LEXINGTON — NASCAR mechanic Josh Wittman found inspiration in the most unlikely of places and he has been living his life in the fast lane ever since.
A 1997 Ashland High School graduate, Wittman was working as a prison guard at Mansfield Correctional Institution in the 2000s. ManCI still housed Death Row inmates at the time and late one night Wittman found himself deep in conversation with a condemned man.
“He asked me, ‘Are you living your dream?’ Normally I didn’t take what the inmates said very seriously, but there was something different that time,” Wittman said over the roar of an army of NASCAR Nationwide Series cars Friday afternoon while standing on a narrow strip of grass overlooking pit road at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “He had a good point.”
The 35-year-old Wittman decided then it was time to chase his dream. He moved to North Carolina, went to school and eventually landed a job with Richard Childress Racing.
“I grew up around racing down at Lakeville Speedway. I always had a passion for it,” Wittman said. “It was a little scary to pick up and move away from everything and everyone I knew, but I didn’t want to look back on my life and have any regrets.”
Wittman, who has been with Richard Childress Racing for the past four years, is in his first season as the gas man for the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro driven by Brendan Gaughan. He will be in action in this afternoon’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200.
“It’s nice to come back home. I don’t get the chance very often,” said Wittman, who is a chassis fabricator when he’s not fueling The No. 62 car. “Everything is so fast-paced for us. It’s nice to slow down a little and see some good friends.”
He’ll also get the chance to celebrate the birthday of his father, Ashland resident Glenn Hanning.
“I’m going to bring him over here and show him what goes on,” said. “There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes that fans don’t get to see.”
There was rarely a dull moment during Friday’s practice session. Wittman and the rest of the crew busied themselves as soon as Gaughan brought the car back to the garage.
“This team is awesome,” said Wittman, who is responsible for hauling the 94-pound fuel can over the wall on race day. “Brendan is a great driver. He’s always positive.”
Gaughan is currently seventh in the points standings, 151 behind leader Chase Elliott. He raced to the checkered flag at Road America in late June for his first victory of the season.
“When we won at Road America, I remember just sitting on the wall collecting my thoughts,” Wittman said. “There is so much that goes into getting a win. A lot of things have to happen just right.”
He and his crew are hoping for some more good luck today.
“Any win is special,” he said, “but it would mean a little more to get one at Mid-Ohio.”
Homecoming, Part II: Like Wittman, Sam Hornish Jr. considers Mid-Ohio his home course. The former open-wheel champion was born in Defiance, graduated from Archbold High School and lives in Napoleon. He has spent plenty of time at Mid-Ohio.
“I’ve got almost as many races here as a fan as I do a driver,” Hornish said. “I’ve got so many great memories at Mid-Ohio from my childhood, as a fan. I’ve raced five or six different levels of motorsports there and I look forward to racing there every chance I get.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
