My phone rings. I check the caller I.D. and see that is a friend of mine. And not just any friend, a friend who I worked alongside at my last race team. He sat in the very same room with me while a group of us were told we had lost our jobs.
We had been teammates at another race team years before. That team could not replace a departing sponsor and close to 50 people went unemployed. He and I always kept in touch and a few years later we found our toolboxes in the same shop once again.
At the risk of sounding like a skipping record, sponsorship was not renewed once again, and another group of people was unemployed. Around the NASCAR garages the time frame has many nicknames. I commonly refer to it as the 2008 Massacre.
Over 1,000 motorsports related jobs were eliminated. Enough to grab headlines in the national media. Our industry wasn’t the only one hit. Millions of people around the country can empathize. Far too many have their own unfortunate story.
What has not made headlines is the fact little has changed for the ones let go. What once was the sport’s dedicated backbone, are now the sport’s victims. A large group of people who helped keep this sport going is no longer part of it. Some are on the outside looking in. Others are no longer looking and have moved on to the next chapter in their lives. And that chapter does not include NASCAR.
My friend on the phone chatted with me about a familiar story. Familiar because the words from his mouth have been said from mine.
He described going from team shop to team shop handing out resumes and no phone call in return.
He described calling his racing industry friends for job leads, only to find that they themselves were unemployed.
He described filling out job applications for large retail shopping marts, home improvement chains, and his local town’s labor force. No jobs have been forthcoming. Heck, even getting return phone calls has been a chore. This tale is one I have heard repeatedly, and lived it all too well.
Another former co-worker and I had a conversation over the phone recently too. The former fabricator and over-the-wall talent no longer even lives near the Charlotte region. He returned to his native northwestern United States and has opened up his own metal shop. Being in an unemployed position for an extended period was something he could not survive. He fortunately saw the trend and moved back to where he was surrounded by his family and longtime friends. His current worries no longer include if a sponsor will leave.
I keep in contact with the many friends I have made in motorsports over the years. We used to all race together. Now we all shake our heads about having to use the words “used to” in that sentence.
If I had the money to start my own race team I would not have to hire anyone away from a current position. My entire staff could be made up of current out-of-work racers and we would have a competitive team.
Some new teams have been formed to race and they bear little resemblance to the ones they replaced. You would be surprised at how many guys are working for free or for less money than unemployment benefits pay. Some families and households are suffering as racers try to cling to be a part of the sport in their former capacity.
My original friend who called shared an additional story. His son plays basketball and at halftime his son made a prayer request for Dad while the team was in the locker room. The grade school aged boy understands his father’s plight for employment. But his dad sure wishes he didn’t have to.
The situation involving all the displaced NASCAR workers is similar to many news stories. When it is current, breaking news the press is there to cover it. But life moves on and so do the headlines.
The real people the story revolves around don’t go away and they are finding inner strength to deal with the daily struggles. Maybe there isn’t a reporter writing about this every day like a year and a half ago, but the people are as real now as they were then.
The articles have gone away. The unemployment troubles have not.
(Patrick Reynolds is a former NASCAR mechanic who co-hosts the One and Done auto racing radio talk show Tuesdays at 11am ET. Listen in at www.wsicweb.com)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Been on the cup side for 30 years was let go from RPM 2nd week of 2010 had heard how rough it is out here but never dreamed it would be this bad.You touched on it alittle, want a be owners that see an opportunity to make a quick buck or $$$$$$$$$$$ because they know they dont have to pay me or anybody else with experience at this level because there will always be someone that will take that low ball number. This way of making a living has changed the minds of many whether to continue.Im not done yet but looking at other ways even if this is the only thing I have done since 1980.
I feel that there is alot of great ,talented, fabricators and fixers out there walking,looking,and not finding anything and at the same time you have someone who has less talent and want too low-balling to keep a job,perhaps some of this shows in the finishes these teams have had, kinda like the way life really is today and has been for years.Quality plus, maybe the plus means better work equals better finishes.I really admire the young man who started his own business this is what keeps America strong just getting out of the Carolinas could open many doors the racing business is really stagnant now,good luck to him . I have a friend who bought his own welding truck and the farmers keep him busy all the time and he only has to pay himself and he says he makes more now he ever did working for the other man.
It is like that all over. I’m sorry it has hit the sport. I was formally employed by one of those companies that backed out of sponsorship and was let go. I have an MBA and can’t get a return call. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.