This is the seventh and final post in the series Pit Road Explained.  The series breaks down all that is pit road.  Have a suggestion or question?  Email me!

First off, I’d like to apologize for this post being delayed.  An internet outage and a busy racing weekend were the contributing factors.  But I’m back and ready to roll.  So anyways, adjustments.  During the course of a race, no car is ever perfect from beginning to end.  Condition changes and strategy play a roll in what the racecar needs to be fast.  I feel like its becoming increasingly rare that we come down pit road for just four tires and fuel.  And even if we do just take tires, there was probably an air pressure change.

There are a few different options available to teams during a stop in order to correct the handling of a car.  While watching a race, you have probably heard all the different changes being discussed by crew chiefs, drivers, and the broadcasters.  The before mentioned air pressure is one.  Racing tires are actually not filled with air, but with nitrogen.  Nitrogen is a little more stable then air and less apt to pressure changes because of temperature.  Crew chiefs can put pressure in or take it out to help the handling.  The pressures are changed by our tire specialists prior to the pit stop.

If you take a look at the rear window of a racecar, you’ll notice three holes.  Two on the right side, and one on the left.  The hole on the left is for wedge adjustments as is the forward hole on the right.  The hole closer to the back on the right is for trackbar adjustments.  Wedge adjustments involve putting a wrench in the hole and turning it to add or take away weight off the spring.  Wedge adjustments affect the crossweight of a racecar.  The more rounds you hear a team call for, the worse their car is handling.  Wedge adjustments are usually made by either the tire carrier or one of the fuelers.

The trackbar locates the rear end of a car from left to right.  Raising or lowering the trackbar is done through the hole in the window also with a wrench.  Changes to the trackbar affect the roll center of the car and how it will travel through the turns.  Trackbar adjustments are also done by either the carrier or the fuelers.

If a car is handling really poorly, a crew chief can elect to add or remove spring rubbers.  Spring rubbers are formed pieces of hard rubber that will change the spring rate of the spring.  More rubbers equals a higher spring rate, and vice versa.  Rubbers fit in between the coils of a spring and are added or removed by the rear tire changer.  Most teams will zip-tie the rubbers to the coils, so all us changers have to do is reach in and pull them out or push them in.  Spring rubbers are usually only an option if the car is really bad, because they can add a significant amount of time to a pit stop.

Because of the obviously limited time we have during a pit stop, the only other common adjustment you will see is grill tape.  Tape can be added to the nose of the car to increase front downforce but will also restrict air flow to the radiator and could cause overheating.  Removing tape will cool the engine but will also hurt front downforce.  The front tire carrier will be the one to either add or remove tape.  Strips of tape on the car will normally have numbered (or lettered) tabs on them.  The crew chief will tell the carrier which number to take, and the tabs make them easier to pull.

This wraps up the series “Pit Road Explained.”  I hope I was able to help give you a better understanding of what goes on in order to keep the cars serviced and going fast.  And remember, if you have future questions about pit road, don’t hesitate to ask!

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