'A long night' at LMS from viewpoint of 00 war wagon (cont'd)

Checking out the view from atop a cozy pit box is one thing, but there's not enough money in the world to get this mere mortal out there doing what these guys do. Roland never flinched.

Once back on the track, Kerr has shifted back into his role as motivational speaker. "Stick with it," Kerr tells Reutimann. "We'll catch another caution.

Reutimann is 41st.

Lap 39

Things are looking up, for the time being at least. Reutimann has caught the tail end of the pack, and he passes first Jeremy Mayfield and Juan Montoya. It's a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. He's still on the track, still digging.

It's a team effort. Mark MacCaull, the team engineer, is seated to the left of Kerr and in front of one of the four scoring monitors set up on top of the war wagon. MacCaull is constantly taking notes, both on a clipboard and his laptop computer. Dale Jarrett has not qualified for this race, so his team engineer, Billy John, is up here as well.

So is Christopher Smith, with Toyota Racing Development, but he comes and goes at various points during the night. Brian Kincheloe is Reutimann's tire specialist, and he is up and down the ladder or handing Kerr his tire notes from down below. Throughout the night, Kerr, MacCaull, John and Kincheloe huddle on what's taking place with Reutimann's car.

Ten laps after getting around Mayfield and Montoya, the race seems to have settled into a rhythm. The guys on top of the pit box are waiting and watching. On Lap 60, they watch as Reutimann loses a lap to Johnson.

Lap 67

When Casey Mears wrecks, Reutimann misses the "Lucky Dog" pass to get his lap back by one car. He pits and the crew pounds the daylights out of the remaining damage on the right front. They take their time to do it right.

Jeff Burton is pitted in front of Reutimann, and Burton's crew is miffed at the way Reutimann leaves after his stop. They wave their arms a bit, but as confrontations go, it's very minor.

These things happen on pit road.

While they've got some time, MacCaull wants Reutimann to come back in so the toe-in can be checked on the left side of the car. The hood goes up, and a long rail-looking contraption goes onto pit road and is placed on the length of the left side. Reutimann is 36th on the restart.

Lap 77

The yellow flag is still waving when Kerr starts planning what to do.

Two tires. Work on the right side only. Track bar down. A quickie yellow.

Wait. The situation dictates no tires. Just check the toe again and give it a shot of gas. One round down on the track bar.

It's amazing how quickly decisions are made on top of the pit box. At one point during this caution, there are seven people up here and more than half appear to have some sort of say in what's happening.

In the end, however, it's Kerr's decision.

As pit boxes go, Reutimann's is probably in the upper third on pit road in terms of size and amenities. Kerr's headset is attached by cord to a pole at the back of the box that's got to be every bit of 30 feet tall, at the top of which is an antenna. The war wagon's main body has the requisite monitors for watching the television feed and video playback for pit stops.

There's no awning on top like there are for other teams, but it doesn't rain ... it never rains in North Carolina these days ... so it's not a problem. The top of the box folds out to allow a second tier of bench seats, and there's no bracing underneath. Surely, the laws of physics would say that it'll tip over with people on the observation deck. It doesn't, which speaks to the sheer size and weight of the main body.

The war wagon is an absolutely amazing place from which to watch a race. When Reutimann comes in, there's an almost pulsating energy to the orchestrated chaos taking place on pit road. Someone throws a crew member a mallet to pound out damage, and it seems to almost float through the air in its perfect head-up, shaft-down arc.

In the minutes before the green flag and early in the race, there's a parade of women who are quite plainly doing everything they can do to be seen behind pit road. One ... one is wearing an ensemble of faded black jeans that must've been sprayed on and a red T-shirt ... and decidedly, no underwear. Over that, is a short jacket with a fur collar. It is quite comical as she takes her stroll to see heads turn, one right after the other.

Next to the definition of "pit lizard" in the dictionary, there's a picture of this woman. (Continued)