Diary of a proud man: Reiser takes full blame

(Editor's Note: Last week Bill Weber called Robbie Reiser, crew chief for Matt Kenseth in the Nextel Cup Series, and asked him if would like to keep a diary of his weekend at home while serving a four-race suspension for a rules violation at Daytona.)

Robbie Reiser is a huge race fan.

Bill Weber

"I love NASCAR," Reiser said last week.

"I feel fortunate just to walk into that garage every week. I'm proud to say I work here."

Right now, though, Reiser is not working there. He is barred from the racetrack for the first four races of the 2007 season after NASCAR found the car of Matt Kenseth to be illegal in post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500.

"We have new people on our team and we failed to tape-up the car properly and that's what led to the violation. I take total responsibility. It's my fault the tape did not hold the "caps" on [allowing an illegal air-flow through the rear wheel wells]. I'm responsible for everything on that car. I should have checked it. Next time, we'll use a solid cover. But the punishment does not fit the crime.

"I've lost some respect for NASCAR with regard to the inconsistencies of their calls. How can I say I have not? I'm not going to get into the whole thing but I don't think it's right, especially when a guy that wins a qualifying race is found to be one-inch low in post-race inspection and all that happens is he is put at the rear of the field [for the Daytona 500]."

Reiser believes the day is coming when NASCAR will hand out penalties that are even more severe. And, under the proper circumstances, that's fine with him.

"You have to follow the rule book. If something is found that enhanced the performance of the car, then you have to make the call."

Through the telephone, I could hear the emotion in his voice. He is crushed the event even occurred. He is a team leader. He is popular in the garage. I have always found him helpful and forthcoming. Well, almost always ...

His record in Nextel Cup is virtually spotless. In 2002, Kenseth won the race at Rockingham but the car roof was one-quarter of an inch too low in post-race inspection. Reiser told me the problem was traced back to a bad batch of springs.

Just 20 minutes after he was told of the problem at Daytona, Reiser was on the telephone to the president of DeWalt tools.

"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.

Friday night -- Reiser got home a little after 9 p.m., loaded up his truck with four-wheelers, his trusty chainsaw, some gasoline and was all set for a day on the trails the next morning.

Saturday morning -- Reiser was at the shop about 5:30 a.m. He returned home about 9, picked up Tracy and the boys and spent the entire day cutting trails and riding four-wheelers.

"We have a Polaris Ranger. Tracy drives that with Rhett and Reed. Ryan has his own four-wheeler that he earned with straight A's in school."

Saturday night -- Reiser spent the evening first at Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner and then watching Matt Kenseth win the Busch race at California.

Sunday morning -- The Reiser family attended church together. It was a cold and rainy day. Russ Strupp, the longtime jackman for the 17 team, had left earlier in the morning for the track in California.

"I went over and picked up Russ' two boys and their four-wheelers. We had all the stuff loaded in the truck and we headed back out to the trails. Tracy took pictures while I watched the older boys ride. It was a mud bath. I had to clean their goggles three times just so they could see.

Sunday afternoon -- "About 3:30 [p.m.] we loaded up and headed back to the shop. The boys were frozen and covered with mud. I think it took about three hours to clean the truck, the four-wheelers and some pretty muddy boys. Then we went home. Tracy had made dinner. Then we turned on the race."

This was the part that raised my curiosity. I said to Reiser ... "It surprises me that you didn't watch the race from start to finish."

"We started watching from about Lap 56 ... they were doing well, I think Matt was leading at the time. I'm pretty emotional. I love being there but I can't watch," Reiser said. "You probably know me better than anyone. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. It's like watching the [Green Bay] Packers play. I'm fine when they're winning, but when they're losing, I get pretty emotional.

"I talked to Chip on Sunday morning about the week ahead; work schedules, testing, the trucks, getting the guys back and team meeting times. We talked about race scenarios but really Chip and I had sat down earlier in the week and talked through everything and what might happen.

"Chip runs the team the same way I would. We have been together since 1999. All the guys that have been here all these years -- I take those guys to the track, they've been doing it as long as I have -- I know they can do the job. Heck, they proved it this weekend.

Kenseth won the race. Then in Victory Lane, a very rare sight, an emotional Kenseth. He said, "Robbie Reiser built this team. If it wasn't for Robbie none of us would be here".

Sunday night -- Reiser just listened, from home, thousands of miles away.

"Matt and I have a real good relationship. I appreciate him saying those things. But it's the team. They deserve all the credit. You should be writing about Chip," he said with a laugh. "He's the winning crew chief now. But it's just that since I'm not there, I'm the one they talk about.

Kenseth even thanked Reiser on his team radio while celebrating after the win. Kenseth added, "If you're watching." They know each other well.

"Not being there didn't enter my mind. To see them do it is very gratifying. The team is very well-rounded. This is more of a family than a race team. It's not about one guy; it's about the team succeeding. Watching Matt show some emotion in Victory Lane, after all we've been through, the arguments, the racing [Reiser and Kenseth were racing rivals in Wisconsin ... some might say bitter rivals], to see him show that emotion shows a friendship that is ... that is hard to describe.

"It's an honor to be part of this team. They take pride in what they do. I couldn't be prouder."

About 10 minutes after the race ended, Reiser's phone starting ringing, and didn't stop for the next 90 minutes.

"Our spotter called, Jack called, Max Jones called, Chip called, all the guys called and when Matt got done with everything he had to do, he called. That made me feel good," Reiser said. "But it was good to know they could do the job without me being there and then remembered me after the race. There's a sense of pride in that."

"The most important thing is that after the race, it wasn't about me or winning or sweeping the weekend. It was about what do we have to do next? How do we go about winning at Las Vegas? We need to get the most points possible."

Reiser has two more race weekends to spend with Tracy and the boys before he will head back to the track with his team.

"Matt has mouthed off to me about it a couple of times," Reiser said with a laugh. "All the guys have taken their shots. But I tell them, 'Hey, it's not easy being a shop guy'. I tell them you guys should try and do this. They kid me all the time."

In the meantime, he'll be working at the shop, getting cars ready, sending his team to the track while he stays behind.

"There will come a day when I won't go to the track every weekend, some younger guy will be doing that," Reiser said.

But as for his immediate future as a "shop guy"?

"Jack came by the other day and told me, 'Don't get too comfortable.'"

No problem there. The only place Reiser is comfortable is on top of the pit box on race day. You can tell by the smile.

Bill Weber is lead race announcer for TNT. The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.