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These days, motorsports teams are recruiting athletes who could have played other pro sports instead. After four years on East Carolina University’s football team, Henrico County native James Craig, 24, was scouted last year by Hendrick Motorsports, the flagship of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne. Craig is a tire-changer on Hendrick’s development team, and when the NASCAR Sprint Cup series comes to Richmond this month, he’ll support Kahne’s pit crew. At the team’s base, Craig trains rigorously and hones skills that are less apt for football than golf: “You really need to focus on your technique and body control.”
