NASCAR Rocks

Because of certain safety concerns it has faced NASCAR has amended two of the pit rules for the 3 national touring series in 2008. This change was announced by Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby at the Daytona International Speedway which is where each of the series will begin.

The first change that has been brought in is that in over-the-wall pit crews shall not be allowed to push start their stalled vehicles for more than three pit stalls beyond their areas. Darby said that the reason behind this was that as a car entered its pit stop, if it ran out of fuel the crew might have to push it the entire length of the road. At the same time others would be entering and leaving their respective pits after refueling and the crew being out there was a safety hazard. After this change, if a car does not start working within three boxes, then it would have to be taken back to the pit box assigned to it and attended to.

The other change that has been brought about is that after the tyres have been changed they were being rolled over to the pit wall. Now after the changes they have to be rolled by hand or carried and dropped inside the pit box. Darby said that if the person’s aim was good and there was no one in the way it was fine, but in the event of something going wrong a serious problem would occur.

With the increase in accidents on the NASCAR circuit, the officials at NASCAR have done well to amend the existing rules to make the circuits safer for drivers and crews. If followed strictly the rules will definitely go a long way in reducing the number of accidents on the circuit.

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