A Brief History of Field Fillers in NASCAR

[@S1apShoes]

You can checkout Brock Beard and his series "Rise of the Field Fillers" here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHWldX2smqqimqs He even does one on one interviews with these guys and goes into all the nitty gritty details.

[@jasonstacy5587]

Brock's videos do not lack detail.

[@joeyoung4871]

His field fillers intro get me jacked

[@jessicalacasse6205]

yeah ,but it is like ufc or nfl even if you are low ranked you are still in the 1 % of the best im sure they would be real good in a more grass root era ...

[@ANGELMADFIARGR2008]

@S1apShoes You think about the 43 car field comes back

[@JustGenius2001]

I have seen all of them except the one about Stanton Barrett. I think the video has been uploaded now, I'll check again. Whether you love them or hate them, they'll always show up. I'm not really a big fan of field fillers but I understand why they exist.

[@northwestrider369]

What is bad, is that I was a field filler in ARCA 😂. I worked for Andy Hillenburg at the time and didn’t have sponsorship to run full races, and Andy didn’t have paid drivers to fill all his numbers. So I would drive one of the cars each week as a start and park. It wasn’t great but it kept me in the seat each week while I worked on getting sponsors. It paid off eventually when I got to run a full race at Talladega as a reward and eventually got a sponsor to run an Xfinity race.

[@xavierjuno4572]

How's your career so far?

[@Mentally_Will]

You've raced ARCA and Xfinity? Should we know who you are as long as you're a public figure?

[@northwestrider369]

@@Mentally_Will no, you most definitely should not know who I am. I had just enough money to run 1 full race in xfinity for RWR. Ran in the back. But, as a kid who loves nascar growing up and dreamed of racing, I can say I did get to the second level of the sport. It’s all about the $, and I didn’t have it. But, if you really want to look at my field filler stats. Look up Richard Harriman.

[@northwestrider369]

It’s field filler status. And non existent now. It’s all about the $, and I didn’t have it.

[@vintvarner16]

Awesome, congrats, you got to do something that a lot of us dream of doing. How did it feel to run at biggest track at 200 mph in a big pack? Scary yet exciting at the same time?

[@TheNewsChannel]

“As if by divine retribution they return from the brink of extinction in even greater numbers. They arose anger in some, admiration in others but each new 2004 was their chance to rise. THEY WERE THE FIELD FILLERS!”

[@nascarisawesome5018]

Man is Brock Beard a good writer with a good voice.

[@DetroitBadBoyz]

When I seen the notification lmao

[@raritania7581]

Knew

[@kevinramsey417]

Doo-WEEEEE-Doooo-doooooo....

[@razy7609]

is this from something

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Very well done, S1ap, and thank you for the shout-out. Field fillers are indeed an incredibly fascinating topic both today and in the sport's history. They add some much-needed flavor to the garage.

[@timewithoutconsequence]

I have went back and watched your series multiple times.

[@jeffreyrussell8165]

It’s the man the legend himself

[@joshuaburkhart7690]

Great videos by both of you guys.

[@mikemiete5385]

I love your series

[@aojracing4885]

When S1aps hoes said "and return they did, in larger numbers" I admit I did the Di Caprio point at the screen meme thing.

[@PyroBun_2844]

Man do I love field fillers, even if they have no hope of becoming a front runner, it’s always nice to see them get a good result here and there.

[@rickyevans517]

thats the best part of field fillers

[@seannolan9857]

Not necessarily no hope: Richard Childress was a start-and-parker in '72.

[@TylerRubeum]

Like when Kirk Shelmerdine finished 20th at the 500 in 2006.

[@Malachi_Marx]

It keeps the big boys on their toes!

[@rifleman1002]

Sometimes they do and even turn into champions.

[@seed_drill7135]

My buddy’s dad still acts as a field filler. Usually he has a younger guy do the driving but occasionally he takes the wheel himself, which is rather terrifying given that he’s well into his 80’s.

[@scottmccann3946]

Does he happen to be Wayne Peterson?

[@seed_drill7135]

@@scottmccann3946 Yup,.

[@stonecoldracing6]

Your buddy’s dad is one of the most badass dudes on the planet lmao, have you checked his wiki page?

[@mundanestuff]

@@stonecoldracing6 Holy shit Peterson is a rock star. He did more by 30 than most people do in 85 years, and looks like he never slowed down after that! 9 years in-country?!? Good God he was dedicated.

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

11:36 You missed my favorite story from this race. Tim Fedewa was driving a start and park car for the Biagi brothers, but then the big wreck happened and it took out the main #4 car. Fedewa's team then decided to run the entire race, and he ended up finishing 3rd.

[@ChrisMolyneaux93]

On top of that, Kenny Wallace blew an engine and STILL finished in the top ten.

[@00andJoe]

As I recall that basically made Fedewa's feet into barbecue as the car didn't have any insulation on the floorboards above the exhaust.

[@castelnausci7315]

@@ChrisMolyneaux93 Only Kenny could pull some crazy stuff like that

[@crystaljon]

Honestly, the best part is the car itself. You can literally see the original number underneath the #07 on the doors and roof.

