Driving Experience Gives Crew Chiefs an Edge
Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series 16th Annual O¹Reilly Spring Nationals Houston Raceway Park Baytown, Texas Pre-Event Notes Television Coverage (All Times Eastern) April 13 Qualifying; ESPN2, 1- 3 a.m. April 13 Eliminations; ESPN2, 5-8 p.m. April 15 Eliminations; ESPN2, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Driving Experience Help Mopar Crew Chiefs Relate Track Time Puts Something Extra In A Tuner¹s Tool Box BAYTOWN, Texas (April 10, 2003) There is a wealth of driving talent in the Mopar Pro Stock tent these days. But not all of those racers actually wheel the car on race weekend and that behind-the-wheel experience has been a key to success both on and off the track. Three-time POWERade Pro Stock World Champion Darrell Alderman¹s crew chief, Rickie Smith, is an accomplished racer himself. The King, N.C., resident, who most recently competed full time during the 2001 season, has won two national events in NHRA Pro Stock and made 10 final-round appearances. The 49 year old also collected five Pro Stock championships and 30 national event victories in IHRA competition. The man known by many as ŒTricky Rickie¹ still competes in NHRA¹s Pro Modified exhibition category, but spends most of his time during race weekend tuning Alderman¹s Hemi-powered mount. According to Smith, his experience behind the wheel has been a big help to the team on and off the track. ³Darrell likes for me to get in the car from time to time and make passes so we can fine-tune it,² said Smith, who won NHRA¹s inaugural Pro Modified exhibition race at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway in 2001. ³It gives me a chance to feel the car and see if I feel something he doesn¹t. I can feel some things, sometimes that Darrell doesn¹t even know is going on. We¹ve got a good relationship on that part. Darrell really respects what I say and do with the car. ³I¹ll give you an example,² Smith continued. ³The first time I got in this car, the gas pedal was so far back my foot was nearly bent backwards. I knew Darrell couldn¹t run like that because the car was set up for Allen (Johnson). Now, Darrell has longer legs than Allen and it was uncomfortable for him over a few races. So, I fixed it and the next time Darrell went out, I asked him to tell me what he thought of the car. I didn¹t tell him what I had changed, but when he came back the position of the gas pedal was the first thing he said. I know from being a driver, the more comfortable you make the driver, the better he¹s going to do on Sunday. That¹s what I do when I get the car. I look for things that not only are going to make the car get down the track better, but also for ways to make Darrell more comfortable. ³I drive by feel,² Smith continued. ³I don¹t drive by shift light. I can go out there, throw that shift light away and still shift within 100 rpm of each gear. That¹s just the way I drove years ago and the way I still like to drive. I can tell if the motor wants to run more rpms or lay over just by the way I drive it. The guy who just shifts by lights doesn¹t really know if that motor is running or not. He¹s just waiting for the light. That¹s what helps me be a better crew chief.² The feel of the car isn¹t the only thing that¹s important during set up. According to Smith, his year¹s of on-track experience have been invaluable. ³I¹ve got a lot of laps as a driver at these tracks,² Smith said. ³So, when the driver comes back and tells me something, I know what he¹s saying from that side of the steering wheel. You can look at those computers all day long, but it comes down to feel. A lot of time, you can just look at the car on the starting line and know by the way it left that it wasn¹t right. Then you come back and look at the data on the computer and it will tell you that it was perfect. A crew chief still needs to read the track and know the car. That¹s a big advantage. Allen Johnson, Alderman¹s teammate and co-owner of Johnson & Johnson Racing, also has an experienced racer as a crew chief. Mark Ingersoll is now in his second year of duty for Johnson. Back in 2000, Ingersoll piloted one of three factory Mopar Pro Stock entries at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. Ingersoll¹s driving abilities allows the team to have a different perspective during all facets of preparation. ³Knowing what¹s going on with the car from behind the wheel certainly does help me become a better crew chief,² Ingersoll relayed. ³I feel I can tune the car better if I¹ve driven it. I can feel things the computer doesn¹t tell you. Now Allen is one of the best drivers out there when it comes to giving a crew chief feedback on the car. But, what helps us take it to the next level is that I can really understand what he is saying because I¹ve been there. ³Just by looking at the car tells me a lot,² Ingersoll added. ³I can usually tell within the first 10 feet of a run if it¹s good or bad. Then I can go back, get the feedback from Allen and make the car better because I know what he wants and I know what it takes to get the car there. ³Another advantage is when it comes to testing,² Ingersoll added. ³We¹re both able to jump in the car and talk about how it handled, what the engine was doing - and that¹s an advantage. That¹s why I started driving. I was working with Steve Smith and he wasn¹t able to go test like we needed to. So, I earned my license and began driving the car for testing when Steve couldn¹t go because of his work scheduled. A lot of the good crew chiefs out here have been behind the wheel.