8.5 Seconds Flat! Secrets of a NASCAR Pit Crew (pics)

119 Comments

slamtv7, on 08/28/2008, -0/+82FireFox: Tools > Options > Content.
Click "Advanced" JavaScript options
Uncheck "Allow scripts to move or re size browser windows".
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -12/+64Not bad - but not as good as F1. ;)
Surferess, on 08/28/2008, -3/+37What a cute little flash interactive!
sleeknerve, on 08/28/2008, -11/+37Oh, NASCAR, the sport that made turning left into an athletic adventure of a lifetime.
pauls88, on 08/28/2008, -8/+318.5 seconds would be considered slow in Formula 1
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -5/+27More impressive than the actual race
Kinneas12, on 08/28/2008, -2/+2316 seconds is the new 8.5 seconds apparently.
AmyVernon, on 08/28/2008, -0/+21That was pretty cool... I don't understand why Lightning McQueen hated pit stops so much.
mrfuzz, on 08/28/2008, -3/+23I wish these guys would come over to my house.
shaggyb, on 08/28/2008, -0/+20informative, yet when my browser gets resized without my permission i tend to get a tad annoyed.
ReDBuLLCuRT, on 08/28/2008, -4/+17Actually most NASCAR teams can change 4 tires in 14 seconds. Each tire has 5 lugnuts. Formula 1 cars only have one. They're different but still I'd say that the NASCAR pitstops are the most fun to watch. I can't say the same thing about the Formula 1 pitstops though. The tire-changers are in no hurry because it takes a while longer to fuel the cars anyways.
thecosmicpope, on 08/28/2008, -7/+19And I was hoping Digg users were open minded enough not to troll through topics they didn't like. Guess we are both disappointed today.
yaygrr, on 08/28/2008, -1/+13Tony Stewart in new Rolling Stone interview:
"Pussy, money and racecars. That's pretty much all I care about."
thecosmicpope, on 08/28/2008, -8/+20Anything can be dumbed down to that point to make it sound stupid

Basketball - throwing a ball into a net
Baseball - hitting a ball with a bit of wood
Football - kicking a bag of air into a net
100m Sprint - running

Suddenly they don't seem quite as impressive do they? But I guess ignorance is bliss.
ramenite, on 08/28/2008, -1/+12This has been brought up in NASCAR circles more than once.

NASCAR wants to keep the pit crew as a key part in winning a race. This is some reasoning behind still using five lugnuts on a wheel, and not one--like F1. the FIA and F1 doesn't really care about this, considering you only usually have two pit stops in a race, or even as low as one. In F1, the speed of your stop is mostly dependent on how much fuel you're adding. They don't want someone losing a race because some pit stop folly. They would rather see a race won based on driver skill and strategy--and quality of the equipment.

Contrast this with Sprint Cup. You're pitting upwards of twelve times a race in Sprint Cup. It's just a different dynamic. You're also not just adding fuel and changing tyres. Setup changes over the course of a race are also much more important on an oval. Add in pitting during one of the many safety care periods--suddenly your pit crew is nearing the importance of the driver. Again, this is what NASCAR wants, and their rules reflect that.
FUNKMASTERNICE, on 08/28/2008, -11/+21Nascar is nothing compared to Formula 1.
Pake, on 08/28/2008, -2/+11Put them to shame? You're going to compare a team that requires 21 people, has 4 tire changers that change 1 lug nut, an air jack installed in the car, and a fuel pump that forces the fuel into the cart to a team that has 7 guys, 2 tire changers that change 5 lug per wheel, a floor jack, and a fuel can that uses gravity and still manages to complete the stop in only 2-3 seconds longer?
thecosmicpope, on 08/28/2008, -1/+9BenKenobi88, I completely agree that it doesn't appeal to a lot of people. But that doesn't change much. Many sports don't appeal to people, such as the 'American' sports in Europe. But that doesn't make them any less skillful. I don't like basketball but I'd never say that it doesn't require skill.

Like it or not, NASCAR Racing does require skill. And if it was so epicly easy like people make it out to be, then Ambrose, Montoya, Franchitti, Hornish and Speed should all be top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, as they are all from road racing backgrounds. But they aren't. I also don't see why turning left at 180mph requires less skill than turning left and right at 80mph.
Alex2, on 08/28/2008, -2/+9Thats what she said.
BenKenobi88, on 08/28/2008, -8/+14Yes, but in the context of super fast racing cars, constantly turning left doesn't appeal to a lot of people.
unh0ly, on 08/28/2008, -0/+6Much respect to F1 and other leagues in motorsports...but I think DTM takes the cake for the fastest pit stops... 4.5 seconds.
Hybred1234, on 08/28/2008, -1/+7That is the most ***** annoying website in the ***** world. Does it REALLY need to re-size the browser to 640x480? ***** honestly.
zspeed78, on 08/28/2008, -0/+5Not many secrets there.. Every class of NASCAR does an identical pitstop, but the time differences between your local home track and Cup teams is huge. Its not the method (although there are some tips and tricks), its the practice. I was on a local west grand national team, and we never even practiced hot trials, mainly just talked about it, and that made us one of the fastest to beat out of pitlane. In cup level racing that would leave you in last place.
ArchivalQuality, on 08/28/2008, -3/+8And in Formula One they have two men on each tire, changed simultaneously. In NASCAR they jack one side up, replace the tires on that side, then run over to the other side. Also, what the guy previously said about there being more lug nuts.

