The term “game changer” is thrown around an awful lot these days. It’s a new buzzword. It’s been thrown around so much that it has more or less lost its meaning. It’s really sad, because when a real game changer happens, it’s overlooked. The three point line, deferring the coin toss, the DH rule, and the goalie mask were all game changers. A new kind of wing sauce, an action movie, and a new car are not game changers.
I say this because last week, just before I went on Vacation, The NHRA made a huge game changer of an announcement. Starting in 2016, the “Back Up Certification Rule” which requires a run within one percent of a record setting run to certify it as a record has been eliminated. So, effective immediately, any run that is a record setting run is automatically the record.
I’ve never like the 1% rule, I thought is was pointless. However, in the early days of drag racing, the automatic timing equipment was far less reliable than the CompuLink systems we have today, so it was needed to work around that. Since 2009, the CompuLink system has been very effective, and the 1% rule was a dinosaur of a rule.
This is really going to change the game. Remember Brainerd last year? Oh yeah, how could you forget? There were six different record setting runs in the nitro categories. Yet only Jack Beckman and Antron Brown came away with a set record, because they backed it up with 1%, so two of the six runs were for naught. With the new rules package, all six of those runs would be record setting runs, and Matt Hagan, not Jack Beckman would have the national ET record, with a 3.879, instead of Jack Beckman’s 3.883.
With the Winternationals this weekend, could we see new national records set? Well the conditions are hotter than Brainerd, but if Nitro Spring Training is anything to go by, there is a lot of speed coming from the various teams. John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, and Kalitta Motorsports had a lot of good showings, so it would not shock me if at least one record is set this weekend.
As a part of this rule change, the 20 point bonus for setting the national ET record has also been eliminated. Again, this is a real game changer of a rule. The key to winning the countdown is to get as many points as you can during those six events. Remember “The Run” in 2006? The record ET point bonus is what gave Tony Schumacher the title. This will have a definitive effect on the championship standings. I’ll be interested to see how this works out.
The other game changer is scheduled to be announced tomorrow. It’s the NASCAR charter system. I haven’t discussed my feelings on it yet, but I’m going to say that I think it’s pointless. I’ve heard it described as similar to a taxi medallion system, where the teams purchase the charter from NASCAR, and if the owner chooses to leave the sport, they can sell it. It seems like a pointless change, designed to get more cash out of team owners. Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Brian France.
Above and beyond that, if the rumors I’ve heard are true, the races will only feature 40 drivers instead of 43. Why? What could this possibly accomplish? Were there any short fields in 2015? I don’t remember any, and even if there were, it really didn’t matter that much, as there are a number of “start and park” teams that will occupy the bottom. I’m not sure that this will change that much, then again, I’ve been wrong before.
I’m going to reserve my judgment on the Chase format for the Xfinity and Truck Series, as it could actually work out quite well. That said, I understand a lot of people hate the new system, but I like the idea of taking away mulligans and keeping the pressure up. I think there will be an interesting championship scenario this year.
Editor’s Note: I will be traveling to Tucson, Arizona this week, and I’m getting ready to fly for the first time in 11 years as you read this. I will have the Friday Feature and Throwback Thursday items next week, but no tracker or grades. In the meantime, here is my Friday Feature for the week.
I wrote about the Infinite Hero Challenge Coin program last year, and I’m going to revisit it. I’ve learned some more information about Infinite Hero Coins, that I didn’t have before, so I’m going to add this new info, for the sake of completeness.
Infinite Hero quickly realized that Oakley was a great partner, and began working with them to come up with some unique merchandise as a part of the partnership. The Infinite Hero Foundation was founded in 2011, and quickly acquired a partnership with Oakley. This resulted in a series of merchandise items sold by Oakley, with proceeds going to help the Foundation.
I’m not into sunglasses myself, but many people are, and Oakley has a lot of fanboys. So, once these glasses began to hit shelves, they sold quickly. This is a review from 4 years ago, of one such pair.
