I’ve gotten quite a few emails and have had several “Ask The Insiders” questions over the last few weeks regarding all the issues surrounding the lug nut problems and the new stud length.  I’m sure I will continue to get more emails and questions, but I thought I’d dedicate a post to it anyway.

It seems as though every race this season in the Cup Series we’ve seen some sort of lug nut problem bite a team.  Two weekends ago at Texas, Carl Edwards was the victim of one of these problems and it most likely cost him the win.  I’ve been asked about the cause of these problems, with people questioning everything from the glue to the new stud length.

For the 2009 season, NASCAR instituted a new rule that forced the teams to start using a longer wheel stud.  I’m guessing the motivation behind the change was safety.  What this meant for tire changers, is they would need to slow down just a tick to get lugs off and put them back on.  A longer stud means it’s going to take more time for the lugs to spin off and on.  To the casual observer, the time difference probably isn’t even noticeable.  We are talking fractions of a second difference.  But the difference was enough to affect the tire changers.

This stud rule was the only rule change for 2009.  The teams are still using the same lug nuts and glue they’ve always used. 

Many of you have asked whether the studs are now too long for the glue to hold the lugs on.  The answer is no.  Strings of the glue keep the lugs on the studs while the changer is hitting the others, but the change in stud length wasn’t enough to affect this.

The glue used by most teams is a weatherstripping adhesive from a company called Norton.  While fairly easy to work with, weather conditions can alter its effectiveness.  Teams will usually glue wheels up two to three hours before a race starts, so the glue has time to set up.  Glue up too early, and the glue will become hard and brittle.  Do it too late, and the glue will be soft and have no strength.

While it is easy to blame the glue, it in itself isn’t usually the issue.  Over the last few seasons, I’ve only heard of maybe one time that Norton actually had a bad batch of glue.  The rest of the time, it’s most likely an “operator error.”

My own personal opinion is that some of these guys are just trying to hit lugs too fast.  There is a ton of pressure to get somebody like Carl Edwards off pit road quickly to keep track position, and it causes guys to hurry.  When you hurry, you make mistakes.  A changer who tries to speed up his hands while hitting lugs will become less accurate.  And it only takes a small miss to knock a lug nut off the stud. 

And I think this “falling off” versus “knocking it off” thing is another part of this story not being talked about.  When a team has one of these lug nut problems, it’s often referred to by drivers and crew chiefs as “we had a lug fall off.”  And while that is true, in many cases it isn’t entirely accurate.  So people watching on TV and listening to scanners will hear a lug fell off, when in a good number of those cases, the lug was knocked off by either a missed hit by the changer or a bad hang by the tire carrier.

It’s the difference between “it fell off on it’s own” and “I screwed up and knocked it off.”  Most times, the latter is the truth.  So I guess it comes down to not necessarily believing everything you hear on TV.

Going forward, as guys adjust, I think these problems will decrease.  There will certainly always be mistakes on pit road, because we are human.  But it won’t be an every week type of problem.  Unfortunately for some changers though, not figuring it out soon enough may cost them their jobs.  Just ask Corey Quick.

Related posts:

• Pit Road Explained: Gluing Lugnuts
• Wait, Ambrose’s Gas Man Did What?!
• Screwed Up Pit Stops Are Part of the Game
• Teams Need To Let Young Pit Crew Guys Make Mistakes
• Random Final NASCAR Thoughts