If you’ve been a TNI reader for a while, you know that both Journo and myself are big fans of the yearly Pit Crew Challenge. Each year, during the All Star race week, the best 24 pit crews do battle at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena for bragging rights and some serious cash. The event gives fans the opportunity to see up close what the pit crews do, and it gives faces to the normally helmeted and anonymous crew guys. At only $15 a ticket, it’s also probably one of the best event values in NASCAR. And besides the action, there are always a ton of drivers, crew chiefs, and other NASCAR personalities in attendance.
The format for this season’s competition is the same as it’s been in previous years, with the jackman, front guys, rear guys, and gas man all doing their jobs on individual cars. Once their job is complete, the teams then must race to push their team’s car across the finish line. Penalties are issued for things like loose or missing lugnuts and incomplete gas fills.
To be eligible for the challenge, teams must meet these requirements:
All teams currently qualified for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup race winners from 2010 and 2011, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one Series event during the 2010 or 2011 season. Also eligible is the 2010 NSPCC winner. If there are no new event winners, the remaining unfilled positions will become available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Owner point standings as of May 18, 2011, who are not otherwise eligible for this event.
Currently locked into the field are the pit crews for David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson, Regan Smith, and Carl Edwards.
With one race to go before the rest of the field is officially set, there are currently five open slots to be filled. They go to the highest teams in the owners standings not already eligible, which would add the crews of Dale Earnhardt Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, Paul Menard, David Ragan, and Martin Truex Jr. to the mix. Things could certainly change though, as a win by a driver not currently locked in would drop the open slots to four. And the 27, 6, and 56 all have a slim margin over those on the outside looking in.
Starting today (Monday as I’m writing this post) and running through Wednesday, teams will spend time practicing for the challenge on the actual setup that will be used for the event. With some nice prize money at stake, you can be sure the teams will well prepared come next Thursday night.
For more information on the 2011 Sprint Pit Crew Challenge and to buy tickets, visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com.
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As we get ready to head to Talladega this weekend, pit crew coaches across the sport will spend the week preaching to their crews about the importance of not making mistakes. Even if it means pit stops take a few extra seconds than normal, it’s more important to get things right, than it is to have quick stops. Why? Because pit stops in the new era of superspeedway racing really don’t matter.
In a world where races often have multiple leaders per lap, the importance of track position has been lowered. Cars can go from the back to the front, or front to the back, very quickly. Having blazing fast pit stops and picking up spots on pit road is really not worth the risk of possibly having dropped lugnuts, loose wheels, and other mistakes. Obviously crew chiefs don’t want slow stops, but there is less of a focus on being quick, and more of a focus on being mistake free.
Besides the nature of the racing, another reason why pit stops mean less has to do with the tires. Now that both Daytona and Talladega have new surfaces, tire wear over the course of a race has become a non-issue. Some even said that it may have been possible to run the entire Daytona 500 on one set of tires! In any case, crew chiefs want to spend the least amount of time on pit road possible, and if they don’t need to take tires, they won’t. At Daytona in February, this led to a lot of fuel only and two tire pit stops.
Something else to keep in mind when watching pit stops this weekend, is that some teams will set the cars up to maximize speed on track, and in turn sacrifice speed on pit road. What I am referring to specifically is the shock package that some teams use. We’ve seen in the past that the front tire changers and carriers will struggle with the right front. When the car is jacked up, the shock won’t bleed down and it causes the right front tire to stay up in the fender. It makes it very difficult for the changers to get the old tire off, and for the carriers to get the new tire in. Not every team has this problem, but it can significantly slow down pit stops for the teams that do.
Like I’ve said here before, races can’t necessarily be won on pit road, but they can certainly be lost there. This weekend, crews will be doing everything possible to ensure the race is decided on the track and not on pit road.
When you work in racing, you end up getting a lot of clothing. I even wrote a post about it a few years ago (see it here). We get shirts, hats, hoodies, coats, pants, shoes, firesuits, you name it. As part of the sponsorship deals the teams have, they make sure that we are branded from head to toe. We wear a uniforms just like a million other professions do. But sometimes, when you get your “swag” to start the season, all you are thinking is “wow, I have to wear this?”
