Short breather allows teams to regroup, think ahead
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- Don't expect return of Southern 500
- Roush driver wins ARCA race
- Stewart wins wreck-filled N'wide race
- Biffle sets record, wins pole
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I liken it to when you were in school and got to go on Christmas vacation. The school is shut down, there's no homework due or any kind of studying you have to do — basically, you just totally walk away from it. Remember how much you used to look forward to it? That's what this past weekend meant to a lot of these guys and gals.
It's a great chance to not worry about getting up early. You don't have to worry about traveling, the weather, etc. This weekend was probably the first time for these crewmen and women to really clear their head since the first of January when testing really ramped up.
It is just so refreshing. Once you get those two or three days away, it makes getting up and going into the shop on Monday a pleasure. You feel refreshed and recharged.
I think teams as a whole will benefit and be more prepared going into this weekend. New cars, new tracks, and new challenges — that wears on you after awhile when you don't have the book full of notes to fall back on. And trust me, with this new car no one has a full book of notes. Teams spent some time re-evaluating things during the week away from the track. Changes will be made both on the cars and with the people. Just having those few days of not being pressured can make a world of difference.
The other good news is that from now until the end of May, there are only a couple of tracks — Texas Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway — where the Car of Tomorrow has yet to run. These teams will at least have notes from last year to refer to at the other tracks. This will allow teams to come to the tracks better prepared because at least they have a framework of what the car will do at these tracks.
Understand that the worst scenario for a crew chief and a team is when you go into a scenario when it's all unknowns — at times you feel like you are literally flying by the seat of your pants. Crew chiefs hate to have to guess. But when you have good information in front of you, naturally you can make the right choices. Just like in life, the unknown at the race track does have the tendency to stress you out.
Focus on Martinsville
As we head to Martinsville, you want your driver to understand that over-driving the corners will have so many negative effects that you are basically making the race "Mission Impossible."
I want my driver to mentally understand that not over-driving the corner will make everyone's life easier. You roll through the center and then are really aggressive from the center of the turn to the back part of the straightaway. If you can get your driver and car to do that, it will make your goal of winning the race that much easier.
| Speed Mail Jeff Hammond |
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It's the same for qualifying. If you can keep your guy from over-driving the corner, then you have a better chance of qualifying closer to the front. That allows you to get one of those primo pit positions. Arguably, this will be the toughest pit road they will be on all season because it is just so tight there. A great qualifying run will allow you to be that much father ahead in the game.
To the winner go the spoils
Real quick before we put the Easter weekend behind us, I wanted to send an "attaboy" to Richard Childress Racing and Scott Wimmer for their victory Saturday in the Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. It's been a long time coming for Scott, but it's great to see him back in Victory Lane.
FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.
For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.
For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.
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