Oct 26th, 2010 by T.C.
As pit crew members, we always have to be ready for anything. We’ve got to keep our eyes open for other cars (and our own) on pit road so as to not get hit during a stop. We have to be prepared to fix crash damage at a moment’s notice. We have to make spring rubber, track bar, wedge, and a myriad of other adjustments. And we have to be be ready to change up the play at any time.
On Saturday at Gateway, we saw just one of these instances. Towards the end of the Nationwide Series race, a caution brought most of the teams to pit road. With it being late in the race, teams were going to try different strategies to try and win the race. Justin Allgaier, who’d had a dominate car all day, was one of the cars on pit road.
As the car entered the stall, the crew was prepared to do a two tire pit stop. While the team worked on the right side however, crew chief Chad Walter changed his mind and decided they needed to get four tires. The crew made the adjustment on the fly, and sent Allgaier back onto the track with fresh rubber all the way around.
If you watched the race and this specific pit stop, you may have noticed the stop was a bit slower then usual. This is a symptom of the crew chief’s audible. When you step off the wall prepared to do one job, and end up having to do another, it will take a split second to make the change in your head. In this case though, the crew did the best they could with the situation they were presented with. Their left side tires were close (a sign of a well prepared team) and they completed the stop.
Allgaier went on to finish third in the race, and while it may appear that Walter screwed up, remember that it’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. He made a quick assessment of what the other teams were doing during their pit stops (Allgaier was the #1 pit stall, so Walter had time to see the other strategies) and tried to make the best call to help Allgaier win. He took a shot, and in this case it didn’t work out.
This situation was a perfect example of why crews have to be ready for anything. Sometimes we may not know what work we have to do until the car is a stall or two away. And sometimes changes are made mid-stop. But these are the types of stops that always separate the good from the bad.
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