NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: A View from inside the Belly of the Beast

Ever watched a NASCAR race and wondered what it would be like to cover one yourself as a member of the media? It's not all fun and games as one might imagine. The journalists, photographers, support staff, drivers, teams, and others are there to do a job and most do it nearly every week non-stop for the longest season in professional sports.

There are guidelines and rules to be followed, etiquette to be learned, and a lot of questions to be answered along the way. For example, media members (even "single-race" media members like myself) can't wear their favorite NASCAR apparel while doing their jobs to keep from showing a lack of objectivity, nor can they ask for driver autographs or pictures.

I wondered about how it all worked until I covered the Chase race here at the Auto Club Speedway last Fall. Going in that first time was scary (particularly with all the unknowns that were about to be faced), and I wish I could say I did so without making a mistake, but that would be dishonest.

But this time around was a lot easier and a lot less scary. Again, I can't claim to have done everything perfectly, but hopefully through these slides and descriptions I can show you a little about what it's like to be on the other side of the track with the professionals and give you a feel for what it's like. Who knows? You may be doing this one day yourself...

And as we were told before we ever began the assignment, "Enjoy!!!"

The View out the Window

Besides a number of monitors placed about the Terrace Press room in pairs—one showing views of the cars on the track and one showing statistics updated every lap—the actual view of the track is rather limited.

Downstairs in the Media Center, the view of cars on the track is even more limited as their are fewer windows, they are smaller, and they are generally blocked by the pit stalls themselves.

For the race last fall and for this past weekend, I was seated directly above where the majority of cars head out from the garage onto pit lane all weekend. So my view of cars on the track was pretty much limited to the area between the start-finish line and about halfway to turn one.

Coming up to Pace

Directly in front of me sat this Toyota Camry Hybrid pace car before the race began. This particular car was used to pace the second half of the field around the track before the green flag dropped and was clear as day from my perspective, or clearer as it was pretty cloudy that day.

It Done Blowed Up!!!

The No. 42 Target team members push Juan Pablo Montoya's car back to the garage after engine troubles ended their day a little over halfway through the race. And he wouldn't be the only one.

Martin Truex Jr.'s engine was the first casualty of the day at lap 64, followed by Montoya's at lap 140 and Ryan Newman's just a few laps later.

And Montoya and Newman were by no means the only ones affected by engine issues, although the others managed to finish.

Hendrick Teammates Jeff Gordon and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson also had engine issues at various points during the race. The problems were bad enough for Gordon to move from the front, possibly contending for the lead, to a 20th place finish.

Calling It a Day

Juan Pablo Montoya heads back to his trailer early after his engine expired at Lap 140. The Target team was only one of quite a few to experience engine problems today.

Lunch Time in the Media Lounge

I don't know how it works at each of the tracks, but at the Auto Club Speedway those members of the press who wish to can purchase a weekend's worth of pretty good food for minimal cost.

Breakfasts generally consisted of pancakes and fruit, lunch of ham or turkey with rolls and sandwich fixings, and for those who stay late enough, dinner which included a baked potato bar along with salad for the night I ate there.

Media Lounge Monitors and the Tape Delay

In two corners of the Media Lounge there are two monitors for those eating to watch. The monitor on the left is "live" and is generally straight footage collected from around the track, while the monitor on the right is generally the broadcast channel that the home crowd sees.

It takes a little while to get over the early confusion caused by hearing the cars come to the start/finish line right outside the lounge, seeing the restart on the "live" screen, then waiting to see and hear about it on the broadcast channel.

Details, Details, Details

Although the Media Lounge has four monitors total for those wishing to continue watching the race during a meal break, the Terrace Press Box has them mounted all around the walls above the windows like those above.

The screen on the right shows various portions of the track shot from various angles to keep the media "up to speed" (so to speak). The screen on the left, on the other hand, lists the running order, the car number, the last lap completed and the "delta" value—how far behind the leader each of the others is.

ACS President Gillian Zucker Drops In

Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker—recently named one of the most powerful women in NASCAR by foxsports.com—came up to the Terrace Press Box to field questions from the media about the track, its current status, as well as current and future plans...

Getting Ready To Go

Most people have seen a pit crew get ready for a stop many times while watching a race from the grandstands or on television from home. But not so many have seen how neatly organized the pit boxes are kept, with everything having its place, including the crew members in helmets waving the driver's sign and others readying to service the car.

As the Media Lounge, Terrace Press Box, and Terrace Suites are all right next to pit road, views of those making pit stops close by can be viewed in great detail from beginning to end.

Here Kyle Busch's pit crew jumps into action during the caution brought on when Montoya was forced from the race with engine problems.

