Tough Day in Phoenix

I was really pumped up going into the race on Sunday at PIR. For about the last month I have felt that the chemistry has been working between the driver, crew chief, and spotter. We are the main three people on the radio and it has been working well. I remember when I was driving and when we could all get in synch, it usually made it easier to stay focused in the seat. I have also learned that experience is just as important from the spotter's stand as it is from the driver's seat. Fortunately, I was able to spot for Damon Lusk in the truck race and for Stanton Barrett in the Busch Series race. My thinking was that if I spotted for 150 laps on Friday night and 200 laps on Saturday then my best race should be on Sunday for the Cup race.

Each race seemed to have a totally different look. The truck race was filled with cautions but being at night, I did not feel like I could see as well as I could during the day. At some tracks, the night races are actually easier but I did not think this about PIR on Friday night. The NASCAR Busch Series race had its share of cautions but there everyone was spread out a little more. PIR is a hard place to pass so even if you were a little faster than someone you might have to work quite a few laps to make the pass.

Once Sunday got here I was excited and ready to work. I thought with the experience from the days before that I was ready. Maybe I was too pumped up because I do not feel like I did a very good job on Sunday. The 88 car was really good on long runs but it would not go at the beginning of a run. He just could not go on restarts. I even asked at one point if I could do anything different to help on the restarts. Normally, I would just let him tell me but the reason that I felt like it might be something I could tell him is because on some of the restarts, the low lane would go and on others, the top lane would go. DJ said everything was good so I just kept an eye out for anything in front of him.

This week there was another series of events that just made the day get long for the crew. On one of the cautions the car directly in front of him blew an engine and put oil on the windshield. He had to stop and get a tear off pulled so he could see. Next, there was a crash in turn one that I was able to see and help him avoid. The only damage in this one was some flat spotted tires when he spun avoiding this accident. He had it missed but he said there might have been too much rear brake in the car. The third and final event happened down in the middle of turns 3 and 4. I still have not seen a replay but here is what I saw: The cars directly in front of the 88 got together and as one of the cars spun back up the race track we were pinched between that car and the wall. The 88 slammed the wall hard and was not able to continue.

This is the second time this year that a crash has happened directly in front of him. I am not sure what I could have said but I feel like I missed a call. Even my buddy asked me on the way home, "why did you not tell him to go low?" I don't have a real good answer other than when something happens right in front of you it is not the same as something happening 10 or 12 cars in front of you. My reaction time must have been off yesterday. I really don't know!

This is similar to what happened to McMurray at Atlanta. Maybe I should go back and watch that race again to see what his spotter was saying when Gordon was slowing in front of him. I think anytime your car wrecks you feel like there is something that you could have done different but I know from being in the seat that you don't have much time to react.

Well, we will pick up and move to Homestead-Miami Speedway where there will be a ton of action. All three of NASCAR's Champions will be crowned this weekend. There will be plenty of action with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title and the Nextel Cup Series title to be determined in their final race of the season.

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