So you want to be a NASCAR official?

By Doug Kaufman, Special to Turner Sports Interactive
October 3, 2001
9:55 AM EDT (1355 GMT)

We’ve all heard the stories about football referees who are doctors during the week and who show up at the game on Sunday for a few hours of standing in the snow.

NASCAR officials watch each pit stop for infractions.

Or the one about the lawyer who likes being in the spotlight so much that he becomes a basketball referee just to have people in another court listen to every word he says.

Think you could do their jobs? Sure, who couldn’t? It looks so easy on TV.

With a love of the game and a few hours a week, it’s no problem, right?

Think NASCAR officials have it so easy? Think again.

While hanging out at the race track, talking to Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett or Gary Nelson seems like the perfect life for a NASCAR fan, the reality is oh, so different.

Despite what you may believe, NASCAR officials have an incredibly difficult job, with long hours and even longer commutes to the office -- especially when home is in Charlotte, N.C., and the office (for the week) happens to be Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

It’s a job that requires commitment, dedication and flexibility – as well as a degree of mechanical aptitude.

But a job that makes people want to pack up their families and all their belongings and move to Charlotte just for a chance to participate has to be pretty special.

Do you think you have what it takes to be a NASCAR Winston Cup official? Read on…

NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN A WEEK

When you start thinking that you’re working a lot of hours, consider the schedule that Gary Nelson, NASCAR Winston Cup Series Director and officials Brian DeHart and Gene Sanders keep.

Buster Auton is the official in charge of pacing every Winston Cup event.

The first to arrive and the last to leave, from the initial inspections before the first practice to tearing down several cars after the race, officials average four days per week at race tracks.

“It’s a busy weekend, that’s for sure,” DeHart said. “My responsibility is to oversee the inspections and serve as a ‘floater’ in the garage. If there’s a hot spot or someone has a problem, it’s easier for me to talk with a crew chief about something than for an inspector to get tied down and suddenly get behind for the whole day.”

Policeman, teacher, private investigator and referee, officials must wear many different hats and be ready for any job at a race.

“Once we’re sure the drivers and crew understand the layout of the garage and the traffic flow through it, we get to play traffic cop to keep people away from the cars and the teams during practice," DeHart said. "At the same time, we’re still doing inspections as well."

Sanders explained that in addition to his role as an induction system specialist, he adds his expertise to the support races as needed.

“If the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are running, I’ll help out in the garage area or with the race if needed," he said. "During the NASCAR Winston Cup races, I’m a pit road official, assigned to one or two stalls to monitor what happens in the pits.”

Sanders says some of the key things he watches for are:

-- Do teams have only the tires supplied by Goodyear for that weekend’s race?

-- Did only seven crew members come over the wall during a pit stop?

-- Did any of them come over the wall too early? A crew can’t jump the wall until the front end of the car is one full pit stall away from their pit.

“We want it to be as safe a pit stop as we can control so if something happens we can get help immediately,” Sanders said. “Plus, we need to make sure everything is done according to the rules.”

It is in his role as pit road official that Sanders must shoulder both his policeman and judge responsibilities.

“If there is a problem in the pit, we communicate directly with the crew chief and the race control tower," he said."We tell them what the infraction is and what the penalty will be.”

YOU NEVER KNOW ENOUGH

Make no mistake, Sanders and the other officials have the authority to assess penalties as they deem necessary.

Because of this authority, they also have the responsibility to know each of the rules.

“We’re tested constantly on what the infractions are in different scenarios,” Sanders said. “We’re graded on our knowledge and we have to maintain a minimum score in order to work pit road – and that’s the top job during the race.”

There are other duties during a race, of course, including corner workers and garage monitors, but each still needs to have intimate knowledge of the rules. That’s not always an easy task.

“I do this seven days a week, but this sport we’ve created is just moving so fast it’s hard to keep up all the way around," DeHart said. "Teams continue testing and there’s always something changing, so we have a need for continuing training.”

A team’s performance on the race track is not just intended to be a show for the fans. It is during on-track research and development that DeHart said some of the most exciting ideas come to light.

“We’re always learning something new about the parts and systems – so we have to adapt our rules to the new technologies," he said.

Sometimes rule changes are instituted in mid-season, but it is during the winter that the series rule book is reviewed and modified.

“Each winter, a committee gets away and discusses the rule book from cover to cover.” DeHart said. “We’ll discuss problems and debate any new ideas or rules we think should change, and then we’ll come up with the next year’s rule book.

“Then, all the teams get a bulletin that includes the rule changes. But because that often boils down to rules interpretation, we then make a trip to each race shop. We’ll go over every item, discuss every change and make sure that teams know what’s expected of them before they even start building the car.”

THE TOUGHEST JOB YOU'LL LOVE

According to DeHart, there are currently four different categories of NASCAR officials and many opportunities to be involved.

“It just depends on what capacity you want to be in,” he says. “If you want to move up rapidly and become an expert over the whole picture, you’ll need to move to Charlotte and do it every single day.”

The rabid race fan and professional locksmith DeHart chose that route more than 12 years ago, when he decided to move to Charlotte and start knocking on doors. After two years of trying, he finally got his opportunity.

Sanders’ entry into the officiating ranks came about as a result of three decades of teaching auto mechanics at a South Carolina vocational school and a lifetime of dedication to the sport of go-karting.

On the eve of his retirement, he happened to mention his interest in officiating to a fellow karting enthusiast and NASCAR official who helped get him an interview with Nelson.

“Here I was, an old country boy who had never been too many places," Sanders recalled, " ... all of a sudden, I’m standing in Gasoline Alley at the inaugural Brickyard 500!”

Both DeHart and Sanders say that automotive expertise isn’t the most critical part of becoming a NASCAR official. Some mechanical knowledge is needed, but a desire to learn and help the sport grow is more critical.

What’s unique about NASCAR competition, says DeHart, is the emphasis is placed on people, not technology.

“The ability to adapt to changes is so important – that’s what makes it so difficult to win a championship, because every weekend is different," he said.

Think you have what it takes to be a NASCAR Winston Cup official? DeHart reminds you that commitment, a sense of duty and a thick skin are required.

“My job is my life. I love my job and I have no regrets," he said. "But people who are interested in becoming part of our team should remember that nobody is ever going to praise us for doing our job – we’ll always hear criticism. But you have to accept that, knowing you’re doing the best for the sport.”

And in the end, everybody benefits from the efforts of officials.