Notice the coin in the box? Of course you did. Aside from glasses and boots, Oakley realized that the coin would sell too. So sometime, I’m guessing 2012-2013, this coin was sold.It is quite thick, and has a ridged edge. One side featured “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism,” around a globe design with an Oakley logo. Oakley is a partner with the Infinite Hero Foundation. The other side features an Infinite hero Foundation logo. The coin was placed in a round, flat plastic container, with black foam braces. The coin lacks the blue enamel that the coin that comes with the glasses coin, and future coins, and has a very plain look. I do like the plain look.In April 2014, they started appearing on the side of Jack Beckman’s funny car. Terry Chandler, who also sponsors Tommy Johnson Jr.’s Make a Wish Foundation Funny Car, is the financial backer of the car. She pays for Infinite Hero to race on the sides of the car. This also began the NHRA coin program. This is a new form of racing memorabilia I have never seen before, though it’s a great idea. When Jack Beckman gets into his funny car to race, he carries at least 5 Infinite Hero Challenge Coins in the pocket of his driver suit. Once the race is over, he will autograph them and sell them at the track and on eBay. They cost $100 with all proceeds going to the Infinite Hero Foundation.
The idea of items carried in a pocket is not a new one. NASA has done this for years. Many space shuttle flights carried first day covers in the storage bay. When the shuttle landed, the covers were removed, and sold to collectors. I’m a little surprised this hasn’t been done before with auto racing, because I think that it would create a new memorabilia market.
The 2014 design that Jack used was identical to the one sold in stores, but the Infinite Hero Foundation logo has a purple enamel present. Jack autographed the plastic case.A redesigned coin of the same size was introduced for 2015. The Oakley logos are gone. One side features a design similar to the globe design, but the globe design has been replaced with an American Flag design. “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism” has been replaced with “Duty, Honor, Innovation, Courage.” The new emblem on the reverse side has one of the across bands removed. The new packaging is an upgrade, with the circular plastic cylinder replaced with an attractive box. It comes with a card that Jack Beckman autographed, and on the reverse it has the Infinite Hero Foundation Pledge. The first one is from The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Phoenix on February 22, 2015, where Jack was eliminated in the first round. The second one is from the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, where Beckman won the event, beating Courtney Force in the final round.The Infinite Hero Foundation is a worthwhile charity, designed to help our nations veterans. I fully support them, and I encourage my readers to try and buy at least one of these coins. Jack Beckman is a great spokesman for the Infinite Hero Foundation. I reached out to him for an interview about his racing uniforms, and he happily obliged…
DGF-Could you explain, from a driver’s perspective, how you want your suit to fit?
JB-It really depends on the kind of vehicle you are driving. Top Fuel dragsters you are more sitting on the ground, funny cars you are sitting more upright. Sponsors want their logos front and center, so we have to work around that. I also don’t like my suit to be too baggy, because when they put the seven point harness on, it will fold over.
DGF-You wear an SFI 20 rated suit, how many layers of Nomex does your suit have?
JB-Well, the SFI rating is only based on how long the suit will protect the wearer. In testing, a 20 rated suit will protect the wearer for up to, I think, 40 seconds, and that is based on how long it takes the mannequin in the testing facility to sense the fire. Older generations of suit would need 12 layers to do what the new materials could to in 6 or 7 layers. If there were an amazingly durable material, you could have it in one or two layers.
DGF-When a suit is burned so that the Nomex is discolored, do you feel anything?
JB-The discoloration is from the dye in the suit, but not really. The big screens and the slow motion video are astounding though. We as drivers experience it in the moment, but watching it on the big screen, you see so many more things than you never would notice otherwise. When the body gets lifted during the explosion, the firewall that’s to shield the fire coming back from the engine is no longer there. Then you can feel it get warm. But the materials today and the construction of the suit, they’re just light years better than one and two generations ago, to the point that I don’t ever want to say that there’s a “routine fire” but you could have one that looks pretty darn impressive on the big screen, and get out of the car 100% unscathed.
DGF-My next question, it’s a hypothetical one, but it is one I think I need to ask, For most of your career, you have worn Impact driver suits. If you were to switch manufacturers, let’s say to Simpson, would you be able to notice the difference?
JB-Hmm…interesting question. If they are using different materials, maybe. The older style Impact suits, when I first started running funny car in 2006, were much stiffer, it was a different material, it was bulkier, more constrictive. I believe, along manufacturers lines, you might still have a choice of material there. The construction methods are all very similar, and sizing, it’s an individual thing. You can check a box on your order form that says “small” “medium” or “large,” or you can send them custom measurements and they’ll build it to that. So I don’t think you would notice with the newest light weight material for manufacturer to manufacturer. That said, you’d have to stick me in a room with a blind fold, and have me try on every men’s suit so I could give you an answer with some authority.
DGF-Along those same lines, would you have any concerns going into the switch?
