"It’s a rush," Wise said, "especially when you get that one lap to go. He clenched his fists and a sound came from deep in his diaphragm, a sound between a sigh and a moan, a sound that says more than any words could - a sound he sometimes makes when waving the white flag as cars flash under him, racing side by side, headed for home, not knowing what might happen when they get there. You could almost see the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Whether it be the start of the race or a restart the sounds from that being so close to the fans, so close to the cars, just the sensation you get "
"The coolest thing about my job is hearing - and feeling - the drama.
"The best thing about my job?" Wise says, repeating the question slowly and deliberately, like Robby Gordon on a qualifying lap. Last year, for instance, the honorary starter at Richmond was Nicole Polizzi, aka Snooki of "Jersey Shore." It’s just more visible."īut the job does have its perks. "It’s just my job, no more important than anybody else’s.
"I don’t look at it like that," says Wise, 57. Nobody goes to the restroom in between until he waves the yellow flag. Nothing ends until he waves the checkered flag. Nothing begins until he waves the green flag. He considers himself the ultimate behind-the-scenes guy with the ultimate in-front-of-the-scenes vantage point - 20 feet above the racing surface, in a crow’s nest known as the starter’s stand.Īs chief flagman for the Sprint Cup Series, one could make the case that on race day, Wise is the most powerful man in NASCAR. Maybe back with the clowns, or the Waltrip brothers. He’d rather be somewhere beyond the tightrope walkers, trapeze acts, jugglers, acrobats and unicyclists. Were it up to Rodney Wise, he would blend into the background of his sport, of the traveling circus that is NASCAR.
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