Drivers
May 25, 2010
John Phillips was a PR guy once. It was the hardest job I ever had. Come Miller time, there was no way of calculating whether I’d accomplished anything or not. But it was 1985, and I was public-relating for Jack Roush, whose Trans-Am Capri’s and IMSA GTO Mustangs were winning approximately everywhere. Reporters flocked to interview the drivers. Jack was happy. Ford was happy. Whenever possible, I took all of the credit. The truth is, of course, that Roush’s cars have won 266 professional races in the past 27 years, a public-relations dream come true. Roush is now 60, with 2100 employees, a 70-car museum, five Winston Cup teams—more than any in the sport’s history—and two Boeing 727s for his crews.
J.R. was 45 when he got into Winston Cup racing in 1988. “I thought. Well, this doesn’t look too difficult,” he recalls. But it’s been trickier than any racing he’s sampled. Despite finishing sixth or better in points for 12 years in a row, he hasn’t earned a championship ring. For 2003, Greg Baffle joins Roush’s roster of Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenneth, and Mark Martin. I spoke to my former employer over a plate of what looked like spaghetti. Can guys like Christian succeed in NASCAR? You’ve got to embroil your-self in the culture down there—you know, to understand the dialect, the inflections, to achieve empathy with crew chiefs. NASCAR isn’t a universal language.
