“Robin brings a perspective to our sport that, for someone in that job, is much needed,” said Jeff Burton. “He is someone who has been there recently, understands how this thing works, understands the mentality of the teams. It used to be that NASCAR never had that. It was their group, and it was our group.

“But Robin has made NASCAR understand some things and made us understand some things. He’s very open-minded. He’s very fair. He’s easy to talk to, and he’s not afraid to disagree with you.”

It’s important that Pemberton retain all those qualities. He had the unpleasant task of removing Michael Waltrip’s competition director from the garage last week after the team was caught using a fuel additive before qualifying.

Pemberton has known Bobby Kennedy for years and did his best to keep the escorted walk out of the garage professional, not a perp walk.

“I’ve got a really strong relationships with quite a few people in the garage area,” he said. “The trick now is maintaining those relationships from being able to go in the back (of the NASCAR truck) to going to have dinner with a friend.”

That includes his younger brother, Ryan, a crew chief at Ginn Racing for Mark Martin. Although Ryan Pemberton has yet to break any major rules on Robin’s watch, the two fell on opposite sides of the fence at the end of the Daytona 500.

Martin was racing Kevin Harvick for the win when a multi-car accident erupted behind them on the last lap. Martin could have been awarded the victory depending on when NASCAR threw the caution flag, but it didn’t come until after Harvick beat Martin to the finish line.

“My son called me after the race and said ’Dad, you sure are trying to make things awkward around here at Thanksgiving,”’ Robin joked.

The brothers talked two days after the 500, with Ryan holding no grudge over the decision.

“We keep the business part separate,” Ryan Pemberton said. “We don’t put ourselves in position to do that. I don’t call him to talk to him about it. I don’t ask him any questions.”

Robin Pemberton does the same, whether it’s with his brother, a crew member he once employed or a car owner he used to work for.

“You look at those cars as dots on the screens, not as drivers or numbers,” he said. “I have no problem with that.”

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