In The No. 2 Pit At Daytona

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I spent the entirety of Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 in Kurt Busch’s pit stall. Dodge brand president and my old One Lap buddy Ralph Gilles was there, as was the director of Dodge Motorsports, both glued to the race along with the rest of the team. Everyone was super-accommodating about letting me get right up to the pit wall with my camera, and though I usually like to scurry all over to a variety of track vantage points during a race, this was such a primo spot that I couldn’t stand to leave. Not even for a minute. Read more…

(Below: Kurt rolls in, all brakes-on-fire, during an early pit stop. No big deal).

Below: a crew member discusses the No. 2 car’s issues with Brian (center) and Ralph (right).

It was immensely cool to be able to observe the entire trajectory of a single race alongside a top Sprint Cup team–the controlled chaos of the pit stops, their strategic responses to changes on the track, and the abrupt fluctuations in the mood of the place as their driver’s fortunes rose and fell. My main concern was staying the hell out of the pit crew’s way–damned if I was going to be the reason for Kurt Busch losing positions by getting underfoot during a pit stop!–but reassuringly, these guys have the skills to run you right over without losing so much as a tenth. In case this hasn’t been pointed out enough already, NASCAR pit crew members are athletes with the reflexes of fighter pilots, and anyone who feels differently needs to spend a race in their company.

Below: crew members juggle repair tape as they rush to repair front-end damage late in the race.

Below: Don’t worry. He’s not dead, he’s just stretching.

Saturday didn’t end up being the most stellar night for Dodge, though Busch did impressively manage to salvage a top-ten finish and climbed two positions to fourth in the points despite being involved in not one but two major late-race wrecks. Sam Hornish Jr., who sadly wrecked near the end, had the fastest car in qualifying out of the 13 that ran before qualifying was canceled for rain, and both he and Kurt Busch had run near the front and led the pack at one point or another. No matter how you cut it, the Dodges have been running fast in both Nationwide and Cup–watch for them to continue to be a factor as we close in on the Chase.