Telecommuting is the best thing since sliced bread.  No more fighting traffic all the way to the office and all the way home, usually arriving at both locations tired and angry.  No more distractions from the account execs who hold impromptu meetings in the hall outside your cubicle.  No more having to restrain yourself from beating a misbehaving printer into submission.  Do your job without going to work – what a concept!  As long as you have all the equipment and supplies you need, can’t you really do your job anywhere?

NASCAR race teams take this concept to an entirely different level.  They employ massive tractor-trailers to transport the team racecar and gear from track to track from February to November.  Excuse me, racecars.  There are two cars in each hauler – the primary car and a backup.  But the cars occupy less than half of the space in the trailer.  Beneath the cars one will find an astonishing array of tools, parts, uniforms – even entire replacement engines – AND a command center room, where team members gather to monitor weather forecasts, plan raceday strategy or just grab a quick bite. The hauler drivers must have honorary PhD’s in logistics because they are master planners and packers – they know exactly where to find any item in the hauler, right down to each tiny nut, bolt or screw. 

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In the universe of licensed drivers, I am in the extreme minority.  The few. The lucky. The blessed. I’ve been driving for over 20 years and have been in only a few traffic accidents, never suffering significant injury.  When I was 14, I was a backseat passenger in a car that struck a telephone pole hard enough to whip the top half of it across the street.  That one left me with only a red mark on my cheek.  I live in a major metropolitan area, braving a gauntlet of nearly 50 miles of freeway in my daily commute – each direction. Thankfully, I haven’t been in one of those terrible accidents we hear about on the radio several times per rush hour.

NASCAR drivers are not as lucky as I have been.  I’d guess that by the time each of them hit the Sprint Cup circuit, they’ve been in at least one of those multi-car accidents that makes the nightly sports highlight reel.  It’s a simple function of speed, proximity, human error and mechanical failure – eventually, one or more of these factors will cause one car to collide with another.  It happens every race, and we as fans can only watch, wait and hope that when the mangled cars come to rest and the other vehicles are safely beyond, the drivers emerge from twisted metal and walk away.  Read More »

Before I got a job working with our NASCAR sponsorship, I didn’t know very much about the sport and would likely immediately change the channel if it were on TV. Over the years, I’ve learned a great deal and have developed an appreciation for all the hard work and skill demonstrated by teams and drivers that can only be witnessed in person.  The energy and excitement from fans is equal or greater than most other sports in the U.S., making it one of my favorite sporting events to attend.

My role in the NASCAR sponsorship was recently expanded, and I’m now responsible for one of the more notable elements of the sponsorship, the Trackside Services Program.  As the Official Logistics Provider of NASCAR, we have the privilege and responsibility to provide exclusive shipping for customers within the NASCAR garage at all 38 Sprint Cup race event weekends. Check out the infographic below to see more of what we do.

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