Latest news with #pitstop
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR Breaks It Up: Gibbs & Keselowski Pit Crews Nearly Come to Blows at Sonoma
Pit stops got crazy on Sunday at Sonoma when a near miss between Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski's teams turned into a pit road fight during the Toyota/Save Mart 350. It all went down late in Stage 2 when several front-runners, including Gibbs and Keselowski, came in early to get track position for the final stage. With their pit boxes right next to each other, it was already tight. It didn't take much for things to get ugly. Advertisement Gibbs, ahead of Keselowski on the track and in pit sequence, drove into his assigned stall by cutting through the RFK Racing pit box. In doing so, Gibbs came within inches of RFK front tire carrier Telvin McClurkin, who was already in position and holding a tire for Keselowski's incoming №6 Ford. Gibbs' №54 Toyota clipped the tire, twisting McClurkin's wrist in the process. Despite the impact, McClurkin was able to complete his duties, but immediately after, tempers flared. According to footage released by RFK Racing, McClurkin marched over to the Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew. The exchange quickly turned into pushing and shoving between the crews and NASCAR officials had to intervene and separate the teams before it got out of hand. Also Read:: NASCAR points standings after Sonoma: Cup Series points leaders after today Advertisement NASCAR rules in favor of Ty Gibbs after pit road incident NASCAR reviewed the incident mid-race and later said Gibbs did not break any rules. Drivers are allowed to go through up to three pit boxes when entering their own, and in this case, Gibbs, being ahead of Keselowski, was within his rights to cut across. 'Going in, I have the right-of-way,' Gibbs told NASCAR on TNT after the race, pointing to the orange lines on the pit wall. 'They're on the wall for a reason, they jump for a reason, and they kind of get out of the way. And those guys like to push it, and that's kind of the consequence you pay.' Gibbs said he had clear procedural priority and NASCAR agreed, saying RFK Racing's crew should have given him more space as he approached. Advertisement Although Gibbs got off light, there was concern over the physical element of the confrontation, and how crew members were supposed to act and possibly be punished. By Sunday night, NASCAR did not announce any fines or suspensions, but officials said they would further review the aftermath of the altercation. Also Read:: NASCAR: Winners, Losers from the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, led by Shane van Gisbergen Related Headlines
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR clears Ty Gibbs, No. 54 team after pit road incident at Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. — NASCAR said the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 team did no wrong after an incident during Sunday's Cup Series race in which driver Ty Gibbs passed through the RFK Racing No. 6 team's pit box during a stop and clipped a tire being held by the team's tire carrier. The pit crews for Gibbs and Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 car, then had a minor altercation — which included pushing and shoving — following a sequence of pit stops on Lap 52 of the race at Sonoma Raceway. Advertisement The disagreement stemmed from how Gibbs pulled into his stall, which was one spot beyond Keselowski's. As Gibbs is allowed to do under NASCAR rules, he partially drove through Keselowski's stall to get into his own, but as he did, he made contact with the tire in the hands of Keselowski team member Telvin McClurkin, who was over the pit wall preparing to service Keselowski's car. You be the judge 👨🏻⚖️ — RFK Racing (@RFKracing) July 13, 2025 'I pull in my (pit) box, and by the rules, the first-place car that's going in, it's my right of way,' Gibbs told The Athletic. 'And that's the thing with pit crew guys who like to be out there, that's on them. It's my right of way. They had an incident that slowed their stop down, so that sucks for them.' Although McClurkin never lost control of the tire, he did twist his wrist. After completing the pit stop, he walked down to Gibbs' stall and confronted members of the No. 54 team, setting off a brief skirmish between the two teams. NASCAR officials quickly broke up the scrum. McClurkin declined comment about the incident after the race but did say his wrist was 'doing fine.' 'I talked to NASCAR and, obviously, no rules were broken,' RFK competition director Josh Sell said. 'Would we have liked to have seen it play out differently? Yeah, absolutely, and that's really all there is to it.' An incident on the track and a separate one on pit road.@SteveLetarte and the TNT crew take a closer look. — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 13, 2025 After reviewing the incident, NASCAR officials determined that Gibbs did nothing wrong and that the No. 6 team should've given Gibbs more room to enter his own pit stall. NASCAR considers the incident closed, though a NASCAR spokesperson said officials would review this week the skirmish between the two teams to see if any penalties would be assessed. Advertisement 'The rule is the rule, and the 54 (car) in that instance has the right of way, and the pit crew members just have to be aware enough to know that and not run into traffic unless you have to,' JGR competition director Chris Gabehart said. '(McClurkin) has the right to be standing out there, but the 54 has got to get in his box first. And it's one of those tough rules. I don't really fault anybody on it. It just takes a lot of give-and-take in that situation. And unfortunately, they got into him.' Incidents between pit crews are a rarity in NASCAR, though occasionally there are flare-ups in a high-pressure environment where teams are racing to get their driver on and off pit road as quickly as possible. This is in addition to the danger created by five-member pit crews jumping over the wall as cars pass by — pit road speed at Sonoma is 40 mph — which only heightens emotions when there is a perceived safety risk. 'Scrapping, man,' Gabehart said. 'Everybody's excited. That's racing and part of it.' (Photo of Ty Gibbs in Sunday's race: Chris Williams / Sonoma Raceway / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Fox News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Tire Changer Details Pit Stop Accident That Resulted In Broken Rib, Collapsed Lung
