What’s Happening?
According to NASCAR, the Craftsman Truck Series will have live pit stops at 24 of 25 races this season. Unfortunately, Lime Rock Park is the only track that will not have live stops. However, with it’s expanded season, this does show that NASCAR is committed to the Truck Series continuing to have live stops.
Trucks will have live pit stops for every race, except Lime Rock, which will feature non-competitive stops. #NASCAR
— Chris Knight (@Knighter01) January 27, 2025
- Live pit stops bring specific challenges to a race weekend. They can sometimes be resourcefully draining for a track or financially draining for a team. For some “stand-alone” races or races with just one series at the track, like Lime Rock, live pit stops can be a problem for some teams as many share pit crews with Xfinity Series programs.
- To counteract factors like cost and travel, NASCAR will occasionally allow the lower National Series, the Truck and Xfinity Series, to pause the race to change tires, fuel, and adjust their race craft. Lime Rock is an easy choice for NASCAR not to have live Truck Series pit stops this season. For example, while the Trucks are in Connecticut on June 28, the Xfinity and Cup Series are roughly 1,011 miles away in Atlanta.
- This decision, of course, eliminates the high-speed and sometimes race-deciding competitive pit stops NASCAR pit crews are known for. However, fans should be relieved as in past seasons, NASCAR has canceled live pit stops for multiple Truck Series events. Notably, NASCAR pumped the brakes on this policy last season. In 2024, both the Truck and Xfinity Series had live stops at all tracks.
- This decision should also not disappoint fans of the Truck Series. The excitement of a debuting track always makes for an interesting race weekend. The 1.53-mile Road Course has not had a NASCAR touring series race since 2010. The last series to do so was the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, which hosted an annual race from 1993 to 2010.
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