If you got to watch the races on Monday from Texas you may have heard the TV guys talking about the drivers who had to do double duty. Guys like Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, and others got out of their Cup rides and had to immediately jump into their Nationwide cars for another 300 miles. It can be a tough thing to do as it requires the drivers be in top shape, and have the ability to re-focus their minds after 500 grueling miles. But what the TV folks probably didn’t talk about a lot, was all the crew guys who did the same exact thing.
Just like there are drivers who run in multiple series, there are also quite a few crew members who work in multiple series. Usually it’s not a problem to do, because the races aren’t on the same day, but Monday was different.
Following the Cup race at Texas, crew guys had to pack up their pit box and then run to their Cup haulers to strip off their firesuits. They then had to head over to their NNS haulers to put firesuits back on and proceed back to pit road to set up their NNS pit box. Teams had about an hour to work with following the first race to get changed and set up their pit stalls for the nightcap.
One example of what I’m talking about is the Furniture Row pit crew. Those five guys pit Regan Smith’s car on Sunday, but on Saturday they work for KHI and service Kevin Harvick’s Nationwide car. Some more examples include three of the five guys that work on Kyle Busch’s Cup car. Both front guys and the rear changer also work on Kyle’s pit crew on Saturdays. And there are certainly others.
What this really means for these crew guys is being 100% focused. It means doing 10 pit stops during the Cup race, then getting a quick break, followed by four more pit stops in the Nationwide race. Oh yeah, and don’t screw it up.
Another group that did double duty on Monday that I wanted to point out was the spotters. The double header for the Cup guys running in the Nationwide race also meant twice the work for their spotters. They had to work for 500 miles, take a quick break, then get ready to work 300 more.
What really sucks about double duty though, is having to do it again a week later. With the way the forecast is shaping up for Talladega, it may be deja vu all over again.
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Thanks to another Monday race, we’ve got a short week before we head to Talladega. The ARCA cars will take to the 2.66 mile tri-oval on Friday, with the Nationwide Series and Cup Series headlining the weekend. While the teams make last minute preparations, we’ve got more questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Allen:
What do you think of Kasey Kahne moving to Hendrick in 2012 and what do you predict his plans will be for 2011?
We’ll see. Hendrick’s driver performance is pretty hit and miss. Remember Casey Mears and Brian Vickers’ stints with the team? And when was the last time Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. won a race? Check this out, it’s an interesting look at driver performance at Hendrick. He is certainly better positioned now, but there are a lot of factors in play. And if I had to bet, I’d put my money on Stewart-Haas for 2011. – Journo
2. From Paul:
I just read an ‘ask’ question about gear ratios. For ‘Dega and Daytona, why not mandate a gear to keep the speeds down and get rid of the restrictor?
NASCAR actually does have a gear rule at the restrictor plate tracks, to go along with the plate. I think though, that having just a mandated gear would result in the same kind of racing we have now. Everyone would be in a giant pack and passes would be based on aero and momentum. - T.C.
3. From Ike:
What is the fastest anyone has ever gone in the history of NASCAR?
The fastest official, recorded average speed is Bill Elliott’s 1987 qualifying run at Talladega – he went 212 mph. Rusty Wallace went out a few years ago and ran a car in the neighborhood of 230 (top speed) with averages around 220. It wasn’t official though. – Journo
4. From Loren:
They say the new rear deck fin length is adjustable. Can it be adjusted during a race or is the length determined before hand and then can’t be changed?
I’m not 100% sure on this one. I know that NASCAR allows a variance in how long the fin can be, but I don’t know if they’d allow a change to it during the race. If a team did decide to make a change, it would be a very lengthy one to make, as it would require either cutting or replacing the existing setup. – T.C.
5. From Allen:
I’ve noticed this since Daytona, but I’m sure it’s been going on longer: How come the cars do not have the “Official NASCAR Stock Car” logo already on the car when unloaded. I noticed a few weeks ago at Atlanta one car didn’t have it on Friday, but come Sunday it was there. I thought it was painted on, just a sticker?
