Rookie Stripe: NASCAR Haulers - The Hub of the Race Team
NASCAR haulers lined up Photo credit: Logan Stewart for Skirts and Scuffs |
A few days before a Saturday or Sunday NASCAR Sprint Cup race, they start rolling in to the track. Side by side they’ll line up on the track infield with a punctilious precision -- titanic in size but separated by mere feet. Splashed in bright bold colors, these gargantuan 18-wheelers proudly display racing numbers and glossy, larger-than-life images of drivers.
These are the NASCAR haulers, also known as transporters, and their role in racing is so important that teams couldn’t function without them.They're responsible for transporting two stock cars, tools and equipment and engines to every race. Each hauler is a race shop, workspace, team home base, kitchen, staging area and storage facility all compacted into one, and carries thousands of items that must be replaced, repaired or cleaned after each weekend race. Talk about work behind the scenes.
If race car drivers are considered heroes in NASCAR, a hauler driver certainly deserves some credit: he will drive the shop on wheels to tracks across the United States 38 weeks a year, following extraordinarily synchronized schedules where fine details are as important as high speed.
Inside a NASCAR hauler Photo Credit: Logan Stewart for Skirts and Scuffs |
Driving a NASCAR hauler is no job for a rookie. Haulers are incredibly complex vehicles that can cost around $500,000, and it’s easy to see why they’re so pricey. Here are some of their major components:
Lift gate – The electric or hydraulic rear door of the transporter is designed to be quickly raised and lowered as needed and help lift and lower the two race cars that are stored in the upper car bay of the hauler. Just underneath the lift gate are steps and double doors leading into the hauler, with windows so crew inside can see out when the doors are closed.
(Insider’s note: Yes, the pit crew do peep out the windows to see what’s going on in the infield or garage area.)
Work area – Just inside the double doors is a narrow hallway that may not look like much upon first glance, but cabinets, drawers, lockers are stacked and loaded with thousands of essential tools and gear. It’s reminiscent of apartments in a big city, where space is at a premium and every inch is utilized to the max. In this area is everything a pit crew would need to work in a regular race shop, and they efficiently pack all of this into one narrow space. In this tightly-packed corridor you’ll also find pit crew lockers, a kitchen with coffeemaker and storage, a microwave, refrigerator, computer storage and equipment, transmission storage, team uniforms and several counter tops built against the trailer wall.
(Insider’s note: Most teams with a food and beverage sponsor have plenty of snacks or drinks on hand in the haulers from that sponsor.)
Inside a NASCAR hauler Photo credit: Logan Stewart for Skirts and Scuffs |
(Insider’s note: Some drivers use the lounge as a changing room, though Danica Patrick’s hauler features a separate changing room just for her.)
NASCAR hauler lift gate and rear doors Photo credit: Logan Stewart for Skirts and Scuffs |
Featherlite, the official trailer of NASCAR, calls haulers “the nerve center of the modern race team”, and they truly are.
When you’re on the interstate, keep your eyes peeled. You never know where you might see one of the giants of NASCAR, rolling along to its next destination.
Photo credit: Logan Stewart for Skirts and Scuffs |
More about haulers:
Inside a NASCAR Transporter – NASCAR.com
NASCAR Hauler 6-Hour Wrap in One Minute (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Life of a NASCAR Hauler Driver – thetrucker.com
Rookie Stripe: NASCAR Haulers - The Hub of the Race Team
Reviewed by Logan Stewart
on
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Rating:
What a great article Logan Stewart. So muc wonderful information.you see these big haulers, but have no idea just what is indie them. , and I think it's awesome that you recognize the drivers of these big haulers. They often don't get the recognition they deserve and let's face it without the race cars there'd be no races. Thanks again for a great piece.
ReplyDeleteWednesday afternoon, one of NASCAR's hottest young rookies got a lesson from one of NASCAR's best on how to get around the track they call 'Too Tough To Tame.' Scheduled to make his first career start at the famed Darlington Raceway in just a few weeks, Joey Logano enlisted the help of the legendary Cale Yarborough.
ReplyDeleteInside the NASCAR hauler is looking awesome. Huge secure space in this unique trailers. I think to drive this hauler you need to have an expert heavy car trailers driver. Need careful for the time of its service.
ReplyDeletechristian louboutin shoes
ReplyDeletemichael kors handbags wholesale
denver broncos jerseys
skechers shoes
christian louboutin outlet
abercrombie and fitch
cheap oakley sunglasses
oakley sunglasses wholesale
cheap mlb jerseys
cincinnati bengals jerseys
adidas superstar
ReplyDeletecheap rolex watches
tiffany and co uk
kobe shoes
michael kors outlet
jordan shoes
adidas tubular
timberland outlet
adidas ultra boost black
nike air zoom
gucci outlet online
ReplyDeletetory burch outlet
oakley sunglasses
the north face jackets
michael kors outlet store
oakley sunglasses sale
ray ban sunglasses
swarovski outlet
cheap nhl jerseys
true religion jeans
chanyuan12.27
louis vuitton outlet
ReplyDeletemichael kors outlet
nike air huarache
lululemon outlet
kevin durant shoes
ferragamo shoes sale
cheap jordans free shipping
bottega veneta outlet
asics
fitflops sale clearance
20161229caihuali
vans store
ReplyDeleteair jordan shoes
kobe 9 shoes
converse outlet
nike air max
ray ban glasses
kd 7 shoes
nike trainers uk
le coq sportif usa
michael kors outlet online
2017.4.13chenlixiang
Your work here on this blog has been top notch from day 1. You've been continously providing amazing articles for us all to read and I just hope that you keep it going on in the future as well. Cheers! TRASH REMOVAL NEAR ME
ReplyDelete