Funai 250 - Travis Geisler Notes

A ‘Boot-Straps’ Type Racer, Geisler Readies For Richmond
Defying trends, up-and-comer ‘gets hands dirty’ Pursuing dream of NASCAR’s top echelons

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – While the trend in NASCAR racing’s top series the past few years has been younger drivers, DCT Motorsports is developing a young talent with an increasingly unique method – putting him to work on the race car.

Travis Geisler, the highly-touted 23-year-old driver from Cranberry Township, Pa., obviously knows his way with a steering wheel. Considered one of the top up-and-coming talents of northeastern motorsports, Geisler’s bloodline includes a highly successful racing father and driving skills rarely seen at such a young age.

“You never reach your potential as a driver unless you know just about everything you can know about these race cars,” said Ricky Pearson, DCT’s crew chief and a former NASCAR Busch Series champion. “The only way you learn that is by picking up a wrench and going to work on them.”

While many of the top young names in NASCAR’s Cup and Busch Series might balk, Geisler eagerly accepted the opportunity. In fact, Pearson pointed out, he insisted on it.

“I’ve always worked on my own cars,” Geisler said. “I didn’t have any choice as I was coming up. I was the crew chief and, a lot of times, I was the crew. If things were going to get done, I had to do them.

“But I enjoyed working on them, and it helped me as a driver too,” he added. “It’s important for a driver to work on his own car, as far as I am concerned. I want to know everything I can about it.”

Geisler is splitting driving duties with DCT’s general manager Steve Grissom, a former NASCAR Busch Series champion. Grissom’s last outing – an 18th-place finish at Talladega, Ala. – saw Geisler at the track every day, underneath and inside the Chevrolet, changing tires and springs, and doing whatever work needed to be done.

“Communication is so important between driver and crew. By working at Talladega, and the other races where Steve is driving this season, I get the chance to watch how he communicates,” Geisler said. “I can hear what he is saying and compare it to what I am seeing and doing. Besides giving the team an extra pair of hands, it gives me experience I can’t get any other way.

Many young drivers are moving into straight driver roles, even in the top series, coming to the garage minutes prior to practice and qualifying, then leaving moments after their driving duties are completed. The trend is a complete contrast from the past.

“You look at guys like Dale Earnhardt (Sr.), Rusty Wallace, top drivers like that. They got where they were because of tremendous talent, sure, but they all worked on their own cars too,” Geisler said. “Dale Earnhardt was a real role model to me, somebody I looked up to. But when there was work to be done on the car, how many times did you see him up to his elbows in that race car? He was hands on because he wanted to be hands on, but he also knew it was important as a driver to do that.

“I don’t think I could be someone who just sits in the driver’s seat and his main duties outside of that are making sure the steering wheel is on straight,” Geisler added. “The guys on the crew work awfully hard and they can always use the help. And I want to be a part of any team I am on, not just something that sits off to the side.”

DCT Motorsports’ owners John McGill and Carl Natale have seen Geisler’s work ethic, and they are very pleased by it.

“I guess it’s become sort of unusual but we like the driver being part of things. That’s important to everything we are doing,” said Natale, who works on the car at the track himself. “There are some, I guess, who could walk in in a fireproof three-piece suit and tie, they wouldn’t take a chance on getting dirty. But I’d rather have a driver who is right in the thick of things, who knows everything that’s going on. That’s what we have with Travis.”

“He has a very strong work ethic,” Natale added. “He has a lot of knowledge, but he knows that getting under the car and working on it, physically doing all of the things you have to do to make the car faster, will make him a better driver in the long run. He puts in a lot of hours, and works hard.

“A lot of drivers say they will do anything to make it in NASCAR racing,” Natale said. “Travis Geisler proves it every day.”

Richmond will be Geisler’s third start behind the wheel for DCT Motorsports. He finished 24th in his debut with the team at Nashville, Tenn., April 10 but had a stronger run than that, a inopportune caution flag coming out just after he had pitted, costing him a probable top-15 finish. GATEWAY RESULTS

Geisler, a Vanderbilt graduate, has run a myriad of different series in his career including ASA, ARCA and Southwest Tour. He joined driver Grissom with the team, led by veteran championship crew chief Pearson. Grissom, a former NASCAR Busch Series national champion, is serving as the team’s general manager as well as driving 11 remaining races this season.

Grissom returns to drive in the May 23 event at Nazareth, Pa., and May 30 event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The team had already scheduled skipping the Dover, Del., race, and Geisler will be back behind the wheel when the Busch Series returns to Nashville June 12.

DCT Motorsports’ owners McGill and Natale – “two guys from Cleveland building a future in motorsports,” as they refer to themselves – have developed the sport’s most cost-efficient, sponsor-friendly marketing setup. It is based on giving full value to sponsors, and utilizing the many business-to-business contacts McGill, a developer, and Natale, a major earthwork contractor, have in place.

DCT Motorsports, seeking sponsorship for next year and the remainder of this season, is in the midst of a 25-race schedule for 2004, hitting all of the major NASCAR Busch Series events and markets. One of the most comprehensive sponsorship packages in any form of motorsports, DCT offers a complete package of top racing equipment, hospitality, public relations, publicity, appearances and show cars.