Superspeedways offer wide-open stalls, and even shorter tracks such as Richmond International Raceway have created a wide enough lane for cars to get in and out of their boxes. The problem runs deeper than simple space. Donnie Wingo, crew chief for Jimmy Spencer, went over the wall for 17 years before moving to the top of the pit box. He remembers days when pit road didn t even have a speed limit. He says it s safer now, but from his vantage point he often sees moves that keep the pit stops dangerous.
Crew members accept the danger, often relying on blind faith.
If you have a fear factor or a problem with it, it s probably not somewhere you want to be, not something you are trained to think about or believe in, Pieratt said. You re there to play the game and that s your job. They come in behind you, they hit you and you never know what happened. A recent series of injuries has refocused attention on pit road and the safety aspects. Two members of Sterling Marlin s crew were hit in Texas.