At 1 p.m., the drivers' meeting is held in the Media Room in the infield. I always attend to hear Truck Series Director Wayne Auton go over race procedures, including pre- and post-event, pit road, and restart rules. A short prayer follows, and it's time to go to work.
Back at the team's pit stall, I test my radio with another crewmember to make sure it's functional. I also pack a bag with a spare battery, headset, water, sunscreen, lip balm, water, and a permanent marker (to write pit road speed on the railing so I don't forget it). A quick "good luck" session with each crewmember follows before it's back to the spotters' tower.
The Dreaded Radio GlitchBickle's strong start and my calls on the first lap have me confident that we're going to have a good day. In my mind, there's nothing I can't get him through-every spotter should believe that-and the first-lap fireworks prove to be a minor distraction. That quickly melts into a mild panic when Bickle, idling around under caution, calls in.
"John, you're radio sucks," Bickle says. "You're breaking up pretty bad, and I can only hear about every fourth word."
If a spotter fears anything, it's radio failure. It's bad enough when you have to change out a battery in the middle of the race, but if your radio has a problem or fails, your driver is flying blind out there.
I immediately check all my connections and do a radio check. No change. Showalter says they're checking their radios, as well, as I fumble through my cords again. I radio back again, this time covering my microphone and mouth with my hand. Bickle comes in loud and clear and says he can hear me just fine now.
My panic attack over, we go back to racing-this time without incident. A long green-flag session follows with the field stringing out. Bickle runs consistent laps despite that the truck won't rotate the corner, showing tight from the center off. Singled up and running with only rookie Shane Sieg in his mirror, I spot half a track ahead, keeping an eye on two packs of trucks racing furiously. If they have an incident, I want to be in a position to steer Bickle clear of the carnage.
Up front, Bobby Hamilton is on stun, starting to lap trucks and run away from the field. By lap 30, he's only a straightaway behind us. I get with Sieg's spotter, Matt Klug, and tell him to stay singled up with us and not try to pass. The only way we're going to stay in front of Hamilton is to not race each other, run faster in the draft, and hope for a caution. The move works for about 15 laps, but Hamilton, who eventually wins from the pole, runs us down and swings to the outside.
"Leader, No. 4, in your mirror five back," I radio to Bickle, who eases over to the inside as Hamilton gets a run off the corner. "Outside, No. 4 outside, got the 07 [Sieg] with him, 07 outside, clear behind the 07."
That quickly, we're one lap down. Given how Hamilton was wearing out the rest of the field, this wasn't a big deal. It still meant we had a good shot at a top 15, a reasonable goal considering where we started and how we were running. That all changes when we pit 10 laps later.