Sam at work during a UPS pit stop

Sam Gibson is the front tire carrier for the No. 6 UPS team. Before leaving for Talladega, Sam took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport?

I knew a friend working for a different team that got me a job in 2000. Five years later, I started at Roush with the No. 6 Truck. From there, I moved over to the No. 17 Nationwide team before moving up to the No. 6 Cup team.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team?

My favorite part would probably be the traveling and getting to see different parts of the country.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week?

During the week I work in the shop tearing down cars, building suspensions, puttin in motors, and have pit crew practice.  When I’m not working I enjoy just relaxing and hanging out and going to the movies.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?

Once I get to the track, I prep the tires for the race, get them to the pit box, lay them all out, and clean them. After all my work is done, I help anyone else out that may need it.

What are you responsible for during the actual race?

I’m the front tire carrier

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend?

It’s a restrictor plate track where I a lot can happen fast, but David runs really well there.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing?

I would probably be a chef at a restaurant or working at an auto dealership.

Where did you grow up?

Boone, NC

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend?

On off weekends, I go to the lake to go surfing.

Something interesting about yourself?

I enjoy yoga even though the guys make fun of me about it.

Favorite Movie: Any Vince Vaughn movie

Favorite TV Show: Californication

Favorite Cartoon as a Kid: Curious George

Favorite Pizza Toppings? Greek pizza

Favorite Place to Eat? Fusion Bowl

Favorite Music: Dave Matthews, Metallica, Korn, Chevelle

Sam during pre-race with the rest of the UPS team

TJ stretching in the UPS pit

TJ Hamilton is the rear tire carrier for the No. 6 UPS team. TJ took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport?

I took a welding class in high school. After I graduated, Roush needed someone to be a welder, and I got the job.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team?

The adrenaline that comes with it.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team?

The PBR Bull Riding Event. The riders came to the shop and learned about what we do in the pits.

What’s your normal ‘run of show’ during the week?

It is always really busy in the shop.  Sunday is the big race day, typically. Monday is the resting day, and on those days, I love taking naps with my dog. On Tuesdays I try to make it up to the lake after work and do a little surfing. Wednesdays I hangout with my 11-year-old daughter, Makayla.  After that, the race cycle starts all over again.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?

At the track, my main responsibility is cleaning tires and getting them ready to race.

What are you responsible for during the actual race?

During the race, I am in the pits as a tire carrier. The adrenaline you get from the race gets you focused and you can’t think of anything else but what you have to do during the next pit stop.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing?

I think flying fighter jets would be pretty cool.

Where did you grow up?

Greensboro, NC

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend?

Go to the lake for wakeboarding and surfing.

Something interesting about yourself?

I am very superstitious.

Favorite movie: Rudy, Rocky Movies (except the last one), and of course, Days of Thunder

Favorite TV Show: I don’t really watch TV.

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Transformers

Favorite pizza toppings? Ham

Favorite place to eat? Mexican

Favorite music: Country

TJ during a UPS pit stop

Jerel at work with Shelton in the UPS pit

Jerel Dawson is pit support and a fabricator for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading to New Hampshire for this weekend’s race, Jerel took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? I’m originally from Athens, GA and my family has always been involved in racing, so I’ve always been around race cars. I was a Police Officer for eight years back in GA and then moved to North Carolina four years ago for a job at Roush. I started out as a fabricator in the truck shop and then moved over to the Cup shop last November. This is my first season traveling with the No. 6 Cup car.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Making a living doing what I want to do.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Traveling and seeing places I haven’t seen before.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? 90 percent of my time is spent doing finish fab on Nationwide cars and about 10 percent is working on the Cup cars.  (Finish Fab = Fabricating all parts and pieces on the car before it goes to the mechanics for final assembly)

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Help set up the pit box and prepare wheels and tires for the race.

What are you responsible for during the actual race? Running tires and helping the tire specialist.

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? New Hampshire is close to Boston and the Red Sox. Since we are Roush Fenway Racing, it’s cool to have the association with the Red Sox and all the extra fans that cheer for us up North.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Auto Restoration

Where did you grow up? Athens, GA

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Work on home projects and spend time with the family.