JB-Well they all have to meet the same criteria. Here’s the thing, the NHRA rule book mandates a minimum amount of protection. When they tell you, if you drive a fuel funny car, you need a 3.2-20 suit, which includes a certain spec of gloves and over-boot worn on top of your driver shoes. They don’t tell you that you have to wear thermal underwear underneath. Up until 4 years ago, they didn’t tell you that you needed to wear a head sock under your helmet. You don’t have to wear inner-liner gloves under your fire gloves. I wear all that stuff. So it’s up to the driver if they want more protection than the minimum.
The fire suit manufacturers have to prove that their equipment satisfies a certain spec. There is no spec higher for drag racing that the 20. But it’s possible that some of the suit manufacturers make them to a higher level spec. I’ve been in some pretty big fires, and have walked away, I singed my eyebrow once, when the concussion blew my visor up on the helmet. Aside from that, I have had zero injuries, which gives me a lot of confidence in the equipment I wear. I feel that I have tested several times, and it’s passed with flying colors every time. Now the other manufacturers have to meet that same spec.
DGF-Do you, over the course of an event, wear the same suit for every run, or do you switch them out occasionally?
-Typically at the beginning of the year, we will have two suits constructed, just in case one gets in a fire, and gets disfigured. I had a sleeve changed out, and it wasn’t a safety issue, it had melted some of the sponsor logos. Typically, I won’t switch suits until we get to The Countdown, because the funny car suits tend to get run down, and dirty from the continual clutch dust, run after run. I just want a fresh looking suit for the photo shoot, once I get to The Countdown. Then I’ll save the suit I wore for the first 18 races as a backup suit. I will wear the same suit the whole weekend long. The only thing I rotate out over the course of a weekend are the thermal underwear and the head sock because once I get out of the car, they’re sweaty, and I’ll hang them up to dry, and put fresh ones on for the next run, and keep rotating them.
DGF-When you are getting into your uniform prior to a run, start to finish, how long does it take to get everything on?
JB-It’s no longer…getting suited up is really no longer than getting street clothes on. I’ve got thermal underwear, top and bottom, so that would be like putting on underwear and a t-shirt. I’ve got my driving shoes…I’m sorry, I put on my firesuit, driving shoes, my over-boots-so it’s almost like a pair of slip-om rain galoshes over your tennis shoes. The thing that’s a little more time consuming is once your getting ready to get into the car, is getting the head sock on, getting that tucked down into the collar of the jacket, my helmet on, and strapped. I wear glasses, so I put those on. Inner gloves have to go on, outer gloves have to go on. I’ve got to walk over to the car, duck down underneath, get in, and then, the 7-way harnesses, as well as the fact that I’m wearing a head and neck protection device, they make it really tight, once you are in the cockpit, and the crew guys are working in some pretty constrictive spaces. The body’s still on the car, so they’re ducking under that. You’ve got this bulky firesuit, so you’re taking up most of the cockpit. They’re getting these straps laid out on you, they gotta plug the radio in, plug the air hose into the helmet, get all the straps buckled in, then get you tightened, so that can take a good amount of time, but I’ll tell you, you get in a pretty good rhythm with this thing.
I typically get suited up and walk over to the car five pairs from when we run. If we were pinched for time, we could do it with two pairs to go. But I don’t like to do that for a couple of reasons. The first one is that you just hate to feel rushed, but I’m okay with that, psychologically it doesn’t affect me. I don’t like doing that to the crew guys because typically, once they’ve got me strapped into the car, they’ve got a couple other tasks that they need to do as we’re towing up to the starting line. I don’t want to rush them, and have them feel any extra anxiety about the things they need to get done.
DGF-Alright, you mentioned gloves, shoes, and over-boots, how long do those items typically last over the course of a season?
JB-I’ll typically put my firesuit on with my driving shoes, and my boots on in the tow vehicle, I’ll walk up to the starting line, inspect things, walk back to the tow rig, so I’ll put a couple of miles a year on my driving shoes. The only thing that wears them out, as you can imagine, is the sole if you walk enough steps. Other than that, you can get a full season out of them. The over-boots, it really depends. If you have a fire, since they’re typically near the source of the fire, I would replace them after that. They get pretty beat up with the clutch dust on them, and blowing them out run after run, so I’ll typically use two pairs of them over the course of a season. Same thing with the gloves. Putting them on and off is what eventually wears them out. I like wearing the tight gloves which means the crew guy is rolling them up, stretching them over my hand, pulling them back down over the cuff of the firesuit, and that takes its toll on them. We’ll make 170 runs over the course of a year, so after 100 runs, it’s usually time to replace those.
