zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
A Close-Up Look At All Of The Crazy Action In A Routine Sportscar Pit Stop
A Close-Up Look At All Of The Crazy Action In A Routine Sportscar Pit Stop-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:30

If you thought choreography was just for dancing, you’ve clearly never seen a quick pit stop. Here are a few up-close shots of IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge team CJ Wilson Racing fueling and swapping out drivers and wheels on their Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

First, everyone participating in the swap had to be ready. Everyone has to be in the appropriate gear, including the driver. There are a few moments when everybody’s standing around and sweating in full race gear, complete with an often less-breathable-than-desired helmet on top. That’s all worth it when you aren’t fumbling to still get dressed when the car is pulling in, though.

Everything has to be in just the right place to grab quickly, too, like the cool shirt tubes that are taped to driver Marc Miller’s leg. Why risk tangling those up or flopping them around when a simple bit of painter’s tape can make finding them in the car way easier?

Once the car pulls up, it’s on.

Miller didn’t even wait until the car was completely stopped to hop over the wall.

The sign held out in front of the car’s pit space gets lifted up so no one trips on it, and the team springs into action.

Air jacks pop out of the bottom of the car to raise the car off its wheels, so an air line has to be inserted into the top of the car to make them work. Air goes in, car goes up.

Fuel goes in under the hood, so the person manning the fuel hose also has to lift up the hood.

Everything comes down to the delicate art of not stumbling over each other. The driver getting in helps the previous driver get out of the car, then the previous driver sticks around to help his replacement get situated.

Lugnuts are gently glued in place ahead of time to help the team make a quick stop.

Meanwhile, television cameras hover around the pit stall to ensure that people at home get to watch, too. That (usually!) doesn’t stop anyone from getting the car done.

Sometimes it’s a tight squeeze to have everyone working on different things in one pit stall, though, as driver Danny Burkett found out when he almost lost his balance for a second.

Burkett walks off to shed the sweaty gloves and helmet until he needs to drive again.

The walk back in to the pits is significantly calmer than everyone’s jump out to service the car.

Once all the wheels are done, the air line comes out and the car drops on to its wheels.

Of course, the car can’t go anywhere until it’s done fueling, too.

When the car is ready to leave, everything left out gets picked up from the pit box.

With the car out of the way, crew members hunt for the lugnuts that were taken off the car. Since they’re only being taken off, it’s fine and normal to just throw them around wherever (as long as no one trips on them).

As long as the team doesn’t have to use this tool—a giant baseball bat often used to bend bodywork back into place—it’s a pretty successful stop.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Oct 30, 2024
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Oct 30, 2024
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Oct 30, 2024
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Oct 30, 2024
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Oct 30, 2024
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Oct 30, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved