knute2
12-09-2008, 12:10 AM
After a busy weekend that involved many crazy shoppers all around my area, especially my work I was really looking forward to a day off of work and the start of a new week. Today (Monday) is the first day of December and I would like to think I started the month off on the right foot. Around 10:30am one of my classmates (Kyle) picked my up outside of my apartment and we drove up to the shop do catch up on some practice that we missed out on because of the holiday. Four of us showed up to practice, the other two were Luke and Ben. The four of us opened up one of the garage bays, and checked out an air gun, two tap guns, and a jack to practice everything we have learned so far. For a good hour plus we did our taps and some indexing, but mainly we worked on the right rear wheel. One of us would jack the racecar while the 2 of us would act as the changer and carrier. If you remember the jack man jacks the racecar then quickly moves to the right rear tire and pulls it as the tire carrier indexes the new tire. The Jack man helps out in this situation because it takes the tire changer and carrier in the rear longer to get around the car to the wheel because they have to wait for the car to get into the pits. The front tire changer and carrier run out in front of the racecar just before it gets into the pit stall. We would occasionally more to the front wheel and practice there but mainly stayed on the rear wheel.
I just felt great doing this, I was hitting all my indexes almost perfect, and I continued to change the stud pattern on the hub so every time I index the tire I would have to do it a little differently. When I was playing the role of the Jack man and tire changer I felt good too. Maybe my only fault while changing the tire is getting low enough because of my height. I almost hurt my feet leaning back as the jack man would pull the tire, however in class on Monday night coach S showed me something else that I really only have to do. Turns out I was leaning too far back, probably because of the inexperience of me and the jack man because when the tire would be pulled it would come closer to me than it really should, and with practice it will become easier for both of us. But while I was playing the role of tire changer I was hitting all my lug nuts and as jack man I was getting the racecar up in one pump. It all is difficult, this stuff isn’t easy, but a lot of it is reputation-reputation-reputation, then you will perfect it whatever job it is. It may just take longer for some to master the trade than others.
We left the shop around 12:30, went back home relaxed and actually had to make a trip to Concord to make an exchange at the mall. I bought a $70 backpack that was really nice for 50% off, then the day after black Friday it was on sale for $9 bucks. I had to make the exchange and since I knew a few people at the store it wasn’t a problem. Ok to be honest the girl who works there likes me so I kind of took advantage of that lol. Though she didn’t break any rules so it’s really ok, I don’t feel guilty, just saving money.
Monday night class was a little cold, maybe the temperature was the same as some night however it was a little windy. I always start the warm-up in an old high school hockey sweatshirt and after my body starts getting hot I take it off. Now that my blood is moving and if we continue to move around I tend to stay warmer than the others. I usually have a dry fit long sleeve shirt underneath my Pit Crew U shirt. The dry fit shirt keeps me warm plus it doesn’t allow the sweat to sweat through my outer shirt, keeps me feeling dry and warm. However the shirt combo didn’t make it through the night, after maybe 2 hours the sweatshirt went back on with the hood over my head for most of the night. I actually strategically placed my sweatshirt inside the building where it was warm instead of outside next to my bag, this way when I did grab the sweatshirt it was nice and warm already, makes a huge difference.
So what we worked on for most of Monday night class was coming off the wall. The main focus was coming off the wall as a tire changer. The changer’s are the first one’s who approach the wheel so their choreography is very important. Everything matters from the foot you step off with; to the way you hold the air gun and the air hose.
The front tire changer holds the air gun in his left hand; the left hand is positioned on the gun as it would be when you are taking off and on lug nuts. That position is your left hand cuffing the top of the air gun while your right hand is holding the air hose. As the racecar is approaching the pit stall, the front tire changer takes one large leap with his right foot, then with the left and right again. By this point you take a big pivot and almost pull a 180 degree turn. You then pause as you pretend the car is still pulling in, then shuffle to your left until you are squared up to the wheel. You body is already low to the ground with your knees bent and as the car pulls in you drop to your knees and start hitting the 5 lug nuts.
The rear tire changers job is different then the front, as he or she stands on the wall the air gun is in his right hand, and the air hose is wrapped behind him in his left hand. As the racecar is almost into the pit stall you drop to the ground, then you take about two little shuffles forward until the car would pass you. Once the car pass’s you explode with you left foot and it takes about 2 ½ to 3 steps to square up to the tire. As you pass the corner of the racecar you let go of the air hose and bring your hands to where they should be on the air gun. Then you drop to your knees when you are in position and start with your 5 lug nuts.
The way the changers come off the wall is much more important than the tire carriers. The tire carriers do jump off the wall at the same time as the changers, but maybe more importantly is the way the hold the tire. The front carrier will hold the tire with the lug nuts facing down the pit road (to his left). His left hand will be where is should be on the big piece of bright orange tape, and the right hand will be directly on the other side of the tire. You stand on the wall and hold the tire up to your chest; these tires can weight around 75 pounds so it isn’t easy, especially when you drop to the ground from off the wall. The front tire carrier follows the changer and runs around him to his left side, as he is running around the car he is looking up pit road for any other racecars coming, and also at the stud pattern on the hub so he or she knows where his right hand will have to be when he is in position.
The rear tire carrier holds the tire a little differently then the front carrier. He has the lug nuts facing up pit road (to his right side). His right hand is actually one spot back from the big bright orange tape, which are two spots back from the rifle eye tape. The left hand is directly on the other side of the right, and he holds the tire up near his chest just like the front. Now if you remember from before the carrier is always to the left of the changer when standing on the wall, so when you drop to the ground you have to give the changer a little more room as he will be running to the left and across you. You drop off the wall then slowly follow the changer after the car pulls by you. When the changer wraps around the rear corner and drops the air hose you actually use your right foot as hose management and kick it outward. Then you get yourself into position and slide your hands into the correct position that they should be in.
