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Pit Crew or Crew Chief
In most all other major market sports you have what is called a franchise player. This player is usually the best player on the team and gets paid the most money. Generally speaking this player is the one that the team is built around. You find people that will fill in as role players to get the full potential out of your main guy. My thought was this, If you were building a team and you had a choice of getting the best Crew Chief on pit road or the best Pit Crew which one would you chose. Here are a couple of things to think about: No matter how good the car is running or how good your driver is your pit crew can always loose you a race. On the flip side, if you have the best pit crew in the world they are not going to make the car run any faster. That's where the crew chiefs come in. There are guys on pit road that can make any car be fast. The best crew chiefs understand how there drivers are and can set a car up to handle just the way they want it. Ask any good driver how important it is to have a crew chief who can give them a good car. So this brings me back to my point. Who would you choose? I think in my personal opinion, I would take the crew chief. I think crew chiefs are in demand more than crew members. It is very hard to find a solid crew chief that is very good. On the other hand, there are alot of decent pit crew members that could get you by. I might be way off on this one but that is who I would take. Just something to think about.
September 29, 2005 in Race talk | Permalink
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Comments
I would diff want Chad as my Cheif if i was a driver!
Posted by: Jen | Sep 29, 2005 11:10:31 AM
and Mitch Lash as my Jackman...his size helps him out, and he's just a really good jackman!
Posted by: Jen | Sep 29, 2005 11:11:28 AM
I"m such a goob...i was commenting before even finishing reading it all so I didn't get your question...I would have to pick having a better Pit crew! 12 heads are better than 1
Posted by: Jen | Sep 29, 2005 11:13:40 AM
New here to 'Over the Wall'. I'm glad to get a chance to hear from those directly involved at the track and not just professional microphone jockeys. Good job.
I would definitely have to pick the best crew chief. A strong central manager is required in something as complex as a race. There are too many variables to not have the best person for the job on the top of the pit box. While the pit crew is a key part to success on the track, it doesn’t beat a good leader.
Posted by: Charles | Sep 29, 2005 12:41:23 PM
I would say crew chief. A really good crew chief can tade a decent pit crew and turn them into an exceptional crew.
Posted by: 19Jay12 | Sep 29, 2005 1:29:09 PM
take not tade. sorry
Posted by: 19Jay12 | Sep 29, 2005 1:29:53 PM
Crew Cheif. Hands down. Jay's comment is right on the money.
Posted by: Mr. Mom | Sep 29, 2005 1:39:52 PM
I'd want the best crew chief, too. I don't think it would matter how great a pit crew you had, if the right person wasn't making the calls.
Posted by: Janelle | Sep 29, 2005 2:07:56 PM
Yall are nuts! The pit crew is the heart of the team...yeah you can have somebody barking out the orders, but if there isn't the right people there to understand the orders and do a fast and reliable job then what's the point of having somebody sit on a stool all race, telling them what to do?!? if you ever get the chance to sit in front of pit row at a race, do it! Then you will see how important the pit crew is! yall have a nice day!!!!!
Posted by: Jen | Sep 29, 2005 3:11:43 PM
Without question, I would take a good crew chief over a good pit crew. Although races are sometimes won or lost on pit road, an ill handling racecar isn't going to run up front for long regardless of how fast the pit crew is. Another important element is the chemistry between the crew chief and a the driver. You could have the best crew chief paired with the best driver, but if they lack chemistry, it likely will not be a winning combination.
Posted by: Wes | Sep 29, 2005 3:27:37 PM
If I were a driver I'd want Janelle and Jen workign on my pit crew.
Posted by: Mike Hunt | Sep 29, 2005 3:31:16 PM
Mike Hunt being nice? or being mean?
Posted by: Jen | Sep 29, 2005 4:46:46 PM
"yeah you can have somebody barking out the orders"
While the above is undoubtably is true that generally is done on race day. The rest of the week/year he's the one that assembles and oversees the training of the "heart of the team."
Just as in any other sport or endeavor without a leader - crew chief in this case - there is no "team."
Posted by: Marc | Sep 29, 2005 8:21:03 PM
That is a hard decision, but if I had to choose I would pick the Crew Chief. You can have an exeptional crew but without proper leadership, they're wandering aimlessly, so to speak. A good Crew Chief can mold and make the crew...
Posted by: Toni | Sep 29, 2005 9:46:07 PM
Well... since Wallace has credited his CC Larry Carter for pulling together a great crew... I'd have to say CC.
Posted by: BlueDeuce | Sep 29, 2005 10:34:46 PM
That was a good analogy Trent using the franchise player.