The problem here, isn’t that we have to wear branded stuff. I have absolutely no problem being a walking billboard. What sucks is when we have to wear really, really hideous swag. And it all starts with the sponsor. Who really wants to wear stuff that reps things like male enhancement pills and feminine hygiene products? Or what about cat litter? I mean, much love for sponsoring my team and helping me make a living and all, but geez, help me out here.
Sometimes though you can have a good sponsor, but for whatever reason, you still end up wearing ugly gear. I’ll even give you an example. No disrespect towards Roush Fenway, David Ragan, or UPS, but those yellow shirts and firesuits this year are terrible. I get that you love logistics, but couldn’t logistics be a different, cooler color besides that putrid yellow? If I was one of those guys, I’d certainly love repping logistics a lot more if the uni’s were badass looking.
There are definitely plenty of teams and sponsors that do it right though. You usually can’t go wrong with beer or liquor deals, and those Bass Pro Shops uniforms with the camo are sweet. I also like RCR’s CAT gear, and the Penske Pennzoil stuff uses a yellow that doesn’t suck.
At the end of the day, you certainly can’t be mad at a company that hands over millions in a suitcase so that we can go play on the weekends. There are certainly worse gigs. But I just wish we could have fun, and look good too.
What paint schemes and gear do you like and loathe? Is there a current or past NASCAR sponsor you’d hate to be seen in public repping?
So far this season, we’ve seen everything from tire carriers becoming catch can guys, to second gas men, and tire changers and jackmen hanging tires. This new fueling system has the teams trying absolutely anything to figure out a way to make pit stops faster. At this point however, the only thing the teams are really sure about is that these new style gas cans require serious precision.
We saw our first real victim of the problems that can arise with the new cans on Sunday at Las Vegas. While running third part way through the Kobalt Tools 400, Greg Biffle’s #16 Ford ran out of fuel. The culprit? A mistake by the team’s gas man on the previous pit stop led to a less than full fuel cell. And if you were watching the race, you saw the result. The mistake ruined Biffle’s day, and relegated him to a 28th place finish.
The way the new dry break systems are designed, gas men must be near perfect when they make their “sticks.” Anything less than that will result in air in the lines and in the can, and an incomplete fill. Because of this, you can be sure Biffle won’t be the last victim.
Besides the potential problems, you’ve been able to see now just how much slower these new cans cause pit stops to be. Both Phoenix and Las Vegas gave us accurate views, as the races put the teams in situations where they needed tires and full loads of fuel. And trust me, the drivers and crew chiefs are not happy about the now slower stops. There has been no shortage of whining and butt chewings by both groups.
As the season progresses, teams will start to get some of the kinks worked out of the new system, and you’ll see less and less errors. But for now, expect there to be more victims, and more upset drivers. You can also be sure that pit crew coaches won’t be getting much sleep.
Want some more information about the new fueling system? Check out the system’s builder Schultz Products.
Beginning in Daytona, for the first time in recent memory, there won’t be seven guys stepping off the wall to perform a pit stop. The time has finally come to bid farewell to the most forgettable, and apparently most replaceable, member of the pit crew, the catch can man.
As we told you first early last year, NASCAR is removing the catch can in favor of a self-venting gas can (aka closed loop fueling system). The new can has been in place in the Truck Series for the last year.
This move of course represents a big game changer for the sport’s top series. While it’s been implemented elsewhere, Cup crews are still working hard to figure out the best way to perform stops.
The catch can position was much more than what the name suggested. In addition to being in place to catch fuel overflow, the position was also responsible for making adjustments, holding the first can of fuel, and on occasion pulling tires. Those roles are now falling to the six guys who remain.
This move also means pit stops are going to be slower. The new can doesn’t drain as quickly as the old ones – that’s good news for the guys that now have a lot more to do.
From the get go, NASCAR has billed this as a safety advancement and a cost saving measure. On paper those things sound good and look good. Most catch can guys throughout the sport got paid for what they did. It also took 43 people off pit road. Surely an advancement for safety.
Then again, behind the wall, teams now need two people to hand/catch the fuel cans (before one was enough). And a lot of the pit support guys get paid for their work on pit road. Add on top of that the cost of switching over cans and the time and resources that are being spent to make this way of doing things work and the cost savings are not so much – especially in the short run.
