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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

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FAST FOOD

“It’s amazing what you can do with a Crock Pot and a barbecue grill.”

So says Scooter Crowell (pictured), who ought to know. He’s one of the truck drivers for The Home Depot Racing Team, and he’s also the chief cook and bottle washer for the hungry hosses who handle the big orange No. 20 Toyota Camry.

Feeding the bunch that comes to the track each weekend is the responsibility of Crowell and Tom McCrimmon, otherwise known as Thumper. Once the primary job of getting the Joe Gibbs Racing transporter to the track is finished, and the truck is parked in its stall in the garage area, it’s off to the grocery store.

“You kind of have to know who likes what around here,” Crowell says. “Who likes chicken breast, and who likes a good old greasy cheeseburger.”

There are differing appetites inside a team, but finding the best compromise to feed the masses is the key. Menus vary from day to day and race to race.

On Friday, it might be cheeseburgers or bratwurst (Crowell has a fantastic recipe involving boiling them in beer, onions and butter before grilling), and on Saturday it could be pasta and sauce – a sure bet if the race happens to be in the Northeast, where driver Joey Logano and crew chief Greg Zipadelli call home.

Sunday is when Crowell and McCrimmon get creative. Meat loaf cooked on the grill, with a big pot of green beans, is a staple, and a massive pork loin seared on the grill and cooked through in aluminum foil is another. Steak, too, is a major motivator on race days.

Crowell says it’s important to make sure the teams have good, solid meals before races, because theirs is such a demanding job. “They don’t take the time to eat right at the track, and if it’s good food, then you make them make time,” is how he puts it.

Whether the team cooks for itself or not is up to the individual organization. For example, Robby Gordon Motorsports doesn’t have a grill on the truck; instead, team members eat via the team owner’s hospitality chef.

Some drivers eat with their teams; some eat in the bus before they go to the car. Who does what is totally dependent on the driver…or the driver’s wife or manager. Hydration is the main thing most drivers work on through the race week, and most have nutrition regimens designed just for them.

One former Toyota driver had a pre-race ritual he never broke: frozen pizza out of a Presto Pizzaz electric pizza oven.

The main course is just part of the grocery haul for the truck driver. The other is assorted nibbles and snacks, plus cases and cases of soda, water and sports drinks. Of course, depending upon which beverage manufacture the teams are aligned with, there might be cases already waiting at the track.

Once the truck is replenished, attention turns to prepping for the schedule of that particular weekend. Drinks are stored in wheeled coolers at the front of the hauler for race day, and in the old-fashioned models on pre-race days.

Most of the crew members are conditioned to drink whenever possible, especially through the dog days of summer, and some teams provide electrolyte-laden water and the like to keep the pit crews focused.

You’ve never known true heat until you’ve made it through a race at Auto Club Speedway in the summer…wrapped in a three-layer, fireproof suit and a crash helmet.

Team members, who might spend 12 hours a day at the track, dip into the coolers on a regular basis, and the truck driver keeps the supply topped off. Ice is available by the bag at most tracks, and the teams sure make use of it. At $10 per bag, it’s a definite revenue generator.

For those who do not cook for themselves or hire it out, there are various options available. In the past, groups who cook for large numbers of people have set up in the garage area and, for a small weekend fee, will provide a variety of foods and beverages for the teams.

Of course, there’s always a trip to the concession stand if time is of the essence and the grill has been packed away for the day. In fact, at Martinsville Speedway, tracking down one of its legendary hot dogs is pretty much on every crew guy’s agenda.

But whatever the solution, keeping your guys effective and focused throughout a long race weekend by providing good food and plenty of liquid refreshment is, like most things involved with the sport, a team effort.

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