CHICAGO — JP Kealey just followed through with what his father taught him as a young athlete who played hockey and lacrosse when a flying tire nailed him in the chest during a race two weeks ago at Pocono Raceway. Kealey, the rear tire changer for Shane van Gisbergen, picked up his air wrench and performed his pit-stop duties. That was his last stop of the day. A broken rib and collapsed lung made him reluctantly go to the infield medical center and then eventually to the hospital for an overnight stay to make sure his lung reinflated on its own and his broken rib wasn't in danger of puncturing it. "Ever since I was a kid, my dad always told me, 'Unless your leg is broken or something, you better get up off the floor of the ice and get back to the bench,'" Kealey said. "That's just kind of the standard for who I was, and what my dad instilled in me. "No matter what happens, you've got to make sure you finish your job and then worry about what's going on later. It was kind of just instinctual. As soon as it happened, I picked up my [air] gun and I knew I had a job to finish, so I went out there, finished it, and then dealt with whatever's going on after." Kealey is back this weekend, ready to work the Cup race at the Chicago street course, ready to change tires for the race favorite in what he hopes is his second win of the season. "I feel pretty good," Kealey said. "I can do just about anything other than bench heavy [lifting], but nothing that's going to affect me out on pit road. I'm ready to go and get after it this week." Kealey knows what it's like to perform at a high level on a sports stage. A Google search for him will bring up highlights of him as a professional lacrosse player. When the league didn't play during COVID, Kealey was recruited to become a pit-crew member. He's been hit by hockey pucks and lacrosse balls. But never a tire, which is relatively rare. AJ Allmendinger had clipped the tire being held by his tire changer when coming in to pit, and he hit the tire — which flew in the air into Kealey, who was running around his car in the adjacent pit. "You kind of get used to the idea of maybe getting hit by a car," Kealey said. "I saw AJ blow through his box, and I kind of checked up, because as I was jumping off the wall, he got kind of close to me. "So when I checked up, I was looking down at his car to make sure it didn't hit me, and as soon as my eyes popped up to get to my approach to the rear of our car, the tire just hit me right away. I didn't really have a whole lot of time to react. I didn't see it coming. I definitely felt it once it got there." Kealey said he was happy the tire didn't hit him in his head. "When the tire hit me, I kind of knew I broke my rib," Kealey said. "I felt a pop. "But the first thing that came to mind was finishing the stop, so I got back out there and finished the job. ... Once I found some shortness of breath and was struggling to breathe a little bit, that's when I knew something was wrong." Many of the pit crew members on the elite teams are former college or professional athletes. NASCAR teams like them because they have experience performing under high pressure and the ability to master a task thanks to repetition after repetition in practice — while also being able to improvise in the moment if need be. Kealey was not allowed to fly home from Pennsylvania after the injury, so he had to drive back to North Carolina. He got the OK to fly to Chicago this week and had no hesitation about going back to work. When he played college lacrosse, Kealey said he played with a torn ACL and meniscus for eight months. "It's part of it, right?" Kealey said. "We're all athletes. The danger of it's part of what makes it fun. You take hits in any sport. Stuff happens in any sport that you play. ... It doesn't change anything for me. I'm going to go out there and continue to do my job. "It's not anything that's going to be in the back of my mind. I'm still going to jump over the wall and have the same intensity and same drive to go out there and succeed." While crew members wear fire-retardant clothes and a helmet in case they fall or get upended by a car, Kealey knows there really isn't a way to protect himself from a flying tire. "People have been joking and asking if I'm going to wear a flak jacket, stuff like that," Kealey said. "But I'm not too worried about it. "I won't put anything on that's going to slow me down. ... I'm not really worried about it. It was just a freak accident. I'm going to go out there and just continue to do my job." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
The Sun
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Terrifying moment Nascar mechanic is struck by flying tire during pit stop in heart-stopping accident
NASCAR produced a terrifying moment in its race last weekend. While racing at Pocono Raceway, a tire was flung into a pit crew member accidentally. 3 3 JP Kealey works as a tire changer for Trackhouse driver Shane Van Gisbergen. However, things went downhill quickly when fellow Trackhouse driver AJ Allmendinger came in at the same time for a stop. Allmendinger came into his pit box too fast, sliding across the pavement and knocking a tire out of a pit crew member's hands. That tire went flying towards Kealey and struck him hard. The impact jammed his air gun directly into the side of his body. Kealey is a former pro lacross player, and was left doubled over in pain before ultimately fighting through the pain. Despite being able to finish the job, Kealey was forced to go to the hospital following the game. It was revealed by Skip Flores of the Stacking Pennies podcast that he suffered two broken ribs. Kealey also later revealed that his injuries included a partially collapsed lung. The footage of the incident is terrifying, and Nascar fans shared how tough Kealey was for getting his job done. American Thunder, NASCAR To Le Mans "Scary moment there on pit road," one fan said. "These guys are STUDS. Insane," another fan said. "Man that guy is a baller for finishing the pit stop anyway," a third fan said. "Nascar pit team tough WOW," a fourth fan said. "Tough, super athletes. His ribs are sore," a fifth fan said. The rough moment on pit lane was ultimately a sign of what was to come during the race. Van Gisbergen ended up finishing 31st at The Great American Getaway 400. Noel "Bud" MIller Jr will fill in as his tire changer for the Quaker State 400 this weekend.
