After a wild race in Atlanta, we sat down with Matt McCall – crew chief on the No.6 for Brad Keselowski – to talk all things Atlanta, Las Vegas, and learn a little more about Matt’s racing career prior to his time with RFK Racing. You may also be surprised to learn he has a black belt in karate!
Along with Matt, Les Ebert – the strength and conditioning coach for RFK Racing – sat down to talk about his career in the NFL prior to working with RFK Racing, and how his position helps prepare the next generation of NASCAR pit crew members.
Follow @RFKRacing on all social media for more on Backstretch Banter.
All right welcome in it is backstretch Banner with RFK racing on SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 I’m your host Chris Childers we are going to have so much fun today getting inside the RFK team the garage everything that’s going on as the team exits Atlanta and moves to week
Three in Las Vegas the big one Daytona behind us last week Atlanta was one of the craziest races that fans have seen in a long time but now it’s time for the West Coast road trip if you’re new to this show it is a Brand New Concept it
Is our second week last week we had an hour with Chris busher the driver of the number 17 uh this week we’re going to talk to a creie for the number six team we’re going to go and talk to a uh the strength and conditioning coach for RFK
And the whole goal take you behind the scenes let you know what’s going on these guys are working their butts off getting ready to have a great season I know it started off a little bit not the way they wanted to but they’ve learned a
Lot they got a lot going on uh as they go to Vegas and let’s say hi right now to the crew chief of the number six for Rous Fenway the Mustang Mr Matt McCall is our guest Matt it’s good to have you man how are you great man thanks
Appreciate you having me it’s great to have you it really is I have still yet to meet you in person although I could have reached out and touched you during most of the race on Sunday uh sitting in the pit box watching everything going on it is amazing the amount of activity
That is happening in those pit boxes that people never see on television and we’ll get into that in a little bit some of the uh the day-to-day and what happens on race day but two races in I know for the six in particular not the finishes you want but for those that
Watch the races the car has been really competitive you’ve had a chance to win two weeks in a row from your perspective in the Box how do you feel about the start of the Season yeah I mean you know it’s hard to uh Overlook the results right so that’s that’s really all that
Matters in the end but yes I would say Obviously Daytona in position there at the end I think with roughly eight to go uh obviously Brad’s really good at Super Speedways so um you know similar to Atlanta our balance was pretty far off to start the race we had to work on a
Decent amount and once we got it close it seemed like we were we were manageable and Brad was a to make some passes get pretty close to the front there until uh we just had a a major change in Arrow there that sort of um
Caused us to spin out there and get some damage but yeah overall I mean performance- wise we feel like we’re we’re close we still got some work to do to catch a couple cars but once we get to Vegas that’ll be a true test of where
We stack up with uh with the new car for this year the car was super competitive you were there in stage three with the chance to win the thing I was sitting behind you really feeling good I was thinking the Kings Hawaiian was uh going
To have a chance to get in Victory Lane it’s racing it’s the way that it goes for those that were watching the race what exactly happened when the car got loose there in stage three yeah so you know they’re on edge you know and as you
Get closer to the end of the race you know they’re pushing harder and harder and uh the biggest thing they’re so aerod dependent uh you know and so Brad had just just I think I think it was in third roughly we were running um and enter entered pretty high in three and
Four there and just lost a ton of uh front grip and so Had A Little Wheel into it and then when it lands it just snaps and as you can see it happens not not every weekend but at this style track you know pretty regularly with
Arrow chain so it was one of those things we were such on edge of balance-wise need to be a little tighter and he was giv it all he had there and it just you know pretty much just lost traction with the rear once once the front settled and it’s just this car
There’s no uh no saving it once that happen so well it’s just one of those things bad luck there in Atlanta the car looked good the team was really clicking it was a blast to watch you guys do your thing I’m curious from your perspective as you’re sitting there when you’ve put
In a hell of an effort you’re into stage three you think you have a chance I’m watching your body language and it’s almost like the soul exits your body at that moment you’re so engaged and it’s just like son of a gun the guy sitting next to you slamming the table I wanted
To slam something I didn’t want to get in trouble I was so disappointed in that moment cuz you wanted so bad for the team that you’re rooting your ass off for when it happens you’ve been through it you’re a racer yourself you get it it’s a part of it but how damn
Disappointing after you’ve been that close the whole day and you’ve done all kinds of things to give yourself a chance yeah I mean just deflating right I mean like because you you ride the High and that’s obviously what this this sport will do that to you in a heartbeat
You know so you know you start to feel pretty good you’re like okay we’re making some gains going to have a chance you know knowing Brad’s uh really good at strategizing to where he needs to be to finish the race to win the race um so you know it’s almost like you’re
Building more confidence building more confidence and now you know you’ve made your last pit stop you’re good on gas even a scenario for green white checkered you’re feeling okay um it looks okay driving wise as far as you know the data we have to look at and
Then that happens and it’s like who and especially leading up to it you know there’s so much time and effort that goes into it uh that you don’t really get to see technically you you know we you know you just see us go to the track
And go race but and when that happens it’s really hard to uh to to not just be down but that’s what’s one thing about this sport it’ll teach you you better get back up if you want to have a chance the following week so that’s really just
