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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    In addition to a dose of roof flap drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    Surprising:  Who knew that the magic between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, leading to their record-setting night of sweeping both the 500 and 400 at Daytona in the same year, all started over a beer and a game of horseshoes?

    “People make the difference,” five-time champ Johnson said. “Chad and I have a relationship since the first time we drank beer in my backyard throwing horseshoes.”

    “It was the start of many good things to come,” Johnson continued. “The relationships, the people make the difference.”

    “That’s where the magic lies.”

    Johnson also gave Team Hendrick its first sweep at Daytona since 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond accomplished the same feat. This was Johnson’s 64th career Cup Series win and his fourth victory of the season, tying competitor Matt Kenseth in the win column.

    Not Surprising:  While Tony Stewart finished runner up in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, regaining the six spots in the point standings to the tenth position, he finished off the night ‘testy’ in the media center after the checkered flag flew.

    When asked whether or not his retreat to the rear of the field for much of the race was pre-planned, Stewart showed his dismay for what he considered perhaps not the best question of the evening.

    “You guys act like you’ve never seen me do that before,” Smoke answered. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve had good results on it.”

    When next asked about whether or not he liked this type of racing at this stage in his career, Stewart again reverted to past practice.

    “Go back to your old notes,” Smoke said. “My opinion hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

    “If you don’t have them, somebody else in the room will have them, you know that.”

    Surprising:  Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. thought that he had successfully broken a barrier in his 2013 career. Unfortunately he was unpleasantly surprised after NASCAR showed him the photo finish, realizing that he still had more work to do.

    “We’ve been working all year long and we’ve got a couple of 11ths, 12ths, and it’s good to break that barrier of top ten,” Stenhouse Jr. said, before learning that he had really finished in the 11th spot.  There is no doubt that he will be aiming for that barrier again at New Hampshire and with a vengeance.

    Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick was not happy in spite of being the third place finisher in his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, we didn’t win,” Harvick said. “That was our expectation coming here.”

    “I felt like we were in the right position,” Harvick continued. “We couldn’t get everything lined up to get going.”

    Surprising:  Probably the most surprised driver at Daytona was Paul Menard, who lost an engine with absolutely no warning in the early going on Lap 22.

    “Something just let go,” the driver of the No. 27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet said. “I felt the heat come up.”

    “It gave no indication,” Menard continued. “I haven’t had a motor failure in forever.”

    “Just unfortunate.”

    Not Surprising:   NASCAR’s biggest loser in addition to Menard was Joey Logano, who brought out the second caution of the race with a tire failure and a crash into the wall. The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford fell hard in the point standings, losing five positions and dropping from the 10th to the 15th position.

    “It was a big hit,” Logano said of his trip into the wall. “But it was a bigger hit in the points really.”

    “We’ve lost a lot but we’re not out of it by any means.”

    Surprising:  While Daytona is known for its share of ‘big ones’, there were some particularly hard hits in this version of the Coke Zero 400, including crashes for Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kasey Kahne.

    Hamlin was involved in two crashes, the second just a few laps away from the checkered flag.  The two wrecks added insult to his already injured back, as well as a sore knee and head from a crash just last week at Kentucky.

    Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet for James Finch, described his wreck as a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment, one that injured him in his ‘man parts’ and sent him stumbling out of his car in pain.

    “Everybody moved down and Denny (Hamlin) appeared right in front of me,” Allmendinger said. “I just hit him as hard as I could unfortunately.”

    One of the most bizarre but hard wrecks occurred at the end of the race, knocking a strong player out of contention. On Lap 155, Kasey Kahne got slammed while running at the front of the field, crashing hard into the inner wall.

    “I got slammed and shot to the left,” Kahne said. “It’s kind of how these races go.”

    “You don’t have a lot of control over what happens.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota often driven by Mark Martin, scored a top-five finish. Waltrip, who has a stellar resume on plate tracks, pulled off another good finish in spite of being a bit rusty behind the wheel and having some struggles in the pits.

    “We were just really fortunate after getting into a wreck on pit road,” Waltrip said. “I’m just happy for the team because it was a well-deserved finish.”

    Surprising:  MWR teammate Clint Bowyer also had such a surprisingly good run, finishing fourth in his No. 15 Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid Toyota. And with that finish, he ousted Carl Edwards from second place in the point standings, sitting 49 points behind leader Johnson.

    “I was pushing Michael and got him passed,” Bowyer said. “I looked in the mirror and all hell broke loose.”

    “That’s Daytona,’ Bowyer continued. “But I’ll take a top-five anytime in one of these races.”

    This was Bowyer’s third top-five finish in a row.

    Not Surprising:  With team owner and driver Tony Stewart setting the bar in the runner up spot, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team also finished well at Daytona, in spite of final lap mishaps.

    Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, scored bloomin’ onions for all with a top-ten finish. This was Newman’s sixth top-ten at Daytona and his eighth of the season

    “I’m glad we got a top-10 for Outback Steakhouse, but I hate that we destroyed another race car on the final lap,” Newman lamented. “That just seems to be the norm for us when it comes to restrictor-plate racing.”

    SHR teammate Danica Patrick was also involved in the multi-car melee at the end of the race, finishing 14th in her No.  10 GGoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    This was her fourth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

    “Well a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting,” Patrick said. “All in all, it was a solid day.”

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continues to amaze with his performance, finishing sixth and putting himself in Chase contention with a five spot move up in the point standings to ninth.

    This is the highest in the point standings that Kurt has been so far in the 2013 season. This was also his third straight top-ten finish and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “We stayed out of trouble, had smooth pit stops and had a big points night for our Furniture Row team,” Busch said. “These guys are working hard and it’s paying off.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished top-ten at Daytona, in spite of some challenges with his race car.

    “I had fun,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We just didn’t make our way to the front.”

    “We had a problem with the car,” Junior continued. “Something broke and we could hardy steer it coming into the pits.”

    The eighth place finish at Daytona moved Earnhardt Jr. up one position in the points standings to fifth.

     

  • NASCAR BTS: Mike Houston’s Journey From Bouncer to Pit Crew Coach

    NASCAR BTS: Mike Houston’s Journey From Bouncer to Pit Crew Coach

    Some of the most important members on any race team are the pit crew members, especially those that go over the wall every Sunday. This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes spotlights one of those vital players, Mike Houston, front tire changer and pit crew coach for the No. 78 Furniture Row race team.

    “What I do is I’m the pit crew coach and the front tire carrier,” Houston said. “I try to coordinate how we do pit stops, coaching each individual position as well as carrying front tires.”

    “I’ve performed every position over the pit wall in the Cup Series, but for most of my career, I have been a tire carrier.”

    Since Houston grew up in the heart of racing country, Concord, North Carolina, one would assume that he was involved with racing from his childhood on. But Houston took another very interesting route to end up with his career in NASCAR.

    “I grew up in Concord and I never watched NASCAR,” Houston said. “I was involved in other sports, mainly football.”

    “When I got out of college, I was bouncing at a night club in Charlotte and I was a professional wrestler at the same time,” Houston continued. “We had a Christmas party for one of the race teams at our night club.”

    “I met one of the crew chiefs there and this was just at the very beginning stages of when they were having athletes come into the sport to do the pit crew,” Houston said. “So, we started talking and he asked me to come to the shop and see if I could do it.”

    “I was kind of bored one day and decided to go over there,” Houston continued. “So, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

    “It doesn’t happen that way anymore.”

    In addition to being a collegiate athlete, Houston was also a professional wrestler. His first wrestling name was ‘Minister of Pain’ but then he changed it to ‘Mike Mayhem.’

    Houston shared that there are definitely similarities in the other sports in which he has participated, from football to wrestling, to NASCAR. But there are elements of racing that are also quite unique.

    “I think that the hand/eye coordination you develop in football really translates into racing,” Houston said. “The physical fitness, training and dedication to the little details that make a difference definitely cross over.”

    “It’s also the same rush going over the wall as playing football,” Houston continued. “Usually in racing, you don’t want to get the rush until the pit stop is over.”

    “You want to maintain your composure while you are performing and then, if you have a good stop, you can celebrate the moment,” Houston said. “I’ve been doing it for so long while that the pre-butterflies before a pit stop don’t happen anymore.”

    “But you do get excited and pumped up when you have a good stop and when you’re running up front,” Houston continued. “It’s along the same lines as sacking a quarterback late in the fourth quarter.”

    “It’s also like getting a crowd pumped up before a wrestling match.”

    “What is different is that the mind set and the approach in racing is quite different from other sports,” Houston said. “You can’t intimidate a race car.”

    “Really it is more about competing against yourself.”

    Houston has had many challenges on pit road but his most memorable moment came as a member of a championship pit crew team with five time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “I would say the best moment in my pit crew career was in 2010,” Houston said. “I was on Jeff Gordon’s crew and we did the swap with the 48.”

    “To be able to go to that car and be a part of winning that championship as a pit crew member was one of the better moments.”

    While there are highs in racing, like those championship moments, Houston acknowledged that there are also downsides, especially the danger they face every time they go over the wall.

    “I think that a lot of things that happen are out of your control on pit road,” Houston said. “I tell the guys that when they go over the wall you can’t have the mindset that a car is going to hit you or that you will have a problem.”

    “If you’re thinking of those things, you’re taking your mind off the job you have to perform,” Houston continued. “I do always tell the guys though to keep their eyes down pit road.”

    Given the physical presence of Houston, whose nickname is ironically ‘Tiny’, fitness and working out would seem a requirement. Yet while Houston and his pit crew do hit the gym, they also mix it up with some other exercises that just might surprise race fans.

    “We work out four times a week and practice four times a week as well,” Houston said. “We dedicate one day, Thursdays, where we do yoga.”

