Wiley:  We know you work as the Gas Man for Robby at the track.  Can you tell us about what you do back at the shop?

Randy: I have about an 8-page checklist that I go through each week to make sure we have everything for the next weekend.  I start out by getting everything cleaned up - sweep the floors, clean the drawers out, get the uniforms out and cleaned.  I go through all the radios and make sure they are turned off, and back on the chargers and charging.  I have to inventory every part and piece on the hauler against the checklist.  I have to check everything from spare engines to ballpoint pens.  It’s a matter of going through every cabinet and every drawer making sure everything is still there.  

We try to make a list of everything we use out of the hauler that needs to be replaced.  I have a grease board for the guys to write down what they take.  They may run back and grab a belt for the engine, a rear end, or springs . . . just whatever.  I have to make sure they have everything they may need for the next weekend.

A lot of the parts are car-specific. When we get back to the shop, I have to take off the parts that are just for that weekend’s car.  So, it all has to go out and come back in.  Now, some stuff will go on any car.  I just have to make sure it’s all there for the race weekend.

Wiley:  So we see some of what you do at work.  What do you do for fun?

Randy:  For fun?  I like to ride bicycles and work out.

Wiley:  What kind of bike do you ride?

Randy:  I ride mountain bikes and road bikes.  I have Specialized I ride.  I even take ‘em in the hauler to the tracks.  I take it in the front of the hauler in the lounge area where Robby hangs out.  There‘s computers and TVs in there.  Of course, I take it out when we get the track.  He can’t stumble over it all day long.  And on Saturdays when the garage closes at 2:30, 3:30 or so, I’ll go on a 30 to 40 mile bike ride.  It’s fun, it helps keep me in shape, and it gets boring if you just go back to the hotel and sit there.  

Wiley:  Do most tracks have some good places to ride?

Randy:  Most do.  

There are a couple of other crew chiefs, Bobby Labonte, Max Papis and some others that head out.  Sometimes there will be six or eight of us that will head off to the hills.

Wiley:  Tell us about the Dakar Rally.  I heard you drove in it.

Randy:  Yeah, I did.  Robby races the Dakar.  He drives a Chevy powered Hummer.  He has two other cars in the race also.  The big teams have a support truck that goes behind everybody - kinda, a clean-up sweep.  If they get in trouble, I have spare parts on the truck, and I have the ability to pull them out of trouble if they get stuck, rolled over, or go off a cliff.  One of the Hummers did go over a cliff and rolled about five times. We pulled him up from the hole he was in.  

There were 52 big trucks in the race.  The racers are not allowed to receive outside assistance, so the trucks are actually entered in the race.  We were number 28 off the line.  I lasted five days before I broke the truck and we couldn’t go anymore.  We towed one truck about three hours after it had a clutch problem, and we pulled the one from the hole.  I did my job as a support vehicle.

Wiley:  Most people don’t realize how much the transport drivers do.  You probably drive more miles than the racecar drivers.  You definitely spend more time driving.  

Randy:  Aww, sure.  Even other truck drivers have no real idea about what we do.  I have been trying to go on the Claire B. Lang Show on Sirius satellite radio and let everybody know what I’m doing.  I never sit down.  It’s a great way for me to let people see what we do every week.  I’m going all day long.   From setting up the hauler, making sure the guys are fed, have drinks, gassin’ the car on Sunday.  

Wiley:  Do you ever caravan out to the race with other transport drivers?

Randy:  Going to the race we try to.  I have some buddies that will try to if we are leaving about the same time.  We’ll meet at a ramp or rest stop, but usually we leave when the car is ready.  Coming back, it’s easier to catch four or five other guys to drive back with.  It just all depends on when things are ready.  

Wiley:  I think you may have one of the toughest jobs on the team.

Randy:  That’s probably true.  The other guys work incredibly hard.  But, they get to jump in a plane and head home after the race.  I’m driving; it’s also stressful.  If I don’t get there safe, there is nothing to race.  

Just keeping that truck clean is a lot of work.  We have to keep it looking great all the time.  And, IT'S BLACK!!  It’s the hardest thing to keep clean, but it looks good when it is.  I wash it when I get to the track, I get all the bugs off and the road dust, and I wash it when I get back to the shop.  It can take three to four hours to get it spotless.

Wiley:  I also think you may have one of the most dangerous jobs on the team.

Randy: Funny Story - I was talking to Claire B. Lang on the radio one night.  She asked me to talk about the danger of the job.  Robby gets in a car that’s designed to go 200+ miles per hour.  He is on a closed track with 42 other drivers that are trained and skilled to do the same thing.  They all go the same way, most of the time.  I have to get in a vehicle that weighs 80,000 pounds.  It doesn’t drive very well.  It definitely doesn’t stop very well. I have to drive in all weather conditions.  And, then drive 70-80 miles an hour with people that don’t know how to drive,  that are on their cell phones, or not paying attention.  If it’s at night, they may be half asleep, sick, or drunk.  My job is much more dangerous than Robby’s.  Robby heard the interview, and laughing, he said I probably did have a more dangerous job.