Former Gamecock Transitions from Gridiron to Pit Crew

In celebration of Black History Month, Gamecock Athletes Magnifying Excellence (G.A.M.E.), which is the student-led organization for minority student-athletes, salutes Gamecock alumni who are achieving professionally outside of their sport.

JaMarcus King is glad to be part of a team again. The former South Carolina starting cornerback’s football days are over, but he was recently recruited by Joe Gibbs Racing to be trained as a member of a NASCAR pit crew.

“It’s been a great experience,” said King who has been on the job now for nearly three weeks, initially as a jack man and now a tire changer. “It’s a lot different than what I am used to. I’m just taking it all in. I’m helping the guys who are on cars right now. When they’re out there at practice, we’re out there watching what they do and then we have our own practice for everybody that’s new.

“Once I get more experience, I can be assigned to a certain car.”

“Our ownership puts it on us to constantly improve,” said Chris Hall, Director of Player Development for Joe Gibbs Racing. “Joe Gibbs Racing and NASCAR have a competitive side to us that’s not just the drivers that you see on tv. The Athletics Department of Joe Gibbs Racing is the pit stop side. There are four skill athlete positions that go over the wall: two tire changers, a jack man, and a tire carrier. We have one guy who fuels the vehicle, but he’s not allowed to do anything but put fuel in the car. Those other four positions carry the load for the team. We change four tires and fill it up with fuel in 11 seconds.

“Based on trends and our data collection, we see pit times decreasing year after year, which makes a much bigger push for us to continue to find advancements in human performance.”

King was a two-year starter at cornerback for the Gamecocks in 2016 and 2017 after transferring from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. He graduated in December 2018 with a degree in sociology and later worked as a graduate assistant at South Carolina. Now in Huntersville, N.C., King is adjusting to his new sport.

“I like it because the competition is still there,” King said. “There is a lot of competing in practice. I like the upside of the retirement (benefits) and everything that comes with the job.

“I really like all the people that I’m around. There are great people in this organization.”

“The most fun thing is just being at practice and learning. It’s a great learning experience.”
– JaMarcus King

The Athletics Department at Joe Gibbs Racing is not only looking for student-athletes, but Olympic athletes, and former Major League Baseball and NFL players have also received a look to fulfill these needed positions in their sport.

“It’s really character along with the athleticism that makes it a whole package for what we’re looking for,” Hall said.

Hall and his team had reached out to athletics departments at nearly every college and university in the six to eight state region to explain what opportunities there were at Joe Gibbs Racing. South Carolina’s administrators were among the first to respond, led by Senior Associate Athletics Director Chris Rogers and Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development Caroline Neil.

King at practice

“Caroline told me about it, and I thought it was something different that I would have never thought about trying,” King said. “I thought, why not give it a try? I really like it now. I wanted to take on a different task.”

In recent years, training regimens, third-party analytics and other factors made racing officials realize they could improve pit stop time by having more athletic individuals on their team, even if they don’t have a long background in cars or racing beforehand.

“In the last 10 years, the sport has evolved from mechanics who maybe played some high school sports or had a small collegiate career to really finding and putting an emphasis on the athlete with the right mindset to try to achieve better results,” Hall said.

“We are not seeking a mechanic first. We are doing the opposite. We’re finding the right training to teach them how to work on race cars. Guys didn’t grow up playing pit stop in the driveway. Not only is it difficult and challenging because it takes skill and hard work, but it can also be humbling. You’re going to come in from ground zero and not know anything about it. It can be daunting, so it takes a mental re-set in learning a new skill and trusting the coaching staff. You have to be a sponge to absorb all this information. We see guys come in with plenty of athletic talent, but it’s the focus and intensity and the willingness to learn and put their time in, that’s what separates the guys.”

King wasn’t exactly a novice when it came to simple care maintenance, but his training at Joe Gibbs Racing was a whole different level.

“I had changed a tire before, but not at this pace!” King said. “I was able to do a lot of things working on regular cars, but nothing with race cars. This is very different. I knew a little bit about drag racing before this, but I didn’t know anything about NASCAR. It’s all new.”

“I had to learn all the different techniques to get the tire on.”

Every individual that is accepted in the Athletics Department at Joe Gibbs Racing in on an employment contract for six months to show that they have what it takes to be a good employee and make the cut. After that, they can earn another six-month contract based on where they are athletically and with their skills. Just like other professional athletes, the evaluation period is very thorough.

“They come to campus here and go through a physical evaluation with our medical and physical therapy staff,” Hall said. “They do orthopedic screenings in functional movement and mobility. Our strength and conditioning department will put them through some exercises and cone drills. Lastly, we’ll do car stuff. I tell people, ‘you’re going to be bad at this, but that’s OK.’ Everything is tested on site, and if they pass with flying colors, that’s where the contract starts.

“They have six months to prove that they’ve earned a spot to be here, and they have six months to progress. They’re always under evaluation and trying to get better. We spare no expense on the athletes when it comes to their health and wellness, their training programs, the registered dietitians, the medical staff, and everything you can think of. We try our very best to place them. Because we are at the top of our sport, if you leave Joe Gibbs Racing, those people get picked up almost immediately.”

The new NASCAR athletes are finding that skills that served them well in other sports are carrying over to working on the pit crew, and the daily regimen is similar as well.

“We have schedules with weight room times and things like that,” King said.  “It is run just like a football program. We have a weight room, training rooms, and all of that.

“The most fun thing is just being at practice and learning. It’s a great learning experience.”

Practice and training are one thing, but just like game day, getting out on the track to do the job is where the pressure and intensity come in to play.

“It’s pretty mind-blowing at first to see those guys jump out in front of those cars and just doing everything in 10 or 11 seconds,” King said. “I never thought that I couldn’t do it because I’m always ready to take on a new task. There’s more to (NASCAR) than just driving around the track!”

King is enjoying it so much that he hopes he can make a career of it for a long time. He’s also recommending the training to some of his old teammates, so they can join him on pit row someday. Joe Gibbs Racing currently has four former recent college student-athletes, including King.  They’re looking to hire between eight and 16 individuals for the upcoming year.