Pit road changes could have far-reaching effects

Pit road, where the work that often leads to NASCAR race victories is accomplished, could be an even more important strip of pavement this season.

Among a raft of offseason changes by NASCAR, over-the-wall crews will be cut from six to five, a decision that made for a busy winter for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams.

The loss of an over-the-wall team member, plus additional modifications, is expected to significantly change the look of pit stops and, more important, the length. One veteran crewman says the change could lead to more injuries among the men who go over the wall.

Top pit crews typically change four tires and refuel their cars in about 11 seconds. The change is expected to increase that time to about 13 seconds, particularly early as teams adjust to the new landscape.

“We’ve been working with the people, positions and choreography,” said Andy Papathanassiou, Hendrick Motor- sports director of human performance and pit crew coach. “And that will continue through the start of the season. We want to see how it all plays out and what other teams have thought of that we haven’t that might be a better idea.”

Drivers pit several times during races, and speed during those stops can mean the difference in several positions when they return to the track. Pit stops are particularly important late in races because fast stops put drivers higher in the lineup for critical late-race restarts.

Michael Lingerfelt, 41, has changed tires for leading NASCAR teams, including Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, for 23 seasons. He said the added physical stress on some pit crewmembers and increased traffic as team members move longer distances around the car are likely to increase the likelihood of injuries.

“Some of the smaller changers aren’t used to carrying the tires (about 60 pounds) in a hurry and moving them around,” Lingerfelt said. “That might not be a problem at Daytona where there aren’t as many stops, but at a track like Atlanta, where there might be eight or 10 stops, it’s going to wear on them.”

Lingerfelt knows about dealing with injuries. In the 2000 Daytona 500, while changing tires for driver Tony Stewart, Lingerfelt was hit by Stewart as the driver left his pit, breaking Lingerfelt’s leg. Late last year, Lingerfelt suffered a shoulder injury during pit practice, and he is still recovering from surgery.

There are key changes beyond the loss of one team member. In the past, the fueler has been allowed to make chassis adjustments in addition to refueling the car; now that option is gone. And tire changers will use power guns supplied by NASCAR instead of guns owned and modified by each team.

The changes haven’t been greeted with universal praise in garage areas.

“They keep trying to make everything closer and closer together, and sometimes I feel like they do that, and other times I feel like they make it worse,” driver Kyle Busch said. “You’re only going to have so many guys that are going to be good at what they do.

“We’ve got 40 teams, and there’s probably going to be only five or six guys that can do their roles at our level. With the rest, it’s going to get pretty bad pretty quick with guys not being able to do it, or there’s going to be injuries, too.”

Although the change from team-supplied pit guns to NASCAR-supplied guns might seem minor, it could mean a big difference to some tire changers, adding fractions of a seconds to their work.

“The guns are very similar, but the parts and pieces are different when everyone had their own custom guns,” Papathanassiou said. “We have been customizing guns to the individual. Now we have a gun that no one can touch until they get it an hour before the race.”

NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller said the changes should put a new emphasis on the athleticism of team members.

“I think the athletes are certainly part of the show and part of the story, and the more emphasis that we can put on their performance as opposed to a fast jack or a fast pit gun, the better the level playing field and the better stories we have to tell,” he said.