Ex-ASU players end up on NASCAR pit crew if football doesn’t work out

Five weeks after Arizona State football Pro Day, Tramel Topps came back for more.

His second Pro Day more realistically could lead to a job with a decent paycheck.

Topps and three other former ASU athletes went through strength and agility drills Thursday hoping to be selected for a NASCAR national developmental pit crew combine next month. None came to college with that professional sports path in mind, but life has a way of throwing curves. So why not give motor sports a chance?

“The interest is not always there because they grow up playing stick and ball (sports),” said Phil Horton, NASCAR Drive for Diversity pit crew coach and Rev Racing director of athletic performance. “We have to convince them this is a sport you need to take a look at. They come around to it. Here’s another avenue, it’s a professional sport and you can make pretty good money for a long time.”

Pit crew careers can last a decade or more and pay up to an annual sixfigure salary depending on the job and which of NASCAR’s three national series it is on.

“Everyone that’s stayed has found a job in the series,” Horton said. “The talent is what dictates whether you work in the Cup Series.”

Thirty-five former collegiate athletes are working on a pit crew now, according to Horton, with 25 of those on the Monster Energy Cup Series.

Topps, Otis Jones and Charles Beatty, all former ASU football players, worked out at Wells Fargo Arena as did wrestler Ryan Nantuna. They were asked to do familiar things albeit with a different end in mind. Horton led them through a circuit of roping jumping (100), high knees (25), ladder drill (5), push-ups (25), ab rolls (25) and sit-ups (100). Then came bench press, up to 225 pounds for the football players, same as at the NFL combine and Pro Day.

“Once you do 20 (at 225 pounds), it’s over for us,” Horton said, proving more than sufficient strength for jobs like jackman, tire carrier or tire changer.

Topps, 6-2, 275, played football at Arizona Western before walking on at ASU in 2014. He was a backup defensive lineman in every game last season and now, like all college graduates, is in search of a job.

“I don’t close doors on anything,” Topps said. “I do it full out whether it’s Pro Day for NASCAR or Pro Day for football. I’m just blessed to have the opportunity. A lot of guys in the same position don’t have a second option if football doesn’t work.”

Athletes are used to performing in high-stress situations before a large crowd, Horton told them, which is why the Drive for Diversity recruitment has succeeded for almost a decade. Former ASU football players Wes Evans and Brett Nenaber already have worked on NASCAR pit crews. a.m. (FS1), qualifying, 1:45 p.m. (FS1); Saturday, practice, 5:30 a.m. (FS1); practice, 8 a.m. (FS1); Sunday, race, 11 a.m. (Channel 10).

Youngsters Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott continue to dominate the standings. Larson is first with 315 points and a win, and Elliott, with no wins, is 17 points behind . ... Fifteen drivers have secured spots in the upcoming all-star race.

INDYCAR

(road, 2.3 miles), Birmingham, Ala.

Saturday, qualifying, 1:30 p.m. (NBCSN); Sunday, race, noon (NBCSN).

IndyCar returns to Barber for the eighth time. Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay have each won twice there . ... Scott Dixon has earned a podium finish in six of seven races in Alabama but he’s never won the race . ... Series comes to the Valley for the Phoenix Grand Prix April 29. —

LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD SERIES

Park, Chandler. Saturday-Sunday. The top off-road racing series returns to the Valley for two days of competition. Gates open both days at 8 a.m. Racing includes Karts, UTV, Pro 2 and Pro 4, Pro Information: 480-926-6688; arizonaspeedway.net. Saturday, 7 p.m.: ASCS Wing Sprints, IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods, Pure Stocks, Bombers.

Manzanita reunion

Ron Shuman and Lealand McSpadden are among those expected to attend Sunday's Manzanita Speedway Reunion, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at the Arizona Open Wheel Racing Museum, 3534 E. Broadway Rd., Phoenix. The museum houses over 30 cars and thousands of pieces of memorabilia. The legendary Manzanita dirt track operated from 1951-2009 and was where some of the biggest names in U.S. racing, including A.J. Foyt, built their resumes. Admission is $10 per person.