How it goes you know what’s interesting to me as uh somebody who was listening to the radio there when the when the incident happened and Brad gets loose and you guys are then out of the race and you put in a great effort all day is that the conversation on the radio can
Be a little bit nonchalant very matter fact you know your your soul exits your body you’re super disappointed Brad’s mad but at the end of the day it’s a job you kind of know that this is a part of it um give me an idea of the relationship that you have with Brad
Because Brad was really quick to offer praise to everybody and the effort and uh putting the car in a good position to be successful it seems like this team is really locked in from a professional communication perspective yeah I mean I will say like it’s uh it helps that you
Know we’ve been together you know two and a half years now um and you know pretty much a lot of the same guys on the whole team um you know from me and BR Brad’s relationship I mean it’s just it’s just really easy you know we have a
Lot of similar thought process when it comes to communicating about race cars um we work out together regularly so we have you know this communication that’s it’s it’s on it’s it’s pretty high during the week um so we have the same emotion when that stuff like that
Happens in the race right so um obviously he’s down he thinks he’s caus it and you know from my perspective I think I have or that we’ve done something wrong as a team and so really we’re we’re looking to to figure out what the mistake is and how do we fix it
You know I think is really what it boils down to and you’re correct I mean our team is is super tight super jailed um and you know we’re just excited to keep going for this year you’ve been a crew chief for a while and you spent a lot of
Time with chip kassie racing and your crew chief Jamie McMurray and Kurt bus and the championship and certainly uh some great drivers over time I’m curious what it’s like to with to work with Brad kazlowski um he the guy to me that anytime I hear him speak I always think
That guy is really smart there’s something about his racing IQ and I think his his love for science really that goes into the racing part of it um that kind of makes him stand out I know he’s you know he’s an owner of the team he’s a racer but you’ve worked with a
Lot of drivers do you find his racing IQ to be a little bit different does he see things different at all from other drivers you’ve worked with in the past yeah I would say the me methodical part is really high you know and I think that
You know you mentioned it um I think that you know he he does a lot of studying and not just racing and just life in general right I mean like you know so I think that puts him in a unique spot to tie some of it together
And I think it’s his upbringing as well you know I think once you when you grew up the way he grew up racing um you know I think that that happened to to some people but he was definitely a unique spot to uh to learned a ton of things
From his father and throughout his family throughout racing and and from the from a side it’s not just like hey we have everything given to to us they actually you know bringing stuff to the track you would expect it to win and winning races with it and I think that’s
What gives you this different perspective uh that you see out of them to understand all those sides of it and it does make for a unique uh relationship that he’s able to provide all type of information for us it is backstretch Banner here with RFK racing on SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 Chris
Childers with the crew chief for the number six Ford Mustang with RFK racing this week it’ll be the Solomon Plumbing number six Ford Mustang Matt McCall is with us he’s the crew chief for the number six um you’ve had some sort of relationship with Rous Fenway for a
While uh some of the guys were telling me about driver X which was that you know little reality deal uh back in the day and uh you kind of got your first exposure to Rous Fenway uh in a unique way how weird is it for you to kind of
Go full circle uh now that you’ve been with the organization as a crew or with the organization as a crew chief now for a handful of years but to go from driver x to the position you’re in how Full Circle and wild has that been for you
Matt yeah I mean obviously it is you know I mean the the driver X thing I don’t know how many years that’s been 20 plus maybe I’m not sure um Reagan was in that with you right he was he was he was yes sir um you know and I think it is
Full circle you know I there’s still things that I see around this building the buildings that were here when I came here for Nostalgia stuff you know like when they did all typ of Media stuff and some training and stuff uh so like that experience at that point in time
Obviously I was you know pushing to be a race car driver and hope all that work out but you know in the end it still it was a great learning experience met a lot of great people that have helped me throughout my whole career you know and
Then to be back here uh it’s a unique experience for sure you know uh and I I’m very grateful for it and uh still trying to take it all in almost each week you’re a racer you’re a guy that has experience in the car and I think
You uh ran some exfinity and some truck races um a while back you’re certainly now in a position in a crew chief to be make a big difference with a with a team every weekend um what was that decision like for you when you get out of a race
Car when you pursue this element of it how different is it from a mental standpoint from a preparation standpoint from a racing knowledge perspective what Drew you to be a crew chief initially yeah you know I mean I think it just it boils down to my my you know upbringing
And my racing that you know pretty much any I did to start with had had to figure out I’m My Own you know fortun enough my parents helped me uh and they did Supply you know people and resources for me to learn from but at the same
Time a lot lot of hands-on experience um as I was growing up racing you know and I think I had sort of I had set the deadline in my in my time frame it was roughly if I can make it to 30 years old I’m not a full-time race car driver um
Probably need to figure out what the next step’s going to be and so it was actually a couple years before that um I had got my engineering degree obviously right after high school uh because I it’s not you see the writing on the wall but the way the sport is is and trying
To put funding together and that type of thing I was fortunate enough my my family had a family uh boat business um that really helped me a lot uh through all my racing but that was about as far as we could go uh and then the driver X
