Clint Bowyer has some veteran help keeping his No. 07 Chevrolet on the racetrack this season. Credit: Autostock

Fedewa helping Bowyer, himself in spotter role

Rookie driver needs experience; veteran needs exposure

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- For racecar drivers, age 38 is the prime of their career, when experience and seat time merge with maturity -- ideally to create a formidable weapon.

But the final and most critical pieces of the puzzle -- opportunity and chemistry -- can sometimes be the most elusive.

	Tim Fedewa has four Busch Series wins.
	Inside the Numbers Clint Bowyer's finishes in Cup since Tim Fedewa became his spotter earlier this year at Texas Track Start Finish Texas 12 19 Phoenix 8 5 Talladega 15 40 Richmond 20 10 Darlington 3 23 Average 11.6 19.4

Enter 15-year Busch Series veteran and four-time winner Tim Fedewa. While Fedewa has ardent hopes of getting back behind the wheel, his current role is to benefit young Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer, for whom Fedewa spots each week as the youngster runs fulltime in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series.

"It's been a good experience," Fedewa said. "Because I'm with such a good organization and that makes things a lot easier for me."

Fedewa said he passed his "audition," at Texas Motor Speedway, and since then has stepped fully into the role. The ironic thing is Fedewa replaced Mike Dillon, also a former driver, as Dillon's responsibilities at RCR escalated.

"It's been a big help already," Bowyer said of Fedewa's assistance. "It's a very helpful tool to have somebody that's been there, to point things out, to show you what you might be doing wrong and where guys are getting you -- and the lines they're using to do it with.

"They can see a lot more than a regular spotter, who's never been behind the wheel and doesn't have that feeling."

The model that Fedewa hopes to follow to get back into a driver's seat was successfully molded by former Busch Series champion David Green, who found himself out of a ride at the beginning of the 2002 season.

"When I was faced without driving, I figured the next best seat is up in the spotters' stand," Green said. "It was an opportunity to be at the racetrack and, particularly working with Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte, how drivers of their caliber put these situations into play.

"What I did was build up my data bank of information that I'd be able to relate to when I got back behind the wheel."

Green's plan paid off when he spotted for Rick Hendrick's son, Ricky, and then ran a number of races in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 Busch Series car.

"I was fortunate, when Ricky decided to retire from driving, that I was in a position to step into his car," Green said. "It's terrible to think of how many times a driver or a crew chief has been out of sight and out of mind."

Green, who actually spotted for Labonte in the first five Cup races this season while also driving Brewco Motorsports' No. 27 Ford in the Busch Series, said his spotting experience transferred very well back to the driver's seat.

"Being in the spotters' stand made me have a better understanding of how the whole race transpires," Green said. "When I'm behind the wheel, I know the race is going to be 200 or 300 laps and we're going to make pit stops.

"But what I'm really focused on is looking out the windshield, mashing the gas and going. When I got up on the spotters' stand, I became more aware of how critical pit calls were, how critical the timing of them was and how much was going on that I had no control over, as a driver."

Fedewa concurred, in virtually the same terms.

"You see the big picture and you learn when the yellows fall and if you can hang on until Lap 30, you'll usually be fine because you'll catch a yellow by then," Fedewa said. "I've found myself imagining, when I'm driving, how I would talk to myself if I was spotting.

"So being up on the spotters' stand that helps me in communicating with Clint."

Bowyer said the intangible "timing" might be the best thing he's picked up from his driving spotters.

"The biggest thing I've learned is just being in the right place at the right time," Bowyer said. "And only a guy that's been behind the wheel and in the seat can put you in that situation.

"Nine times out of 10 it's a timing thing, like at a [restrictor] plate track or something like that where you need to be at the right place at the right time to prevail. At a track like Richmond, it's more getting input on your lines and where guys are beating you."

Fedewa said he's figured out, pretty quickly, what Bowyer reacts best to.

"Like any driver, he wants encouragement and he wants confidence in a spotter," Fedewa said. "But he doesn't want a cheerleader, I don't think. You have to do that at certain times, but I never liked that when I was driving because you're trying as hard as you can every lap.

"There are some times during a race when you need to be egged on a little bit, and I think as a driver, I can relate to Clint a little better on when he needs that particular push."

Bowyer says interacting with Fedewa is something he never gets enough of.

"There's not a practice session that goes by where I'm not talking to Tim about where they're beating me, or how they're getting off the corner better and what he's seeing up there, on top," Bowyer said. "He can see cars and where they're fast and what they're doing.

"He can see that and know that if you're not getting in deep enough, he knows that maybe because you're not getting into the corner a certain way, you're too loose.

"He's been there before, he has that feel and he knows where he can help you, and where he can't. And he knows when to speak up and when to keep his mouth shut."

Fedewa says he's starting to get respect from his driver, which is very important.

"I think he's pretty confident that as a driver I know what I'm talking about," Fedewa said. "I think that gives him more confidence and if a few guys are starting to run high he's going to pay more attention to that.

"And I think having a former driver up there helps the whole crew out by calming them down a little bit more. I'm not saying there are not great spotters who haven't driven, because there a lot of them up there I'd love to have as my spotter when I was driving.

"I just think as a driver you've got a little bit more to offer to another driver."

If Fedewa does get a driving job, Bowyer said he'd be able to deal with the disappointment.

"Tim's been a good friend of mine for a long time, so it was nice to have him come over and come on board with us," Bowyer said. "Obviously it's not what he wants to do and it's not what I would wish for him, but he has been a big help.

"I enjoy having him around because he's a fun person to be around, on top of everything else he brings to the table. Hopefully his day will come when he gets another ride and if it does, we'll have to find us another good spotter."

As much as Fedewa enjoys the spotter thing, at the end of the day, he's still hoping the call comes to get behind the wheel.

"I'm hopeful that will happen," Fedewa said. "That's really why I do this, because I need to keep my face around, and by listening to the crew chiefs on the radio I can keep up what they're doing to the cars and what the cars feel like, through listening to Clint.

"Meanwhile, when I'm not up there spotting I can network around a little bit and try to get some stuff going, and that's what I'm doing. I still think I've got a few good years in me and I sure would like to get another good opportunity.

"I look around and see some teams that could use an experienced driver. It's a little bit aggravating to be 38 years old and being called 'old.' I don't mind being called a veteran, but being called old -- that's a different story."