clean air, I knew nobodycould pass our car.

HC: You are now workingfor a truly iconic figure inRichard Petty—some wouldsay the face of NASCAR.What’s the most surprisingthing about working with theKing?

Scott: The most sur-prising thing about gettingto know Richard Petty ishow incredibly down toearth and humble he is.Now, he never had a repu-tation of being not downto earth—but he’s justsuch a wonderful person-ality, such a figure in thesport. He’s the most leg-endary driver, with 200wins and seven champi-onships, and I justassumed that he’d be

down to earth and humble ...but have a little bit of an ego,too, because of all he hasaccomplished. I’m just saying,it’s amazing to me howincredibly humble he really is,and how he’ll continually say itwasn’t him who won the 200races, it was the team theyhad and the team effort. He’llhonestly give the credit toeverybody else, and that isjust so surprising to me.

The most surprising thing about getting to

know Richard Petty is how incredibly

down to earth and humble he is. Now, he

never had a reputation of being not down to

earth—but he’s just such a wonderful per-

sonality, such a figure in the sport.

elief drivers have long been a part of NASCAR, butthere’s only one known example of a co-driver—Jocko Flocko. Flocko ran eight races during the 1953

season in a specially designed passenger seat alongside1952 NASCAR Champion Tim Flock, including a victory atHickory, NC. Unfortunately, Flocko, a 15-pound Rhesus mon-key with his own tiny driver’s suit, was forced into retirementtwo weeks later at the Raleigh 300. "Back then,” explainedFlock, “the cars had a trap door we could open with a chainto check our tire wear. Well, Jocko got loose from his seat,stuck his head through thetrap door, and wentberserk! Listen, it was hardenough to drive thoseheavy old cars back then,but with a crazed monkeyclawing you,it’s nearlyimpossible!”Flock wasforced to pitand let Flockoout, losing asure secondplace andabout $600.Flock grinned,“I had to getthat monkeyoff my back!"

Vol III / Issue 228

ECHOES & BACKFIRES

he first race Buddy Baker ran was at old ColumbiaSpeedway in one of his dad Buck Baker’s cars. As therace went on, the younger Baker got madder and

madder and dropped back farther and farther. “I said tomyself, ‘This thing won’t run. I need more horsepower,’” Bakertold great stock-car writer Tom Higgins. But next thing youknow, the elder Baker’s car breaks down, and he takes overyoung Buddy’s car—and darn near wins the race. “Thatshowed me just wanting to drive wasn't enough,” said Buddy,“you had to acquire knowledge. I learned that night that onceraces began, it's no longer the arrow that's the main thing. It'sthe Indian.''

TTBuddyBakerBuddyBaker

RRTimFlockTimFlock

By George Damon Levy

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 229

NASCAR packed at the California Auto Club Speedway.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICSA splash of marketing.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 231

The gender-free zone — Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 2132

Winner Carl Edwards’ tryout for the Olympics.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 233

Joey Logano (#22) bicyles Sonoma Raceway with Ryan Blaney in the Wood Brothers’ storied livery.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

The perennial aero challenge of Daytona.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 235

Kansas parking problems.

MOMENTS from Brad Schloss.com

PHOTO-GENICS

Vol III / Issue 236

Roman Circus at Bristol.