“Tell Him to Look at His Fu***ng Camera”- Bubba Wallace Insider & Co Gang Up on Jeff Burton After Bizarre on Air Remark

Spotters have long served as the second set of eyes and ears for drivers in NASCAR. Watching over their drivers like a guardian deity from the grandstand, spotters have played a crucial role in improving the safety standards of racing in NASCAR. But as technological advancements slowly creep into a profession run by the spotters, eyebrows have been raised on the need for a spotter. Former NASCAR driver and currently an analyst for NBC, Jeff Burton, has put the question up for discussion on national TV.

Well, questioning the need for a spotter is a surefire way to trigger a specific section of the NASCAR community. The spotters’ conclave of Freddie Kraft, Brett Griffin, and TJ Majors challenge Jeff Burton and his school of thought on Dirty Mo Media’s podcast, Door Bumper Clear.

Brett Griffin discusses the role of SMT in aiding the drivers

The introduction of SMT (Sports Media Technology) has paved the way for a new approach to racing in NASCAR. With valuable information available at a team’s fingertips, it provides a massive advantage to the drivers while capturing telemetry, positioning, and camera data. Former full-time spotter Griffin has been in the industry for more than two decades and has seen the sport change at a never-seen-before scale.

Expressing his awe, he says, “Now with the SMT data and everything you guys have, drivers, crew chiefs, and spotters having to leave the race track and go study. It’s a different freaking world right now right?”

Spotter for Brad Keselowski in the #6 team for RFK Racing, TJ Majors explains, “Oh, it’s quite different. You’re always going back to see where you can get better. It’s just you’ve already got a playbook now for how the day’s going and what people are doing, and you go look at it. I mean, this isn’t stuff you kind of get on as the races go on, but this is stuff you go out and look it up after the race.”

Citing some instances of using data to optimize the performance on the track, he then goes on to add, “You know where your weak spots are and it gives Brad a chance to go look at how guys are making passes or timing their runs and pretty sure Freddie talked about it to Bubba at some point. You talk to him about restarts, what you saw, what moves were happening, what’s possible and what’s not.”

Looking at the recent progress that Keselowski and RFK Racing have made together, Griffin says that it is highly possible that TJ might be working harder than he ever has a spotter for Brad.

Read More: “Impossible for Drivers to Do” – Brad Keselowski Exacts High Praise From Hendrick Motorsports Legend

“I don’t think my driver would agree to that”: TJ Majors feels Jeff Burton was being unreasonable

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Reiterating Jeff Burton’s controversial statement about spotters losing their importance slowly in the sport in the conversation, Griffin tries to collect opinions on it from his fellow spotters. The former spotter for Justin Haley said, “I have a question for you. Jeff Burton made a comment with about 20 to go.”

” That I don’t know if the spotter today is as important as he’s been in the past as it pertained to a run that Martin Truex Jr was getting into Buescher. Buescher kinda taking advantage of that run, basically insinuating that the camera is so good that the spotter isn’t as important. What do you guys say to that?”, questions Brett.

Over the course of his career, TJ has been one of the luckiest spotters in the garage. Having spotted for legends like Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr, he has created a name for himself and his expertise.

“Oh that’s fine for one car.” answers TJ.

“I don’t want my driver looking in the mirror all the way through the corner, I want him focusing on what’s going on out in front. I don’t think my driver would agree to that. As much info as he wants, I don’t think the previous driver wanted more than I can give.” 

Spotters can be really helpful in helping the driver stay focused on the task in front of him and have done that in every chance they get. Strengthening his claim, TJ goes back in time to the days when he used to spot for Dale Jr and recollects the enthusiasm of Junior to know more about the race.

“Dale Jr used to be the old school, not the bare minimum but you gave him some info too, ‘tell me more, tell me more’. I’m not saying the cameras aren’t good, I mean I’d rather not look in my mirror and focus up front.”

As Majors clarifies the role of a spotter, he affirms Griffin’s statement from earlier that his current time with Keselowski might just be the hardest he has had to work ever in his career as a spotter in NASCAR.

Freddie Kraft slams Burton, takes a dig at son Harrison

Bubba Wallace‘s spotter in the #23, Freddie Kraft is not a big supporter of the statement from Burton either.

“It’s a ridiculous statement.” states Kraft, livid at Burton’s comments that undermine their contribution to the sport. To add more gravity to his words, he gives the example of Jeff’s son Harrison who has been guided by Aric Almirola‘s former spotter Tyler Green at Wood Brothers Racing. Although Harrison is comparatively new to the Cup, he must have understood the essence of a spotter in the middle of an adrenaline-filled affair on the tracks.

“I mean, our job encompasses so much more than just what is going on behind us. To say that our job is easier now because of these cameras is ridiculous. Let’s take a certain call for example. The #21 car who just happens to be Jeff Burton’s son. Tyler Green has SMT iPad mounted to the rail in front of him every lap of every race this year. And he’s helping Harrison around the track, feeding him information, what to do with the throttle, what to do with the brake pedal, how his steering input is, what line he is running.”

Putting himself in the shoes of Harrison’s spotter, he bashes ‘The Mayor’ for his outrageous comments, saying, “If I’m Tyler Green and I hear my driver’s dad say this on the national TV broadcast, the next time Harrison asks me for help, tell him to look at his fu***g camera.”

Looks like Jeff Burton has thrown himself into the lion’s den with his words at the NBC booth in Michigan. As much as cameras can help, it is unlikely that they can deliver on the deeper aspect of the sport.

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