How about safety? Well you certainly have fewer people on pit road now. But this new self venting can is much more difficult to plug. That means more spilled fuel and more potential for fire. How would you like to be the rear tire changer who gets drenched in racing fuel?
This move really never made a whole lot of sense, and it’s not that the cans don’t work, it’s that the reasons for doing this really worked better in theory than in practice. It is what it is though.
Personally, it saddens me to see the end of seven man pit crews – it’s the end of an era. Rest in peace catch can position. I know I’ll miss you.
Caught beneath all the hustle and bustle of last week’s Sprint Media Tour was a very interesting bit about Hendrick Motorsports and their pit crew situation for 2011 (see articles here and here). Specifically, that Chad Knaus and his shop mate Steve Letarte had yet to really solidify their starting pit crew lineups for the season. In an attempt to build depth for their over-the-wall crews, no doubt in response to last season’s debacle at Texas, Knaus and Letarte have put together the equivalent of three full crews. Supposedly this will allow them to have capable guys available at the track in the event of injuries or performance issues. Does this sound like trouble to anyone else?
Having backup pit crew guys is not a new phenomenon. I actually wrote about it early last year (see post here). There is too much at stake during these races to not have some sort of a contingency plan. But it appears to me that Knaus and Letarte may have taken this too far.
What I see here, is two race teams with three pit crews. And you have Knaus saying he has yet to settle on a lineup (let me remind you that the Budweiser Shootout is 11 days away). With all the changes coming to the Cup Series this season in regards to the new fuel cans and procedures, these guys need all the time they can get to work through the difficulties of the new system. The fact that Knaus can’t point to six guys and say “yup, that’s my pit crew” should worry 48 fans.
I also question whether having a third pit crew looking over your shoulder at all times is really good for morale. I’m all for competition and having to earn your spot, but having another starting lineup hanging around will screw with your head. Doing what we do can be a big head game as it is, without adding the extra pressure.
It’s also important to note that the really good pit crews are those that have had continuity, and have had ample time to work together and get to know each other. I don’t know how you build any of that when you are constantly plugging in guys and facing the possibility of a different six every week.
I realize that I probably shouldn’t question the guy who’s been the man in charge of the team that’s won the last five straight championships. Don’t get me wrong, I think Knaus is a really smart guy. You don’t get to where he is unless you know a thing or two about people and race cars. I just wonder if maybe he has over thought this situation because of his team’s issues last season.
Only time will tell if Knaus’ plan will pay dividends, but on initial inspection, I’m not sold.
With Christmas now behind us and New Years coming this week, the 2011 season will quickly be up on us. Only eight weeks stand between us and the 2011 Daytona 500. And teams know the clock is ticking.
This week between Christmas and the New Year is traditionally an off week for the teams. While some will still have employees working, many shut their shops down almost completely. It gives the crews and shop guys the chance to recharge and spend time with family and friends before preparations begin in earnest. This week is literally the calm before the storm.
Starting on Monday, Jan. 3, the race is on. From there, teams will have about six weeks until the haulers are due to pull into the Daytona infield for Speedweeks. Many will be working long hours to prepare everything from race cars and haulers, to pit boxes and tool boxes for the long season ahead. Teams will be running out of time to finish any remaining business deals, hire the last few needed employees, and do things like get firesuits and hero cards made. This time is also used by many sponsors to film commercials and create their NASCAR centric ad campaigns for the season.
These next six weeks will also be the return to a normal training schedule for the pit crews. As I’ve mentioned before, some teams have already begun getting their crews ready for the new style stops, but a regular schedule including practice and plenty of gym time will commence. With many cold days still ahead of us, you can be sure the crews that practice outside will be ready for warmer climates come February.
For myself, I’m going to spend this quiet week relaxing and getting ready to have some fun with friends for New Years. Come Monday however, it’s game on. Daytona will be here before we know it and there is a lot to do.
After several bad pit stops during the Texas race led to Chad Knaus replacing his own pit crew with that of the 24, Hendrick Motorsports announced today that the switch is now permanent. The seven over-the-wall guys for the 24 will pit the 48 for Phoenix and Homestead, and vice versa.
