During the race, pit road can be a busy place. Under cautions, it’s not uncommon for 30 or more cars to hit pit road for service. When that happens, teams are at the mercy of those around them in regard to how they can get in and out of their pit stall. But during green [...]
Archive for the ‘NASCAR at the Track’ Category
Did You Know Rival Crew Chiefs Work Together?
October 24th, 2011 
T.C. 
Posted in NASCAR at the Track 
Tags: communication, competitor, Crew Chief, neighbor, pit road, pit stop, rival 
1 Comment »There’s No Bigger Zoo Than The Pre-Race Grid
June 1st, 2011 T.C. Pit road can be a very busy place. During a round of pit stops under caution there are crews flying around, cars fighting for position, and tires and fuel everywhere. But pit stops are hardly the busiest part of the race on pit road. There is no bigger circus at any time during a race [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track Tags: circus, Dale Earnhardt Jr., grid, pit road, pre race 7 Comments »Canada On My Mind
August 30th, 2010 Journo Wow, what a race! Drama. Damage. And a drag race! What we saw Sunday in Montreal is why we all enjoy watching racing. There was no anointed winner, leading the most laps led to disaster, and the best funded team didn’t win. There was passion (and one middle finger), and boy was there carnage. What [...]
Answers to Years of Speculation
August 19th, 2010 Journo It’s official… NASCAR has released the schedules for the 2011 season, and seasons of speculation are finally over – both Kentucky and Kansas got their long-anticipated Cup dates. I’ve never been the biggest advocated for giving Kentucky a Cup date and Kansas a second Cup date. They’re really just more of the same. That said, [...]
The COT Saves Again
August 2nd, 2010 Journo To use the words of the late David Poole, Dale Earnhardt saved Elliott Sadler’s life on Sunday. What happened to Elliott Sadler on the backstretch (between turns one and two) late in the race at Pocono isn’t exactly clear to those of us who didn’t happen to be in a car and on the backstretch [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Racing Observations Tags: armco, Car of Tomorrow, COT, Dale Earnhardt, David Poole, Elliott Sadler, ESPN, Kurt Busch, Pocono Raceway, RPM, safer, safer barrier, safety 11 Comments »The Teams You Won’t See On TV
May 31st, 2010 T.C. When you watch a race on TV, or see one in person, certain people get the spotlight. The drivers of course, are at the top of this list. Everyone knows them. Team personnel are next, with crew chiefs and a few select crew members getting most of the notoriety. You will also probably notice the presence [...]
Double Duty Wasn’t Just For The Drivers
April 21st, 2010 T.C. If you got to watch the races on Monday from Texas you may have heard the TV guys talking about the drivers who had to do double duty. Guys like Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, and others got out of their Cup rides and had to immediately jump into their Nationwide cars for another [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Over The Wall Tags: Cup Series, double duty, Nationwide Series, pit crew, pit stop, spotter, Texas Motor Speedway 4 Comments »Payback For Accidental Contact Not Cool
April 5th, 2010 Journo Two incidents, two very similar stories. Two drivers enter a turn, two wide. The one on the bottom slips up and wrecks the one on top. The one who was wrecked has his car repaired and returns to track. He goes out and wrecks the one who wrecked him. One incident ends with a car [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Racing Observations Tags: accidents, atlanta, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, contact, James Buescher, Jason Leffler, NASCAR, nashville, payback 11 Comments »Don’t Change A Thing Martinsville…Except Your Date
March 30th, 2010 Journo What a race we had today! It had everything you could possibly want. There was beating and banging, flared tempers, dramatic events, wild strategy, three wide racing (at Martinsville!), no wing, double file restarts, a race that didn’t end under caution and Jimmie Johnson wasn’t in victory lane (though this was a negative for some [...]
Behind Closed Doors: The Pre-Race Meeting
February 25th, 2010 T.C. In order to be successful on race day, crew members must all be on the same page. Knowing what to expect for the upcoming 500 miles (or laps… or kilometers) can mean the difference between winning or finishing second. Teams have gotten so big now, and have so many moving parts, that it’s vital for everyone to [...]
Posted in NASCAR at the Track, Over The Wall Tags: Crew Chief, crew members, Jake Elder, pit crew, pre-race meeting 4 Comments »