ThorSport transporters are NASCAR team's 'unsung heroes'

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Todd Dickson learned to drive a big rig when he was 18 years old. His family owned a rendering business in Marietta and the hard-working teenager got acquainted with a 1972 Peterbilt with no power steering and a 48-foot trailer. He wanted to drive the truck, but his dad presented a hurdle. "He said anybody can go forward driving a truck," Dickson said. "He said, 'When you can back that truck up this hill and around the plant and back up to the dock without pulling ahead, I'll let you go out on the road.' It took me probably three weeks. It was a chore and my father loved to drive. It's probably where I got it." Dickson built on that experience and today is one of five primary transport drivers for ThorSport Racing, the Sandusky-based NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team that has been hitting the pavement since 1996. He is the transporter for Ty Majeski's No. 98 truck. The drivers log long hours hauling valuable cargo, but they do much more than drive. Each man cooks for his team, makes sure uniforms are cleaned, keeps the semis in great shape and does public relations work on the highway. "I'm the cook, I clean, restock," Dickson said. "A nice way to put it is I'm a go-fer." These seasoned drivers also do a lot of walking at races. A lot of walking. "Buy the best shoes you can buy," Dickson said. "Getting this, getting that. You don't even realize how much walking you do. I walked 10 miles in a day at Nashville." In addition to its primary drivers — Dickson, Chris Boller, Tim Frantz, Scott McAbier and Bob Tebo — ThorSport has a handful of drivers on call across the country in case of an emergency. With so many trucks on the road, heading to tracks from Miami to San Francisco, things can get hectic. But the sharp-looking Ford trucks always arrive on time. "They're the unsung heroes," ThorSport general manager David Pepper said. "They're the first guys to get to the track and the last guys to leave. When they're out in public and driving up and down the interstate they're the only person fans really get to see. They're in the public eye all the time so they have to look good and keep their trucks looking good. "And we can't actually race unless they get there because they have all the equipment. It's a heckuva job." Road to Mid-Ohio ThorSport's trucks pulled out of team headquarters Thursday morning. The drive wouldn't be a long one, and two hours later the convoy arrived at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the Truck Series will race Saturday in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 150. The transporters looked like new when they pulled onto Campbell Street, but rain near Lexington meant that they would have to washed again. The drivers joked about the rain on their CB radios as Dickson led the way into the track. His 2022 Volvo 12-speed automatic semi has a 500-horsepower diesel engine and a 300-gallon gas tank. Dickson, who prefers a manual transmission, said he's gone almost 1,100 miles before refilling. A 53-foot Featherlite trailer was packed with whatever might be needed: pit box, crash cart (with plenty of spare parts), tool box, spare motors, transmissions, rear ends, spare gears, body parts. "There's probably enough stuff in the truck to build another truck," Dickson said. Majeski's primary truck and a backup also were in the trailer. They were unloaded Friday morning in time for pre-race inspection, practice and qualifying. Majeski, who had the second-fastest qualifying time, is one of the Truck Series' top drivers and is fourth in series points. He has yet to win a race this year, though, and Dickson made a deal with his driver before the race last month in Nashville. "I told Ty when he wins, the next race I'll bring steaks and baked potatoes," Dickson said. "That's an incentive for him to help all of us. He said he'd hold me to it." Dickson, who has worked five races for ThorSport after moving to Sandusky from Jackson, Ohio, is an organized cook. "I asked them when I started what they wanted to have," he said. "They didn't want cold cuts and they were tired of barbecued beef. So far they haven't thrown me out for cooking." He prepares food at home and uses Crock Pots at the track. So far, no complaints from crew chief Joe Shearer or truck boss Ty Shullick. "I've got meatballs and we've got some breaded chicken sandwiches," Dickson said Thursday. "It's not like I'm cooking gourmet meals. It's something for them to eat so they don't starve to death." Dickson, whose uncle Larry Dickson was a USAC sprints champion and Indianapolis 500 veteran, said the