NASCAR WAG opens up on painful marriage breakup

Life on the NASCAR circuit may appear to be one full of speed, fame and glamor, but not for everybody.

The grind over a season which covers just about all of the calendar year is particularly tough on the pit crews, the people behind the scenes who make it all possible.

FOX Sports broadcaster Kaitlyn Vincie is the latest public figure to speak about the way that grind can impact daily life, in her case contributing to the breakup of her marriage.

Vincie spoke in depth to another NASCAR WAG Samantha Busch on the Certified Oversharer podcast about her separation from Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 crew chief Blake Harris, with whom she has two children.

Vincie has revealed the incredible demands that are placed on people like Harris, and how that affects absolutely everything else - marriages included. The pair have now been apart for almost a year.

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Kaitlyn Vincie on separation

“It’s crazy that the thing that brings you together can divide you in the end. I don’t think people realize the men and women who are on road crews, this is a massive commitment for them,” she explained.

“I think to be successful as a crew chief, you’re pretty much married to that job. You have to be because you cannot give an inch really anywhere, right? And so, it’s to no fault of their own. It’s just what’s required of you.

“I think to be successful as a crew chief, you’re pretty much married to that job. You have to be because you cannot give an inch really anywhere, right? And so, it’s to no fault of their own. It’s just what’s required of you.”

Vincie, not just through her own personal pain, believes the demands on pit crews are too much, especially considering their financial reward.

“I have an issue with a lot of this because the road crews, to me, make this entire thing function," she continued.

"They build the cars. They load them on the haulers, drive them across the country, tech them, practice them, qualify them, race them, tech them again, take them to R&D, and start all over. And they do it for 10 months, and they’re usually paid the least.”

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The demands of NASCAR

Vincie emphasized her point by explaining how the demands stretch far beyond race weekends and revealing that she and Blake are far from alone in their predicament.

“I feel for so many people in this industry that are in a similar situation," she continued. "Because you feel like you are so alone dealing with it. But I think a lot more people feel this way and are dealing with it.

“One of the things, too, that I wish this sport offered - but if they do, I don’t know about it so it hasn’t been properly presented to us - is more resources for families. Family counsellors, therapists, a network of childcare providers.

“Something to manage this schedule and these demands, because it’s just a little bit unreasonable when you really think about it."

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