TRUCKS: Catch-Can Man A Thing Of The Past?

Camping World Trucks

TRUCKS: Catch-Can Man A Thing Of The Past?

Truck Series teams will have refueling options for 2010...

Tom Jensen | Posted January 28, 2010 Charlotte, NC

A staple of NASCAR racing, the catch-can person on a pit crew may soon become a thing of the past. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

About half of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will be missing someone who for years was a pit crew staple when they head to Daytona International Speedway for next month’s season opener: The catch-can man.

The catch-can man is the crewman who catches the overflow from the fuel cell during refueling and makes adjustments to track bar and wedge settings on the rear suspension of the trucks. Series rules allow for six men over the wall to service each truck during the pit stops.

But the catch-can man may be about to become a relic.

According to Truck Series Director Wayne Auton, NASCAR has approved what it is calling a “closed-loop refueling can,” which is basically a gas can with a catch can built in. Designed by short-track racer Rob Schultz of Oakhurst, N.J., the new can makes refueling a one-person operation.

The ramifications of the system create pros and cons for the Truck teams: Teams that use the new system can have one crewman handle all the refueling chores, while the other five crew members change tires — front and rear tire carriers, front and rear tire changers, and a jackman.

To equalize competition, NASCAR has decried that gasmen using the closed-loop can are permitted only to add fuel during the stop — they are prohibited from making suspension adjustments.

Auton said Thursday that half of the teams he’s talked to about coming to Daytona next month will use the new system. “It’s a work in progress,” said Auton.

If the system is successful, it could ultimately find its way to the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series in the future, NASCAR officials said.

“The gas can itself is still the same,” said Auton, who added that the cost of the new can is $1,440, exactly double the price of the old-style cans. “It just has a different coupler and a vapor pressure relief valve.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

Watch the 39th Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona on SPEED™!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

CUP: 2014 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class A Family Affair
Dale Jarrett will join his father Ned in the NASCAR Hall of Fame...…
CUP: Tim Flock, Maurice Petty Lead 2014 Hall Class
Tim Flock and Maurice Petty were two of five legends voted into the…
CUP: Voting Day At NASCAR Hall Of Fame
The next five members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be voted in…