You know helped give me a chance uh at a couple things here and there um you know and then it turned into okay this is it’s going to be kind of hard to if I’m ever going to have a family or kids or you know feed myself for much more than
A week at a time I probably better figure out what what the next move is and that’s sort of what led to becoming a race engineer at RCR uh for Joey Coulter and now you’re in a great position right now as a crew chief with Rous Fenway um
When you go from engineer I’m curious about that whole progression right so you’re an engineer you got your degree you’re a race car guy you certainly love it you you it’s a part of your blood it’s a part of what you do every single day give us for those people that really
Don’t understand how this works they watch the Races they watch the race car driver they know the crew chief uh they see him get all excited during a win and all that but give us a behind the scenes of that progression of the work from engineer to where you’re at and you’re
In charge of a team and you’re making those you know calling the shots during a race how many years do you have to put in who do you have to prove it to who do you have to impress how does that whole thing work and is it competitive within that group
To you know to stand out to be the crew chief yeah I mean it’s it’s a lot of being in the right place at the right time in relationships really what it boils down to right but I mean from from my perspective it was you know I had a
Relationship with Harold hly um obviously a guy that’s been around the sport for a very long time um and I went to be a a race engineer on a truck for him uh and sort it tied all together as Jeff Burton was driving the cup car at
RCR uh his uh Harrison was actually starting to run late model stocks and which I had had decent success in and still still dabbling in that building some shocks setting some cars up uh so I had built a relationship with Jeff uh worked on their late models a little bit
Took Harrison racing a couple times here and there uh and that’s sort of what led me to having a chance to go uh cup engineer um that’s sort of where it started you know at RCR with Jeff Burton on the on the cup side uh you know and
Then from there it was Newman um and then had got the opportunity to become a crew chief uh at chip gassi racing with Jamie McMurray you know and those those positions are I mean it’s just it’s just really about the timing you know and the relationships you build and what you
Feel like is the next step and how do you get to that next step you know and I think uh I tell obviously the guys that I work with on the six car be careful what you ask for you’re asking what the difference is race engineer side of it
Is actually really enjoyable most of the time uh the crew chief side turns into sometimes a lot of more management and when you’re a Hands-On person uh that sort of sometimes I’m like golly like I’m having a good time that really I would love just be digging bolting
Something together right so you you don’t get to experience that near as much um uh at this level uh as much as probably would be you know appreciated from my side but also there’s not as much time to complete the task you have to complete right so um but overall I
Mean I think it’s uh you know I’ve said a CLE couple times it’s it’s really you know being in the right place at the right time and all about relationships you sound like a college football coach that’s my my normal nine to5 every day is covering college football for SiriusXM and that’s what
They talk about they’re CEOs you know their position coaches are the ones that are in the trenches and actually having fun working with football nowadays these guys are CEOs and there’s a lot of stuff they got to kind of manage over so I think I absolutely understand uh what
You’re saying from that job description but big job important job somebody certainly has to do it Matt Mcall with us it is backstretch Banner RFK racing I’m Chris Childers we got more with the crew chief we’ll preview Vegas when we come back and get inside Matt’s Life
We’ll get to learn a little bit about Matt McCall uh when we come back right here on SiriusXM NASCAR radio we’re back here backstretch Banner SiriusXM NASCAR radio I’m your host Chris Childers we got the crew chief of the number 64 Mustang Solomon Plus coming for Mustang
This weekend in Las Vegas Matt McCall is with us the crew chief for Brad kazlowski driver of the number six car uh Matt we talked a lot about last week Atlanta how good of a race it was certainly you guys had a chance there in stage three got loose a little bit as
Far as the race though and the momentum for NASCAR do you guys feel it right now I know you’re about to leave to go to Las Vegas soon but as you’re in North Carolina I feel the last couple of weeks Daytona kind of got people a little
Gripey with all the pack racing but I feel like last week there is an energy about the sport right now after the three- wide finish how do you feel how do you perceive it from your perspective as a crew chief yeah I mean for sure you
Know I think Daytona um the way that the fuel saving stuff worked out like it’s all perspective right I mean like it’s uh still strategy involved it’s still still tough racing still gives you opportunities they still give trophies out right and that’s what you go to get
So oh yeah um and like you said Atlanta was definitely uh I didn’t watch the end obviously until the next day uh you know but either way yes it correct very good race um and you know I think you go to Vegas and there’s a chance that it’s
Going to be just as exciting there because the restarts with this package here are usually pretty out of control you know three and four wide so um yeah I think the momentum will continue to carry all right so how different is Las Vegas this weekend compared to the last
Couple of tracks Atlanta Daytona different Beast uh obviously package wise a little bit similar what’s the different strategy what’s different in the car tell us about Vegas yeah you know obviously Vegas is a pure intermediate you know the odds are going out there and just holding It Wide Open
The whole run are pretty much zero um you know at Atlanta if you’re by yourself or leading you’re pretty much flat out same thing at Daytona if you’re not saving gas uh so you know at Vegas they’re definitely come a lot more comes into play with the the car setup and the
Handling over the Run uh the balance will be the biggest thing is being able to have a decent balance in traffic uh to make to make moves past cars and also in clean air and then there’s obviously some strategy for for green flag stops which most likely we’ll see a a few of