[@bloqk16]

I was an on-again/off-again NASCAR fan from the 1960s to the 21st Century, and was fortunate to have had a sit-down meal with an older couple that faithfully followed NASCAR for over a half-century; where they enlightened me about field-fillers. I commented to them about the thought I had: 'If I had been a Cup driver and hadn't made it to victory lane after three years, I'd call it quits. I can't figure what motivates those back-markers to stay in it for many years.' The elderly man's answer: 'Those back-marker drivers [at the Cup level] make more money than they ever would in any other job, such as if they worked at an automotive lube or tire shop.' That was an eye-opener for me, and I thanked him for his input.

[@pctshooter]

I comment about that all the time. Just about every time I see a comment about Danica Patrick being the worst driver on the track, I want to comment about her being better than half of the field when she ran. A lot of those guys are driving for a paycheck.

[@SiVlog1989]

I have to take my hat off to those who plug away even though the odds suggest that they have no hope of success. This is why (in F1) teams like Minardi were so popular, not only did they race with integrity (their final Team Principal, Paul Stoddart, let rip his displeasure at the situation F1 found itself in at Indy in 2005, despite his team looking set for a large haul of points) and on the increasingly rare occasions they did score points it was popular (at the Australian Grand Prix in 2002, Mark Webber scored a fifth place finish for Minardi on his debut and got a far bigger cheer than race winner, Michael Schumacher)

[@Vitosi4ek1]

Correction: while Minardi was indeed ln line to score a lot of points in Indy 2005, Jordan - their competition for 9th in the team standings - got way more. Stoddart's displeasure was that his only realistic chance at snatching 9th was for him to score a fluke point or two while Jordan did not, and the Indy debacle made that impossible as soon as the race started with 6 cars. And 9th place was at the time a *big* increase in prize money, which Minardi absolutely had to earn in order to stay financially solvent. So, while Minardi did score 7 whole points that day - the most they've scored in a season in their history - it's also the primary reason they had no choice but to accept the buyout offer from Red Bull and exit the sport.

[@SiVlog1989]

@Vitosi4ek there was that, but there was also things he said on Dutch TV, where the gist of what he said was "the FIA need to sort this sport out before there's no sport left to sort out." He pointed out the damage that farce was doing to F1's image in the United States. Short term he was right, after two more races at Indy, it would take a clean sheet of paper in a brand new venue in Austin, Texas for the healing of that messy day to truly be forgiven. But I digress, even though his cars had little hope of getting points in regular circumstances, Paul Stoddart knew how to act for the greater good for the sport. He hated having to react to what Jordan did, as you pointed out, it was both teams only chance of scoring points but political pressure (possibly from Bernie Eccleston) led to them taking the start

[@GarkKahn]

It was a sad day as a tifosi Schumacher won, but it was a farce and won't win a race that year And minardi couldn't make it to the podium I find it funny how i always root for small teams and that day i was one of many instead of the only "different" guy, everyone either cheered for minardi or jordan

[@sch3ffel]

i find so annoying that the F1 fillers are treated as second hand team by the bigger ones now... its kinda like red bull has a 4 car team but actually not... i still remember jarno trulli shennanigans from early 2000 making the big ones like ferrari and mclaren race in a living hell because of how hard he raced the faster guys. you wont really see this happening today and its a shame...

[@darkpinktv6721]

I miss those small shit teams. Honestly, since F1 showed that they want something on Fridays besides practice, i say bring back the 32 car grid and make them pre-qualify (could be a race if they want, with starting grid determined by championship position) before Practice 2. Fans get too watch something on Friday. The small teams get a spotlight and sponsor for this event. And pay drivers could go too these teams instead of ruining a big team like Aston Martin and Williams. Also, would mean more young drivers coming trough and not going to Indycar.

[@JackCallSports]

Field Fillers winning an actual race is so rare But when it happens it is amazing

[@hank1556]

This would make a great video by itself

[@SockyNoob]

@@hank1556 agreed

[@catsdontfart]

Derek Cope.

[@dangerdean9066]

Like Busch and Nationwide drivers from 2006 to 2010 winning races during the Harvick Drought

[@crystaljon]

Another thing about the 2002 Aarons 312 was Tim Fedewa finishing third in a one-off entry for Biagi Brothers Racing. The car was literally the team's primary #4 car with a #07 slapped over the original number.

[@AnthonyStatenMusic]

Burned the hell out of his feet too, since they originally planned on parking early, he wasn't wearing any heat shield inserts in his shoes!

[@seannolan9857]

Skimp Hersey is actually kinda notable, though not for a good reason: He was the first driver to be killed in a NASCAR sanctioned race. And if memory serves, I think he won a Modified race in '48. McDuffie ran the extra Junior Johnson car in '82, not '81. Premium Motorsports was bought out by Rick Ware in 2020. Spire started out by getting Furniture Row's old charter. And I'm slightly surprised you didn't mention Brad Keselowski winning in Phoenix Racing's mostly start and park 09 in 2009.

[@johngancarcik5682]

Spire is starting to gain some ground and Corey lajoie is due for that win he's always been a solid driver who out drives his equipment like when Larson was with ganassi compared to going to Hendrick look what happened there

[@DerrickRG]

@@johngancarcik5682 ehhhhhhh.

