1on1: Jimmy Makar

Jimmy Makar has been involved in stock-car racing for more than 30 years, including the last 17 as a valuable employee with Joe Gibbs Racing. In fact, he was one of the first ever hired by JGR -- nearly six months before the team's first race in February 1992.

He served as crew chief for Dale Jarrett when Jarrett won the 1993 Daytona 500 -- scoring JGR's first victory at what now is the Sprint Cup level. Currently the senior vice president of racing operations for the organization, Makar also spent eight seasons as crew chief for driver Bobby Labonte when Labonte drove the No. 18 Chevrolet for JGR. During that span, Labonte and Makar teamed to score a total of 19 race victories, the 2000 series championship, 20 poles and 143 top-10 finishes.

Making of Makar

	Born: March 24, 1956
	Hometown: Cedar Knolls, N.J.
	Current residence: Statesville, N.C.
	Family: Wife Patti, 13-year-old twin sons Alex and Dillon.
	Worked under: Robert Gee, Junior Johnson, Buddy Parrot, Harry Hyde.
	Crew chief for: Rusty Wallace (1991); Dale Jarrett (1992-94); Bobby Labonte (1995-2003).
	Wins as crew chief: 22
	Current position: Senior vice president of racing operations for Joe Gibbs Racing.
	Favorite off-track past-time: Fishing (he once landed a tarpon that weighed between 150 and 175 pounds).

Makar also worked earlier in his career for Penske Racing, and was the chassis specialist at Blue Max Racing when driver Rusty Wallace won the 1989 Cup championship.

He began his long career in NASCAR working with the legendary body-specialist Robert Gee, and has at various times also worked with the likes of Junior Johnson, Harry Hyde and Buddy Parrot. He sat down with NASCAR.COM recently and shot the bull.

Q: What's it like to become a senior vice president of racing operations, in charge of three teams, after many years of being a crew chief in charge of only one?

Makar: The biggest difference is trying to look ahead, have a long-term vision of the future. When you're a crew chief, you're worried about the next race in front of you and that's about it. And you've got fewer people and fewer things to worry about. But doing what I do now, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there are still times when you wish you were living more in the moment on top of that pit box. I'm on top of the pit box now, too, but I'm not the one making the calls on race day.

Q: How long did it take you to get comfortable in your current role?

Makar: It took, I'll say, a good three years before I was finally able to shake that feeling. It gets in your blood. I assume it is just like driving a racecar. It's something you get used to, and you enjoy. You enjoy the adrenaline rush; you enjoy the decision-making process ... you're in the heat of the battle. For someone who is competitive, that's what you thrive on. So it took a long time to get rid of that feeling.

Q: Talk about coming down to North Carolina from New Jersey, where you grew up, and how you hooked up with Robert Gee ...

Makar: It kind of started when my dad bought a racecar from Roger Penske way back in 1975 or 1976. He just wanted to do a little stock-car racin' part-time. Back then you could buy a Cup car and go race with a very little bit of money. So we did that, and got it wrecked in Dover, Del., and tore it up pretty bad. We had to send it back down to New Jersey, where we were living at the time.

So I had to get the frame straightened and get a clip put on it -- I think it was a front and a rear clip. We had a lot of work to do to it and we were stuck for money. It was just a family operation. So my dad said to kind of do whatever I could do to get the car worked on.

Morgan Shepherd was driving the car part-time at the time, and he suggested to get the body put back on the car by Robert Gee. He knew who Robert was. So we took it to Robert and I told Robert I would hang around and help on the car to help defray any costs that we could. And he said, 'Fine, that's what we'll do. I'll put you to work. But we won't be starting on your car for a while. You're welcome to stay and hang out.'

Q: So that's how you got your start in the business?

Makar: He offered me a room at his house right there at the shop. So I lived with him and worked on all kinds of odds and ends. Basically I learned how to work on racecars from him, as far as body work and fabrication were concerned. He just took me in like a son. I stayed there for several months until we got our car fixed.

