Life's The Pits

During a NASCAR race, cars fly around the track for hundreds of laps at nearly 200 miles per hour. But some of the most important action takes place while the cars are standing still.

Each car makes as many as 12 pit stops during a race, and the average number is six to eight. Races can be won or lost depending on how fast a pit crew gets its driver back on the track.

Pit crews train very much like football players. In fact, some of them used to play football. Michael Lepp, who trains pit crew members for Joe Gibbs Racing’s three teams, tries to recruit former athletes and hopes maybe he’ll get some former Washington Redskins someday.

A successful pit stop should take less than 13 seconds. During that time, pit crews usually change all four tires, fill the tank with gas and make minor adjustments to the car. Very late in a race, cars might stop for a short pit stop called a “Splash ‘n’ Go,” which means they just get enough fuel to finish the race.

Once an athlete decides to join a pit crew, it takes two to three years of training for him to be skilled enough to work a Sprint Cup race, NASCAR’s highest level.
“In the past, it would be, ‘Who wants to pit the car this weekend?’ ” said Lepp, who trains crews for drivers Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. “Now, they’re becoming a critical part of how you win or lose the race.”

That’s because new NASCAR rules make the cars more similar to each other, so that huge teams with lots of money can’t just buy faster cars than smaller teams. Speedy pit stops are one way to make a car finish faster.

In fact, near the end of a race near Phoenix on April 11, leaders Busch and Carl Edwards pitted at the same time. Busch’s crew finished faster, and he won the race.

Like football players, pit crews watch film of their past performances to see what they did well and what they need to improve before the next race. They train four days a week, 2 ½ hours a day. Much of that time is spent outside practicing pit stops. They also lift weights, run and ride bikes so they’ll be in peak shape.

Many pit crew members also have other jobs in the race shop. For example, Heath Cherry spends about half his time as a rear-tire carrier for Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx car and about half working with the companies that sponsor race cars.

“Working a pit crew gives you that team atmosphere,” said Cherry, who played linebacker at Wofford College in South Carolina. “We learn how to work together and jell, just like a football team.”

It’s the Pits

Here’s what each member of a pit crew does.

Gas-can man: He carries cans of fuel to the car and fills the tank. Physical requirements: He must be strong. A full 12-gallon gas can weighs 85 to 90 pounds.

Catch-can man: NASCAR rules require someone to hold an empty can under a special overflow pipe attached to the car’s gas tank, called a fuel cell, to collect gas that overflows. (Gas doesn’t stop going in when the fuel cell is full like it does on our cars at the gas pump.) Physical requirements: He needs long arms so he can reach around and make any needed adjustments on the car’s frame while he’s holding the catch can.

Front-tire carrier and rear-tire carrier: They each carry a tire to the car’s right side, align its five holes to the studs on the axles, carry the old one back to the wall, then do the same thing again on the left side.

Physical requirements: Tire carriers need strength - tires (mounted on rims) for most races weigh 75 pounds each - and hand-eye coordination to line up the holes quickly. Crew members also must be quick on their feet.

Front-tire changer and rear-tire changer: The tire changer carries an air gun that removes the five lug nuts from the old tire and tightens the lug nuts on the new tire. (Lug nuts are glued to the new rims so he doesn’t have to carry any in his pocket.) The front-tire changer also pulls the old front tires off the car, but the jack man pulls the old rear tires off.

Physical requirements: Hand-eye coordination is the most important quality. The fastest tire changers can remove all five lug nuts in less than a second and can secure the new ones in 1.1 to 1.2 seconds.

Jack man: He carries the roughly 40-pound jack, shoves it under the side of the car and in one pump lifts the car high enough for the tires to be changed. He then runs to the other side and does the same thing. He also pulls the rear tires off the car.

Physical requirements: The jack man is the strongest guy on the crew, usually weighing more than 200 pounds.