Steve Letarte: Encouragement Key to Crew Chiefing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
When listening to the in-race audio channel for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, many credit crew chief Steve Letarte with being the consummate cheerleader and encourager for his driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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[/media-credit]While Letarte admits that he is a positive kind of guy, he also credits NASCAR’s most popular driver as being equally encouraging.
“Being positive is not something that I consciously do,” Letarte said. “I think it’s just my personality.”
“Mr. Hendrick is big into personality tests and I’m a green,” Letarte continued. “I normally look at the brighter side of things.”
“They all think it’s a plan or a theory on how we’re going to run the best,” Letarte said. “It’s just who I am and how I work.”
“I’ve always worked this way,” Letarte continued. “I worked the same way with Jeff (Gordon) and Mr. Hendrick decided that I’d work very well with Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) and so far it’s worked out.”
“It’s different for each race car driver but for Dale, I think being upbeat on the radio helps him,” Letarte said. “But there’s a line too. You can’t be a cheerleader with no facts, because that gets old and you kind of see right through it.”
“I think Dale understands that I’m realistic about what I’m talking about and I’m not going to sit there and try to motivate him to do things I don’t think we are capable of doing,” Letarte said. “I think we’ve found a very good line of what’s a realistic goal and then we try to motivate and encourage each other to get to those goals.”
“And it’s worked,” Letarte continued. “Dale’s done a tremendous job in the race car and he’s encouraged us and given us a lot of confidence in ourselves setting up race cars.”
“His driving style suits our cars very well,” Letarte said. “So, overall it’s been a success. It’s still early but so far, so good.”
While Letarte admits that his team owner no doubt purposely paired him with Earnhardt, Jr., he feels that a positive and encouraging crew chief is good for any driver, particularly at NASCAR’s highest level, the Sprint Cup Series.
“It’s good for anybody,” Letarte said. “I always put myself in their shoes.”
“The difference between a crew chief and a race car driver is that I can take a break,” Letarte continued. “I can get down off the pit box and go get a water and relax and take a 30 second break from the race, and they can’t.”
Letarte has indeed learned his encouraging crew chief style from some of the best in the business, from Ray Evernham to Robbie Loomis, both former crew chiefs for four-time champion Jeff Gordon.
“The biggest thing I’ve done is been able to work with so many good motivators and encouragers that I’ve been able to take a piece of all of them,” Letarte said. “Ray (Evernham) was the ultimate motivator.”
“Ray motivated by the fear of not being good enough,” Letarte continued. “Robbie (Loomis) was the opposite. He motivated with the excitement of being good enough.”
“And I try to be somewhere in the middle,” Letarte said. “I want everybody to have enough desire to try and succeed but at the same time be balanced.”
While Letarte works hard to be that consummate encourager and motivator, Letarte admits that he sometimes succumbs to the dark side.
“I’m the guy that everyone has to be careful of because I’m a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Letarte admits. “I’m really, really easy going but when practice or the race starts, I’m really, really not.”
“The guys that have been around me a long time have learned that and they almost go two separate ways because they know,” Letarte continued. “It gets some of the newer employees in trouble because they will come across light-hearted and I’m not light-hearted at that moment.”
Letarte also admits that he has little tolerance for driver to crew chief chatter that in any way is not encouraging or worse yet, berates the team. He acknowledges that his driver may get animated or excited but he would in no way allow his driver to throw the team under the bus.
“I don’t think I would have the tolerance that some of the other crew chiefs have,” Letarte said. “I’m fine with the driver being frustrated and I’m fine with him being animated or disappointed.”
“But I’m not OK with any personal attacks on the race team or anyone on the team,” Letarte continued. “If you put me with a driver like that, we wouldn’t last very long.”
“I handle all my issues behind closed doors,” Letarte said. “That’s how Dale and I handle all our stuff.”
