Shear Comments On Resignation From ThorSport

Shear and Sauter won eight times together

Joe Shear, Jr. stepped down as crew chief of Johnny Sauter’s Carolina Nut Company Toyota at ThorSport Racing last week, saying a lack of manpower and appreciation led to his resignation. 

“ThorSport is growing, getting bigger, and I wasn’t very happy with the way they were going and how (the team) was being run,” Shear said. “I got tired of it and decided to make a change. 

“I resigned,” he said. “It was my call. I just got tired of how things were being run, how I got treated and especially how the guys under me got treated. I’m not trying to bash anybody, but when I tried to talk to (team owner) Duke Thorson, he didn’t want to talk to me. So I made my final decision Sunday, and here I am." 

Shear said there were “many, many things” within the ThorSport organization that need attention, most notably a lack of qualified crew help. “Basically, I stopped getting the stuff I needed to do (my job); getting the right people underneath me to win races. We had good people and I trained a lot of good people over there, but we just couldn’t get enough people to do it right.  

Shear said ThorSport’s home base in Sandusky, Ohio, makes it difficult to hire experienced hands for both the race shop and the over-the-wall pit crew. “You really need to be in the Mooresville (NC) area," he said. "It’s not impossible (to find help), but you’ve got to spend money to do it right. I understand Duke’s deal, he doesn’t want to spend tons and tons of money. But I’m a winner and a high-level competitor, and I didn’t feel like I was getting treated well or getting what I needed to do it right. 

Sauter has three wins this season

“The biggest thing was getting pit crew members for pit stops,” he said. “I dealt with that every day. The guys that worked under me are really good friends, and they gave 100 percent. But the same guys that worked on the Trucks also did the pit stops, and that’s hard when you’re competing against the bigger teams (with specialized over-the-wall crews). We had a lot of guys come and go, and it’s hard to deal with that and still live up to people’s expectations. It’s a lot of stress, and I got to the point where I couldn’t handle it anymore. 

“I had to work a lot of hours, and I’m getting old,” he laughed. “I just couldn’t do it anymore. (Stepping down) was the best decision for me, and that’s ultimately what I decided to do.” 

Shear stressed that his decision had nothing to do with Sauter, with whom he has won eight times in 91 Camping World Truck Series, including victories at Daytona, Martinsville and Texas this season. 

“Johnny and I have been best friends forever,” he said. “I love the guy more than anybody in the world. We’ve won tons of races together, and this has absolutely nothing to do with him. He’s very talented, and for some reason, we seem to work good together. I don’t know why that is, but we do, and I’m grateful for it. I wish we could still work together. 

“I don’t really have anything planned,” admitted Shear. “There’s nothing going on (in terms of a new job). I was born into this sport, and I don’t really know how to do anything else, so I’m looking. I’d love to go to a great organization and do what I do; win races. 

“I would also like to be appreciated. That’s the biggest thing.”