When people think of NASCAR racing, multiple drivers likely come to mind, specifically drivers from the late 1990’s, all the way up until the late 2010’s, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. In the modern era, fans may think of Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott. With that being said, the pit crew tends to go overlooked, which is interesting since the driver cannot possibly win a race on any given Sunday without the servicemen on pit road who change the tires on the car, lift the car up on the jack to make this possible, and fuel the car to ensure they can make it to the finish of every race on every Sunday. Hence the name “Every man on Every Crew”, this article will shed light on the importance of Jorden Paige, the Jackman on Bubba Wallace’s #23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing.
“I’ve been a Jackman in NASCAR for eight years and I’ve been working for 23XI for four years”, Paige spoke of his career. “The most rewarding part of being on the pit crew for me is ultimately where the driver finishes and I believe that completes the whole day. When a driver has a good finish with a top-10 or better and we do well on pit road, it’s a reward we all benefit from. Obviously, if we win a race, that’s even better for us because it shows the work that we’ve put in.”
The Background of a Pit Crew Member
Many pit crew members are former football players and Paige is no exception to this. In collaboration with multiple colleges and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
“From the age of six-years-old, I’ve been playing football. Going forward, I played college football before I got into NASCAR and I graduated from Central State University and I went to grad school at Clark Atlanta University. During my time at Clark Atlanta, I got introduced to the D4D program and I went through that program to get to where I am today. I didn’t know anything about NASCAR prior to getting into it and the program came to my school, peaked my interest and I tried it out. It was a six-month program, I moved to Charlotte and have been doing it ever since.”
Diet and Exercise
Pit crew members must eat right, train in the gym and practice their routines at the race shops, which is where the teams are headquartered and build the cars. Other times, Drive 4 Diversity will train the pit crew members at their facility before sending them off to teams to do work for them. With that being said, having a good diet is crucial to every athlete’s success. When asked about his diet, Paige acknowledged that my question was intriguing.
“About my diet, that’s a funny question because people talk about my diet a lot. I’m a vegan. I’ve been a vegan since the end of last year, so now I have a diet that’s drastically different than anybody else in NASCAR, so I don’t eat a lot of things. We have a trainer that trains us three to four times a week and we do strength training and cardio to stay in shape and that pretty much sums up my diet and how we work out.
The Jackman is the one who carries the jack on both sides of the car during a ten-second pit stop, in order to get the car out of the pits as fast as possible. Pit road can make or break a team’s race, depending on how many positions are gained or lost there. If you ever watch a live pit stop on TV or in person at the race, you’ll realize how orchestrated the stops are, like a ballet show or a football game. If you ever have the opportunity to see a live pit stop, be sure to congratulate them for their hard work and dedication to the sport and give them a fist bump.
Every Man on Every Crew 