Three kids and a car chief
Pontiac Excitement 400 Advance - Richmond International Raceway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 30, 2003) -- Citizens of Richmond … BEWARE!  A mother of three is loose on the town, broken from the bonds of diaper bags and Barney videos, and free to do as she pleases for 24 hours without the hassles of homework, preparing supper or putting the kids to bed.  The entire day is hers.

WE REPEAT:  MOTHER … NO KIDS … 24 HOURS.  This is the kind of freedom unwanted tattoos and piercings come from.

Meanwhile, Team SIRIUS car chief Trip Bruce is having the time of his life being nanny for the day.  He's spending priceless time with his three children in his hometown of Richmond, Va., while his wife enjoys her daylong sabbatical.  Once Friday morning rolls around, he'll get back to work in helping prepare the No. 7 SIRIUS Dodge for Saturday night's Pontiac Excitement 400 (7 p.m. EDT on FX).  But he's not thinking about that right now, especially since the gallery in the backseat requests an icy.

Days like this are few and far between.  Bruce has been riding the NASCAR caravan for 11 years now, and it has left him spending many nights in cities miles away from home; miles away from his 1-year old son, Tristin, who he calls "Little Man."  Miles away from his 6-year old daughter, Demi, who he calls "Pooh."  Miles away from his 10-year old daughter, Kristin Taylor, or "K.T."  Miles away from his wife, Sharon, who also has a nickname, but we'll let Trip tell you that one.

The hardest part of being on a Winston Cup race team, Bruce says, is walking out the door on a Thursday afternoon and leaving the kids behind.  You want to take them with you, but can't.

Well, this week he did.  With Richmond only a five-hour drive from Mooresville, and the fact that Bruce's parents still live on the south side of town, it made for an ideal situation for the Team SIRIUS car chief to spend time with his family.  Not so much, however, that he couldn't sit down to discuss of a variety of topics, including life on the road, the challenges of the Dog Pound pit crew, and the real story behind Tommy Baldwin.

Team SIRIUS car chief Trip Bruce's thoughts:

How difficult is it dealing with the constant travel?
"The hardest part is walking out the door at 4 o'clock on Thursdays and driving away.  That's always the hardest part.  But as tough as that is, it's just as exciting when I come back Sunday evenings or Monday afternoons, and my daughters are waiting for me a half-block down the road.  I'll have to bring my car to a complete stop, because they'll come running up alongside the car and jump up in the windows.  So it's hard to leave, but it's just as cool to come back home."

Is your wife enjoying her day without kids?
"I'm sure she is.  She's with the kids 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  So she's off on her own today since I have some time before I go to the track.  I think she's going to lunch with her former boss.  It's surprising all the things you can't do when you have kids, like go to lunch with friends.  We drove up to Richmond a day early so I could spend time with other family members, and she can do her own thing for a change."

Let's talk racing for a second.  Since you're also the front tire carrier on the Dog Pound pit crew, I guess there's a lot of pressure on you guys to perform this week after experiencing some problems in the pits the past couple of races.
"Our pit crew is facing adversity right now, and I like the fact we've got a little pressure on us.  We've been working really hard on our pit stops this week, and it's obvious we still have a lot of work to do.  But at the end of practice yesterday (Wednesday), we pulled off a pit stop in 12.9 seconds, and it was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.  It was so synchronized, it sounded like music.  Everything hit exactly on time.  Both tire changers hit five off and five on at exactly the same time on both sides.  Just beautiful.  It really ended practice on a strong note, and it showed that we've got it in us.  We've just got to find some consistency."

You started working with Tommy Baldwin in 1998 and have been with him ever since.  How did that bond begin?
"I walked in the door at Bill Davis Racing about the same time he did.  He had just started working there, and he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off.  I went in there one day and told him I was looking for a job.  He said, 'Come on, I need your help.  I've got plenty for you to do here.' So we went in and talked to Bill Davis, and I started working that afternoon.  That's how it happened."

How did that first week at Bill Davis Racing compare to the first week at Ultra Motorsports?
"Almost exactly the same.  There was a lot to do at Ultra and a short time to do it when Tommy came on board (in late November, 2002).  The people he had hired hadn't even started yet.  He was just like he was the first time I saw him in 1998 at Bill Davis Racing - like a chicken with his head cut off."

You knew rebuilding the SIRIUS Racing Team was going to be a challenge.  Why did you guys choose to do it?
"As for me, I had two choices:  work for the Wood Brothers or work at Ultra.  I got together with Tommy and J.W. (shop foreman J.W. Bartok), and we decided to do the impossible.  This team was in last place in points last year, and there didn't seem to be any organization.  Going to the Wood Brothers would've been the easy way, but I chose the hard way."