When I got ready to leave, he told me that if I ever wanted a job to give him a call and he would give me a job. I went home and it wasn't but a couple of weeks later that I already had that itch and that desire to come back. So I called him up and he said, 'Sure, come on down.' So I went back down there and that's where I got my start."

Q: When you look back on your resume and see all that you have accomplished, and who you have worked for and with over the years, are you kind of amazed?

Makar: You think about it, and it's almost like a dream. I mean, it is a dream come true for me -- a kid from New Jersey who was just a race fan back in the 1960s and early '70s. To be able to get the opportunity to get a job to start with and then to get to work with people like Robert and Harry [Hyde] and Junior Johnson and Buddy Parrot, and drivers who were my heroes, has been just unbelievable. David Pearson drove a car for us in Daytona when I was working for Harry. He was a hero of mine when I was kid. And Darrell Waltrip ... when I worked for Junior, Darrell was driving for him.

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When you're a fan and these guys are your heroes, and then to actually get to go to work for them and be around them, it's just something that dreams are made of. And, you know, if you can have a dream and fulfill it in that way, it's very special.

Q: This has to be tough, if not impossible ... but do you have a favorite moment from through the years?

Makar: I tell you, there are a lot of 'em over the years. You tend to remember the ones that are closest (to the present time) the best. But the ones that seem to stick in my mind the most are the couple of times when I was involved with helping a driver get his first win. That's a special moment, and I've been fortunate to do that a couple of times. That's a lot of fun.

Q: How many times did that happen?

Makar: Dale [Jarrett] won a race right before he came to work for us, but he got the first one for us [as an organization] and it was a big one. Bobby [Labonte] won his first race with us. Tony [Stewart] got his first win with us. Denny [Hamlin]. It's just fun to see that happen, to see guys start a career.

Q: Is it hard to believe that with all the young talent you guys have added in recent years, Tony Stewart is now sort of the Papa Bear of the JGR organization?

Makar (laughing): Yeah, he's the daddy. It is strange to me because it wasn't that long ago that he came on board and he was our young guy, our new guy. Now he's the elder statesman of the group with all the time under his belt. It just kind of shows you how fast this sport gets moving, and how quickly the years roll by when you're not looking.

Q: What kind of stuff do you like to do away from the track?

Makar: I love fishing. That's probably my passion away from the racetrack -- any kind of fishing at all. Trout fishing up in a stream in the mountains, or out on a boat deep-sea fishing or out on a lake bass fishing ... it doesn't matter to me. I enjoy time on the water.

Really, anything outside. I enjoy going to the mountains. I enjoy going to the beach. Any outdoor activity, I enjoy doing that stuff with my kids [13-year-old twins Alex and Dillon]. My kids are very much into going and doing and being involved in all that, so we get together as a family whenever we can and try to go out on the lake or do something of that nature.

Q: What's the biggest fish you ever caught?

Makar: Probably a 150-pound or maybe even a 175-pound tarpon, about two summers ago down in the Florida keys. I took my son down there and we went for a little guide trip -- three days of fishing just as hard as we could go. It was a lot of fun. We went down there and started at 8 o'clock in the morning, just me and him, and we fished until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Then we'd stop and get a little dinner or whatever, and then we'd fish from 6 o'clock in the evening until 10 o'clock at night. We were fishing for tarpon. Our guide did a great job, and we had an absolute blast.

Q: What's it like battling a 150-pound tarpon?

Makar: It was about an hour battle. Obviously we had to chase him a lot with the boat. It was dark by the time we landed him, and I caught him about an hour before dark. We finally landed him and got some pictures with him. It was a fun fish to catch. They are an awesome fish to catch.

Q: Do you have that thing mounted in your house?

Makar: Nope. All we got was a scale or two. We pulled a couple scales off him, took pictures, and released him. I'm a real big believer in catch-and-release, so other people have an opportunity to catch the fish, too. You can get pictures; you can get fiberglass replicas made all day long. So taking a fish out of the water, I'm not real big on that.

Q: What did you do with the scales?

Makar: We've got 'em at the house. My son has one and I've got one.