Diary of a proud man: Reiser takes full blame (cont'd)

"I called him, personally, to apologize," Reiser said.

"Naturally they [DeWalt] were disappointed with the negative publicity. They are the kind of people that do everything properly. They support us every day. He told me he was not happy about it but it would not diminish the enthusiasm they have for the team, or let it deter us from the things we need to do to be successful. We have a very good relationship."

Reiser knows that the parent company of DeWalt, Black and Decker, also was unhappy.

"There's a letter somewhere in which they expressed their displeasure and the concern about how they might be respected down the road. I feel very badly for them."

Reiser had not seen the letter when we talked, but ... "I'm pretty sure it's in [car owner] Jack's [Roush] pocket, headed my way," Reiser said.

Reiser has an amazing sense of humor. I've even seen it when I've worked his pit during a race. He can mix intensity with laughter. When he gets back on top of that 17 pit box, watch him when he is interviewed during a race, he always has a smile on his face. Well, almost always ...

Last year late in the spring race at Dover, the crew was waiting for Kenseth to come down pit road for a caution-flag pit stop. They had talked about it on the radio and the plan was that Kenseth would pit. He didn't. Reiser didn't throw anything, did not yell, just watched the 17 go by, still on the track, behind the pace car, and clicked on the radio.

"Did I miss something here?" Reiser asked.

"I just thought staying out would give us the best chance to win, Robbie," Kenseth retorted.

"OK," Reiser responded.

Kenseth won the race.

Reiser has spent the past two weekends at home. He has had plenty to do at the shop, preparing the car for California while the team was at Daytona and working on the Car of Tomorrow. But the past two weekends have been a little different.

"I bought 65 acres of wooded land. I've been using the time to clear it, with a chainsaw."

It was more than just being productive.

"I guess it has helped me take out some of my frustrations. But we've built a duck stand, and some trails to race our four-wheelers on. It hasn't been all bad. It's nice to spend time with the boys."

Reiser and his wife, Tracy, have three sons, Ryan, age 10, and twins Rhett and Reed are 5 years old.

Everyone in the world of NASCAR would love to have more time with the family, but not this way.

"It's been harder than I thought," Reiser admitted.

"You never think about it happening to yourself. It's always the other guy that gets sent home. I was numb at first, then it just reminds you how much you really love it. This is bad, but I've been in more trouble before."

Really? When?

"When I used to drive!" he said, laughing.

But now Kenseth is doing the driving, and Reiser has to watch from home.

"That's not easy," Reiser said.

California weekend

Reiser spent most of Friday of the California weekend in the race shop, prepping the Car of Tomorrow for a test session at Bristol. During the day, he talked to both Kenseth and acting crew chief/engineer Chip Bolin on the telephone. He left about 5:30 p.m. ET for a wind-tunnel test with a different COT. (Continued)