Constant companions:
Though NASCAR's spotters are mostly anonymous, their crucial relationships with drivers are built on trust and clear communication.
RICHMOND -- Kale Kahne set up his lawn chair on the roof of Richmond International Raceway. He plopped down and slid a headset over his mop of blonde hair. He tuned his scanner and hooked it up to his headset. For the next three hours Friday, Kahne performed his least favorite duty as a member of his brother Kasey's NASCAR entourage: spotting for Kasey during Busch Series and Nextel Cup practice.
Kale did his best to entertain himself. He fiddled with his cell phone. He drank a can of Red Bull. He picked at his gnawed-down fingernails. He even got some sun on his already rosy cheeks.
All the while, he remembered why he spots for Kasey only during practices. During races, Kale works on Kasey's pit crew, while their cousin, Kole, spots. "That's why I don't do the race - I get too bored," Kale said.
Though the spotters' rooftop perch at the start-finish line is a more exciting place during races, a spotter's job is as inglorious as it is crucial. During practices and races, spotters radio drivers about their positions relative to other cars on the track. Since there is more traffic and actual racing during races, spotters play more active roles. They act, in many ways, as a driver's second set of eyes.
A spotter's importance varies from track to track. At Martinsville Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway - the Cup circuit's shortest tracks - spotters must talk drivers through heavy traffic. There's also plenty of traffic at Talladega Superspeedway, where restrictor plates limit speeds, bunching cars together and where the 2.66-mile track allows for three- and four-wide racing.
Though RIR, site of tonight's 400-lap Cup race, is the series' third-shortest track (three-quarters-of-a-mile), the track surface's two racing grooves allow for some passing. A spotter's biggest problem is Turn 3. When cars drive low into the turn, spotters can't see them because team haulers on the infield obstruct the view. "It's horrible," said Joey Meier, Martin Truex Jr.'s spotter. "We always complain about that."
Kale Kahne's biggest gripe with spotting: It separates him from the action. He'd rather be in the pits - engines rumbling, rubber burning, smoke billowing. There's none of that on the roof. At RIR, spotters lean on a chain-link fence, simply appearing, from many fans' perspectives, as faraway specks - like the anonymous Secret Service agents who stand atop the White House.
Steve Hmiel, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s spotter, used to change tires in the pits. "You certainly don't get the hormonal rush as you do from that," he said. "But the trick with being a spotter is making sure you're not known."
However, a spotter should know his driver and his tendencies. He must anticipate his driver's next move. And a driver must trust his spotter's advice. "Sometimes, you've gotta put your race in their hands," Truex Jr. said.
So NASCAR constantly reminds spotters that their primary function is safety: Keep drivers away from wrecks, out of trouble. If a driver loses radio contact with his spotter, NASCAR waves the black flag and sends the driver to pit road.
If a driver is comfortable enough with his spotter, he also can rely on him for strategy. In practice Friday, Truex Jr. wanted to learn something about a track where he's never raced before and asked Meier whether Earnhardt Jr. was driving in the bottom or top line.
Meier has spotted for Truex Jr. for the past two 1/2 years, building a relationship with him. Other spotters create trust in different ways. Kale Kahne, 23, has long worked on 26-year-old Kasey's crew and lives with him near Charlotte, N.C. Hmiel gained Earnhardt Jr.'s respect from the years he spent as Mark Martin's crew chief, racing against Dale Earnhardt Sr. Jason Hedlesky, Carl Edwards' spotter for Busch races, said Edwards appreciates that Hedlesky drives in ARCA races.
"He knows I've been in a lot of similar situations," Hedlesky said. Edwards even spotted for Hedlesky in an ARCA race at Daytona earlier this season.
Like Hedlesky, some spotters have driving backgrounds. (Denny Hamlin's spotter, Curtis Markham, drove in 89 Busch races from 1983 to 2000.) Others, like Hmiel, were crew chiefs. He filled in as Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief for part of last season. Others - like Meier and Terry Labonte's spotter, Eddie Masencup - started as pilots for race teams.
"You either have the chemistry with the guy or you don't," said Jeff Dickerson, Kyle Busch's spotter. "I don't think that can be faked."
Dickerson knew he found that connection with Busch last fall at Phoenix International Raceway. Late in the race, Busch had precious little room to pass Jeff Gordon. Dickerson cleared Busch to pass, and Busch did it without hesitating. He went on to win.
Most driver-spotter relationships start with a conversation about what the driver likes to hear over the radio. "When you get it squared away in the beginning of the relationship, that will make it work for a while," Busch said.
Busch prefers to hear about cars that are faster than his only when those cars threaten to pass. Truex Jr. likes to hear about cars that approach him on both sides, while Michael Waltrip, Meier's previous driver, only wanted to hear about cars coming on the right. Edwards wants to know on which line the leaders are driving. Earnhardt Jr. doesn't want to hear mindless chatter.
"He sees a lot himself, so you don't want to bore him with bull," Hmiel said. "Don't tell him he's running good if he's not. Don't tell him stupid stuff. You don't have to hold his hand."
In general, spotters said, younger drivers like more chatter from spotters than older drivers. "If they're talking too much, I tell 'em, 'Don't talk to me! Be quiet!" said veteran Mark Martin. Young drivers are more accustomed to relying on spotters. NASCAR didn't mandate spotters during practice until 2002, after ARCA driver Eric Martin was killed during practice in Concord, N.C.
So spotters see more of each other on racetrack rooftops these days. And it's not all ho-hum up there. During close passes in tight traffic, spotters will yell to each other, "What were you thinking?!" Crew chiefs sometimes use spotters as messengers to let other teams know they're angry.
But for the most part, it's an anonymous job - just the way the spotters like it.
"The race can essentially go on without you, except for when things are out of whack," Hmiel said. "We're not here to help him win the race. We're here to help him not lose the race." «
