NFL Players: Second ActsThree former NFL players turned NASCAR pit crew members talk getting hit by cars, being set on fire, and the perfect pit stop
On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, former linebackers Marshall McFadden and Jeremy Kimbrough, and former safety Josh Bush join Peanut and Roman to discuss their second act careers as NASCAR pit crew members. Jeremy shares what it’s like to be hit by a car at work not once but eight times! Marshall tells the story of seeing a pit crew member catch fire, and Josh explains what pit crew guys do to stay in shape. The guys also discuss the strategy behind NASCAR, share the keys to perfect pit stop, and reveal their welcome to NASCAR moments.
The NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Radio.
Jeremy Kimbro Tire Carrier, Trackhouse Racing, Marshall McFadden, jack Man Trackhouse Racing, Josh Bush, Tyre Shander Trackhouse Racing.
And this is NFL Player's Second Ass Podcast.
What's going on everybody? I'll peanut too mean? And this is the NFL Player Second Acts Podcast.
My God roaming Harvard with the pretty smile? Why are you smiling? Why are you cheasing so hard?
Because you got to agree from here to here? Because you did that like seven times.
I did not.
Start just cool. I did it.
This is our NFL YouTube channel. It's gonna mess this up. We can't really mess it up at this point. I will shout out though, to the Carolina Panthers for allowed us to host it. They're right here in their studio, the Panthers' Vision studio, right here underneath of the Bank of America Stadium, right here in Charlotte. And we got a few Charlotte Teans. I guess they're in Charlotte now. Yeah, And so I'm really excited about this guest. We got a couple first going down. We've never had We've never had three people on the shore one time. After these guys finished their talents in the NFL, they took a trip over to NASCAR. Now these guys are members of the track House Racing Team. Josh Bush, Jeremy Kimbro and Marshall McFadden. Welcome to the podcast. Appreciates you, Appreciate you now, just off initial look, you know two of you guys played linebacker and one of you guys played.
Let me finish clearly.
One of you guys, the dB, just seems to be a hold himself a little bit swagger.
Than everybody else. I guess that's the one dog Holly, there we go.
There it is.
We do. It is right there? Just what it is that? But you know, Josh, not only.
Is it you know the way you present yourself as a dB and swagger, but then the way you always just seem to find a way to let everybody know that Super Bowl ring from Super Bowl fifty that you got when we were heard that when we're showing on YouTube, we're gonna make sure we bring up the picture that you just smoking a cigar with your ring on?
What else? Are you washing the car with your ring on? Your ring on? What are you doing? How are you doing?
You do you honestly that's the only time I wear my ring. Every Super Bowl Sunday, I smoke a cigar. Okay, just life. Don't let them lie to y'all.
See them at the office with it. Come on, you know what?
Okay, So, how did you guys kind of find your way into what you're doing now? I know everybody's got their own story, their own journey. But once you hang it up, everybody hangs it up on their own, not really on their own terms all the time.
But what initially attracted you have brought you to where you are now, I guess I'll start.
Obviously, when I found out that football is at an end, I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And obviously, coming back to Charlotte, you know, me and my family was just trying to.
Figure it out.
It's crazy that obviously, you know, Nashcar Sarlop is the mecca of Nashcar. So I had a buddy that was in the sport and he just hit me up one day and he was just like, hey, man, you should come check this out. I was like, NASCAR, are you sure? Bro, never been to a racing, didn't think anything of it, but I was just like, shoot, I'm just trying to figure it out. So let me go and check it out. So when I went out there, it was gonnacty at the time, obviously not trackhouse. But when I went out there seeing about twenty five guys and the music was blasting, you know it, seen some guys that looked like me, you know, and there was practicing. They was giving to it, they was getting to it. And not only that, they was just cutting up, joking with the young guys. And then when it was all said and done, they went to the training facility. So those guys actually went in workout and they had their own regiment. And then when they got back there breaking down FM. And that really caught my attention, you know, with with what I came from, Like I'm going to do something and not do something that I'm kind of accustomed to.
And I took key to it.
I started just coming back and one day the coaches call me in the office and because they know where I come from, they've seen a lot of guys come and go, and it asked was I serious about it? And I was like absolutely. If I can do this for a long time, then yeah, I'm all in. And I mean a couple weeks later, you know, they offered me a contract and I'm been in it seven years since.
Oh nice, Yeah, I know absolutely nothing about NASCAR. I played here in twenty fifteen, didn't even know. I stayed right down the street from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, right here uptown downtown.
We got to get you the trackud, gotcha.
There's a no question, both of them. There's no question, no idea. Josh, what is what is your actual job in the NASCAR in the pit crew? Cause I know all y'all do something different, so I like one of you all to explain kind of what it is you do, like in your job.
All right, So I'm a front tie changer, and for me it's a little different that we went from five love to single lug.
Two years ago, this year three, this year three, this year three single lug.
