NHRA News: The life of a crewmember involves a lot of hard work (9/15/2004)

The life of a crewmember involves a lot of hard work

Contributed by Ted Yerzyk
9/15/2004

So, you want to work on a race crew? Okay, you're hired. Grab your suitcase, black pants, and work gloves because it's going to be a long journey. What, you don't live in Indianapolis? Pack your bags friend because the race shop is located in Brownsburg, Ind.

To the casual fan, it might appear like the crewmembers on a Top Fuel or Funny Car team live life in the fast lane, but the majority of the blood, sweat, and tears that go into one sub-five-second, 325-mph blast down the quarter-mile goes unnoticed.

The between-rounds ballet of a professional
nitro crew is a sight to behold.

The driver and the crew chief garner all the glory and accolades, but if not armed with a professional, competent staff of crewmembers, nobody could witness those 6,000-horsepower beasts power down NHRA dragstrips all across the country.

Sit back and enjoy life through the eyes of Snake Racing crewmen Don Bender, John Collins, Walt Herr, Kevin Secco, Shawn Ford, Jason Wright, Adam Morten, Anthony Vanetti, Phil Shuler, Scott Okuhara, Tom Boyington, Fred Stover, John Scherzer, Brian MacDermott, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy DeLago, Kevin Butterfield, Chris Kullberg, Brad Morrison, Neal Strausbaugh, Steve Zelem, Nick Blanchette, and Tim Kulungian.

Part 1: A typical day at the track
When the 6:30 a.m. wake up call suddenly chimes on Saturday morning, it's shave, shower, and grab a cup of coffee in the hotel lobby and load up in the van because it's back off to the track for another day of qualifying.

Even crew chief Roland Leong (on ladder) isn't
exempt from setting up and breaking down the pit.

When you arrive at the pit area, you have to unload the equipment, lower the tailgate and get the racecar out of the hauler, set up the pit area, and finish work from the previous day, such as building racks and making sure all the motors are prepared. Then you have to charge the ignition and computer before running tests. The crew chief will give the call on what head gasket to use. The cylinder head guys put the head gaskets, cylinder heads, and valve covers on the car and the manifold and supercharger are put back on. The crew chief also gives the call on the floaters to the clutch guy, then another crewman puts the clutch pack in the car. Now, it's time to put fuel in the engine and hang the starter on the motor.

About 60 minutes before the run, the crew will warm up the engine to make sure things are working properly. Once the engine is started, the crew chief checks the idle and rpm. Then the fuel pressure is checked, along with the EGT temperature (cylinders) and the blower boost (about 40 pounds at the step of the throttle). Then, the magneto is set, the timers are checked and both fuel pumps are turned on to check the fuel pressure again. The crew chief will check the load on the stall and the lag on the motor. Then brace yourself because it's going to get loud. The crew chief gives the signal - for Dick LaHaie, it's a head bob to driver Larry Dixon - and the driver then whaps the throttle not once, but twice. This is done to put heat in the clutch.

After warming the car, the valve covers come off, the blower belt is changed, and the clutch pack is adjusted. The crew also sets the bearings, while the assistant crew chief runs the timers. Fuel is again added to the tank and fresh oil put in the engine. The head guys adjust the valves and the bottom-end guy puts the diaper on the motor and the belly pan on the car. Now, you have a few minutes to relax before loading into the van and towing to the staging lanes.

The staging lanes are the calm before the storm. Some crew members will fraternize with their buddies from other race crews, while other crew guys make the normal adjustments to the clutch and engine in the lanes. The crew then pushes the car into position. On a Funny Car, a crew member takes the pin out of the fire bottles to activate the fire containment system in case of an explosion or fire.

Crewman Tim Kulungian knows time with his family is a precious commodity, especially when he's on the road.

Now it's time to start the engine. The crew chief sets the fuel pressure and makes sure the idle is correct. The body is lowered and the driver does the burnout. The driver backs into position and the throttle stop is taken off the engine before the body is lifted so the crew chief can make last-second adjustments to the idle and rpm while everyone gives the engine one last look. The air bottles are turned on before the body is again lowered. A last adjustment is made to the wheelie bar and the driver is given the signal to stage the car. Pre-stage, stage, ambers, green, Go! A few seconds later the madness is over and the real work begins.

At the top end of the track the crew members in the van turn the air bottles off, put the ground wires back on the ignition, and turn the driver's fresh-air helmet system off. They unhook the fuel lines to drain fuel from the cylinder heads and put the pin back in the fire bottles. Someone rolls up the parachutes and puts the pin back in the wheelie bar. Strap the car to the van and if you improved on your E.T., set a record, or won your round during eliminations, you stop at the scales before picking up the time slip. The guys then tow back to the pit area, unhook the car from the tow vehicle, take the body off the car, put the jacks underneath the car, and raise it off the ground.