Those throughout throughout the race there which um usually you know dices it up a lot is there any fun for anybody like when I I always think of Vegas as certainly a great sports city now it keeps booming the Super Bowl was there for years nobody wanted to go there
Because you know they were worried about the Temptations and all that I know that like in I live in Nashville when like RFK is in Nashville they go out they go to Broadway do things get wild at all or is it all business in Vegas yeah it’s
Pretty much all business I feel like the sport has evolved in the past you know 5 10 15 years to where the the going out stuff and honestly the garage hours in the mornings most of the time don’t really allow too much uh you if you are
You’re you’re putting in time to make sure you have no sleep right so I mean it’s I would say it’s pretty lame actually or maybe it’s just me that’s lame but it’s definitely uh it feels that way though probably better lame than not when it when you’re taking a
Trip to Vegas you know you’re going to be doing your job at least and not worried about the feeling the next day uh going to be a lot of fun this week and hopefully the six and the 17 can go one and two I said that last week but I
Really feel uh it’s going to happen this week I’m throwing it out into the Universe um when I Was preparing for this interview and I was talking to some of the guys at RFK they’re like just don’t mess with Matt because he can kick your ass this guy is a tough guy he’s
Like are you doing mixed marshal arts or something like that behind the scenes what’s going on with you uh no so um actually that’s what I grew up building my father has a karate school uh so that that’s what the first thing I I’ve ever
Done was fight so how far up are you in the ring uh I mean I have a black belt um okay so you could absolutely kick my ass I there’s no question yeah I don’t necessarily know that’s what it means but I mean from my perspective you know
I don’t get to they put it near the time I’d like to put in now uh my dad would appreciate if I’d come back and put some time in as well but he also knows that I have a real job now so that doesn’t allow for as much uh play activity in
Some evenings but yeah you know it’s um it’s one of those things that I think biggest thing is just discipline you know it’s probably what uh I was able to take the most out of it through all my my childhood and growing up uh but I
Still like to play around a little bit if I can get over to Kate school I love that um the fact that so your dad you said owned a school he still does yes sir he’s had it almost 45 50 years so how did he get into the whole karate
Thing like how did that become his life it’s a pretty cool story so I want to hear well my my my dad’s uh upbringing is not not the easiest for sure um so okay he uh he he actually was getting beat up in high school and um he he
Didn’t appreciate the way it all went down so he went and started training uh at a martial arts and became friends with the instructor and the story just sort of took off from there I mean they he started training uh getting his ranks and then he started his own karate
School uh and then really that’s just that’s just how old was he oh it was young he you know he was between 18 20 years old you know so um yeah it’s uh it’s and he is like he doesn’t believe there’s anything else exist really it’s
Just karate and life you know so which is which is accurate for him you know so uh but it definitely has helped helped me as an individual uh throughout my life for sure I want to explore that a little bit more I find that fascinating um from a
Discipline perspective I got to imagine that was big in your house if karate is King and he doesn’t want to get picked on how important I mean you probably had some rules right growing up oh yes sir let’s see uh I’ll give you one that
Stands out the most uh if you had your driver’s license just had to be home by dark besides that you were good you know so uh that’s that’s an easy one to probably to keep up with but for sure I mean I would say really really tight
Rules compared to uh uh buddies that I had you know um but it’s weird though because I had those rules but I had free range I think it was almost a test to see what I would try to do or wouldn’t do and I never really push the issues
Because it’s always been a running joke I’m not going to beat you up until you get in a wheelchair he’s not there yet so I’m still still waiting on that time frame he’s waiting he’s waiting to give him give him a whooping uh Matt McCall is with us he’s the crew
Chief for the number six Ford Mustang for RFK racing the Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang this weekend in Las Vegas as the number six team trying to get back on track after a couple of disappointing finishes but the car was really good they were competitive and as I said to
Matt off the air it feels like it’s coming it’s a matter of time before uh number two is in Victory Lane give us an idea of what that would mean the first win for Brad uh this year with this team with the number six with the way that
He’s invested uh in this uh Team you know putting his name on it certainly huge strides in the RFK program over the last couple of years since he got on board but what would that mean for you guys yeah I mean I think just a um a
Feeling of satisfaction you know I mean because you you work as hard as you can there’s not like you can put in more time or more effort in that you know to be able to you know feel like that you’re actually putting it all together to uh to get to Victory Lane because
That’s what you work for every week is to to race for the trophy you know and so I think that uh the satisfaction would almost be I would say like almost that where you uh we’re talking about experiencing the crash at Atlanta it’s like oh it almost be the same way you
Went like oh just for about 30 minutes you like okay we won it’s exciting let’s go to the next one that is the one thing that’s very hard in this sport is the uh to dwell too much right because once you do win it’s that’s only good and for
Once that when you get back to Monday that’s over with you know so uh but yes it would be uh a huge satisfaction especially for the whole group that that I work with here on the six car because most of the guys I’ve worked with for
Many many many years um you know so we’ve had some wins together but it’ be nice to to ring some more off it would be amazing to ring some more off and I think we’d all be super super pumped to watch that happen with this team that’s
Put in so much work over the years to get to where you’re at and you’ve been competitive at the racetrack both the six and 17 pretty much every single week and the 17 got three wins last year so certainly there is a lot of Buzz uh and
