Kevin Clark is a people person.

A commercial HVAC salesman in Lynchburg by day, Clark uses those relationships with customers and co-workers to help him in his second job: chief spotter for Fox's NASCAR coverage.

He hears from people what works in Fox's coverage and what doesn't. He hears the praise and the gripes. And he hears some misconceptions, too.

"Oh, you just look for wrecks," Clark says he hears.

If that were the case, he'd be too far behind the action.

"If he was pointing out the wrecks, he's not doing his job, because his job is to kind of sense when the wrecks might be coming and why they might be coming," said Fox producer Barry Landis.

Landis has some Virginia in him as well -- he played baseball and football at Randolph-Macon before graduating in 1988. The two are in constant communication on race days as Clark serves as the eyes on top of the track for all those working in the television hauler or in the broadcast booth.

At any given time, there could be 40 voices in their headphones, coming and going and yelling over each other. For Clark, it's a matter of having learned when to hammer home a point and when to let one go.

But he's also found that multi-tasking pays off at home. He says he can be on a phone call in his office in Lynchburg and hear and decipher two different conversations in the hallway.

Being able to hear all those voices but being able to stay focused on what's developing in front of him is a necessity for Clark.

"What you're watching, my focus is really not on that," Clark said. "It's got to be on the next thing. It's got to be on what's about to happen, what do you think might happen."

Landis says Clark shows his expertise weekly. For instance, Dennis Setzer won the Martinsville truck race to return Bobby Hamilton Racing to victory lane. As the laps were counting down, Clark stayed in Landis' ear about how Setzer's team was partly owned by Martinsville President Clay Campbell. He told Landis how the Duck Head sponsorship on the truck was the same one Darrell Waltrip had at Martinsville when he returned to the truck race debut in 2002 after retiring from Cup racing in 2000.

"Kevin, he's the eye in the sky," Landis said. "That's the best way to put it. He basically makes us aware of not only lead changes -- that's basic for him. It's a move back in the pack. It's 'so and so's off the pace. Remember three years ago, he started way back in the pack and raced his way all the way up.'

"It's just that focus, 100 percent what's going on on the track, mixed in with the history that Kevin has that . . . you can't really put a price on it. He's a true race fan, and just the knowledge, the history and how he applies in a race is amazing. It's invaluable."

Contrary to his own belief, Clark's job is not an easy one. He's stationed on top of the track, in a separate spotter's stand, with up to three cameras, a flat-screen television with the different feeds, and a box to control the microphone. When the wind whips, it's blowing straight into his microphone. When the drizzle comes, he has no protection.

Meanwhile, he's having to keep two eyes on 43 cars.

"I've always said anyone could do what I do given the same opportunities I've been given, to work with good people and just be exposed to the amount of good racing I've been exposed to," Clark said. "It's not rocket science. It's just having a love for the sport . . . and trying to learn TV and know when to be quiet and when to speak up. You can only do that by having a year of experience and being yelled at enough by someone else."

That yelling isn't likely to come from Landis. He knows what he's got in Clark.

"I would be very nervous going to do a race with someone filling in for him," Landis said. "I'm hoping I never get the phone call where he says, 'Hey, I've got to take a couple weeks off.'"