Favorite movie: Cool Hand Luke

Favorite TV Show: I don’t watch much TV, but on occasion, I catch it and like Ghost Hunters

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Tom and Jerry

Favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni, Sausage and Banana Peppers

Favorite place to eat? Any good BBQ restaurant

Favorite music: Metallica

Jerel and the rest of the UPS pit crew getting ready for a stop

Bill in his mobile office

Bill Peters is the transporter driver for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading to Bristol for this weekend’s race, Bill took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? A friend called and needed a truck driver for the No. 43 Nationwide team. I stepped in to help and have been in the sport ever since. I’ve had a bunch of jobs at various teams, but I’ve been at Roush now for four years

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Meeting the fans

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Going to a Red Sox game

What’s your normal ‘run of show’ during the week? Restocking the hauler and making sure that everything is ready for the race weekend

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Maintain a clean trailer, cook for the team throughout the weekend and help during practice with anything that is needed

What are you responsible for during the actual race? Getting the truck and trailer ready to go home

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Every year at the second Bristol race there is a hauler parade. All the haulers drive through downtown Bristol and fans line the street to see all of us on our way to the track. I’ll have a Make-A-Wish kid riding along with me again this year

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Parts manager for an auto parts store

Where did you grow up? Ocala, FL

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Riding my four-wheeler

What is something interesting about yourself? I love being outdoors

Favorite Movie: Stripes

Favorite TV Show: Two and a Half Men

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: Scooby Doo

Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni

Favorite Place to Eat? Olive Garden

Favorite Music: Bob Seger

Bill keeps the UPS team moving throughout the season

Donna: No. 6 UPS Scorer

Donna Jones works as the scorer for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading up to Watkins Glen for this weekend’s race, Donna took some time to talk with UPS Racing about her job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? My husband was working for another team in Sprint Cup so when the chance to join him on raceday arose here I am.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Getting to see different parts of the country and meeting the great fans of our sport.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? During the week I have another career I show up on raceday.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? When I get to the track I just help our truckdriver cook for all the guys then I have to be in the scorer’s stand at least 1 hour before the race starts.

What are you responsible for during the actual race? During the race my job is to count the laps our UPS Ford makes electronically and manually for a backup. Then after the race I get a points rundown for Jimmy (crew chief).

Where did you grow up? Greensboro NC.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Hang out at the beach.

Something interesting about yourself? I have a knack to make people smile.

Favorite Movie? Youngblood

Favorite TV Show: Law and Order

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: Scooby Doo

Favorite Pizza toppings? Pepperoni Hamburger and extra Cheese

Favorite place to eat? Arigatos Japanese Steakhouse

Favorite music? Country

Justin removing a tear-off during a UPS pit stop

Justin Hines works as the engine tuner for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading up to Indianapolis for this weekend’s race, Justin took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

About your job: I am responsible for tech. inspection, maintenance and tune-up of the engine throughout a race weekend.

How did you get into the sport? I always enjoyed racing and trying to make my own cars better and faster. I started with Roush back in Michigan in 1994. I was in the body shop first and then moved to the engine department. In 1999 I started traveling as the engine tuner on the No. 99 truck with Mike Bliss. In 2003 I moved to North Carolina and was with Biffle in his rookie season, then have been with the No. 6 car the last three years.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? The personal satisfaction you get after working hard and getting good results.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Going to Fenway Park

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? Working at the shop during the week and spending as much time with family as I can.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?  Help unload the hauler, set-up garage area, get the engine inspected, work on engine during practice and complete a series of checklists to get the car ready for the race. 

What are you responsible for during the actual race?  I am the eighth man over the wall for pit stops, which involves window tear off and giving the driver a drink.