DGF-I’d like to talk about your helmet visor for a second, because I’ve noticed that there are a lot of drivers who black out part of their visors to create tunnel vision, so they can only focus on their lane. Are you one of those drivers?
JB-The Clydesdale Effect? Like blinding the horses so they don’t get spooked? No, I’ve tried that in the past, and I’m a big proponent of doing anything that you think will make you perform better. If you think a red glove will make you drive better than a blue glove, it will. It’s psychological more than it’s mechanical. There is definitely a value in removing distractions, when you get up to the starting line. But to do that, you’d better have three visors prepared. Let’s say you wear a clear visor, and the helmet rolls out of the tow vehicle in the staging lane, and the visor gets scratched. You’d better have another clear visor, with the blinders in place. Because if you swap it out for one without them, that’s gonna screw you up, probably, right? You did it for psychological purposes, and now somethings change. Ponoma is a track where we really face, Sonoma it happens too, but Ponoma is probably the worst, we get very high glare conditions, and you have to go to a dark visor. So you’d better have a dark visor prepared for that, and a clear one ready to go in case the clouds come in. So I’m fine with that. I feel like whatever a driver needs to do to keep them in a mental zone, where their performance is at a top level. That’s not to say in two years, I might decide that that works better for me. I’ve tried yellow visors, clear visors, light tint, dark tint, glasses, no glasses, and the reality is that I’m pretty much the same without them. But I do the one that I feel like, removes the most distractions, and therefore, puts me at a higher level of focus.
DGF-Alright Jack, this is my last question. I’m a memorabilia guy, and do you keep uniforms, or other items from special moments in your career that have special meaning to you?
JB-Yeah, it’s funny you ask that, because my wife is so clean and organized, and not sentimental. And I don’t get to keep anything. I get some bitchin’ souvenirs from fans, and I bring them home and say “where do you think that’s gonna go?” So I’ve got a little pile of stuff there. Yes, I do keep all my helmets. I’ve only ever sold…I’m sorry, let me rephrase that, I’ve only ever…not kept…two of my helmets. One of those I gave to my good friend Ronnie Swearingen, and last I checked, it was on display, with the rest of his helmet collection at the Garlitts museum. The other one was I had a duplicate helmet painted because a gentleman really, really, REALLY liked the design, and I told him “I’m not getting rid of helmets.” He paid to have a duplicate made, and I wore it for one race. Firesuits, Schumacher gets them back at the end of the year, and puts them on eBay. But if we do multiple suits, usually I can keep one of them.
DGF-Alright Jack, thank you very much, it was an interesting interview.
JB-You know it’s interesting, I’ve done thousands of interviews, which typically means, when I do an interview not much is unique. Yours was a completely unique interview.
I really miss Kodak in NASCAR, I really do. They had one of my favorite shades of yellow that has ever graced the side of a race car. The shade of red they used contrasts quite well with the yellow, and works well. The outline on the door numbers is a bit unnessciary, but I can live with it. I like what they did with the hood and roof, giving it a camera film motif. I also like the yellow bordered red numbers on the roof as well.
As much as I like the paint scheme, the 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix is horrible looking. The bubble rear windshield, and the bumper on the front end look awful, and take away from a decent look. I will say that I like the color-coordinated window net. I think that should make a comeback.
Greg Biffle #16 Kleen Performance Products Ford Fusion-I don’t think I got around to this scheme last year, so I’ll fix that mistake right now. I like the shade of green, and the red looks good too. The interrupted stripe across the side is ugly, and I do not think the black is needed. Also, the liquid design doesn’t make sense. I’ll give it a B+.
Paul Menard #27 Menard’s/Peak Chevy SS-Bold look, moving away from the Menard’s Template, and, it works. The design scheme looks good, and it has a great color scheme. I give it an A+.
Editor’s Note: I will be traveling to Tucson, Arizona this week, and I’m on the train as you read this. I will have the Friday Feature and Throwback Thursday items next week, but no tracker or grades. In the meantime, here is my Friday Feature for the week.
If you were a kid during the Roman empire, and you were with a friend, and needed something to do, you could play “navia aut caput” or “ship or head.” How it works is that you take a coin, and one picks ship, the other picks head, and then you flip the coin in the air, and whichever side the coin lands on the person who picked that side wins. If you were playing it in England, you were playing “cross and pile.”
