Kevin Harvick‘s jackman, Mike Casto, who has been jacking for nearly 15 years, will miss at least the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 after off-season surgery on both his shoulder and knee to repair injuries suffered while working in the pits. Stan Doolittle, backup jackman at Stewart-Haas Racing, will replace Casto.
Casto had left shoulder surgery to repair the rotator and AC joint Nov. 25, and right knee surgery three weeks later to fix torn meniscus. He is hopeful to return for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 in Atlanta on Feb. 28, but is targeting Las Vegas’ Kobalt 400 on March 6 as a definite return.
Casto suffered the shoulder injury three years ago during a pit stop in Chicago.
“There was a four-tire stop called and it was changed to a two-tire stop,” Casto said. “I didn’t hear the changed call and when I came around the car, the hose puller pulled the hose up in front me to try and stop me, I think. I tripped and fell into the spinning left rear tire and my head hit the rear quarter panel. I’ve been getting shots in it to [delay] the surgery.”
The knee injury occurred last year in Chicago, again, and Casto said he needed 50 cc of fluid drained from it each week until the end of the season.
When both injuries hampered him last season, Casto admited he began to think about the longevity of his career.
“I’ve always said that I will do this as long as my body lets me and I’m competitive,” Casto said. “Do injuries put questions in your head? Sure. But I never doubt my ability to always do my best and to get back and be better than I was before, irrelevant of my age. No one is ever really pain-free in this sport, but it’s all about how you manage it.”
Casto said he now has had five surgeries in his nearly 15-year career, all injuries suffered from blunt-force traumas.
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