Bad comparison.
Majhem, on 08/28/2008, -1/+6Pope, Tyre changes have never been banned in F1, you are mistaking it for the period when re-fueling was banned.
That would explain why there were still 15 people around the car (3 per wheel, 2 lifters each end and a visor cleaner = 15) and even then they were changing a set in about 3.5secs. That's approximately an 150% faster pitstop. God I love F1.
doughnu7, on 08/28/2008, -1/+5That's some hard hitting news reporting.
AmericanGunner, on 08/28/2008, -1/+5dont resize my ***** nascar
Voide, on 08/28/2008, -9/+13Turn your wheel 35 degrees to the left and keep pressing the accelera---wait, nevermind...wrong "secret"
thonnie, on 08/28/2008, -1/+5Wasn't that just 8.5 seconds for one side of the car (based on this diagram).
porcupine, on 08/28/2008, -1/+4Driving around in an oval / circle track is hardly racing. Go and watch Formula 1. 8.5 sec is lame ass slow compared to what the pitcrews in F1 can do. The best motorsport races are all in europe.
snoozevmw, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3It would not be 'stock' car racing if there were single lug nut designs and air jacks built into the cars.
Virgule, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3NASCAR! Its both the best and the worst of motorsports. Technologically archaic and overpowered machines running in circles as fast as possible 500 times. Yet, its a great sport. Its all about staying power. Mano-a-mano competition where they distribute the tires at random before the race. All cars are basically equal in performance so its down to the team and driver.

Slipstream racing provide a very thin margin between leading the race and being a mere obstacle for the leading pack..

NASCAR racers are all tricked out for what they do best: turn left at ludicrous velocities. They use ballast weight and play with the wheel's alignment so that on a track like Talladega the car is almost harder to keep going in a straight line than taking the corner at 180+ MPH. If you let the steering go at the right time the car should turn alright all the way without much input at all. The driver's seat lean inward to help sustain constant lateral Gs for hours end on end. NASCAR are also the most interesting races to attend in person since you can SEE ALL THE RACE from any position in the stands. Unlike F1 racing where the cars rush in your position at amazing velocities, take the corner at surreal speeds and kind of teleport away before you could blink twice. They'll be back in a minute and a half, do it all again and that's all you are gonna see.

I see Formula 1 has engineer masturbation and a playground for overwhelmingly wealthy fellows of the world. Its the ultimate competition level for the teams and drivers but is pretty much the worst for the spectators. 95% of F1 races are won or lost in the pit. Battles are rare and usually very short. We can see nothing! We can't even approach the cars if not for the photo shoot thingies....

So there NASCAR > F1
GonzoWarrior, on 08/28/2008, -2/+5Actually, they manage to do it in about 1/3 the time ... if you watched carefully, you would have seen that it took 8.5 sec to refuel and don only one side. An F1 pit crew--even Force India--can change all four tires and refuel for a typical 3-stop strategy in around 6 seconds.
MCA2142, on 08/28/2008, -12/+15Vodafone-McLaren pit crew would put any Nasscar crew to shame. All while changing the nose cone, and as Ron Dennis looks over his metallic, robot shoulder.
justjoehere, on 08/28/2008, -1/+4Because they torqued his nuts.
vango, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3control is an illusion
MCA2142, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3and you deemed your comment 'sign off' worthy...
GiJoeBob, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3Thanks man!
inactive, on 08/28/2008, -2/+5The flash says 16 seconds, not 8.5 ;)
Khast, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3Hey Jiffy Lube employees...take some notes.
FUR10N, on 08/29/2008, -0/+2ha! take that website
bunkka, on 08/28/2008, -1/+3Pake, well said
FrankTheTank17, on 08/28/2008, -3/+5You clearly know very little to nothing about the sport. You want to know the abuse a NASCAR driver has to go through just during the race alone? Try getting in your car in the middle of summer with your heat cranking in as much winter clothing as you can put on speeding around a cult de sac for 4 hours as fast as you can while you're inches apart from 4 other cars going around. That's just during the race, never mind the whole week they spend practicing the track and tuning the car to the driver's liking and all the endorsements they do along with dealing with so many fans, you may think it's crazy since you don't know anything abotu NASCAR, but it's the only sport that you can actually buy fairly priced passes to go into the garages and meet the drivers before the race. Have you ever gotten a chance to enter a locker room of any other major sports team to meet the players before the game? I thought not.
megamod, on 08/28/2008, -1/+3that tried to resize my whole firefox even though there were other tabs open.
RubberBinder, on 08/28/2008, -1/+3because they slow the driver down?
DarwinBC, on 08/28/2008, -0/+2Pits stop are the most exciting part of NASCAR. Formula 1 FTW!
mousky, on 08/29/2008, -0/+2I mean, what's interesting about a car leading from start to finish for an hour?

I mean, what's interesting about a first place car winning with a 10, 15 or 20 second margin over second place at the end of an hour?
bubba9999, on 08/28/2008, -0/+2I thought this had something to do with how babies were made.
scoobafirth, on 08/28/2008, -0/+2Not a bad site, Pretty quick for 5 wheel nuts. Check some of these pitstops in the Australian V8 supercar series, very quick!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqF7QVZCGrc&feature ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SkczChH03k&feature ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfFO0JwxLu0
TheClassic, on 08/28/2008, -1/+3Do that with your car and find out what happens.
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