Tiger's caddy known by more than title in racing

The world becomes a strange place when your day starts with a 3:30 a.m. wakeup call in Tulsa, Okla.

Following a week of hosting the PGA Championship the plan was to make haste for Hawaii and a little R&R. What I didn't realize was that a five-hour layover in Denver beckoned. This is where the story gets interesting ...

I was working on an early morning text message when I spotted -- much to my surprise -- the man on the bag for Tiger Woods' Wannamaker Trophy win the day before.

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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Steve Williams is Tiger's tough guy on the course, but if you know his story you understand that the man is a great racecar driver in his own right.

Living in the moment, I heeded the knock from opportunity, approached the world's most famous caddy and after a promise of a "Tiger-free" conversation, a racing discussion ensued.

The first thing that came to mind during my seven and a half seconds of preparation was, "What does this guy get from racing that he doesn't get anywhere else?"

"Excitement, mate," piped the Kiwi in full-throated accent. "It's 800 horsepower and sometimes you can control it and sometimes you can't."

Those last three words made me wonder if he was ever concerned or scar.

"Never" was the interruption of a response before I could get the last word out. "That's the excitement of it."

Aha. The conversation then turned to NASCAR and if you are wondering, the man with Valvoline ties is definitely a NASCAR fan.

"I follow it. I like Tony Stewart because he tells it like it is," Williams said, and then he proceeded to tell it like it is. "My one problem with the sport is that when most of the drivers answer questions they go through and name all of the sponsors before they get to the damned answer."

I couldn't (and wouldn't dare to) argue with him on this point.

One of the topics that comes up in golf circles constantly is the physical conditioning of Steve's employer, Tiger Woods. For the record, Williams himself doesn't lack fitness so we started discussing the relative athleticism of NASCAR drivers.

"I think you'll find that they are more athletic than you imagine," he said. "They are small but they are in shape so that they don't add weight to the car. They have to be. That is why so many people thought Danica Patrick might have an advantage when she began racing."

If you are wondering if Williams thought there might be an advantage for Danica, don't worry -- I asked. "She almost has to," he said. "If she weighs 140 and the other drivers weigh 190, well, it's hard to lose 50 pounds on a car."

His time is a tightly compacted schedule of golf caddying and racing mixed with a foundation that mirror's Tiger Woods foundation in the United States. The Steve Williams Foundation in New Zealand helps young Kiwis to play golf and gives them the proper tools to do so.

Hypothetically, if he had a month and a half in his busy schedule, I wondered if he thought he could compete in NASCAR.

"Oh, no way man. I've raced on dirt all of my life," he said. Then he stopped, smiled a bit and said, "Well, maybe if I practiced every day for six weeks I'd have a shot."

Confidence is not in short supply in the world of Steve Williams.

So with that, the man who won the Super Saloon car championship in his homeland of New Zealand last year stood up and said, "G'day mate," and headed back home. I smiled and returned the greeting then pushed onward to Hawaii, richer for the enjoyment I received during our short chat about racing.

Last Week's Question of the Week
Just to recap, last week's question was: Was Robby Gordon treated fairly by NASCAR?

Robby Gordon listen up -- you just might want to hear this. In the entire time I've put these polls together in this space I have never seen such a one-sided response. The numbers weren't even close. When the ratio reached 20-to-1 after the first 1,000 e-mails I stopped counting.

If my inbox is representative of the fans' voice in NASCAR, Gordon was robbed in Montreal. This is not me saying it -- this is the people that read my column. Below is a sampling of a few fans' rants.

"No way. If it had been Junior, Johnson or the other Gordon instead of Robby they would have restarted him in first."
-- From Ken in Canton, Mich.

Ken can be sorted into the conspiracy theorists column. He is not alone in that category.

"Why can't NASCAR admit they totally blew the call on Robby Gordon? Does Mike Helton hate him that much?"
-- From Bruce in Barrie, Ontario

I think Bruce brings up a good point. On a call this controversial, why not give some more explanation and answer some questions? I'd like to see the exact synched up video that the officials are looking at. We could even post the stills on NASCAR.COM. That should clear up some confusion.

"With this ruling NASCAR has told the drivers that if you want to advance your position, dump the car or cars in front of you under the next yellow and we will set them back in the field."
-- From John in Springfield, Ill.

Interesting point. If you are a driver and you saw what happened, why not take a chance under caution. It just might work.

Question of the Week
Considering the excitement and attention generated by the events in Montreal -- and the free-for-all that Watkins Glen turned out to be I'm interested in road-course racing. The question is simple -- road-course racing in NASCAR seems to be exciting.

Do you think NASCAR should have more road-course events? Yes or no, but feel free to explain.

Finally, as the Chase nears I'm beginning to wonder if anyone can stop the Tony Stewart Express. What happened to the guys from Hendrick?

Tony's performance in the Chase last year would have won a championship. But he wasn't in the Chase last year. It looks like that little problem will be remedied in 2007.

Enjoy the race.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.