Posts
35700
Joined
7/10/2006
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA
US
Fantasy
1215th
Edited Date/Time
4/10/2017 4:41pm
This week's guest in the Vital MX forum QNA is Brian "Big B" Barnhart. As the Senior Motocross Transportation Specialist for Monster Energy Kawasaki, Brian has been behind the wheel of the team hauler for nearly a dozen years. He also did the same for Jeremy McGrath's team back in the day, so he knows all the details on what it takes to handle the job, including how to keep his rolling showpiece looking good, where to stop (or not) on the road, the weekly shopping list to keep a hungry team happy, and how to make some killer BBQ.
Bring your best questions, and he'll be peeking in here this week to answer them. As always, keep it respectful, and ask questions that you would like in a face-to-face meeting.
With both series (outdoor/supercross) being somewhat typical year after year, do you have a strict possibly" mundane"
schedule of where you stop,eat and rest?
Do you even have the luxury with time to change it up a bit?
Are you married and take the little woman with you? (I know I would) Or do you "fly" solo and perfectly content with that?
Who was the first Rider you worked for and was it what you thought it would be?
How was McGrath to work with?
What do you think about the traveling the series puts on the drivers...I mean going back and forth East to West has to be a bitch at times.
What is your favorite destination...because of stops along the way. Have any killer destination stops?
Your best memory of your life as a Driver so Far...anything come up unexpected that you remember over all others? ( Without throwing MC..ect under the Bus...LOL)
What is your future after driving? Have your ducks in a row?..LOL
Thats about it I guess, keep up the good work young Man!
EDIT: OH shoot I forgot to add, your recipe for Ribs? I have a kickass one if you wanna exchange?....Bet you come across some Killer BBQ recipes
As a single man, 27 years old with a class A and OTR experience, would this be a job that you recommend for one, and secondly, how did you personally end up getting your first opportunity as a hauler driver?
The Shop
Not asking what you make but is the pay decent?... I figure you do it for more then the money...
E-logs or Paper?... I figure the only time you see a truck stop is for fuel correct? Ever use a co-driver
so you don't run out of hours? When there's a off week where do you head? Cool gig, I take it your about
79,000 or so... I find you the most interesting guest yet...
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EDIT: I found this... This thread goes great with this... http://motocross.transworld.net/news/inside-rig-monster-energy-kawasaki/
Absolute favorite food stop on the entire schedule?
Messiest rider you've ever had pit out of the rig?
Who's been your favourite riders in the truck over the years.. Not racer. Dude who's been fun to hang with at the races.
And
What's your best funny road story?
I stick to the same routine for the most part. It makes it easy because I know that the truck will fit in certain hotels and restaurants. Every once in a while Shane (formerly TwoTwo driver, now KTM) will talk me into stopping somewhere different. I do have the luxury of setting my own schedule in between races as long as I get all of my work done.
I am married. My wife doesn't travel with me because she is at home with our kids. It's not ideal but it works for us.
McGrath was extremely easy to work for. He was one of the most laid back riders I've ever had to deal with. Most of his entourage was good to work with too.
I think the schedule is 100 times better now than it was years ago, believe it or not. I do think we need to get rid of the coast-to-coast trips, though. The DOT is getting stricter so I have to use a second driver for the long trips.
I have a few favorite destinations. A couple off of the top of my head are Claddagh's Irish Pub in downtown Indy, upstate New York, and the drive from Millville to Washougal.
I was just thinking about this story today...One year I had all of the mechanics traveling with me. Back then we didn't get hotels until the riders flew into the race. We had been traveling for two days without showering and needed to clean up. We parked down the street from a hotel, jumped the fence into the pool area, stripped down, jumped into the pool, jumped out, soaped up, jumped back in to rinse off, got dressed and snuck out. The pool was thrashed! I had a hell of a time getting over the fence. LOL
My goal after driving is to be a parts guy for a race team. I've been working on it for the past three years. Hopefully I'll find a home soon but for now I'm still driving.
My ribs are simply a dry rub and apple juice. We've experimented cooking them in the crock pot but mostly put them in the smoker. If you have a good recipe I'm all ears.
1. Favorite city to drive though
2. Least favorite city to drive though
3. Best pits
4. Worst pits
5. What is the most you've seen Matthes take from the truck at lunch!
I started as a mechanic and when I started noticing semis showing up at the races I thought it would be cool to drive one. I got my CDL and started applying with teams. It was hard at first because I was so young and most of the teams wanted older and more experienced drivers but I kept pursuing it. Good luck and keep at it.
I use loose leaf paper logs. I don't hang out at truck stops. I get in, fuel, and get the hell out. LOL
Chappy from Team Green drives with me on the long drives. He also replaces me when I take a race off. On off-weekends I park the truck in a safe location or take it to a service shop and fly home.
My favorite food stop on the schedule is New York Pizzeria in New Berlin, NY.
Messiest rider has to be a tie between Jake Weimer and Ryan Villopoto.
I like hanging out with Shane who drives for KTM now (formerly TwoTwo) and Hedgie from Oakley.
Funny road story...One time I stopped at Mazda headquarters, who was our title sponsor at the time, and needed to dump the bathroom before pulling into the parking lot because it smelled. I pulled over to the sewer manhole and asked Larry Brooks to put his foot on the hose so it wouldn't fall in the sewer and I pulled the drain on the truck. Larry didn't have the hose, the hose ripped off the side of the truck and I got a poop shower. They ended up having to hose me off with the spray washer in the middle of the street. #truestory
2. San Bernardino (Glen Helen)
3. Every Supercross - you can't go wrong with asphalt pit areas
4. Most of the Nationals - dirt pit areas are the worst
5. 3 coffees, a couple sandwiches, a couple candy bars, a handful of health bars, and a banana.
Pit Row
How many showers till you felt clean again?
Why did you make me go into the truck stop bathrooms?
My rib recipe...
Depending on how thick the ribs are and how many racks, five to six hours in the smoker at 220.
First I pull off the membrane on each rack of ribs. Then rinse them with apple juice. My rub is brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, course salt, pepper, all-spice, cayenne, chili powder.
In the water pan I run apple juice and fresh orange juice. I cut up a couple of oranges and juice them in there and then throw the hulks in the pan.
After 3 hours in apple wood, then I pull them and slather them with honey and wrap them in foil. Back in for an hour or so. Back out and pull the foil and then back in with cherry wood and a final smoke of hickory after the cherry burns out.
My question...could you post a picture of your living area in the rig? I know that's personal space, so no worries if you're not cool with that. I've never actually seen what is in that big space behind the driver and have to admit to being curious.
Books on tape? Talk radio? NPR? SeriusXM? Country? Hip Hop? Rock? Religious channels? Wil Hahn jabbering in your ear?
Or do you just like to listen to the purr of the engine?
And a followup to that question...what kind of heat are you packin? 38? 44 mag?
say after St Louis ? Do you get to fly home on the off weekend ?
Either that or him and Wil are conspiring to have some fun with us "Barneys" here at Vital.
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