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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series flagman since 2003; Dennis James, passed away on July 11, 2007. (NASCAR Images Photo) |
While there are dozens of officials working at each and every NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, few are as visible as the chief starter. From the waving of the green flag to start the race to bringing the winner home with the checkered and everything in between, the individual perched in the starter's stand outwardly controls the flow of the race. From 2003 through the first 12 races of 2007, the individual in charge of waving those flags over NCTS races was Dennis James, a long-time NASCAR official and a close friend to virtually everyone in the garage.
James, 57, a native of Fletcher, N.C., passed away on July 11.
Many of today's Truck Series drivers and crew members worked with James at the short tracks in central North Carolina. After getting his start in motorsports as a driver at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway, James then transitioned from a participant to an official. He first waved the flags at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, before following in NCTS Series Director Wayne Auton's footsteps and becoming the track's chief steward.
James moved back to Hickory Motor Speedway, this time as an official rather than a driver, before joining NASCAR in 2003.
Not only was Auton James' boss at the track, he was also a long-time friend. In their 35-year friendship, Auton said he never met anyone who had a cross word for Dennis James.
"It's been a tough day here for our family," Auton said, speaking of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series officials and teams. "The guy always had a joke for you, always had a smile, and always left you laughing. I never met anyone who had a cross word for him. The only time you ever heard anyone say anything bad was when he was doing his job. But after they walked out the gate, all that was gone."
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Flagman Dennis James waves the checkered flag for first time winner Jamie McMurray at Martinsville
on October 23, 2004. (High Sierra Photo)
More Dennis James Photos |
Auton, the proud supervisor of a great team of officials that he holds second to none in the world of motorsports, says even among some of the hardest working men and women in the sport James managed to lead by example.
"He was a hell of an employee," Auton said. "You find people who want to come to this sport for the money or for the glory. Dennis didn't care about any of that. He had the right attitude. He loved the sport and he loved NASCAR. He spent last weekend and a drag race because he loved the sport. We had a lot of great times together, and we've had some bad times together. Right now we're going through one of those bad times."
One of the current series drivers that came up through the ranks with James is 17-time winner Dennis Setzer. Himself a terror on the short tracks throughout the Carolinas prior to making the jump to the NASCAR stage in 1994, Setzer first came to know James as a driver back in the 1970s.
"I can remember being in the grandstands when I was a kid watching Dennis James running the street stocks and hobby stocks at Hickory," Setzer said. "He always was a pretty good driver, but he just didn't have the money to stay in it. I raced with him at Tri-County and Hickory, and just like all of us have, he and his family sacrificed a lot to be a part of the sport."
"It's just hard to handle," Setzer continued. "I'm just heartbroken. It's hard to realize we won't roll through the scales and see him sitting there and talking to him when we're through. He was the kind of flagman that didn't need to hear that call on the radio to tell him to put that caution flag out. He was a smart guy and he knew the sport very well. He's definitely going to be missed."
For 2005 series champion Ted Musgrave, each of his victories was memorable. James waved the checkered flag over several of Musgrave's wins, and each one stands out, but he has one regret.
"Each time you win is always special and memorable, but right now I wish just once I had stopped and climbed up there and got the checkered flag from him," Musgrave said. "Hopefully we can win the race here at Kentucky this weekend and dedicate the race in his honor."
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Wayne Auton, pictured here at Dover earlier this season, says even among some of the hardest working men and women in the sport Dennis James managed to lead by example.
(Ronda Greer Photo)
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Even with heavy hearts, the show indeed must go on. Just as they do prior to each race, the NASCAR officials met prior to the garage opening and discussed the procedures for the weekend. Auton became emotional retelling a moment that happened just as the meeting was coming to a conclusion.
"We were just about ready to close the meeting and get on with our work for the day and it started raining here," Auton said. "The garage area is pretty close together here at Kentucky, and I looked out and saw it was actually raining pretty hard right outside in the Truck Series garage. I looked to the other side into the ARCA garage and the sun was shining and it was dry. I looked up to the sky and just knew that was Dennis playing one more little trick on us. I thought to myself, "yeah, very funny Dennis, we get it!"
Dennis James is survived by his wife Cathy, father Earl James, two daughters Kristen and Kim, grandson Cody, and two sisters Cathy and Eva.
Services will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at Mackie-High Funeral Home in Granite Falls, N.C. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Victory Junction Gang Camp.
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