In Racing, as in Cooking, Preparation is Key

Much like a chef preparing ingredients for a big batch of chili, car owners and teams must ready their cars for any big race. The Chili Bowl is one of the biggest races of the year to prepare for and the close quarters, large number of entries and type of facility (indoor) make for many challenges.

(The team works on the #52 car after the crash at Belle Clair in October.)

Car owner Brent Nausley shared a little insight about his team's preparations with me today. He will be entering two cars into next week's competition. Car #52 will be driven by Joey Montgomery and #50 by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Both cars will carry Girls Gone Racin' stickers, so keep your eyes open!

Here are a few insights from Brent, to whom we give thanks not only for sharing this background information with us, but for the friendship we have been priviliged to share. Thanks Brent!

Good morning,

Well we had alot to do to the 52 due to the crash at Belle-Clair, [Oct. 7, driven by Randy Bateman. See photo.] we have repaired the chassis, the rear end had to be repaired, along with a lot of bolt on parts. I took the motor to Dynotech to have it checked on the dyno and everything for it is back and the car is together. The 50 car is still waiting for the motor today. Ricky Jr is bringing it up from Memphis and we will put the 50 together when he gets here.

I try to gather and load as many spare parts as I can for the trip. I also go through every thing on the cars to make sure they are in good shape. I replace parts that are worn. I clean every thing up and Harold repairs and repaints the body work.

It is a lot of work, but this race isn't like any of the other races because there are so many things that reduce your chances to win. The amount of competitors on the track increase the chance of tearing up the car, but the list of great drivers who come each year makes this race special. So the opportunity for me to take my cars makes it special for me.

The uniqueness of the race for preparation is the amount of cars on the track wearing it out. The track being indoors doesn't have weather affecting it but is does dry out and with all the races ran on it it does wear down. We have found it to be consistent though, it is dry slick. The motors also run a little different indoors and we have to work on that.

I don't have a good camera any more but I will get some kind of picture.

We appreciate you writing about the team and following it. I know you will enjoy it when you make the race.

Brent

P.S. Harold and Debbie bring alot of food and take care of the meals. They make the trip a whole lot more comfortable.