That simple game would grow into a bit of dispute resolution that is still used today. While it is used in politics, and business on occasion, coin tossing has become a major part of sports. It’s used in soccer to determine which goal the winning team attacks first. Cricket uses it to determine who bats first and who bowls first. Fencing uses a coin toss at the end of a tied match, where overtime has also ended. But the most well-known usage of a coin toss is in American Football, at the start of the game, to determine who gets the ball first.
Three minutes prior to the game, the team captains meet at midfield, the referee then instructs the visiting team captain to chose heads or tails, which are named for being sides opposite each other. He then flips the coin into the air, and the side that wins can chose to receive, or kick, and to defer their choice until the second half.
The 2004 season was one that Dolphins fans would like to forget. Not only did the Dolphins go 4-12, but they had to deal with Ricky Williams retiring from football. They also had to reschedule two games because of the threat of hurricanes. Their September 26th game was moved from 1 PM to 8:30 PM due to Hurricane Jeanne, and their opening day game was moved from September 12th to September 11th due to Hurricane Ivan. Their opening day game wasn’t great, they lost the game, and lost the coin toss, which was done with this Highland Mint coin.The Highland Mint was founded in the 1980’s, and focuses strictly on sports coins, and custom minting. They make the game coins for the NFL. The game coin from The Super Bowl is taken from the game to the NFL Hall of Fame, so they never end up on the private market. Coins from the regular season make it to the market, and this is one such example.The coin is gold, and has on the head side, a Miami Dolphins helmet, and MIAMI DOLPHINS INAUGURAL SEASON 1966 stamped into the coin. There is also a box for the serial number to be etched, but since this wasn’t one of the limited edition coins that got sold on the collector market, it is blank.The tails side of the coin has the NFL Kickoff Weekend 2004 logo, and OFFICIAL GAME COIN and OFFICIALLY LICENSED NFL PROPERTIES stamped into the coin.This is 1 of 2500 coins, and has the serial number 0001 stamped into the edge of the coin, near the bottom of the front.
It has been placed in a plastic holder, and comes in a felt box. It has a tag that comes with the retail coins, but it has the PSA DNA sticker on it, as well as a PSA/DNA lot.I sent Uni-Watch an eBay link for a similar coin, this one from the 2012-2013 Pro Bowl, and they poised the question “[game used coin]…Or would that be pregame-used?” That’s actually an interesting question. It could go either way. The only time this coin was used was during the coin toss, before the kickoff, so you could call it pregame used. On the other hand, this coin did give the Titans the choice of what they wanted to do at the start of the game, and had the game gone into overtime, the coin would have been used a second time, for the same thing, so you could say it was game used.
I find the subject of coins to be interesting, and I’m going to continue this line, when I revisit the Infinite Hero Challenge Coin program in the NHRA next week.
Quincy’s Steak House is the feature on the car, with a huge black logo on the yellow hood. The yellow extends to the middle of the C-post, where black takes over, and a large Quincy’s logo, slightly off-center, is the prominent feature. The color scheme is good, and the design scheme is decent, but the door number look odd. They look overdone, with the needless addition of red. Plain black, even with the outline would have worked very well.
I’ve also noticed a couple of things with the Ford Thunderbird in 1986. The grille is much more plain than in 1985, and the headlights have been covered, giving the car a smoother look, and more aerodynamic feel. Also note the small triangle which tells the crew members where to put the jack, something that wasn’t present on the other schemes I’ve done.
Kevin Harvick #4 Mobil 1 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2016, white background, with the Pegasus wing starting at the side of the front, extending to the door numbers. A+
Danica Patrick #10 Mobil 1 Chevy SS-New scheme for 2016, Bass Pro Shops has left, so the Mobil 1 scheme features a white background, with the Pegasus wing starting at the side of the front, extending to the door numbers. A+
The worst part of a vacation is coming home. The second worst part, at least to me, is packing and getting ready. I do not like waiting to the last minute to do anything. We booked the tickets back in October, and the majority of stuff that I’ve had to do I’ve gotten done since then. At this point, all I need to do is pack a suitcase, pack my laptop, and go to Union Station. Other than that, I’ve gotten everything done.
As I write this, my thoughts turn to those on the East Coast, who have had their lives affected by Winter Storm Jonas. Winter sucks, we can all agree on that. The cold and snow can get to be too much. Many people, my parents included travel south for the winter. On Friday, I’m going to go visit them. I’m not worried about the train trip down, I’m more concerned about the plane ride home. I haven’t gotten on an airplane in 11 years, and I’m really worried about it. It’s going to be at least three hours I’m in the air, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. I’m hoping that booze will alleviate my stress…
While I will miss the Rolex 24 at Daytona, I will DVR whatever I can of the race. I’m not an endurance racing fan per se, but it’s the beginning of the racing season. I’m waiting for the racing season to begin and I can hardly wait!
