Loomis Quietly Doing the Job

AVONDALE, Ariz. —  Two years ago, when crew chief Ray Evernham left Jeff Gordon after an association that had brought three Winston Cup championships to the No. 24 Chevrolet, it was widely perceived that Wonder Boy might never again reach the heights Evernham had programmed.

For a replacement, Robbie Loomis was plucked from Richard Petty’s team. In 11 years there, crewing for Petty himself as well as John Andretti, Bobby Hamilton and others, his record showed only three wins in 274 races.

Skeptics in the NASCAR family wondered how he would react to the pressure of following the almost legendary Evernham, who had left Hendrick Racing to take over the task of bringing Dodge back into the Winston Cup fold after an absence of 15 years.

Gordon had been with Evernham since he was 20 and a rookie in the Busch Grand National series. Gordon had never worked with anyone else.

“We knew Robbie could do the job,” says Gordon, who conferred with team manager Brian Whitesell before the team made the decision to hire Loomis.

“I had replaced a crew chief icon before replacing Ray when I took over for Dale Inman at Petty Enterprises,” said Loomis. Inman, Petty’s cousin, had been Richard’s crew chief for more than 25 years in a career that brought seven Winston Cup championships to Petty.

“I knew things would work out from my first meeting with Jeff,” Loomis said during a lull in practice for today’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. “We just seemed to mesh in our thinking and in our approach to racing. The hardest part was gaining Jeff’s confidence.”

There is nothing like winning to build confidence and when Gordon won at Talladega in his third race with Loomis the team solidified.

Still, when Gordon finished the 34-race season with only three wins, after having won seven or more in each of the previous four seasons, and was ninth in points after having won two of the previous three championships, skepticism returned.

“There was a lot of talk about our having an off year, but what we accomplished would have been considered very successful for most teams,” Loomis said. “We felt good about the way we finished, we ran well from September on and we were building momentum for this year.

“Personally, I felt 2001 would be our year. I felt real good about it.”

The results have borne out Loomis’ confidence. With five races remaining, Gordon has a 395-point lead over Ricky Rudd and needs only to finish 18th or better in each of the remaining races to win his fourth championship, regardless of what Rudd or any other drivers do.

That doesn’t mean that Gordon will become conservative and protect what he has.

“One of the worst things a team or a driver can do is to change tactics to protect a lead,” Loomis said. “To win, you’ve got to keep trying to win races. Mark Martin once told me, ‘Don’t get off your game play. Keep digging.’ We’re following his advice.”

Evernham, who was more of a coach, and Loomis, who is more like a partner, take different approaches to working with Gordon.

During races with Evernham at the controls, Gordon often would ask for advice, as in, “What should I do now, Ray?” Evernham would respond with a pep talk.

With Loomis on the headphones, there is much less talking.

“Jeff doesn’t like being talked to anymore,” Loomis said. “I talk to him maybe one-fourth of the way through a run, or maybe one-half, and before he pits so we are in sync about what we’re going to do.

“He’s 30 years old now and doesn’t need cheerleading like he did a few years ago. We keep in-race conversation to the minimum.”

Even the makeup of the team’s crew has changed.

Under Evernham, a separate race-day crew refueled and changed tires and adjusted the springs on the No. 24 car. The idea was revolutionary. Loomis assumed the more orthodox method, using members of the crew who worked on the car all week.

“The way the cars are so aerodynamically similar these days, pit stops and pit management has become more and more vital to winning. With 15 to 18 cars on the lead lap, track position after a restart can be critical. The decision to take two or four tires, or no tires at all, can make the difference between winning and losing.

“I like to have guys live with the car seven days a week. They work out together every morning, they prepare the race car during the week and when they get to the track they know exactly what it needs.

“Jeff is terrific at telling me how it’s handling and what we need to do on pit stops. I just feel it’s better to have fellows on the crew who know the car inside and out, rather than some outsiders who only know how to change tires and refuel.”

Loomis is one up on Gordon at Phoenix.

In 1996, Loomis had his first Winston Cup win with Hamilton the driver. In eight starts, Gordon has yet to win on the Desert Mile.

Gordon will start 14th in today’s 500-kilometer (312 miles) race.

“Obviously, we’d like to start farther up, but we’ll take that. It’s a tough race and we feel good about where we are. Jeff started 24th last year and finished sixth. When Bobby [Hamilton] won with me in ’96 he started 17th. And you know, front-runners don’t usually win here.”

Rudd, Gordon’s only serious challenger, will start even farther back, in the 21st position..

Two Dodges, driven by rookie Casey Atwood and John Andretti, will start on the front row today. Atwood qualified Friday at 131.296 mph. Gordon did 130.142.

The pole-sitter has not won in 13 NASCAR races at Desert Mile and eight times the winner has come from outside the top 10.

“There’s no carryover from crewing Hamilton’s win here to working with Jeff because there’s a big difference in cars, drivers and rules, but it does give me a feeling of confidence in knowing that I did it once, so I can do it again,” Loomis said.

“I always like coming to Phoenix because I like this hot weather.”

He should be happy today. The temperature is expected to top 95 degrees.

Today’s Race

What: NASCAR Winston Cup Checker Auto Parts 500

Where: Phoenix International Raceway.

When: 11:30 a.m.

TV: Channel 4