This article was in the Sunday (2/18/07) Herald Republican Newspaper in Angola,IN. Fremont,IN. is just 6-miles North of Angola where I live.



OVER THE WALL



Scott Blackburn On A NASCAR Craftsman Truck Pit Crew



By Amy Oberlin



KPC News



SANDUSKY,Ohio----A Fremont, IN. High School graduate has made some tracks on the NASCAR circuit.



Scott Blackburn, a 2003 FHS graduate, received an associate’s degree in high performance automotive from the University Of Northwestern Ohio in Lima,Ohio. His focus was always on racing, from his early experiences with go-carts. After an almost year stint with ARCA following graduation, Scott was hired as a member of the ThorSports pit crew for the No.13 truck in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series.



“I like it,” said the 21-year –old with a wide grin. “It’s awesome.” Willie Allen will take No.13’s wheel in the first race of the season this weekend. Last year, Rookie Kerry Earnhardt drove the truck.



When the truck flies off the track to the pits, Scott is the second crew member over the wall. His job during the race is front-tire changer, and he follows the jackman onto the pit stall.



“I run the impact gun on the front, so I’m always over the wall,” Blackburn said.



“Over the wall” refers to hurtling a concrete barrier meant to separate humans from speeding race cars. Blackburn admitted he’d seen some close calls when jack men leapt out to work on quickly approaching vehicles.



“Yeah, I worry,” said Blckburn’s Mother, Trisha.



“We went to MIS(Michigan International Speedway) to watch him…..and I don’t miss a race on TV.”



Scott is usually wearing protective head gear but because the Blackburn’s know which guy he is-the second one jumping over the wall for the No.13 truck- they can watch Scott at his job. Sometimes when the camera pans out on the various pit crews during the National Anthem, they see his face,his Father Ken said.







An Inherited Need For Speed



Scott’s inspiration doesn’t come as a surprise, said Trisha. Ken took the World Dragbike Championship a couple of decades ago.



“I knew with three boys I was doomed that one of the three would do it,” said Trish. “I just didn’t know which one.”



Their youngest Son,Kyle, is immersed in Ken and Trish’s hobby, dog pulling, and their other Son, Tyler, is going to college in Fort Wayne,IN.



But Scott took the fast lane, starting on the go-carst circuit at the age of 9 at Bryan,Ohio, then moving on to sprint car racing in Logansport,IN. when he got older.



He eventually went to college to study in a racing field.



“Scott started an over-the-wall pit crew club in Lima,Ohio ,” said Trish. “It’s still going.”



He’s featured on the back cover of a promotional magazine circulated by the college. The resume he sent out around graduation caught the eye of ThorSports, which wooed him away from ARCA a couple of years ago.



Scott travels 126 days out of the year. “We usually leave on a Wednesday or Thursday and we’re gone till Saturday or Sunday,” said Scott. He said his favorite place so far has been Texas , though he admitted he doesn’t see much of the areas he visits besides airports and race tracks.



Scott is in charge of tires, and will immediately begin inspecting and preparing for the race. He puts them in sets of four, carefully documenting everything on a lap-<myspace>top</myspace> computer.



Those numbers must be approved by crew cief Lance Hooper, and they are constantly monitored as they show wear during practices.



“I go over the seat, make sure all the belts are still tight,and make sure none of the electrical’s undone,”Scott said. After the qualifying , again, the crew goes over the fine points of the vehicle, making some minor changes.After that, there can be no more adjustments.



While there’s some prestige and being at NASCAR races every weekend is exhilarating, Scott’s job is not all fun and games.



“After the race is over he says, “Who Won?” because he is really busy,”said Ken.







Living A Dream



“This has been his dream,to be in NASCAR at some level,”said Trisha.



Part of a nine-person crew working on seven trucks,Scott spends the off-season working in a shop in a warehouse in Sandusky,Ohio.



ThorSports, owned by SealMaster, has seven No.13 trucks that the crew prepares for the annual series.



Part of Scott’s job is to keep statistics on a computer. He is the tires Specialist, and also fulfills other duties for the company.



Though the regular work week is more or less 9-to-5, when things start gearing up for race season Scott might put in long hours and nights at the warehouse.



And, though he enjoys working on the cars,he’d really rather be driving them.



“I still want to drive,” Scott said, a grin reminiscent of his Father’s creasing his face.