So at first when I first started, was the last year five lug and that was a lot of yeah, muscle memory, Like dudes could look at the pattern, close the eyes and hit five lugs. When I started, I couldn't do that. So when I started into the sport, I'm there at five am. He loved nuts, just trying to get that muscle memory. Uh Now, I would say with single lug it's a different little progression, like you can progress faster, but you still got to get to the track and learn DB's. You know, you can look good in w drill one on ones, but when you get in the game, you you feel different things, you learn different things, and you experience different things. So that's when they say you need track experience. You got to feel that that car rubbing.
Your heels when you're going out like all that makes it difference. How many times you've been here by a card? Uh what you said? How many times have you been here by a car? You said? What about eight? Eight times? Oh my god.
Well, and I'm gonna put this in perspective. Imagine going on seventy seventy seven on the way turn around, put your heels on that white line, close your eyes, and let all the cars whisp by you. That's what it feels like being at the track. And if you can do that, you got what it takes to be a picture.
Got So was that like, I know there's rookie Hazen in the league, so it was just like a Marshall, I know you're not used to this, but I want you to take your heels.
Close you.
Don't get hit. Is that like a hazy thing that you'll have to go through. Nah, But it sends a message.
I would say it sends a message of what you're getting into because, like Jeremy Kimber said, I got hit a time. So if you on your p's and q's and understanding the speed of the car that is coming in, because you can't just jump, it's on they got to touch. Then you can jump and it come in a different speed. So you gotta be in tuned and who you are as a person and to make sure you clear that car.
And it's just so much.
That goes into it because sometimes you don't have a lot of space because you got other cars that coming around you.
He's not getting hit by his car, he getting hit by somebody else car because spaces are so tight. Yeah. So you're also you're a tired carrier. I'm a tire carrier.
So you carry the tire, you change the tire. So let's go back to that you getting hit a times. We can't just like move off, ain't been hit at all.
Yeah, yeah, let's go back to the bounce back up or yeah, yeah, actually I got a couple of videos the fame, But yeah, I got hit twirled around.
Uh the last few, I probably got them laid on my back one time.
Last seven I was able to stay on my feet. So like.
Linebackers, because in the moment, like with being a tire carrier, I'm carrying two tires out there, everybody else has.
How much do each one? Way?
You think they're about forty pounds now with the Alluinar wheels from the goal five lug, it was used to be about seventy pounds. So I got two of those in my hands, and everybody other position they only have one object in their hands. So kind of when I go out there, I'm kind of more of an extension, you know, as opposed to I got objects outside of me with those tires. And so typically when cars are coming around, it's all about knowing the scenario situations like if we're running eleventh and the team over here they're running fourteenth, we know that when we come in that they're going to be coming exactly around us. So it's like being able to be prepared to all right, we're going to stop short. Okay, maybe I might have to tuck up to you a little bit stay close, you know tight the color as far as like football, the color.
That means like staying closer to the white one to each other.
Yeah, staying closer to each other, right, Okay, because the further.
You know, I'm learning, who said that's where the black guy.
Yeah, with Marshall being a jack man, he's kind of like my reference because, uh, he's going to be the closest to the car off the initial because he has to jack the car.
He got to get left. So if I know that I'm tight to him, more than.
Likely I got myself a little pocket that to let that car go around and then I'm able to run around and get to the rear. Then I take those old tires off, bring them back to the wall, and uh I sometimes we have an adjustment. I have a sticker wrench in my mouth the hole in the back of the car.
Did hold on?
I got to show a video with it, your homies, Yeah, I'll just you make adjustments to the cars. So it depended on That's why you have to pay attention during the race. Audio cues is huge force and just hearing the information and the feedback that the driver gives back kind of give your anticipation of which way of the adjustment that I'm going to go. So it's it's definitely like a mental sport on my end, but it's all muscle memory, though.
I got you.
You know one thing that I don't think everybody knows, I just learned today. So that goes into maybe some of the strategy pieces that you're talking about, which is you only get to carry you like forty tires into a race, right, but depending on which red long track versus s its.
Regulated by that whoever, how do they decide that you get a certain a lot of amount that you can buy.
How long did it take for y'all to learn like the strategy?
Yes, I still don't know it.
It's yeah, it's ongoing for sure. Yeah, it's it's it's constant involvement, you know. Uh, how I came in.
I used to YouTube all the races just to learn the terminologies and understand how the teams work and look at the pit stops overall. So then once you kind of start doing that and you go to these tracks, kind of got a feel of what you're going to be getting. Like some tracks we might be have eight sets tires. Some tracks you might have three. So it just depends on uh, the surface of the track and everything. And I kind of just have you know, that's like my film.
For the week.
I'll watch the race, see what happened, what kind of occurred, and then I'll watched the film from what I did in that in that race. So then you kind of just get a game plan and when you're going into Sunday.
Right right, So I know in the in the league, we got the we have the fifty three man roster.
Y'all must have a roster, and y'all have practice.
So when y'all go into a track or excuse me, when you go into a meet or race, does the GM or the owner or the coach or whoever the pit crew bosses do they say all right?
Or the crew chief whoever? Do they just say all right, I'm taking y'all twelve the rest? No, you needn't make it. You're just gonna be on standby. Like how does that work? Nah?
So just like like they are about to have a training cap now, right, and after you finish due all the camps over it, you got your fifty three man rots and then you got your.
Practice squad so on so on.
