Ty Norris, vice president and general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing, will share his opinions each Thursday on NASCAR.COM:

All I can remember is that I was shaking so hard my vision was blurred and my rapid heartbeat was suppressing my ability to speak.

It was a cold January day and I was asked by Barry Dodson to spot for Kyle Petty during the test session at Daytona. In those days, a spotter was merely the first person you saw standing around not doing anything. My credentials seemed perfect.

Spotters at Daytona.

At Daytona, a wrong word, an ill-timed "clear" or a split second of distraction could, and often does, lead to calamity.

So, there I was, standing on top of the photo tower trying to push a button and speak. Seemed simple, but my head was spinning and my inability to string together four coherent words was frustrating Kyle. "Hey, if you can't tell me who it is, just give me a car color and say high or low." One lap later he said, "OK, just be quiet unless they crash."

I was the team manager of SABCO Racing at the time and, since I had the power to do so, I fired myself on the spot.

As time has passed, experience has been gained and I no longer hyperventilate. And as NASCAR mandates for spotters have become the norm, the role of the spotter has become more pronounced as we are the voice in the driver's head.

It is an immeasurable responsibility to the owner to keep his equipment from getting crashed. That is surpassed only by the responsibility to keep that driver safe. Like any relationship, the driver-spotter bond is based on trust. At Daytona, in the Great American Race, a race that often defines a drivers' career, the intensity and the responsibility are magnified.

It is a heavy burden.

Spotters are told each restrictor-plate event by NASCAR officials that we do not drive these cars and spotters cannot win these races. Be certain, however, that at Daytona, a wrong word, an ill-timed "clear" or a split second of distraction could, and often does, lead to calamity.

Up and down the rail on top of the tower stand some very experienced spotters, people who have been in the sport for a long time in several different roles. There are former crew chiefs and mechanics. Former race car drivers and transport drivers. A handful of driver agents and business managers, a dad or two, a wife or two, a pilot, a parts manager, a couple team executives and the front office of Penske Corporation. We joke, but how amazing is it to have one of the busiest business men in the world, Roger Penske, atop the spotters stand deeply in tune with his teams each week? It was an honor to see Roger's face the moment his team won its first Daytona 500 in 2008. (Continued)