[@danieljackett4193]

I find Rick Ware Racing an oddity Slow as molasses in Cup, but very competitive in the Weather Tech Series

[@seannolan9857]

@@danieljackett4193 Kinda like Robby Gordon, I think they mainly use NASCAR to fund their real focus.

[@DannyPlaysStuff]

Also most people probably overlooked Cody Ware, but when having a fairly decent equipment he can wheel. He won the LMP2 Pro-Am class title at the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series, and securing the team's automatic entry for 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours. Well, if everything played out as intended, he would've had raced there. But unfortunately when preparing for Daytona 24 Hours few weeks later they picked out Riley as their chassis manufacturer, which was literally the most braindead move, as LMP2 class by that point was slowly turning into "Oreca Cup" and anyone who raced anything _but_ the Oreca chassis will be guaranteed to only pick up the scraps (Cetilar Racing was the only team to use Dallara chassis and being competitive, but the team was already planning to ditch it in favor of GT class effort anyway). And to cap it all off, they wrecked that Riley chassis during testing prior to Roar before Daytona 24, which killed any hope of them racing in Daytona AND Le Mans. Cody to me is a good driver, it's just NASCAR might not be his forte. Aside from superspeedways and road courses he could barely hanging on to the lead lap in the first two stages.

[@emdotrod]

Rise of the Field Fillers is one of my favorite NASCAR documentary series.

[@OumuamuaOumuamua]

Back markers tend to have interesting on track action between themselves too, so I always liked midfield and back markers

[@jackthorton10]

Someone’s after all gotta hold on the back stretch

[@gth804f]

You're right. When I go to a race, I try to split my time between the leaders and from the midfield on back. That is some of the most intense racing you'll see, but the tv cameras only show maybe 10-15% of it.

[@jackthorton10]

@@gth804f Got to try to take it all in from front to back as best you can.

[@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006]

You know Ross Chastain once drove for a field-filler cup team Premium Motorsports and was involved in a race manipulation scheme in the 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400.

[@txpeshxtblaney]

When all of the backmarker teams basically teamed together to try and beat another team in points

[@zombiedodge1426]

Gotta start somewhere, and not just in NASCAR. In Formula One, two-time WDC Fernando Alonso began his career with perennial backmarkers Minardi, as did Alessandro Nannini (whose career was sadly cut short by injuries sustained in a helicopter crash) and multiple race winner Mark Webber. Daniel Ricciardo drove for hapless HRT in his first season, while Keke Rosberg started out with the Fittipaldi team in its final years.

[@txpeshxtblaney]

@@zombiedodge1426 like bowman, pulled from small teams like NY Racing and BK Racing and got that ride in the nxs then subbing for dale jr and now is one of the full timers in hendrick

[@jimmymyers]

@@zombiedodge1426 And Kimi started off at Sauber

[@pguth98]

@@jimmymyers Kimi got a point in his first race with Sauber! He also only has 23 previous races IN CARS when that happened. Dude was unreal.

[@DaveTheRaceFan]

Front Row Motorsports seems to have a pretty fascinating history. They start off with very few expectations beyond simple start and parks, go through a string of various drivers, gradually find better equipment and win their first Cup race in 2013, form an alliance with Roush, win another race in 2016 and make their first playoff appearance, they start a team in Trucks, they win the 500, and now they have a Truck Series title.

[@rebelcheese5301]

That truck team started as a way to keep Todd Gilliland in the sport too, but when they graduated Gilliland they had Zane Smith showing promise and kept the Truck team alive for him. He rewarded them for it.

[@bigdogdawg]

A field filler winning a race is like a pitcher hitting a game winning home run. It almost never happens, but when it does, it's spectacular.

[@katsanddoggies9904]

Rick Camp hit a homer

[@vvvnokk8309]

Like when Paul Menard won the Brickyard 400 that one time?

[@HattieJosh]

@@vvvnokk8309 Paul Menard ran the full schedule on a competitive team

[@StudioDaVeed]

S1ap, You should do a piece on Dave Marcis. While, yes, he was an Independent Owner Driver; he had a LOT of help from RCR (and was Earnhardt's official test driver for the #3 car) in the 90's. I recall Marcis running certain cars, setups and engine packages at certain tracks as full blown race tests for RCR. I also recall once a crew chief being quoted that Marcis was the Best at running consistent lap times to monitor and test these setups effectiveness, etc.

[@HunkDrangus]

Dave was my guy back in the 90's. It was weird for a 8 to 14 year old kid to have a favorite driver like that, but who cares. What did that sign in his race shop say? "We've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now we can do anything with nothing."

[@r_moore20]

I always say 2001 was the healthiest the sport has ever been. So many full time teams and most of them competitive. I miss those days.

[@xavierjuno4572]

Well 2023 seems to be a renaissance of sorts for the sport

[@r_moore20]

@@xavierjuno4572 not nearly the same amount of competitive teams. The back markers are still everywhere, NASCAR is trying to phase them out

[@xavierjuno4572]

@@r_moore20 well at least there are more competitive teams other than Hendrick, JGR, Penske, etc

[@seannolan9857]

2007 averaged over 49 cars per race, the highest average ever. And other than Lepage's DNQ machine, most of them were at least vaguely competitive.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

@@xavierjuno4572 we still can't get over 40 cars. Sad.