There’s no reason after the first two weeks to think there’s the buzz isn’t still there after the way the cars have been competitive the first couple weeks of the season with RFK um couple more things for me because I cannot get the karate thing out of my head how does that play
Into I mean I talked to you earlier about like the nonchalant conversation when Brad exited the race just handling highs and lows of life was that a big part of your dad’s like Mantra not getting too high not getting too low respect I I don’t know
I’m soft so I know nothing about so explain to me this whole thing well I mean I guess some of that for sure I think is just you know from the discipline discipline side is just not making mistakes like like you know you’re were mentioning you’re actually referencing Johnny brenzel I’m G call
Him out because he likes to slam notebooks one things happen um yes and and I am uh plenty guilty of many of those things throughout my life but um I I think it’s one of those things where restraint sort of helps you make not make bad decisions and I think that’s
What from the discipline side that’s you know one of the things you start to take away um is is more about control uh and when it when it needs to be controlled and when it doesn’t need to be controlled and I think that’s probably the biggest takeaway throughout my life
From martial arts um uh of how to handle that you know because you you you get put in circum circumstances especially when people think that you can fight of like almost questioning your abilities right so there’s no reason to there’s nothing to prove there right but the the
Ability is to save your life that’s what that’s what the purpose is so um you know I thinking that’s that’s really the Bulls on the discipline side anybody that’s goingon to mess with a black belt I just think is an idiot if they just want to like peacock up and I’m tougher
Than you yeah okay this guy knows all kinds of Maneuvers and he’s gonna like believe me some big tough guy is gonna get destroyed and I’ll be here for it I would love that and I would never I am the softest dude like I are you kidding
Me once I learned you’re a black belt I’m oh Mr Mcall you’re the greatest guy in the world I would never never mess with you that’s funny uh it’s good to visit man uh thanks a lot for the time good luck in Vegas uh get a win for
Solomon plumbing and thanks so much for coming on yes sir absolutely you have a great day I appreciate it that’s the man right there the number six crew chief for Rous Fenway the Ford Mustang this week it is Solomon Plumbing on the car as the primary sponsor that is Matt
McCall uh we got a lot more coming up we got a really fun show today we’re going to talk to the strength and conditioning coach next Les Ebert rash Fenway kazlowski this guy was a former NFL strength coach who’s done a heck of a job uh getting these guys in shape and I
Know a couple years ago they invested with a beautiful new facility and we’ll talk all about it we’ll get all the inside there uh we’ll talk more Vegas as RFK is preparing for week number three it’s all coming up on backstretch banter with RFK racing I’m Chris Childers on
SiriusXM NASCAR radio we are back here it is SiriusXM NASCAR radio I’m your host Chris Childers backstretch Banner with RFK racing episode number two we got our second guest of the program coming up in just a second Les Ebert who’s the strength and conditioning coach for R Fenway kazlowski racing uh
It’s week number three of NASCAR we are going to Las Vegas going to the West Coast Road Trip coming off Atlanta which is one of the great fun races that most racing fans I I can’t think of a better one that I’ve seen finish wise in a long
Time it was right up there and uh certainly that’s a lot of momentum for the sport going into week three let’s talk to our guy Les Ebert strength coach Les how are you good to talk to you man Chris man thanks for having me on it’s
Great to be here it is awesome to talk to you I was looking into what you do uh last night I was watching some videos and looking at you know kind of the training schedule at RFK and I think this is going to be really interesting
For a lot of race fans to understand the strength and conditioning element of what goes in to a race car uh to be competitive out there um when you’re driving you know 500 miles or something like that it is not for the F of heart it takes a lot of strength and
Conditioning plus the guys on the pit Etc so let’s get into it I I know you have a background uh your dad worked with Dick Trickle but you yourself came from the football World being in the NFL let’s go back in time what initially Drew you to racing toward work with RFK
Well that’s a great question it’s a long story so we’ll go kind of quick but um obviously like you said my dad worked for uh Dick Trickle uh back in the day so um I grew up a little bit with a racing background I kind of knew what it
Was about um you know when I was a kid I just like every other race fan I love the uh smell of gasoline and tires and and it just man it was nothing nothing like it so um but I I did have a sports background as well uh I played football
And basketball in high school and so I was more of a traditional athlete um um then I went to college and uh and got my degree in uh exercise science and uh really fell in love with uh with strength training really um I did it in
High school and I loved it and then I went and did it and pursued a degree in college and uh then after college um I was really fortunate to uh get an internship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997 uh was kind of a deal where it was
The last minute uh deal out one of the interns had to go back to New York cuz he had a family issue so they were uh scr Ling for somebody and uh to make a long story short uh was right place right time and I got an opportunity to
Do that for the 97 season which man there’s just so much uh so much to unpack there um but uh it was the first year uh the Tampa had a winning team and so long you know the last year this old Sombrero right and uh so it was just was
Really a cool time being in that town and uh the electricity of the Buccaneers having a successful season and then we go and beat the Detroit Lions and the Wild Card round of the playoffs and uh that was with Mike Don and War work um War Don excuse me work Don and Mike
Allot and uh WD40 and and uh man that was that was awesome and I eventually lost the Packers but um but that was 97 and then my internship was up and uh I told the uh head strength coach at the time Marcus anovich that man if you ever
Have a a full-time gig I’d really be interested in that so um a year later uh I was I was offered a full-time full-time job with a buck and under coach dunie and my boss marovich and uh so we uh 99 we went to the NFC championship game uh lost to the
