NASCAR Neighbors
© 2006 Dwight Drum
Story and photos by Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

HOMETOWN RIDE

It's neighbor time. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup FedEx No. 11 Chevrolet driver, Denny Hamlin, grew up in Virginia and so did NASCAR reporter Lindsay Czarniak, but that's not the reason for the "Hometown Ride" title. Hamlin was born in Brandon, Fla., and interviewer Dwight Drum lives in Brandon and hence the connection for Zoomster.com. Incidentally, Czarniak and Drum were born in Pennsylvania. Enough about geography, time to move to speed.

NASCAR Public Relations officials were so kind to arrange a Richard Petty Driving Experience ride for the media during the Busch Series Championship Week at Disney World. More than 30 media members took a fast ride with one of six NBS drivers, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer or Danny O'Quinn Jr. around the one mile Disney track. Some came back with smiles. Some came back sweating and pale. Many were exhilarated.

Lindsay Czarniak, NBC anchor/reporter with the George Michael Sports Machine got a life experience during a RPDE ride with NASCAR Busch Series champion Kevin Harvick. Czarniak had a rare one word response to describe her 130 mph plus ride around the one mile Disney RPDE track…"AWESOME!"

Compare Dwight Drum's lengthy explanation of six fast laps later with Denny Hamlin at the wheel..."AWESOME!"

We may be on to something here. Take heart motorsports drivers, owners and crew chiefs, relax hounded NASCAR winners and point leaders, there is a way to silence relentless media types. Take 'em for a ride!  Please, someone spread this remedy around the garage. Some media folks who loved the speed experience may get more rides and find more one word responses. As for those in the media that did not like the experience; well actually a little silence out of media colleagues may be desirable from time to time.

RIDING SHOTGUN

Actually riding shotgun in a race car isn't the norm, but technology has come a long way to help a fan feel the experience. When watching a NASCAR driver via onboard cameras on TV, the speed seems quite real. A fan sees and almost feels the speed. When watching a NASCAR race at trackside a fan sees and hears speed. If close to the catch fence they also feel the "motor wind" as the cars collectively create a breeze when they zoom by. Big screens show current action and repeat cautions and crashes. Fans can also listen, watch and follow their favorite driver with NEXTEL'S FanView wireless device while in the stands. Fans are close to actually riding shotgun.

Riding virtual shotgun is getting better.

Beginning in 2007 at the Daytona 500 fans will be able to watch an entire race from behind the wheel of their favorite driver as announcers explain flag-to-flag strategy with NASCAR HotPass on DirecTV. Also in 2007 Sirius Satellite Radio will offer 10 driver channels that will combine race broadcast with driver-to-pit-crew chatter. With many new ways to be closer to a driver during a race it might seem like a real shotgun ride. It's close, but it's not everything.

Actually riding shotgun with an experienced NASCAR driver can't get better. Hamlin takes Drum for a ride.

Although it wasn't race time riding shotgun inside an RPDE car on a high-banked mile track with Denny Hamlin at the wheel, it was thrilling. He swiftly got the car up to speed and roared down the straightaway to the corner. From the very start feeling the G's as the car climbed up to the wall was incredible. Hamlin's concentration was as obvious as his skill, but he acted more like he was at a picnic than on the job.

Drum's Nikon D80 took the ride with Hamlin and proved reliable under every mile per hour. For safety reasons the camera was strapped over the helmet and around the Hans device restricting side-to-side positioning.

Drum's quotes:

"I couldn't turn and aim the camera because of the helmet and Hans device so I simply aimed the camera to the left and snapped shots. The Hans device is designed to restrict forward thrust of the head and is attached to the seat framework. Aiming the camera out the front window was effortless but scary at the highest speeds. The contoured seat and belts held my body. Movement is limited for good reasons. The wall comes at you fast. Because I had to hold the camera I couldn't hold on to anything through the turns and speedy straight away runs. Hamlin pushed the car near the wall to get the best speed and give the passenger a chance to feel the ride.

"What a thrill! You see it, hear it, feel it in every virtual way, but until you are in a race car with a pro at the wheel you can't know it. The ride gave me a much better perspective as a motorsports reporter. Hamlin taught me what I could have never known without an actual ride. My special thanks to Denny Hamlin, NASCAR and RPDE.

Denny Hamlin:

    An interview with Denny Hamlin at Disney World

Dwight asked Denny:

What are the best ways to handle success?

"Basically just stay grounded and do that same things that you did, still go to the grocery store, still go to the clubs or wherever you used to go to. And go on back home. To me that grounds me the most is going back home and seeing the same friends and hanging out at the same places that I did years ago."

Focus is important; did you acquire that or bring it with you?

"I don't know. I have ADD so I don't know if I have the exact best focus in the world, but inside that race car I'm definitely a lot different person than what I am outside of it. To me it's just all about you're there to do a job and when I'm racing I give 110 percent all the time. Like I said when it gets draining sometimes you need to step back take a break and go back to do it. For me it's all the effort that you put in. I feel like we did a good job of giving our best effort."

Do race car drivers ever stop learning?

"No I don't think you ever stop learning. Our sport evolves so much. Our sport is like computers, every six weeks there is a shelf life. You might as well start learning on something else, something else. As a driver we've got to learn different things to keep up with that. If you stop learning the field is going to pass you by. You definitely need top stay focused and learn as much as you can."

What advice would you give a young person wanting to be a race car driver?

"Basically it's just sticking with your dreams. For me we went though a big struggle to try to get where we are at, but now it's paying off. It worked out good for us. I don't know, it's just all about opportunities, knocking doors down and see who answers."

Can you compare present challenges to the past challenges of getting here?

"Well, it's a lot easier now that you're here, because your goals are a little bit different but it's very hard to be just a short track guy and try to make it to the NEXTEL Cup Series. There's only 43 spots in America of the best drivers and to be just one amongst thousands in America, it's tough to get in there. Luckily I'm one of those 43 guys now."

Atlanta Motor Speedway Interview:

Do you feel you handle stress and pressure better than the average person?

"I don't know. I think we are just used to it more than the average guy. It's just that we're put in that situation like that all the time. It's just like anything else, you do something enough and you get accustomed to it. To me that's actually what it is. I've learned that pressure is just an opportunity for greatness."

Is there something about your job that fans might misunderstand and you might want to explain the reality to them?

"Not really. Unlike a lot of other sports in racing the fans can get a lot closer than any other sport. They are right in the garage with us and they get to see how we are and they are well aware of our schedule and how tight it is, but we do take time out for fans because without them we wouldn't be here. It's all about making them happy. We try to do the best we can at that."