Racing Team Uniforms - Suiting Up The Team

There is much to be said for appearance. Many times, the first impression we make at the track is not with our performance, but with the way our team looks. I hate to admit it, but the truth is we are sometimes judged by our appearance and not purely on our performance.

For example, on your first trip to a new dentist, if his or her white coat is covered with fresh blood stains, you may be a bit apprehensive and may not want to stay. He or she may be a great dentist, but if your cell phone were to ring you would excuse yourself and make tracks out of there.

The appearance we create helps form the perceptions of others, and like it or not, perceptions are reality. We are responsible for those first impressions.

At racing's higher levels, a great deal of money is spent to outfit a team and have it look professional. Again, that's perception. Everyone on the team has the same outfit, and the sponsors' names are placed in the same locations on everyone's outfit.

Sometimes the competition is wondering just how good you really are. You look fast in the pits, but how are you going to perform on the track? If your team has it together in the pits, the assumption is that you must have it together on the track, so sometimes looking good can be an advantage. It is definitely something that is designed to set a team apart and make it more memorable. A perfect example is the No. 24 team of Jeff Gordon, formerly known as the Rainbow Warriors. Team members have different uniforms now, but we still associate that name with the No. 24 DuPont team. It is all about image and perception.

Saturday night race teams complain about the cost of those fancy crew uniforms. The price for those crew uniforms you see the Nextel Cup teams wear can be several hundred dollars each, and in all likelihood each crew member has multiple uniforms to support multiday events, so the cost effectively multiplies. The total cost to outfit a team of 15 to 20 can easily run more than $20,000, not to mention the logistics of keeping those uniforms clean and in like-new condition.

From a Saturday night racer's perspective, high cost is a completely valid complaint. Or is it? Obviously, for the Saturday night or the hobby racer team, uniforms of that caliber are cost prohibitive. That does not mean that you cannot develop uniforms for your team that look sharp and are completely functional and easy to maintain and support. So, just what would it cost to outfit a team in some type of uniform? To answer that question, I went shopping.

Before I set one foot out the door to go toe-to-toe with all the soccer moms, I set some goals. The objective was to outfit a team made up of three people doing the mechanical work, one crew chief, and one person doing miscellaneous administrative jobs-a total of five people-with two uniforms each (i.e., two shirts, two pairs of pants, a pair of shoes, and a belt).

I looked in nationwide chain stores, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, and Sears. This is not to say that you could not locate the same goods online or in a local mom-and-pop store. The goal was to look for an ensemble that could be used as a uniform on a Saturday night race team.

The following are conditions I established for the uniforms:
* The pants needed to be durable and roomy, with large pockets to make it easier to hold the occasional tool or stopwatch as needed.
* The shirt had to be a type that could either be tucked in or worn outside the pants, meaning it had to have a square bottom with no tails.
* The shoes needed to be comfortable and light. It was also a plus if they were washable.
* Anything requiring dry cleaning would not even be considered. No ironing-wash and wear only!

So, what did I find? There seems to be an endless selection that is completely applicable to the development of a team uniform, and the costs are completely reasonable. If I can find a reasonable deal on clothing, then anybody can do it.