What makes a race team successful? (Talent - Equipment- Crew Chief)

[pushin cushin]

I do not get on here a ton, so maybe this has already been a topic in the past. I’m curious to know what people think (percentage wise) it takes for a team to be successful? (Obviously, outside of tons of sponsorship/money!) I understand equipment plays a huge part, but how much and how much does talent and crew chief factor into success? Really curious to know what the opinions are on this.

For example-

Driver Talent: 33%

Equipment: 33%

Crew Chief: 33%

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

It depends.

I'll do some definitions first.

Equipment= what you buy at the engine and chassis shop. Basically, if you have the money for a top flight car, they are all more or less equal.

Crew chief = customization of the car and changes during the night

Driver = self explanatory

Equipment 20%
Crew chief 60%
Driver 20%

Equipment 20%
Crew chief 30%
Driver 50%

Both of those above can be a path to success. Late models are not terribly technical to drive but, a really good driver can make a difference. It's easier to make gains in the shop and win with a better race car and serviceable driver.

[Josh Bayko]

The most successful teams find whatever ratio of all three fits best for them.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Dollars, buy the chassis and motors to run up front

Dollars, buy the best crewchief

Dollars, buy you whatever driver you want

Luck, all the dollars can't buy luck and it's something every driver wii tell you they need

[dirtcrazy4u]

Read above, team 49, prove me wrong

[Raceready]

Nowa days one has to factor in having an engineers input into the mix . . .

[cgrace]

100% of what he said, plus the opportunity to take adantage of someone else's bad luck. ---- Dollars, buy the chassis and motors to run up front. ----Dollars, buy the best crewchief. ----Dollars, buy you whatever driver you want. ----Luck, all the dollars can't buy luck and it's something every driver wii tell you they need

[Barbecueboy]

Luck let’s you miss that unseen debris that didn’t cut a tire or that deer in the road driving in the night before……it’s a must have sometimes.

The equipment has to be relevant but i think the driver crew chief thing could have a pretty wide range depending on the situation……at the top level if I had to make a wild guess I would say in todays racing it would be a pretty even split of thirds.

[fastford]

I have sat in all three positions , and unfortunately , in todays racing , equipment and the dollars to by said equipment are at the top , crew chief and driver most of the time are about equal .....

[84wedge]

Dollars, buy the chassis and motors to run up frontDollars, buy the best crewchiefDollars, buy you whatever driver you wantLuck, all the dollars can't buy luck and it's something every driver wii tell you they needScott Brothers.

[Barbecueboy]

I think the guy that missed the debris would say he’s luckier than the guy right behind him that ran over it……and if you want my complete honest opinion on luck I think it’s just an over used word that really means a little help from above.

I dont think stuff “ just happens”………but that’s just me.We are all different.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Maybe I should have used unlucky.

[dirtcrazy4u]

No such thing as luck. What ever happens just happens.. not because some magical force caused it to happen.

Magical force ? I doubt that , I'll take luck. I win that mega jackpot Lance Landers won't know what hit him

[billetbirdcage]

It depends.

I'll do some definitions first.

Equipment= what you buy at the engine and chassis shop. Basically, if you have the money for a top flight car, they are all more or less equal.

Crew chief = customization of the car and changes during the night

Driver = self explanatory



There are so many variable to what is better on a given situation but I'm gonna go along the lines and define some stuff like MB did above:

Equipment: Some may just call this budget in a sense, now once you get past that the team has a current car and good engine package (lets also say just one good car and one good engine). On a given single race night, having multiple cars and engines isn't that much advantage, but over a season it sure is on having fresh equipment and being ready as big budget teams have more spare parts and other cars and engines so fixing things and getting prepared for the next races is way way easier so over a season it can be a big advantage. So a lot of that depends on what teams your comparing, like 2 national level teams or a national team vs a local hot shoe and if it's a single race where both had plenty of time to prepare or if you taking a race after both teams have just ran part way thru hell week or your talking over a full season of racing.

Crew Chief: I'm gonna assume this is more then just crew chief here and gonna label this as crew also like tire guy and just basic consistent help at the track and shop. Also gonna dis-include driver as dealing with any of the set up and is just driving the car (I know this isn't the case in many situations but it makes sense to do it this way for conversation.

Driver: Besides just driving the car, you have to include driver feedback on what the car is or isn't doing and also on track decision making, like what line to run and when and also how hard to push the car and tire management (I know some of this falls into crew chief area with signal sticks).

Sorry short on time and didn't want to lose what I typed so later I will list some scenarios where you might find one of those at a way higher % is more successful and other times where a different % is generally better.

[Raceready]

Scott Brothers.Now there is a prime example !

[d-glenn]

In my opinion it's all about the driver, take the top five, put them in a different car and they would remain in the top five.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

In my opinion it's all about the driver, take the top five, put them in a different car and they would remain in the top five.

I'm certain Johnny Scott would put the 49 up front. I'd lay any amount of money on it. He's talented enough to win at that level.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I'm not saying he would have won all 3 this week, but he'd get a win.

[Josh Bayko]

Johnny Scott is a wheelman. When they first went out on the road with the LM, Johnny should have been the driver and Stormy the crew chief. They would have been up to speed faster.

[Barbecueboy]

BBQ..

One last question about your example. Suppose the guy that missed hitting the deer which would have caused him to stop, drove another 1/2 mile and was hit and killed by a drunk driver. Was not hitting the deer good luck or bad luck?

Maybe I'm unlucky when it comes to using the quote function on here.
Guess that depends on how hard he stopped after hitting the deer? If he ran off the road and died because of it it’s really a push……if he hit the deer and killed it then I would say it’s bad luck for the deer…..if he hit the deer and killed it but then was able to proceed and then subsequently got hit by a drunk driver and killed down the road then I would have said it was horrible luck for all involved.

Your question was complicated. How did I do?

[Barbecueboy]

In my opinion it's all about the driver, take the top five, put them in a different car and they would remain in the top five.

After further consideration This^This^This^………I never really thought about it in these terms but I think d-glen is on to something.

[dirtcrazy4u]

I disagree, some drivers feel comfortable in a certain brand over others. Take Jimmy Owens last year, he had a horn and yes from what was rumored it needed clipped, he went back to his rocket. Mike Marlar, had and was fast in a rocket but feels much better in a horn. To be a top driver you still have to have that feeling in your bottom and when it feels right you know it immediately. If you swap cars between JD and BP I think neither one of them would be top 5.

[Barbecueboy]

I’ve never been a fan of discussing hypotheticals a whole lot because those discussions are always emotion filled and rarely quantifiable. I think the top 5 might be mixed up a little but think they would be the same 5 in it even if they swapped cars with each other.