Either one can nullify the capabilities of the other if having a bad day, but if I had to pick, I'd say crew chief. Your crew can gain you a few spots, but the driver can lose a lot more than that if the crew chief can't give him a car that he can drive.
Good luck at Dega this weekend, and yall keep BLAZING out those stops. SUB 13 WITH WEDGE AND TRACKBAR - YEAH BUDDY!
Posted by: Robert | Sep 30, 2005 7:23:53 AM
I would have to choose Crew Chief.
Good Luck this weekend.
Posted by: Ann | Sep 30, 2005 8:04:29 AM
I would think that if you have a strong leader the rest just comes together. So my pick would have to be the Crew Chief, and it should be a sexy one, LOL!!!
Posted by: Nascar_Lady | Sep 30, 2005 8:13:19 AM
Jen,
It was a compliment. Seeing a woman's face would be far nicer than seeing all mens faces in the pits.
Posted by: mike hunt | Sep 30, 2005 9:03:38 AM
TODD PARROTT, PLEASE COME HOME TO DA' 2,
BRING BILLY BACK WITH YA.
Posted by: Larry | Sep 30, 2005 9:40:29 AM
this was found on jayski.com
Is it me or doe HMS seem to always get off with just a slap on the wrist for creative engineering and other teams lose points and money for their creative engineering:
More on the Shock issue from Dover, expect NASCAR Rule: Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said he expects NASCAR officials to issue a technical bulletin as early as Friday outlawing the trick shock absorbers used by Hendrick Motorsports teammates #48-Jimmie Johnson and #5-Kyle Busch in their 1-2 finish Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Instead of soaking up bumps, as shocks normally are designed to do, Smith said the Hendrick cars' shocks were designed almost to work in reverse; every time they hit a bump, the shocks jacked up the car's rear end for about 15 seconds. Because cars encounter frequent bumps at Dover, the shocks apparently kept the Hendrick cars' tails elevated about an inch beyond what NASCAR rules allow for most of the race, directing more air to the cars' rear spoilers and creating extra aerodynamic "downforce" that helped the cars stick to the track. Cheating? Not exactly, Smith said. "It was clearly an ingenious engineering exercise, and they ought to be commended for their ingenuity," he said. Johnson's team declined comment through a spokesperson.
This explains why the two Hendrick cars failed an initial technical inspection by NASCAR officials Sunday night but passed the maximum-height requirement after they "settled," as NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston explained this week. Officials confiscated the Hendrick cars' shocks after the race, along with shocks from four other cars [#'s 2,12,6,16].
Smith expects NASCAR to prohibit all teams from using such shocks beginning with the Oct. 9 race at Kansas Speedway. The Hendrick shocks wouldn't help in this weekend's race because downforce isn't a major concern at Talladega and teams typically try to get their cars as low to the ground as possible without violating NASCAR's minimum height requirements. Smith figures that Busch, a rookie, has been testing the system all season. "That didn't show up for a championship (contender) the day before Dover," Smith said. "That required a lot of effort, a lot of testing." Penske Racing president Don Miller, meanwhile, wondered why the Hendrick cars apparently were given a second chance to pass officials' maximum-height measurement. "All I can say is, if it comes in as too high, it should be black and white," Miller said. Said Poston, via e-mail: "When the (No.) 48 went up on the platform, it was initially high, but in a matter of seconds the car settled and it made the required height. Absolutely no one made an adjustment to the car; however, as often is the case, an inspector was under the car but did not touch it. The 48 only made one trip through inspection."(USA Today), see past news about this on my NASCAR news page or on 9/29/2005PAGE 2 of the News.(9-30-2005)
Posted by: cliff wahl | Sep 30, 2005 10:31:51 AM
Back to the original question, I'd take a great CC without blinking. The best pit crew in the world won't put a lousy handling car in victory lane, and a great CC (a.k.a. team leader) can get the most out of the pit crew's talent.
Posted by: VetteDrmr | Sep 30, 2005 11:34:48 AM
I'd take Mr. Hunt as the crew chief, and I would build the pit crew around Jen and Janelle.
Posted by: 19Jay12 | Sep 30, 2005 11:58:04 AM
Seeing that Trent is decidedly in a far better position to know than any mere fan I feel compelled to agree with him.
Posted by: MBVoelker | Sep 30, 2005 12:20:19 PM
Thanks Mike Hunt!!!!
Trent,
Wes and I had this debate last night...I said Pit crew and he said chief....but the question i have for you is what do you consider the "pit crew". I told him that it was more than the 6 men who go over the wall....what do you consider the crew?
Posted by: Jen | Sep 30, 2005 1:24:22 PM
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