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? High profile race

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Something hands-on

Where did you grow up? Michigan, Garden City

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Spend time with family

Something interesting about yourself? I like to hunt and fish

Favorite Movie: Old School

Favorite TV Show: Family Guy, King of Queens

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: Bugs Bunny

Favorite Pizza toppings? Sausage and pepperoni

Favorite Place to eat? Carabbas

Favorite Music: Anything rock & roll

Justin's special decorations in his tool box during the July 4th race in Daytona

Shelton in action

Shelton McCall works as Pit Support and the 2^nd Gas Can Man for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading up to Chicagoland for this weekend’s race, Shelton took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? I got into the sport through welding. I was in school at Guilford Tech in Greensboro, NC for Industrial Maintenance when I took a welding class and really enjoyed it. I switched to welding as a major and through that I met my supervisor here at Roush who got me the job. I’ve been with Roush since August of 2005.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Definitely the traveling and having a cool new sponsor like UPS on board this year.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? Building COT frames and tail clips

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend?  Setting up the pit area

What are you responsible for during the actual race? I’m the second can man. So during the stop the gas man Jason goes over the wall with the first can of fuel, and I’m there with the second to hand over to him.

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Nothing really significant about Chicago, but Saturday night races are always cool.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Driving a truck

Where did you grow up? Raeford, NC

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Ride motorcycles and spend time with my family

Favorite Movie: Life

Favorite TV Show: House of Payne

Favorite Cartoon as a kid: Bugs Bunny

Favorite Pizza toppings? Meat Lovers

Favorite Place to eat? Outback or Bonefish

Favorite Music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Rap and Hip Hop

Shelton getting ready for a UPS pit stop

Justin during a UPS pit stop

Justin Coble is a Fabricator and Fuel Runner for the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading up to Michigan for this weekend’s race, Justin took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? I went to fabrication school and once I finished that I started working at Roush, I’ve been here three years now.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Traveling is definitely the most fun part of being part of the team.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Just being part of the team is pretty cool.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? During the week I work at the shop building chassis’s. Mainly, I work on the Cup chassis, but sometimes I help out with Nationwide and Truck, too.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? I help get the pit box and crash carts setup for the race. 

What are you responsible for during the actual race?  Running fuel

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Michigan is the hometown of Roush and Ford so it’s a fun track to race at. Plus, David runs well there.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Building hot rods or working in an auto body shop somewhere.

Where did you grow up? Greensboro, NC

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Be out on the lake

Favorite movie? Dark Night

Favorite TV Show? Two and a half Men

Favorite cartoon as a kid? Ninja Turtles

Favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni and Mushrooms

Favorite place to eat? Outback

Favorite  music? (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Country and especially Jason Aldean

Justin in team photo when Miss USA visited the No. 6 hauler in Charlotte

Jason Riggs in UPS pit

Jason Riggs is the Gas Man for David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team. Jason took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job with Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? A friend introduced me to a guy he knew that had a late model stock car that raced at Hickory Motor Speedway back in 1998. He asked me to help with the car even though I didn’t know a thing about what I was doing, and things just grew from there.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Pit stops and being part of a crew dedicated to being the best on pit road every time we are asked to do our job.  

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? It’s a toss-up between David taking us on a hunting trip at the end of last season down in Georgia and meeting Miss USA Kristen Dalton at this year’s Charlotte race.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? My job during the week is doing occupational therapy in Boone, N.C. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I practice and workout at the race shop on Wednesday. I help my best friend, Chris Phipps, with his late model stock car on Friday nights.  Saturday is for washing clothes, cutting the grass and getting my stuff ready to race on Sunday.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Help set-up the pit box, clean/prep wheels, clean and organize what I need to fuel the car during pit stops. I also help to clean the garage and be available for anything else that may need to be done. I also help tear everything down and put it away after the race.

What are you responsible for during the actual race? Make sure the car is full of fuel, that adjustments are made, and occasionally pull tires if needed and make sure the fuel weights are correct so the engineer can accurately figure our fuel mileage.

Jason during a UPS pit stop

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Every weekend is significant. Every weekend we want to be the best on pit road, the best on the track and at the end of the day be in victory lane with a trophy on the hood of the UPS Ford.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Occupational therapy during the week and on the weekends golfing and fishing.

Where did you grow up? Born and raised in the great state of West Virginia. I went to high school in Washington D.C. and college in North Carolina.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Spend time with my boy, Joshua Peyton Riggs, golfing and fishing.

Something interesting about yourself? I can sing! The guys on the team ask what I did with the money for lessons, but I can sing!