    “It makes sense because you want to be as limber as possible,” Houston continued. “A lot of the positions are bending, squatting and getting down on your knees, so those motions of keeping your core strong are helpful.”

    “Not to say that any of us are good at it, but we still do it,” Houston said. “You really can tell a difference from the guys who have never done it before because in six weeks the progression they have with their flexibility is incredible.”

    “We will also throw in some aquatics and meet up at the Y and exercise in the water,” Houston continued. “We do a lot of low impact because we jump over the wall with a 75 pound tire in our hand and all that weight, whether a fuel can, tire or jack, you are putting all that pressure on your joints.”

    “So, a lot of this stuff helps the beating and banging we do on the weekends on our bodies.”

    Houston also acknowledged that exercising for endurance is critical for his crew’s over the wall work.

    “We don’t really do a lot of lifting weights, but include more of the cardio and things like that to get the heart rate up,” Houston said. “We have one of the longest seasons in the sport and you have to be able to last.”

    “For football, you want to be bigger, stronger, faster but we want to be limber, have injury prevention and to prolong the career as long as possible,” Houston continued. “We do a little heavy lifting, but that is more in the off-season.”

    “Otherwise, we do more cross fit training or things that help endurance.”

    All of this training has in large part contributed to the faster pit stops, moving from 14 seconds on average down to 12 and even 11 seconds for some teams. But Houston advised that it is not always the fitness that gets it done more quickly on pit road.

    “When I first got into the sport, nobody thought you would see a 13 second pit stop and I’ve seen the threshold go from 14 seconds, to 13, to 12 to 11,” Houston said. “One of the biggest factors is that the equipment and the engineering on the pit guns have improved.”

    “That is a huge advantage that a lot of the bigger teams have right now,” Houston continued. “They’re developing pit guns that allow them to have their changers hit the lug nuts faster and the equipment keeps up with them.”

    “Your big teams put money into this kind of development so they have a slight advantage.”

    For Houston, there are other vital elements in addition to the new equipment and physical fitness that improve the performance of his pit crew team members. One element is the coaching and mentoring aspect and the other is their relationship with their driver.

    “My style of coaching can be tough or encouraging,” Houston said. “It depends on the situation.”

    “Usually during race situations, I try to keep calm and not blow a gasket because if you do that, you’re not really helping at that moment,” Houston continued. “If a guy made a mistake, he is already feeling bad because when you make a mistake, the whole team suffers.”

    “At that particular time, I try to become more encouraging and positive,” Houston continued. “But in practice but if the guy is making the same mistake over and over, then you’ve got to get up in his grille and say ‘get it together.’

    “The drivers that seek out and get to know the guys on their pit crew, it does make a difference,” Houston said. “I think it makes more of a difference on the pit crew side because they believe that their driver cares.”

    “That was one thing at Hendrick with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson,” Houston continued. “We’d play paint ball together or have an outing.”

    “We’d do things as a group with the driver involved,” Houston said. “That type of stuff goes a long way.”

    Other than the fact that he was a bouncer and wrestler, what else would fans be most surprised to know about Mike Houston, aka ‘Tiny’?

    “I always get told that I look unapproachable and that the first impression, with my bald head and goatee make me unapproachable,” Houston said. “My appearance may give a different impression than what I really am.”

    “I’m really kind of a teddy bear underneath.”

     

  • Kurt Busch Is Ready To Win Another Championship

    Kurt Busch Is Ready To Win Another Championship

    Kurt Busch will be a 2x NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion; it’s simply a matter of when it will happen. Although he and Furniture Row Racing are fast this year, I doubt his second championship will come in 2013 but I will be very surprised if they don’t make the chase and win at least one race. Kurt has matured so much as a driver in the last year and has shocked me with his abrupt attitude change. Yes, he will still get animated inside the racecar but if you listened to every driver’s scanner, they all do at some point. After every race, he gives a positive interview no matter what and tempers his emotions which we’ve never seen him do in the past.

    At Richmond, he was guaranteed a top three finish until a late race caution jumbled up the running order and he ended up 9th. On the final lap, Kenseth knocked him out of the way costing him a couple more positions and Kurt was obviously upset following the race bumping Matt on the cool down lap but that’s it. In fact, the usually calm Matt Kenseth was more fired up in his post-race interview than the strangely optimistic Kurt Busch. Kurt hasn’t made a single imprudent decision this year and there were multiple incidents when it would have been understandable to be upset.

    He’s led over 100 laps this year and has run up front in most of the races although a few of the finishes don’t show it. If this team can get their pit stop mistakes and mechanical issues fixed, then they will become a serious threat on the track. They could have won the All-Star Race if they had a faster stop and loose wheels/lugnuts have destroyed what would have been great races for them on more than one occasion this year. Once again, the elder Busch looked at the brighter side of things following the race instead of dwelling on all the bad moments.