“We close the door and he can say anything he wants to me and I can say anything I want to him,” Letarte continued. “That’s the only way you can move forward.”
With that open communication style, Letarte is most encouraged that his driver, and most important, his team will soon be in Victory Lane.
“I am absolutely hungry for a win,” Letarte said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Victory Lane.”
“Of course, I would like to get to Victory Lane but more than anything else, my driver and these guys deserve to get to Victory Lane,” Letarte said. “I have a group of guys who have stuck with me through the ups and downs. They work tireless hours. They’re the guys that deserve to have that feeling.”
Given that he has not been to the winner’s circle yet this season, to whom does Steve Letarte turn to when he needs a little encouragement? For that, he moves from his driver and race team to his family for encouragement, particularly his children.
“I think having kids has also helped me,” Letarte said. “I have a 5 and 7 year old so maybe I take things a little slower and enjoy it a little more.”
“Family, I think, it puts it all in perspective,” Letarte said. “I remember in 2005 when I took over as crew chief, we went to Martinsville and we won.”
“And I came home and I was so excited and my little boy at the time was not quite two and he could have cared less,” Letarte continued. “He didn’t even realize there was a race that day.”
“I realized at that point that the whole world didn’t revolve around the garage and the whole world didn’t revolve around my performance at the race track,” Letarte said. “And while that’s hard to understand because you’re caught up in it so much, that’s true.”
“Life is way more important than your job,” Letarte continued. “While our jobs here feel like life, and they are, at some point you have to pull away.”
“I think that’s my ticket as I have an outlet outside this garage where I spend time with my kids and my family,” Letarte said. “I realize at that point that the world’s not coming to an end if we run bad.”
“I enjoy my job and I love what I do,” Letarte continued. “I don’t take that for granted. I love to race but I race for a living.”
“At the same time it’s important to be successful and to be successful in this sport, it’s all about having to run well on Sunday afternoon,” Letarte said. “And that’s what Dale Junior and I encourage each other to do.”
Looking at the FedEx 400 through the Rear View Mirror…
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[/media-credit]I’m not sure what to take from this past weekend’s Dover race. We saw pure excitement, and thrill during Saturday’s Nationwide race, but got the complete opposite during Sunday’s running of the FedEx 400. Sunday was dominated predominately by 2 drivers, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards.
Post Race Stats:
Winner: Matt Kenseth (Led 33 laps; 2 tire pit stop at the end put him in a position to win)
Led Most Laps: Jimmie Johnson (Led 207 laps)
Most Improved Driver: Brian Vickers (Marked the 1yr anniversary of his absence from NASCAR, finished P5)
Most Disappointing Driver: Denny Hamlin (Finished P16, can’t seem to get over that “hump”)
For over 75% of the race, I was almost convinced the winner would be either Jimmie Johnson, or Carl Edwards. I kept up with Matt Kenseth’s lap times, and current position on Twitter, and knew he had a really fast car, but didn’t know if he could beat those two. There was a period of time in the beginning when Matt Kenseth drove from his starting position of P24 to P3, before the competition yellow.
With just under 40 laps left in the FedEx 400, drivers were forced to make one last pit stop, and their crews knew they had to remain flawless! Leaders, Johnson and Edwards, took 4 tires thinking it would keep them up front, but Matt Kenseth, and Jimmy Fennig had a different idea. The plan for Kenseth was to take 4 tires, but just before Kenseth entered his pit, he keyed his mic “You sure you don’t want to try 2?” at that very moment, Kenseth said “2 tires, 2 tires”. Fennig gave word to his crew in just enough time for everyone to be on the same page. Kenseth’s final stop was smooth and quick, something the “Killer Bees” take a lot of pride in.
Matt was first off pit road, but lined up just behind Mark Martin, who decided not to pit. Within 2 laps Kenseth worked the inside of Martin to take the lead, and did not look back! About 20 laps left, Joey got really loose right in front of Kenseth, shooting Joey up into the wall. Kenseth said later “I was praying he would get down to the apron, before they flew the yellow, lining up was the last thing I wanted to do at that point!”