Favorite movie: Gladiator or Tombstone

Favorite TV Show: Northern Exposure

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Tom and Jerry

Favorite  pizza toppings? Everything but anchovies

Favorite place to eat? Cattleman’s in Fort Worth Texas

Music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Dave Matthews Band, Country Roads by John Denver

Sean Studer is the Shock Specialist for David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team. Sean took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job with Roush Fenway Racing.

Sean at work at Roush Fenway Racing

How did you get into the sport? My father was involved in the sport; he did sponsorship for Junior Johnson. So I guess you can say I grew up in the sport. In 1990, I started racing Local Late Models, which went on until 2003. Then I went on to the NASCAR All-Pro Touring Series for 2 years, from there I went into the Busch Series part-time, and also ran in the Hooters Pro Cup for 3 years. I started here at Roush Fenway Racing in December of 2005, and since have worked my way through the Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and to the Sprint Cup Series.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR Team? I would have to say my favorite part about being apart of a NASCAR Team would have to be the fact that I am always learning new things about the car’s technology. I already knew about a lot of the cars, the parts, and the way everything works together because I did a lot of work on my car when I raced.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since becoming a member of the No. 6 team? The coolest would have to be the Red Sox Baseball Game the team got to go to!

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? Simply, creating new builds for the following week, collecting post-race data on used parts from the previous weekend, and pretty much whatever else the crew chief asks. This could be a number of things!

Sean at work during a UPS pit stop

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Race weekend responsibilities would consist of me attending to and caring for all shocks, and bump stops. And again, doing whatever is required by the crew chief or engineer.

What are you responsible for during the race? During the actual race I place the left front tire on the wall during the pit stops, and assist with any damage to the car.

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Hey, it’s Charlotte, we’re right at home, we want to win at home, and everyone knows David has good runs at Lowe’s.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? If I weren’t in NASCAR I would probably be in the food industry, most likely somewhere along the lines of retail sales. That was another thing my father did as well, so I grew up with the knowledge and understanding of that industry.

Where did you grow up? I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, from there I lived in Omaha, Nebraska, and then in the spring of ‘92, I moved to where I currently live, which is Salisbury, North Carolina.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? My favorite thing to do on an off weekend is to spend time with the wife! I have a hectic schedule at times so it’s always great to put the time in at home. We love to travel to the Caribbean when we have the time.

Something interesting about yourself? Interesting about myself?? I would have to say that I am very competitive, which makes sense because you pretty much have to be in this business. I want to be the best at what I do; I refuse to have it any other way.

Favorite movie: Cannonball Run, if you haven’t seen it, it is a must see. Put it on your list!

Favorite TV Show: House

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Gi-Joe…Gotta love them

Favorite pizza toppings: Nothing tops a pizza like pepperoni, hamburger, and cheese

Favorite place to eat: Olive garden

Favorite music: I like to listen to hip-hop, Nickelback, and Shinedown…I’m a little open when it comes to music

Toby

Toby Whealdon is the spotter/mechanic for David Ragan and the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading out for the race in Richmond this weekend, Toby took some time to talk with UPS Racing about his job with Roush Fenway Racing.

Toby and the UPS team

How did you get into the sport? My first job in motorsports came at a local short track back home in Virginia, around 1990. I had been working with Roush Fenway Racing part-time for four years, but I am now in my second season as a full-time guy here at RFR. 

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Well, it’s definitely not the traveling! The actual racing is my favorite thing. I can’t describe how it feels to go a whole week with so many different things on your mind, and then showing up to a race and having all your problems go away and your adrenaline gets pumping, and for those few hours, there is nothing but the race to worry about. It is truly an amazing feeling to go racing. 

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team? Well, I haven’t been with the No. 6 team too long but I’d have to say having my first job spotting for them at Daytona is pretty special to me.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? During the week I fulfill my role as mechanic.  This involves me working predominantly with the final assembly of the car.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? One of the first things I must do, as spotter, is check and double-check our radios and the cables we use. Once I get my spotter duties completed I try and help out with the car in any way I’m needed. I am a very busy person when we’re trackside because I spot for two teams. Our UPS car and also the No. 6 in the Nationwide Series.