    This much more mature Kurt Busch has taken Furniture Row Racing to the next level. Regan Smith was a good driver but Kurt is an extraordinary driver. Kurt’s probably the most versatile racer in the garage right now next to Tony Stewart and very few men throughout racing history have the ability to jump into different kinds of racecars and perform competitively like him. A couple weeks ago, he took a V8 Supercar around the Circuit of the Americas, then he drove an Indycar at 220mph passing rookie orientation and a few days later he shattered the track record at one of the most difficult tracks on the NASCAR schedule (Darlington). Not many people can kill the rear end of a car at Daytona during a crash and come back to win the race like Kurt did last July. Not many people can have their career slammed to the ground but somehow get back up again and be competitive. Not many people can completely change their attitude for the better in the matter of a year. Kurt Busch did.

    I have gained so much respect for Kurt recently and it’s paramount that he keeps it up. His temper has been holding him back and now that he’s got his Achilles Heel under control, the field better watch out. When I used to look at Kurt Busch, I thought of a highly aggressive racecar driver that had an uncontrollable temper and would be out of NASCAR soon. Now I look at Kurt and I can see him becoming a Tony Stewart or an AJ Foyt winning many many races and not just in NASCAR. He’s tested the waters of open wheel, took a V8 Supercar for a spin and I think sports cars will be on his radar soon as well. The 24 Hours of Daytona is a highly prestigious race and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t compete in that event within the next couple of years.

    The No.78 may be a single car operation but there are no JTG or Swan Racing by any means. Barney Visser has some deep pockets so don’t mistakenly label this team as underfunded. If Kurt or crew chief Todd Berrier need something, they will get it. Their relationship with ECR engines and Richard Childress Racing is really helping them out this year too. Michael Waltrip Racing was the most recent team to work their way from the bottom of the totem pole all the way to the top of the food chain and I believe Furniture Row Racing will be the next to accomplish that feat. They have the driver, the crew chief, the money, the equipment; now all they need is the consistency which they will get eventually. You are doing a great job Kurt and good luck the remainder of 2013!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500

    Refreshed from an off-weekend and ready to go short track racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising when the Cup drivers returned to racing in the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Surprising:  With all the talk of paybacks from feuding drivers, it was surprising just how uneventful the last restart and final laps of the race were, especially since the trio competing at the end included Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer, all of whom have history together.

    In fact, at last year’s Martinsville race, the three drivers tangled in the final laps, with Bowyer on new tires and the Hendrick teammates on old tires, sending them all spinning and handing the race win to Ryan Newman.

    Gordon and Bowyer also have history and unsettled scores from last season that even carried over through the end-of-year banquet in Las Vegas. Yet, in spite of a few nudges here and there, they raced each other cleanly and respectfully, which was more than surprising given the rhetoric and hostility between the two.

    “Well, we just didn’t need those cautions there at the end,” Gordon, who finished third in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We just needed more laps there at the end.”

    “Well, last year I had the upper hand with tires and it just didn’t work out,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 RK Motors Toyota and race runner up, said. “It’s just disappointing.”

    “Just wish I’d had that clock.”

    Not Surprising:  With Jimmie Johnson’s stats at Martinsville, including multiple wins and the best driver rating of 122.3, it was not surprising at all to see him in Victory Lane, collecting his eighth grandfather’s clock.

    And while Johnson winning at Martinsville was not surprising in the least, the depth of bittersweet emotion in victory lane was also not surprising, given the history of loss for team owner Rick Hendrick and his family at that rack.

    With caps turned backwards in memory of Ricky Hendrick and the other members of the HMS team lost in the plane crash at Martinsville nine years ago, Rick Hendrick shared that the track holds so many mixed emotions for him, including the joy of winning and the agony of loss.

    Yet in spite of the bittersweet memories, Hendrick was also incredibly proud of the accomplishment of winning 20 races at that track, the most of any organization in the sport.

    “I was looking at that scoreboard over there, the first time I ever came to a Cup race was here with my dad,” Hendrick said. “We’ve been fortunate to have some great drivers and this track has been awful good to us.

    Surprising:  While it was surprising enough that Danica Patrick, behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 12th, it was even more surprising that she beat out her Stewart Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, who finished 17th and 31st respectively.

    This was Patrick’s first time at Martinsville Speedway in a Cup car and, in spite of an early spin, she rallied back to the checkered flag as the highest finishing rookie in the race.

    “Yeah, well never being at Martinsville, I didn’t know what to expect,” Patrick said. “I felt like I made a lot of passes.”

    “I’m most proud about coming back from two laps down and being on the lead lap,” Patrick continued. “Then grabbing a 12th place finish in the end was good.”

    Not Surprising:  One of the biggest complaints after Martinsville was, not surprisingly, the lack of a second groove in the track and how much track position was lost because of it.

    Although finishing top-ten, Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, had quite a bit to say about the battle for the preferred inside line.

    “You had to fight like a dog to try to get to the inside,” Ambrose said. “If you got hung out there, there’s just nothing you could do – you’re just along for the ride.”

