As my first entry to Hardcoreracefans.com I wanted to share a little bit of my story. I am a laid off NASCAR team mechanic and am exploring the writing and broadcasting sides of the sport as alternatives. I am passionate about motorsports and have been around it most of my life.

When there was a large reduction in work force among the Charlotte area race teams I, along with many others, found myself on the outside looking in. I have documented my story previously on the web and here is an updated version of how I went from turning wrenches to tapping a keyboard.

I started making a living as a professional race team member in 2004. I am a native of New England and had a racing background at the grassroots level. Working many years for free on friends’ short track cars, I learned every aspect I could about car building and competition. Like others before me, I heeded a call to the southland and moved to North Carolina with no job.

I knocked on doors for years before the proverbial phone call came with the owner of a then Busch Series team on the other end who wanted to hire me. Sponsorship of the team faded a few months later but I had my foot in the door of the industry.

Through networking I was able to stay employed in racing honing my mechanical skills and I finally landed at Germain Racing to start the 2008 season. The team was very busy with entries in several different series from their Mooresville, NC shop. They fielded two full time NASCAR Truck Series teams, a full time Nationwide Series team, and an ARCA and third Truck machine that were on a part time schedule. Over eighty employees were on the payroll to prepare all the cars and trucks for the ambitious agenda.

Todd Bodine and Justin Marks were our regular Truck Series drivers while Mike Wallace was behind the wheel on the Nationwide tour. Developmental drivers Sean Caisse and Chrissy Wallace were used at different times for the ARCA and third Truck Series entries.

I was assigned to work with the Nationwide program in the assembly shop and to assist on the setup plate. This was the number seven car that Wallace drove last season sporting sponsorship from GEICO Insurance.

Following the 2007 season, Busch beer ended their sponsorship of NASCAR’s second tier series and was replace by Nationwide. Under the sponsorship agreement GEICO was grandfathered in as an already existing sponsor with Wallace. They were allowed to support his efforts for 2008 and 2009 and then would have to leave. GEICO was free to move to the Cup or Truck Series if they so wished.

They decided to make their move a year earlier than was required. GEICO’s plan was to stay with Germain Racing but move to the Cup Series in 2009 on a limited schedule with driver Max Papis, who they also have had a relationship with. The idea was to grow it into a full time program.

All the workers directly involved with the number seven car were called to a meeting in July of 2008 to inform us of the future plans. The insurance company had a four year contract in place for the new limited Cup effort, but that still left the Nationwide program without a sponsor. We were told Mike would be back as the driver if he could bring funding. Basically the ride was wide open to whoever could bring some sponsorship along.
The plan for our group was to keep us together and look for additional backing. If none could be found, the possibility of starting the racing year unfunded to attract a sponsor existed. After that we, as a group, would be absorbed into the Truck and Cup programs. Everyone, including myself, left the meeting feeling secure in our employment future.

The summer passed and when the weather cooled and leaves started to turn, Germain had still not signed any more sponsors for all the machines that were competing. I and my fellow workers were very aware of the business consequences that implied. Question arose during bench racing sessions. “Would we get laid off? Will we keep racing? Would one of the teams fold?” No answers were forthcoming, but the day to day anxiety was building.
Bill Davis development driver Michael Annett was given a tour of our shop near the end of the season. Soon thereafter it was announced he would be our Nationwide Series driver with Hype Energy Drink and Pilot Travel Centers coming on board as backers. This was a good thing for the Germain company but still not enough to sustain all the racing programs that had been building up.

Annett drove a second Nationwide entry for us at Homestead last November in an attempt to get him some valuable seat time. A majority of the shop had traveled to the last race of the season, and a smaller group remained in North Carolina to continue working on equipment. I was a shop employee who stayed behind to prep the car for the following race.

During that week leading up to the Miami finale, rumors swirled through the shop of upcoming layoffs. All of the team’s managers were in Florida and, supposedly, upon return the worker reduction would begin.

Following the last race weekend I and another shop mechanic joined the road crew for a test at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro. It was a sunny but chilly day at the half mile short track but it was my first real look at Annett. He had been victorious in ARCA competition and showed some talent and potential. It was an enjoyable day working alongside the mechanics that travel the circuit every week. In the long season I had developed several solid friendships. Unbeknownst to me that was my last day of work.

The next morning the day began as usual by getting to work unloading our hauler and removing the engine from the test car. Our group was in the shop designated tear down area cleaning and disassembling that particular Toyota Camry. There was a tap on my shoulder from the crew chief. He said I needed to report to a meeting. I looked and made eye contact with a co worker I was alongside. The looks on our faces told the story. I was done.

The additional employees were gathered and we joined each other in the break room. The Germain upper management walked in, shut the door, and informed us of our fate. The sponsorship situation was explained to us, which was already understood. The mood was solemn to say the least. It was something nobody wanted to go through, from the men losing their jobs to the men doing the releasing.

The door opened and some headed straight for their tool boxes to gather their belongings. The shop forklift was put into motion and got a workout for the next several hours. The word spread quickly among the remaining team members of what had just occurred. I had a lump in my throat as I said goodbye to a lot of good friends. Some of them had one too. They helped me load my box because of the wait for the forklift; I made the handshake rounds, and was on my way home.

I was told if additional backing could be obtained, we may be called back. Unfortunately that did not happen. This was the group of people who I had the most enjoyable time working with since I started making a living in professional NASCAR competition. There are many years under my belt of volunteering my labor on modified cars in the northeast. Whenever someone takes something they have a passion for and turns it into their livelihood, their enjoyment now becomes work. Sometimes the fun meter can take a sharp drop which it does in this business. But working with everyone at Germain was the closest my job has ever come to my amusing modified days.

There was never any ill will towards the race team. I understand the economics of this business. I would return if the opportunity presented itself.
But informing my wife at the end of the day was heartbreaking. I take pride in being a good provider to my family and this was a big blow. Fortunately she is a very supportive woman who also comprehends the business side of the sport and her understanding makes this situation a lot easier. She has a good career, so we tightened up the household budget and are continued the best we can.

My situation has changed so much since I raced as a younger, single man. Now I have Shelly and our two children to think about when I make a decision. Every November layoffs and personnel changes occur in our sport but to a lesser extent than the 2008 offseason brought. This period of economic trouble in the United States has hit many industries hard, motorsports among them.

I have to be honest and introspective and ask myself “How many more times do I have to put my family through the end of season employment worries?”

That is what brings me here. Exploring a new avenue in auto racing I wondered if I had any talent for. I have read other writers’ work for years. I felt I might be able to write about racing someday, possibly when I grew tired of turning wrenches every weekend.

For the time being, someday has turned into today. I am trying to turn my setback into an opportunity and walk down a new path. Wanting to stay involved but with so many like I on the outside looking in and NASCAR team shop jobs at a premium, I am taking the chance and starting to write.

 
 I love racing and with a lifetime of observations on both sides of the fence I will try to convey these views and experiences to the race fan.