A day on the war wagon leaves lasting impression (cont'd)

I walked gingerly down the tiny ladder, the same ladder Gil flies up and down like some kind of primate, but he's had years of practice. This is my first day.

I slide off my headset and pull off my headband embedded behind my ears and retrieve Menzer so we can eat. The track's concessions stand, my only option, I order a $6 cheeseburger that Menzer has to pay for because they don't take plastic.

Inside the media center, I catch up on the happenings I've missed over the course of 200 laps. I had only paid attention to Harvick's progress, and when I left, he was stuck near the middle of the field riding around with one of the Red Bull cars.

I told Menzer I would return to my perch after my cheeseburger, but the mystery meat gave me digestive issues and delayed my return. Track food, not countless hours in the sun, will be the death of me.

By the time I got squared away and my ear muffs back on, I looked at the speed chart and realized Harvick had climbed into the top 15. Menzer thought that was funny of course because obviously it was my fault the team had struggled. I was in fact the jinx and now I couldn't go back, plus my stomach was way too volatile anyway.

I found Sam Brown of Chevy who was nice enough to return my ear muffs and radio and I joked and said "hey it must be that new Pennzoil Ultra that has Harvick now on his way to a top 10 finish."

Actually, if you ask Danny Lawrence, engine builder and trackside manager for Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, it has been a factor. And herein lies my education about motor oil. Apparently grabbing the cheapest bottle off the shelf at Wal-Mart is harmful to your engine's health, much like me and that cheeseburger.

Since Harvick's crew began using the new Pennzoil Ultra in the engines, Lawrence said, it has made a measurable difference.

Lawrence started testing the engines with the new formula during the offseason and used it for the fist time in race conditions during the Budweiser Shootout, which Kevin won for the second year in a row.

"The engines have gained a half percent or more and we are not seeing the wear we normally do," Lawrence said. "The engine power and torque doesn't fall off by the end of the race because the oil is doing its job and not breaking down."

Lawrence can't say the new motor oil -- which keeps the engine close to factory clean -- is the cause for RCRs comeback this season, but in racing every advantage and detail counts.

"Even the smallest deposits can rob performance and lead to catastrophic engine failure and Pennzoil technology helps provide exactly what we need to keep our engines running clean," he added.

And what RCR puts in Harvick's car is the same product I can buy for my car, well pretty close, but I don't need the exact formula because I don't run 200 mph for 500 miles.

Now maybe next weekend Lawrence can teach me how to change my oil so I won't have to pay the dealership unfair amounts of money every 5,000 miles.

The race is nearing its end. Edwards is getting yelled at by NASCAR and Harvick is going to finish ninth when at the start of the race he thought his car was junk.

I ran out to meet Harvick's crew by the No. 29 hauler as they were loading up to go home.

""If a ninth-place effort ever felt like a win, then that was it," Harvick said. "Gil made a great call there late to not pit and take the wave around. We got a quick caution, which enabled us to get tires, and take a big swing at the chassis. I am awfully proud of everyone on this Shell-Pennzoil team."

Happy to maintain the points lead, Martin explained what happened.

"Well we made some pretty major adjustments there at the end of the race we shouldn't have had to do but it worked out for us. Kevin [Harvick] hung in there and we caught a couple lucky breaks. The caution came out at the right time so we didn't go two laps down and the wave around worked out for us. Last year those are the kind of things that didn't work for us. Today it did work so I'll take it. Needed some luck on our side," he said.

And what about my influence on the outcome? I told Martin after I left the performance picked up.

"Well you know I hate that because you looked good up there but if that's the case we're going to have to ban you."

There you have it folks, my first and last time on a pit box.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.