It's The PitsShowalter makes the call to come to pit road one lap short of our 60-lap pit window.
"Pit this time, pit this time," I tell Bickle as he rockets down the backstretch toward the third turn access road. "Second gear, 4,000 [rpm] at the line, watch your speed, clear all the way down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, get in there, wheels straight, foot on the brake."
With that, the crew swarms over the truck, smoke and brake dust falling away from the wheels, and the tire changers pull off the right-side tires. Meanwhile, I grab a bottle of water for a quick drink. Unlike other sports, racing has no timeouts to speak of. The 16-second pit stop is your only chance to collect yourself even though you're still watching the action. It's also the only time during the race when the spotter stays silent, for it's not a good idea to talk over the crew chief as he tries to direct the team. With the left-side tires changed and the truck full of fuel, it's time to go back to work.
"Clear all the way out the wall," I tell Bickle as he lights up the tires, leaving the pit box. "Watch your speed. Get all you can get now on the access road."
Before I can get the rest out, Bickle, still on pit road, screams, "It feels like the right-front tire is flat."
There's a moment's pause before Showalter keys his microphone to say the team somehow has switched the tires and we had a left-front tire on the right-front. Given the extremely low air pressures of the left-side tires at the start of the run, it's no wonder Bickle instantly thinks we have a flat.
"Bring it back in here this time and we'll fix it," Showalter radios. I repeat the command and direct Bickle to pit road a second time. By the time we switch out the front tires and get back up to speed, we're four laps down.
Sealing The DealI have no time to be angry or disappointed. Despite the fact that any chance of a good finish just took a swift kick to the backside, Bickle is still out there at speed, and it's my job to bring him home safely.
In this case, that means moving him over, time and again, to allow trucks on the lead lap past us. It's a courtesy move-one that is hopefully returned the next time you are racing for position and it's not the the other driver's day. It's also the smart way to race, because the last thing you want to do is add a wrecked truck, or worse, a hurt driver as a result of your racing hard when you shouldn't have been.
In case you forget this courtesy, Auton, who directs the event from race control, will remind you. Every spotter monitors NASCAR control as it calls the race. In fact, the only time you don't hear NASCAR is when you, or someone on your team, keys his or her mic. It's like having an extra team of spotters helping you throughout the race as they look for debris, oil, and vehicle problems around the track. They also tell you immediately when the yellow is out and when you're going back green. They do an awesome job of trying to keep you out of trouble, but you never want to hear your name come over the radio from the tower. That usually means you've got trouble on your vehicle or you've ticked off NASCAR in some fashion. Fortunately, on this day, my name doesn't come up.