Small-town team contends 'we're not in over our head' (cont'd)

Charles Swing doesn't have time for history lessons. The primary car is waiting for a steering box modification, requested by John Andretti. The backup is missing its transmission. And both cars need to be on the hauler to Charlotte by the weekend.

"Me, I'm the type of person who will plan a week ahead," says Swing. "And if something doesn't go to my liking, it kind of puts me into a turmoil state of mind. I've had some setbacks this week. I planned on getting up [to North Carolina] to the tech shed and running my car through the tech templates.

John Carter

"I planned on getting it to the squash rigs and let them pull the car just so I can look at everything. This didn't happen that way so it puts you back, so I'm just trying to do what I can do right now until I can get up there Friday."

While the big teams in North Carolina coldly treat car preparation like an assembly line, Swing is literally sweating over every decision.

The ballgame appears to be heading for extra innings and on the radio, Caray mentions the dark clouds surrounding the ballpark. It's getting that way in Toccoa, too, as the sky to the north begins to take on the color of dirty dishwater. The closeness of the rain just makes the air feel heavier.

A flatbed truck pulls into the parking lot and a man wearing a gray T-shirt, jeans and with a neatly trimmed, primer-gray beard climbs out of the cab, dodging the few raindrops that have begun to fall. John Carter is a hands-on working man. He made his money in recycling -- and still operates the business, driving his own truck when he sees the need.

Carter looks to be in as superb a shape as a man half of his age. Only the color of his hair and lines on his face give his secret away. He might be the only car owner in Nextel Cup willing and able to climb under the car to change the oil if asked.

Carter explains the idea behind running his own operation with the No. 08.

"I didn't have the No. 37 anymore and I wanted to have my own number back again," says Carter. "I called NASCAR and told them I wanted the No. 08. They let me have it. So we're going to Indianapolis and hopefully John's going to run with us. If not, we'll have a top-notch driver in the car. We've got the same car we ran last year and we'll have a really good shot."

And Carter takes pride in his team, despite facing long odds every week. Mike Skinner qualified this car 17th at Indy last year and Bill Elliott finished in the top 20 at Kansas.

"As far as racing with these boys, we're not in over our heads," says Carter. "We can race with anybody out there. Right now, if we can make the race, we've got a good chance of winning the race. With the top 35 [rule] the way it's set up, that kills the little teams. If they do away with the top 35 [rule], we can run with anybody out there.

"In two races this year, when qualifying was over this year, we were in the top 43 and that would have put us in the race."

Carter says there's no reason why every team has to be located in Charlotte.

"It's really an advantage [to be in Toccoa] because we can have everything shipped overnight now," says Carter, Toccoa-born and bred. "It ain't like it used to be when it would take a week to get something. We can order anything from Charlotte and get it the next day.

"The only disadvantage here, we don't have the technology, like all the rigs and stuff to put our cars on up there. But I'd rather have the shop here than North Carolina, any day."

As I leave the shop, the skies open up and I'm forced to turn on the windshield wipers. Not too far down the road, there's a brand-new Wal-Mart supercenter at the Toccoa Bypass. It's quite a juxtaposition -- the businesses that deserted downtown 25 years ago now find themselves threatened by a big-box, deep-pockets retailer.

It's the evolution of progress, of the future replacing the present and the past. It's happening in Toccoa -- and in NASCAR, where independent teams like John Carter's face an incredible challenge.

"Everything's coming out of my pocket," says Carter. "We've had people help us but we haven't had anybody major, which we need. It's tough when you take money out of your pocket. These big teams don't take money out of their pocket.

"It's a whole different ballgame if they had to take money out of their pocket. It's just like the two teams that had trouble -- the 13 and 14 -- they got sponsorship and they folded and we're still out there running against them and we can outrun them."

What happens in North Carolina reverberates through little shops like E&M. Every time one of the mega-teams considers adding another car, it just makes Carter tread water even more vigorously. Carter has plans to build a 4,000-square foot shop at a nearby location. But it all comes back to sponsorship.

"If we get sponsorship, we'll go out and get some more cars," he says. "I don't have any Cars of Tomorrow, but I can get some. If I can get some sponsorship, that's all I'd like, a little bit of money.

"We need sponsorship, because to build the Car of Tomorrow, we've got to start right now building for next year," says Carter. "Next year, we've got a good shot because everybody's got the same advantage. The Car of Tomorrow is for the small teams, too. We've all got a shot with the Car of Tomorrow."

Publicist Alan Duke is meeting with potential sponsors, perhaps one that might provide the cash flow needed to take the team out of its "hand-to-mouth" existence. In any case, the No. 08 will show up at Indianapolis.

There's a rumble in the distance. It could be thunder, an 18-wheeler going by or a freight train. Or more change on the horizon.

The rain has let up, so I stop to fill up the tank -- Toccoa has some of the best gas prices in the state -- and head back up the grade to Highway 365 and home. The Braves and Reds are in the 14th inning when WNEG's signal turns to static, punctuated only by the scratches caused by lightning.

In about five hours, the northbound Crescent will pull into Toccoa again.