It has been awhile since I’ve been able to write my column. I have been very busy as team manager for Jennifer Jo Cobb, dealing with personal issues and working for sponsorship to run a few races myself this season. I guess I should begin this with the recap of the Dover race.
At Dover Jennifer finished 22nd. We had a brand new truck there that wasn’t broken in and fortunately everything went pretty well with it. She wasn’t quite used to the steering and Dover was a complete unknown for her. She had never run a track that had banked straightaways and banked corners and Dover is in a league of it’s own. You can’t go anywhere to test for there, so for her to finish that race and not tear anything up and to have a good points day I will say we weren’t happy, but we were satisfied with the outcome. It’s fun to race at Dover, but it’s easy to tear up a lot of equipment there.
And this past weekend at Charlotte she finished 18th, the first car a lap down. That’s the first time she has raced competitively there too. We were very proud of her and the efforts of the team to get out of there in the 18th position. Now we’re locked in in the points and that takes a lot of pressure off of going in to Texas. Again, she didn’t tear any equipment up. That was the same truck we ran at Dover and all in all it was a successful day.
Texas is a track she is used to. She should be looking at top 15 there. We don’t have sponsorship for her yet, but, hopefully we’ll have that soon. I think I’ve got enough sponsorship for Texas where I can run the entire race. I’m looking forward to that. I don’t really want to mention the names because I don’t want anybody calling me, but, like I said I am excited about that. That’s basically the update on the team. It’s going pretty good and we’re looking to improve each week. So far we have been. We have had a couple of setbacks along the way, but, there’s not a race team out there that hasn’t. Even Hendrick has some setbacks going on right now, so that tells you that sometimes you do your best and it doesn’t matter how much money you’ve spent it’s still out of your control. You’ve got to have the racing gods to look down on you and, of course, we’re in control of our own destiny most of the time, but, in some cases we’re not.
I’m very proud of the job Jennifer is doing. She’s being really smart. She hasn’t made anybody mad, she hasn’t taken anybody out, and she hasn’t gotten in the way. She wants to be a little more aggressive and she is beginning to be. People can say what they want, but, I believe she is this type of person and racecar driver because of her dad, Joe Cobb being a racer. That had a lot to do with her attitude and her appreciation of what she has to work with now. Her confidence level is growing to where she’s feeling like one of the guys. All of her competitors are very helpful to her and they respect her. And she’s earning even more respect as we go along. If you didn’t read her name on the top of the truck you wouldn’t know it was a woman driving it. The truck doesn’t know the driver is a woman and she does a good job. She will work her way up. She is familiar with the vehicle and she can wear whatever hat she needs to whether it’s a spokesperson, a racecar driver, someone working on the truck or a model. I thought I wore a lot of hats until I met her.
Everybody has been nothing but respectful of her and to us. The officials are great to work with. Wayne Auton has been really good to work with, too. He is doing a nice job. We’ve really enjoyed being over there. The Camping World Truck Series is more like racing should be. It’s not exactly like ARCA, but, it’s not like Nationwide either, where some of the people are uppity. I can’t stand that stuff. I’ve told her let’s just finish the first half of the year and then we’ll be going back to some of the same places where she has some races under her belt that aren’t all new to her. She’ll know her way around some tracks and then we can expect bigger and better things, so right now everybody involved is pretty happy.
I was watching the Hall Of Fame program and saw how even NASCAR was humble in the beginning, how they helped the competitors get going when they were down on their luck, that kind of thing. Everybody just helped and worked together which is what made NASCAR what it is today. I think it has gotten away from that, like taking sponsors away from each other and things like that. There are still some people helping each other in the Truck and Nationwide series, but the higher up the ladder you get the less there is of that. There are guys who raced late models against other drivers and now are in NASCAR. Drivers and team members who back then never owned a racercar or a lugnut, and this really irks my rearend, and get hired with Hendrick, Gibbs or somebody like that and then all of a sudden they are too good to talk to the ordinary racer they drove against back then. And the 2 things this Hall Of Fame program pointed out was how Richard Petty never forgot where he came from, always had time for people and made them feel comfortable. And it was the same for Earnhardt. Both were 7 time Cup Champions. Maybe that’s the reason they were 7 time champions. Why the drivers, crew members or the media can’t see what 2 successful 7 time champions did and follow that lead is beyond me. We all need to learn from other people’s mistake as well as follow their leads with successes. NASCAR should see that as well.
During the program it was brought out several times how Bill, Sr and Jr had helped so many people when they knew they needed a car and helped people get to the race track. I don’t understand how we got away from that kind of support because car counts are dwindling as well as everything else. And it’s not done yet. If everyone watched as much of this show as I did they would understand what I am saying here and it would refresh some memories as to how it was and why NASCAR is so successful today. I guess what I am saying is some things will never be the same but they could be better.