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The Independent
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
F1's Monaco Grand Prix experiment flopped – but two changes can save prestigious race
Kudos for trying. After last year's no-change procession, the kingmakers at Formula One had to change something at the sport's traditional blue-riband event. A mandatory two pit-stops had never been written into the rulebook before; the aroma of mystique was palpable ahead of raceday in Monte-Carlo. As it turned out, the brains and boffins in the garages made a mockery of the regulation. Racing Bulls showed their hand first, with Liam Lawson driving purposefully slowly to hold up the pack behind him, allowing teammate Isack Hadjar to pit again without losing position. Then, Williams followed suit – with Carlos Sainz and then Alex Albon lapping nearly six seconds a lap slower than the frontrunners. For both teams, double points-finishes. A tactic reeking of gamesmanship worked to perfection. It was all fair game – but it was master manipulation. As 2009 world champion Jenson Button put it afterwards: 'It was all just a bit silly.' Even for the drivers who benefited from the strategy, there was little solace in the leaderboard. Their racing instinct was curtailed here, at one of the sport's most glorious circuits to drive. That is not right. 'I must say this is not the way I like to race, or dream about racing in Monaco,' said Sainz, who finished 10th, afterwards. 'A bit disappointed with the whole race. The two-stops changes nothing around Monaco, people are still going to try and manipulate the final result. We either find a solution to the race-pace or it will always be like this in Monaco. 'In the midfield, it backfired. It made things even more manipulated for people to get two stops and pit windows. I'm happy for F1 to try things. We tried, for me it didn't work. Maybe we just need to forbid the pace manipulation.' Announcing the new rule in February, the FIA insisted the mandatory three different tyre sets was implemented with the aim of 'promoting better racing.' But as Martin Brundle succinctly put on commentary: 'The focus was on pitting, not racing.' Sainz's teammate, Alex Albon, went a step further, apologising to fans watching on at home: 'It's not how we want to go racing. I know we put on a bad show for everyone and made some drivers angry behind us. 'It's taking advantage of the track and the size of the cars. Just frustrating and apologies to everyone who watched it. Yeah, sorry!' In the closing stages, George Russell actually decided to illegally cut a corner at the Nouvelle chicane in order to squeeze past a slow-moving Albon. The Mercedes driver duly received a drive-through penalty but despite also having to pit twice late on, he still finished 11th – higher than he would have done if he merely stayed behind Albon. Russell later called the new rule a 'flawed system.' Yet the simple facts are that the circuit configurations of the principality street circuit, coupled with the size of this era of Formula One car, make overtaking near-impossible in dry conditions. The use of DRS around the banana-straight is ineffective and if you try to overtake anywhere on the circuit, contact is unavoidable. However, the battle at the front was tight on the timesheet until the very end. Max Verstappen held out for a late red-flag in front, before Lando Norris (who lapped most of the field twice) claimed victory – his first since the season-opener in Australia. Much like most years, it was a win secured with a scintillating final lap in qualifying. Yet the unprecedented race rule change will need some modification for 2026. Today, it fell flat. When you have Russell suggesting sprinklers and Verstappen proposing banana skins – a la Mario Kart – you know that the regulation has backfired. A maximum lap time would solve Sunday's issue – and could be applied in a similar way to track limits. Enforcing at least one pit-stop in the first half of the race could also stop such radical strategies. It may have seemed borderline farcical at times, but F1 should not be ridiculed for trying something different. They tried, they failed. And with a contract in Monaco until 2031, they'll be trying to find a different remedy for many a year to come.
