The pit stop goal for 33 crews every time their race car pulls into its stall during the Indianapolis 500. Many teams practiced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to push that eight-second mark to prepare for doing it seven or eight times on Sunday.
“The race can be determined by pit stops,” says Pat Jordan, crew chief of John Andretti’s Roth Racing Dallara/Honda. “The series has kind of become what NASCAR is as well. Pit stops have become more and more critical. I’ve won a race on pit stops. And it’s fantastic. If you can gain two, three, four positions in the pits, then we are doing our job.”
For the crews, like the drivers, this means practice. Ricky Davis, crew chief on pole-sitter Scott Dixon’s car, has his crew practice pit stops 10 to 20 minutes per day. They joined the other teams Wednesday on pit lane at the Speedway for pit stop drills.
“It’s just to keep you loose and make sure your motions are the same,” Davis says. “You are not really trying to increase your speed. You are just trying to look for consistency.”
“We have a trainer back at the shop,” Steve Namisnak, Chip Ganassi Racing crewmember for Dan Wheldon, says. “He’s an ex-Arena Football League player. And we go every day for a half hour. Some guys start at 6:30 in the morning. So there’s definitely training behind it.”
The IndyCar teams practicing Wednesday were also preparing for the annual McDonald’s Pit Stop Competition, part of Friday’s Carburetion Day activities. Most crews feel more pressure competing against their peers in the pit stop competition than in the race.
“You throw all caution to the wind,” Ganassi’s Davis says of the competition. “Whatever it takes to get [the stop] done. And it’s neat because all the spotlight is on the crew for a change.”
“They are our closest competitors,” Davis says of Wheldon’s Ganassi crew. “They are our mark. And they are the same way. It’s like a brother; you want to help him but you want to do better than him.”
Still, many crew chiefs wouldn’t have it any other way. Davis thinks running around the front of an entering NASCAR car looks more dangerous than waiting inches away from an approaching Indy car. Davis would also rather be hit by an Indy Car, almost 2,000 pounds lighter than a NASCAR stock car.
“I’ve had my foot run over before,” Davis says. “When it comes to the race, it’s the race. It never really enters your mind…. You have to do what you have to do. And when you beat the [competition] out of the pits, you know you’ve done your job. It’s no different than the driver making a last lap place to win the race. And it’s wonderful.
