In the pits- Ginn

Racing is in the blood for spotter Brickhouse

Mark Martin recently referred to his new spotter Jeremy Brickhouse as the “best spotter in the business”; high praise from a 19-year veteran who has raced in almost 1,000 NASCAR events.
     “Jeremy is just the best that I’ve ever worked with,” said Martin. “It’s like being in the car driving, and at the same time he is so descriptive while he is spotting that’s it’s like you are watching it on TV. He literally paints a picture for you of everything that is going on around you, and that really makes a huge difference.”
     For Brickhouse, racing is in the blood. His father raced late models and grand stocks in and around Virginia while Jeremy was growing up. His cousin, Richard Brickhouse, raced in the Winston Cup Series, winning at Talladega in 1969.
     Brickhouse’s days as a spotter came early.
     “When I was a kid, I’d spot for my dad from the grandstands,” said Brickhouse. “I can remember the first time that I ever spotted. I was eight years old and dad was racing at Langley Speedway in Hampton, VA. They gave me a radio, and I’ll never forget it. It was a 300-lap race, and there were nine or 10 cautions. I kept helping him get through the wrecks by telling him where they were happening. We missed the wrecks, and I’ve been a spotter ever since.”
     Brickhouse broke into the Nextel Cup circuit, carrying tires and spotting practices for the No. 91 car driven by Kevin Lepage and owned by Brickhouse’s cousin Joe Faulk. When Faulk closed the doors to his operation in 2000, Jeremy followed Lepage over to Roush Racing.
“Pat Tryson actually hired me to carry tires on the No. 16 car,” said Brickhouse. “I was a pretty good tire carrier, and I made the team, but I got hurt a few weeks later in practice. Kevin (Lepage) had been through something like seven or eight spotters the year before, so I told them I’d give it a try.”
     The rest is history. A year later Brickhouse hooked up with a lightening fast youngster from Las Vegas named Kurt Busch. The two would stay together for the next five years, collecting several wins and a championship in 2004. It was even Brickhouse who introduced Busch to his now wife, Eva.
     In 2005 when Busch left Roush, and in a bizarre development, Roush actually traded Brickhouse to Penske Racing for the No. 06 Busch number. Ironically, Brickhouse would later spot for Mark Martin in that car in 2007.
     Brickhouse spent one season at Penske with Busch before teaming up with Martin at Ginn Racing in 2007. Their first race was a memorable one, with Martin coming up just inches short of winning the Daytona 500.
     “What can you say about Mark Martin; he’s a legend,” said Brickhouse, who also spots Cup races for rookie Regan Smith. “Watching what he does out there on the track is just amazing. He’s one of the best to ever drive a race car.”



Photo caption:
Ginn Racing spotter Jeremy Brickhouse