I have Throwback Thursday and Friday Feature articles ready to go, I’m not going to worry about the Tracker and Grades until I get home. I may or may not do a My Thoughts On, but it really depends on a few things. I will also do a couple of things down in Tucson that I will write about when I get home. Stay tuned.
Greg Biffle #16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford Fusion-KFC has a really good shade of red, and the whole design works well. I also like the flame motif at the back, and the stripes on the roof. All in all, I can’t give it any lower than an A+.
Carl Edwards #19 Subway Toyota Camry-The black car was bold look, but the shade of green here could use some tweaking. The box motif is a bit overdone as well. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, it’s a B+ scheme.
Martin Truex Jr. #78 Bass Pro Shops Chevy SS-Of all the schemes I have seen so far, this is the worst of them all. Orange can be a great color when used right, but this is just too much! The yellow clashes with it, the black works, and the camo looks out of place. It’s just a mess, and I give it an F.
Michael McDowell #95 Thrivent Financial Chevy SS-Bit of a downgrade from last year, the old template, which I really liked, was good, but the new scheme looks forced, and the color change doesn’t help. Still, it’s not horrible, and it’s worth a B+
You hear of a football player who also played baseball in college. John Elway and Deon Sanders were examples. What you don’t hear that often is a championship hockey player turned race car driver. However, Michael Annett is just that. A former Waterloo Black Hawks 2004 Clark Cup Championship hockey player, Michael Annett was too small to play hockey, so he started racing. He raced in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series, though he didn’t win in either. He did score 7 top 5’s and 34 top 10’s in six years in the Xfinity Series, and a top 5, and 2 top 10’s in the Truck Series, before joining the Sprint Cup in 2014, for Tommy Baldwin Racing.
In 2014, Annett’s first season in the Sprint Cup, Annett and Tommy Baldwin Racing did not have much success. In 36 starts, he didn’t even score a top 10, and only led 5 laps, while driving the Pilot/Flying J Chevy SS. During that season, two members of his over the wall the pit crew wore each part of this two piece suit.The jacket has some light wear on it. The pants have some wear on the cuffs.The right chest has a SPRINT CUP SERIES logo, and a GOODYEAR logo embroidered into it.The left chest has Chevy Bowtie, that was just recently used in NASCAR, SUNOCO, and TOMMY BALDWIN RACING logos embroidered into it.The front of the jacket has a large PILOT logo embroidered into it.The warranty tag is located under the zipper, and has the name SIMMONS written into it in blue Sharpie.
The right shoulder has a PILOT logo on the epaulet, and an IMPACT! logo is present as well.The right sleeve has an IMPACT logo, and logos for ALLSTATE PETERBUILT, MULTIPRENS USA INC., and POWERLIFT embroidered into it. PILOT television logos are present at the end of the sleeves.The left shoulder is identical to the right shoulder.With the addition of a NASCAR logo, the left sleeve is nearly identical to the right sleeve.The back of the jacket shows some light wear.The back of the neck has the car #7, and PILOTFLYINGJ.COM, and MICHAELANNETT, with Twitter and Facebook logos embroidered into it.The back logo is a FLYING J logo, which is embroidered into the suit, and shows some wear on it.The set comes with a set of pants. The pants were issued to a crew member named HOUSTON. They show some wear, but are in good condition, aside from the cuffs.The warranty tag is in the back of the waist, and has the name HOUSTON written in Sharpie on it.The right leg has a FLYING J logo embroidered into it in television position.The right cuff has some slight wear on it, and the cuffs have elastic loops on them.The left leg has a design identical to the right leg.The left cuff shows a little more wear than the right cuff.The dangers pit crews face while working on cars are very real, and equipment like this can save the lives of crew members involved in fire-related accidents.
Editor’s note: Next week, I will be away, visiting my parents in Tuscon, Arizona. I’m taking Amtrak down there, and flying home. This will mark the first time in 11 years I have been on an airplane, and I’m nervous. As for The Driver Suit Blog, I will have two Friday Feature articles ready to go, as well as two Throwback Thursday articles. The tracker, and paint scheme grades will wait until I get home. Also, I will have something special planned during the trip, which I think you all will enjoy! See you then!
DGF2099-Main Page 
