For Ramsey, racing is tires, not tiring
Changing Burton's tires keeps Ramsey on the go
Date published: 5/11/2008
BY JIM McCONNELL
You'll never make it.
You're setting yourself up for disappointment.
Why can't you be happy with a normal job like everybody else?
Fredericksburg native Tracy Ramsey heard the naysayers nearly two decades ago, when he told anyone willing to listen how he was going to make it big in NASCAR.
Even now, in a rare quiet moment, he can still hear the stinging rebuke of their laughter bouncing around inside his brain.
He's not angry, though. He doesn't carry a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't live for the opportunity to go back home and deliver a heaping plate of crow to everyone who ever doubted him.
For Ramsey, living the dream is satisfaction enough.
"It's kind of like that song 'How Do You Like Me Now?'" Ramsey said last Saturday afternoon at Richmond International Raceway, as his Richard Childress Racing team prepared for that night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
"A lot of my friends thought I was crazy. Some people said it was a pipe dream. But I worked my butt off and I made it."
DON'T TREAD ON ME
Like the protagonist in Toby Keith's 1999 country hit, a successful singer who gets the last laugh at the expense of a former high school classmate, Ramsey has come a long way against even longer odds.
The 1988 Stafford High School graduate, who lives in Winston-Salem, N.C., with his wife, Tammy, and two children, is in his seventh year as tire specialist for Childress' No. 31 team.
As such, he's personally responsible for every tire that ever finds its way onto Jeff Burton's Chevy Impala. Burton is currently second behind Kurt Busch in the Sprint Cup points standings after leading for several weeks.
On a typical race weekend, Ramsey receives a load of racing tires when he arrives at the track Friday morning. He immediately examines the $400 hunks of rubber and steel, looking for four tires with similar characteristics that he can organize into sets.
After the tires are grouped and marked for easy reference, Ramsey consults with crew chief Scott Miller and sets the initial air pressure for Friday's practice sessions.
Every so often, Ramsey's team will hit on a favorable setup combination early in the weekend, minimizing the adjustments necessary to get the car into winning form.
Date published: 5/11/2008
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