[@TheChildress293133]

We need the field filler. Front Row Motorsports is an example of what start-and-park and missing the show can turn in to one day of you're calculated.

[@dxfifa]

@@shaneharrisnj3484 A lot of those aren't filler, they're trying to compete, usually road course ringers. Field fillers are those who know with the car + driver combo they are not likely to compete for top 20 on speed given more than 30 finishers. BJ McLeod is correct. JJ Yeley was also one last season, both the RWR cars really, with the majority of driver/track configurations. The Spire 77 with Ty Dillon also applied last season. Then it was only the cars that ran well under 10 races, and even then, not every race. The era of field filler is dead, there's enough full time competitive teams who are realistically looking for top 20 finishes

[@dxfifa]

There are plenty of passable team + bad/mediocre driver that could have been close, but the car is capable and the goal was to compete. Guys like Gragson, Burton

[@mundanestuff]

those clips of old races in your videos are gold. Excellent glimpses of some classis steel. MGAs, Austin Healey Sprites, Midgets, MG TCs, TDs, Triumps, Morgans, old Jags of various models, and that's just the British ones! And they're even in the background as non race cars. Like what I think is a Bugeye Sprite in this video at 5:35, white facing a box trailer.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

thinking about that year when 50 cars entered the Brickyard 400… wish I was there to see the intensity those field filler teams had to go through

[@PyroBun_2844]

It was 84 CARS. Enough to fill the 43 car field TWICE.

[@VaticalliX]

which year was this? I have to know

[@PyroBun_2844]

@@VaticalliX 1994, first running.

[@VaticalliX]

@@PyroBun_2844 thank for clarifying dude

[@aldouscoroza]

@@PyroBun_2844 86 Actually

[@josephbettano2569]

The first instance I ever became aware of start and park was during an Xfinity race at Richmond. By like lap 50, 7 drivers had already dropped out, but there were no crashes and no visible engine or mechanical failures. I saw the results of the races and saw the issues listed as things like handling and steering. I saw this occurring frequently from race to race. They kept listing it as just handling or steering but thought these cannot keep occurring and the teams cannot have these issues every week. I saw the teams doing this regularly had no sponsorship and then learned about start and park.

[@anncase8673]

Field Fillers are such an underrated resource for NASCAR

[@PassiveDestroyer]

Brock Beard's Rise of the Field Fillers is a good series. This is a great introduction to it. Both of yall are under subbed.

[@wadevallbona5314]

Those are the true racers! The guys that just love to be out there! We need more of this in NASCAR. It may be worth watching again

[@xavierjuno4572]

I mean every driver likes being out there it's just that you really gotta look for the underdogs most of the time

[@fernando-sl7qm]

Yoooo that start and park is nuts. And the guy who started the race WITH NO ENGINE ! 😂😂 absolute mad lad

[@CCT1]

as soon as this popped up in my reccomended i knew i had to watch it. i love field fillers, their position in nascar is just so interesting to me. and i was so happy to find friends that had the same interest as i did.

[@NotSteveCook]

More cars = more opportunities Every car represents a story. Stories are desperately needed in today's world of racing.

[@WookieDrives]

The top 35 rule was actually I stituted because big money teams such as the 45, 10, and 22 went home at the fall Atlanta race in 2004. Teams started complaining about the need for a safety net for their sponsors investment. And thus, the top 35 rule was created.

[@douglasnogas9484]

Instead of changing the rules maybe those teams needed to be faster than the field fillers if they wanted to race, no excuse for losing a starting spot to a field filler and those full time teams that kept missing races which means they weren’t good enough to compete

[@orcastrike7750]

7:20 “sometimes field fillers even had championship implications” Every single F1 fan watching this video just got flashbacks to Abu Dhabi 2021 from that phrase, I guarantee it.

[@SN1PERx64]

When I first started following NASCAR, I found myself remembering some of the back markers as much as the regulars. Specifically in the early 00's I can recall a team who would place 4 plain white cars with teal blue numbers in the Busch series in order to field one proper with just prize money. Also how Joe Nemechek would field a start and park cup car to pay for John Hunter in the lower series. The idea of not having sponsors but funding a team purely on what was in front the spectators and making it work is cool to me. I wish NASCAR would do more to incentivize a full field again.

[@twrecks4598]

I don't mind admitting I was a backmarker in my handful of racing years. All things being equal, I'd rather run up front for the win... but just couldn't afford $400 a week for a new set of tires... which the top teams were doing. Then there were some who had tens of thousands in their chassis and engines... and this is at the local level. My "why" was because I enjoyed building the cars and, mostly, because every week I had the chance to go and push my car to the limits in a safe, controlled, environment. I haven't raced stock cars in about 15 years... and I think I'm done with that phase.. but local road racing miatas or something like that is on my radar. Nice tube.. glad you gave us lowly guys a little recognition. For any young person reading this: street racing is not a good option. Race at a track designed for such things, where you don't have to worry about other people pulling out in front of you ... and.. they don't have to worry about you being an a-hole imposing risk on other people that didn't ask for it. WAY too many variables out there in street racing, and the life you save may be your own.