Greatest show on Turf and um and then um H goly and then we went to uh the losing staff at the time went to the Hawaii to coach the Pro Bowl Game Y and uh so we did that and then uh so a couple years later you know you’re kind of a victim
Of your own success in the NFL if you can’t keep winning and going and make the next level then there’s going to be changes so uh we were all part of those changes when coach uh dunie left and then uh Jacksonville the Jacksonville Jaguars opportunity opened up uh a year
Later I was out for a season a year later and uh did that until 2009 and uh then the RFK uh opportunity uh became available and so I applied for it and um was fortunately uh fortunate enough to get it and uh here we are 15 years later
And and uh we’re rocking and rolling and the rest is history yeah pretty remarkable to see uh that kind of uh run in your career from football to racing and uh certainly it’s amazing the longevity you’ve had with RFK which means you must be doing a hell of a job
Getting these guys ready pro-athletes are pro athletes and so I think there’s a certain level of Fitness that you need to be successful but certainly the training regimen for a football player and a driver’s got to be different um what was that like for you you learning
How to get these guys into top shape and yeah and how different it for people that don’t understand I’m sure a lot of people have either played High School football or you know understand what it’s like to get in shape for football what’s different about the fitness
Regimen for being a race car driver or being in a pit crew yeah that’s a great great question um well there’s a lot of similarities but there are some differences obviously football players and race car drivers they have biceps and they have triceps and they have
Cores and uh they have necks and so those all need to be those all need be need to be trained um but I will say that um each individual um brings a level of training background um to the uh to the gym each each uh uh driver
Pick crew member um brings a level of experience or inexperience uh to the gym so uh a lot of that stuff becomes uh individualized right so you know your professional football players your Elite level football players they have a lot of skill training they have a lot of
Have come from uh structured strength and conditioning backgrounds um you know when I got first got to RFK you know we that wasn’t the case you know we had guys that um worked on the car or touched the car in some way but then were also uh picker guys as well so um
That was totally different you know there wasn’t we really didn’t have a we had a gym but it really wasn’t um really wasn’t equipped to be able to train uh guys the way that they need to be trained so um you know that’s been such
A huge process uh really and it kind of evolved here when when when Brad stepped in and and said Hey listen we really need to step this up and and I feel like uh now we have a a gym that um can accommodate uh any type of professional
Athlete whether it’s racing or or or non-racing how involved were you with that design having been there as long as you have um knowing what guys need how involved were you with picking out the equipment and everything that needed to to get to be a top flight state-of-the-art fitness facility yeah I
Was I was uh I was I was a lead lead guy in that so I figured it was my one chance to to really do it uh the way it should be done and I didn’t want to didn’t want to hold back and and what I
Felt uh that we needed as a as a company uh to take that next step in our training approach uh with our drivers and with our with our crews so um it was a it was a long process it was a hard process but man every day I look back
And and think man I’m really glad we had to go through that because now what we have is is is really special it’s really cool um I was watching video of it and I’m like damn they got everything they possibly could need there to be successful and I saw Brad uh talking
About it and the pride on his face when he um uh was talking about the different equipment that was purchased and the investment certainly they are very excited about the investment as they should be um give me an idea I’m curious we’re talking right now to the um
Strength the conditioning coach for R Fenway kazlowski racing Les Ebert on backstretch Banner with RFK racing the pit crew guys I find that fascinating I’m curious they’re so unbelievably amazing watching them do their thing right the speed of a pit pit stop the you know strength it takes to
Haul these tires around and all that kind of stuff and to do it so fast I would imagine most people don’t get how much work needs to go into that how much Fitness there is that goes into that give me an idea of the kind of athlete
You usually work with on a pit crew and some of their backgrounds and what you need to do with them from a fitness perspective that we haven’t touched on yet yeah so um you know your Jackman uh just giving you body types you know they’re 60 to 62 they’re 240 to 250 lbs
You know your tire Changers so this is like football you have a body absolutely yeah yeah like uh our uh six uh cup Jack man for Brad I mean he he was a linebacker at uh East Carolina okay um you know so um we got uh we have a
Development Jack man that actually uh played football at Princeton um so then so you got that position front tire changer position you’re looking at 180 to 200 lb we have a guy that uh came to us uh a little over a year ago and uh is Chris bucher’s front front tire Changers
Uh one of the better ones out there uh Jacob Jacob PR just has done a fantastic job uh played like I said college football at Brown was in the CFL for a little bit and then uh he just had it uh when he came when he came to the when he
Came to RFK and uh how smart is he if he’s an Ivy League yeah yeah exactly right that be pretty sharp right yeah smarts and smarts and some athleticism goes goes a long way so um yeah he’s done he’s done a fantastic job um so your tire carriers then uh you know
Those guys are 230 to 250 uh and and and you know we’re talking lean and we’re talking lean and mean guys I mean we’re not talking out of shape guys that drive a doughnut truck every day uh your gasmen or two gasmen are you know they’re they’re 300 lb or 60 to
665 um so uh you know those guys are like offensive offensive defensive linemen uh to shuttle those big cans uh back and forth and and uh you know cuz that’s important too I mean how heavy are those uh they’re 100 PBS okay wow it’s an awkward 100 PBS too when you
Look at it Chris it’s not uh yeah it’s a real it’s a real awkward 100 pound so for those guys to be able to shuttle them and and get them plugged in with as fast as they do which they need to right with the pit stops as fast as they are
