Stupid western swing question? (1 Viewer)

[topdigger]

Why is it considered so tough?NASCAR teams only get like 3 days off over 36 weeks.They make such a big deal about the western swing being so long and tough.To me it is just like having a Job, no? I work more than 3 weeks in a row and get in racing on the weekends too.I just have always wondered why it is deemed so tough?Hope I didn't sound too stupid.I am just courious.Heck After this weekend off I have 4 weekends in a row and am STOKKED about it.Well Unless something BIG breaks..lol

 

[racer4rw]

They need to do Ohio Speedweeks for sprint cars. They had 9 races in 9 nights

 

[BaldyLochs]

Today's multi-car pro teams aren't like the old days when you'd simply back the car off of the trailer, set up a couple lawn chairs & wait to race. It takes days to get parked, set up, etc. The long driving from the east coast is hard, not to mention the weather, plus hauling enough parts for 3 races and not having your trucks overweight; as well as the pressure to keep or improve your points position. It's grueling and I salute everyone who does it. Then factor in Hotels with broken ice machines, greasy food, dead cellphone & laptop batteries, dirty laundry, delayed planes, traffic, rental car return lines, being away from family, etc.

 

[Rick]

Then factor in Hotels with broken ice machines, greasy food, dead cellphone & laptop batteries, dirty laundry, delayed planes, traffic, rental car return lines, being away from family, etc.

You make it sound so appealing! Where do I sign up?

 

[Mr. Jean]

Today's multi-car pro teams aren't like the old days when you'd simply back the car off of the trailer, set up a couple lawn chairs & wait to race. It takes days to get parked, set up, etc. The long driving from the east coast is hard, not to mention the weather, plus hauling enough parts for 3 races and not having your trucks overweight; as well as the pressure to keep or improve your points position. It's grueling and I salute everyone who does it. Then factor in Hotels with broken ice machines, greasy food, dead cellphone & laptop batteries, dirty laundry, delayed planes, traffic, rental car return lines, being away from family, etc.

Reading this reminds me why I'm concerned about the big Teams taking over. This is all true, so now think what the little guy teams must do. No budget for all those many extra parts required for the swing and if they have a crash or something major in the first swing race, they have a lot of trouble staying in it for the whole swing. For the fans, it's not as big a deal. However will the little guys continue to try or are we going to see more going the IHRA route? Just asking.

 

[topdigger]

They need to do Ohio Speedweeks for sprint cars. They had 9 races in 9 nights

We used to have a deal like that out here too over the week of the 4th of July for sprint cars.It was 7 tracks in 7 days.But as do a lot of things here in the west we don't even have enough tracks left to do it anymore..

 

[None]

None of the others have to rebuild their engines four to eight times a weekend.

 

[Zak]

Today's multi-car pro teams aren't like the old days when you'd simply back the car off of the trailer, set up a couple lawn chairs & wait to race. It takes days to get parked, set up, etc. The long driving from the east coast is hard, not to mention the weather, plus hauling enough parts for 3 races and not having your trucks overweight; as well as the pressure to keep or improve your points position. It's grueling and I salute everyone who does it. Then factor in Hotels with broken ice machines, greasy food, dead cellphone & laptop batteries, dirty laundry, delayed planes, traffic, rental car return lines, being away from family, etc.

Give me a $12 million NASCAR budget, a couple of rigs on the road between races and back up cars and engines - then we can call it easy. Or easier.

I would imagine that Force is the closest thing to NASCAR in terms of team size, dollars spent and support staff on the road.

 

[topdigger]

"The long driving from the east coast is hard,"
"

The drive for most of the teams to Denver is a legal 1.5-2 day trip.Throw in 2 drivers and it's 1 day legal.It is only a long drive home.They are at each track after Denver by Tuesday afternoon.And yes I know first hand what it takes to drive a hauler cross countrty(I've done it solo).I think it is harder on the little teams myself.or a guy likle Jim Yates who gets his hauler to and from himself.But to the big temas it is just a job and is business as usual day in and day out.This is just my opinion.I am sure a lot of people will dissagree.But if you didn't love the travel you wouldn't be in the business.The BIG Crew Chiefs and drivers are also just business as usual.Fly in Fly out drive their motor coach.I seriously am not trying to say it is at all easy, but that I think it has been made out to be a bigger deal than it really is.NASCAR crews would laugh in our faces.Once again just my opinion as I have never done it at the Pro level.But I have done very similiar in other sports and racing and it is the multiple weeks on the road doin what we love that turns me on about the deal.Goin home is boring..LOL Ok, bash away

