Crew Chief Ron



Crew Chief Ron Siepel

 There are few words that could describe the crew chief of the 6c Cowman racing team sponsored by Pryor Concrete, Farlow Reality, Westcott Insurance, Abbey Carpet, WGCA, Mr Deals, McDonalds, Summy Tire, and Monte Carlo. Ron Siepel has become a legend in the hobby stock ranks. Tonight was no exception to the ongoing resume he is building.

This past week Ron had to reshape the 6c back into working order after a rough start to the 2011 season. Repairing all four corners of the car, putting in a rear seal, and adjusting the carburator got the car ready for tonight. Who would have thought that his superior tire changing abilities would become so critical to the success of the team this evening? But we will get back to that in a bit.

Ron works at Knapide during the week as a welder. He is a husband (of 25 years), father and grandfather. He is a deacon at Columbus Road Church in Quincy. In his spare time he likes to eat meat, hunt animals and watch tv in his garage. He has an amazing beard that is admired by all. Taking on the role of crew chief has been a natural fit for this gifted, innovative, body man. (Ron was also the homecoming king in high school).

His driver had these comments, "Ron is so easy to work with, the money he makes being the crew chief (25 cents weekly) is well worth it. I was amazed tonight how well the crew did getting me back on the track."

Back to the race - we finished 5th in the heat race placing us in row two of the feature. We started well and were up front until the second lap. In the very same place as last week's mishap, we has another car run into the left rear corner, cutting the left rear tire. I pulled off to to cushion, bringing out the caution.

This is where the crew, led by Ron, kicked in. Within a minute of entering the pits they were able to remove the flat and put on a new tire. I went back out on to the track at the rear of the field. I moved up four spots until lap twelve when my right front blew. The caution came out for another incident and I went back into the pits for a second time. The crew replaced the right front in record time. I went back to the rear of the field. With three laps left I gained two more positions and finished 10th.



Ron in his "happy place"

 I was so proud of how well we worked together during our misfortune. A key element of our success thus far is Ron Siepel. I bought him a bag of cheetos and a coffee on the way home and he seemed to be very happy.  All good things come with a price but Ron is an exceptional value any way you look at it!