Um it’s it’s you know that they’re important and that’s I would say with this Pit Stop uh Chris is like everybody is really important to make it happen and it’s happening so fast you know nine seconds uh four tires and sometimes adjustments and getting you know getting
14 15 Gallons 16 gallons in the car it’s it’s it’s impressive really impressive and when you see it I always recommend adding anybody if you can get into a pit for a race I mean I know it’s not like they don’t just give them out but if you can
Get there it is one of the most spectacular things to see in person and to me one of the greatest displays of Just Fitness and teamwork that you can see is when guys you know in seven eight seconds nine seconds can put four tires on fill this thing up do it in unison
It’s almost like a ballet it it makes sense that there’s a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into it but I don’t know how many people understand the amount of behind the scenes um for those that don’t know I’m curious and you’ll have the answers as
The strength and conditioning coach is there a dietician that works for the team and how hand in hand are you working with the dietician for the proper fuel to get these bodies where you want them yeah Chris great question yep so we have uh Jen brelli uh who comes uh once a week
And uh works works with our guys and uh also we work side by side so we kind of know what uh what each guy’s fueling needs are you know one thing that a lot of fans don’t realize is that when these guys uh get in the fire suits and get
All the Fire protective gear on and then all of a sudden you you’re in the middle of July and it’s 90 95 degrees out you know how do how do we fuel ourselves how do we keep ourselves fueled uh you know some guys some guys when they sweat
We’ve actually Jen’s actually done this we’ve done some sweat testing where guys will lose a lot of salt compared to another guy so um with that information with that knowledge then uh we’re able to customize a hydration plan uh based on their uh unique um make up their
Unique needs uh to be able to help us get through those get through those times when like you know like I said when it’s the um world 600 at Charlotte and we’re doing 12 pit stops and a 4-Hour race and and it’s hot you know um
If you don’t have if you if you don’t if you’re not properly fueled um you know best case scenarios you’re not going to perform at a at a maximum effort you know and in worst case scenarios you’re going to have you know you could potentially have some heat exhaustion so
Um she does a great job of uh you know really covering those details and and um and helping the guys to uh to make sure that uh that they have what they need to to get it done and get us through a race uh not just to make it through the race
But be able to perform uh you know when we all when we talk about the money stop right the last Pit Stop of the race when you’re 3 hours and 50 minutes into this thinging you got to do one more stop and you know and it needs to be it needs to
Be money she’s um she’s done a really good job helping prepare the guys in that manner I find it fascinating I find all that stuff that goes into it behind the scenes from what you put into your body uh how you prepare your body and
How it how it all comes together on race day to me it’s almost as fun as watching the race really I I think that behind the scenes and how it all comes together the journey if you will is uh about as cool as the destination and certainly
Makes it all that much more while uh much more worthwhile we’re talking to Les Eber let’s take take a break we got more coming up with him he’s the strength and conditioning coach at Rous Fenway kazlowski racing you’re listening to backstretch Banner with RFK racing on SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90 we’re back
Here it is backstretch Banner on SiriusXM NASCAR radio with RFK racing I’m Chris Childers is your host we have been hanging out with the strength and conditioning coach for RFK Mr Les eberts and uh it’s been fascinating to find out what goes on behind the scenes as Les
Gets these drivers and these crew guys and all these athletes up to Snuff from a physical perspective getting them to perform at their best there’s a lot that goes into it uh you know one thing I forgot to ask you last segment was about the nexts um in in Formula 1 we always
See these videos of the guy necks getting pulled on by these trainers I know the g-forces aren’t like they are in F1 but is there any of that crazy neck crap going on in NASCAR uh not at RFK racing um we do train the neck but
We don’t we don’t quite train it like that so um the neck is is really important we look at it from a standpoint it’s really important um if you look at the research to help prevent uh concussions um because the stronger those muscles are the more they can help
Dissipate the the forces um so we do train it um but not not not crazy like you like you see um and it is it is a very important area to train and and to be strong but you have to really be careful because it is a very sensitive
Area too the last somebody hurt you know what I’m talking about right you’ve seen those videos and all that oh yeah so is that like would you is that safe like from your perspective as a strength coach are those guys insane yeah they’re insane so
I think so too I’m looking at that I’m like there can’t be good for somebody yeah the last thing you want to do is get somebody hurt in the in the weit room that kind of defeats the purpose right I mean our our whole purpose is to
Keep these guys healthy I mean really if you look at at it Chris I mean we’re here to maximize and protect the owner’s investment so whether it’s driver whether it’s pick crew these guys are talented uh and what they do uh and and our job as as a as a strength
Conditioning staff is to again U maximize that but also make them as durable as possible and make them as healthy as possible backstretch Banner here with RFK racing some thank yous uh before we get done here I just want to make sure everybody gets the love Kevin
Woods and Brandon Lee and Elijah B and Thomas burfield you guys are amazing we love you awesome job helping to put this show together uh so want to thank everybody at RFK um I want to know where are you on race day are you with the
Team are you back in Charlotte are you watching what’s your your role on race day as a strength coach yeah so uh that’s a great question so I’ll take it back to the NFL I really kind of learned this in the NFL is um um we had uh uh
Jobs um that were delicated to us uh no I was not the get back coach um uh but I did help our video staff um uh deliver the uh still shots uh after each play this was back before all the uh all the technology that we have now but uh uh I