[@johndaniels4623]

Good shoutout to the field fillers series, I found that to be fascinating. It’s always something nice to see. In fact, I always find myself cheering for these field fillers, Carl Long’s team in particular is a favorite. Also, I’m sure it had to be cut down for time, but a mention about xfinity former start/park’s getting wins in the past few years would be a good mention, Jeremy Clements X2, Timmy Hill’s top 5’s at Daytona, and uhhhh, “Let’s go shall not be named” all kinda deserve their moment, plus 3 of the top 6 at the 2010 Aaron’s 312 too……

[@blueredlover1060]

I remember going up to Charlotte as a teenager, and basically the only drivers who would spend a worthwhile amount of time at their souvenir haulers were field fillers and rookies. I had an M&Ms tee shirt that I'd gotten filled with all sorts of autographs by them with the lone exception of Matt Kenseth, who I'd managed to get on the track walk in Atlanta.

[@Travige57]

Wow! Excellent video. Great that you explained the "Field Fillers" and gave them all the respect they deserved.

[@lynx8779]

Every time I just need a good documentary to brighten up my day I ask KZbin for slap shoes and watch one of the first things I can find, excellent video

[@67440dodge]

What happens when a sponsorless field filler is poised to win the Daytona 500 with a Cup champion with a huge sponsor behind him and no one to help draft him past? Just ask Johnny Benson... debris will suddenly appear on the track with a few laps to go and he stood no chance against the freight train that blew by on the restart.

[@realbaron5714]

Field filler teams have some interesting moments, principally in the COT and gen 6 Era with drivers like Brad Keselowski, Michael Mcdowell, Dave Blaney, Dave Gilliand, Regan Smith with underdogs wins and get some good results. Team as Furniture Row and Leavine Family starts as field filler and finish into a Championship and mid-pack team, also Front Row. Now, we have Rick Ware Racing and Spire still a field fillers today.

[@danielfoster3642]

Spire Motorsports is a field filler?

[@dxfifa]

It's only RWR tbh, Spire can get a good driver and compete for regular top 20s and multiple top 10s in a season as seen by LaJoie. Ty Dillon is just a bad driver who was in a weak team. Hocevar should be decent, and Zane Smith likely won't be field filler like the 78 BJ McLeod was in that charter Spire bought

[@mustachewalrus]

You sir are so incredibly talented at telling a good story, you can make any narrative in this sport interesting, thank you for being such an inspiration to the arts.

[@leonb2637]

Many of the 'field fillers' were competitive drivers in lower tiers of racing. Sometimes too, a top level driver in another form of racing, like an Nascar driver would race in the Indy 500 to fill its field. Field fillers still had to risk their lives and some at the top tier of NASCAR. J.D. McDuffie, someone who is video was cited as a field filer, would lose his life at Watkins Glen in 1991 after a mechanical failure caused a crash when went off the track and crashed into a barrier.

[@laurastuhler4791]

Yes, I was there at the Glen that day, McDuffie's brakes failed after his wheel spindle broke, he went head-on into the barrier. JD was the GREATEST field filler in NASCAR history, may he rest in peace.

[@furioussherman7265]

I legitimately never would've guessed just how far back the history of start-and-parking went. I thought it was just something that teams started doing for the first time in 2008 when the Recession hit. I like to call myself a relatively well-versed person in NASCAR history and I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't know about the start-and-parkers before then.

[@4_14_fan]

Field fillers will always have a special place in my heart, the effort these teams put in for races they know they probably won't have a chance at winning is incredibly respectable and when they do find their way to the front I cheer like I'm their biggest fan, underdog success is always so much fun to see happen.

[@kennyb1472]

I actually like field fillers. I loved seeing an unsponsored car with a blank paint job and a black, red or white number. They made qualifying fun to watch. They also made the Daytona Duels interesting because you had that “who’s gonna make it” feeling. Will a guy who came out of retirement to have one last shot at a Daytona 500 win make it? Or will it be a guy who is successful in other ventures of racing make their first ever Daytona 500? All 36 races should be like that. Now its just to see where theyll start even though we have a rough idea of where theyll start 😂

[@kalui96]

My favorite aspect of them is that they provide jobs for the crew. I was on one of these teams and it was one of the best times of my life!

[@xavierjuno4572]

Not only that but they allow for a lot of young drivers experience out on the track

[@ursulaboniface1379]

I just noticed that almost all of my favorite drivers were field fillers🙂

[@jonathanstancil8544]

Big fan of JD McDuffie here. The guy is a legend. He ran his own cars his own way and made a career out of racing. What a way to make a living.

[@danielfoster3642]

RIP J.D. McDuffie

[@Tommuli_Haudankaivaja]

Track official: So why did you stop the race? Field filler: My damn engine blew up :( Track official: OK *A massive crash happens leaving only a few cars left running* Field filler: Oh mine, I have repaired my "blown engine" in record breaking time, time to get back to the track!

