[Racer Duck]

NASCAR Scanners - What are they and are they worth the money?

Everybody wears those headsets at the track, should you have one too?

Lately it seems like nearly everyone at the race track has a set of headphones on. What are they listening to? Is it worth it for you to have one too? Those headphones (actually they are scanners) allow the race fans to listen to the two-way communications between the driver, crew chief, spotter, and occasionally between two drivers.

At a short track just three or four drivers will keep you busy while at a superspeedway you can listen to seven or eight drivers without being overwhelmed. The shorter the race track the greater the amount of information that the spotter and the crew chief need to exchange with their driver.

The most common phrase heard over the scanner is "clear." The spotter says this to tell the driver that there is no longer a car beside him and that he can move back up (or down) into the groove after a pass.

[PenelopePitStop]

I have a headset/scanner. Bulky and sweaty, but good to have for the true race fan. I used it, sharing it with my friend for the first few years I owned it, then stopped bringing it to the track.

Actually, there's really not much talking going on during the race depending on which driver you are listening to. You program in the car/driver that you want to listen to, then "channel surf" to see what they are saying. I'm sure there's a method to doing this well, but I never mastered it.

I have to say when I was tuned into Sr. and he finally spoke, his southern drawl made it impossible to understand what the hell he was saying! I could understand him when I saw him during interviews, but without seeing his lips moving, I didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

I only had one "exciting" scanner moment. During the final laps at a Loudon race, Stewart was leading, so I tuned in. Watching him go down the back stretch with I think just two laps to go, I heard Stewart say, well scream, "I'm outta fuel!" I turned to my friend and said, "Stewart's out of fuel!" By that time, the entire crowd and media new it. But for just that one millisecond, I had the scoop!

Worth the money? For some, I guess. The novelty wore off for me. I only used it about three times.

I still have it, so if anyone wants it, send me a PM. Just pay for shipping and it's yours. I've mentioned this before, but couldn't find the battery charger. If anyone is interested, I'm sure it's buried in my closet at my parents house. I'll look for it if anyone is interested.

Ooops! Was that a bad thing to do?

[NASCAR Gnome]

I've listened in on many driver to crew transmissions during this past year and if you listen long enough, you'll hear some pretty neat stuff...

There's A LOT of cussing! I mean, REAL cussing from the driver and spotter. Kyle Busch is great for this, especially early in the race. He'll come on and just let loose if the car isn't right or something but this boy's a firecracker! I like him...

"Clear, clear, clear" and "clear by (insert number here)" is something you'll hear a lot of during the race. It's the spotter telling the driver he's clear of side traffic and by how many car lengths he's ahead.

"Caution's out!" (self explanatory)

"Ready... ready... ready... GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!" (also, self explanatory)

You'll hear the crew chief tell the driver when to come in to the pits especially if it's green flag pit stops "We're pitting next time around..." And he'll tell the driver "5-4-3-2-1... stop it on the board, stop it on the board!" referring to stopping the car "on the board" or the sign held out while pitting. Then you'll hear this frantic "go, go, go, go, all the way to the grass!!!" after they pit and the driver is being directed out of pit lane.

I've heard Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Jack Roush, Roger Penske and other owners come on and speak to their drivers at times. Pretty cool to be able to distinguish their voices apart from everyone else's...

My favorite drivers to listen to are: Montoya and his spotter, Edwards and his spotter, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer and his spotter to name a few. I like these guys because either they or their spotters are always talking! It's boring to listen to a channel without chatter!

Btw, when appropriate, Earnhardt Jr. cusses with the best of them!

[vincesanity82]

I have a handheld scanner, but use it listen for 911 and police transmissions..