Business trips can be shredded, but for NASCAR drivers and racing teams who are on the road for 36 races a year, is inevitable.
If these teams were to rely on the schedule of commercial flights, the journey would be a nightmare if it were not for the logistic impossibility. That is why most top-level drivers own private jets, and racing teams operate fleets of small jets to transport pit crew and team leaders to the racetrack every week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. owns the LearJet 60, which is the top of the LearJet line and their largest jet stream. This is a business plane that can accommodate up to 10 passengers.
Thanks to the reagent, Earnhardt can leave his home in North Carolina and go to the racetrack in Dayton or Texas in a couple of hours - at about the time it takes to get to the major airport and ensure safety.
NASCAR Novokuznec and former Formula 1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya also own the LearJet 60. 2006 champion Jimmy Johnson owns the Learjet 31A, and Jeff Gordon owns the British Aerospace Hawker 800.
Most drivers leave the flight for professional pilots, but Mark Martin is a licensed pilot who often pilots his Cessna Citation. Martin lives in a unique community near Daytona Beach called Spruce Creek. It is a fly in the community with its own airport. Residents have aircraft hangars in the yard, where most of us have garages. Martin can literally park his plane in the garage.
Race teams operate larger aircraft to transport pit crews and team leaders to the track. Roush Racing manages a fleet of aircraft, including a Boeing 737 and several small business jets. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. takes off from this crew on the Embraer 120, a medium-sized turbo mode, accommodating 30 passengers.
While the cars have vanity signs, NASCAR teams have registration numbers for daily jets. Dale Jr. Learjet - N8JR, and Jeff Gordon's Hawker - N24JG. Corporate Embraer at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is the N500DE.
NASCAR came to life to travel on a private jet so much that many tracks are located right next to the airports. Daytona International Speedway is in close proximity to Daytona Beach International Airport, where private jets and commercial flights are delivered daily.
Although most of the tracks are not so close to a major international airport, some tracks have built their own airports. Right next to the Atlanta Motor, Speedway sets up Tara Field, a small aviation runway that sees little traffic before the race, when more than 600 aircraft descend on this tiny airfield.
However, some tracks are not so convenient, but when this happens, expect NASCAR drivers to come up with a solution. When NASCAR descends on a track like Dover Delaware, some drivers, such as Dale Earnhardt, bypass the racing traffic, flying from the airport to the racetrack on a chartered helicopter, landing directly on the backyard.
Some people consider private air travel a luxury, but with a busy schedule of today's drivers this is necessary. After the Sunday afternoon race, the driver can jump on his plane and be home by Sunday evening. This means that they can meet with team leaders and team owners on Monday morning to view the previous race, and develop a strategy for the next race. During the week, drivers are often on the plane again, meet with sponsors, make television clips, publicly speak and test. Without a plane, this schedule would be impossible. Most drivers agree that if a private jet gives them from one to two days a week from productive time, or simply allows it from time to time.
You can see photos of these aircraft on JetJit.com and get more information about each aircraft.
