Watch Dog: Former Sprint Cup Crew Chief Eyeing Whelen Mod Tour Officials At Thompson Speedway

By Shawn Courchesne ~ RaceDayCT

Tony Glover observes as Whelen Modified Tour teams prepare for Icebreaker weekend Friday at Thompson Speedway

THOMPSON – As the teams of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour unloaded their rides into the Thompson Speedway garage Friday in preparation for the season opening Icebreaker weekend, a familiar face to many NASCAR fans had his eyes on them.

Former Daytona 500 winning crew chief Tony Glover methodically roamed the garage at Thompson Friday, watching over the buzz of activity and series officials got down to inspections.

After 40 years as a crew member, including 30 years as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief, Glover went to the other side of the garage in 2013 when he was named technical director for NASCAR’s Touring Series’

“It had been something I had been thinking about for a long time,” said Glover, a Kingsport, Tenn. native. “I had spent 30 years in the [Sprint Cup Series] garage and over 40 years as a competitor and I just wanted to do something different. This is a tremendous amount of fun. I really enjoy it a lot.”

The 57-year old Glover has Daytona 500 victories as a crew chief with Ernie Irvan in 1991 and in 1994 and ’95 with Sterling Marlin.

Friday marked his first visit to Thompson Speedway.

“It’s really a place I’ve always wanted to come to,” Glover said. “So now I can say I’ve done that.”

While teams buzzed around the garage Friday, Glover moved from car to car, for the most part observing.

“The officials handle everything and they do a really nice job,” Glover said. “I just help them if they need anything. I try to stay out of their way.”