Put It Out... One Last Time ~ David Hoots
|
|
Sunday
was the 61st running if the “Great American Race”, the Daytona 500. It
was the start of hopefully a very successful 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series. 40 drivers competing for 200 laps on the 2.5-mile high-banks for
fame, fortune, a pass into the Chase, valuable MENCS points and the coveted
Harley J. Earles Trophy.
Sunday
was the start of a new Cup season.
Sunday
was the end of an era.
I’m
not talking about restrictor plates, although Sunday’s Race is said to be the
last we’ll ever see of the crude device designed to choke a race engine’s
horsepower down to a level that would hopefully prevent the car from taking
flight if the car gets turned in an
unexpected direction.
No,
Sunday was the last race called by long-time Race Director, David Hoots.
David
Hoots has been Cup’s Race Director since 1988, the year Restrictor Plates came
onto the NASCAR scene. NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition, Les
Richter saw his work at a modified race at North Wilkesboro and asked him to
take the Cup Control Tower at the October 23rd Rockingham race. Hoots had
a busy debut in his Cup career uttering his signature phase “Put it (the
caution flag) out!” eleven times before Rusty Wallace took the Checkered Flag
that day. Next week found him in Phoenix and he closed the season in
Atlanta.
Hoots
was on his way.
He
returned for his first full Cup season at the 1989 Daytona 500. Before
the 29 race season was over and Rusty Wallace was crowned Cup Champion, Hoots
would give the order to “Put it out!” 228 times.
The
Race Director is responsible for controlling the chaos known as a NASCAR Cup
race. Think of them as cat herders – except these are 40 3500 pound cats that
are traveling at 200 miles per hour. Or a flight controller landing 40
fighters on the same runway at the same time.
Race
Directors have a heck of a job!
The
Race Director is the person who is in full control of the event. They make the call when the green flag drops
to start the race, when the caution flag flies to slow the race and the red
flag displays to stop the race. Track equipment, such as air dryers and
wreckers can’t move until they say go. Likewise with the medical and fire
crews.
Total control.
Throughout
the race day, information is sent to the Director from inspectors and spotters
around the track. The track is watched from a variety of monitors on
countless monitors. Competitions communications are monitored as
well. The Race Director has to process
it, make decisions on it and disseminate it in a matter of seconds to keep
things as orderly and safe as possible for the competitors, teams and fans.
With
the official title of Managing Events Director his responsibilities go well
beyond the race track as shown in this UPS
Race Logistics video.
David
Hoots has been that person at nearly every Cup race since 1988.
David
began in Cup as a part-time employee. His full-time gig was driving a UPS
truck in his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC. He would work this arrangement
for ten years before retiring from UPS and going full-time in NASCAR in 1999.
He’s
seen a lot over his 30+ year career. 1992 has often been referred to as
the best season ever as Davey Allison, Bill Elliott, Alan Kulwicki, Harry Gant,
Kyle Petty and Mark Martin were all competing for the Championship that year.
Going into Atlanta, David had asked for the caution flag 147 times.
That November day he’d say “Put it out!” another seven times. Once was for 7-time Cup Champion and all-time
Cup win Leader, Richard Petty’s flaming crash on the frontstretch. The final time being for the wreck between
Ernie Irvan and points leader Davey Allison that eliminated Davey from
contention and vaulted Alan Kulwicki to the title.
At
the Daytona Race in 2001, he controlled a fast race, only calling to “Put it
out” three times with the final one being for the “Big One” on the backstretch
on lap 175 that took out 19 cars. The
final lap saw another wreck in turn three. The caution was not displayed
for that one as the field was coming down to the Checkered Flag. David
had to send the emergency crews to the infield of turn four to attend to the
wrecked vehicles only to find they were too late to save Dale Earnhardt.
Race
Control and those who do it have always been an interest of mine. When I
got my scanner, 461.2, Race Control’s frequency was one of the first ones
entered. And it was always a priority channel. When David spoke I
wanted to make sure I heard it over everything else. When he came on the
air I never had to look down to check the display to hear who it was. There was no other voice like it in
NASCAR-either in accent or authority.
Listening,
I got a glimpse behind the scenes, and a greater appreciation of what went on
in the Control Center high above the track. I gained a better
understanding of how difficult a job the Race Director had and the command of
it that David had. Over the years, I may not agree with every call that
he made (heck there were races, I’m not sure I agreed with any call he made)
but I always respected the job that he did. There was a “comfort” hearing
his voice and knowing he was in the Tower and in control.
