NASCAR officials announced a new variation on the format of the All-Star, non-points, race coming up on May 22nd.
The one million dollar winner’s bonus is now, literally, in the hands of the pit crews as the new rules will require a four-tire pit stop in the last of the four segments of this race.
NASCAR vice president of competition, Robin Pemberton, explained “the pit crews, they are such an important part of everything we do week in and week out. And this year the pit crews will become even more important. As the format will remain the same through the first three segments with a green flag pit stop in the first segment, regular pit stops in the second and third, in between the second and the third. Our 10-minute break will be that. It will be a 10-minute break. It will be an opportunity for the drivers, crew chiefs, crews to discuss the changes they need to make and they can make a lot of those chassis changes. Those rules will remain the same.
But the twist is after that 10-minute break, the cars will leave pit road. They will line up as they finish the third leg, and they will follow the pace car around the first time, the second time by pit road will be open and there will be a four-tire pit stop by the teams. So the last segment will be the starting lineup will be set according to how they come off of pit road.’
Kyle Busch picked up, immediately, the importance of his pit crew when he said “seeing as though it's going to be a mandatory four-tire stop you want to be up front because you know it's gonna come down to your pit crew.
The pit crew is going to be under the gun, under the pressure in order to get the job done to get you out first. You need to get out I'm going to say first, second or fourth. You don't want to be third because then you're going to be stuck on the inside. You can probably come out second because you know the leader is going to start on the outside lane. You can try to beat him down into turn one and slide up in front of him.”
“We saw last year just how competitive this format can be, with Tony Stewart battling Matt Kenseth for the win on the final couple of laps,” Robin Pemberton added.
“With the addition of the four-tire pit stop, there is going to be even greater competition between the pit crews on who can get their driver serviced and out the quickest. I think the fans are in for quite a show.”
The eligibility standards for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race remain the same: race winners from either the 2009 or 2010 season through May 16 or any past champions of the all-star event or NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (over the previous 10 years) are eligible for the race. In addition, the top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote, all advance into the all-star race lineup.
The one million dollar winner’s bonus is now, literally, in the hands of the pit crews as the new rules will require a four-tire pit stop in the last of the four segments of this race.
NASCAR vice president of competition, Robin Pemberton, explained “the pit crews, they are such an important part of everything we do week in and week out. And this year the pit crews will become even more important. As the format will remain the same through the first three segments with a green flag pit stop in the first segment, regular pit stops in the second and third, in between the second and the third. Our 10-minute break will be that. It will be a 10-minute break. It will be an opportunity for the drivers, crew chiefs, crews to discuss the changes they need to make and they can make a lot of those chassis changes. Those rules will remain the same.
But the twist is after that 10-minute break, the cars will leave pit road. They will line up as they finish the third leg, and they will follow the pace car around the first time, the second time by pit road will be open and there will be a four-tire pit stop by the teams. So the last segment will be the starting lineup will be set according to how they come off of pit road.’
Kyle Busch picked up, immediately, the importance of his pit crew when he said “seeing as though it's going to be a mandatory four-tire stop you want to be up front because you know it's gonna come down to your pit crew.
The pit crew is going to be under the gun, under the pressure in order to get the job done to get you out first. You need to get out I'm going to say first, second or fourth. You don't want to be third because then you're going to be stuck on the inside. You can probably come out second because you know the leader is going to start on the outside lane. You can try to beat him down into turn one and slide up in front of him.”
“We saw last year just how competitive this format can be, with Tony Stewart battling Matt Kenseth for the win on the final couple of laps,” Robin Pemberton added.
“With the addition of the four-tire pit stop, there is going to be even greater competition between the pit crews on who can get their driver serviced and out the quickest. I think the fans are in for quite a show.”
The eligibility standards for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race remain the same: race winners from either the 2009 or 2010 season through May 16 or any past champions of the all-star event or NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (over the previous 10 years) are eligible for the race. In addition, the top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote, all advance into the all-star race lineup.