    Surprising:  With all the attention on and rhetoric about Joey Logano, it was a bit surprising that he was pretty much a non-factor at Martinsville.

    In fact, going into the short track race weekend, Logano said that he would not seek conflict but he also vowed not to lay down for anyone.

    “There’s a fine line of how you’re going to earn that respect,” Logano said. “I’m not a guy that’s going to look for trouble, but I’m also the guy that’s not going to get walked on.”

    Logano experience neither being in trouble or getting walked on at Martinsville, finishing 23rd in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford. And with that non-stellar finish, he fell two spots in the point standings to 11th.

    Not Surprising:   Any racer out of the car would find it difficult being at the track. So, it was not surprising just how tough Denny Hamlin took sitting out and watching another driver behind the wheel of his race machine.

    “The start of the race was nothing like I thought it was,” Hamlin said. “The start of the race absolutely killed me.”

    “That was very, very tough to watch,” Hamlin continued. “I didn’t’ realize the physical toll that coming out here was going to take on me.”

    Surprising:  With Roush Fenway Racing traditionally struggling at Martinsville, it was surprising to see one of their drivers finish top ten. Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, brought his car to the checkered flag in the ninth position.

    “It was a hard fought day,” Biffle said. “Our car was way too tight and I had to keep working on it.”

    “There was no outside groove whatsoever and everyone really wanted the bottom,” Biffle continued. “But we still finished in the top-10 so I’m pretty happy about that.”

    Not Surprising:  There were several bounce back finishes amongst drivers who struggled and then came back strong at the finish of the race. One of the most notable was Brad Keselowski, who overcame a questionable pit road penalty to finish sixth in his Blue Deuce.

    “That was a hard-fought finish,” Keselowski said. “We wanted to be able to win here and just haven’t been strong enough to do it.”

    “But I’m proud of where we are right here today.”

    Another amazing performance was given by Iron Man Mark Martin, who was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 180 and then rallied to finish tenth. To boot, this stellar finish was in an unfamiliar car in which he was subbing for the injured Denny Hamlin.

    Yet not surprisingly, Martin once again downplayed his accomplishment.

    “It wasn’t that great of a result; we were capable of a little bit better,” Martin said in his usual humble style. “I did not fill Denny Hamlin’s shoes, I can tell you that much.”

    “He is the master.”

    Surprising:  Another pleasant surprise for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was the good finish for once of one of its drivers. Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet for EGR, finished seventh.

    “We had a really good car,” McMurray said. “Made a good pit call at the end and got a couple of extra spots.”

    “That was a really good day for us.”

    Not Surprising:  Although working with a relatively new team in Furniture Row Racing, it was not surprising that veteran driver Kurt Busch had the presence of mind to not only angle the car before hitting the wall after his brakes failed, but also had the wherewithal to utilize his fire suppression system when his car went up in flames.

    “Something let go in the brakes,” Busch said. “I had to turn the car to the right otherwise I was going to hit harder than what we did.”

    “It was a bummer day.”

    Unfortunately, that bummer day resulted in Busch falling from 13th to 19th in the driver point standings. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet, along with all of his Cup competitors, will have a chance at redemption as the elite series heads into Texas Motor Speedway.

  • Pete Rondeau Doing What He Loves In Brand New Way

    Pete Rondeau Doing What He Loves In Brand New Way

    Rondeau_PetePete Rondeau has loved racing since he was old enough to hold a wrench working on his father’s car. Now he is continuing his passion in a brand new way, with his recent promotion to Director of Competition at Furniture Row Racing.

    Rondeau has been affiliated with Furniture Row since 2010, first as the team’s car chief and then as crew chief. He has also worked closely with Furniture Row’s partner Richard Childress Racing.

    Rondeau’s new responsibilities will include the building and preparation of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet race car driven by former Series champ Kurt Busch.

    “I’ve been working with Furniture Row and RCR and know the ins and outs of the company here,” Rondeau said. “It will be a challenge and I look forward to working with Kurt (Busch, driver) and Todd (Berrier, crew chief), as well as Mark (McArdle, Executive Director of Competition) at RCR.”

    “It should make things pretty decent here and we’re looking forward to a good start,” Rondeau continued. “We just keep plugging away and hope that the big things we are working for come through.”

    So what exactly will Rondeau be doing in his new role as Director of Competition?

    “It’s different from the crew chief side where I’m used to being,” Rondeau explained. “It’s managing the day to day operations at the shop, not only the building of the cars but the scheduling of the cars.”

    “And also I will be overseeing the race teams on a daily basis to make sure that Todd gets everything he needs to do his job,” Rondeau continued. “I’ll be working the engineering in so that the race team gets everything they need.”

    “I’ll be the overall person that looks over the big blanket of the company and guides things in the direction we need them go.”

    Rondeau, a native of Saco, Maine, is also racking up the frequent flier miles in his new role, traveling from the team’s base in Denver, Colorado back and forth to North Carolina.