Now, being a tire changer myself, I have to say that I feel for guys when they get the boot. In my own career I’ve not only had bad races, but I also know what it feels like to be replaced. And trust me, it really sucks. What we always have to remember though, is that at the end of the day, this is a business, and sometimes changes are warranted.
In the case of the 48, pit stops have often been a weakness this season. And with a championship on the line, these teams must pull out all the stops. It certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen an entire crew replaced (see Kevin Harvick), but it is definitely the first time we’ve seen one replaced mid-race. It also isn’t uncommon for teams to change one piece, say a changer or carrier, but again, it usually doesn’t happen mid-race.
Opportunities to score valuable points are running out, and in defense of Knaus and Johnson, they needed better than they were getting. The 24 bunch was available because of the wreck with Burton, so the swap was made. I do want to point out though, that if Gordon doesn’t get wrecked, this change probably never happens. It would be extremely disruptive to both teams to try and swap while the race was going on. And especially if Jeff Gordon was in contention for the win, there is no way Steve Letarte or Gordon sign off on such a change. That isn’t to say that it wouldn’t have happened on Monday anyway, but definitely not during the race.
Once the change was made, it was only a matter of time before HMS announced the swap was permanent. I’m not sure those seven guys could have come back to the 48 and been able to do the job after being replaced, and the powers that be at Hendrick seem to understand that.
While I do believe the 24 crew to be a bit stronger then the 48, let’s not get too down on that bunch. Gordon’s chances at winning a race are certainly not in jeopardy now because he has the 48 crew. Let’s remember that this is pretty much the same pit crew that Johnson was able to win championships with in both 2008 and 2009. They must be doing something right.
At the end of the day, NASCAR is a performance based business. If those of us who are in these positions come to a point where our performance just isn’t up to par, we can be sure that changes will be made. There is just too much at stake. I don’t know for certain what the future holds for the pit crews at Hendrick Motorsports, but don’t be surprised if we see some big changes and new faces for 2011.
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.
We had a question this week in our Ask The Insiders post about what the new six man pit stops will look like and I wanted to take this opportunity to expand a little further on my answer.
Last weekend at California NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston confirmed to Scene Daily that both the Cup and Nationwide Series would eliminate the catch can man position for the 2011 season. This confirms what we initially told you back in April. We knew for certain a few weeks ago that NASCAR would be getting rid of the catch can for the Nationwide Series, but NASCAR was back and forth about the Cup Series. We know now that it’s gone completely.
The elimination of the catch can means that all teams will now go to the new self-venting fuel cans like the Truck Series has been using all season. (See it in action here.)
I’m still not entirely clear if this move means we are only allowed six guys over the wall, because I’ve heard some talk that NASCAR may still allow seven. Either way though, pit stops will change, but not drastically. There will still be two tire changers, two tire carriers, and a jackman. And the actual tire changing part of the pit stop won’t change.
What eliminating the catch can position does do is change how many of the adjustments get made. With a seven man crew, the catch can guy makes most of the wedge and track bar adjustments with extended length wrenches. Now, the tire carriers will be tasked with making those adjustments. This will no doubt slow stops down when significant adjustments are needed.
Stops will also slow down, at least at first, because the fueling will take longer with only one crew guy handling the duties. We’ve seen in the Truck Series this season that stop times often get extended when a full fuel load is used. It takes a while to dump both cans, and the gas men must take the old can back to the wall before getting the second. In the past that first can would stay plugged in, thanks to the catch can guy, while the gas man went back for the second can.
It’s interesting to note though that the last two major changes to pit stops (longer studs in the Cup Series and different tire rolling rules) did slow stop times down initially, but after some time to perfect the technique, the times did come back down. I don’t expect this change to be any different.
I also wanted to say that while I’ve heard what NASCAR’s reasoning is for making this change, I don’t necessarily agree. The money that teams could possibly save by having one less guy over the wall is really a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. The few thousand dollars a year won’t make or break any team, and instead of charging $30,000 less for a sponsorship, teams will just spend that money elsewhere. NASCAR is right in trying to help the teams with budget problems, but this isn’t the way to do it.