FONTANA – When Jerry Baxter decided long ago to pursue a career in stock car racing, he faced a dilemma.
Sunday is the traditional race day for NASCAR's premier series.
But Baxter, who was raised in the Saturday-night racing environment of Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, enjoyed his Sundays off.
“I've always believed Sundays are for the family,” Baxter said this week. “I've always enjoyed having Sundays off.”
Having Sundays off, however, and being the crew chief of a Sprint Cup team are not compatible. Which is why Baxter, who turns 50 with tonight's running of the Camping World 300 at Auto Club Speedway, happily remains a Nationwide Series crew chief.
“I love where I am,” Baxter said while discussing his career choices that run counter to common goals. “I've had opportunities to go to the Sprint Cup, but it really didn't interest me.”
And it's not just the Sunday thing.
“There's a lot more tension and pressure in Sprint Cup,” Baxter said. “We take our jobs very seriously in the Nationwide Series. But it's controllable. I'm kind of used to this. I enjoy it.”
Baxter is crew chief of the Toyota driven by David Reutimann and owned by Michael Waltrip. The team is fourth in the Nationwide Series going into tonight's race after being close to series points leader Clint Bowyer a month ago.
“We haven't had a great past month,” said Baxter, who got his start in stock car racing before he was old enough to enter the pits at Cajon Speedway.
After crewing for his dad, Baxter raced for four seasons at Cajon before going back East for the first time in 1980 to work for James Hylton as a tire changer and truck driver.
“I didn't go (back East) thinking about driving,” Baxter said. “I didn't have the ability to raise sponsorship money as a driver. I knew that. But I knew I could make myself a career behind the scenes. I knew cars.”
After several seasons with Hylton, Baxter returned to the West Coast to build stock cars. “I built a ton of Winston West and Southwest Tour cars, 350 chassis over 10 years,” said Baxter, who went East a second time – to stay – in 1995 to work for Ernie Irvan.
In addition to working for Irvan until Irvan quit racing, Baxter crewed for Boris Said's Craftsman Truck operation before going to work for Waltrip. He has been with Waltrip since, serving the past three seasons as the Nationwide Series crew chief for Reutimann.
“It's a great situation,” Baxter said. “I've got 18 employees under me and companywide support. We haven't lost a crew member in a couple of years. What's interesting is that I never thought about being a crew chief, I just wanted to work on the cars.”
Johnson wins pole
Defending race champion
Jimmie Johnson claimed the pole for tomorrow's Pepsi 500 at Fontana (4:45 p.m., ESPN).
Johnson, who is running both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races this weekend, toured the two-mile, D-shaped oval at 180.397 mph for the penultimate race of the Sprint Cup regular season.
It was the first pole for Johnson at Fontana, where he ran second to Carl Edwards in February in the second race of the season. It was his fourth pole of the season.
“We had a chance to go out just when the heat began to break,” said Johnson after the 18th pole of his career.
In addition to Lowe's, Johnson's No. 48 car is carrying the name of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation as a sponsor this week. During practice for tonight's Camping World 300, Johnson yesterday turned in the fourth-fastest speed.
Raising houses
For the second straight year, Johnson's charity dinner and ensuing golf tournament at the Riverwalk course in Mission Valley raised more than $500,000 for his foundation.
“That will put us real close to our pledge for building the four homes through Habitat for Humanity,” said Johnson, who turned over the keys to the first completed house Tuesday.
Three in field
Johnson will be joined in the field for tonight's Camping World 300 (ESPN2, 6:45) by Blossom Valley's
Brandon Whitt (who was 33rd in practice) and Ramona's
Johnny Borneman (40th).
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; bill.center@uniontrib.com
