By Scott Wright
Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas —
Chad Tigert never cared much for the roundy-rounds.
In Tigert's hometown of Caney and several locales around Oklahoma, that's a common feeling. For as many
NASCAR fans as are in this state, there are just as many, if not more, who prefer drag racing to the circle track.
It was on a drag strip in Durant that Tigert's passion for auto racing was born, but on the asphalt ovals of the
Sprint Cup circuit where his career flourished.
The 33-year-old spent Sunday — as he does every Sunday during the
NASCAR season — working on the pit crew for
Sprint Cup driver
Jeff Burton's No. 31 car at
Texas Motor Speedway, where
Burton finished sixth in the Samsung 500 and maintained his lead in the points standings.
But to all the straight-line race fans back in Southeastern Oklahoma, Tigert says don't fret. He still prefers the drag strip, especially after a successful stint in the
National Hot Rod Association. But when it comes to making a career in auto racing, the roundy-rounders have it a little better off.
"It's just tough to make a living in the
NHRA,” said Tigert, who lives in Mocksville, N.C., with his wife, Tiffany, and 7-year-old stepson Elijah. "It's a lot easier in
NASCAR, as far as benefits and retirement and stuff like that.”
Tigert spends race day managing gas cans for the pit crew members who go over the wall to refuel the car during the race. During the week, he's far busier. He began with the No. 31 team doing interior modifications — mainly setting up the seat to
Burton's specifications.
But now he's known as the underneath mechanic, working on the transmission, gears, fuel cell and suspension.
His history working on cars goes back to his childhood and Tigert vividly remembers his first experience. It was a 1955 Chevrolet pick-up and he was 9 years old.
"The truck had been sitting under a pine tree and I was scraping sap off the windshield,” Tigert said with a laugh. "My dad was always bringing old cars home for us to fix up.”
A hobby turned into a job when Tigert got older.
"It came time to get a job, so I got a job working on cars,” he said.
Tigert started working at Mac Self's garage in Durant. He and Self's son, Brian, were both 10th graders at
Coleman High School.
"My dad had a drag car and me and
Chad would go around racing it with him,”
Brian Self said. "After high school, we went out on our own and turned pro.”
Tigert and Self were the entire team — Self the driver and Tigert the crew chief.
"I guess you'd call me the crew chief,” Tigert said. "But it's hard to be a crew chief when you don't have a crew.”
Their team had great success on a tight budget. In 2000, they finished eighth in the Pro Stock Truck standings.
"We were eating bologna sandwiches just so we'd have money to go race the next week,” Self said. "If we'd had some money, we might have finished first or second in the world.”
Oddly enough, it was his drag racing career that led to his getting a job in
NASCAR. During a race stop in Bristol, Tenn., in 1999, Tigert and Self loaned their drag car to
Kevin Hamlin, at the time the crew chief for
Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Hamlin wanted to get his
NHRA license and needed a car. Afterward,
Hamlin told them to call if they ever wanted a job in
NASCAR.
A couple years later, Tigert decided he did. He called
Hamlin and six months later, he had a job in
Burton's garage.
"I really think he still loves drag racing,” said Self, who still races and builds motors for drag cars in Houston. "I'm just stuck in my ways. After I saw how well things were going for him, I said, ‘Hmm, maybe I'm the stupid one.' But you never know. We might be back together one day.”
A year ago at Texas, Tigert was in the pits for
Burton's win at
Texas Motor Speedway, a win he calls his most fun.
But it was a 2006 victory at
Dover International Speedway that meant the most. Not only was it his first in
NASCAR, it came just months after the passing of his father.
"Our dad was always proud of
Chad's racing accomplishments,” said Tigert's brother,
Todd Tigert. "When he got into
NASCAR, it was very overwhelming for Dad.
"I could tell that the first win really affected
Chad. You could see a lot of emotion out of him.”
Chad Tigert took a moment that day to reflect back on all the people — Mac and
Brian Self,
Hamlin, among others — who helped him get to that spot. But he thought mostly about his father.
"He lived through me on all our racing endeavors,” Tigert said. "He was the person who got me interested in working on cars. It was just a hobby at the time, something to do for fun.
"I didn't know it, but he was educating me all along.”