 

[Chris]

the western swing is very tough but most certainly not nearing impossible. a week of the swing usually goes as follows:

monday - working at the shop getting every aspect of the car and its parts as ready as possible, loading trucks with parts needed for the swing, oh yeah and loading the car(s).

tuesday - driving to the track. from indy its around 1000 miles to denver which is not too bad for team drivers but its around 1500 from denver to seattle which is very tough because you arent used to pushing that hard like most over the road truck drivers are. then you have seattle to sonoma which is around 1000 miles and again isnt too bad.

wednesday - sitting in line waiting to get parked and finally getting in sometime around noon. setting up which will take the rest of the day.

thursday - teams will be getting thier cars out and going over last minute details or possibly finishing things that didnt get done at the shop. usually they will get done at a decent time in the afternoon which is just enough time to go back to the hotel and do (wait in line to do) your laundry(this being a back to back race). hospitality guys' schedules are a little different such that it usually takes them all of wednesday and thursday to get set up, cleaned, trucks wiped down and all of the shopping done.

friday - racing and being at the track until probably 12 or 1 am.

saturday - being at the track early to race again.

sunday - racing, servicing the car afterwards, usually getting to the hotel about 10pm.

monday - more servicing the car

tuesday - driving to the next track.

rinse, lather, repeat.

oh and btw, i have several friends that work in nascar and although they do run more races, thier responsibilities are spread more thin. and they get WAY more than 3 days off in 36 races. none of this is intended to make it look like it sucks. most of us love it and feel lucky to have this as a profession, but in every profession there are things that will tend to make your job harder to do and still keep the quality of work being done up to ours, our employers, and our sponsors standards. i dont think that any racer, team member, hospitality guy, or anyone means to come off as complaining or unhappy, its just a tough few weeks.

 

[Nazgul]

Everyone so far has hit on different points as to why the "Western Swing" is considered to be so grueling, but like Jim W. said the budget is probably the biggest reason why. Also the fact that 3 in a row all over the country isn't the norm for NHRA teams like it is in Nascar. If everyone had the budget of a JFR, DSR, or a select few others then maybe it wouldn't be as rough - parts attrition, and having enough crew, etc.

Also being away from your family especially if you're not single & 21 is tough I'm sure.

But again for the most part, I think it's what you're accustom to, and Nascar is use to doing it week in & week out. I'm sure it still doesn't make it easy for them either. But hey, when you love doing what you're doing... then you'll find a way to get it done if you can afford to do so.

 

[__]

In addition to Chris Keys' great post, you may want to read John Collins' Western Swing blog from last year. It really gave you a feel for what these teams go through.

 

[none]

Chris probably knows better than me but I believe NASCAR crewmen fly from the shop to the race & back. The big budget teams have over the wall crews that fly in like on sat. & just do raceday pit stops(or at least they used to)

 

[Lisa]

I don't think when these pro teams say the western swing is hard they are saying it is HARDER than any other type of racing. I know some of you said driving rigs across the country isn't that hard but it is tiresome. I know that the Kalitta teams have worked nonstop since the last race preparing for this. It's not like they get to come home for a two week break before all this. They have worked at the shop from 8 in the morning to sometimes 8 or 9 at night and most guys worked the weekends. I think that being on the road in general is hard. Not only are you making that drive but you are leaving your family, staying in hotels (which in my opinion would get really old really quick), working out at the track all day and night in the heat and a ton of other things that regular people don't have to do. I know that these guys do it because they love it but that doesn't make tough work easy. I really have to hand it to these guys because there are a lot of people that couldn't handle it. I am so proud of my husband for doing this job!!

