Is it real or a myth? Bootie Barker knows for sure. Credit: Autostock

Urban Legends: Chicagoland

Think you really know NASCAR and its teams? Bootie Barker, crew chief of the No. 66 Chevy, breaks down some of the truths and misconceptions about the sport.

Myth: Everyone working in the NASCAR industry lives on or near Lake Norman.

FACT OR FICTION? Is there something about NASCAR you always wanted to know? Crew chief Bootie Barker will tell you whether your perception is fact or fiction.  •   Send Bootie your question ...

Fact: No, this one isn't true. There are thousands of people working in NASCAR, and they're all over the place. You have to remember there are a few teams, like Bill Davis Racing, Petty Enterprises, Morgan-McClure Motorsports and PPI, that are not located that close to Mooresville and Charlotte.

As far as drivers, I'd say there's a lot of "mid-level big-timers" who live on the lake. What I mean by that is, if you're one of the really big stars, you'll probably get aggravated living on the lake.

People will figure out where you live. I remember hearing about Jeff Gordon, when he lived on the lake, he had a fan pull up to his dock and walk up and peek in his windows.

That would freak me out. I know Dale Earnhardt Jr. lives on his farm, Tony Stewart lives up in Indiana, and I'm not even sure where Jeff lives now.

What I also mean by a "mid-level big-timer" is that it takes a certain amount of money to live on the lake. You have to have been in this sport a certain amount of time and built up enough savings to afford to live on the lake.

So, a lot of the guys who live on the lake are the ones who have some money, but won't get bothered like someone who is as big a name as Jeff Gordon is.

Myth: Team owners are very hands-on, usually coming to the shop every day.

Fact: No, not so much. This used to be true, but you find this being less and less the case these days. This sport is so big, no one person can keep their arms around an operation of any size.

A guy who's fielding his own team, like a Kirk Shelmerdine, probably is at the shop all the time, but the bigger owners have a staff of people they rely on to keep things happening.

A team owner needs to be somewhat visible to provide some identity for the team, but a lot of team owners also have other interests.

I mean, Rick Hendrick has his car dealerships, and Richard Childress is getting his vineyard together. Then you have owners like Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach who aren't necessarily car guys, so they have general managers who help keep things running smoothly.

Fact: Modern Nextel Cup teams have corporate structuring with general managers, vice presidents and various middle management.

Fact: Day-to-day operations are often overseen by relatives of the team owner. This has been especially true in the Hendrick, RCR, Gibbs, and Yates organizations.

Myth: Over-the-wall pit crewmen also work in the shop during the week.

Fact: This is true in a lot of cases. For me, I like having my guys in the shop. I think it makes them feel like more of a part of the team. I don't necessarily like our pit guys to have other careers.

What you are finding, though, is that you have to prioritize the guys' time. If I have a pit crew member who's also a mechanic at the shop, you have to make the call as to what's more important -- him working on the car, or him being a part of pit practice.

He can't be in two places at one time. It hasn't been that much of a problem to this point, but I can see where it might mean me having to hire another shop guy at some point to cover for that pit crew member so he can focus on his primary role, which is making sure we have fast pit stops.

Myth: Team members typically receive stacks of free merchandise.

Fact: No, not really. I mean, all the guys get plenty of apparel for the year, but as far as other merchandise, it depends on who your sponsors are.

In the case of Best Buy, they give us a really nice discount on product, and they sometimes bring us goodie bags of items for the team, but it's not realistic to expect them to give everyone at our race shop a 51-inch plasma screen TV, you know?

Now, I'm sure the teams sponsored by candy companies probably get plenty of boxes of candy, and I've heard of other teams that get boxes of cereal or blue jeans or whatever from the company that sponsors them or their drivers.

Again, it depends. Usually, the sponsors are pretty generous with that stuff, but I did hear there's a team sponsored by a certain company, and the team members only get one free box of product once every three months.

I'm talking about a huge company who could easily afford to hook the team up with cases and cases of product if they chose to. Still, the sponsor is signing a big check, so if they give you anything at all, you should say "thank you," be happy and shut up.

Myth: With today's large purses, even single-car crew chiefs are becoming wealthy within a few seasons.

Fact: Well, this one depends on your definition of wealthy. Personally, I feel like I get paid pretty well.

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The average person would probably consider anyone who has a net worth of over a million dollars to be wealthy, so using that criteria, yes, even a single car crew chief can become wealthy within a few years, if he's signed a good contract.

Now, I'm not saying what we do should be worth that much money, and I know there are people out there who work much harder for much less money.

Still, there are guys who throw a baseball for a living that get paid millions, so if you're fortunate enough to be able to make a good living in racing, you have to go for it.

This does need a little clarification, though. Let's say I worked for one of the multi-car teams.

If you're a crew chief for one of those organizations, and you're winning a bunch of races, contending for championships and are usually in the top-10 in points, you're going to be able to ask for a lot more than you could make with a single-car team.

But, if you're with a multi-car team and your car is just doing so-so, then you can probably make more working for a single-car team.

It just depends. Like in any other business, if you're successful, you have a lot more bargaining power when it comes time to sign a new contract, and you're going to make more money.