Tuner or Crew Chief? (1 Viewer)

[cantdrive55]

I'm asking this because I've been struggling with what the person responsible for making the tuning calls/adjustments should be referred to as. Over the last several years NHRA teams have started referring to the head position as the Crew Chief. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see people like Ed McCulloch, Dale Armstrong, Austin Coil, Tommy Delago, Jimmy Prock, Mike Neff, and so forth as Crew Chiefs. I still think of them as Engine Tuners, or Tuners. To me, the position of Crew Chief is more along the lines of how a NASCAR team operates. In other words, you don't see Chad Knaus tuning Jimmie Johnson's engine. Just like you don't see Mike Neff sitting on a pit box instructing others. The reason I'm seeking the boards help is that I've been trying to keep track of yearly results on a race by race basis, and have switched back and forth between the title of Crew Chief or Tuner.

If it helps, I could post a PDF example of what I'm working on.

For the record, I have no interest in trying to profit from this, as most of the information is readily available on the web. This is simply a fun personal project.

 

[Rat]

I'm asking this because I've been struggling with what the person responsible for making the tuning calls/adjustments should be referred to as. Over the last several years NHRA teams have started referring to the head position as the Crew Chief. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see people like Ed McCulloch, Dale Armstrong, Austin Coil, Tommy Delago, Jimmy Prock, Mike Neff, and so forth as Crew Chiefs. I still think of them as Engine Tuners, or Tuners. To me, the position of Crew Chief is more along the lines of how a NASCAR team operates. In other words, you don't see Chad Knaus tuning Jimmie Johnson's engine. Just like you don't see Mike Neff sitting on a pit box instructing others. The reason I'm seeking the boards help is that I've been trying to keep track of yearly results on a race by race basis, and have switched back and forth between the title of Crew Chief or Tuner.

If it helps, I could post a PDF example of what I'm working on.

For the record, I have no interest in trying to profit from this, as most of the information is readily available on the web. This is simply a fun personal project.

Please post the PDF. It seems like your on to something, but I must admit I am a bit confused.

 

[Mooseman]

Just watch the old broadcasts from the 70's, they seem to have allways been called both crew cheif and tuner depending on how it was said.

 

[TSK]

When I hear someone being referred to as the “crew chief” I think of that person as the final authority on everything about the car.
The crew chief may not necessarily physically make or change the engine and chassis settings. Rather, the crew chief decides what those settings should be and directs the rest of the crew to make those changes.

 

[mick]

'crew chief' is part of the american motorsports vernacular, born from nascar,
understood perfectly within confines of nhra.

 

[PJ]

I've always taken the term tuner to be more slang or nickname of the more formal Crew Chief title.

Along the lines of while it is officially a Top Fuel Dragster it has also gone by rail, digger, slingshot.....

All the same, just a matter of preference

 

[MHayes]

All the same, just a matter of preference

x1320!

 

[Raconteur]

The two "titles" are interchangeable. Tuner may be a slang version, but both are used for the same crew position.


How about: driver, pilot, hot shoe or these nicknames.

 

[NitroRichFire]

I have always liked the term "Fuel Tuner"

 

[TF CREW]

Not always necessarily the same thing.

I have been part of fuel teams where as there is a " tuner " that makes the set up decisions, and a crew chief who's duties were to over see the crew,. make sure that everything was ready to go to and at the races. Was in charge of all between race maintenance and so on

 

[Raconteur]

Not always necessarily the same thing.

I have been part of fuel teams where as there is a " tuner " that makes the set up decisions, and a crew chief who's duties were to over see the crew,. make sure that everything was ready to go to and at the races. Was in charge of all between race maintenance and so on

Yours appears to be the exception.

 

[TF CREW]

Yours appears to be the exception.

Just more Micro Management

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

When I hear someone being referred to as the “crew chief” I think of that person as the final authority on everything about the car.
The crew chief may not necessarily physically make or change the engine and chassis settings. Rather, the crew chief decides what those settings should be and directs the rest of the crew to make those changes.