So with US is after all seasons consist of November, December, January, and a little bit of February. So you just going February rolling around. You know who your team gonna be, and it's a five man team. And once they assemble your team, they'll signed cars to you, and so it's three series. Were just gonna just focus on the NASCAR Series. So they're signing like, hey, Marshall, mcfatty, it's gonna be you, X, Y and Z and you're gonna be signed to Zane Smith and we'll pit for Zane Smith every Sunday for thirty seven weeks. Now it is performance bace and being up to your performance, whether changer, as jack man, as a carrier, as a fueler. You can't get replaced, you know so. But at the beginning of the year, they'll sign you to that god to a driver who you will be pitting for for that year.
Now, do you know most of the team when you when you get so so you get.
Your your crew of five for sure? Do you know most of the guys in the in the sport or women?
Because I do. They have women in sport now, so they do.
But when you're in it for seven years such as me. Most guys you'll see the same guys year in the year out, so now they and I'm the only guy would obviously you know, Dred's on pit roll, so obviously a lot of people know who I am, you know. But with that Ben seven, Ben been in there seven years. You get to know faces and get to know people in conversation. That's a conversation once you're about five years and you kind of know most of the guys that they are, other than the new young the new young guys that come in early on.
So did you guys personally you all work on the same team. Did you guys know each other at all? You went to South Carolina State, you went to Wake and then you went to app so all you guys from North Carolina, South Carolina, but you guys know each other at all until you all showed up, Like man, we all used the ball.
It was always like that, just that mutual respect, Like I've seen him at the track before before we knew each other, and he kind of be like, so brother, you know. It kind of just evolves like that because each weekend, I mean, it's NASCAR's like a traveling circus, you know, back it up, you go to another city, do it again, you know, and you kind of see everybody over and over again. So, like Marshall said, I mean, once you get into you know, I mean year eight. Now, once you get into the game, you know, it's it's kind of hard to walk down pit roll without.
Talking, not talking to anybody. You know, what's one of the I don't know.
Man, I've been basketball, football track my whole life, so I know, bitch presco me. You know it'll help me push somebody up on me.
Right. I'm curious about the workouts, Like what type of workout do you do to jack up, to jack a car, to change a lugnut on a tire? Like what give me? All right? Give me you asking what we need to do or what we do, because give me both. I love that. Yeah all right? So why do I got like? You know what you walk?
So when I first started, like three and a half four years ago, I've seen dudes that has been in the sport twenty years and it didn't work out. But now with the single Love, we're doing pit stops in eight seconds sometimes seven nins at practice. So you gotta be able to move, You gotta have that agility, okay, but trackous. You canna ask any NASCAR team out there. We definitely work out the hardest out of anybody close sure an sure, Yeah for us, it's guaranteed twice a week and two days a week is you know it is optional, but they want you to get you work out a week.
But what is it? Is this like a standard workout or you I mean y'all doing pharmacreage.
You're doing cross fit? So you know we do uh we do cross fit? No, no, no, you don't.
Say we yeah, be.
Clear you I do a lot of CrossFit stuff. I find it beneficial for myself just because it just kind of just stresses you. You know, it kind of pushs you to that limit where you're tired and you know you got to keep going, and then you just do it, you know what I'm saying. And so when it comes to going out there on Sunday, you know it's you know, lap eighty seven.
You got three your thirteen laps.
You know it was getting towards the end, that's like the fourth quarter pretty much you can see cats already kind of like man cat's cramping up, you know you slice, Oh yeah, I don't care before. Yeah, I mean, it's the game.
Left. Let's go heap it. Has anybody ever been on fire? Y'all got the fire.
I haven't been on fire, but I've seen it for show though. Man, I'm like, Yo, seriously, was it like.
Wool Farrow and Talladega nice or was it I've never seen that movie.
You gotta watch it. Yeah, you gotta check it out.
I mean it's you know, I've seen some some people getting engulfed in flames before, but you know they had the.
Fire guys right there. Usually they be on top.
You just got it.
If you have catch flames, man, just be prayed up to the game. It depends on who.
I've seeing the guy catch fire, full flame fire on pit bro. He was a rich changer.
You could you kind of explain like what maybe have caused the flame? Okay, So that's what I'm like.
What's going to What happens is when you're in the real the fuel is right here. So you got a gas that got a a spear shaped for fuel about one hundred pounds, and so once he engages, if you don't engage correctly, feel few just gonna splash. So when the changer engaging and it's it's a spark.
Oh yeah, it's true.
So that's highly flavorable guy, absolutely.
But the crazy thing about that is I'm watching the guy on fire. They spray him out, and once once he was sprayed, he went back to finish his job. Man, the most impressive thing I've seen to this to the day.
Yet and it's the mob. How it's just that above this was it ninety three? This is above ninety three. Bush. I'll ask you, I'll start you. Other guys can chime into after they hear you. Uh, what experiences in the NFL helped you prepare you for what you're doing now as a changer?
People ask that a lot. And for me, man, this is nothing like it like playing in the NFL.
We grew up doing that changing tires.
You can't really get YouTube like how to change the tire and NASCAR like you can watch pit stocks, but I don't know, it's different to me.