I was in Erie, Pennsylvania running an ARCA race in ’06 or ’07. I was in my driving suit, had never been around Richard much, didn’t even think he knew who I was and some of his crew members volunteered to help us. Richard was Grand Marshall for the race and he came walking through the pit and saw me sitting on the way and said, ‘Hey Mike how are you doing?’ and all this and he didn’t have to do that, but we talked for about 5 minutes like we were best buddies. Of course my guys couldn’t believe it, but, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s what this sport needs to get back to in my opinion. The common man, the common race fan is not going to support someone who thinks he is better than they are. That goes from NASCAR, drivers, crew member and all the way down. When they make a person, a team or whatever uncomfortable, not needed or unwanted then the fan is going to turn their focus somewhere else. Just because you can drive a racecar or work for a prominent team in NASCAR or any other upper racing series that doesn’t make you any better than anybody else. You need to be thankful you have a job just like the people who work for smaller teams. Everyone has good and bad about themselves and I have things I would like to do over, but, we just need to try to be the best we can be in any situation. Sometimes people won’t let you do that, but, you need to do what you’ve got to do.
I’ve raced something for 37 years solid and never missed a year and have been fortunate to make a living at it about half of that time. I’m appreciative of that and I think being that way is what has enabled me to do this for so long. I’ve always been successful and a winner in any of the super late models and below and it’s killing me that I haven’t been in that kind of situation and had a really competitive ARCA, Nationwide or Truck ride other than a very few times. I’m focusing now on a couple of truck races, maybe an ARCA race and maybe even a couple of Nationwide races in the second half of this season and part of next season so we can race like everybody else.
And another thing that irks my rearend is people always talking about start and park cars. Again it costs as much to go and to get there as it does everybody else, but, they have to work harder than the better funded teams to get there. It’s like going to your favorite steak house, ordering a whole meal, only eating the salad before having to leave. It kills the team and hurts the driver more than anybody else. No one wants to start and park, but, it beats the hell out of sitting on the couch and never having the opportunity to race. That’s what these reporters who have never owned a piece of racing equipment, never stayed up all night working on a racecar or never had to work like that and are saying negative things without knowing what they’re talking about. They need to come and walk a week in our footsteps and then they will see what it is really like. That’s the way I look at it. And going back to what I was saying earlier, if it wasn’t for some of the things the under funded teams have to do there may not be full fields at some events.
I’m a fan of racing and I respect anyone who races, who has a passion for it and who is willing to risk their time, their family and even their life for it whether I like or dislike them as a person. I don’t know how others feel about this, but, I don’t like it when the fans start booing drivers like Kyle Busch. Kyle is not out there just to collect a paycheck. He is out there giving his all. He hates to lose. That reminds me of myself when I was running late models. If I didn’t win I was mad at Mike and I was mad at my car. I expected to win and I didn’t accept any lip. If there was lip I wasn’t happy. I’ve never been in a situation to race like he does above super late models, but, I was willing to risk life or limb to win the race and Kyle Busch is one of the few out there who is willing to do just that today on any day at any track. Some drivers are braver on different tracks, but Kyle will run that way on any track. I respect that.
Am I a fan of Kyle Busch? I’m a fan of everybody that races, but I do not agree with those people who do not respect a man that’s willing to risk everything to win. Anyone can get out there to collect a check. It’s just like Waltrip said, he was either going to let Earnhardt go past him or Earnhardt was going to aggravate him to death until he did. Earnhardt wanted it more than anyone out there and a racer’s competitors need to know that. A driver like that gives 110% and they are going to race just as hard for 10 bucks as they are for 10 million. It isn’t about the money. They just hate to lose. How can you boo a guy for doing his job 110%. I wish there were 43 drivers out there like that on Saturday and Sunday and everyone had the financial backing so we could race that way. They couldn’t build grandstands big enough to hold all the fans if it were like that. I’d give anything if I could run my Truck or even some Nationwide races like I used to run my late model races because I refused to lose. I didn’t like making excuses and I didn’t take them. I’m envious of guys who get the chance to race like Kyle does and who take full advantage of it because Kyle runs every lap like it’s the last and that’s the way you’ve got to do it. When you’re a racer you’re not thinking about a fine. And if someone needs an inch you’re not going to give it to them because at that point you are a machine. You’re not human. When you become one with your racecar you’re going for the win and you don’t worry about money. You don’t worry about your life or anything else. Once you’re use to winning 14th or 15th is nothing. That is truly the way it is.
We’re on the road right now heading to Texas. I’m looking forward to racing again. I’m hoping for a good race and want to be sure to thank my fans and Jennifer’s fan for their continued support.
I’ll get back to you all when I am on the road again. To be continued….
