Yatesracing
Number of posts : 953
Registration date : 2009-01-15
 | | Subject: scapegoat or not, Hyder back,CONTENT Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:36 pm | |
| February 09, 2009
Scapegoat or not, Hyder back, content
By KEN WILLIS
MY TWO CENTS
DAYTONA BEACH -- You're tempted to label it as a classic case of returning to the scene of the crime.
Except, as those in the know will tell you, David Hyder's fingerprints weren't at the crime scene two years ago when Michael Waltrip's tainted intake manifold ignited a Speed Weeks full of controversy and intrigue. He is, after all, a chassis guy, not an engine tuner.
But still . . .
"Whenever you sign the entry blank on these cars, you have to be fully responsible for what happens," Hyder said Sunday. "You know, that's the thing about being a crew chief. It's hard, because you never know what's gonna happen."
This year's Daytona 500 pole day was a much different story for Hyder, crew chief for the surprising (so far) Wood Brothers car that posted the fifth-fastest time Sunday, with Bill Elliott aboard. Two years ago Hyder and Bobby Kennedy, Waltrip Racing's competition director, were immediate casualties as a flurry of fines and penalties began raining from NASCAR's highest offices.
Hyder's next job was with Bill Davis Racing. Then he would move to Bam Racing, where the slippery slope eventually proved too slick for that organization. The Wood Brothers team, an old-school, off-the-beaten-path group with a legendary history but sketchy present, needed a new crew chief last summer, and turned to a husky old-school sort from down the road in High Point, N.C.
Both parties needed something new, and the No. 21 team's vast improvement in the second half of '08 made both look smart. Now the team is aiming at a 12-race 2009 schedule, including, naturally, the Daytona 500.
Hyder is leading this scaled-down effort, and know this: If anyone suspected he can't be trusted, he'd have a hard time landing a job sweeping a shop floor.
"We knew he didn't do it, whatever it was," said Len Wood, part of the second-generation team leadership. "It was an unfortunate situation."
Just the fall guy?
"That's what it seemed like," said Wood.
Hyder will only talk about the situation in general terms, and seems adept at quickly and smoothly redirecting the subject toward typical race-speak.
Happy about being at Daytona with a reason to smile again?
"You know, I've been doing this for 25 years, and it's all I know. I'm happy that we came here with a good effort. We didn't get the pole, but it was close."
Ever have any doubts about attaining another position of authority?
"I'm a firm believer that if you work hard, it shows. I never questioned having a job in racing."
Any one person whose lifeline meant the most?
"Bill Davis gave me a job on the No. 36, and I can't thank him enough for that."
Hyder did allow a brief moment of philosophy when asked if he ever feared being cast aside and completely left behind.
"You always wonder that, when you get in that situation," he said. "But I just take one day at a time. I take today for what it is, and tomorrow for what it is. I feel fortunate to be here today."
ken.willis@news-jrnl.com | |
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