There's really no comparison. You got to be it did not now.
No, I will say there's a certain mentality that we've developed, you know, through just competition in general, that allow us, like especially as a dB as a tire changer. Next play mentality you mess something up, a next pisstop mentality because you got to do it again. And for me, that's that's something that I latch onto that that I translate from football to NASCAR. But outside of that is to me, it's not the same, Like NFL is way more stressful, high stress environment. I'm still in the state of NASCAR where I'm learning a lot.
Right, what year are you in? This is what?
Yeh three and a half going on four, Like I'm in for now, So I'm still learning, you know, cars grazing my heels or you know, just being in a certain situations and still trying to deal with it.
Yeah, But I mean outside.
Of that.
Physical stuff like nah, there's nothing really that translated for me as a tire changer from football.
I just think it's so interesting because you know, as a dB, you know you get over there like hey man, you know your eyes are in the wrong place like this, this would kind of set you up to be wrong here. And as a single single nut tire changer, it's just like single whatever, single love tire change is just like man, you got one, you got to hit it and you got to be on your points of a second. Yeah, if you mess up. It's off of this right, and you just hit it as clean as you wanted? Is it still that? How hard is it to really correct? It was more just like like you said, no, I just got to get to the next one.
So that's when I think about that. Like, let's say you playing dB and a guy get you off the line. Now you're in trail technique. He got you off the line. Your trail technique has to be so good that you believe in what you're doing and you're still able to make the play. So you're right, So if I miss an engagement on the long night, the rest of my stuff has to be so good that I don't panic, And it's still putting in that work from that aspect, you know, but you know the amount of words you need to put in to be a professional.
Sure, So there's a diversity program, right, don't know about the diversity program you came through?
Talk about that?
Oh that was I mean, it was monumental for me to get my career started uh down there with coach Jortan And so my first two years.
He took he took us in.
We well, i'll say my first first time we got there, it was like a six month program and we just did pretty much too days for six months. Just back it up, do pit stops, paying tires, clean wheels, learn how to service your equipment, things like that.
How long is it is a tour day like to practice? Is it like an hour? Is two hours? Yeah?
It was back then who was probably practicing about it's about an hour and a half a.
Piece versus now you think now we could if we go trying to see like one of you know, old school players, like you know, back.
Practic water was real because he said he was like, well, I mean.
Yeah, you know you know how you go back You're like, hey man, those are grind days, yeah, all the time, six months grind, six months of learning something new.
So it's like, you know, you're getting frustrated.
You know, you have days where you'd be like, damn, man, I can't miss I'm catching it.
And then NASCAR has is a great sport.
To humble you because then you had at one start you got dang you still you're still right there, still keep working, you know. But nowadays today's practice, we could realistically we could probably do it in about thirty minutes, you know what I mean, where it'd be good but how we got a structure is about two hours.
We're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back. We've all had that welcome to the NFL moment?
Is there?
Oh you laugh? You must have a good one, or what leads me into this next one? I want to hear is welcome to the NFL?
What was it?
Welcome to the NFL moment?
Oh?
Man? So for me, and it didn't even happen to me.
If y'all know Mike west Off Special Teams coach now, he probably seventy five seventy seven ish and I think he with the Broncos now, but he was with the Jets when I was there. He had beat cancer. He's, you know, sixty five years old, so at that time, like he just happened to be here, like he don't really care about nothing. The Special Teams got me in training camp, uh and this is this is still fresh and so we still got what ninety guys on the roster. He tell a dude, he said, call your mom, tell him to make your favorite meal because you'll be at home tomorrow to eat it. And I never saw that dude again. So for me, that was like, oh, this is real yeah, real, real, and for your scholarships around here. Man, Man, performance face league performance opened my eyes and like, yo, this can all ben just like that.
Yeah, how about you guys as.
All right, man listen. And it wasn't even I wasn't even there yet when it was preseason, and y'all know as a rookie undrafted, you know, coming in and uh, I know, we get in and we get in about the end of the third fourth quarter they put all those guys out there. Man, I'm I'm a middle linebacker, so coming from South Carolina State and it's no knock, but it's a lot that I had to learn as a middle linebacker, especially being in the still is defense. There we go, there you go with dig dig leabou Man, it's just a lot of stuff.
Obviously I was up man, she was my language.
I couldn't hear man. So I'm learning this out language. And you know, the guys came back and now I'm tired. You know, they keep getting first down. It ain't no first time to getting twenty yards. They get three yards here, four yards there. I'm running over here, so I'm dirt tired. So eventually guys came back to the huddle.
I'm tired.
I'm coming back to the that like Marshall, you know, wait running I don't know, man, y'all just run and I promise you man that next week. Man, a lot of those guys I ain't see no more. I think I had something to do with that. The only difference was that, you know, it's a performance base. I was making plays, man, I was making it happen. But trying to figure all that stuff out.
Man, Man, what was where you're What was your welcome to NASCAR moment?