 

[megadeth]

A lot of travelling hard work setting up tearing down etc. it is ruff I would bet on it.
In NASCAR they qualify get the car set up and their ready with a few pit stops with tire changes and fill ups I'm sure it's tougher on the drivers.
Tearing down the car after each qualifying run and 4 times in a single day on Sunday if you are having a good day 3 weeks in a row can wear you down.
I have a lot of repect for both sports and it's rough for both I'm sure.
Don't forget it's the middle of summer so the heat is no help!

 

[Gordon]

Something that was touched on but maybe not clarified is that in addition to logging all the miles between tracks for three weeks - each tune-up is completely different than the last.

The crews were tuning to nearly 10,000 feet of corrected altitude with a track temperature over 140 degrees at Bandimere! Next weekend they're in Seattle near sea level with an abundance of trees creating a good supply of O2, thus tons o' horsepower. Then they're in wine country, which isn't quite as drastic a change from Seattle, but it's still a change. This is where I believe the smaller budgeted teams suffer the most - being able to prepare for the huge differences in engine set-up.

As for being on the road - it's what they chose to do. Nobody gets into that level of drag racing without knowing about the three race swings, including the West Coast swing. I'm not crying or looking for symapthy, but I was on the road or underway on aircraft carriers 216 days in the last calendar year - it's what I chose to do & my family supports me. Does it suck sometimes? Absolutely. But the job satisfaction is worth the effort sometimes... just ask JR Todd.

 

[Bob]

Why is it considered so tough?NASCAR teams only get like 3 days off over 36 weeks.They make such a big deal about the western swing being so long and tough.To me it is just like having a Job, no? I work more than 3 weeks in a row and get in racing on the weekends too.I just have always wondered why it is deemed so tough?Hope I didn't sound too stupid.I am just courious.Heck After this weekend off I have 4 weekends in a row and am STOKKED about it.Well Unless something BIG breaks..lol

Two huge differences, and Jim W. touched on one of them. The Cup teams have multiple cars and multiple haulers. While they were racing in New Hampshire last weekend, the cars and haulers to be used at the next race aren't the same that they used for the NHIS race. They're already to go (if they haven't already gone) to the next race. They have crews building and setting up the cars back at the home shop, loading them onto haulers and taking them to the next race, without having to be concerned with the team racing at this weekend's race.

The other difference is, the Cup teams (drivers, owners and raceday crews) all fly on private jets. That makes for a much easier and more efficient way to get to and from the racing venues, i.e., less time "on the road".

 

[Rollout96]

The other difference is, the Cup teams (drivers, owners and raceday crews) all fly on private jets. That makes for a much easier and more efficient way to get to and from the racing venues, i.e., less time "on the road".

Seriously folks... I think it really is apples/oranges. The budgets and team sizes are NO WHERE near comparable.

Given the dynamic of the NHRA tour, the Western Swing is grueling....
Period.

 

[stanman]

I think you have to look at the geographics of the Western swing get a handle on the toughness associated with it.

With the exception of Phoenix, Fontana, and Sears Point there aren't any tracks on the Nascar circuit that are farther west than Kansas or Texas. This makes it an easy tow to all but three of the 30+ races.

Now consider the tows to get to Denver, then to Seattle, and back down to Sonoma. Most people don't realize that it's over 1000 miles just from Seattle to Sonoma. Add in that the rigs have to be at the track no later than mid-day on Wednesday to get pitted... that doesn't leave much time to do the kind of maintenance that is required for a Pro category drag race team. All this while working out of the trailer and not your base shop.

Most Nascar teams can make it home to the base shop from almost any track on the circuit and still have a day or two to get ready for the next race.

 

[Chris]

another thing to remember is that nascar teams have one set of guys that work at the shop, another set of guys that drive the trucks and get everything set up at the race, and then the crew guys that fly in and out. thats alot different than having one set of guys to do everything. the guys that i know that work on the nascar circuit think we do too much and dont want our jobs. WUSSES!!!!. he he. one friend of mine drives the truck that morphs into the stage that you see the commentators speaking from on speed channel. they have this sort of rotation between him and a couple other guys to keep that rig going. some races he works and others he has off. when i told him that we do the job at every race he gave me a "Frank Barone - Everbody Loves Raymond" "HOLY CRAP!!!" and just in case he might read this, im not trying to say that they dont do anything. wouldnt want to be bashing or anything.