NASCAR: Family legacy leads to spotter's stand
Aug. 8—ASHEVILLE — Born into racing royalty, it was only natural that Coleman Pressley found his way into the world of auto racing.
Pressley is the son of former NASCAR driver Robert Pressley and grandson of short track racing legend Bob Pressley. Being born into a racing family in Asheville, he grew up in his dad's race shop at the Alliance Tractor Trailer Training Center in Arden.
It didn't take long for Pressley to start his own racing career, starting on karts when he was just six years old.
"Then around '96 or '97 is when I started racing Bandoleros at Charlotte Motor Speedway systematically working my way up the ladder racing in the Legends cars, Late Models, UARA, and finally Xfinity Series," he said.
In 2004, Pressley took a year off racing when his grandfather Bob Pressley passed away.
(This seems like a big deal to take a year off racing. Were they close? How did it affect him?)
Pressley made his return in 2005 to start racing in Late Model racecars at Hickory Motor Speedway.
He later joined the UARA Series and won the 2010 UARA Series Championship, while racing part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series).
Pressley made 12 starts from 2009-10 for JTG-Daugherty Racing and JR Motorsports.
Spotting and being a Crew Chief was not Pressley's original career path.
"Having my first of four Daughters in 2012 (ages 10, 6, 4, and 2 now), I realized I needed a 'real job,' and I was able to start that with crew chiefing in the K&N series that year," he said. "The spotting was not really the 'plan,' but when the opportunity presented itself I took it."
When Pressley was at REV Racing, Tad Geschickter called me from JTG-Daugherty Racing, where I was a development driver for them at the time (Was he a developmental driver at REV racing or JTG-Daughtery racing?).
Geschickter asked me if I had ever considered spotting because they needed someone," Pressley recalls. "At that time, I didn't really have a desire to be a spotter because I was taking the crew chief route. But I made the decision to start spotting and haven't looked back from it."
(Why did he make the decision to start spotting when crew chiefing was his goal?)
In 2012, Pressley made the first change in his career paths by climbing atop the pit box.
(I think it'd be good to explain the difference between crew chief and a spotter. How are they different? What does a spotter do? How do they influence the outcome of a race?)
He worked as a crew chief in the K&N Pro Series from 2012 thru 2015. The first race for Pressley as a spotter was the 2015 Daytona 500, working with driver AJ Allmendinger in the #47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.
Then, in 2019, he joined Team Penske as the spotter for Brad Keselowski on the #2 team.
Pressley also picked up spotting duties for Austin Cindric in 2020 and helped him capture the 2020 NXS Championship that season.
During the 2021 NASCAR Cup series season, with two races to go in the regular season going into the Michigan International Speedway weekend, Pressley and TJ Majors, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s longtime spotter, swapped drivers.
Pressley spotted his long-time friend and former roommate Joey Logano in the #22.
When it was announced that Keselowski would be leaving Penske to become co-owner of Roush-Fenway Racing in 2022, Team Penske did not want to let another team scoop up Pressley and steal him away.
So, Logano suggested going ahead and swapping spotters to ensure that Pressley would stay.
In an interview on SiriusXM Ch 90's "The Morning Drive" in a semiweekly segment called "Behind the Wheel with Joey Logano," Logano admitted he wanted to get Pressley as his spotter for a long time but was hesitant to do so because they were best friends.
Logano was worried that working together would possibly sour Pressley and his friendship. However, those worries were for nothing, Logano admits. The swap could not have been more seamless.
Since they are friends, they already have the chemistry and the lingo down pat, already knowing what each other means when they say things a certain way.
Being a great spotter at a Super Speedway like Daytona and Talladega does not come easily, though. Spotters need to be able to keep an eye on their drivers, but still watch for the runs of other cars coming from the back of the field.
"Basically, it comes down to practice, experience, and preparation," Pressley said. "From watching past races to learn other drivers' tendencies and driving styles. Like when I started with AJ, where we were running around 15th, it would be more immediate. Where spotting for Joey, I have a little more time to see the runs coming from the back as we normally run in the top five. I have longer to see them develop. A run back in 15th looks a lot different than a run-up in 3rd place."
"The driver is responsible for what is out the windshield and the car directly behind him using his mirror or it a camera now, I worry about his blind spots and cars three or four rows back," he said.
Having a best friend like Joey Logano has its perks. Starting in 2022, Pressley became an in-race reporter for FOX Sports during the Xfinity Series races.
"Well, with all the broadcasting Joey has been doing with FOX, he brought up the idea to the network" Pressley recalled. "Joey told FOX they should have me on reporting from the spotter's stand giving a 'spotters perspective' to the races, and it all just came together from that.
The booth will throw to Pressley if they have a question about strategy or what might happen in a certain situation.
For example, "If Driver A goes low, I see Driver B going with him in the draft" or "If Driver A goes high, I see Driver B coming low with a slide job and getting the position."
Pressley's previous driving and crew chief history, combined with his spotting abilities, make him the perfect person for the job.
"It's actually pretty fun to do," he said.
To listen to Pressley work his magic during a Cup Series race, viewers can go to NASCAR.com's "Live Race" tab at the bottom of the screen, click the scanner button and select Joey Logano's name/channel.