Welcome to NASCAR moment? I probably say it was the first time that I got hit. I was it was in Dover, Delaware, and uh, I was working on a card that's running in the back. Equipment wasn't good, Like I didn't even have a radio like it was so just yeah, not being able to hear like one, what's going on in the race with your driver? And then here the situation, the situation in the scenario, the situation in the scenarios around you. So I ran out there in Dover, Uh no radio was running in the back bohen I go out there and then car just come and just wow, just blasting me, hit me right on the tire human thigh and I just I fell back and that's.
The one that went down. That's the one that went down. I went down.
But you know it's like, hey, don't get out here and play around with these cars.
You know, you get hit, you know.
So but ever since that moment, you know, it's kind of like if you're doing NASCAR long enough.
You're gonna you're gonna get hit. You're gonna have to pop that chair. You're gonna you're gonna feel it, you know.
So I was glad that I was able to just go ahead and get it out the way early.
And I was like, it didn't really hurt that bad, you know what I mean.
So I got up and I finished the stop, and then you know that kind of gave me the confidence, you know, like, hey, I can go out there and do it in the live bullets, you know.
Yeah, So did the driver say sorry? He just kep Kevin kept pushing. I think it's the game, So I got it.
So did they actually warn you guys that you can get hit or you just like you just out there?
And then.
I was like, dude, that was all this Because we know football is a dangerous sport for sure, but I don't think we think pitt cruise in NASCAR is a dangerous sport fire.
Getting hit by cars. I didn't know that.
I knew the fire was the thing when I saw tealdating nice. Yeah, get a Kimro. You just told me that, you just so. I just figured that part out. No, I don't know none of that. And you're not gonna say sorry you run over my feet.
I can't. I'm gonna trying to fight.
You got some drivers who who are you know, remorseful?
Yeah, personable? You know they actually feel feel for you. They try not to hit you. But some of the big tongue.
Guys strategy now, like as far as pit stop down, let me get real close to kim Bro, slow him down a half a second.
It gets to that point for sure. Don't get into a team bron y'all got into it. I've seen just the drivers.
I don't really you stand what the pig crew guys look like, Brood, what these guys look like.
Man, they want.
Especially gas carriers, right those the big boys, the big boy six five six six, big boy. I don't want to mess with us. What all strategy goes into it?
Dude?
And who all has so much say so in the strategy and to winning a race on the weekend, because I know you guys are the traveling circuits, but leading up to that day, how much goes into the thought process of this track. We need to be ready for this amount of tires, this many changes, you gotta have this amount of guys, Like how much goes into the game planning to be ready to perform at your highest level for everybody involved?
Oh yeah, I mean it starts with the with the crew chief. So the crew chief is like considered the head coach of the operations. So he makes all the adjustments and how the car is built. And then he got your car chief underneath that. So they he got his guys all these mechanics and they're the ones that car chief crew chief says, hey, we want you know, these type of shocks or we want you know, the balance to be this type away, then they go and they set the car up that way, and then all we do is come in we will pit it. But then when it comes down to the race, they'll find out, Okay, when is the best time to force to pit? How long can we run on fuel? And it's a surface good enough where you know, if we're running thirty laps, so you know we're gonna need to change tires because the tires are worn out, you know, and then it could be vice versa, like well, we can run fifty laps and the tires be good, but then we're gonna have to pit for fuel then so then and then it's just all numbers. Like if you go up on top of the box during the race and look at those guys screens like, I mean, it's crazy. It'ok like a video game and there's just a bunch of numbers and graphs and stuff.
It's all engineering.
Yeah, sure, so it's it's huge. You know, they do a good job, but you know it's a it's definitely a different world being the crew chief and making those.
I know, it's heavily regulated too, right, like they checked like everything.
Everything's very very regulated, is what you guys.
Can and so you know, almost like football too. After the game on Sunday, Tuesday, we come in, we watch family breakdown what we did wrong. Then we move on to the next when when we perform on Sunday, they give us that Monday off and then we come in Tuesday and we'll go over. You know what we've done right, what we've done wrong. And once we're doing that, were are and then we're prepare for the weekend that's coming up, such as, Okay, we're going to Darlington. It's gonna be thirteen stops. We can have thirteen. That's a tire Land.
Obviously we're probably gonna hit at this stage.
So we already have an idea already what we needed was going on into that race, depending on.
What track we is.
But like Kimbro said, the crew chief, he's the man of the operations and wants the race start.
The ideas, Yeah, that's we think we got this, gotcha. Then when the game starts, we got to play the game.
Glue to him, Hey, come down, We're gonna do right with the right side adjustment, gonna do four tires and X, Y and Z and we just execute.
And I don't think the pick crew get enough credit.
Because a lot you know, wins and fails with us, you know, obviously getting a car, because this is game of it's a game of inches. You know, a tenth of the second can cost you a million dollars, you know, So as gods, as professionals who go out there weekend and we count.
We have to be on us because there's no room for error.
And I think that's the difference between NASCAR and football is in football you got ten other people that can you know, save saving I'm sure day. But in Nascar is each individual man got to perfect their craft and if they don't do it, it calls a hiccup, and we it's muscle memory, so we get one. If we get one hiccup, then it just it just kills the whole stop. So everybody the timing have to be very precise in what we do. So football, do prepare us for that mental aspect of it. Perform under pressure because that's all we're doing this before. I'm a under pressure and if you can do that, it's gonna be the those gonna be the most successful.