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

I know dirt racing, like with the World of Outlaws, it's exactly the same. They field 24 cars for each Main Event, but they only have approximately 10 full-time series regulars, so more than half of the field is always local guys, or guys who run other series, or part-timers from higher series like Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman etc. But unlike NASCAR, it's fairly commonplace for one of the "field fillers" to be in the top 5 and occasionally take the win. I help on a car and we race with the Outlaws whenever they come to our local tracks, or like at the Knoxville Nationals, and the main goal is to just make it in to the A-Feature, that's a win right there because of just how good these guys are, and then if you can crack the top 15 that's huge, and top 10, which hasn't happened yet, that's the next step. I guess what I'm saying is, those type of racers are the backbone of racing entirely and without them their wouldn't be any races to run.

[@boogiechassis7726]

Dude, your channel is getting me interested in NASCAR for the first time in 30 years. Always good content and fun to watch.

[@S1apShoes]

Daytona 500 is today. Give it a whirl at 2:30pm EST :)

[@Packersmania]

Always a good day when S1ap uploads

[@SGTGAGE]

Ah, a crown jewel video on a Sunday.

[@tashdemash2554]

right after finishline motorsports entry in the 500 damn is slap fast at converting video ideas

[@Ekohtwo]

Never forget, brad keselowski's first win came in a field filler

[@JohnnyUtah13]

Brock's series over this topic is great! Good video!

[@tuftyterror983]

Give that man the 25th starter of the race, they earned it for that wild move

[@j.mieses8139]

Just learned something new..casual observer of NASCAR and did not know this was a thing..Well done!

[@andymurray5045]

The saint pepsi at the end is chef's kiss, great episode dude thank you

[@tommykl]

My personal favourite of this breed of dudes is Herman Beam, one of the first guys to realise there was a lot to be gained by just staying out of trouble. He refused to contend at the front and instead focused on finishing as many races as he could, going as far as to deliberately let the whole field through the one time he started from pole (having drawn pole position when qualifying was rained out). He got a fourth place in points out of it and a finishing streak record that was unbeaten for over 50 years.

[@quinhoufffacts2775]

As our friend windvow8820 said once: "Some of the greatest battles and best racing comes from the 30th and back drivers."

[@brianricketts4320]

So good. I don't even watch Nascar but love your delivery of the content and the production value. It is top notch.

[@ProAndCon]

Motorsport Story Time relating to S1ap's segment about championship implications @ 7:20 In the UK in 2019, the TCR UK Championship was decided by field fillers. Long story short, it was a straight fight between the independent-run Lewis Kent in the Hyundai i30 and James Turkington in the CUPRA Leon TCR, run by Ciceley Motorsport who were one of the UK's top Touring Car teams. Going into the final weekend (featuring 2 races) at Donington Park, Kent had 117 pts, while Turkington had 136 pts. This was during a lowly supported era of the series where only 5 drivers showed up regularly and points were awarded (25, 18, 15, 12, 10 etc), so a retirement for either was effectively a nail in the coffin for eithers hopes. Ciceley and Turkington were not far enough ahead to simply cruise at the back and knew it would be unlikely any of the other season regulars could beat Kent in a straight fight. So they brought a second car. The second Ciceley car was driven by one of the teams drivers in the the more professional BTCC series; Adam Morgan and with the full support of the team and mechanics, Morgan won the final two races with Kent picking up third and second in class. Turkington would cruise around to 5th in class in both races (8th & 7th overall, his worst results of the year) picking up the title by 5 points thanks to his teammate taking points off of Kent. The Essex & Kent team would protest these results to the organisers. While the rules makers had put in a clause about any car being entered for the final round not being eligible for points, there was a clause in another part of the rule back that said any entry paying for the Full season entry would be eligible. So Ciceley paid the full season entry fee for Morgan, won the case and Turkington claimed his first Touring Car title. Since then, Lewis Kent has gone on to become TCR UK's most successful driver in terms of stats, racing in Europe from time to time. While Turkington has been largely absent from the national racing scene. --- *Also quick side note for anyone checking Wikipedia, the "Non-TCR" cars did not have their own classes, only competing for an overall "Series" (BRSCC would not allow it to be awarded as a championship). Turkington competing in the opening round in one of these TCT cars, hence why these points do not count towards his TCR UK total. It was a confusing year*

[@Dragon-rf5kl]

THANKS FOR TALKING ABOUT THE FIELD FILLERS! I love Brock Beard's series about them, and I can't wait for the next part,

[@d.e.b.b5788]

I was a field filler.Back in the 1960's, slot car racing was the latest craze, and I was a very young, very hopeful, lad who knew enough about soldering and just plain copying the chassis designs of the pros. So I made two cars, one good one not quite so good, with motors and tires that I could afford (not great, but good enough). I would hang out at the local tracks, and if they had a cancellation or somebody's car didn't run, I was invited to race with the local champs. I knew I wasn't going to win. Hell, they were beating me handily down the main straight, so I had no chance at all to catch up with second rate handling. but I enjoyed pushing my car to it's limit, and every so often I would eke out a position ahead of one or two of the regulars. I never won anything. But had a blast, none the less. And I learned, that as long as you're not a threat to win, the really top guys will give you free advice and sometimes parts, as well. A fantastic experience for a young teenager.