That sticker is placed on the car after teams successfully make it through the inspection process. Those are NASCAR’s to put on the cars. – Journo
6. From Grover:
During a impound race, what are the teams allowed to change? I assume it is small stuff, tire pressure, tape on the nose, carb jetting, and topping off fluid levels.
It’s pretty much just tire pressure, grill tape, and wedge/trackbar adjustments. Other then those three, there is very little else that NASCAR will allow the teams to mess with. Any carb adjustments and fluid additions would have to be done pre-impound. NASCAR will sometimes make exceptions, but any adjustments have to be approved by NASCAR. – T.C.
7. From Clay:
I was listening to Dave Rogers (Kyle Busch’s Cup Crew Chief I believe) on Sirius Nascar Radio and he was saying that the reason they went with 4 tires at the end of the Phoenix race is that they scanned the other team radios and heard that Chad Knaus was also going with 4 tires. This got me thinking, why don’t the crew chiefs use code names for their pit stops so the competition won’t know who’s doing what on the next pit stop?
It’s unnecessary. Crew chiefs do listen in to other crew chiefs during the race, but the information that gets spewed on the radio isn’t always accurate. If a crew chief wanted to be discreet, it would be as simple as hopping off the box and telling his guys what the stop was going to be. The spotter plays a big role in this too, because he can see what other team’s stops are and pass that information along. – Journo
8. From Paul:
Ok, settle a bet for me. If a driver only completes 250 laps of a 500 lap race but is still running at the end, did he finish the race or only finish half of the race?
If I understand you correctly, it won’t mean that he gets a DNF. He will be shown as finishing the race. He’ll be scored 250 laps down, but he’ll finish. Hope that helps! – Journo
9. From Lost In Texas:
Is it my imagination or does it seem that the Monday races run smoother with less cautions. Is it because everyone just wants to get it over with or what?
It’s your imagination. Monday’s race at Texas actually had more cautions and more caution laps than the previous four races at Texas. And the Martinsville race earlier in the year was right in line with the recent races there. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
We must be doing a very good job answering your racing related questions, because this week we have a very short edition of ATIW. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Joe:
What happened to cause Bill Weber to lose his job announcing?
Sorry, but outside of what was reported and talked about online, we can’t really add any other details. Whatever it was though, it must have been pretty bad. – T.C.
2. From Allen:
2 short questions: How can someone get a NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, or even a Truck Series Rules Book? And what’s the difference between a Crew Chief and a Car Chief?
The only way to get a rule book is to obtain a NASCAR license. All crew members and accredited members of the press are issued one. And every once in a while you may see one go up for sale on eBay, but that’s really about it. As for crew chiefs and car chiefs, think of the crew chief as the team’s manager and the car chief as the head mechanic. The crew chief calls the race and works with the driver on the setup. Car chiefs then take the info from the crew chief about the setup and make it happen. – T.C.
3. From Ric:
Heard a few years ago that some cars use vinyl wrap for the aero advantage, but don’t like the extra weight (couple hundred pounds pops to mind). About what percentage of cars use paint versus vinyl wrap? Does it vary more from track to track, or organization to organization? Who makes the decision on which method to use? Are there other methods?
Every car you see on track has at least some vinyl decals on it. The norm is for the paint scheme to be a mix of paint and vinyl graphics. Very few cars are actually completely wrapped, from nose to tail, on any given weekend. In many cases, full wraps happen when a sponsor deal comes together late and there is no time to paint a car. – T.C.
4. From Ric:
Are teams allowed to have more than one spotter, or an assistant? Seems like the spotter keeps pretty busy keeping track of his driver, grooves other drivers are driving, listening to NASCAR Track Officials, talking to other spotters, keeping track of what the other 42 cars are doing in the pits, etc. Is there anything else they do?
No, I think you just about covered it. Teams will have extra spotters at tracks that have limited visibility like the road courses and Indianapolis, but not usually anywhere else. – T.C.