    “My full-time place is in Colorado and then I just go back and forth to the east coast,” Rondeau said. “We have a lot going on at RCR and the communication is pretty fluid.”

    “We get free upgrades whenever we travel now.”

    Rondeau’s Maine accent has also been a bit puzzling to not only the North Carolina crew but also his new team in Colorado.

    “They just weren’t sure where I was from,” Rondeau said with a laugh. “I still get ‘Where are you from, Australia?”

    While Rondeau has enjoyed every minute of his racing career, both behind the wheel, under the car and in the management arena, he is most excited about this next challenge in his own racing development.

    “This is the next level for someone like myself who has done everything on a race car and other parts of the business,” Rondeau said. “The hard part of the job will be basically steering everyone in the same direction.”

    “We have a great group of guys here at Furniture Row,” Rondeau continued. “We’ve come a long way in the past three years.”

    “It’s time for us to take it to the next level with the experienced people that we have here.”

    Rondeau feels that the sky is the limit for his race team this year. He also sees his strength as understanding the strengths of his fellow team members and playing to them for maximum achievement on the track.

    “That was the whole reason coming out here in 2010 was for the possibilities of this team,” Rondeau said. “You can just see that this place was a little gem waiting to shine.”

    “We’ve had a victory at Darlington and the company is growing as we speak,” Rondeau continued. “I’m really looking forward to performing at that next level.”

    “The racer in us wants to do better each time we go out and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

    “I’ve been behind the wheel, the set up guy, the mechanic on my own stuff,” Rondeau said. “I’ve run the strategies and built all of my own stuff.”

    “I owned and drove so I had to take care of my stuff and I’ve had to make budget and figure out how to spend the money,” Rondeau continued. “Being behind the wheel, you learn a lot of patience so that’s how we’ve learned to work through.”

    “The key will be to get those strong points to the forefront to perform at the level we need to this year.”

    Rondeau is most excited about working with his team’s driver Kurt Busch, especially with the head start with him in the seat in the last few races of 2012.

    “The jump we’ve had last year with Kurt in the car for the last few races has been huge for us,” Rondeau said. “We got the basic learning curve out of the way with how Kurt and Todd will communicate and the things we need to get the driver comfortable.”

    “ We’ve worked through how we operate and the things we do different from the last team Kurt worked for,” Rondeau continued. “Kurt has a lot of his own ideas on how things should operate so we’re adapting to him and he’s adapting to us.”

    “There will still be a little bit more adapting but we’ve been able to get a lot of that out of the way.”

    Rondeau has a clear definition of what success will look like with his new driver. And for him, it is all about making the Chase in 2013.

    “Success will be that we made the Chase,” Rondeau said. “If you get in the Chase, that’s a pretty big deal.”

    “Making the Chase and winning a few races with Kurt will be success,” Rondeau continued. “I’d consider that a successful year for us.”

    Rondeau’s other major challenge, as it has been with every team in the sport, is getting the new Gen 6 cars ready for the race season.

    “It has been crazy,” Rondeau said. “We’ve tested every time NASCAR has tested the Gen 6 car and we’ve also tested out her in Colorado at Pike’s Peak.”

    “It’s been a little bit of a task in building these cars and we’re waiting on some of the parts and pieces and the templates,” Rondeau continued. “But NASCAR has done a good job at getting the things out to us in a timely manner.”

    “There are a few things that we’re waiting on right now but they are making sure that they have all details in place,” Rondeau said. “Anytime we have to build new race cars we have a crazy, crazy winter.”

    “The fans think that when we stop at Homestead that’s our off-season but unfortunately that’s the busiest time for us, particularly getting ready to go to Daytona,” Rondeau continued. “We’re two weeks from loading and going to Daytona so we’re on seven day weeks, 12 hours per day right now.”

    “That’s what it takes to get it done in the best possible way.”

    So, is the Director of Competition Pete Rondeau’s dream job? Well, perhaps but just in a whole different way than he ever anticipated.

    “I dreamed years ago of driving a race car for a living, but that wasn’t going to happen,” Rondeau said. “So, I moved to North Carolina and continued to move along.”

    “This is one of those things that I love doing.”

    “There are not too many people in racing that can honestly say that they dislike what they do,” Rondeau said. “They might complain about it but I would hate hate to have go to work for a living.”

    “I’m still doing what I love,” Rondeau continued. “And this is what I’ve loved since I was old enough to hold a wrench working on my dad’s car.”

  • 2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Furniture Row Racing

    2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Furniture Row Racing

    (c) CIA Stock Photography
    (c) CIA Stock Photography

    Our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews roll on as we preview the Denver, Colorado based team of Furniture Row Racing today.

    Kurt Busch, who was hired by Furniture Row Racing late in 2012 to run the last six races of the season and returns in 2013 to pilot the No.78 Furniture Row Chevrolet along with crew chief Todd Berrier. Furniture Row Racing continues its alliance with Richard Childress Racing in 2013, but will field its own pit crew this season, which is a change from years past when Furniture Row used pit crews provided by Stewart-Haas Racing. Mike Houston has also been hired as pit crew coach for the team.

