Big Red graduate working for Kyle Busch in Sprint Cup Series

By MIKE MATHISON, sports editor
Call it what you want, but Jake Seminara is in his current position, in part, because of the training he received as a football player at Big Red.

“When you play football at Big Red, you play in a lot of big games,” Seminara said from Charlotte, N.C.. “Your nerves aren’t jittery. You play in front of big crowds. You know how to stay calm, relaxed and react to mistakes. You know how to play in big games.

“There’s an athletic part of this. Not to brag, but I think I’m one of the fastest tire changers in the series. Growing up I did a lot of training with footwork and speed stuff and it’s paying off.”

Seminara is now in a big game each week as the rear tire changer for Kyle Busch on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The No. 18 M&Ms car won its third race of the year last week heading into the all-star race Saturday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Busch leads the standings by 79 points over Jeff Burton and 134 over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“Big Red is a top-notch program and I’m working now for a top-notch program with Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Seminara, the son of Annette and Steve Seminara of Wintersville. “There are 42 other guys that want to beat you each week.

“We have the best driver out there and we expect to win. Everyone’s gunning for you. It’s just like Big Red.

“They are No. 1 all the time and other teams just want to knock them off. We want to stay on top, not lose our focus and keep going at it.”

Seminara spent the last two years working for Roush Fenway Racing and Greg Biffle.

“We would go into a race the last two years and hope to run in the top five or top 10. Now that I’m with Kyle Busch, it seems like we’re always in the top five and lead laps and have a chance to win the race.

“You know going into the race every week that your driver is going to be up front driving his heart out and your job is to keep him up there. It’s awesome knowing you’re a part of that good of a team and that good of a car and that good of a driver that you can win every weekend.”

Seminara is thankful he was given the opportunity to jump cars, so to speak, to Gibbs Racing.

“I had heard just how great Gibbs Racing treated their people,” he said. “They are family oriented and do everything for you to make you happy.

“I tried out at Hendrick (Racing) for the No. 88 car and for Gibbs for the No. 18 car. One of my buddies was going to change to the No. 48 car. But, we both decided the No. 18 car was where we wanted to go, to be with Gibbs Racing.

“They really treat you well. They have great management who knows what to do. They don’t want you to leave. Guys at Gibbs Racing have been here for 15 years. At Roush, they’re in-and-out every year.

“I worked at Roush Racing the last two years and it didn’t feel like you were welcome there. There was a lot of bad chemistry over there. People weren’t happy.

“I like Greg Biffle, he’s an excellent guy. I thought maybe I would stay another year for them. But, someone from Gibbs was watching me during a race at Martinsville and told me to call him. After the race I wasn’t in the car 45 minutes when he called me and said he wanted me in his office on Monday morning.

“I went outside and did a couple of pit stops and two or three days later he had a contract written up and was offering me a job. I had to keep it really quiet. It’s a small world out here. I didn’t want to tell the team I wanted to go elsewhere. I wasn’t under contract at Roush, but we were trying to work out a deal. But, I really didn’t feel like staying at Roush Racing the next three years.

“Gibbs Racing offered me a two-year deal and I probably signed it maybe two of three months before the season ended. When I came back from Thanksgiving, Roush found out about it. They offered me a contract at Roush, but I turned it down and they basically released me that day.”

Seminara’s quick rise in the sport is uncommon.

“This has progressed really fast,” he said. “It’s a small percentage of guys who make it. It’s tough for a lot of people. I excelled at it really quickly. I had a great opportunity and I met good people at the right time. I fell into something really good.

“I went to pit crew school where they teach you every position, which is really good because you have a feel for what everybody else is doing. I was actually thinking about being a tire carrier when I first started out. But, I decided to change tires and I started practicing that a lot.”

Just like the practices Seminara attended at Big Red to stay No. 1, there is nothing different now, although the venue has changed.

“We practice three or four times a week,” he said. “The more you work together the more chemistry you have and the more comfortable you are with each other.

“We started the season at Daytona where we led 7/8 of the race and then we won in Atlanta. When you run up front every week you get accustomed to being up front.

“If you came into a race in the 15th place car and all of a sudden you’re in first and, you will have a lot more jitters. We’re used to that and a lot of other guys aren’t.”



(Mathison can be contacted at mmathison@heraldstaronline.com'>mmathison@heraldstaronline.com)