[@tritontransport]

There’s a difference in field fillers and what eventually turned into start and park at a ridiculous level in nascar in beteeen about 2005-2015 which was a disgrace. They’d literally run 5 to 20 laps and then just park the car to collect money with no intent of trying to finish a race because they didn’t even have enough people for a pit crew at the track and ran the same set of tires for several races in a row. That’s why nascar eventually had to get rid of the 43 car field and put it back to 40 cars or less

[@AnamolHouse]

I think my absolute favorite field filler has to be Connor Daily. The guy is a filler in IndyCar and has made a few starts (including this 500) with Floyd Mayweather's team. I love seeing him on the grid and his interviews and stories are always fun

[@YoSuey]

I think I've heard that name in sportscar racing too.

[@stigrabbid589]

​​@@YoSuey Lots of Nascar and IndyCar drivers do endurance racing either in the off-season, as second gigs or as something to do between contracts in their main series. Kyle Petty was in a competitive Porsche 911 GT1 in the Rolex 24 in 2004, and ran Porsches for a few years in the Rolex 24 before that, for example. Dale Earnhardt Sr. & Jr. both drove Corvettes in GT classes, and Jeff Gordon won the Rolex 24 right after retiring from NASCAR.

[@jonathankraus9365]

Fun fact about field fillers in another form of racing: In the World of Outlaws they have different formats based on how many cars show up. The teams and drivers hate the format with the least amount of cars so much that there have been cases in the last few years where if they only need 1 more car to go to a different format, they will enter a backup car with a crew member, run hot laps, and then park it for the night.

[@Dat-Mudkip]

I kinda wish NASCAR would allow start and parks again, but add a clause that requires a driver to cover a minimum distance before parking. (Example: you can't park until the end of the first stage.)

[@xavierjuno4572]

I feel like that would be protested by a lot of the fully funded teams unfortunately

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Some of my favourite stories and drivers in all of auto racing are the underdogs, so a video like this is 100% up my alley. Awesome work ^_^ By the way, I'm sure Brock covers this in the full series, but my favourite 'field filler' story? Joe Ruttman starting a race for Phoenix Racing in 2004 - I want to say at Atlanta, though Wikipedia lists it as Rockingham - with a car that *didn't even have a pit crew.* I've no idea when the NASCAR officials realised the jig was up and told them to park the car and not show up again, but I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that moment xD

[@wolfo1931]

I've always had a fascination with backmarkers since I was a kid. My older brother was always visibly confused when I'd be looking for the backmarker I was cheering on alongside the big name I wanted to win that day.

[@themanwithsauce]

SPeaking of F1 Field FIllers, my favorites are the ones where a clearly underfunded or under-developed team gets hold of some rookie phenom and they punch far above their weight. Mark Webber, in his rookie season, raced for one of the most consistently poor F1 teams post-2000, Minardi. But he somehow was able to get a point, which back then only started at 6th place, at his home GP in Australia. The fans and organizers were so happy for him, he got a moment to stand with the podium finishers and he and team owner Paul Stoddard got to spray some champagne with everyone else. Gotta love a good underdog story.

[@garymiller2237]

The oldest rookie Dick Trickle drove for underfunded teams, but said he made more money finishing in the back than he did being one of the winningest short track drivers ever! RI T

[@josephkirsh3760]

You make the best NASCAR content.

[@timelapsebroheem962]

My grandpa used to field fill with a car at tracks around Nebraska and Kansas. He got paid to do it but it wasn’t even about the money. Racing is just fun. The people that complain about field fillers who aren’t racers themselves would jump at the chance to drive even a back marker car

[@aldouscoroza]

Brock Beard and You need to Talk More about Field Fillers

[@DirigoDuke]

I’d argue that with 36 teams holding a corporate subsidy, and two in on speed, leaving just two spots to fill the truncated 40-car field, the Daytona qualifying races are ALREADY “procedural nonsense.”

[@danieljackett4193]

Connor Daly making the 500 simply because of the Kyle Busch crash was a JOKE

[@xavierjuno4572]

​​@@danieljackett4193 well he did mention he was lucky at the end of the day

[@Dgamer-kq5kt]

Man this came out at a perfect time when I needed something to listen to before work. Great video man. Keep up the good work.

[@ryanwalker1593]

Ah yes, my favorite 'who's that guy' era of Nascar. So many names and me just scratching my head. Miss the back markers out there like Carl Long. Always pulled for the major underdogs.

[@Kylora2112]

"So here's some notable field fil..." Greg Sacks: "NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE FIRECRACKER 400, BITCH!!!" That and Lake Speed at the '88 TransSouth 500 in Darlington are the two wildest "no one bet on that dude" races ever. Because they didn't just win, they fucking DOMINATED.

[@JReaLBiz86]

I love this video. And I appreciate the direction NASCAR has taken in their next-gen car. Granted, there's a LOT of shit they need to fix on those cars, I feel like they've taken a step backwards from the Gen6 cars as far as safety. But with these spec-racers in the field it gives the best chance for parity that we've probably ever seen in the sport. This is great for NASCAR's bottom line, because we're seeing an influx of new teams entering the sport, not just to fill out the fields, but in an attempt to compete. I'm here for it.

