Although he may not be as well known as his counterparts in the nitro fuel
classes, Rob Downing, crew chief on the two KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing
Equipment Pontiacs, driven by Greg Anderson and Jason Line, is arguably
considered one of the top crew chiefs to come down the pike in recent Pro Stock
history.
The unassuming Downing took the longer road through college to
reach the pinnacle of his profession. From college to Detroit designing
engines to Pro Stock crew chief, this crew chief has learned a lot about success
and winning combinations. In 2007, he has his team on a strong pace adding (7)
wins to his résumé and leading the points chase for the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock
championship. Prior to this season, Downing partnered with co-crew chief Jeff
Perley to propel the KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiacs, to 51 wins
and 4 championships. These numbers have only been surpassed by a limited few in
the Pro Stock category and KB Racing with Downing is still counting. He is
respected by his peers, crew, and most importantly his drivers and team owner
Ken Black.
Three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson,
who hired Downing, had the following to say of his crew chief: “Rob is
everything. He’s the heart of this team. He’s the guy that makes all of the
decisions. He is the guy who keeps us as egotistical drivers calm and
grounded. He’s the captain of the ship and we couldn’t race without him. We
couldn’t get to the race track without him. He does it all, from the bottom to
the top. He has a lot of job descriptions and wears a lot of hats. We depend
on him an awful lot.
Although he may not be as well known as his counterparts in the nitro fuel
classes, Rob Downing, crew chief on the two KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing
Equipment Pontiacs, driven by Greg Anderson and Jason Line, is arguably
considered one of the top crew chiefs to come down the pike in recent Pro Stock
history.
The unassuming Downing took the longer road through college to
reach the pinnacle of his profession. From college to Detroit designing
engines to Pro Stock crew chief, this crew chief has learned a lot about success
and winning combinations. In 2007, he has his team on a strong pace adding (7)
wins to his résumé and leading the points chase for the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock
championship. Prior to this season, Downing partnered with co-crew chief Jeff
Perley to propel the KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiacs, to 51 wins
and 4 championships. These numbers have only been surpassed by a limited few in
the Pro Stock category and KB Racing with Downing is still counting. He is
respected by his peers, crew, and most importantly his drivers and team owner
Ken Black.
Three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson,
who hired Downing, had the following to say of his crew chief: “Rob is
everything. He’s the heart of this team. He’s the guy that makes all of the
decisions. He is the guy who keeps us as egotistical drivers calm and
grounded. He’s the captain of the ship and we couldn’t race without him. We
couldn’t get to the race track without him. He does it all, from the bottom to
the top. He has a lot of job descriptions and wears a lot of hats. We depend
on him an awful lot.
“From Ken Black, Jason and myself, to the last man
on this team, we have 100 percent confidence in Rob Downing. As drivers, Jason
and I have 100 percent confidence that every time we jump in our Summit Pontiacs
that they are going to be fast and they’re going to be safe. And that’s all
because of the job Rob does and what he instills in all of his employees. I
wouldn’t have any other guy, I can tell you that right now,” said
Anderson.
“Rob is like a rock,” said reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock
champion Jason Line. “He is on an even keel all the time and the rest of us,
especially me, have a tendency to go up and down. If there is one person that
can keep me following the right line, it’s Rob. He’s always enthusiastic and has
dedicated his life to doing this. Anybody that does that, no matter their
profession, I have a lot of respect for. Not only is he a good crew chief, I
consider him a good friend.”
The following Question and Answer session
with Downing will take you through his calculated plan to find a job in
motorsports:
Question (Q.): During your formative years, when
all the other kids were saying that they wanted to be doctors and nurses and
policemen, etc., did you say you wanted to be a crew chief?
Answer
Rob Downing (RD): I thought I wanted to be a driver actually. My dad, Lorin
Downing, drove Super Stock back in the 60s and 70s, so I was one of those kids,
like all of these kids around (the track) here that tag along with their dads
and think it’s pretty cool. From the time I was about two-years old to the time
I was six or seven, dad was racing pretty much full-time and took me along to
most of the races. So, I pretty much got the sickness right then.
Q.
When they had “Show and Tell” at school did you take a race car or something
like that to talk about?
RD: Everything I did was mechanically
oriented, whether if was cars, planes, trucks or whatever, but race cars were
the biggest hit.
Q. When did you really decide that you wanted to be
in drag racing or motorsports in general?
RD: In high school,
when I figured out that guys like Warren (Johnson) and Grumpy (Bill Jenkins) had
engineering backgrounds, I decided to take that path. I said that’s what I want
to do, not having any idea that it would get me to where I wanted to be. Back
then I had no reason to think that I would even get a job in racing, let alone
end up doing something like this. But I decided that I was going to give it my
best shot and wherever I ended up, I ended up I guess.
Q. So after
high school you headed to college?
RD: Yes, I got a masters
degree in 2002 in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Nebraska.
Q. Where you born in Nebraska and where do you live now?
RD: I was born and raised in Kearney, Nebraska, and now live
in North Carolina in the Mooresville area.
