Random Thoughts from the Pit

On Thursday night, as part of its All-Star Weekend, NASCAR held its annual Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte. This gave the folks who hoist the jacks and haul the tires and all those things a chance to shine on their own, instead of getting blamed for their driver's woes.
The most interesting aspect of the evening, by far, was learning how many of the pit crew members are former athletes. Once upon a time, the pit crews were people who had been working on cars since they could walk. (Think Tiger Woods with an air wrench.) Nowadays, the crews seem to be made of people who already had the athletic ability to haul rear end in the pit and now are being trained how to do mechanical stuff. One gas can man played running back for Appalachian State. A few of the jackmen had played lineman for colleges in and around North Carolina. One member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew is a former professional wrestler, and he seemed to play that role when Speed TV interviewed him.
One wonders if these crew members could have beaten the Carolina Panthers this season.
Back to the contest, which was designed to showcase what these people do week after week. However, in showcasing them, the people running this event also seemed to diminish what they do.
The crews went head to head--sort of. Jackmen worked on one car, while the front tire changers and carriers worked on a second, rear tire changers and carriers worked on a third, and the gas men (two gas men per crew, plus a supporter, despite the recent NASCAR rule change in that area) worked on a fourth. After they were finished with their individual work, the crew members congregated at a fifth vehicle and pushed it to the finish line. The fastest crew, after accounting for penalties, advanced.
Did anyone else watching this think the crew members should all have been working on the same car, the way they do in a typical race? After all, one of the hardest parts of their job has to be staying out of one another's way long enough to finish a pit stop. That's one reason you have occasional incidents like this.
Anyway, Denny Hamlin's crew won the contest. In addition to their cash reward, that crew got their choice of pit for Saturday's All-Star Race. Speaking of which, the polls for that race are still open. Remember that each driver who gets a vote in that poll will get a Fan Vote from the People's Pitstop. The driver who gets the most votes in our poll will get an extra vote. Get your vote in now. We'll be back with the results.