Pick Khu guys, Yeah, what drivers do y'all work for? Now? Or pit for? Was Zay Smith Danceurez.
I'm with various amount of drivers, but I'll say SVG Shane Van Gizenbergen.
I want to know this.
This is something personally and then you can ask the other question. When you guys are doing like pit stops. We got the jack guy, how because what is the order in which a perfect pit stop goes.
You come in boom, yeah, yeah, I mean we were talking about golf earlier before this. Yes, you can never do it too fast, so to be perfect at it, you might as well retire if you're going out there and you're perfect, just retired because it's like, oh no, I can I can cut a stroke here.
Man.
If I have made this decision on this other whole, man, I could have shot a seventy eight. Yeah, miss, if I wouldn't have missed that putt. So it's always that and I that's what keeps us going because you always want to be better, be fast, be more to penable to your team. But if I'm gonna say perfect.
Starts with the driver, Okay, for sure, the driver hits the spot good and they're coming in sometimes fifty five miles an hour.
Yeah, But if that driver hits this spot the way they do it practice.
Yep, hits the spot both. Then you guys come in with the jack jacket. Do you do one side of each or you do fronts and then I do front So we'll do the right side of the car first, right side of the car, and then once we transition we'll go around.
Run around. That's why you got to be quick. Tight to the tight to color, tight color. We're coming around. And also there's also penalties.
That you can get in NASCAR for sure, uncontroled tires, tires going outside of the box.
Yeah, you got to keep you keep your stuff in your own playground. Yeah, okay, staying tight right there. Then we come around, get the jack again. The gas is already going in and gus in it right now, right right, you guys are doing hitting the first right side, come around left side jack again.
One touch you out.
You got the guy in the back one touching, he's out changing tires. Tire man, what are you doing with the ones we take off?
You just catching them in.
I'm taking the tires and I'm bringing them back to the wall side.
So it's like, how about you take the ones off the right side first? You take those? What do you do with that? Yeah?
I pick them up and I run and like usually little tire carrier, I'm like the safety of the team. So like once I get that tire up, you know, everybody on that right side they be about gone.
So you on the island.
So I'm always the one that's got to be like catch up, get to the left side and time, and then you want to have that for it to be perfect. You want that time and as that tires coming out, I want to be putting mine on.
So it's like a window that you want.
That's how you can get a perfect stop. So you talk about maybe inches apart from a tire coming out and the tire going on, and just when you have that rhythm and that and that space and in that timing, you got a chance to be perfect.
But probably he probably ain't gonna be perfect.
But that's all we can ask for, you know what I'm saying.
But if you and that, if you in those windows, then like when that car come in, he hit that, he hit that Mark.
Marshall getting that jack up underneath it as soon as it stopped. For JB.
Like as soon as it's stopping, he already hitting the lug and it's already coming off as as the car is coming up, you know what. Yeah, so and I'm dropping the tire off for for Marshall to jack Man and so like I got to drop my tire off and be make sure it's in a position for him to it's a tight window.
He's on a tight window. He got it.
He got a d It all perfect, because if you do it wrong, then that tire you're gonna get stuck up under the jack yep, and you can't. You can't do that because when you start doing that, then you're gonna find somebody else in that spot. Just the way it go, you know, and just speak on the jack Man that we really and get to so y'all can put in perspective or the stop. So when we I'm using the first man to jump over and then everybody else followed. Jack Man is like the quarterback of the operation. When the car come up, it don't go it don't move unless the car come up, change the tires, transition to the next side, and it's the same thing.
Over and over.
But when I do go over, I'm trying to get that cars up as quick as possible.
And it's timely. You wanted.
You wanted to do it at the same time every time, because he needed to feel that rhythm, you know, so he when he coming over, he need to know exactly when that car come up because now you're not even thinking.
About it, he's just doing it.
And so if I'm doing the same thing over and over exactly the same time. If that if that driver coming in not kimbro can place that tire. My body movement got to be the same place every time because he placing it, you know, in the same spot. So he's not even thinking no more, you know. So when we're doing these pits stops, it's about no thinking, just doing. And whenever you can do your job efficient and you can do it at the best of your ability, it's just gonna make it easier for these guys.
And once it's easy.
And you get the flow and you get the rhythm, we transition and we do the same thing on the next side, and you can you know, when you do a good stop.
You know, yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, Okay, Now when you say you jump over, like you.
Actually run across up when I say jump when I say so, which is still weird to me, Like why do I have to jump off the wall? Like so when I say jump, I have to I'm on the wall, so I'm standing on the wall. It could be three feet, it could be two feet, it could be one feet, depending on where we're at, you know. So when when the car touches his line, now I have to jump over the wall, and I know, Gods that I could do this.
And when that get to going, they got ready to jump that car coming in need walk.
I mean, you know, so I say, I see that happen, but yeah, I have to, you know, jump over at a timely fashion to make so I get over safe and we're all able to do our job. But that comes. That comes with the territory. If you want to be that guy the wall. I always made it, but I would I would say this though, Nascar is a humbling sport for sure. Don't don't be it's a very it's a very humbling sport. Us coming from football, we feel like we can do anything. Put a golf club in baseball, we feel like we can do it all. But yeah, that Nascar, it's just a different deal. It's a different type of beast and you've got to learn it, you know, because everything is based off decision.