A Pit Member's Work Is Never Done

During the race, team members transport all sorts of equipment back from the team's pit area to the garage area for refill and/or replacement.

Here Denny Hamlin's pit crew member heads back to the garage to refill the gas tanks while Kyle Busch's crew member transports two new tires to the pit box for use later in the race.

The Garage Is

Starting an hour before each race the garage area switches from "Cold" to "Hot." During the times the garage is hot as it is here (notice the red flashing light) no one without a "Hot Pass" is allowed in that area.

The main reason seems to be that with all the hustle and bustle of team members, media members, and others with work to do, no one has time to deal with or worry about a less experienced press member or fan getting in the way of the work at hand.

Besides my standard "Press" pass, I had a "Cold" pass, as the number of "Hot Passes is limited and often reserved for those either involved in the race itself or with the media covering the race.

At the Auto Club Speedway, however, they are kind enough to lend "Hot" passes out to those without them for short periods to go and get some experience and material on the busy parts of the track.

Dale Jr.'s Struggles Continue at Fontana

Crew members rush back to the garage to work on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car after he brought it in because of what turned out to be rear axle problems.

That problem—which brought him into the garage long enough to go down nearly a dozen laps to the leaders—combined with pit road miscues brought back more memories of the team's struggles of last year than the good ones of last week at Daytona.

Junior and the Media

Here the press gather right outside Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s garage filming and awaiting word on what the problem that brought him into the garage might be. As stated in the caption to the other slide about this, Dale Jr. did return to the track and finished in 32nd, 12 laps down to the leaders.

The interesting part of this is not so much that press gathered to cover what could be a breaking story about the breakdown of the sport's most popular driver's car, but how fast they did it and how many of them there were.

As he entered the garage area underneath where we were sitting, he paused for a moment and everyone could see it was Jr. (with his special paint scheme this weekend). Media members who had not moved in hours gathered up their equipment, and bolted to and through the door and down two flights of steps to get in position for this breaking news.

Where Being In

This picture shows not only how long pit road is, but also how many people are on it at any given time during the race. It also shows the layout of the facility from the media center building and infield terrace suites to the grandstands themselves.

And lest someone think that wide pathway behind the pit boxes is necessarily a "protected area" of some sort, be warned in advance. Should something go wrong with a car headed toward the garage and you happen to be in that path, it is vital that you pay attention to all whistles and the officials and security guards blowing them.

If you happen to end up between the pit box and the garage area where the team members need to go, you might very well get knocked over or curtly pushed out of the way as team members run along with huge toolboxes and other equipment to get to the garage to work on the car as quickly as possible.

The Drivers' Meeting Room

The official drivers' meeting room, where most of the Friday interviews take place as well as those held for the top three finishers and the highest finishing rookie after each race.

This is also where the drivers, crew chiefs, and owners gather before each race to go over any rule changes, special rules, or last minute information NASCAR wishes to impress upon the teams.

The Post Race Appearances

Here we see the second and third place finishers in the Sprint Cup race—Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton—answering questions from the press in the drivers' meeting room. Generally, the first, second, and third place finishers are contractually obligated to come make a brief statement and take questions from the press.

Last fall when I was there for this portion of the interview (and the day before after the Nationwide race), the highest finishing rookie would be filling that first chair. After they are done, there is usually a short wait until the driver, crew chief, and oftentimes the owner make it to the room for interviews.

The interviews are broadcast to the various media locations (the media center, the press box, etc.) and questions are asked from each until most topics are exhausted, as are the drivers by that point.

Thinking Past the Post-Race Appearances

Here Jeff Burton, who finished third, waits somewhat patiently for questions from the press (or an answer from Kevin Harvick) to conclude. Multiple times after a few questions had been asked and answered, Harvick and Burton were up and out of their chairs, headed to the door before they were called back for "one more" question...

From Victory Lane to Tech Inspection

Before the winning team has even had a chance to clear the Victory Lane confetti from the car, it is brought through a quick first round tech inspection. Here we see the No. 48 Chevy Impala Jimmie Johnson drove to victory being inspected within minutes after the Victory Lane ceremonies ending.

The Show Must Go On

Besides the first three finishers, a car picked at random, and any others chosen by NASCAR for further inspection, everyone else in the garage begins to break down and pack up as quickly as possible.

Not only do the teams have to prepare the cars for travel to their next destination (usually back to the Charlotte area), break down and pack the garage equipment, etc., but they have to actually raise the cars up and into the top back of the haulers.

In this case, and in many others throughout the garage, the right side damage from slapping the wall is evident but relatively minor and cosmetic. For the unlucky ones, however, reshaping whatever is left of a totaled vehicle can take quite a bit of time and special equipment to transport.