What are you responsible for during the actual race?  The most important thing I do is keep the driver and car safe. You could say I’m ‘the eye in the sky’; I try to pass on any information that could be helpful. Like giving updates and making sure the guys know when pits are coming up.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? I would be a mechanic for a dealership somewhere.

Where did you grow up? Virginia Beach, VA.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend?  Without a doubt, spending time with my family takes priority on any off-weekend. 

Something interesting about yourself? I love to go fishing.

Movie:  Wedding Crashers, Something About Mary…anything that will bring a laugh.

TV Show: King of Queens, Two and a Half men

Cartoon as a kid: Smurfs

Pizza toppings? My favorite is garlic chicken pizza.

Place to eat? I love Sushi.

Music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Country and Rock. I listen to a lot of Gary Allen, I think he is probably the best o ut there right now.

Shane Wood is the Catch Can Man on the No. 6 UPS team. Before heading out for this weekend’s race in Phoenix, Shane spent some time talking to UPS Racing about his job at Roush Fenway Racing.

Shane keeping track of fuel

How did you get into the sport? I started in a motorsports program in Greenville, S.C., now I’ve been in the sport for three years and really enjoy what I do.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? Going over the wall; the pit stops are my favorite. I also love working on the cars on a daily basis.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team?  Finishing fifth in our first-ever Daytona 500 was by far one of the coolest things.

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? At the shop I work on the race chassis; building, fixing and implementing new engineering ideas for all our teams here at Roush. All the Cup, Nationwide and Truck chassis come through my area. Sometimes we work on brand new chassis and sometimes we fixed damaged ones. Being an over-the-wall guy I have “pit practice” three days a week and lift four days a week on top of my normal responsibilities.    

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? I’m in charge of all our equipment at the track. I set up pit road, prep tires for the race and have everything organized and ready to go in case of a crash during the race. Jimmy (Fennig) holds me responsible for being prepared for any and all situations that may happen during the race. 

What are you responsible for during the actual race? I’m the catch can man, which basically the catch can itself catches the overflow of fuel. NASCAR implemented the catch can position as a safety measure. I also make about 75% of the adjustments on the racecar during the actual race.  

Anything significant about the upcoming weekend? We’ve had some good and back luck at Phoenix in the past. A couple years ago our front tire carrier got injured on a stop and was out for a while, but now he’s good and back with the team as pit support. Phoenix just has a fun atmosphere because it’s a Saturday night race in the desert. 

What is your favorite track: Richmond is my favorite track.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? Metal Fabrication

Where did you grow up? Greenville, SC.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Fish or hunt depending on the season.

What is something interesting about yourself? My favorite thing to do is spend time with my wife and six year old boy. It doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we’re together.

Favorite TV show: The deadliest Catch.  I’ve met those guys a few times at the track and they are really cool.

Favorite cartoon as a kid: Bugs Bunny

Favorite pizza toppings?  All Pizza.  Favorite food is any kind of beef.

Favorite place to eat?  Joel’s  Asian Grill in Mooresville, NC

Favorite music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Hard Rock- Metallica

Martinsville pit stop

David Goley is a mechanic on David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion team. Before he left for Texas this week, David took some time to talk with UPS Racing about being part of the No. 6 team at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport? I used to race go-karts up North where I grew up and moved down here to get a job in racing. I was working on a truck team, but it closed down in December of 2006 and a friend here at Roush helped me get started over here and I’ve been here every since.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? My favorite part has definitely got to be the traveling. You get to see different parts of the country and twice a year I can get back home to New Hampshire to visit family while I’m there working. Being from New Hampshire I was a really big Red Sox fan growing up, and now being affiliated with them with Fenway is a really cool thing.

Measuring Tire Wear

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week? Back at the shop I work on interiors, anything electrical in the car and overall car assembly.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? At the track I’m a mechanic. I help get the car through the tech lines and set it up for practice and the race. I’m also the guy in charge of the interior stuff at the track, like making sure everything is set for David. Everything from making sure his helmet is there and wired up, radio in the car, earpieces, water bottles…etc.

