Joey Gladstone knows his way around a Pro Stock Motorcycle.

That's something he's known practically his entire life.

Recently, Gladstone added working as a back half worker on Pro Stock legend Greg Anderson's Camaro.

"I worked with Greg's team at Phoenix, Vegas and Pomona," Gladstone said. "I was doing back half on his car. I'm in the shop here in (Mooresville, N.C.) and work in the machine shop as well. They needed a hand, somebody to fill in for a few races. They asked me if I would do it and I was like H*ll yeah, I will do it. I have been turning wrenches my whole life but I never worked on a Pro Stock car."

Once Gladstone signed on to help out, he was brought up to speed quickly by KB Titan Racing.

"I went testing with them one day and then after the one day of testing we went straight to Phoenix and I dove in," Gladstone said. "It was everything I thought it would be but better. It was one of the coolest experiences I have gone through. I was working on an iconic team and working on an iconic driver's car. I was really focused and didn't want to mess up anything. It was a really cool. It was rewarding when everything went well and the parachutes came out and bonding with the guys was really cool.

​
"Then seeing how the car world is. The only other time I crewed on a car was when I did the bottom end on Jim Whitely's (Top Alcohol) Funny Car just one weekend, I ran bearings and stuff last fall in Ferris, Texas, at one of those Mid-West Drag Series races. I did that and that was fun and we won the race, which was awesome. We didn't win any of the Pro Stock races, but it was still an incredible experience."

Gladstone's relationship with Anderson's team came about because he and fellow Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Cory Reed are in the same shop in North Carolina with KB Titan Racing. Gladstone and Reed moved to Mooresville, N.C., in January.

"I see the (KB Titan Racing) guys every day, so it was the right place at the right time kind of thing," Gladstone said. "Of course, I was a little nervous when they asked me to help out. It is a big deal. After I went to that test session with them it kind of sank in when I got to Phoenix. I was like this is a big deal. This is Greg's car. I better make sure I do everything four times over and that's what I did. I made sure if anything was going to happen it wasn't going to be my fault. I wanted to do the best job I could."

Gladstone acknowledged the experience gave him a new appreciation for Pro Stock.

"Yes, 100 percent," he said. "It gave me a whole different respect for the guys and what they do and how they race. They are a pretty incredible organization. It was a really good learning experience. From working with them, I definitely learned some stuff and learned what to pay attention to. Attention to detail is definitely higher. It is a very secretive world. Just to be around that team was a big deal for me. It was a proud moment for sure. If they asked me to help out, I would do it at any point in time."

On a side note, Gladstone discussed his new clean-cut hairdo - a drastic change from the long flowing locks he was sporting for quite a while.

"I cut my hair a couple of days before I started doing stuff with Greg's team," he said. "I was joking around with people and told them that they held me down and cut my hair. But, I came back from Gainesville (Fla.) in March and a day or two later I cut my hair. It was bothering me in Florida. It was hanging down and I was like 'I'm over it.' I also wanted to look more presentable because I'm part of something bigger now. I'm meeting more influential people and I'm 31 and I have a 2-year-old and I thought if there was ever a time (to cut his hair) it was now. I like the haircut. I wish I would have done it four years ago."