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Good wrench Crew chief change will pay dividends for HarvickPosted: Monday March 24, 2003 12:10 PM
Mark my words: Kevin Harvick is going to run a lot better with his new crew chief, Todd Berrier, who was put on his car after Gil Martin was kicked upstairs. It's a chance to test a theory of mine, that owners would be wise, when hiring a new driver, to bring the guy's old crew chief with him. There are so many little things that can affect a car, and most of them can't be described easily with words. It's sort of like describing how ice cream tastes to another person. It takes someone who can understand things that aren't spoken clearly -- like the rest of the Rolling Stones when Keith Richards talks. To me, being able to communicate those incommunicable things is the most important trait in a driver and crew chief. Plenty of guys know how to take care of a car. Much tougher is taking care of a driver. Berrier was Harvick's crew chief for two years in Busch and the pair had eight wins and eight poles, and Harvick won the series' Rookie of the Year Award in 2000 and the championship in 2001. "Having Gil and Todd working together like they did in the Busch Series is the biggest thing I'm excited about with this move," Harvick said. "Gil brings a lot of organization and people skills to the table so he will be helping the GM Goodwrench team streamline everything it has. Todd has come in to open our minds up to trying some different stuff to get this race team turned around." I think it'll be a longstanding relationship, and if it is, we can test another one of my theories: You shouldn't keep a driver and crew chief together for too long. (I've got plenty of theories, most of which are half-baked.) We'll leave that for another day.
Bristol is the track that makes keeping track of the feud watch worthwhile. The vibe was so contentious that before they even went to Bristol the announcers were getting in on the action. Jeff Burton made a comment during the rain delay at Darlington about how driving cars nowadays is so hard. Not so, said Darell Waltrip, who reportedly was peeved at the effrontery of the new guard. At the track, though, things really got fun:
And all Takac ever wanted to do was rock like a madman and have shaggy hair and look undesirable, and now he's in a band where he stands out like a sore thumb for trying to do either. And did you ever see the GGD's Behind the Music? You know how every band has some sort of crisis, be it alcoholism or smack or black ice. The Dolls' biggest problem was Johnny's writer's block. He couldn't write a song. Hey, John Boy, I can't write a song, but you don't hear me blaming writer's block. It's called not having any musical ability. Anyhoo.
I posed a question last week. "Who's the dirtiest driver?" I asked. Jeff Gordon got a lot of votes, but the best response came from Brian Tuttle of Boise, Idaho, who sent a meticulously researched and cogently argued answer, which I will reprint in its entirety because he clearly gave it a lot of thought, and I'd hate to hack any of his words: "I think it has to be Dale Jarrett. "I read in a book a few years ago where he was picked by his fellow drivers as the third roughest driver, behind only Dale Earnhardt and Jimmy Spencer, so I guess now he's probably the second roughest. Of course, rough isn't the same as dirty. There are a few reasons I think DJ is rough AND dirty. "First, he's sneaky about it. He's such a class act off the track. It has to be a shocker to the rookies when the nice guy, father-figure type knocks the hell out of them. "Second, he holds a grudge forever. Case in point, Jeff Gordon. DJ's still mad about when Jeff gave him the bump and run at Loudon, three (maybe four) years ago. We saw it again at Darlington; Jeff's leading the race, and DJ's a lap car, and DJ tries to put him in the fence. He does it every time Jeff Gordon comes near him. I'm not a Jeff Gordon fan, either, so don't go there. "Third, he always escalates. If someone bobbles and gets into the side of the 88 car, they better tighten their belts, because he'll be trying to put them in the wall." My question for you: Kurt Busch. Ridiculously talented and articulate great driver, or snotty punk in a great ride? Of course, if you've got a question on any topic, we'll consider those too.
Texas has always gotten a bad rap. "It's embarrassing for me being from Texas," said Terry Labonte in 1998. "I just want everyone to know that everything in Texas isn't as screwed up as it is at this place." Getting a native Texan to violate the "Don't Mess with Texas" motto (that would in a perfect world for these people adorn our money) ain't easy. It's gotten better in recent years -- better meaning water no flows through the track like a sieve. The quality of racing, though, isn't the best. Not the most thrilling (especially compared to what we've had so far this year), and our more-or-less heretofore this year unspoken of friend, the aero push, will probably come up in conversation. That's always fun. Having said that, there will be more passing that at say, New Hampshire. But starting up front will be important: five of six winners have started in the top 7. (The one who didn't was, of course, Kenseth, who started 31st last year.) I'm half-tempted to pick Ryan Newman again, on my theory that sitting on the pole will come in handy at some point. But how can you pick against Busch at this point? I'll take him. After picking Rusty Wallace, who finished 14th last week, I need someone I know is going to run up front. Wallace's 126-point performance brings me up to 696, which puts me in the top 10, the meat in a veteran sandwich, wedged between Ricky Rudd (8th) and Bobby Labonte (9th).
Mark Bechtel covers NASCAR for Sports Illustrated and SI.com.
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