    “Re-establishing our own over-the-wall crew has been high on our radar,” said Furniture Row Racing general manager Joe Garone. “But before entering into this vital operation, we wanted to make sure that we had everything in place that would allow us to produce a highly-qualified over-the-wall crew. With Mike Houston coming on board to lead us in this new venture, he brings first-hand experience and a thorough understanding of what it takes to develop and maintain a successful pit crew week in and week out. And being able to train at the state-of-the-art PIT facility is a great opportunity that will only enhance our program.”

    While 2013 may be a breakout year for Furniture Row and a year of redemption for Kurt Busch, one has to wonder which Busch will show up, whether it will be the driver who finished the 2012 season with three straight top-10 finishes or the driver who constantly blew up at his team while driving for Phoenix Racing in 2012. That will be the major factor in what kind of season Furniture Row Racing will have this year.

  • Regan Smith Closes Chase Door but Opens Door to The Glen

    Regan Smith Closes Chase Door but Opens Door to The Glen

    Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, is no doubt a proponent of the saying ‘When one door closes, another opens.’  In this driver’s case, it is the Chase door that has closed and the door to The Glen that has opened.

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Although he finished third at the Brickyard, Smith’s Chase chances indeed closed after a 21st place finish at Pocono. Smith admitted that he struggled at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ a place that not only has three distinct turns but one that is also constantly changing.

    “This place has had a summer to soak and it feels like every time we come back here, it’s a different place,” Smith said. “It’s a tough track to begin with and it’s even tougher when there’s no grip.”

    Smith’s struggle at Long Pond left him languishing in the 26th position in the point standings. And with that, the driver pronounced the door closed on his Chase chances.

    “I would say the door for us is pretty much closed,” Smith said. “It’s not necessarily locked yet, but it’s definitely shut.”

    “Our Chase hopes are pretty much over with and that’s why we’re going to focus on getting top fives and trying to get wins and take the chances the rest of the year to see us do that.”

    Given that, Smith shared his thoughts on how his race strategy, as well as the other drivers outside the Chase, might change.

    “With the strategy playing out the way it has this year, it’s going to be really interesting when you do get into the Chase,” Smith said. “It’s going to have a different dynamic than in the past.”

    “These guys in the Chase who were clicking off top fives easily, now that others are throwing in the strategy game, it’s going to make that even more entertaining.”

    With the closure of the Chase door, Smith is most definitely looking forward to the door opening at his home track, Watkins Glen International. And his homecoming is definitely a date circled in red on his calendar.

    “That’s one of the races that I highlight on my schedule,” Smith said. “We talk about the ‘big four’ or whatever, but that’s the fifth one for me just because it’s my home track.”

    “I told my guys from the start of the year, if we can’t win one of the ‘big four’, then Watkins Glen is the next one for me,” Smith continued. “It’s the one I’m putting the most emphasis on.”

    Smith is also excited about the door that has continued to open for him as a road racer, especially at The Glen.

    “Certainly road racing has not necessarily been my strong suit but we did run pretty good last year until we broke a track bar of all things, which is a rare thing to have happen,” Smith said. “But in Sonoma, which is an even worse road course for me, we ran really well this year, led some laps and had a shot at a top ten.”

    “That gets me really motivated to go to The Glen,” Smith continued. “I feel like we’re going to be really strong there.”

    “We’ve been strong for quite some time and I think it’s going to continue there.”

    While Smith may look forward to improving his road racing results, it also will no doubt feel good to stand in front of friends and families as he is introduced in pre-race ceremonies. Smith grew up in Cato, New York, 75 miles north of Watkins Glen, where he won regional and State championships in quarter midgets.

    “It certainly doesn’t hurt to have the hometown fans on your side,” Smith said. “It’s the one place we go each year where I get one of the louder ovations and that’s a good feeling.”

    The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen will be Smith’s third race at Watkins Glen International. This will be his sixth career road course race at the Sprint Cup level.

    Noting that The Glen is a one of the big races for him, Smith has also had an open door when it has come to other ‘big’ races this season. He took his first ever career checkered flag at Darlington in the Southern 500 and has also had top-10 runs in the Daytona 500, the Coke 600 and his most recent at the Brickyard.

    “I’m glad to be a ‘big race’ driver, but I’d like to be the every race driver because they all pay 47 points to win,” Smith said. “But if you only have to pick big ones to do good at, that’s not bad either.”

    “We want to get a little more consistency and be good in all the races not just the big ones,” Smith continued. “If we can do it in the big ones, we can figure out a way to do it in the rest of them.”

    In addition to his open door at The Glen, Smith may just have an open door invitation in another sport. He recently threw out the opening pitch at Coors Field.

    “The pitch got to the plate so that was good,” Smith said. “It was a straight throw.”

