Fifteen seconds is a long time, or maybe I should say, a lot can happen in 15 seconds. A NASCAR pitstop looks chaotic and frantic on television and even when viewed from the stands it is full of energy and excitement. Up close it is like watching a masterpiece being performed. Every nuance of movement, every joule of energy, every calculation is precise and crucial to a perfect pitstop. Six people are allowed over the wall to service the racecar. That’s six people to jack up the car, change four tires, clean the front grill, dump two gas cans worth of fuel, tear off a windshield cover, make adjustments to the racecar, and fix any problems that may exist. All this would be amazing if the car just pulled up into position and the crew could get to work but think about the valuable time wasted by having to travel around the car for the jackman and tire changers. Everyone has more than one job that they are responsible for, each relying on the perfection and timing of the previous event. Confidence in your team mates is of paramount importance. How a tire is held in place, how it is returned to pit wall, how many pushes of a jack it takes to elevate the race car, how many turns of a wrench to adjust the track bar, all of these things steal precious time. To exemplify how important speed is think about this. If two racecars are competing on the track and one car is one second behind the other but is gaining 1/10 of a second every lap it should take ten laps for them to be racing side by side. What if each lap is 2.5 miles? That’s 25 miles to make up one second. And what if each lap takes 1 minute to complete. That’s 10 minutes of slowly closing the gap. So a one second advantage in pit stop length could mean 10 minutes and 25 miles on the track. A quick pitstop is a huge advantage to the team who can be the fastest, and watching a professional team at work is like listening to the notes of a melody that is an intricate part of a symphony. Photo taken by me while working with Action Sports Photography.
