Dale Lackey is a professional driver, fully sponsored and wearing the uniform of his Mobil 1 racing team.

You've never seen him on Sundays, out on the grid and ready to drive 500 miles for fame and glory. He drives much farther than that in one stretch, and like the mail, Dale Lackey must deliver.

He's the transporter driver for Penske Racing's No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge team. It's his job to make sure he and his truck arrive on time and in good shape, 36 weekends a year.

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A truck driver has a lot more responsibility than just getting the truck to the race track.

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DALE LACKEY

"Last year, I was on the road and away from home for 206 days," said Lackey, a native of Mooresville, N.C. "This year, without the testing going on, that'll probably wind up 15 days less."

Indeed, it takes a special type of person to do this job. Spending so much time on the road hauling millions of dollars of racing equipment means that Lackey takes good care of his tractor-trailer, and he recommends that NASCAR race fans do the same when they climb into their vehicles for a weekend trip to the track.

"Before I leave the shop, I do a pre-trip on the truck," Lackey said. "I check the tires, tire pressure, oil, and make sure everything is in working condition before we pull out."

Lackey contends when you get in the habit of performing regular pre-trip checks, you know what to look for, what to expect and whether it looks right or not.

"Race fans should check their vehicles like we check our trucks," Lackey said. "When you travel cross-country, you don't want to break down. If you see a belt or hose that looks weak, you want to replace it before it breaks and leaves you sitting on the side of the road."

Scheduled maintenance is a good idea for any vehicle, but when yours is constantly on the road, it becomes a bit tough to arrange.

"You try to do your scheduled maintenance on the off-weeks, or when you're going somewhere that doesn't require so much time away from the shop like Martinsville or Bristol," Lackey said.

Of course, it helps when the team owner is in the transportation business.

"We actually take our trucks and trailers to Penske Truck Leasing," Lackey said. "They do all our maintenance work. If it's something we can do ourselves, we do it, but if it's not, we take it to Penske Truck Leasing for the tractor or to Featherlite for the trailer."

Growing up in Mooresville, otherwise known as "Race City USA," Lackey was naturally drawn to NASCAR racing.

"Two or three friends of mine got me into NASCAR," he said. "I have driven a tractor-trailer for 25 years, and my dream years and years ago was to drive a transporter for a NASCAR race team."

What exactly does that entail, you ask?

Well, it's a lot more than getting in, putting the hammer down and getting to the race track. Hauler drivers have to be a jack-of-all-trades.

"A truck driver has a lot more responsibility than just getting the truck to the race track," Lackey stated. "They are responsible for stocking all the chemicals and parts on the truck before we leave for each race. We're responsible for cooking for the team each weekend. We're a lot like a go-fer. We do a lot of running back and forth between the garage and the truck, taking parts and pieces to the guys that are working on the car."

Before the wheels move one inch out of the drive-through bays at the race shop, Lackey has been over his vehicle with a fine-toothed comb. Then he has to make sure he's got all the equipment on board.

"First I've got to make sure that everything we're going to need that weekend at the track is on the truck," he said. "Then I personally load the truck, load the tool box, load the generator and other stuff."

When the truck is parked, Lackey goes from long-haul trucker to den mother in one quick shift.

"Once we get to the track, get everything unloaded and set up in the garage, the truck driver is responsible for the truck, keeping it clean, keeping everything in working order at the track," he said.

In addition, he has to make sure the crew members are fed, anything that's broken gets fixed and a thousand other details that happen on a race weekend.

His crew members know what he wants and how he wants it, and Lackey runs the truck like a stern schoolmaster.

"I'm real particular about stuff sitting on the counters," he said with a grin. "I'd rather they bring it in, do whatever they need to do and then put it away or take it out again."