Dickerson has come a long way on the spotter stand

Jeff Dickerson is one of the more interesting behind-the-scenes operators in NASCAR these days, working as an agent (his company, Motorsports Management International, prefers to call him "a manager") and also as Kyle Busch's spotter during races.

He talked about how he came to become a spotter in the Cup Series and the challenges of it

Question: How do you even become a spotter?

Greatest hits

Kyle Busch and Jeff Dickerson have had some memorable moments this season. Here are some of the highlights.

• Bristol: Sharpie 500
• Daytona: Coke Zero 400
• Lowe's: Coca-Cola 600
• Richmond: Crown Royal 400
• Bristol: Food City 500
• Las Vegas: Shelby 427

Dickerson: I was spotting in the [Indy Racing League]. And in those days, there were only like 10 IRL races. So I would come over on some weekends in NASCAR and spot for Jason Leffler or Johnny Sauter, who were clients of ours at MMI. I got my first big Cup break with PPI [Motorsports] and [driver] Rickey Craven in 2004. That was my first Cup gig. Craven turned into Bobby [Hamilton] Jr. at the end of that year. So without Cal Wells and Mike Beam [of PPI], I'm not even in Cup.

Cal is still a great friend. I love messing with him and giving him [crap]. But seriously, without him, maybe none of this happens. Certainly he could have held me to my contract at PPI, and he didn't. He let me go to go do Kyle's stuff.

Q: And when was that exactly?

Dickerson: It was around the beginning of '05. Kyle was a rookie [in Cup] and for whatever reason they were saying Kyle's not happy and the team's not happy with their spotter. It didn't really occur to me to do anything, but me and Alan Gustafson [Busch's crew chief at the time] ran into each other in the garage in Charlotte at a test or something. That was the first time that we had talked and he asked if I would be interested -- and I said sure, but I have this contract and Cal had given me my chance. I went to Cal and said, 'Hey, this is the opportunity that I've got.' Cal pretty much said to me, 'I know this is going to hurt my team. But this is an opportunity you can't pass up.'

It was Kyle and it was Hendrick, and you could see what they were doing with that 5 team. They were putting a bunch of young guys together to go try and win a championship within three years. I was like, 'That'll be great. Where do I sign up?' (Continued)