Q. After college what path
did you take then?
RD: I sent out about a million résumés to
every race team I could get an address for. It didn’t matter if it was Indy
Car, drag racing, NASCAR or whatever. I just wanted to be in racing. It didn’t
have to be drag racing, although that was what I really wanted to do. But there
wasn’t all that many jobs in drag racing at the time. At the same time I also
sent résumés to engineering companies.
I ended up with a company in
Detroit called Batten Corporation. They did all kind of crazy stuff. They
designed engines. They made their own blocks, cranks, heads, everything. It
was something I wanted to do. They had a lot of cool stuff. They had a bunch
of guys there that were drag racers. The owner was an old time drag racer. I
learned everything I could possible learn about cylinder heads and engines.
Some of the guys at the shop there had their own cars that they raced on
weekends and I’d go and help them.
Then I got hooked up with a guy that
had basically an IHRA Pro Stock car. We were what you might call IHRA
“wantabes.” We ran mostly the Midwest Pro Stock circuit and I learned about Pro
Stock cars that way. Another one had a Super Stock car that I worked on a lot
and actually got drive it at a couple of divisional races.
Q. Where
did you progress from there?
RD: In 1999, I got a job with
Mark Pawuk and I worked for him from ’99 to the end of 2002. Some of the
engineers at GM hooked me up with him. They told me Mark’s team was looking for
some crew members. By the end of the first year the crew chief left and I got
the job. I really had no business being a crew chief at that time but I got the
job and continued to learn. That next year, in 2000, I met Greg Anderson when
we rented engines to him when he was running for Troy (Humphrey). I got to know
him and our relationship kicked off from there. I learned a lot from him and
when he got KB Racing going I moved over here.
Q. What was you job
when you started at KB Racing LLC?
RD: I started as a co-crew
chief, along with Jeff Perley, at the same time. We concentrated on different
functions of the car but made all decisions together. Both Jeff and I kind of
had our own specialty. This worked well and the end result was that we were
able to put together a good combination. Jeff left after the 2006 season and I
became crew chief. I was able to learn a lot from Jeff that helps me make a lot
of the decisions on race day. I really valued the time we spent working
together.
Q. Is there a set way that a person who wants to become a
crew chief becomes a crew chief? Do you need a formal
education?
RD: Do you need an engineering degree to do what I
do? Absolutely not. Does my education help me? I think it does. There aren’t
many guys with engineering degrees out here and there are a lot of really good
crew chiefs. Overall, I don’t think that has a lot to do, or much to do, with
being a good crew chief. It does help me in certain areas and I’m glad I went
that way. It did take me a little to get into it by going to college. The main
ingredient for new people getting in is just not being afraid to work hard,
sometimes for little pay. Don’t be afraid to volunteer to lend a hand with
teams and meet as many people in the industry as you can.
Q. What is
it that you like best about your job?
RD: Everything is
always changing. You’re always trying to make the mousetrap better. I always
wanted to do research and development – R&D – and this job is nonstop
R&D. I enjoy testing as much as I do racing. I can’t go into specifics,
but I enjoy everything that has to do with how we run the car. I enjoy
designing things and coming up with a better way to run Pro Stock.
Q.
Give a short version of a race weekend at a national event?
RD:
For a normal weekend, we get here on Thursday and try to get setup. We try
to get a baseline for what the weather conditions will be for the weekend – the
pattern it’s going to take. Take a look at the track to find out if they’ve
done anything to the track since the last time we were here. Usually, on
Thursday we will come up with a basic idea of what our set up is going to be.
We try to arrive early on Friday morning (which is the first day of professional
qualifying) to reevaluate everything. We use past history and have more data
than you can imagine. Naturally, that data is used and matched to the
conditions. We keep adjusting as the weekend goes along.
Q. Where do
you go from here? Do you still have those ambitions from childhood to
drive?
RD: I have no aspirations of being a driver anymore.
That left me about 10 years ago, by the way. I want to continue to do this crew
chief thing, it’s what I love doing. I want to stay with KB Racing and continue
winning races and championships. I can’t imagine working with a better team
owner and a better group of guys. At this point in my life I can’t see doing
anything else. I think my dad enjoys me having this job as much as I do. I’m
thankful to be where I’m at.
Q. Which is more important to you, winning
races or winning championships?
RD: That’s hard to answer.
They’re both really special. But I guess if I had to narrow it down to one it’s
the race wins. If you win enough in a given season, you have a chance to win
the championship. The championship is icing on the cake after winning races.
They are both special in a different way.
Q. In closing, what do you
do to relax in your off time?
RD: I don’t have any hobbies per
se. That’s the beauty of it. My job is kind of my hobby. I just enjoy
spending time with my family – my wife, Aimee, and two children, Connor and
Claire. I hang around the house and we do things as a family when we can.
During the holidays, we’ll go spend time with either one of our families – my
wife’s and/or my family. In the summer time, we’ll take a small vacation.
