Robbie Reiser has been focused on his family the past year. Credit: Autostock

Lack of family time has been tough for Reiser

After loss of father, crew chief wants more time with wife, kids

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Robbie Reiser's head dropped last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway as he recalled a phone call from his wife about their 9-year-old son's Pee Wee football game.

As happy as the crew chief for Nextel Cup driver Matt Kenseth was for the East Lincoln Mustangs' 14-6 victory, there was sadness in his voice.

"It's hard on me," said Reiser, whose son starts at center. "He's played for two years and I haven't seen a game. And that's a shame. To watch him play and watch all the other parents go help these kids, you'd really like to be there yourself trying to help him along."

	Matt Kenseth is trying to win his second Cup title with crew chief Robbie Reiser. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Kenseth's Cup career with Reiser Year W T5 T10 Rank 2000 1 4 11 14 2001 0 4 9 13 2002 5 11 19 8 2003 1 11 25 1 2004 2 8 16 8 2005 1 12 17 7 2006 4 15 20 2 Note: 2006 statistics based on first 35 races Garage PassKenseth looking for a big run in Homestead Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Reiser always had his father to help him along until this time last year.

That ended when 67-year-old John Reiser lost his battle with cancer the Saturday before the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Not only did Reiser lose the man that had been most influential in his life, he lost the man who remained constant in the lives of his three children while he put in 100-hour weeks trekking from racetrack to racetrack for 36 weekends.

Since then, nothing in Reiser's life has been the same.

He returns to Homestead-Miami this weekend a different man, one as focused on having a life outside of racing as he is helping Kenseth overcome a 63-point deficit to Jimmie Johnson to win his second championship.

"You look at things that you do in the long term," said Reiser, who helped Kenseth win the 2003 title. "Family becomes more important. ... My dad spent a lot of time with my kids. When he isn't around anymore somebody has to fill that void."

Reiser wants to be that person. He doesn't plan to be a crew chief much longer, vowing he won't be doing this in five years, probably less. He would like to take on more of a general manager's role, something that doesn't require him to be at the track from Thursday through Sunday.

He has the experience to do that, having run his own race team for much of the 1990s in Denver, N.C.

"I always kid everybody because everybody always says NASCAR is a family program," Reiser said. "There is no family if you work in it. I live it every day. I watch my kids grow up. [There's] maybe three to four hours a week that I can see them.

"It's hard on them, and it makes my wife a single parent. It's getting to the point after what I went through last year that I'm starting to realize that what I lose I never get back."

Juggling family and racing never was a problem for Reiser's father. He lived in a modest Wisconsin home with a two-car garage that housed his Late Model racecar.

His wife, son and daughters worked all week to help get the car ready for Saturday night races. This is where Robbie learned all the parts of the car, how to weld and bang sheet metal.

"It was a family deal," Reiser said. "And when Saturday night was over, you sat back and had a few beers and you went home and it wasn't the end of the world."

Reiser's new world doesn't allow for that. He works in a cavernous building at Roush Racing with hundreds of employees wearing fancy uniforms. Kids aren't allowed to walk among seemingly endless rows of cars, much less help work on them.

They're not allowed in the garage at the track, either.

When Reiser hears somebody like Matt Borland, the longtime crew chief for Ryan Newman, asking for a leave of absence to spend time with the family he understands.

"It ain't just crew chiefs," Reiser said. "All the people have to give up their family life to do this. So whenever they come and ask me for time or have a situation I bend over backwards to make sure they have the time to do whatever they need to do for their families."

He's not complaining. Racing has allowed Reiser to give his family a lifestyle his father couldn't. It brought him to Kenseth, a fellow Wisconsin native who once drove Reiser's Busch car.

But since his father's death, the sacrifices seem more costly.

	Led by Robbie Reiser, Matt Kenseth has collected 20 top-10 finishes this season. Credit: Autostock
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"It's getting to the point now where it's more important to see my kids do well," Reiser said.

Reiser will think of his father a lot this weekend. After last year he's not sure he'll ever have happy thoughts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, even if Kenseth overcomes a string of so-so performances to win the championship.

If that does happen, Reiser is sure to be overcome with emotion just as Tiger Woods was earlier this year after winning his first major championship following the death of his father.

"You know, my dad was such a big part of my life, that doing this without him isn't possible," Reiser said. "He's been there the whole time. Just because he ain't here, I would never look at it as winning it without him.

"Without him, there wouldn't be this conversation. My father made this all happen. That's why I talk about taking care of my kids. Some day I want to sit back and watch them like my father did for me."

Reiser hopes he can do that and stay in racing. He loves working with Kenseth, who like him has a wry sense of sarcastic humor that is a big reason they have been a successful combination.

"I'll continue doing this job until my family says it's time [to change], then I'll look for something else to do," Reiser said. "There are many things I can do

"It would be great to be a Pee Wee football coach and coach my kids. It would be a lot of fun. You asked me what my next job will be. Maybe that will be it."