EXCATLY

 

[big guy]

Not always necessarily the sa


I have been part of fuel teams where as there is a " tuner " that makes the set up decisions, and a crew chief who's duties were to over see the crew,. make sure that everything was ready to go to and at the races. Was in charge of all between race maintenance and so on

most of those guys go by car chief.

 

[cantdrive55]

Thanks for the replies, here's what I've got for the 2012 Winternationals, it's not 100% complete.



2012 Winternationals

 

[MHayes]

Thanks for the replies, here's what I've got for the 2012 Winternationals, it's not 100% complete.[/URL]

Nice job Keith!

I know it's still a work in progress, but here are a few of comments that I hope will be helpful:

1) I'm assuming the asterisk represents rookies?
2) For AB, include Oswald as the co-crew chief (CCC)
3) For Spencer, include Okuhara as the CCC
4) For Morgan, include Centorbi as the CCC
5) For Bernstein, include DeFilippis as the CCC
6) In the elimination section, I would remove the sponsor, year and chassis info, as you've already shown that in the qualifying list above; that will allow you to just focus on the results

 

[cantdrive55]

Nice job Keith!

I know it's still a work in progress, but here are a few of comments that I hope will be helpful:

1) I'm assuming the asterisk represents rookies?
2) For AB, include Oswald as the co-crew chief (CCC)
3) For Spencer, include Okuhara as the CCC
4) For Morgan, include Centorbi as the CCC
5) For Bernstein, include DeFilippis as the CCC
6) In the elimination section, I would remove the sponsor, year and chassis info, as you've already shown that in the qualifying list above; that will allow you to just focus on the results

Thanks! Yeah it's most definitely a work in progress, but changes are easily made. Asterisk's are for rookies. The Co-Crew Chief thing is more of a space issue, as is I've nearly got my entire 15in laptop screen maxed out. For MLR, it's a bit contradictory, on their website Centorbi and DeFilippis are listed as both CCC and Assistant Crew Chief on different pages. And even then, I still have a space issue. Eliminations were done that way for a reason, I know it's very redundent. But there have been instances where a Funny Car team is forced to a different body, sometimes with a different sponsor. Or an identical body with a different sponsor. Not saying it happens very often, but it has occured. I'd love to figure out a way to put a ladder in, but as is my pages would be extremely wide, I'd probably have to scroll over 2-3 times just to get to round 1 of the other half.

 

[Rat]

Not always necessarily the same thing.

I have been part of fuel teams where as there is a " tuner " that makes the set up decisions, and a crew chief who's duties were to over see the crew,. make sure that everything was ready to go to and at the races. Was in charge of all between race maintenance and so on

isn't your offer of a crew chief more the "team manager"

 

[Rat]

What about assistant crew chiefs, what do you do with that? Like Nick Peters with Brian Husen or Ronnie Thompson with Jason McCulloch. Oswald/Corradi or Okuhara/Schuler what does that mean? Why aren't all teams listed with 2 names for cc when they have 2 in position. What's the difference between listing Mike Green/Neal Strausbaugh Peters as tuners on Schumacher's car instead of just Mike Green?

Is the difference really just that Oswald/Corradi or Okuhara/Schuler consider themselves more of a working team in terms of experience as opposed to Green/Strausbaugh or McCulloch/Thompson and how those teams decide to designate Peters and Thompson not as a co-crew chief but as an assistant? Brings me to another question.

What's a co-crew chief and what's an assistant crew chief? If it's all hand in hand why isn't every team that has 2 names in the CC department listed as "A/B instead of A and then B who is the assistant to A." Ex. Oswald/Corradi, Crew Chief: Jason McCulloch Assistant Crew Chief: Ronnie Thompson

 

[Buns]

I think this all comes down to semantics, and even then, that goes away when you have more than 1 'tuner' on each team.

In the end, I like John Force's idea of a 'brain-trust' -- multiple tuners who all work on the cars. That may be the most-accurate way to put it and closest to reality.