CUP: Crews Under Increased All-Star Pressure

Sprint Cup

CUP: Crews Under Increased All-Star Pressure

The pit crews will play a bigger role in this year’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race...

Tom Jensen | Posted March 17, 2010 Charlotte, NC

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pit crews will set the grid for the final 10-lap shootout for the Sprint All-Star race. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Last year, pit crews decided pit-stall selection for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. This year, the crews will set the grid for the final 10-lap shootout that determines who walks away with $1 million and who goes home bitterly disappointed.

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This year’s 26th running of the All-Star Race will retain the four-segment format adopted last year — an opening 50-lap segment, followed by two 20-lap segments and a 10-lap battle at the end. And just like last year, the finishing order of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge will determine pit selection for the race.

SPEED will televise the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on May 19 from Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown Charlotte, and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 22 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The big difference between this year and years past will come immediately prior to the fourth and final segment. The field will line up behind the pace car in the order in which they finished the third segment. But prior to the green flag flying, every driver will be required to pit and take four fresh tires.

Whichever team has the best pit stop will get their driver out first, and in a 10-lap shootout format that very well could be the difference between winning and losing.

“If you can gain spots on pit road, it’s a no-brainer,” said Martin Truex Jr., one of the drivers hoping to race his way into the all-star event. “It’s going to help you.”

The change also will bring visibility to the crewmen.

“When you look at it, it’s to highlight the pit crews one more time,” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton. “They’re an important part of racing, week in and week out. And I think it more ties in the pit-crew competition with the All-Star event. We feel like they all go hand in hand.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

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