Again we did these drills many times; reputation-reputation-reputation is the key to getting it right. Along the way people made mistakes including myself. However I feel like I got the basic of it very quickly and received many complements. This especially when I was pretending to the changer. My choreography was right on and some coaches would tell others to watch me because I was doing it correct every time. Though go figure my last time I think I messed up and one of the coaches was like “WTF happened” with a laugh.
I just felt great doing this, I was hitting all my indexes almost perfect, and I continued to change the stud pattern on the hub so every time I index the tire I would have to do it a little differently. When I was playing the role of the Jack man and tire changer I felt good too. Maybe my only fault while changing the tire is getting low enough because of my height. I almost hurt my feet leaning back as the jack man would pull the tire, however in class on Monday night coach S showed me something else that I really only have to do. Turns out I was leaning too far back, probably because of the inexperience of me and the jack man because when the tire would be pulled it would come closer to me than it really should, and with practice it will become easier for both of us. But while I was playing the role of tire changer I was hitting all my lug nuts and as jack man I was getting the racecar up in one pump. It all is difficult, this stuff isn’t easy, but a lot of it is reputation-reputation-reputation, then you will perfect it whatever job it is. It may just take longer for some to master the trade than others.
We left the shop around 12:30, went back home relaxed and actually had to make a trip to Concord to make an exchange at the mall. I bought a $70 backpack that was really nice for 50% off, then the day after black Friday it was on sale for $9 bucks. I had to make the exchange and since I knew a few people at the store it wasn’t a problem. Ok to be honest the girl who works there likes me so I kind of took advantage of that lol. Though she didn’t break any rules so it’s really ok, I don’t feel guilty, just saving money.
Monday night class was a little cold, maybe the temperature was the same as some night however it was a little windy. I always start the warm-up in an old high school hockey sweatshirt and after my body starts getting hot I take it off. Now that my blood is moving and if we continue to move around I tend to stay warmer than the others. I usually have a dry fit long sleeve shirt underneath my Pit Crew U shirt. The dry fit shirt keeps me warm plus it doesn’t allow the sweat to sweat through my outer shirt, keeps me feeling dry and warm. However the shirt combo didn’t make it through the night, after maybe 2 hours the sweatshirt went back on with the hood over my head for most of the night. I actually strategically placed my sweatshirt inside the building where it was warm instead of outside next to my bag, this way when I did grab the sweatshirt it was nice and warm already, makes a huge difference.
So what we worked on for most of Monday night class was coming off the wall. The main focus was coming off the wall as a tire changer. The changer’s are the first one’s who approach the wheel so their choreography is very important. Everything matters from the foot you step off with; to the way you hold the air gun and the air hose.
The front tire changer holds the air gun in his left hand; the left hand is positioned on the gun as it would be when you are taking off and on lug nuts. That position is your left hand cuffing the top of the air gun while your right hand is holding the air hose. As the racecar is approaching the pit stall, the front tire changer takes one large leap with his right foot, then with the left and right again. By this point you take a big pivot and almost pull a 180 degree turn. You then pause as you pretend the car is still pulling in, then shuffle to your left until you are squared up to the wheel. You body is already low to the ground with your knees bent and as the car pulls in you drop to your knees and start hitting the 5 lug nuts.
The rear tire changers job is different then the front, as he or she stands on the wall the air gun is in his right hand, and the air hose is wrapped behind him in his left hand. As the racecar is almost into the pit stall you drop to the ground, then you take about two little shuffles forward until the car would pass you. Once the car pass’s you explode with you left foot and it takes about 2 ½ to 3 steps to square up to the tire. As you pass the corner of the racecar you let go of the air hose and bring your hands to where they should be on the air gun. Then you drop to your knees when you are in position and start with your 5 lug nuts.
The way the changers come off the wall is much more important than the tire carriers. The tire carriers do jump off the wall at the same time as the changers, but maybe more importantly is the way the hold the tire. The front carrier will hold the tire with the lug nuts facing down the pit road (to his left). His left hand will be where is should be on the big piece of bright orange tape, and the right hand will be directly on the other side of the tire. You stand on the wall and hold the tire up to your chest; these tires can weight around 75 pounds so it isn’t easy, especially when you drop to the ground from off the wall. The front tire carrier follows the changer and runs around him to his left side, as he is running around the car he is looking up pit road for any other racecars coming, and also at the stud pattern on the hub so he or she knows where his right hand will have to be when he is in position.
The rear tire carrier holds the tire a little differently then the front carrier. He has the lug nuts facing up pit road (to his right side). His right hand is actually one spot back from the big bright orange tape, which are two spots back from the rifle eye tape. The left hand is directly on the other side of the right, and he holds the tire up near his chest just like the front. Now if you remember from before the carrier is always to the left of the changer when standing on the wall, so when you drop to the ground you have to give the changer a little more room as he will be running to the left and across you. You drop off the wall then slowly follow the changer after the car pulls by you. When the changer wraps around the rear corner and drops the air hose you actually use your right foot as hose management and kick it outward. Then you get yourself into position and slide your hands into the correct position that they should be in.
Again we did these drills many times; reputation-reputation-reputation is the key to getting it right. Along the way people made mistakes including myself. However I feel like I got the basic of it very quickly and received many complements. This especially when I was pretending to the changer. My choreography was right on and some coaches would tell others to watch me because I was doing it correct every time. Though go figure my last time I think I messed up and one of the coaches was like “WTF happened” with a laugh.