Written by Andy | 18 February 2011

Stephanie Wallace/FlickrJimmie Johnson's gas man, Buddy Weatherspoon, is just days away from fulfilling his lifelong dream of pouring gasoline into a stock car during the famed race at Daytona International Speedway.

"Most guys would want to drive the race car, but I've always been fascinated by the gas can they use," said Weatherspoon, whose career in gasoline began in high school as an attendant at a Valdosta, Georgia CITGO station, before he worked his way up to join a pit crew on the NASCAR ranks. "And pouring liquids has always been a passion of mine. Since I was a child, I'd find the biggest container I could, fill it with some kind of fluid, and then pour it into something else."

The natural fit of Weatherspoon's two loves — NASCAR's specialized gas cans and pouring liquids out of large containers — are perfect for someone that wants to be a gas man, a role he says is 'extremely important' in the success of a racing team.

"After the driver, mechanics, crew chief, and owner, gas man is probably the most vital. Not to bore you with complicated racing terminology, but, let me put it this way — a car can't run without gasoline, so you need a gas man that can 'fill the tank' so to speak. And also fill the tank literally."

Weatherspoon's only worry heading into Daytona is that he has minimal experience pouring the E15 ethanol blend used by NASCAR.

"I've always been more of a Sunoco 260 GTX guy."

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