Over
the years of listening to David, my favorite phase wasn’t his now famous “Put
it out”, but it was the response from the
inspectors when he told them to deliver a message to some crew chief who needed
to hear from him. Some situation would come up and David would voice his
concern over the radio knowing that all the crews monitored him. Then he
would direct the NASCAR inspector closest to the crew chief of concern to deliver
the message from him. After a short period, you’d hear these three words
and these three words only – “Message delivered, Tower.” There was no
relayed back-talking or protesting, no “well the crew chief said…”, just a nice,
concise “Message delivered, Tower.” From that point on there was no doubt
that crew chief had been served and was on notice.
As
a race fan I had several dreams growing up. One was to actually see David in
action and watch a race from Race Control. Of course that never happened
but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. In 2005, my friend Jerry Wright had
secured some “nice, really nice” seats for the October Charlotte race. These
were up in a section that was definitely above my raising and I truly had no
business being in. It was at a level that
would allow us to get “behind the glass” to see how the other half raced.
Like
two kids in a candy store we explored every nook and cranny we could get to or
thought we could get into and not get thrown out. I’m not sure but let’s
just say I think we found THE door that night, we just couldn’t get through
it. Again, it wasn’t for a lack of
trying.
It
was just as well. That night was the “Great
Charlotte Levigation Fiasco” that resulted in an event-record number of
cautions, most from wrecks caused by blown tires. Fifteen
times Hoots uttered “Put
it out!” And by night’s end most drivers were ready to revolt. He was
definitely too busy that night to have unexpected company from a couple of
Kentucky boys.
Over
the years, race procedures have changed and the interruptions for Stages
creating an additional 73 cautions per season.
His 2018 caution count rose to 258 before Joey Logano was crowned Cup
Champion at Homestead in what would be David Hoots last full season as Race
Director. In December, word was out that David had been “laid off” by NASCAR.
33
years in Cup. Over 1015 races. Over an estimated
6000 “Put it outs.” Over.
David
Hoots came a long way from a high-schooler who scored races at Bowman Gray just
so he could see the races for free.
For
this race fan, the news of his “release” was quite troubling.
Behind the scenes, David had been a big part of my fan “career”.
Though I had never met him, had only heard his voice, it was like losing
a friend… a close friend. I hoped he had
been allowed to leave on his own terms.
As I grow older and more of my career is behind me than ahead, leaving
on your own terms become increasingly more important. The somber feeling lifted temporarily when
word came out that that David would call one more race-the 2019 Daytona 500.
XFile345
posted on Reddit the following audio clip of Race
Control going through pre-race radio checks in preparation for his
final race.
As
David personally checks in with each of his charges to personally make sure all
is in order you can hear in voice after voice the respect each have for
him. The finality of knowing that this
would be their last race together often comes through.
After
the checks have been completed at the 14:42 mark, David gives his thanks to
everyone for their kind words. With the
emotion behind, its back to business and the final instructions before going
Green-“We’re going to focus on showing the world just how good we can have a
race today.”
Then,
at the 22:56 mark as Pace Truck driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is about to pull off
the track to turn the field loose, David gives a shout out to Junior. Their exchange just seconds before the start
of “The Great American Race” says a lot.
Junior
pulls the pace truck off the track, the green flag drops. 207 laps, 12 cautions – 2 for debris, 2 for
Stages, the rest for wrecks, often big wrecks, later, it’s over. David Hoots, and the restrictor plate that
came onto the circuit with him are gone from NASCAR.
Like
him or not, when it comes to any official in any sport, there will be
discussions about calls made and not made, whether a flag should have been
thrown here or not thrown there, but when it was over, David handled the day
with the same confidence, assurance and professionalism he’d exhibited
throughout his career as
he signed off the last time.
Keith
Waltz’s 2010 SpeedSport.com article closes with
the following quotes from David Hoots:
“After
37 years as a NASCAR official, 55-year-old Hoots is one of the most respected
people in the garage area and he says that respect is rooted in two basic
philosophies.
’Something
that has helped me over time is a very simple philosophy that a lot of people
here at NASCAR have — if you make a mistake admit to it,’ Hoots said. ‘Go back
and show them the data to say this is the mistake, or this is not the mistake,
and whether or not it was a mistake, show them you did everything you could to
try to make it right.’
‘Another
important philosophy is that NASCAR is not the show. It’s the drivers’ race and
our charge is to conduct their race,’ Hoots added. ‘Applying those philosophies
has served me well.”
That
was a few years ago and a lot has happened over that time. I’m not sure that NASCAR of late has always
held to those philosophies or even been close, but it would serve them well to
go back and revisit those and try to approach them as they go forward.
Daytona
is behind us. Restrictor plates are gone from NASCAR as is David Hoots.
Replacements going forward?
Restrictor
plates, oh that will be tapered spacers.
David
Hoots, oh that’s now going to take two people.
Thank
you David! This race fan is sure going to miss you.