Folks around the Chip Ganassi Racing shop joke that Josh Appleby is the “world’s biggest punter.”
It’s more of an appropriate label.
The 6-foot-3 former University of Louisville punter weighed 225 and looked like a linebacker when he started for the Cardinals as a senior in 2015. So when his NFL career didn’t take off, strength and athleticism helped Appleby break into another competitive realm.
You can catch him Saturday night in the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, where he’ll perform duties as the jackman on driver Jamie McMurray’s pit crew.
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The way Appleby describes his role — he carries a 30-pound jack to lift each side of the car so tires can be replaced, all four in under 15 seconds — sounds similar to his former craft on the football field.
“Everything is based on how many times in a row can you do it without messing up and how fast can you do it,” Appleby said. “You want to be fast, but at the same time you want to be under control and able to repeat the motions over and over again.”
Three years ago as part of Belk Bowl festivities, Appleby and his Louisville teammates visited Charlotte Motor Speedway and rode in NASCAR Cup Series cars as part of the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Appleby said he thought it was fun, but he “literally knew nothing” about the sport other than a few famous drivers.
And he said he certainly didn’t know he was taking part in what would one day become his professional industry.
Not long after the Belk Bowl, Appleby, who married former U of L cheerleader Leslie Courtney while still playing at Louisville, took an IT job near his wife’s hometown in Charlotte after trying to make an NFL roster.
One day two summers ago, Appleby bumped into a friend who suggested Appleby give Ganessi pit coach Mike Metcalf a call. He did, and a short time later, Appleby went to the shop and watched the crew practice pitting the car.
Appleby quickly put in his two weeks’ notice and quit his job.
“I think I’d have gone crazy if I had stayed in that position for a lot longer,” he said. “It’s been great to continue from college sports to compete in this.”
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It took little time for Appleby to move up a new depth chart. He initially practiced stops and managed equipment in the shop for a couple months, doubling as a furniture mover to make ends meet. Steadily improving, Appleby then worked on pit crews for truck series and Xfinity series races, considered NASCAR’s developmental leagues.
He moved into a role on McMurray’s backup crew last year and made his Cup Series debut in November as the primary jackman at Phoenix. He’s served in that role since, progressing from a rookie with no information about racing to a team member with a pivotal role at the highest level of motorsports in little more than two years.
“When I showed up the first day they were changing the tires and fueling the car in almost 10 seconds, and I was just kind of taken back,” Appleby said. “It’s eye-opening. Now that I do it, I don’t realize how fast it looks to the outside eye.”
Just like football, the life of a NASCAR pit crew member is full of physical danger. Appleby missed time last year with a knee injury and he also almost lost a finger. During practice, he grabbed the jack awkwardly as the car was lifted during a stop and left his index finger exposed between the arms that lift the car and the handle. When the stop was finished, Appleby lowered the jack, both dropping the car to the ground and slamming his finger.
“I was like, ‘I think I just cut my finger off,’” Appleby said. “I had a glove on, so I couldn’t see it. I was like, ‘OK I’m going to turn away and you pull my glove off and let me know if I still have a finger.’”
Appleby asked a trainer if he could still pit the car with only four fingers on one hand. But he didn’t lose it, instead only breaking the bone and permanently losing some feeling.
“The dangers are pretty extreme, especially when you see guys getting slapped by the back end of 3,400-pound cars into pit road wall,” he said.
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That mentality, says Phil Horton, pit crew coach for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity, makes former football players attractive recruits for NASCAR teams. Horton spends time scouting former collegiate athletes and is constantly on the lookout for talent.
“From a psychological standpoint, football, even in a mock situation, you put your body in harm’s way and your life on the line,” Horton said. “Football players are used to doing this and being a pit crew member, you have to have that mindset.”
Appleby said he watches every Louisville football game and keeps close tabs on the specialists. He remains close with Cardinals’ kicker Blanton Creque and punter Mason King, who were both freshmen when Appleby was a senior.
Watching them perform reminds Appleby of his former work.
“Sometimes I probably felt more pressure doing that than I do with pit stops,” he said. “When you’re backed up in your own end zone, playing Florida State, got to get the ball out, with 60,000 fans around you yelling. You just have to focus in on exactly what you’re doing and let nothing else distract your attention. I think that’s been really helpful being able to transition that mindset into (NASCAR).”
His background, physical strength and mental toughness and desire to compete — all of that combined to make Appleby an ideal candidate to make a living in an intense environment. Though he’s also currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration to prepare for life one day outside of sports, a 9 to 5 grind isn’t the lifestyle for Appleby.
Not yet.
“I’ve stepped into another locker room, all guys with similar minds and backgrounds,” Appleby said. “You have your ups and downs just like anything else, but I kind of say ‘Wow, I can’t believe I get to do this for work.’ You’ve got to come ready to get better, ready to perform every single day. I crave that performance aspect of things.”
Fletcher Page: [email protected]; Twitter: @FletcherPage. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/fletcherp.
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