[@pirate772009]

Lol I remember that Arnold Motorsports 50 car so well from the EA Sports NASCAR 2005 game. I ran a whole 20 season Fight to the Top mode, eventually owning teams in the modified, truck, and Busch series but I never bought a Cup team cause I was holding out for a shot to drive the 50 car to see if I could win a title in it 😂

[@nomar5spaulding]

This reminded me of when I was a little kid. Maine had a NASCAR driver. Ricky Craven. I remember he was pretty decent, but not great, then I think he had a huge crash, and after that for Iike the next 10 years, he finished like 33rd in every race.

[@TheForeverRanger]

Justin Haley's win at the summer Daytona Race pissed a lot of people off. Not because of Haley but if I remember correctly, Spire wasn't all that liked.

[@JustGenius2001]

I still think they aren't liked. I mean I got nothing against Corey and Ty it's just they haven't done anything. Maybe Spire is holding them back but if that's the case why is Corey and Ty not looking for a ride that's in better equipment?

[@xavierjuno4572]

@@JustGenius2001 I feel like it's because no other team will take them both

[@JustGenius2001]

@@xavierjuno4572 Make sense.

[@mikehipperson]

Even F1 has had its share of "field fillers". Back in the 60s the German Grand Prix was held at the notorious Nurbergring where, due to the 14 mile length of the lap, the organisers invited F2 cars to run alongside the F1 entry to give the spectators something to watch whilst the main protagonists did battle. Nobody told a young Belgian, Jacky Ickx, that he was to be an 'also ran' as in his four cylinder Matra-Cosworth with little more than half the cubic capacity of the 3 litre F1 cars, astounded everyone when he finished in 3rd place. Unfortunately he wasn't allowed to earn GP points but did walk away with a nice cheque as consolation for winning the F2 class. He later went on to become a driver for Ferrari and later to win Le Man's multiple times in various sports cars, especially Porsche.

[@De-certified_jlb]

As always an incredible depth of knowledge and relevance

[@TracksideViews]

I was at the Rockingham race when Joe Ruttman started the race without a pit crew.

[@chada75]

One very Important aspect of the Field Fillers is that it gives opportunities to future superstar crew members. Many a top crew chief got plucked from a small team.

[@janoswimpffen7305]

Great, great stuff! I'm a sports car / endurance racing buff where the tradition of field fillers is piled high and deep with all kinds of weird and funny stories. BTW, one can't possibly be true element, the "steep" hills in the Chicago to Evanston race. I grew up there. There are no, zip, nada, steep hills for 40 miles in any direction--flat as a pancake. It must have been an early version of declaring "handling" as the reason to quit.

[@mattheisen77]

What a great Story! Thanks for this! He definitely is happy to know that now we know his story!

[@mjriemen]

Some field fillers are excellent race car drivers and even Champions in other divisions. Current field filler JJ Yeley is a legend in Sprintcar and Midget racing.

[@xavierjuno4572]

Huh I guess there similar to road course aces in that sense

[@CuriousPug12]

i love underdog story, that's why i love them. i always root for backmaker teams even though i still have a favorite team fighting at the front

[@levanpolka289]

Formula 1 has had some interesting field fillers too! Al Pease was disqualified from the 1968 Canadian GP for being over 45 laps down from the winner Nicholas Latifi crashed into a wall at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, causing a safety car and a 1 lap fight between the title contenders!

[@user-ed1yx2fq7l]

The money team has left the chat

[@turbo_marc]

Field fillers are this the NPC traffic of NASCAR.

[@W123KartSport]

I will say this as a kart racer, "Am I the fastest? No. Will I regularly compete for wins? No. Do I love this sport? HELL YES!" It may have taken me 11 years to get my first win but for me it is about passion for the sport.

[@angelsoutlawsmotorsportsup5532]

Hello slapshoes I was watching your video on greenville-pickens I've been a subscriber for a while now. I raced at greenville-pickens from 1989 to 1994. I raced in the division called charger. Now I'm old and my memory ain't what it used to be but I used to race against two guys I believe their names were Jimmy and Carl and I want to say that number 77 and number 88 red blue and yellow or something like that but those were some real cool competitors and Friends. I saw where you was going to be traveling around this season and when you come to Sumter speedway', I would like to pay your way in and have you as our honored guest that evening.

[@rvaneand326]

Love the Shawna Robinson appearance at 9:22. Seeing that car made me immediately think of thunder ‘03

[@HayTatsuko]

One series' perennial champion is another series' field filler. Dick Trickle was undisputed king of the short tracks before he came into NASCAR. I'm glad he ended up scoring a couple of Busch wins - two of my most joyful memories of the sport. RIP, Dick. You shouldn't have had to go out the way you did. Nobody deserves that.

[@LJW1912]

Backmarkers need to exist, no question. Also nice to hear Saint Pepsi at the end, vapourwave is dead!

[@Thunderbird1957]

Love the video slap… what a great idea and so happy that you give them Recognition that they so often don’t get