Bootie Barker and Jeff Green are closing in on the top 20 in points. Credit: Autostock

Shop Talk: Bootie Barker

Driver Jeff Green and crew chief Bootie Barker are 10 races into their first season together at Haas CNC Racing, and coming into this Mother's Day weekend Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway, could be poised for a breakout.

Barker, a former high-school linebacker, was on the leading edge in the mid-1990s of a wave of college engineering graduates who are now deeply entrenched in NASCAR racing as everything from crew chiefs to shock specialists.

Inside the Numbers Jeff Green at Darlington Year Start Finish 1997 42 39 1998 42 32   41 16 2002 9 25   20 12 2003 32 19   35 18 2004 30 24   32 14 2005 23 22 Averages 30.6 22.1 • One DNF, in 1997 (electrical)

The No. 66 crew chief, who is a member of the panel of chief mechanics who appears each week on the NASCAR Performance magazine show on SPEED Channel, talks about the attraction of racing at Darlington, what a car's setup needs to maximize to win there and why Green is a threat to win Saturday night.

Q: Bootie, are you in the camp that would like to see two races a season at Darlington again?

Barker: Yeah. Darlington's old school -- a tough racetrack. And I like that.

It's a case where it wears your tires out and the pace slows down. I definitely like two races there.

Q: As a crew chief, does the characteristics of that racetrack keep you having to make more decisions and formulating more strategy on the fly? And is that more desirable as far as being a challenge?

Barker: Yeah, it is, because you can't just build for aero or you can't just build for pure mechanical grip. At Darlington, you have to have both.

And your driver has to be skilled. It's just a really tough place.

Bootie Barker Credit: Autostock

Q: So ostensibly, does that mean the better chief mechanic would always come out on top?

Barker: That's a tough question, because it depends. It depends on where you're strongest and how good the package that you have is, when it needs to be.

Q: Setup wise, what's the biggest challenge at Darlington?

Barker: That would be keeping mechanical grip and yet, keeping a good aerodynamic platform in the car. They don't go hand in hand, you know?

So it's finding that fine balance of, 'Do you make this change based on aero or do you make this change based on mechanical?'

Over the years, it' always been mechanical, but now aero is coming more and more into the decision-making process.

Q: How much adjustability do you have to build into a car there, and is racing at night at Darlington different than it was when, for example, you ran the Southern 500 on a hot Labor Day weekend afternoon?

Barker: It's tough as iron either way. I don't know how you'd draw a difference.

Inside the Numbers Jeff Green in 2006 Race Start Finish Rank Daytona 21 42 42 Fontana 26 24 35 Las Vegas 14 18 30 Atlanta 39 26 31 Bristol 29 15 28 Martinsville 34 25 28 Texas 4 18 26 Phoenix 23 18 23 Talladega 39 14 21 Richmond 25 18 21

And you can't build but so much adjustability into your car. You can put wedge in or take wedge out, you can adjust the track bar, you can make air pressure changes and you can pull, or put in spring rubbers -- but that's the same everywhere.

You're kind of locked-down.

Q: What would you say is Jeff's best characteristic as a driver for dealing with that place and is there anything you have to keep on him about as that race goes on?

Barker: I'd say he is consistent and also savvy -- smart -- about what he needs to do. He knows that Darlington will whup the hell out of you if you're not careful and he'll respect it.

That's what I'd say are his strong points when we go to Darlington.

Q: Is Darlington a place where you want more practice time, or less practice time?

Barker: It doesn't matter -- as long as it's all equal for all of us. But I do want to see the Southern 500 come back.

Q: Where do you draw the line at gaining more knowledge or wearing stuff out by practicing more -- or potentially tearing stuff up, which might be a risk or concern at a place like Darlington?

Barker: In this day and age, you're not going to wear it out because we replace everything before the race, anyway, like all of the valve springs on the engine.

And if you have any doubt that a part is even slightly worn -- we replace it.

Now what could happen, like you say, is if you get in the wall and wreck, but what you decide there is just to each crew chief's discretion and what they're trying to learn or accomplish.

Q: Is doing well at Darlington one of the most satisfying things you can do, across the board, in this series?

Barker: Sure. If you can win at Darlington, you know you've accomplished something [because] it's tough.

So I'd say, yeah, it's definitely one of the greatest accomplishments you could have.

Bootie Barker oversees the work done to the No. 66 Chevrolet. Credit: Autostock

Q: For yourself, what's your best Darlington memory?

Barker: I've had a lot of good memories there. I've had great finishes there with other drivers and I just enjoy the track.

I can't say it's any one thing -- I just enjoy the whole deal.

Q: Strategically, how would you like the end of the Dodge Charger 500 to play out, to give you the best shot to win?

Barker: On a long run. I like a long run to close out a race, where you're at the end of your fuel window and your tires are wearing out and your car's moving around a lot -- and yet no caution comes out.

So that means the race finishes under green and the best cars come to the front. That's what I like.

Q: But if a caution does come out late at Darlington?

Barker: You get tires.