jack-of-all-trades job isn't for everyone. "Sometimes it ain't what they thought it would be," he said. "One guy told them he didn't get to watch enough of the race. A lot of people don't grasp that you're not gonna just drive the truck to the race track and watch the races. Once you get your trailer set up, you know where everything's at so they just ask you, or you go get it." Variety of tracks NASCAR competes at superspeedways, short tracks and on road courses. At Darlington, there wasn't room in the pits for the Truck Series transporters, which meant running back to the truck for parts or whatever else might be needed wasn't a possibility. Everything had to be stored in the pit stall and small area nearby. "You have to be flexible and take every track as it comes," said Scott McAbier, who drives the transport for the No. 66 truck. "We had an extra engine, a transmission, everything you would need. There was no going back out to get it." McAbier, who owns S&C Trucking in Amherst, said because there was so much to load after the race, everyone pitched in. "They pulled in, loaded, and pulled out," he said. "You've never had so much help. They were flying." Fast but careful. What you see (and don't see inside) rolling down the highway is worth about $2 million. Dickson hasn't had any major problems with his transporter, just an antifreeze leak, but things that can go wrong keep Pepper up at night. "We were in Kansas and got ready to leave and they fired it up and it smoked like a pile of leaves and turned off. That was it," Pepper said. "One of the tanks on the generator had broken and was leaking diesel fuel. It ran down onto the trailer wires and shorted them out. That kicked all the breakers. We had a heckuva mess." Pepper said he's had to call in rental trucks to help out. "Flat tires and any number of things that can go wrong," he said. "We have to figure out how to get it fixed. That's why my phone's on 24 hours a day. It might be 3 in the morning and they're broken down in Albuquerue, New Mexico, which has happened." Drivers usually go solo, but back-to-back races in Texas this spring required two-man teams. The logistics can be daunting. "We sent trucks out, brought trucks back. Had two-man teams, a spare guy bringing trucks in a 48-footer," Pepper said. "There was one point we had six trucks and a 48-footer and had nine different drivers criss-crossing the country with 16 race trucks. They were loading and unloading in parking lots at race tracks. They get us there and get us home." 'Always loved to drive' Dickson, who turned 58 last Sunday, enjoys his job: "I've always loved to drive. That's probably the easiest thing." Even though the Truck Series season runs from February to early November, the drivers are full-time employees. There's plenty to do. In the winter they might haul trucks to Charlotte for wind tunnel work. There might be an engine to pick up in Michigan, or a trade show in Indianapolis. And the big transporters always need attention. When he's at the track, Dickson is busy, but he enjoys people watching. At North Wilkesboro, he spotted Richard Petty. At Nashville, he took pictures of the track and rubbed elbows with some big names. "I was right beside the broadcast booth on the pit wall. I heard someone talking and turned around and they were interviewing Dale Earnhardt Jr.," he said. "I walked through the pits and saw Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs. You don't know who's walking beside you. You gotta keep your eyes peeled." Dickson is looking forward to seeing Homestead and other famous tracks. On the road, Dickson, who has driven trucks for decades, has a great safety record, as do all ThorSport drivers. They know that their trucks draw attention at truck stops and rest areas. "I keep more distance than most people. You can't stop as fast as a four-wheeler," Dickson said. "Hauling this, people know what you've got so they gawk a lot. You get on a four-lane highway and they'll pull up beside and swerve trying to take pictures. I've got pretty good cargo back there." On the road, it's not uncommon for transporters to get arm pumps from motorists who want to hear the horn. They oblige. "They're road warriors. They get in there and hammer down," Pepper said. "Ten, 11 hours on, 10 off. You can knock off a lot of miles in these things." The checklists are long, but Dickson doesn't mind. He's already thinking of improvements he can make in the winter to make things more "user friendly" for his team. "They pour over those trucks; they look at everything," Pepper said. "They're looking at the airbags and axles, the brakes. Those are probably the safest 18-wheelers on the interstate."