From the Gridiron to Pit Road

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Mondays are easy. Probably the easiest day of the week. Here we are, on Monday, and Michael McDowell in the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports is coming off an important Sunday in which he battled the lot at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to begin the Round of 12 at the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Tiring weekend. Always is. But the travel to NASCAR race destinations from Hendrick Motorsports, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is in partnership with Spire Motorsports, becomes, well, you get used to it real fast. The 26-race 2025 Cup Series regular season began on February 14 and will run through November.

Each late Sunday night, everyone returns to Hendrick Motorsports worn out. Monday workouts are optional. But Max Marsh, Hendrick Motorsports second-year front-changer, is back at work in the morning, doing the unrequired. Marsh, a former K-State quarterback/safety from 2020 through 2023, possesses those intrinsic values that help make him successful. So, he lifts. He watches film. He recovers. He prepares his mind and body for the next race. Hendrick Motorsports, the sport's most successful operation, features 430,000 square feet of workspace on 140 acres in Concord, North Carolina, and is home to 600 employees.

Only one employee — Marsh — stands in front of the No. 71 Michael McDowell, whose Chevrolet screams into the pit box at up to 60 miles per hour and stops at Marsh's feet, four, five or sometimes six times each race. That's a part of what it's all about, trusting your teammate with your life, and these Hendrick and Spire organizations are plenty tight.

"It's a very adrenaline-filled job," Marsh says. "The thing about NASCAR pit stops is you have crazy adrenaline spikes. In Bristol, Tennessee, we had 12 pit stops. You have to be on your toes all the time. You'll have 30 cars coming down pit row at the same time, and you're literally playing in traffic doing your job. I've seen some crazy stuff, so you're definitely on edge, but there's a hyper-focus and you're doing your job. I mean, we're changing tires for a driver that's going to go 200 miles per hour. You play a big part in that."

Marsh is the front changer for the pit crew, a position he earned from pit crew coach Keith Flynn following Hendrick's grueling 80-man combine and 20-man, three-day mini-camp last September. Marsh is the pit crew member responsible for changing the front 50-pound tires rapidly and precisely. He comes armed with a powerful, nitrogen-powered air gun to remove the old lug nuts and quickly tighten new lug nuts on the wheel. Working in coordination with a jackman "the quarterback," and a tire carrier, Marsh's movements are perfectly synchronized with the other pit members. One misstep can cost the team valuable time and track position. Everything must be done lightning fast. Hours of practice are a must.

"After mini-camp, they evaluated how well I tested, gave me the gun, and taught me how to use it, and I just changed tires for three days, rep after rep," Marsh says. "It kind of kicked my butt and takes a toll. But it was also a lot of fun. I was like, 'This is something I want to do.'"

He practiced. He perfected.

And now Marsh is perhaps the fastest and most accurate front changer on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.

Marsh is a part of an award-winning pit crew. Michael McDowell's No. 71 Spire Motorsports crew earned the $100,000 grand prize at the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 16. Marsh, along with fellow crew members Brandon Chapman (fueler), Dax Hollifield III (jackman), Luke Bussel (tire carrier) and Ty Boeck (rear changer) won the event at 12.587 seconds — ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 (12.695 seconds). McDowell's pit crew was comprised of all rookies just 12 races into their careers.

There was something else special about McDowell's award-winning pit crew: All five crew members were former Division I football players — Hollifield III starred at Virginia Tech, as did Bussel. Boeck played at Chattanooga. Chapman played at Wake Forest.

And Marsh was — and remains — a proud Kansas State Wildcat.

"The last time I was at K-State," he says, "is the day that I moved out."

That was May 2024.

It was an emotional time, one of the most lump-in-the-throat days in the life of 24-year-old Marsh, a native of Grand Junction, Colorado, who arrived at K-State as a walk-on in January 2020, eager to get a jump on learning the Wildcats' offensive system while working with four-year starter Skylar Thompson. Marsh was one of six quarterbacks on K-State's 2020 roster, which included fellow true freshman Will Howard, and Marsh was slated to redshirt his first season in Manhattan.

Marsh came to K-State after a standout high school career, where he played three years at Central High School in Grand Junction under his head coach and father, Shawn Marsh, and then transferred to Eaglecrest High School in Centennial when his father because the school's head coach for his senior year. Marsh threw for 5,706 yards and 39 touchdowns, and added 1,314 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, in his career. He was an all-state performer who also earned all-conference honors in the 300-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles.

"Me and Will Howard – one of my best friends – came in together, and I was going to walk-on, and I was just kind of there," Marsh says. "No one knew who I was at first. Coach (Chris) Klieman saw I was an athlete and wanted me there, as did quarterbacks coach Collin Klein and offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham.

"When I got there, I worked my butt off."

Marsh didn't play in 2020. He also didn't play in 2021. Coaches eased him into special teams, because he wanted to contribute in any way on the field, and eventually he found himself at safety, playing the Jack safety position, under defensive coordinator and safeties coach Joe Klanderman.

"I was fine doing special teams, I wanted to do anything to be on the field, and next thing you know, I'm doing tackling drills," he says. "Then right before the bowl game against LSU, I switched to defense. I just wanted to play. I loved K-State. I didn't want to be anywhere else. So, I played safety, didn't play a ton, but I played on special teams."

