Forget making the Chase; the pressure to win the Pit Crew Challenge can be more intense.
Just ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s fueler, Caleb Hurd, who won his category in 2008.
He’s preparing for Thursday night’s competition where most of his family and friends will be in attendance at NASCAR teams’ home base at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.
So there’s a bit of anxiety on his part.
“It’s easy, during the race, to hide under the helmet. At the competition there’s bright lights you feel more pressure than being at the races,” said Hurd.
In his tenth year at Hendrick Motorsports Hurd started out with working with Robbie Loomis on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet -- which had been prepared in the same building as Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48.
Hurd was also part of the pit crew swap, towards the end of last season, which propelled Johnson to his fifth-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
After Homestead he became Earnhardt Jr.’s fueler as the 88 car is now prepared in that building with Johnson’s car. Gordon’s car is now prepared with Mark Martin’s.
The transition from Gordon was not as difficult as one might think
“You have to be loyal to your car, nothing feels like it changed other than we have a different driver,” he said.
Explaining the “one team” concept at Hendrick Motorsports Hurd explained “it’s all one big team till we put on our uniforms.”
And despite the level of NASCAR sophistication in the Charlotte, NC area he said “there are people who I know who don’t realize that I work as much for Jimmie as much as I work for Junior.” That’s a bit surprising.
No matter how much pressure Hurd feels to win the Pit Crew Challenge his first job occurs in the Sprint Cup races.
Hurd says that’s still pressure-packed, “there’s no room for error anymore, everybody is that good. Our best stop was 12.8 (at Darlington); we never did anything which stood out, just keeping pace with everyone else running high 12s.
But for Thursday night he’ll concentrate handling the pressure of fueling in front of friends and family.
If you are in the Charlotte area the Pit Crew Challenge is a bargain.
Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
Just ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s fueler, Caleb Hurd, who won his category in 2008.
He’s preparing for Thursday night’s competition where most of his family and friends will be in attendance at NASCAR teams’ home base at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.
So there’s a bit of anxiety on his part.
“It’s easy, during the race, to hide under the helmet. At the competition there’s bright lights you feel more pressure than being at the races,” said Hurd.
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| Jeff Gordon's crewmen servicing Jimmie Johnson's car late last season. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR) |
In his tenth year at Hendrick Motorsports Hurd started out with working with Robbie Loomis on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet -- which had been prepared in the same building as Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48.
Hurd was also part of the pit crew swap, towards the end of last season, which propelled Johnson to his fifth-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
After Homestead he became Earnhardt Jr.’s fueler as the 88 car is now prepared in that building with Johnson’s car. Gordon’s car is now prepared with Mark Martin’s.
The transition from Gordon was not as difficult as one might think
“You have to be loyal to your car, nothing feels like it changed other than we have a different driver,” he said.
Explaining the “one team” concept at Hendrick Motorsports Hurd explained “it’s all one big team till we put on our uniforms.”
And despite the level of NASCAR sophistication in the Charlotte, NC area he said “there are people who I know who don’t realize that I work as much for Jimmie as much as I work for Junior.” That’s a bit surprising.
No matter how much pressure Hurd feels to win the Pit Crew Challenge his first job occurs in the Sprint Cup races.
Hurd says that’s still pressure-packed, “there’s no room for error anymore, everybody is that good. Our best stop was 12.8 (at Darlington); we never did anything which stood out, just keeping pace with everyone else running high 12s.
But for Thursday night he’ll concentrate handling the pressure of fueling in front of friends and family.
If you are in the Charlotte area the Pit Crew Challenge is a bargain.
Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling 800-745-3000.