And I would say to like, just like the initial like you know that you're about to come in and pick, it's under caution. So it's like you if you run, then let's say you're running sixteenth and all the cars are coming down Piroe at the same time, so it's like, you know, you're down there on the wall and you're like, okay, we're on pit roll. But then you're just seeing all the cars. You got glare, so it's a bunch of distracting things, you know, and you got cars that might come in come in your stall while they coming in, you know, So it's just like just knowing those details and understanding like, okay, do.
I got oys on on where I need to be at? You know?
Am I hearing him correctly?
And then it's that time and element like just anticipation. So it's just like you know, read recognition right, being able to Okay, I see that, I know where pattern's coming.
And then now I'm anticipating I'm going timing up a blizz. That's it.
I want to ask you a more serious question, and I don't think it's that serious for you guys.
I mean, this is a very loose group. You can't tell, do you guys.
Take or what is your opinion on being the guys that you are looking the way that you look in a sport that has been predominantly a non African American sport, but it's really changed in the last couple of years big time.
How do you feel.
When you know, encouraging young people that may look like you or may come from places like you are to get into this sport, or that they look at you like man, because these guys like maybe I can do this. Yeah, and you're kind of being like that, you know, kind of a trailblazer in a sense, because you.
Guys are the newer. Yeah, this is the newer thing, especially former football player. Yeah.
I mean for me, if y'all went to a race, you would see a lot of guys that look like.
Us for sure, that race cars.
Okay, but the guys we were talking about, the top crew chiefs, engineers, competition directors, they don't look like us. So right now when I'm trying to I'm trying to step into those roads, Like how do I learn how to become that if I want to?
Yes?
Because a thing now that we're that NASCAR teams do they all go to you know, college and recruit from athletes.
Yes, we all have degrees.
We can use those too, like outside of our athletic to love them absolutely, you know. That's that's the thing I try to instill the other guys like, yo, you have a whatever engineering degree, pap into that, and we do have some guys at the shop that has done.
That before that looked like us.
Yeah, so I think that's huge and to progress into where we want to get to the same thing with the NFL. A lot of us play, but how many head coaches and coordinators, you know, So we're still trying to break that barrier.
But it's it's in the progress. Nice for sure. For sure.
I got I got something for all three of y'all. Give me, Ah, give me a person of influence that has helped you on your path to NASCAR to football, just in life.
Give me a person of influence as you go first life you want to think about it over here that car you go first? Personal influence.
Jeez, man, I have to say, like just for NASCAR, you know, I have to say Coach Horton, you know, yeah, like he gave it to me straight, you know, like I had had an opportunity where I was gonna go with a specific team and he told me, you know, hey, this.
Is how it kind of moves in here now, like you know.
Don't just get caught by the glitz and the glam.
And sure enough everything happened pretty much like how he said it happened.
And so like that kind of gave me a good.
Uh uh, a good idea of what I was truly getting myself into. And you know, he definitely influenced me on how to move into sport, like know how to handle certain situations, know which route that I got to take to be able to get to where I am today. So yeah, I definitely say Coach Shortan was a big influence on me getting into NASCAR.
Two Bowl champion Bush oh Man.
When I'm thinking about, let's see, you want getting into NASCAR or the NFL, I'm gonna go with the NFL. Getting into the NFL, and just me like believing that it's even attainable, I would have to go with Kenny Moore. Uh So he went the way for us. He was three or four years older than I am, and uh he always believed in everything that I did, whether it was football, like doing music or whatever. Like when I was in college, he connected me with Jonathan Stewart to make music. So I always thought, when I graduated college, I'm going to going to LA to produce music.
Yeah, that's always what I believed in.
And uh, I got an injury in college and I had to sit out for you know, six or eight months, and just from that aspect of missing football, it was like, yo, like when I get this back, I'm never gonna take it for granted again. So then I just worked and worked and talked to him. He taught me through all that stuff because at that time he was in the league already and he was like, bro, like this guy, like you can play in the NFL just working at it. Yeah, And it's not that I gave up. It was just like that I didn't grow up thinking like I'm a guy. Yeah, like I'm gonna go to the NFL, like because I knew the odds. I'm an intelligent guy, like I just always knew, like I produced music since I was twelve, I can do this for sure. But once I bounced back from that, I was an All American and everything just started clicking. And with his guidance through that, like he was teaching me about like finances having having to do with training camp, just making ross's saying no.
To people like this, things like that. Yeah.
Like so to have a guy like that that has done it before and he wasn't like a superstar or anything in the NFL. But and he was from Sharlie played for the Panthers actually, so he had a lot of people reaching out to him asking himself. So for him to have those conversations with him, it just prepared me to have better success.
Do you still produce music?
I do?
I figured you Yeah, all right.
What you're gonna give us something we take with us. I mean, like a little you know, something you got in the works. You're just gonna conte some stuff.
I can it is. You got to.
