NASCAR Crews Conduct First Live Next Gen Pit Stops [WATCH]

The next era of NASCAR Cup Series pit stops are here, and they look noticeably different. Though it’s too early to tell if there will be a major difference in pit stop times.

Some of the Cup Series teams capped off a two-day Next Gen test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway with some pit stop practice. Some of the drivers pulled their stock cars down pit road for the first “live” stops featuring the 18-inch, one-lug wheels. The stops had some similar moments, but the tire change no longer involved perfect aim at five different points of impact. The crew member with the air gun just hit the one lugnut and moved on.

These pit stops had some intensity, but not exactly to the same level as one during the championship race. The reason is that the crews took extra time after changing the tires to ensure that they had properly tightened the lugnut before sending their respective drivers back out onto the track.

“These are our new guns for this year. Everyone gets these on pit road,” said Josh Thomas, the front tire changer for the No. 3 team, in a Twitter video. “These are a tremendous amount heavier than last year’s. … The socket’s way bigger. That’s what’s holding it down. I mean, most of the weight is in the socket, but other than that… you’ve got to be pretty strong to hold this gun.”

Only 4 Teams Took Advantage of the Bonus Practice Time

While NASCAR opened up the opportunity for Cup Series crews to test out their skills in the new pit stops, only a few took advantage. Four teams practiced the live pit stops — the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The crews provided a considerable amount of feedback during the two-day organizational test. Thomas noted that the airgun is heavier, but the tires are now easier to work with. The 18-inch wheels are aluminum instead of steel, putting less strain on the tire carriers’ bodies and helping them get a faster start.

“It seems like the guys are enjoying working with it,” Chase Elliott said after the practice pit stops, per NASCAR Media. “You’re not having five lug nuts to take off and put on in the garage area constantly and things of that nature. So, overall, I think it’s been a plus.”

The Next Gen Test Provided Other Interesting Insights

While the pit stops drew the most attention, there were other interesting takeaways from the two-day Next Gen tests. Specifically, multiple surprising names rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with solid speeds.

NASCAR released the unofficial speed charts following the second day of testing. Aric Almirola had the fastest lap time at 30.731 seconds and 175.718 miles per hour. Teammate Kevin Harvick was just behind him with a session-best time of 30.757 seconds. Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.

BJ McLeod cracked the top 10 with a best time of 31.233 seconds. He finished the session eighth overall on the leaderboard, just ahead of Ty Dillon (31.243 seconds) and Erik Jones (31.260 seconds). Corey LaJoie of Spire Motorsports also had an impressive showing and posted the 13th-fastest time on the second day at 31.322 seconds.

For comparison, Kurt Busch won the Busch Pole for the 2020 Coca-Cola 600 with a lap time of 29.79 seconds. Kyle Busch won the pole for the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 with a time of 28.149 seconds. Next Gen drivers have not hit the same speeds just yet with the Next Gen cars, but there will be more tests in the future.

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