A new food truck popped up on State Road in West Bath last month, and it’s quickly becoming a local institution. But for Dan Crocker, the man behind the griddle – this isn't life in the fast lane; it’s a victory lap. Crocker just retired from a career as a well-established chef in the world of global motorsports.
It’s a sweltering weekday in August, and the hot dog days of summer are officially here.
"How we doing folks? You can just take your time, and when you're ready, I'm ready," Dan Crocker told his customers.
It’s barely noon, and Showman Dan, whose given name is David Crocker, is firing on all cylinders.
Inside his converted pop-up camper, outfitted with coolers and toolboxes, Crocker is grilling and steaming red and brown hot dogs, flipping Texas toast grilled cheese, and loading fresh local lobster into buttery rolls. All while chatting up every customer like they're an old friend.
"On the bottom of the bun, that's where I [put the butter]. Don't want to get it all over that Patriots shirt," Crocker said to a customer.
Crocker launched Showman’s Dogs and the Big Cheese in early July. And already he's serving north of 200 hot dogs a day, six days a week.
For customers Owen and Brady, who just finished a day of lobstering, this is a regular pit stop.
"What can I get for you guys?" Crocker asked. "Can I get two chili cheese dogs with onions?" Owen ordered. "I knew you were going to say that, you've been here before for chili cheese dogs," Crocker remembered.
"Oh, we come here all the time," Owen said. "Usually like once a week or so, on our way back through town."
This long line of hot and hungry customers might intimidate a less-seasoned grill master. But Crocker, is used to high-octane environments.
"I’m Showman Dan and I’m the crew chef for Ganassi Racing. And we’re at Bristol, baby."
In this online advertisement for Blackstone Griddles, Crocker is shown feeding a small army of professional race car drivers and their pit crew.
"I usually do around 120 eggs, I’ll do 100 sausage, 10 pounds of bacon, and I’ll do French toast on the side, possibly, with a full continental," Crocker says as he swirls around a mobile kitchen. "And just as soon as I get that done, I'll turn it around and we'll have lunch."
Crocker has cooked for professional motorsports teams like Chip Ganassi Racing, and most recently, NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing.
It's been a dream come true for a kid from Bath who loved the sport, and eventually made his way to Mooresville, North Carolina — also known as Race City USA — to be close to the action.
Crocker says he started at the bottom, driving trucks and hauling cars for the teams. And as a commercial trucker, he needed a nickname.
"So I was doing a lot of shows for Ricky Carmichael, Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, a lot of the drivers, said Crocker. "So it became Showman Dan. I came up with Showman Dan."
Crew cheffing for the 10 month racing season is a non-stop hustle. Before each race, Crocker would be flown to the track via private jet, and then he'd start prepping the day's meals on site.
"I'd get all my shopping done, set up my cart and get rolling,' Crocker says.
When the race was over, he'd pack up his traveling kitchen, put it on a truck, and fly to the next track.
"Every week, 36 weeks, 38 events. All across the country," Crocker says.
Every year, for 12 years straight.
All the travel got to be exhausting, and when he was ready to retire last November, Crocker, who is 68, knew he wanted to come back home to Bath, but stay busy.
Now his attention is focused on serving local customers, like Cindy, who's sampling a grilled red snapper hot dog for the first time.
"The casing is a little bit crispier. Yeah, a nice little bite to get in. It's delicious," Cindy says.
The red snappers are made by W.A. Bean and Sons in Bangor, and the all-beef natural casing franks are Kirschner 051s, Crocker says.
But there's one more special ingredient.
"To make 'em good, you've got to love what you're doing, otherwise it just wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't even taste the same, believe it or not," Crocker says.
Showman Dan plans to close up shop in November, winter in Daytona, and open the stand back up next May.