Matt has now won twice this year, he is now tied with Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch for 2 wins this season. With 2 wins in this new point system, it almost guarantees the driver a spot in the chase. This race was won not by the “dominant” car, but a “dominant” call made all the difference.
Next up: The Sprint All-Star Race from Charlotte, NC
Until next time- “Let’s go racin’ boys!” – DW
Brad Keselowski – He Protests Too Much?
Brad Keselowski is one of the bright young talents in NASCAR racing. He’s won a Nationwide Series championship and even had a surprise win at Talladega in the Sprint Cup series, but this weekend’s strange behavior makes one wonder about what his agenda really is. Keselowski had a good car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Fed Ex 200 race at Dover International Speedway, but the circumstances of the final laps left him with a crashed race car and a less than stellar finish. What happened next was certainly strange.
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[/media-credit]As the race came down to its conclusion, it was between Carl Edwards and Joey Logano for the win. As is usually the case, late cautions caused the race to go to the two lap green-white-checker finish to settle things. This policy was established a couple of years ago so that fans could always, or nearly always, see a race finish under green flag conditions. Edwards and Logano fought hard to win the race. That is a requirement of their jobs. Edwards got inside of Logano and the driver of the Joe Gibbs Toyota entry seemed to get loose and slide up toward the wall. Edwards got by, but Logano slammed the wall, came back across the track and slammed into Clint Bowyer whose car got on its side and nearly jumped the wall separating the track from the pits. Both cars were junk. Edwards won the race.
Edwards was shaken, deciding to not do his customary back flip. Visibly upset, Edwards stopped to check on Logano and Bowyer and headed to victory lane. Finally, when Edwards was given a taped recording of the final lap, did he settled down. He did not hit Logano. It was hard racing, That wasn’t enough for Keselowski.
In an interview on the telecast, Keselowski, asked to explain what happened in those final laps, said it seemed that Edwards had hit Logano to get past him and win the race. When presented with the evidence that Edwards had indeed not touched Logano, Keselowski went into a long explanation of how aerodynamics can cause a car to get loose and probably that was what Edwards had done to get past Logano. Never mind that this has been done forever. When going for the win, you do what you have to do.
To add insult to injury, those listening to Sirius Radio’s post-race coverage with Claire B. Lang, a caller said Keselowski had tweeted the same thing and that the driver was trying to call it. He finally got through to Lang to go into his long explanation of how fans do not know what happens on the track and how a driver can pass another and not hit them. His caveat that he considered it hard racing and not “dirty” was a veiled attempt to hide his real agenda.
If we go back to the April 26, 2009. Keselowski was in a car owned by James Finch, and as usually is the case, found he in line for the win. He was behind Edwards on the final lap. Edwards blocked Keselowski on the low side and Keselowski, knowing that going lower and across the “yellow line,” drove into Edwards at the end and won the race. Edwards’ car was propelled into the catchfence along the tri-oval and came to earth as a piece of scrap metal. Keslowski was his only Sprint Cup race on that day.
Memories are long and Edwards retaliated against Keselowski in a couple of races, resulting in horrible crashes . At one point, Keselowski’s father, NASCAR veteran, Bob Keselowski, had harsh words for Edwards. Apparently, Keselowski still hasn’t gotten beyond that.
To add insult to injury, Keselowski found Kyle Busch’s actions in the final laps objectional. Busch, in the midst of the storm on that final run, ran into Keselowski. Keselowski found objection with that, saying that he “owed Busch one.” Keselowski not only headed to his Twitter account to state his point of view, which is refreshing and wonderful, he took the media to task, saying that they had no right to say Edwards was not at fault in his skirmish with Logano and that there weren’t really good people in the television booths (he said that wasn’t the case with radio, meaning NASCAR’s MRN). In others words, they didn’t agree with him.