Then Marsh and K-State encountered a dilemma in the weeks prior to the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida: The Wildcats were going to start true freshman Avery Johnson in the bowl game, but they were short on quarterback depth.

"It was Avery's first start, and they needed me back at quarterback for depth at the bowl game," Marsh says. "I hadn't played quarterback in so long, but during bowl prep, I was like, 'Dang, I kind of miss this. This is kind of fun.' But I went into next spring not knowing where the heck I was going to play, and Coach Klieman said, 'We love you. You can do whatever you want, play quarterback or safety.'

"I tried quarterback again, but it just didn't work out."

And then?

"I thought I might play somewhere else, but me and my fiancé, Trinity, were ready to start our lives," Marsh says. "I finished as a Wildcat and graduated from K-State. I love K-State and love Manhattan. When I left, when I packed up, and eventually left Manhattan, yeah, it was very emotional. I was sad to leave Manhattan."

On Saturday, Marsh will return to K-State for the first time since he moved away to begin his journey, and he'll attend the K-State/UCF game at 11:00 a.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, which holds so many memories. On Sunday, Marsh will be at work. He will serve as front changer for No. 71 Michael McDowell at the Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

"This will be my second time at the Kansas Speedway," Marsh says. "I was there this past May. It's a cool track. I believe it's a mile and a half, so it's a pit-stop heavy track, for sure. I'm really excited about this race. It almost feels like a home race to me."

Two worlds will collide this weekend for Marsh as past meets present in the Sunflower State.

"It'll be an emotional weekend," he says. "The one cool thing is I'm at where I'm at now because of K-State. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Hendrick Motorsports gave me an opportunity to still be a professional athlete. I mean, we get paid to do what we do. Without K-State, I wouldn't be where I'm at today and doing what I truly love. I have so much fun going to work every day. When I go to work, it doesn't feel like I'm at work, that's just how much fun I have at work every day. It truly is a blessing doing this job.

"It's going to be very surreal being in The Bill again and then going to Kansas City for our playoff race the next day. It's pretty sweet."

How'd this get started? Keith Flynn got it started. Flynn is dubbed the "head coach" of the developmental pit crew at Hendrick Motorsports, a role he has held since 2014. NFL personnel visits college football teams to scout players. Flynn does much the same on weekends to build a list of potential candidates to try out for Hendrick Motorsports' initial combine. Flynn scours colleges across the country, looking for big guys as fuelers, linebackers and tight ends as jackmen and carries, and mainly receivers as tire changers.

Well, Flynn visited K-State and liked what he saw in Marsh, visited with him, told him to think about trying out for Hendrick Motorsports. Time passed, and when Marsh decided to move on from football, he text Flynn, who happened to be at Kansas Speedway. Flynn drove to Manhattan. Together, Flynn and Marsh spoke forever inside the K-State football equipment room inside the Vanier Family Football Complex.

The conversation with Flynn rolled through Marsh's head as he drove to his parent's house in Grand Junction, Colorado. Marsh had never watched a NASCAR race a day in his life. But something pulled him toward the opportunity. He isn't sure what it was. Still isn't sure. But at the end of a football journey, fate stepped in, and opportunity knocked, and Marsh felt it in his gut, and he dove headfirst at the chance.

Marsh killed the combine. He killed the mini-camp. He was in.

"Hey, are you fine if we get this going?" Marsh asked Trinity.

"Yep, let's do it," she replied.

Flynn called.

"When can you get here?" Flynn asked.

"I'll be there next week," Marsh replied.

Marsh chuckles.

"So, Trinity and I packed up and moved into an apartment blindly," he says. "It was the greatest decision ever."

Marsh's first day on the job was September 4, 2024. The first race Marsh was assigned to? The YellaWood 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 6, 2024. His second race? The Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024.

Talladega and Daytona? The first two races out of the gate? As a rookie?

Yep, Marsh did that.

Then there's the rush, the rush that goes along with the job.

"The rush of race day compared to the rush of a football game day is very similar, and that's one thing I love about it," Marsh says. "You get there and set up and they call everyone up, and you get out in front of your pit box and say a little prayer, and they sing the National Anthem, and every week there's a flyover, and it gets the juices going, and then the cars, they start their engines, and that gets the juices going even more.

"It's the same feeling as running out of the tunnel at The Bill and seeing everyone there and the fireworks going off. It's a rush, and it's a very exciting, emotional part of the race, and I love that part, for sure."

The question becomes this: How long will Marsh keep doing this?

He laughs.

"As long as I can," he replies. "We have guys on our team that can do it for 20 years into their 40s. I'll do it just as long as I can do it, honestly. It's an awesome career. It's a long season from February to November, and being a changer can put some wear on your body because your knees at every stop to change the tire, but I love it. It's crazy saying it, but I'd love to get to do it for 20 years."

But Saturday is about Saturday, and it's about a reunion, and it's about putting a current life on hold for a few hours to enjoy a football game, as Marsh returns to Manhattan for the first time.

"I loved being in Manhattan," he says. "I met my best friends in Manhattan. I met my fiancé at K-State. Every Saturday was awesome playing at home. I can't wait to get back to K-State and experience that. I haven't experienced just watching a game at K-State since I visited when K-State beat Oklahoma in 2019. So, yeah, this is the first time I'll get to be back in the stadium to watch a game."

He pauses, a thousand thoughts spinning, a thousand memories flooding back.

"You know," he says, "I'm just really excited to get back."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Avery Johnson

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