Truck series drivers question new pit-road procedures; NASCAR considers changes

To get an idea of just how strongly some people oppose NASCAR’s rule prohibiting Camping World Truck Series drivers from taking tires and fuel on the same pit stop, consider Mike Skinner’s view on the matter.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in racing in 35 years,” says Skinner, the 1995 series champion. “I am so shocked that we haven’t got somebody hurt with that stupid rule. It’s horrible, and it has bit us.

“It probably cost us from winning two or three races this year that we felt like we were going to win. The pit-road rule has been horrible, and it hasn’t saved us any money.”

Skinner is not alone in thinking that the policy, implemented before the 2009 season as a cost-cutting measure, is in need of modifying – if not altogether being scrapped.

The rule was initially instituted to help teams save money because it reduced the number of men a team could have over pit wall from seven to five. But it also forced drivers to make separate stops for tires and fuel – potentially jumbling up the running order and increasing the possibility that a caution in the middle of a series of green-flag stops could impact the outcome of a race.

Like Skinner, second-place points contender Matt Crafton claims that the rule has actually cost him one or more potential victories. Sprint Cup regular and occasional Truck series driver Ryan Newman blamed the rule for causing him to lose significant track position in the August Truck race at Bristol, where he forgot to make a second stop for fuel and had to pit out of sequence. He never completely recovered, and later called the series’ pit procedures “goofy” and “bad.”

Even some of those who haven’t been hampered by the rule would prefer that it be overhauled.

“It has been successful with us, and we’ve won five races this year [with part-time Truck driver Kyle Busch] with the current configuration,” team owner Billy Ballew says, “but as far as preference-wise, I prefer it like it was: seven people over the wall, tires, gas, whatever you want to do at any given stop.”

Rick Ren, crew chief for points leader Ron Hornaday, understands why NASCAR opted to make the rule, but that doesn’t mean he supports the policy.

“I don’t care for it,” Ren says. “I haven’t cared for it all year. It’s the rules that we’ve been dealt, and we have to deal within them. I’ve made a couple mistakes early in the year on the new pit-road rules, and I sat down and blamed myself for having some finishes that didn’t need to be where they were just because of mistakes. … It just kind of bites you.

“When you’re on a big race track that doesn’t have many yellows, it’s hard to get back on the lead lap. … I think the rules should be the same in all three [of NASCAR’s national] divisions so that everybody is doing it the same way. They’re doing it for cost-cutting measures and I understand that, so that’s when I wear my business hat. When I’m wearing my racer hat, I don’t like it.”

Skinner and fellow veteran Rick Crawford suggest the rule might also jeopardize competitors’ safety because it makes teams willing to leave their drivers on the track on older tires to avoid a second pit stop and the risk of getting trapped a lap down.

The longer drivers stay out on worn rubber, the more likely it is that a tire might blow.

“What happens is you get painted in such a box when you have to make a green-flag stop that you do one of two things,” Skinner says. “You either just take fuel so you can go on – then you’re out there on worn-out tires, and that’s very, very dangerous. ... Or you come in there and you get two laps down and the caution comes out. So it’s not a good thing. I don’t really know anybody who likes it, and I don’t think the fans like it.”

Crawford doesn’t see where forcing teams to have fewer men over the wall has done much to relieve the financial burden on teams in a sluggish economy. And he believes any savings haven’t been enough to justify drivers having to make separate stops for tires and fuel.

“I’m not a big fan of it at all. … It took two people off the road, reducing our roster and our expenses, but it confused a lot of people,” says Crawford, a series regular since 1997. “It confused drivers, it confused teams, it confused race fans, and I think that’s what’s most important is the race fans. Now, did we save myself half a million dollars? No. We [have] probably saved in the thousands, in the low thousands.”

Truck Series Director Wayne Auton says that NASCAR is aware that the rule hasn’t been popular among some drivers and teams and that the sanctioning body is considering changes for 2010.

Even if teams are permitted to once again get tires and fuel at the same time, however, it appears that a crew chief will still have to designate a maximum of 12 active crew members for each event. Active crew members include the crew chief, driver, spotter and crew members that enter the truck servicing area of pit road during the race.

The 12-member limit and a rule not allowing teams to use three different engines in three consecutive events (excluding the races at Daytona and Talladega) were also implemented in the offseason to help manage competition costs.

"The five crew members over the wall has done its job by getting new owners into the garage this year,” Auton says. “We are up on new team owners about 20 percent over last year. It has been a welcome rule change by some and also not by some. Overall, we feel the rule has worked to achieve the main goal, which was helping owners with their budgets.

“The 12-crew member limit and no scorers have definitely played into the owners’ pockets to help out. This limitation of crew members will stay in place for 2010. We are very pleased with how this has worked out."

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton says the sanctioning body is also leaning toward implementing double-file restarts for the Truck series next year, as it already has for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series.

Unlike the much-maligned pit-stop rules, double-file restarts would be well-received based on early indications.

“What we’re putting on a show for is the fans, and if it added any ounce of a show, we need to give it to them,” Crawford says.