Going back racing!!!
Hey everyone clicking on to my blog. If your new here I’m Liz the founder and brains behind Torq’d clothing. My day job is tire specialist in Nascar with the 96 cup car.
Today I want to talk about Nascar going back finally now that we’re a couple races in and what it’s like right now for us at the track.
Nascar has been getting a lot of grief and praise for starting back up without fans. Coming from an insider it’s definitely different but we are all so happy to be back at the track and working that we were willing to follow whatever guidelines were needed to make it happen.
It’s very weird and quiet without the fans in the garage but also weird for us because all of us in the garage are like one big slightly dysfunctional family and to follow the protocols so we can race we aren’t allowed to interact with other teams as part of a compartmentalizing effort to prevent a large scale outbreak if it did happen.
So some of what we are going through each week has been see on social media but I want to give you guys an idea of what all Nascar is doing to make sure we can race and still be safe. It started a week or so ago with Nascar sending out guidelines and protocols that we needed to read to understand how we needed to protect ourselves and others along with making sure everyone’s health was top priority. Our rosters are down to a minimum of 16 people per car allowed on track property, that includes driver and pit crew. We submit those several days in advance then within 24 hours of us going to the track Nascar text everyone a link for an online medical questionnaire that we have 5-6 hours to complete to ensure we are healthy.
We are only racing within a few hours of Charlotte which is the base for all the teams. Since it is a close drive almost everyone is driving separately or 2-3 people max in each vehicle. Once we get to the track at our team designed time we must have a cloth mask on the entire time we are at the track. We then go through an initial screening to verify we are suppose to be there then we go to the next station to get our temperature checked and a sticker approving us entry. Each team has a designed parking area so even our personal cars are separate. That first darlington it took a little to get use to the new routine but by the second one everyone was starting to adjust to it. We all want to be at the track and working so we will do whatever the local governing agents and Nascar are requesting to ensure everyone’s safety.
I know this all sounds intense and a lot but it’s really not that bad just a different routine than we’re use to but we will adapt to any situation we are put in.
Once in the garage not much is different besides not socializing as much as normal, I’m still doing my tires and getting them ready to race. My guys are still pushing through tech, the pit box is still getting setup like usual. We just don’t have the fan interaction we are use to. I miss seeing the little girls watching me work and being too shy to come talk to me, that’s my favorite part of the weekend besides the actual race of course.
I’ve had questions about working and breathing in the masks and how they sound on the radio. Honestly you get use to them, we wear them at the shop when we work anyways so we’ve all learned the best way to drink water and snack. As far as the radio goes I haven’t noticed anything different, some crew chiefs put the mic under the mask others against it. I think that’s more a preference on how they wear it anyways without the mask, every crew chief does something different.
Well that’s all I have for now, feel free to ask questions in the comment section and I’ll try to answer them the best that I can. We are just starting this crazy busy 5 weeks of 9 races so I will do my best to update you guys on what’s going on and how we are all adjusting. I for one am so happy to be back at the track and racing.
Talk to you guys later,
Liz