by Jeff Hammond

Updated: July 2, 2008, 11:11 AM EST 87 comments

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I think Harvick was a good example of what these guys have to be doing. I think it paid off for Harvick. I think they had a solid weekend. Sure, they didn't get the win, but they were very competitive this past weekend. They led some laps and got some of those all important bonus points. They just did a lot of things right. But that's what you have to be doing unless you have a 600-point lead on the 13th position.

That's what we are really looking at. The guys from about the sixth position on up in the points are in pretty good shape, and they can afford a couple misses between now and Richmond. You just can't say the same thing for anyone from the seventh position on down. I think that is where the fear factor is coming into play right now. The realization is setting in like I have been saying that this season has not been predictable. Again, what is the given is not the given.

So you have to be willing to accept that this year and work around it. You can't afford to look back and say, "Well in the years past ..." You better forget that and be ready to deal with what is in front of you.

I think a lot of guys are hoping to get by Daytona and Chicago and then maybe try some things. We know that Daytona can be very unpredictable. We know that Daytona will be different from what we saw in February. With Chicago, we haven't been there with this new racecar. Then following that, you have the Brickyard 400, and those are the two remaining tracks this new car hasn't been to.

I feel you have to get by Daytona because it's always out of your control. Then get by Chicagoland and then the top five or six in points will start thinking about bonus points. When I say bonus points, I mean, what can they do to win some races? They need to figure out a way to close the gap on Kyle Busch's bonus point situation entering the Chase.

So I think you will start seeing that. Once teams feel they have enough insurance to feel like they are in the Chase, then they will start taking a few more risks. Look at Sunday. Kurt Busch won the race but won't make the Chase. Yet what he did do was take 10 bonus points off the board for one of the teams that will be in the Chase.

There are two types of mentalities out there right now. For the guy who knows it is mathematically impossible for him to make the Chase, he is dangerous. He has nothing to lose. If he is solidly in the Top 25 in points, then he can start taking chances on fuel, or chances on two tires instead of four. He can take chances on the weather. There are a lot of things they can risk that others can't. Then there's that crowd from sixth back to about 16th or 17th. They have to do everything right and race smart. They can't take too many chances and run the risk of losing out for that shot at the Top 12.

What I think you have to be careful about doing is over-preparing so that when you get to the final 10 races before the Chase, that your crew is not worn out. I think if you have enough information, then you need to be careful not to be going someplace to test simply because everyone else is going. Everyone who has ever lived out of a suitcase can appreciate that after awhile, you can only enjoy so many Holiday Inns and you can only eat at so many Outback Steakhouses. You want to sleep in your own bed. You want to have home-cooked meals. You don't want to be always having somebody tell you that you have to be up at 5:30 a.m. to be at the racetrack. Mentally, you need that break to get yourself re-charged and re-focused.

Real men work in the pits

This past week during a radio interview a reporter asked "What are your thoughts about the Wypall Wipers crew chief of the race award?"

I've got to tell you folks, I think It is a great program. That's one of the reasons I am proud to be one of the panel members that vote on each week's winner.

Speed Mail Jeff Hammond
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During the entire race weekend, mysefl as well as the rest of the panel watch and see if a crew chief does something that will set him apart from the rest of his colleagues. Although I have voted for the winning crew chief the last three races, it's not an automatic that the best crew chief is the one who celebrated in Victory Lane.

Over the last three races the crew chief of the winning car has earned my vote. Tony Eury Jr. at Michigan made a gutsy call that put the No. 88 car and Dale Earnhardt Jr. into Victory Lane. Then at Infineon, Steve Addington made great calls before and during the race to give Kyle Busch his fifth win of the season. This past weekend at New Hampshire, Pat Tryson made an outstanding fuel strategy call and stayed with it to give Kurt Busch the victory.

Without the support of Wypall Wipers, I truly believe the crew chief would not get the accolades he deserves. Having said that, I started thinking about the other 42 crew chiefs who work just as hard every week as the guy who just won this week's award. It made me realize it would be awesome if we had more awards as other sports have. There could and should be awards not only for crew chiefs but also crew members to support all of their hard work and sacrifice.

Rookie Of The Year for a new crew chief would be a great award. Taking on the role of crew chief is not an easy task. You may do a great job but if you don't have a top driver and team to work with you could easily be overlooked. As far as pit crews are concerned the same rules could apply. They all work so very hard to be the best and more often than not they go without proper recognition.

I'm just glad that a great company like Wypall Wipers understands that crew chiefs do get their hands dirty each and every week and are just as important as the driver.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.