I'm The 83 Red Bull Toyota NASCAR Jackman

I’ve joked that being a jackman is a cakewalk, but the reality is it’s very dangerous. You’re talking about a 3,500-pound race car that’s a foot off your heel at 55 mph. That would be like going out onto a busy highway, putting your feet on the yellow line and letting traffic run by you.

I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve never been blasted by a car, but I’ve been grazed a couple times and had my heels run over. Two years ago I went down on the jack handle and my knuckles scraped the rear quarter panel of Jason Leffler’s car.

It’s thrilling. There are definitely times you get the blood going, that’s for sure, but I think I live to ride on the edge. I’m more scared of being bored than anything else. If you focus on the fear, then you’re not cut out for this job.

Lug Nuts And Bolts

For those that don't know, the jackman is one of seven members of a pit crew. He’s the first one over the wall, he runs in front of the car, jacks up the right side, pulls off the tire, then runs around to the left side and jacks the left side up. He’s the last person who checks off everything and then dumps the car. If loose lug nuts or wrenches are left in the car or anything like that, it falls on the jackman’s shoulders.

Before I became a jackman I was playing in Wilkes-Barre in the American Hockey League. I was released and the coach I’d played for the year before was in Greensboro, North Carolina, which is NASCAR country. I got sent down and started to play hockey there.