'On the Road:' No. 5 hauler driver Lance Scott lives out his dream

By RJ Kraft

CONCORD, N.C. – In the ninth episode of "On the Road," presented by Valvoline, go inside the race week for Lance Scott, who is the No. 5 hauler driver. During the episode, fans get a look at his efforts for the September race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The full episode will is available on Hendrick Motorsports’ YouTube channel and digital platforms and can be watched below as well.

Scott is responsible for the entire hauler, which houses everything needed for a race weekend. He takes tremendous pride in keeping the hauler clean and making it shine. Scott has nicknamed the No. 5 hauler the "money wagon," after driver Kyle Larson’s nickname of "Yung Money."

"Our hauler drivers are the workhorses of our race teams," team president and general manager Jeff Andrews said. "I think they go greatly undermentioned. I don’t want to say underappreciated because I think everybody that does this for a living and sees what that they do, especially at Hendrick Motorsports, really appreciate them and admire them for just pounding the road week after week after week."

RELATED: Why Adam Wall is the No. 5 team's 'offensive coordinator'

Scott greatly enjoys the travel aspect of his job. When traveling to the track, he communicates with his fellow drivers regarding when to stop and what he sees on the road. Scott is close to the race team with Larson referring to him as both "our No. 1 character on the team" and "a big teddy bear."

"He’s a fun-loving guy," No. 5 team crew chief Cliff Daniels said. "He can talk to anybody. Even if he meets a stranger, that person is not a stranger. He can make friends with anyone. Just that energy and friendship is just so much fun to be a part of, healthy for us to have on the team and he’s a great asset to the team."

Scott’s job is much more than just transporting the race car and equipment to the track. Once there, he helps set up the garage, hauler and pit road area for the team’s activity as well as taking it all down at the end of practice and qualifying.

"There’s a lot of people that think we just get that thing there and hang out until it’s time to drive home," Scott said. "We are a part of the team. We’ve got jobs and duties to do. Taking notes, keeping track of what is going off the truck, what I need to restock for the next week, making sure its got all the parts and knowing where those parts are. At any given time, anybody could ask, 'Hey, I need this' and I need to be able to go get it at a moment’s notice and get it back to them."

During the race itself, Scott helps on pit road in a variety of roles as the primary crew members need to stay near the pit stall in case of a sudden caution flag.

"I do pit support, so I am behind the wall and hand in the second can of fuel on two-can stops and then catch the left-rear tire," Scott said. "Once the stop is over, I take the gas cans that we have used and go get them filled back up and we are ready to go again for the next stop."

At Bristol, Larson finished second. Once the race is over, Scott begins the task of getting everything back into the hauler before driving it back to the team’s Concord, North Carolina, shop. After a day off, the process starts all over again with preparations for the next race.

PHOTOS: All of Kyle Larson's wins at Hendrick Motorsports

"I eat, sleep and drink racing," Scott said. "I don’t want to do anything else. This is what I dreamt of doing. My daddy did it. Most boys always want to follow in their daddy’s footsteps. I am doing that. I am living out my dream and it’s awesome."

The 10-episode series offers an up-close look and follows a variety of team employees as they go about their jobs over a race weekend. The series will highlight the importance of those positions within the success of the team.

"When people look at Hendrick Motorsports, they see drivers and teams bringing home race wins, trophies and championships," team vice chairman Jeff Gordon says in the teaser for the series that you can watch here.

"Behind all that, the unsung heroes. The people back at the shop. The army of people on the road 38 weeks a year. Those people are what make us successful."

Catch up on past episodes below.

Episode 8: Adam Wall, No. 5 lead race engineer