Helped helped our equipment staff I deliver the Ste shots after every um after every series so I kind of taken that approach with this as well uh so we have a war room here in Charlotte and I’ll help uh help our coach uh Brock Silvers who’s also in the war room as
Well I’ll kind of ass him and and uh and and with the pit stops and and uh taking notes of what went well and what things we need to work on and and uh and that way it keeps me uh in touch with kind of what happened and uh not only from a
Pick crew standpoint but from the drivers as well um because the reality is is Chris is I kind of make their the drivers I kind of make their workouts up on Monday morning kind of based on I kind of know obviously if we’re going to Vegas we’re going to Bristol kind of
Some general of what we’re going to see coming out of that but then also you know you know you just don’t know how the race goes so was a long green flag one was it uh was it short green flag runs did did did we get wrecked did we
Not so um so typically I come up with the uh workouts on Monday and like I said the War Room really helps keep me uh in tune with kind of what happened uh during during the race that’s interesting it really is I was curious I was curious what uh was going on during
Race time L Ebert is our guest from Rous Fenway kazlowski racing its backstretch Banner with RFK racing episode number two SiriusXM NASCAR radio hope everybody’s loving this cuz I am just sitting here talking to these guys and uh learning about what happens behind the scenes I think it’s really cool that
We’re doing a radio show like this every week where it’s not just about talking to the drivers and finding out what happened from their perspective on the track but really understanding what goes into these teams and what kind of resources they uh need to be successful and certainly we’re doing that today
With les and with Matt McCall who we had on earlier I’m curious did you love racing as a kid were you around the track a lot with your dad around Dick Trickle was it something that seeped into your blood did you love it more when you got older
Sometimes kids like resist what Dad does but how is that whole relationship like I know Chris I tell you when I went to the track and you smelled those tires and you smelled the gasoline oh it’s the best oh there was just nothing like it I
Don’t know it was sounds are my in the sounds and and um yeah so I I got to travel a little bit with my dad in the summertime uh when he worked for uh dick uh in the ASA series back in the 80s um
And it was it was it was a blast you know obviously it was a different looking back on it now there such a different culture than uh than what uh than what football was but I really enjoyed it I I really loved it and then uh when this opportunity came up at RFK
I kind of looked at it as like that you know as it’s it’s really an opportunity to to kind of build something from nothing right and um uh whether it’s uh whether it’s uh training protocols whether it’s training accountability whether it’s training equipment you know
Um when I when I got here 15 years ago it was an opportunity to really um really uh start something from scratch and and build it build it up and and um man it’s been it’s just been such a blessing I’ve really enjoyed every every
Day uh and now was not easy easy days but uh but but at the end of the day um I really enjoyed the the time here and to to try and really like I said build something from nothing to where it is now I think I have time for maybe one more question
And I think this is really interesting how much has technology changed your ability to do your job in 15 years oh man it’s uh it’s changed a lot um obviously you know when uh when I first came uh we know we didn’t have heart rate monitors right so um as my
Time has come along we’ve actually hooked we’ve actually used Chris uh this is this is back in the day a little bit uh I can’t remember the exact year but Chris was running the uh 30 4 Cup car at uh Bristol had a great run it was a long
Green flag runs that day I think he finished like third or fourth I know it was top five and uh we actually he was actually um willing to hook her heart rate monitor up so we could actually see uh the amount of uh calories that were
Burned and you know how much how high the heart rate was and I’ll tell you what it was fascinating I mean yeah his heart rate you know that again that particular race um that particular uh race track uh it’s going to be high heart rate to begin with um just because
Of how how how it shaped and and um then you had the long green flag runs and I mean there there was there was times where it wasn’t over an hour green flag run and he was he was in the 90th percentile from a heart rate standpoint
Um so you know Jen was Jen was just started with us and um we looked at the information it’s like man it’s like he just ran a marathon you know um with the amount of energy that that that it took to be able to to be able to do that uh
Over the course of three hours um she said you know was very very very close to uh marathon runners that is beyond fascinating to me Beyond fascinating all right one last Quick One is it hard for you to make your boss uncomfortable uh Brad kazlow that’s a great question I tell you what
So you know a lot of this is uh has always been a challenge for me right and um so when Brad first came to to RFK it was it was uh man it’s just like this is just this is another Challenge and um you know it’s it’s one of those deals
Where just like any other just like any other person where you’re acting asking them to get uncomfortable you got to build a relationship first right so that was first and foremost I got to build this trust uh that uh that what we’re doing is is is going to help him because
Uh you know typically when you’re train you got to get a little bit uncomfortable so um you know it took it slow took took a while but uh but Brad is Brad is Brad has done a great job uh he worked really hard he’s he’s uh done
Everything we’ve asked him to do and and I couldn’t be more proud of of Brad and uh and how he how he trains now compared to when we first when we first got started it’s been it’s been a lot of fun that’s the man Les Ebert Les thank you
So much for the time we appreciate it Chris thanks for having me on strength and conditioning coach for RFK Les Ebert we are done for the week excuse me as I’m coughing and choking at the end of it I want to thank Kevin Woods Brandon Lee Elijah Burke Thomas burfield it’s
Backstretch Banner with RFK I’m Chris Childers we’ll see you next week on Sirius XM NASCAR radio
1 Comment
RFK getting better I’m telling ya