What are you responsible for during the actual race? During each pit stop I blow the dust off the left-front tire for the changer and catch the left-front tire. After the stop I help out with measuring tire wear.

Is there anything significant about the upcoming weekend? Texas is ok, but it’s not one of my favorites. Loudon, Bristol and Daytona are some of my favorite tracks. Road courses and Pocono are my least favorite places to race.

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? I’d be an auto mechanic.

Ready To Catch Tires During Stop

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Work on the house.

Movie: Shooter

TV Show: Family Guy, A-Team

Pizza toppings? Pepperoni

Place to eat? Fridays

Music: (band, song, genre, whatever they want to share) Lincoln Park, Country and Rock

Kale Uphoff is the Front Tire Changer and Mechanic on the No. 6 UPS team. He is originally from McFarland, Wisconsin and is in his fourth season at Roush Fenway Racing.

How did you get into the sport?  It’s kind of strange how I got started in racing. I started back in Wisconsin where I’m from with Todd Kluever who used to drive for Roush. From there I went to Clemson for the Motorsports Engineering program there. I was at Clemson for a year-and-a-half before I got a job in racing so I left to pursue that, and I’ve been at Roush for four years. 

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team? All of the excitement around the sport.

What’s your normal ‘run of show’ during the week? At the shop I work on assembling all of the cars.  And when the A-Team is off testing or at the track, I work on the setup plate.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? Once I get to the track I usually help the A-Team out with anything they may need and then once they are set, I help set up our pit stall for the race.  

If you weren’t working in racing, what do you think you would be doing? If I weren’t in racing I would most likely be an engineer of some sort.

What’s your favorite thing to do on an off-weekend? Relax at home.

What is something interesting about you? I guess something interesting that not many people know is that growing up I hated racing, but now I love it!

Kale’s Favorites:

Movie: Top Gun (all-time favorite)

TV Show: Friday Night Lights.

Cartoon as a kid: I didn’t watch cartoons growing up.

Pizza toppings? Sausage and mushroom.

Place to eat? Mickey and Mooch.

Music: A little bit of everything.

Steve Becker is the Tire Specialist on David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion. Originally from Orange, Virginia, Steve travels each week with the No. 6 team and recently, UPS Racing caught up with him to talk about his job and what it’s like working on the UPS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team.

Steve checking tires in Daytona

How did you get into the sport of NASCAR?

I got into racing right out of high school. I always worked on my own cars growing up and was lucky enough to land a position with a team right out of high school.

How did you become a tire specialist?

A guy was leaving at the team I worked for right after high school and they needed a tire guy, so I said I would do it and they trained me.

What’s your favorite part about being on a NASCAR team?

My favorite part of being on the team is definitely the traveling. We get to see all parts of the country, some are much more fun than others, but it’s cool to experience so many different places.

What’s the coolest thing that you’ve gotten to do since being a member of the No. 6 team?

The coolest thing has been going to the Red Sox games at Fenway Park. There is usually a game when we are up in New Hampshire so Roush buses us down to it.  It’s a lot of fun!

What’s your normal “run of show” during the week?

During the week at the shop I’m in charge of restocking our hauler and the toolbox. I also help out around the shop too. Some weeks we have more time than others depending on when the hauler gets back from the track and when it needs to head back out.

What are your normal responsibilities once arriving to the track each weekend? 

When I get to the track I head over to where Goodyear is set up and pick up our practice and qualifying tires, which is usually six sets. From there I gather all the information (spring rate, date code, size, serial number, etc.) from them to make the best sets for qualifying and practice.  Saturday morning I pick up our race tires (usually nine to 12 sets) and go through the same process again for the actual race. 

What are you responsible for during the actual race?

During the race I set the air pressures, check the pressures and change them according to what Jimmy (our crew chief) wants. After a pit stop I check each tire for wear and how much tread is left. 

How do you think things have gone this season?

The season has gone pretty well so far and I know we’ll get a win soon. 

Does Atlanta present any specific tire issues?

Atlanta shouldn’t present any issues, Goodyear is a bringing a whole new tire this year so we should be good.

Steve keeping tire notes during the race