Tech and Trash Talkin' with Tim

Craftsman Tools Takes Me Inside "The Garage"

Posted October 12 2009 08:00 AM by KJ Jones
Filed under: Mustang Tech Articles, KJ Jones

Like (hopefully) most of the enthusiasts who read 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords and are diehard Mustang enthusiasts, I love late-model 'Stangs. And, as the Technical Editor of our magazine, I enjoy working closely with the products that make them better.

Many of you (the folks I meet for the first time, at race events, 'Stang shows, in airports when I'm traveling, etc) feel that I have the "coolest job in the world." Well, I personally think there are a lot of things that top my gig, but, every once in a while I find myself actually agreeing with those of you who make it a point to tell me how "cool" my job is.

Hop across the jump to find out why I concur...

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The cutaway car is a full-on NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car that literally is "opened up" to give TV viewers an inside look at any and every aspect of a stock car.

The new Craftsman "Dual-Ratcheting Wrench (8 piece set)," "elbow ratcheting wrench (7-piece set)," "Dog Bone (8-in-1)," and "Edge (a wicked universal, heavy-duty cutter)" were among the hand tools I'm really looking forward to using. Nice stuff!

Craftsman Tools unveiled a full lineup of hand tools, power tools, automotive diagnostic pieces and more. All of this stuff is made in the USA and available at your local Sears store.

Although drag racing is motorsports passion #1 for me, I have to give the stock-car guys and Craftsman Tools their due props, for showing me a fantastic time.

I'm sure some of you are NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car fans, and hopefully you cheer for Fords, like the Fusions that make up the Roush/Fenway Racing group. I personally like "The #99" Aflac Fusion that's driven by Carl Edwards.

If you watch NASCAR Sprint Cup races on TV, especially the ABC/ESPN broadcasts, I'm sure you've seen the technical segments that are hosted by Tim Brewer, a former NASCAR championship-winning crew chief.

Tim usually gets airtime after a major-part fails on a car and has a team thrashing to make repairs (or puts it out of he race), and when a certain aspect of a car needs a more-thorough explanation than the race commentators can provide.

The technical cutaways are done inside the "NASCAR Craftsman Tech Garage;" a rolling "Garage Majal" that I recently had the opportunity to go "behind the scenes" in, and learn the inside scoop about, from Tim Brewer himself.

Tim spent time with me and several other magazine editors who were guests of Craftsman Tools. Tim answered all of my questions about stock cars, engines (and I asked quite a few of those), the "studio" he works in and his tech segments, and he even shared some stories about "the good old days" of being a crew cheif, when rules for stock cars weren't as clear-cut as they are today (wink, wink).

Our group spent a day at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, checking out the Sprint Cup garage area and qualifying for the Pepsi 500, and also got to check out several new, very inexpensive and bad-ass Craftsman hand tools, power tools, automotive diagnostic equipment and garage organizers that are being released now and will be available at your local Sears store--just in time for the upcoming holidays.

Thanks so much to Liz Risoldi, Jeff Krogmann and Tim Brewer for an awesome day!

Yeah, my job really is cool. Sometimes, it's...Very cool!