Behind The Scenes in Victory Lane:

What Happens When the Camera Stops Rolling

By: Tyler Patterson

There is nothing better than ending a long day at the race track with a visit to Victory Lane. In the short time I have been with Kevin Harvick Inc., I have been fortunate enough to visit Victory Lane three times. The first was in New Hampshire last September, which was also my first time at the track with the No. 33 Truck Series team and driver Ron Hornaday. The second time was at Homestead in November when we won the 2007 NASCAR Truck Series championship. Most recently, I made my third visit to Victory Lane last weekend after we won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. But there is more to Victory Lane than what is shown on television.

So here is a behind-the-scenes look at a typical KHI Victory Lane:

With one lap to go, Ron is leading with our teammate Jack Sprague in second place. I go to the cooler and get two bottles of water for Ron when he gets out of the truck. As soon as I see Hornaday take the checkered flag, I take off running to the transporter to get our hat bag, then off to Victory Lane. As the team’s PR rep, it is my job to make sure everything is ready for what is about to take place. While the crew members are celebrating on pit road, I am getting the sponsor hats ready for all of them. Then I go over the Victory Lane procedure with the NASCAR PR rep and make sure I know what interviews will take place once Ron gets out of the truck.

Then the fun starts. Once Ron gets the truck into Victory Lane, he gets out and celebrates with the crew and crew chief Rick Ren before he is interviewed by SPEED and MRN. After the cameras stop rolling, NASCAR officials push the truck out of Victory Lane while Ron and the entire team pose for pictures wearing their Camping World, VFW, Chevrolet, Kansas Speedway and O’Reilly hats. After the team photos are taken, the crew leaves to begin the post-race inspection process on the truck.

Ron and Rick pose for a few pictures with the trophy and checkered flag. Our guests from VFW join in the celebration and have pictures taken with Ron.

Then Hornaday poses for what we call “singles shots.” One at a time, I give him the hats of all of our associate and NASCAR sponsors and he smiles with the trophy while wearing every hat. You may see these shots in ads in magazines like NASCAR Scene – or photos may end up in a sponsor’s headquarters or executive’s office. Once Hornaday is done posing, he does one more television interview with a television station from St. Louis.

At this point, the Victory Lane celebration is over. Ron, Rick and I go to the media center and they answer questions from media and then do some one-on-one interviews. When all the interviews are finished, it’s back to the transporter and get ready to head to the airport to catch our flight back to Charlotte. You feel all sticky from the Gatorade that was thrown on you and your clothes are still wet and smell like champagne.

Victory Lane is a much longer process than what you see on television, but I try to enjoy every minute of it because NASCAR racing is so competitive that you do not know when the next win will come. It may be next week or it may be a month from now, but you always have to be ready. Victory Lane is such a special place because only one team gets to go there every week. It is so cool to me to see your teammates all celebrating the win. Everybody is patting each other on the back and is just so happy to be there. I am ready for my fourth trip to Victory Lane and I know Ron is ready for his 35th.