Me thinks Brad protests too much. It’s time for him to realize that some things just happen in racing, especially on the last lap with the win on the line. He should know. He must have forgotten that day in April two years ago, but my father always told me that those things are always lost from the memory bank. Keselowski is young and he is learning. I hope.,
HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE GOODYEARS AT DOVER
During the NASCAR weekend at the Dover International Speedway, the final outcome of the Sprint Cup race was determined by the number of Goodyear tires the teams used during their final pit stops. The Nationwide Series event ended with a violent crash that made the speedway’s official mascot, Miles The Monster, smile and the Camping World Truck Series race was about a familiar winner and his standard practice of generating new career numbers. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:
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[/media-credit]HOORAH to driver Matt Kenseth, crew chief Jimmy Fennig and Roush Fenway Racing for winning last Sunday’s Fed Ex 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks. The event marked the team’s second win of the season, their second win in five races this year, their second win at Dover and Kenseth’s 20th career win.
HOORAH to Kenseth and Fennig for the last second tag team decision to only take two tires, during what turned out to be the final pit stop of the race, when the other race contenders opted to take four tires. The result was excellent track position for the restart that led to a 2.1 second margin of victory. It turned out that Goodyear Tires, and the number of them selected on pit road, would play a huge factor in the outcome of this race.
HOORAH for Mark Martin and his crew chief Lance McGrew. Feeling like they had nothing to lose, they chose to gamble on zero Goodyears to put their car into the lead. with a little over 30 laps left in the race. The result was the second place finish this team badly needed.
The popular opinion, especially with the television broadcast analysts, was to take four Goodyears during this final stop. WAZZUP with that option not working? This was especially true of Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson who were major players in this race. After leading 117 of 400 laps, Edwards had to settle for a seventh place finish. Johnson, who led 209 laps, wound up with a disappointing ninth place finish. The good news here is the fact that Edwards and Johnson were able to maintain their one-two status in the points standings.
WAZZUP with Clint Bowyer and his crew chief, Shane Wilson, who felt the sting from both the two and four tire pit options? During a lap 40 competition yellow, Wilson called for a two tire stop which turned out to be a disaster. Bowyer nearly fell a lap down to leader Johnson in the aftermath of the move. However, adjustments by Wilson, during ensuing stops, allowed his driver to become a contender who led 29 laps late in the race. Not wanting to get stung by a two tire stop again, Wilson chose four tires on the final pit road appearance but the best Bowyer could make of it was a sixth place finish.
What was the major difference here? It appears that the rubber worn into Dover’s concrete surface, by the late stages of the race, allowed the additional grip needed for Martin and Kenseth to get away with their zero and two Goodyear calls.
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WAZZUP with Stewart-Haas Racing and their overall ineffectiveness during the Dover Cup race? Efforts to come up with the adjustments needed for Tony Stewart’s Chevrolet were totally ineffective. Adding insult to injury was a pit stop where very little gas wound up inside of the car’s tank. This miserable night ended with Stewart finishing 29th a whopping six laps down. The news wasn’t much better for the Stewart-Haas Racing second team, driven by Ryan Newman, who finished 21st two laps down.
During the course of his long night in Dover, Stewart came over the radio and said “I’ve got no @#%&ing confidence in our team right now.”
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HOORAH to driver Brian Vickers, and his Red Bull Racing Toyota team, for their fifth place finish in Sunday’s Cup race. This badly needed strong finish provided some strong emotions for Vickers. This time last year he was in a hospital, being treated for a very serious blood clot condition and subsequent heart surgery, that had him wondering if his racing career was over.
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HOORAH to Carl Edwards for winning last Saturday’s 5 Hour Energy 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series at Dover. The Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver led a dominant 87 of the 209 laps. The event marked Edwards’ 32nd series win and moves him to fourth on the series’ all time win list.
