New TricksSo what are the biggest lessons that Winston Cup employees have learned and applied to their own race cars?
"I feel like a big advantage to me is the fact I'm always up to date on the latest products and aerodynamic tricks," Meendering says. "In Winston Cup, with all the engineers and people like that, those guys are definitely the first ones to try all the new and trick stuff. Since I'm one of the guys that sets up a Winston Cup car, I can take a lot of what I learn and apply that to my own racing.
"A lot of the aerodynamic things I've learned have helped me out with my Late Model car. Plus some of the overall things like springs and sway-bar combinations are things I can use. There are a lot of suspension and geometry configurations that I can also apply to my car. Actually, quite a bit of what goes into setting up a Winston Cup car can be used on my Late Model team."
Mathis says he's learned a lot on the job that he can apply to improve his racing hobby.
"One of the biggest things I've learned is being able to build my car to where it's safe," Mathis says. "Another thing is being able to build a light car and knowing where to put my lead at so it's legal going through inspection. Even for the first couple of years when I was working on a Winston Cup car, I just couldn't ever figure out how to place my lead right. As time has gone on, I've had people who have offered their suggestions to me to better my car. I used to have 50 pounds of lead on my car; now I've got 300 pounds of lead."
Harris says that in his years of working with Carter, he's tried to absorb as much information as he could and then apply that knowledge to his Late Model.
"One of the biggest things I've learned is about the geometry of the car," Harris says. "Going to a lot of the test sessions has helped me learn about how each little change affects the car. It's allowed me to witness how those changes physically and mechanically change the handling of the cars. Back when Darrell Waltrip was driving for us, we did a lot of testing at Greenville-Pickens. I got to hear some of the suggestions he was wanting us to make, and then we'd make those changes to see how it worked. I got to learn a lot through his verbal communications to our team by the in-car radio. That really helped me a lot. I'm sure a lot of the people who have helped me don't realize how much they've helped me out, but I couldn't have done it without them."