February 18th, 2009 
T.C. Just ask Jeremy Mayfield’s jackman, Kyle Roland. During the first Gatorade Duel race last Thursday, Roland and his teammates took the opportunity to help out driver Kirk Shelmerdine and pit his car. They were available because Mayfield wasn’t scheduled to race until the second Duel. But when Shelmerdine came to pit road for his first stop, something went terribly wrong and Roland ended up lying on pit road, unconscious (see the video here, Roland’s incident happens about the 1min mark).
In an interview with NASCAR.com’s Dave Rodman, Roland says Kurt Busch’s car, in the stall behind them, blocked his view of Shelmerdine coming in. Because of the obstructed view, Roland got a late jump from the wall and ended up on the hood of the #27 Toyota. Roland injured his knee and shoulder, but didn’t sustain any broken bones. Hopefully he will make a full recovery.
Events like these are why it is so important to remain 100% focused during pit stops. Here, a jackman lost sight of his racecar for probably only a split second, and it bit him.
Last spring, after a crew member was hit during an IRL practice session by Danica Patrick, I wrote a post about getting hit (Sometimes You’re the Bug…). But I thought in light of this recent event, and the fact that many of you probably haven’t seen that post, I’d bring the topic back.
Pit road is a dangerous place. At tracks like Daytona and Talladega, we’ve got cars coming at us at 55MPH. That’s like literally playing on the freeway. It becomes imperative that crew guys are aware of what is going on around them at all times. It also doesn’t hurt to have good reflexes and quick feet.
But even the best laid plans sometimes fall apart. There are many cases where a guy could be doing everything right, and for whatever reason just finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. We don’t see it very often, but it does happen. And it’s situations like these that warrant us wearing helmets and firesuits.
I also think it’s important to note too, that near misses happen every race. Guys come close to being hood ornaments all the time, and it’s not uncommon for somebody to get brushed by a passing car. But when it does happen, you’ve just got to react, take it in stride, and keep digging.
Pit stops certainly aren’t for the faint of heart, and if you are scared, you shouldn’t be doing it. And like they say, if it was easy, everyone would do it.
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Good thing they have speed limits on pit road. I remember when the drivers came to the pits full bore. Exciting but far too dangerous.