If you've never witnessed a race crew service the car following a run, stop by a pit and take the time to appreciate the effort and energy that goes into make these precision racecars perform. It's an art that takes place with very little verbal interaction. Each crew person has a specific role and they tend to those particular duties before assisting their teammates. Pretty much all that's heard is the sound of air guns, wrenches, and parts being moved.

The bottom-end guy takes off the oil pan and services the bottom end of the engine. The bearings, rods, pistons and the main bearings are changed following each pass. The oil and puke tank is drained. It's a tannish-looking concoction, sort of eggnog color. The head guys take off the valve covers and cylinder heads. The pistons are taken out of the engine. The blower and manifold are taken off. The clutch pack is removed. The pushrods, rocker assembly and piston sleeves are checked, while new lifters go into the engine. A new rack (pistons and rods) is put in the engine. After getting the call on the head gasket, the engine is reassembled. The clutch pack, heads, manifold and supercharger are put back on the car. The blower overdrive is checked. The valves are adjusted and the clutch is checked. A crewmember torques the bead locks on the rear wheels, while clean oil and fuel are added to their respective tanks. The fresh air bottle is refilled and the CO2 bottle is changed. The body has already been wiped down following the run. Now the crew is ready to warm the engine again.

Anthony Vanetti works on the tires.

All that happens quicker than it takes most people to get an oil change at their local Jiffy Lube on a Saturday morning. Oh, one last thing - before the final qualifying session Saturday night, some teams put a brand new engine in the racecar.

You wonder how all the crewmembers are so productive? Experience and the right equipment helps, and for Snake Racing, those Mac Tools come in handy. The Skoal Racing Funny Car teams of Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. carry eight short blocks and eight racks each and can use up to 72 clutch plates during a weekend. The also carry three sets of tires, 12 sets of cylinder heads, four blowers, two intake manifolds, five pressure plates and flywheels, some 200 pistons and 150 rods, and more than 1,000 piston rings. The crew will go through 1,100 clutch plates a year and 200 blower belts during a 23-race season.

"It's a lot of work, but it can be a lot of fun when you're winning rounds," Boyington said. "When you're winning, it's all worthwhile. I really believe all the effort is worth it."

"I just like what I do and that's all there is to it," Secco added. "I enjoy where I'm at and I'm satisfied."

Drag racing vs. other forms of racing
Racing is racing, but when it comes to those who work on the racecar, that's not always the case. Take the IRL for example. Like drag racing, the IRL mechanics do drive to the races, but not all, just some. For the longer events - say, Homestead, Fla., Fontana, Calif., or Motegi, Japan -the crewmembers fly to the race. Any race that is more than a four- or five-hour drive, they fly.

Each crewman has an area of expertise. Here,
Scott Okuhara, inspects the blower.

Nick "Scooter" Ford, younger brother of Miller Lite crewmember Shawn Ford, spent three years on the NHRA circuit working on the Funny Cars of Phil Burkart Jr., Jerry Toliver, and Ron Capps before taking a job on the IRL tour. Ford currently serves as a front-end mechanic and changes the rear inside tire on Tony Kannan's Andretti Green Honda.

"There are more people involved over with the IRL," Ford said. "You have team owners, engineers, engine manufacturers, the driver, and all the mechanics. Drag racing is more labor-intensive because you service the car so often. It's more tedious on this side of things."

Ford made the switch from straight-line racing to open-wheel racing because of an interest in Indy Cars and for a change of pace. Working on an IRL car also offers the crew members more time at home, which is a big plus for those with families.

We travel all over the world for our races," Ford said. "For a typical race, we'll fly in on Thursday morning and fly back Sunday night after the race. Then we'll work on the car on at the shop Tuesday and Wednesday and fly back out Thursday. You can be at home more with our series."

The cleaning never ends. Just ask Brad Morrison.

The extra time at home might be a bonus for some, but Ford definitely misses the friendships and relationships that develop being a crewmember on the NHRA tour. "I miss the people," Ford said. "There's more camaraderie with the race teams on the NHRA side because you're on the road so much together. At the end of the day, everyone goes and hangs out together."

The next time you're at the track, remember to stop by a race pit and thank the crew guys who slave away for hours upon hours and dedicate their lives towards giving the drivers safe, quick and fast racecars that entertain the millions of drag racing fans who pack the grandstands from Pomona Raceway to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park and those who faithfully park themselves in front of the television each Saturday and Sunday evening to support this great sport.

Coming next week, Part 2: Life on the road – It can be boring and fun, all at the same time, but there's no escaping the thousands of miles crewmembers must travel each year to keep up with the 23-event POWERade schedule.

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