Crew Chiefs Do they get enough credit, my friend?

CREW CHIEFS: DO THEY GET ENOUGH CREDIT?

Take Glenn McWaters crew chief, "Tim Gahring" he is in charge of making sure Glenn's car makes it to the track ,unloads its, makes sure everything is safe, and makes sure Glenn has the ride he likes best. Tim is also part owner of the famous G1, sportsman ride.

The famous G1 with battle scars, if your car is not scared from rubbing, your not racing!.

Tim has to be one of the classiest people to speak with, always kind and always saying hello, just like his driver Glenn McWaters.

He may be small, but Glenn McWaters above left, can and will out drive almost every driver he faces, he knows the tracks and knows his car, and most important has faith in his Crew Chief, Tim Gahring.

Drivers and Crew Chiefs have to work together and this has to be one of the winningest teams in racing. One thing is for sure when #G1 is in the house every one knows it. Glenn McWaters has become somewhat of a legend, and still one of the best drivers on dirt.

Behind a Winning driver is a top notch crew chief, and Glenn McWaters can prove that. Look at how many wins he has achieved in his racing days that are long from over.
Glenn has the pleasure of arriving in his own vehicle and leaving in it, never having to load the car back up, he drives and wins, and that's what a Champion does best.

THEN YOU HAVE THE WARRIOR, LAMAR HAYGOOD, HIS "EYE'S" TELL THE STORY

Then you have drivers like Lamar Haygood a legend in his own right, he works hard all week, has a growing family and a precious wife, his business is striving, and he still has time to work on his race car at his home.

Here he brings his Late Model, down to the BURG for some testing, and of course his crew chief Tim Turner is with him all the way, as they so gently roll the car to the end of the lift before it's decent down to mother earth.

Haygood is best known for blowing away everyone in those last 5 races in May 2000 before Historic 7 Flags Speedway was closed.

One thing is for sure Lamar is never afraid of getting his hands dirty, as he makes sure tires are inflated and on, and gives his car the once over before hitting the track. Safety is a main issue with Lamar. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

When racing season comes around in March he is headed to a race track for some big cash payouts, but he still loads his car, and with his crew chief "Tim Turner " who has been with Lamar for ages they still combine to get the car to each track and still work together as a team. Maybe you know something I have not figured out but my question is how do these two complete opposites, Lamar being the driver and Tim the crew chief, always make sure the proper air is in the tires and make sure he has enough fuel , maybe because they have been working as a team for so long.

This is a shot of Tim, as he helped Lamar bring a Crate car down to West Georgia Speedway, a place that for some reason Tim hates, maybe because it is not fancy, elegant, and looks like a lifeless BEAST. But that is what West Georgia Speedway is all about, being hard on every driver, this is a NO THRILLS races track, bare bones, and when you race you are in for a hell of a fight. Drivers fall out of races because their cars can't take the pounding, the curves seem to never end, and the rough spots makes drivers bounce around like putty.

That is what "The Burg" is all about, a driver vs a BEAST.

If you can win at the "BURG" you can win on any track.

Haygood listens for every sound, that might not be right, as Tim Turner his crew chief checks the engine and makes sure every thing is correct, before sending his Warrior out onto the track for some test runs.

You may think a crew chief is really no fun, all work and no play, but for some reason Tim can make anyone laugh, he is a family man and a father of "Girls" , GOD bless him!. You know when it is time to get serious, that is when Tim seems to breath FIRE into Lamar and give him that extra jolt of juice that is needed more so when Lamar is seeming not really to be in the game. Of course that is very rare, because Haygood is a Champion and fights and drives like one, 2nd place is not a option, winning is what he does best, and if you were a betting man, lay all your money on #17 when Haygood is racing. One thing for sure Lamar is a game player, rub him once and it's ok, twice and you may be history.

Tim can joke with the best of them, and to be honest he most likely has to with a family full of girls and a pretty wife.

Won't go into all the girls names but one of them could be the next outstanding softball player yet to come up, and I am talking "Fast Pitch".

In this classic photo I shot, I call it "Haygood, Playing in the Dirt", here he gives his car full power coming out of turn 1 and headed into turn 2 at West Georgia Speedway on a cold January 2010 practice.

Meet the next racing Haygood, Kyler, son of
Top Gun and Late Model Champion, Lamar Haygood, who is without a doubt ready for a gun fight at any track, he is a champion.

Who knows when this young man will jump into a race car and try and out run his famous father, won't that be a day to remember!

THEN WE COME TO THE "MAGIC MAN" Jeff Carter!!!!!!

Hobby Car "Giant", Mr.Jeff Carter, who drives the #3 car that is clean and sparkles.

Jeff is one of the cleanest drivers and has had some bad luck, but this season should put him back on top at West Georgia Speedway.

Here his precious daughter Haley Carter helps back his famous #3 Hobby car out of his racing trailer.

Jeff has his own special home grown "Georgia Pit Crew" called Family and Friends.

Everyone pitches in when this car goes racing!.

But the real "Queen Bee", is Momma Carter , Jeff's wife and caretaker for so many years.

She is the real racing queen, and we have a saying down south that goes like this "IF MOMMA'S NOT HAPPY, NOBODY'S HAPPY".

So Jeff makes sure Momma "Lisa 55 Ounce Coke "Carter is always Happy!

So Jeff makes sure Mama Carter is happy as she can be, one thing for sure she is a real die hard race fan, and can yell and scream with the best of the racing fans.

But you know the party really doesn't start, till Jeff Carter's #3 takes the checkered flag at West Georgia Speedway, then let the party begin, as family and friends and neighbors combine to get into the winning picture that will displayed so proudly at the Carter Home!

Jeff is so proud of his son Robbie, Haley, his wife Lisa and best friend "Sunshine" Terry Finnell, one man missing was his crew man, "Spotlight" where was he?.

The moral of this story is that every driver has needs a pit crew, a cheering section, or friends to help, and when you have people like "Tim Gahring" head crew chief and part owner of the famous G1 of Glenn McWaters you have it made.

Same goes for Lamar Haygood, who has one head crew chief, Tim Turner, but without Tim, Lamar would have to do everything himself, he could do it, but I believe a driver needs friends, family to support them.

As for as Jeff Carter, what more does he need, his a proven winning driver, with a home grown Georgia Pit crew, of family and friends, and that's all he needs.

Without a Crew Chief, you may be driving up a dark alley with out your lights on, so have someone there to support you.

OUR CONGRAGULATIONS GO OUT TO Mr.& Mrs. Glenn McWaters and his wife, on the birth of Glenn's new son, another racing McWaters on January 9th, 2010 and his name is "Walter Glenn McWaters"

May GOD Bless the entire McWaters Family!!!!

Thanks To All

Tino Patti

A Freelance Photographer/Video Journalist

With a World Wide Racing Blog following!

check out these racing links: http://westgaspeedway.webs.com/

and http://www.littleriverspeedway.com/

or http://www.newsenoiaraceway.com/