Why the hard way?
"Because we knew (success at Ultra) could be done.  I knew it, and so did J.W. and Tommy.  I don't think I would've come to Ultra if J.W. hadn't come.  He knows cars like I know cars like Tommy needs cars.  Bringing J.W. over to Ultra was absolutely crucial in laying the groundwork for this team."

Were you surprised when Tommy decided to come to Ultra?
"No, because he's just like me.  He wanted the challenge.  He had better options on the surface, but I've never seen Tommy take the easy road.  He always takes the hard way, and he always beats the odds."

As the car chief, how much do you interact with owner Jim Smith?
"He's asked me directly at least three times, 'Do you feel like you have everything you need to do your job?  Is there anything I'm not giving you access to?'  That speaks volumes right there.  I think Jim Smith deserves more respect than he gets in the Winston Cup garage area, and I didn't realize that until I came to work for him.  Of course, I never went to the track to pay attention to other people.  I was always busy with the cars.  But there's a lot of history behind Jim Smith and his dad.  It seems like you learn something new about him every day."

What did you think about Jimmy Spencer before you came here?
"I always liked Spencer.  Somebody once asked me if the 22 team ever got mad at him, but I honestly think Ward (Burton, driver of the No. 22 Dodge) probably spun Spencer a lot more than Spencer spun Ward.  I've got a lot of respect for Spencer because he started in the low ranks and raced his way to the top.  There are some drivers out there that never paid their dues."

Are you paying your dues this weekend with the babysitting?
"I'm long overdue on babysitting.  My wife is the one who's paid the dues."

Do you think she'll come back with a different hair color after her day without kids?
"There's a good chance."

Accident tough to take for Team SIRIUS
Pontiac Excitement 400 Race Report - Richmond International Raceway

RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2003) - Leave it to a student in Mrs. Nixon's second-grade class at Longcreek Elementary to put things in perspective.

"Ummm, remember when you wrecked?" the boy nervously asked Jimmy Spencer in regards to Saturday night's accident at Richmond International Raceway.  "That looked like it hurt."

Boy did it ever.

Spencer's physical injuries amounted to no more than soreness in his neck and back, but the repercussions of a 42-place finish left an unbearable sting.  Spencer was in sixth place and mowing down competitors and a torrid pace when the right front tire blew out and sent the No. 7 SIRIUS Dodge hard into the wall.  It dropped Spencer one spot to 29th in the NASCAR Winston Cup championship point standings, and left a rocket ship of a race car in a tangled mess.

"I can't believe it," Spencer said.  "I can't believe this just happened.

Spencer had climbed from his 25th starting position into the top 10 by lap 81.  He had reached sixth place by lap 127 and was looking for more.  But on lap 140 of the Pontiac Excitement 400, the No. 7 SIRIUS Dodge shot into the third-turn wall, putting an end to what was a remarkable weekend for Team SIRIUS.  The Dog Pound, led by crew chief Tommy Baldwin, turned an average car, at best, on Friday (25th in the first practice and 22nd in the second practice) into one of the fastest cars in the 43-car field Saturday night.

"Tommy (crew chief Baldwin) made some adjustments on it, and he took a car that qualified 25th and made it into a top-five car," Spencer said.  Tommy is awfully smart. I'm sure glad Jimmy Smith hired him before all those other car owners did. It makes me so proud to have Tommy and the cars he puts underneath me."

Spencer said there was no warning that the tire was going down.

"It almost felt like something broke in my race car. I looked and nothing broke. All I know I went into the corner and it didn't turn. We were running sixth and I really felt like I had an opportunity to win this race tonight."

Joe Nemechek won the race, followed by Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robby Gordon and Mark Martin.  Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 10.

HANGING WITH SAMMY:  Richmond means more than just racing for Spencer.  For the past 10 years, the Berwick, Pa., native has made it a point to meet up with his 14-year old buddy, Sammy Anderson, who was diagnosed with a degenerate bone disease at an early age and has been battling ever since.  Anderson lives in Richmond, and during the race broadcast Saturday night FX aired a segment about this special relationship.

"I met Sammy 10 years ago and have kept in close touch with him ever since," Spencer said.  "He's my inspiration."

NEXT UP FOR TEAM SIRIUS:  The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will take a lengthy hiatus in points racing, with its next scheduled race being the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 25 (5 p.m. on FOX).  The Dog Pound will compete, however, in the Winston No-Bull race on Saturday, May 17, in trying to qualify for the premier all-star event, The Winston. That race is slated for a 7 p.m. EDT start on FX.