When you go to the house. He in write you to his house and the first thing you do, Hey man, let's go to the man cave.
You got everything you know?
Come on, come on man, Okay, Okay.
For me, I'm gonna beyond. I'm gonna just just to be honest with you. And I would shout out a shout out of God, but I just think, uh, just how I came up and uh just what I had to overcome in life, you know, it just it just I became a strong individual, you know, and you know, just basically had to raise my other siblings and just being that that platform for for my family, just knowing through what I what I've been through, and were never really focused on sports or anything.
Like, but I was.
I was good at it and good to a point where it was other stuff that I was worried about in life and like football or basketball, you know. But an opportunity did present itself from I guess high school and went to a North South game, played both ways and end up getting MVP, and that I had colleges knocking my door. End up going to South picked socc Alina State. And the only reason why I picked Soccrolina State is because all my other friends went there. I was like, shoot, I just go to Soacrolina State. But I ended up going to South Carolina State and it was I met some adversity there where I had two seasons in the injuries. You know, it was just look at him and elbow put me out for the season, and my wrist that put me out for the season. But I was that god that based off of my past experience. You know, I was throwing the vedie and I felt once I always got back up twice. So when I when I came back, and you know, I was able to point for him at a decent level. But I just remember Dann Rooney, he was the head scout or the Steelers at the time. He came down and he came to visit me. I was in the cast as my senior year. He was like, man, I can't see you. I was like, man, but he was just like and it's the first time that I knew that I had a possibility to play in the NFL.
I was looking at.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. He was like, man, I came here just to see you. I was like, yeah. He was like, well, just watching, I ain't too many guys that can do what you're doing. I think you can be a second round draft pick. And after my senior season or whatever the case may be, I got injured a lot my scene because they granted me another year. Only played like in four games with the injury. I picked up seventy pounds in college and went as a dB, came out as the middle linebacker.
Good. Yeah, I didn't even know who starting until we got to college. Didn't even know.
So just banged up with a hamstring injury. With the waiting explosive. Y'all know how y'all know. Yeah, y'all know how that worked. So man, believe it or not, Man, the draft, it was a lock out year.
I think it was twenty eleven like I, yeah, yeah, it was, it was. It was.
It was a lockout year when everything was when the dust settled, I was at home. I ain't get a call from nobody, like nothing. So my agent had moved here to solid the train, so I was training it. Eventually I started, you know, helped working there because obviously the season was passing me bar but I kept myself. I kept being grounded and kept working out and you know, staying in shape. And I think the stiller was lost against Never in the playoffs.
I guess they lost the t Bowl whatever that was a t bow game.
Absolutely right after that game, man, I got a call from you know who. I mean, y'all know how HBCU two seeing any injuries didn't get a call. Yeah, I know that one was fast. But after that, after that, after that, they lost his playoff. The next day, mister Rooney, that same guy that came and said that I was the second round he thought I was the second round draft pick. He called me flew out the pitchbird, and which I'm thinking I'm going on to visit. I ain't know it's gonna be thirteen other guys, but I was I believed in myself and the work that I put in. I was the only guy to leave with a contract day and that's how my NFL Chris started, And I owed out a lot to him, you know, and uh yeah, he was in my corner, so where I'm at now, that's a lot to him for sure.
Yeah, man, that's a that's a beautiful start. I don't think a lot of people know that. I know, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Hey, fellas, man, we appreciate y'all coming on.
I had I had no clue about the the NASCAR, the people getting hit with cars and just I ain't knowing about it.
Man. Yeah, man, you know, you know what. Let's be real, man, Hey, you guys are great. You pour it into us. Man.
He was right, like, man, it's been a long day, but man, it could have been ended more beautiful. You guys are doing great things the way that you guys need to do it, and it's really showing and sharing with us and the rest of the world that watches, you know what I mean.
That gives other outlets.
Other opportunities that we're not just football players like bushit man, we got all education.
I mean, he did go to way. But you know, we're all highly.
Educated, smart people that can accomplish anything we really put our mind to it, especially with the effort and the energy that it takes to play football. Dude, you put that same type of stuff and the building and something else. Dude, it's guy's the limit and I want you to achieve that.
Bush. I want to see you on top of a crew.
See at some point, So either one of you boys that's gonna be bringing back Man, I'm gonna be the jack man.
Yeah, I'll do that. I'll do what's the easiest job. There ain't no easy job. He told you that we'll get you out to the shop. Let me watch a couple of weeks. But the jack Man, jack Man is the coolest guy though. That's what ever, since I don't want from the jack Man. Thing looks really cool though, Lie he finessed. You said you gotta hit any times. I was just like, what does he do.
Want? I started to say too, we're trying to recruit him. Man, you don't tell that story.
Phenomenal.
I do this.
I carry tires cross the workhouse. You're gonna love it. Anything else.
You know, you're gonna weed everybody out who don't want to beat?
Sure you already already?
Look man, hey, I'm Peanut to him and I got room at Harper. He was on his preaching, he was over there. Just you just blessed over a quick sermon. The silver Fox strikes again. Amen, Kim bro JB.
Marshall. We thank you, We appreciate y'all.
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