WAZZUP with that horrific accident that followed the green-white-checker restart in this race? Heading towards the checkers, Joey Logano’s Toyota tagged the front stretch wall and slid into Clint Bowyer who was driving a Kevin Harvick owned Chevrolet. Bowyer’s car went into the air, landed on its side and then slammed hard into the inside wall. Fortunately, the mandated safety equipment did its job and Bowyer was uninjured.
The same could not be said for Glen Wheeler, a Kevin Harvick Inc mechanic. WAZZUP with this crew member being stuck by a flying coil spring from the impact of the Bowyer’s wreck? Wheeler sustained severe swelling in his left leg from the hit and had to be taken to a local hospital. The next morning he was released and allowed to fly home to North Carolina where he will continue medical evaluation.
HOORAH to race winner Edwards for declining to perform his traditional post race back flip because he thought he may made some form of contact with Logano to cause this terrible wreck.
HOORAH to the ESPN camera man who caught all of the action and clearly proved that Edwards did not touch Logano’s car and was, in no way, not responsible for this wreck.
HOORAH to the ESPN camera, mounted on top of the Bowyer car, that survived the majority of this wreck so we could all see this action from a breathtaking view.
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WAZZUP with the amazing circumstances of a lap 87 wreck, in the Nationwide Series event, that ruined the racing audition of Roush Fenway Racing’s Kevin Swindell? Alex Kennedy lost control of his car and crashed into the inside back stretch wall. Kennedy wanted to get his car back to pit road as quickly as possible for possible repairs. During that effort he pulled an ill advised and timed U turn and drove directly into the path of the Swindell car who was unfortunately slammed hard into the wall.
Swindell was subbing for Roush Fenway driver Trevor Bayne who has been out of action due to illness. It was a golden opportunity for the young driver to shine before team owner Jack Roush in hopes of advancing his career as a NASCAR development driver. Instead he was sidelined in an incident that was widely regarded as senseless. NASCAR agreed and summoned both Kennedy and his spotter to their official trailer for an official conversation.
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HOORAH to Kyle Busch for winning the Lucas Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Dover Friday night. The event marked Busch’s 27th series win, his third win of the season and his second truck win at Dover.
Busch’s stats in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series are simply amazing. He has 96 wins in all three series including ten wins this year: five in the Nationwide Series, three in the Camping World Truck Series and two in the Sprint Cup Series.
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In our final comments this week HOORAH to Ricky Stenhouse Jr, driver of the #16 Ford, for Roush Fenway Racing, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Stenhouse donated his share of the team’s prize money, during Friday’s Nationwide race, to the Mississippi Flood Relief.
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Another HOORAH goes to Carl Edwards and his fellow Roush Fenway Racing employees for coming to the aid of one of their own. Back on April 8th, Edwards won the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at the Nashville Super Speedway. With that came the traditional speedway trophy: a Gibson electric guitar custom painted by famed NASCAR artists Sam Bass.
In the days that followed that win Roush Fenway Racing was shocked to learn of the death of one of their own, Jonathan Bunting, who tragically died in an auto accident leaving behind his wife and two children. Edwards wanted to help the family and set up a special online auction with the Nashville guitar as the grand prize. The bidding concluded a month later and the guitar, along with a special one of a kind sketch donated by Sam Bass, raised $20,400. The worthy cause was helped by an additional $30,000 plus from donations from RFR employees, drivers and their sponsors.
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The final WAZZUP of the week goes to NASCAR Nationwide Series development driver Ryan Truex for making the monumental mistake of admitting one of his special fears on live television. During an interview on the SPEED Channel, Truex admitted that he was seriously afraid of spiders. I hope he’s ready for what’s coming down the line. You know it’s going to be a short amount of time before some merry garage prankster plants a rubber spider inside of his racing helmet. Don’t be too surprised if Dale Earnhardt Jr is the first to make this move because this type of fun is right up his alley.
