The 13 second stop

H

HardScrabble

Guest
Benny is gonna fork over more cash to any crew that makes a four tire stop in under 13 seconds.

How far as the art of the stop progressed? Unocal 76 has sponsored the pit crew championship held at Rockingham's second race since 1967. Started out as fuel and a two tire change and was reformatted to a four tire change in 1985.

The first competition was won by the Wood Bros (big surprise) with a time of 21.977 seconds for the two tire change. The Woods dropped that time to 18.276 the next year. the two record eventually fell to 14.689 seconds in 1984 by chief Buddy Parrott 's crew for the Joe Ruttman Buick.

The first four tire mark was set mark was set at 28.898 seconds by a Kirk Shelmerdine crew on the RCR Chevy of Dale Earnhardt. This crew was to hold the championship and drop the time every year after that through 1988 setting the mark that year at 23.808. Championship stuff!!

The winners of the competition got passed around a bit for several years after that and the record was reset twice before 1994. In 1993 the mark was set at 22.454 seconds. Then in 1994 a crew chief by the name of Ray Evernham destroyed that mark and ripped the first sub 20 second stop in the four tire era. A stop of 19.363 seconds that would stand as the record and only stop under 20 seconds until 1999. More championship stuff?

the record has been reset for three consecutive years now with the current mark being set last year by Matt Kenseths's Robbie Reiser led crew at 17.695. A mark that is more than 11 seconds faster than the first four tire stop in 1985.

It ain't just the cars and the drivers!!:)
 
If the pits in nascar worked like the pits in open wheel racing, they could cut it down to the high 8's. The record for the IRL was broken this past May in the pit stop competition on Thursday before the INDY 500. It was actually broken 3 times that day, all by the same team. They broke their record with each round finishing at 8.5. If I'm not mistaken, that record was actually broken that Sunday at the INDY 500 with an 8.2 but I don't know if it counted because the driver lost his left rear tire. Team Penske took both of those honors. Helio's crew won the pit stop challenge and Gil's crew did the 8.2 during the race. HS maybe you have the resources to confirm my recollections. I've got them on a video tape somewhere but I don't have the time or patience to find them and my "team resource" is currently on a flight to chicagoland...
 
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