In Thursday night’s Daytona Duels many fans noticed Joe Gibbs Racing using a simple yet effective method to signal to their drivers that their fuel-only pit-stop was complete. However, this method of fueling is already making some fans wonder if it’s headed for a swift end.
As NASCAR expanded its rule book in its golden era, teams found new ways to cheat. As NASCAR introduced more regulated cars in the 2000s, teams continued to find new ways to gain even a millisecond of lap time. These modern methods, while not cheating, can be innovative in some cases and over the top in others.
While teams may no longer be able to fine-tune the bodywork or chassis on their cars, they still find ways to keep or add momentum to a race. Thanks to the Next Gen Car, these methods of efficiency and innovation continue to shrink into an “anything helps” approach to races.
However, on Thursday night, Joe Gibbs Racing introduced its new method of quick and efficient fuel-only pit stops.
In the Next Gen era, teams and drivers are worried about conserving fuel on drafting tracks. But when they need fuel, it can be time-consuming, as this usually comes down to green-flag fuel-only pit stops. Yet, it seems as if JGR has found a way to make these stops as efficient as possible.
Fans noticed during Thursday’s Daytona Duel races that teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, during fuel-only pit stops, had a crew member holding a countdown on a tablet, rumored to be an iPad. This timer would count down from roughly three seconds and flash green, signaling to the driver that their stop was complete.
Some fans suggested there could be a link between the fuel tank and the tablet. Of course, this would be extremely unlikely, difficult to achieve, and overall illegal. However, it seems as if the crew member holding the tablet, or perhaps one on the other side of the wall, started the timer to simply signal the gas man to disengage and the driver to pull out of the pit box.
This method of signaling the driver and crew member is extremely simple, yet it makes sense as it allows the team to cut crucial seconds or milliseconds of error off these race-altering pit stops. However, in typical NASCAR fashion, some fans have already joked that this small innovation will not make it to next weekend.
As of right now, this conversation is limited to fans. However, those topics seem to find their way into the NASCAR media landscape and, ultimately, the sport itself.
At face value, this move is simple, yet JGR seems to find it effective. This is the type of thing that many teams could latch onto. In the past, NASCAR has found reasons to take issue with “trendy” industry innovations.
This can be due to a number of reasons, both realistic and overblown. For example, it could be as small as NASCAR not wanting teams to use technology to help with in-race stops. Yet, NASCAR’s figurative reason could even be a complex issue. For example, they could cite safety measures during the stops or even the type of technology involved.
However, using this tablet during pit stops is not as wild as most things NASCAR cracks down on. If NASCAR were to step in to stop this in the future, the reason could likely be a team or multiple teams taking it too far.
So, let’s say that NASCAR is 100% fine with this method of finding efficient fuel-only stops. What if a team were to use a sensor to tell the driver that the car is fueled? What if they used the tablet to relay other information, such as OEM orders?
Past decisions from the sport tell us that, of course, NASCAR would step up in this case.
For example, NASCAR is fine with drivers covering their driver-side windows at drafting tracks for a moderate increase in speed. Yet, the sport penalized Joey Logano last spring when he took this concept too far. After a solid qualifying lap, Logano was found to be wearing a “non-SFI Certified” webbed glove that generated less drag for the driver.
However, the tablet is such a small component added to fuel-only stops that while it looks smart, there is currently no evidence that it decreases time in the pit stall at all. If it does decrease time, we will likely see other teams using it next weekend in Atlanta or even this Sunday.
For now, this is a small yet logical innovation in efficient pit stops; hopefully, teams will be encouraged to continue finding even the smallest methods of maintaining value in race time. That is unless a few renegades take it too far.
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