Image by virtva via Flickr
I’ve taken to monitoring Twitter during the races this season to keep up with what is going on behind the scenes. Delana Harvick and Krissie Newman are great sources for a little extra scuttlebutt during races. But on Sunday, I was tweeting anyone and everyone asking why there had been so many speeding penalties this year on pit road. My perception was that it was happening a lot more often than it had in the past.
I decided to do a little research today and find out just how much worse the speeding on pit road was this year. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it really is no worse this year than it’s ever been, with the exception of a significant increase at Las Vegas. Here is the breakdown for the first three races of 2010 compared to the first three of 2009:
Daytona – 0 this year, 1 last year
Fontana – 5 this year, 3 last year
Las Vegas – 14 this year, 9 last year
The biggest issue at Las Vegas appears to be getting into the pits without speeding. Twelve of the fourteen penalties for speeding were on entry to pit road. For some reason, drivers were pushing the envelope trying to get into their pits than they were trying to get back on the track.
In addition to the speeding problems on pit road, there were drivers who just didn’t enjoy visits to the pits even when they didn’t speed. Ryan Newman lost track position every time he went into the pits in Las Vegas. He had similar issues during the California race a week earlier before he experienced engine problems.
In the Nationwide Series, Kevin Harvick was absolutely livid when slow pit stops cost him track position on at least two of his stops. He went so far as to tell his crew that they “looked like a joke” on pit road. His frustration is particularly enhanced by the fact that KHI decided to spend the money and hire a full-time pit crew this year, rather than contract out for a crew as they have done in the past. In the first three races of the season, the benefit of having a full-time crew has not been showing up.
Luckily, Harvick was able to overcome the problems on pit road and win the Nationwide race on Saturday night. But overcoming frustration and loss of confidence that his team could get the job done could not have been an easy task. It says a lot about Harvick’s ability as a driver to stay focused and do what he needed to do to win. But look for some changes in the makeup of the pit crew for the 33 car at the next Nationwide race.
Decisions, mistakes and blind luck on pit road can lead to disaster during a race. As many races have been decided by decisions and missteps from the top of the pit box as have been decided racing for the checkers. With that in mind, Steve Letarte made the decision to minimize the chance for mistakes, and preserve track position by only taking two tires during the last pit stop in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday. Unfortunately, Chad Knaus not only chose the riskier option of taking four tires, the pit crew performed flawlessly and got Jimmie Johnson out on the track in a position to challenge and eventually overtake Jeff Gordon for the lead.
Pit road experiences can bring frustration, or they can be the difference between finishing first or back in the pack. Over the past few seasons, Jimmie Johnson has had great success making his stops and getting good position on the track. Other drivers, like Matt Kenseth, have pit crews that consistently perform without error. Most of the times, results reflect the performance of a good pit crew. For some, however, poor performance in the pits is also reflected in the results on the track. With that in mind, maybe it’s time for Stewart Haas to take a long hard look at what’s going on in the pits for the 39 car.
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