² At Larry Morgan Racing there is a different approach but the same feel. Long time owner and driver Larry Morgan has worked in and around the world of Pro Stock racing for many years. He feels that his previous experience as a crew chief has helped him relay information to the team. The Newark, Ohio, resident, is also helping new teammate Gene Wilson better acclimate himself to the car, especially when it comes to the car¹s feel. ³You can explain things better as a crew chief when you¹ve driven the car,² Morgan said. ³There are a lot of things on that car that they (crew chiefs) can¹t see. Gene is very aware of the car and what¹s going on inside. It works for both of us that I¹m in the car because we can talk about what the car feels like and I can agree or give him something else to think about. There¹s a lot to be said about drivers who have been crew chief. ³I¹ve made so many runs in these cars that I know how they should feel at different parts of the track,² Morgan added. ³Gene¹s not quite there yet, but is learning quickly. So when we go testing, he doesn¹t know what I can feel in the car. He gets better when we talk about it after a run and I can tell him what I feel and what he can expect to feel in the car.² GENE WILSON Q&AŠ Gene Wilson piloted the Hemi-powered Dodge Stratus R/T to the 15th-qualified position in the most recent SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was the first time that the new Pro Stock Stratus had qualified for a NHRA national event. The 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Rookie of the Year recently talked about the new car and team. Have you found a comfort level with the car, the competition? ³Absolutely, after a year of meeting people and getting used to the cars, that certainly does a lot for a driver¹s ability to concentrate and keep motivated and do all the things that are necessary on race day to have a chance at winning. You have to have a comfort level not only with the other competitors, but also with your team. You know, the longer you are around someone, the more comfortable you are and understand them and what they look for and how they react to certain things. It helps you, as a driver, better anticipate what the competition will do in certain situations and that can give you an edge when you are at the line.² Tell me about the competition level in NHRA Pro Stock. ³You have to know your limits and what you¹re capable of to be successful at this level. I found that the competition level is tight because of the number of cars that show up at each event. A lot of those cars are very close to the same level as everyone else. With that, it makes it very vital that no mistakes are made on your team or driver¹s part. There are so many people who go out there and make great runs and have the chance to qualify that you can¹t afford any mistake. If you make a mistake, there are 16 other drivers who won¹t. The margin of error is slim.² Tell me about your teammate, Larry Morgan. ³Larry is an awesome guy. I really think a lot of him. Not only as the team manager and boss of this whole operation, but I think a lot of him as a person. He¹s a straight shooter and he works very hard all the time. There are a lot of people who put in the effort here, but Larry puts in just as long a day and just as many days and tries just as hard as the top engine builders do. He is constantly working and striving to make our engines better and that¹s what it takes over here. You have to have someone who is willing to step out and sacrifice to have an in-house engine program that can perform. There are very few people out there that can do that, so he¹s up on the top of list with the other in-house engine builders. He really makes a strong effort all the way around.² Have you learned a lot from him regarding the engine? Absolutely, just being around 500-inch racing you learn the particulars of the motor and just myself, by nature, am a willing learner. I like to further and better educate myself about every aspect of the car. I worked in a machine and fabricating shop my whole life, as a way to make money through school. I used to build motors, certainly not at this professional level, but for my race cars. That really helped me in my drag racing career because that allowed me to work on every part of the car. Now, I¹m certainly not the best at it, but there is nothing I can¹t do on the car. I can¹t build a competitive 500-inch motor or set the car up so that it¹s perfect, but I could make one go down the track. I just think that helps because anytime you can understand every aspect of what you are doing, you can only get better.² You were fortunate during your rookie year to come into this series and have one of the legends of the sport as a teammate. How much did you learn from Darrell? ³I think a lot of Darrell Alderman. Darrell stuck his neck out for me on more than a few occasions and he has helped with my whole driving style. I realize that he is just a flat-awesome driver and one of the veteran racers out here. One of the few that just do an unbelievably good job of not only cutting the tree down, but getting the car down bumping tracks, windy tracks, dangerous tracks just like it¹s on rails. The whole idea here is to go fast and go fast in a straight line. When you are moving side to side, you are not getting to the finish line any quicker than your competitor and there are all kinds of little secrets and things that, to someone like me, can be a tremendous benefit and can save me lessons later down the road. He has really helped me a lot and is a super guy. Certainly, without him, I would not be able to do what I was able to do last year. Even though we aren¹t directly on the same team this year, I still learn from him. I observe what he does and take lessons from that. All the big-time racers - the Bob Gliddens, the Warren Johnsons and the Darrell Aldermans - you can¹t go out and buy all of the knowledge and experience these guys have and learn immediately. Again, that comes with time and there are certain things they do that is invaluable to be around. I just feel fortunate and lucky to be around these guys.² -Mopar.com- For more information, contact: David Harris, Cox Marketing Group Public Relations Manager Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series davidh@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 799-2114 office (704) 756-9301 - mobile Mike Mooney, Cox Marketing Group APR, Director, Business Services/Principal Mopar Motorsports NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series mikem@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 799-2114 office (704) 906-5818 mobile