On Track

Anyone watching Paul Tracy’s television interview two weeks ago after getting knocked out of the Miller 200 just two laps into the race saw a disappointed man put a consoling hand on Tracy’s shoulder.

The man was Anaheim’s Jon Bouslog, who says he amounted to more than anyone thought he would while growing up and attending Katella High (class of ‘83).

Bouslog, 32, is Team Penske CART World Series crew chief for Tracy, which makes him crew chief on one of the highest profile racing teams in the world.

Tracy led the series standings from May 11, when he won the Rio 400--the second of three consecutive victories--until July 27, when he was overtaken by current leader, Alex Zanardi (168 points). Tracy is now third (121 points), having been passed by Gil de Ferran (130) after a first-lap crash over the weekend at Elkhart Lake, Wis.

“Every day is different,” Bouslog said of his job. “Every time the car goes out and comes back in, there’s a new situation you have to deal with.”

If it’s not the broken suspension from an accident in the Miller 200, it’s losing radio contact mid-race and having to communicate by pit boards in the U.S. 500. Or something else. Tracy missed one race because of vertigo.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Bouslog said. “With all the money in the world, if your team isn’t dedicated, the results aren’t going to be there. That’s [team owner Roger] Penske’s big push: ‘Effort equals results.’ ”

Bouslog returns close to home next month, Sept. 28, in the season-ending Marlboro 500 at Fontana’s California Speedway--which just happens to be owned by Penske and sponsored by the race team’s primary sponsor. There are three races remaining for Tracy to, realistically, move back into second place. First place is a longshot.

“It’s real exciting to see old friends show up [such as at the Long Beach Grand Prix] just to say ‘Hi,’ ” Bouslog said. “But it’s unfortunate, because I get a ‘Hi, how’re you doing? How are things? Excuse me, I’ve got to go change an engine.’ There’s never time to really catch up.”

The crowd Bouslog moved with in high school, the punk music crowd, didn’t give his teachers much hope for him. He was also a skateboarder.

“I would have been voted most likely to not succeed,” Bouslog said. “I’m sure there are teachers at Katella, if they knew what I’m doing now, they would probably think, ‘No way that’s the same guy.’ I was a wild kid. I’m sure they think I wound up in jail or unemployed.”

Tracy, 28, says he has always been close to his crew chiefs, and Bouslog’s penchant for a good time is still evident as he keeps the team loose over the course of the season.

“We just kind of hit it off because he was younger, real energetic, and was always joking around and fun to be around,” Tracy said. “He’s good to work with because he’s real serious, but he also knows how to have a good time and entertain.”

Like when Bouslog plays jokes on others--or sings. Not actual songs, mind you, but narratives, descriptions, things he makes up along the way “like a class clown,” Tracy said. “But when a guy’s not pulling his weight, he knows how to stand on top of him.”

Said Bouslog: “You have to keep things light, because guys want to rip each other’s throats out sometimes.”

Bouslog, lives in Reading, Pa., with his wife of six years, Charmayne.

“I probably would have married a girl from California,” Bouslog said, “but none of the girls at my high school would have anything to do with me. I was friends to many but boyfriend to none.”

In high school, Bouslog was working at Western Wheel in Anaheim, where he could make a few dollars and work on his Volkswagen. Mary Jane Susenguth of Orange, a part-owner of Western Wheel, was his confidante, and she helped him make the biggest decision of his life, he said.

She advised him to take a job in Indianapolis after graduating from Katella.

There, Bouslog joined his brother Tim, who was then crew chief for a Frank Arciero-run Super Vee team for Roger Penske, Jr.

“I was sweeping floors, cleaning wheels and washing parts,” said Bouslog. “It gets into your blood.”

Susenguth also encouraged him to pursue the Penske Racing opportunity when it came along 11 years ago.

“She said you have to take risks; You can’t live your life in ‘should’ve dones,’ ” he said. “I remembered those words when I got the offer to be crew chief [nearly four years ago].”

He began as a mechanic on the CART team. Today, during pit stops, he changes the outside front tire. His ultimate responsibility is making sure the 15-man crew has both of Tracy’s cars set to correct race-day specifications dictated by Penske and assistant team manager Clive Howell.

Not surprisingly, it’s a job that’s all-consuming. It’s never a 9-to-5 job. Ten- to 12-hour days are normal. There are even 18-hour days.

It can be a tough life. Especially because of the inherent expectations that accompany racing at such a high level and the ups and downs that accompany the work.

“The winning is it--that’s why you’re in it,” Bouslog said. “The down is everything else. You can only [bask] in the win for so long, then you have to get ready for the next race.

“Running good is a good feeling, but it would be awful tough to go to the track every day and not have a chance to win.”