The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Ashtabula County man’s life in the fast lane
As a pit coach, he is in charge of making sure pit stops are as efficient and short as possible.
It’s the summer of 1995 in Colebrook Township in southern Ashtabula County, and Chris Krieg and his brothers Kyle and Chad are in a race against time.
The boys had earlier set a record for unloading bales of hay into the family barn, but they weren’t satisfied with their performance.
“We’d race to see how fast we could get 100 bales off the wagon, then we’d try to beat that record with the next wagon,” Krieg said.
Some things have changed for Krieg over the past two decades. Some have not.
Now 39, Krieg has different work partners besides his brothers. Instead of cutting time unloading hay wagons, Krieg and his co-workers are trying to cut time on pit stops taken by two of the biggest names in NASCAR — Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
As the pit coach for pit crews of both Johnson and Earnhardt, Krieg is in charge of making sure those pit stops are as efficient and short as possible.
The handiwork of Krieg and his crews will be on display Feb. 26 in the annual running of the Daytona 500.
“This is the big one,” Krieg said in a phone interview from his home in Kannapolis, N.C.. “This is our Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve been lucky enough to be in two victory lanes at Daytona, one for the 48 (Johnson) and one for the 88 (Earnhardt). I can’t wait for this one. It’s gonna be wild.”
Krieg chuckles when thinking about how a farm boy from rural Ashtabula County who grew up milking 200 cows twice per day ended up as the pit coach for arguably the two biggest names in NASCAR under the ownership of the prestigious Hendrick Motorsports.
“Every time that national anthem goes and the jets fly over, I get goosebumps,” Krieg said, “and I just think, ‘Man, I’m lucky to be here.’ ”
Football coach Krieg
For a long time, Krieg figured his calling would be on the football field, not the race track.
When his playing days as a quarterback and linebacker at Orwell Grand Valley High School were done, he went to college planning on coaching football for a living.
He was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Bluffton University in western Ohio, when he found himself one day in the offseason flipping through Hendrick Motorsports’ website.
“They had a job opportunity for an assistant pit crew coach,” Krieg said. “I read the qualifications they had listed and thought, ‘Man, this fits me to a tee.’ ”
Krieg inquired about the job. Things moved quickly.
“From the moment I saw the ad till the moment my wife — who was pregnant with our second child — and I moved was like nine days. They move fast at Hendrick Motorsports.”
Krieg had no auto racing experience, but said that’s what Hendrick preferred. They wanted a coach type who specialized in organization, leadership and leading a team.
He was brought in as the assistant to Lance Munksgard, whom Krieg speaks highly of for teaching him the NASCAR ropes. When Munksgard stepped down after the 2014 season, Krieg — with only two years experience — was elevated to head pit crew coach for Earnhardt and Johnson.
Now Krieg and others on his team scout and scour America for pit crew prospects much like football coaches recruit for players.
“We go around the country and find football players, basketball players, wrestlers,” he said. “We teach them from the ground up. They don’t even have to know what a wrench is. We’re going to teach them all that. We bring them in, develop them and hopefully within two or three years they’re ready to be a starter (on a crew).”
Time matters
Most people who close their eyes and count to two don’t think two seconds is much.
To Krieg — and everyone else in NASCAR — two seconds is an eternity, and often the difference between winning and losing.
“Every second is a football field — 100 yards — on the track,” Krieg said. “That’s pretty substantial.
“When I first got here, we were happy to have a 12.5, 12.6- second pit stop. Doing the same work, we’re at 11.2 now. We’ve shaved over a second and half off.”
When Johnson and Earnhardt head for pit row, five lugs on each tire have to come off, tires are replaced, lugs are put back on, and cars are gassed up.
All in less than 11.2 seconds.
With seven or eight pit stops per race, time is of the essence in those pit stops.
“And I’m not sure that’s our ceiling,” Krieg said. “I think we can do better.”
Race days are busy for Krieg and his crews. They are on site as soon as the track opens seven or eight hours before a race. All the gear is prepared, final briefings are done, and the checkered flag goes down.
Five video cameras run during each pit stop so Krieg and the crews can review them, break down each facet of the stop and see where they can improve during the following week of preparation.
Just like a football coaching staff does with their team.
“We review everything,” Krieg said, “so we can find ways to get better next time.”
Race time
Krieg considers himself fortunate to experience Victory Lane twice in Daytona, with Johnson in 2013 and then with Earnhardt in 2014.
As the coach for both crews, there’s some bittersweet to those moments, too.
“You’re in Victory Lane with one car, knowing you didn’t do as good with the other car,” Krieg said. “Having two crews is a different dynamic. You can win with one and not be happy with how the other finished.”