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It’s always nice for the teams when we get to this part of the schedule, because with all three series racing in Charlotte, it means most get to sleep in their own beds.  But a crowded weekend schedule, along with a trip to Iowa for the Nationwide cars, means some will have a very busy couple of days.

As we’ve talked about here many times before, there are some individuals and some full crews that pit race cars across multiple series.  A few do it within their own companies, and others pit cars for many different race teams.  You’d think Charlotte races would make for an easier weekend, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

Consider this example.  The five guys that pit Trevor Bayne’s Cup car are also the same guys that pit Carl Edwards’ NNS ride.  With their commitments between both cars, they will be pitting race cars four straight days.  The Daytona 500 win made Bayne eligible for the All Star race, and his crew eligible for the Pit Crew Challenge.  So his guys will spend Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena for the Challenge.  Then, they will head out to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday because qualifying for the All Star race includes that all important pit stop.  On Saturday, the team will be busy working the All Star race.  And they will close out their weekend with a nice short trip out to Iowa to pit Edwards’ Mustang on Sunday.  Whew, I’m tired for them.

Besides this group, there are other guys and crews who will work Friday night’s Truck race, Saturday’s All Star race or Showdown, and then fly out to Iowa for the NNS race.  The backup teams for the likes of Red Bull Racing and Hendrick Motorsports will have weekends similar to this.  And many of these guys will be right back to their shop or other jobs on Monday morning.

Thanks to weekends like this, it isn’t uncommon for some guys to pit race cars in 70+ races a year.  It can be extremely grueling and tough on the body over the course of a 10 month season.  But for those that are willing to hustle, there is experience to be had and some nice money to be made.

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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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