So....you want to be crew on a NASCAR team?

DanicaFreak

DanicaFreak

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http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140428/nascar01/140429855


The life of a NASCAR pit crew member is never dull.

And sometimes it's pretty painful and kind of gross.

On Saturday night in Richmond, Va., Mike Lingerfelt, who is a front tire changer for Carl Edwards, took a lug nut in the face while in the line of duty.

Edwards took ninth place in the race, and Lingerfelt took a moment to take a photo of his injury and post it to Twitter.

Not real happy about taking a lugnut to the face or the shredding tires tonight! pic.twitter.com/vWZ20LuMEi

— Mike Lingerfelt (@MikeLingerfelt) April 27, 2014


Mike-Lingerfelt-lugnut-photo.jpg
 
I posted that the other day in the race thread but yes, that's a dangerous place there on pit road. A great place to go for all of the pre and post race pit crew talk is @ http://www.pittalks.com/ There is a lot of information there on that site for the pit crew members. Those guys don't get nearly the credit they deserve IMO.
 
He should be happy the incident wasn't much worse. A chunk of steel moving that fast off the end of an impact gun could have done much more damage than he sustained. Wash down the night with a few cold beers and all will be just fine.
 
Nah, I don't have the physical capability to be an over the wall pit crew.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Nah, I don't have the physical capability to be an over the wall pit crew.
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Physical technique? It's all more about technique than fitness. 5 on 5 off doesn't take hours in the gym to perfect :p
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Physical technique? It's all more about technique than fitness. 5 on 5 off doesn't take hours in the gym to perfect :p
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Actually, most of the OTW crew are former high school and college athletes who didn't make it to the "big time" in their chosen athletic pursuit. Beside, I have a paralyzed left foot and osteoarthritis. I'd suck as a OTW crew and as a real life driver. :p
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Physical technique? It's all more about technique than fitness. 5 on 5 off doesn't take hours in the gym to perfect :p
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Yes, technique is very important, but, can you explain to me why the race teams spend thousands of dollars to put workout rooms in their shops and why they hire mostly athletes if fitness is not a top priority?
 
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the pit crew guys are totally different than the guys working on the cars typically. The pit crew cars are normally pretty big guys most likely in excess of 6ft tall and built stout. you get the feeling they were former football players. The guys working on the cars in the garage depending in the team, say the 4 or 48 team are young guys who look in their mid 20's. I bet its something thats easy to burn out from because of all the traveling and away from home. I suspect that is why most of those guys are young.
 
Nitro Dude said:
Yes, technique is very important, but, can you explain to me why the race teams spend thousands of dollars to put workout rooms in their shops and why they hire mostly athletes if fitness is not a top priority?
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Also, a pit stop is like a tightly choreographed dance...Takes practice,,,
 
I want to be a mechanic, but I'll never get an opportunity since I dont know anyone personally thats in the business, nor did I go to school for engineering.
 
We have had a few guys go over to the Nascar side to work in the shops, and two of them came back to the Nhra series because they didn't like just working in the shops and not travleing to the races. As old and out of shape as i am, i know that there is no way in hell that i could be on a Nascar pit crew. But, if not for the fact that you are never home and they require 2 drivers in a hauler i wouldn't mind driving one of the Nascar haulers. But, i guess i will just stay where i'm at until i'm just to old to do it anymore. :)
 
I guess i could be the chef, but the first time the car comes in for a pit stop and all the crew guys are sitting in the john with a severe case of diarrhea...i would probably get fired.
 
I went thru a pit crew class at NTI in 2010.. I was a front changer. It was fun but I didn't see it as a legit career choice. Talk about expendable IF you put forth 100% and are lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel.. My instructor(a tire changer) told me that other than the obvious training regiment, they build rigs in the garage, turn off the lights, take an unplugged gun, and mimic 5 on and 5 off over and over and over, as well as gym time, cycling miles and miles daily, and shop practice.


From what I've seen and people I've met, You don't need to be a retired linebacker to be on a crew... It's good to have some size if you're a gasman or a jackman but other than that... An average sized dude who's in good shape can change and carry tires.. It's tough though. Fastest stop I was ever a part of was a 15.4 and it felt amazing!

Can't fathom being one of 5 on a sub-13 second pit stop. Must be a hell of a feeling.
 
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