Auto racing isn’t your average sport. There are no “home games” or friendly confines for us. Every weekend presents a different road trip and it’s no small feat for my race team to travel from its shop just north of Charlotte, North Carolina to as far as California or Arizona, especially considering the kind of “luggage” we pack.
Our Peterbilt tractor and trailer carry our team’s luggage: two racecars, our pit box, replacement parts, tools and a lounge for film study and team meetings. We travel with what is essentially a miniaturized version of our race shop. Over the course of a 38-week season, we’ll put to use every wrench and bolt in that hauler, so it’s important that it gets to wherever we’re racing. Without it, we can’t do what the fans pay their hard-earned money to see us do.
Bob, our hauler driver, ensures that what we need gets from Point A to Point B, and when he has to stop and refuel – both him and the tractor – he does it at a Pilot or Flying J.
In our industry, we refer to ourselves as a traveling circus, but that’s almost not fair to say, because everything we do is calculated. Whenever we need to call an audible on the pre-set logistics, Bob can always go to his myPilot app to plan his own “unscheduled pit stop.” He won’t admit it, but he enjoys being able to see what in-store restaurant is available at which stop, which is something the app offers. It also helps that the app tells him exactly what the gas prices are at certain stations. Even when our cars aren’t at the track, fuel strategy is important!
Our trips vary because the series goes from city to city, but there’s always a sense of urgency. The hauler usually leaves the shop on or before Tuesday morning – which drives every crew chief crazy since there is no such thing as “finishing touches” to a car – and has to be at the track by late Thursday afternoon, in time for the weekend’s first inspection. It’s a tight turnaround, and having more than 650 retail locations and 65,000 parking spaces in the Pilot and Flying J network helps make our ambitious goals a reality every week.
If it weren’t for the winding roads and hard travel it takes to get to the track, we definitely wouldn’t get to drive around in circles for a living. Pilot and Flying J are more than just brands on the hood of our car—they’re part of what makes it possible for us to do what we love.
2017 Pilot Travel Centers LLC. All Rights Reserved