    “It was a little bit high,” Smith continued. “I think it might have been a strike for Yao Ming or somebody tall. But for a normal size baseball player, it probably would have been more like a head shot.”

    “I was way nervous because my guys were going to bust my butt for the rest of the year if I didn’t get it across home plate at least,” Smith said. “I figured I would err to the side of caution and go too far with it rather than not far enough.”

    Smith is also opening the door to his new home in Colorado. He has sold his home in North Carolina and taken the plunge to head to Denver to be close to his race shop and team.

    “I don’t know if we’re settled yet but we’re there,” Smith said. “I threw my house in North Carolina on the market just to test the waters and it sold almost immediately.”

    “So, we’re committed,” Smith continued. “My fiancé Meghan is actually out in Colorado this week, which is good because that helps us get settled in more.”

    “I love it out there,” Smith said. “I love the weather. I love the scenery.”

    “Just waking up in the morning and it’s not humid like where I grew up,” Smith continued. “It’s just really nice.”

    So, with the Chase door closed but The Glen door opening this weekend, Smith also feels that the door to consistency is starting to open wider. And that just makes him want to get back to the track even more.

    “We’re starting to get the consistency that we want,” Smith said. “I’m really pumped up to get to the second part of the year.”

  • Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith has been described by Mark McCardle, managing director of competition for Furniture Row Racing, as one of the best-kept secrets in the garage area. But Smith puts the credit solely on his team, crowning them the true best kept secrets in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Smith and his No. 78 Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing team have indeed had an eventful start to their 2011 racing season. Right out of the box, the young driver led several laps of the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a late race crash, yet still managing to finish seventh.

    “It felt great to lead,” Smith said. “I think more importantly than that, it felt great to lead with five to go.”

    “And how good that felt went downhill pretty quick from there,” Smith continued. “We had a strong car and we were in a position where we wanted to be.”

    Smith had been working with Kurt Busch at the time and the two were committed to each other since their cars were so good together. Busch unfortunately got separated from Smith, then got an unexpected push from Tony Stewart, and the wreck was on.

    In spite of the melee on the track, Smith still counted his Daytona experience as a “really good day.”  He was also most pleased that he and his team were able to rebound from the accident to salvage a good finish.

    “To be honest, I was surprised that the car was able to finish,” Smith said. “Usually when you wreck at Daytona, there are two options, one being that you are t-boned and the other that you are airborne. I never thought option three would be that we drove off and finished the race.”

    “Just that quick I had to switch my brain off from trying to win the 500 to realizing that this is a 36 race season and we need points right now,” Smith said. “As soon as I finished spinning on the back stretch, that was my mindset.”

    Smith admitted that he was definitely angry after the race and “pretty bummed out.” As he was riding to the airport with his fiance after the race, it hit him just how close he had come to winning the Great American Race.

    “That’s when it sunk in,” Smith said. “I realized how close we were to this deal. But we recovered well as a team.”

    Smith credits his Daytona recovery full to his team, who he says has worked hard to calm him down and keep his head in the game.

    “Last year, I would have imploded,” Smith said. “That goes a long way to say how good of a team I’ve got around me.”

    After putting Daytona in his rear view mirror, Smith turned his attention to discussing his Phoenix race. He qualified fifth for the second race of the season, but again got caught up in a big wreck that relegated him to finishing 34th, dropping him to the 19th position in the point standings.

    “I think we had a bigger wreck at Phoenix than we did at Daytona,” Smith said ruefully. “Last week was just circumstances. We had a fast race car and I was fast all weekend. It was just bad luck.”

    While Smith acknowledged that there were many different strategies playing out in the race, with varying tire and pit sequences in play, he also admitted surprise at just how racy many of his fellow competitors were.

    “The whole race was like that and I wondered why they were so aggressive so early on,” Smith said. “I don’t know if that all caused the wreck. I think it was just ignorance.”

    This weekend, Smith is ready to tackle Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He practiced well and qualified 12th for the Kobalt Tools 400.

    “Off the truck, the car was good,” Smith said. “We have some ideas for what we want to change in race trim. But overall, we had another solid day with our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”

    “I feel strong about this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re looking at this weekend just like we did Daytona and Phoenix. We’re here to get top tens now.”

    “That’s our goal and there will come a point when we get top fives,” Smith continued. “That will be cool.”

    Smith admits that he and his team are focused but also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, especially since they are the only team based out of Denver, Colorado, not Charlotte, North Carolina.

    “We’ve all got a little chip on our shoulder being from Denver,” Smith said. “We want to prove that we can not only run good from Denver but we can run as good as these big super teams.”

    “I don’t think anybody in this trailer or on this team is surprised about how we are starting this year off,” Smith continued. “We’re kind of off the radar. But I know this is what I expected and this is what all these guys expected.”

    “I look at it as I’m with a team that’s the best kept secret in the garage,” Smith said. “I know the people that I get to work with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other team in this garage.”