Walking to the front of her hauler minutes after her second practice run and a random drug test, Jennifer Jo Cobb had to make a split-second decision about buying equipment for her NASCAR truck.
That task done, she walked through the door to the lounge area of the trailer and started cleaning up T-shirts scattered among the mess covering the tables and seats.
``I wish somebody would take charge and take care of some of this stuff,'' she said, harried but still able to laugh about it.
Chaotic? Sure. But this is the life Cobb has chosen.
As the only woman owner/driver in NASCAR, Cobb finds herself having to deal not just with the driving, which she's always been good at, but landing sponsorships, securing equipment, keeping track of the crew and, apparently, cleaning the hauler.
It's been like this since Cobb bought the team from Circle Bar Racing to run a full trucks schedule this season.
The chaos reached a pinnacle this weekend at Kansas.
Cobb's return to her hometown is always big news and she gets inundated with requests from fans and media, packing her days so full that she had to ask her crew chief on Saturday if there was time to go the bathroom before heading out for the second practice session.
``It's constantly running, high tension, high stress, but I know how to take care of myself, too,'' Cobb said. ``It's a balance and it just creates a tougher mind, a tougher body and I love it. It almost feels militant. Your body may hurt and you may not want to do it and it's crazy, but you've got to do it and at the end of the day you're better for it.''
In a way, Cobb has been preparing for this all her life.
She grew up around racing. Her dad, Joe, raced at the local Lakeside and I-70 speedways, and she made her first appearance at a race at just 2 weeks old.
Even though she had half brothers and sisters from both parents, Cobb didn't live with them most of the time, making her feel like an only child. Painfully bored with no one to play with, she spent her days plotting the busy life she has today.
``You have to just be stronger,'' said Cobb, who also has her own clothing line and is a motivational speaker. ``This is what I always tell myself: 'This is the life you've always wanted, so don't complain.'''
Cobb qualified 21st for Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway.
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WOMEN ON OVALS: Danica Patrick, Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher and Simona De Silvestro all took the green flag Saturday, marking the first time four women raced at the same oval together.
Patrick started seventh, but battled handling problems and was down a lap before the race was half over. She finished 11th.
Fisher made her 2010 debut as a driver after giving Graham Rahal the wheel the first three races of the season. The owner/driver started 14th and finished 17th.
De Silvestro had success at lower levels of racing, but had never driven on an oval before this week. The Swiss rookie, who broke 200 mph for the first time this week, finished 21st after qualifying 18th.
Duno, who didn't try to qualify at Long Beach because of handling problems, had another forgettable day. She had to drive onto the grass during a caution after bumping another car - it appeared to be her fault - and ended up 26th, her fifth consecutive race outside the top 20.
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OVAL DOMINANCE: After four road and street-course races to open the season, the IndyCar Series moved to the oval portion of the season at Kansas.
And, not surprisingly, it was won by a Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver.
Ganassi has won the past four races at Kansas - Scott Dixon the past two after Dan Wheldon's consecutive victories in 2007-08. It also had the top two this year, with Dario Franchitti only 3 seconds behind Dixon.
``We've always rolled off the track fairly well, made minor changes and got the cars a little bit better,'' Dixon said. ``We just stayed consistent.''
They're not the only ones. Team Penske is in the oval mix, too.
Ganassi and Penske have dominated the ovals over the past two-plus seasons, winning 14 straight races. The last driver from another team to win on an oval was Andretti Autosport's Tony Kanaan, at Richmond in 2008.
``It's about getting all the little things right,'' Franchitti said. ``That's what we've seen. These things are never easy to drive, especially if you want to go quickly in them, but it comes down to a team effort and getting everything right.
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PIT STOPS: Race winner Scott Dixon moved within 26 points of series leader Will Power, who overcame a sloppy first pit stop to finish 12th. ... Roy Hornaday Jr., the 2008 winner at Kansas, was the top qualifier for Sunday's NASCAR Trucks race, the series' first after a monthlong break. ... Andretti Autosport's Tony Kanaan has seven top-5 finishes at Kansas after finishing third on Saturday. ... Pole sitter Ryan Newman had to take an unplanned pit stop after losing his left rear wheel on a previous pit stop. He finished sixth. ... Newman/Hass Racing's Hideki Mutoh had a great day going, running as high as fourth, before a collision with fellow Japanese driver Takuma Sato ended his day with 14 laps left. ``This is very unfortunate because we had a very good race up to that point and I didn't want to crash Taku because I respect him a lot.'' ... Stock car driver John Andretti finished a solid ninth in his warmup for the Indy 500.
