If you ever watch a NASCAR race, it’s easy to get caught up in the action on the track – the cars, the drivers, the fans. You might not even realize there are other athletes besides the drivers until their cars need a tire change or fuel.

But in a sport that comes down to seconds, a pit crew’s performance is everything.

We caught up with Team Penske, a Thorne partner, for a two-part series on the life of a pit crew member. In Part 1, we look at how pit crews have shifted from mechanics to athletes. In Part 2, we’ll look at the lifestyle of a pit crew member, including their schedule, diet, and training.

Meet the crew

You’ve seen it during a live race or in a movie – the driver makes their way off the track to the pit stop, and from there, chaos ensues as several people jump over a wall and work on the car. But what exactly is going on during a pit stop?

A NASCAR pit crew can have up to 20 people, but only five team members are allowed to go over the wall during a typical pit stop. These five are:

The Jackman: Raises the vehicle with a jack for a tire change

  • Qualities: Bigger frame with weight, must be strong

The Tire Carrier: Brings the tires over the wall and around the car

  • Qualities: Any size, explosive, must be strong

Rear/Front Tire Changer: Uses a pit gun to remove and replace the tire’s lugnut

  • Qualities: Any size but generally smaller frame, explosive

The Fueler or Gas Man: Fills the fuel tank

  • Qualities: Bigger frame, must be strong

All the qualities needed for each position may seem intuitive, but in the early days of NASCAR, the pit crew strategy was very different. Crews consisted of mechanics, fabricators, and engineers whose primary job was working in the shop during the week.

Today, physical ability is one of the core competencies a crew member needs to have to competitively pit a race car. And that means a highly specialized crew of mostly ex-college athletes.

The pathway from college sports to pitting is very similar to professional football; athletes are recruited, attend combines, and eventually, practice. Some recruits even come from the professional football ranks like Chris Conklin, Fueler for Team Penske’s No. 12 Car (Ryan Blaney).

Conklin, who just started his fifteenth season, first heard about the opportunity through his former strength and conditioning coach while playing professional football at Carolina. Like football, pit crew recruiters are looking for an ideal body type for each position, he says.

“Each position is a little different, but you have to be strong,” Conklin says. “I don’t think there’s a position where you can afford to be weak.”

Athleticism in the pit

Although racing teams have been recruiting ex-college athletes since the 1990s, NASCAR’s rule changes over the last few years have emphasized the need for a more athletic pit crew.

Pat Gray, Jackman for Team Penske’s No. 2 Car (Austin Cindric), just began his eighth season pitting. Looking back at when he started, he says it was “a completely different era.” 

When he began pitting in 2016, six people could go over the wall instead of five. Perhaps most notably, tire changers had five lugnuts to deal with on each tire compared to a single lugnut per tire today.

The single lugnut has been a game-changer, says Nate Miller, Team Penske’s Sports Performance Coach. According to Miller, in the early days of NASCAR, a good four-tire stop took about 16 seconds. Today, it’s down to eight or nine seconds, making the 2024 pit stop more violent, explosive, and athletic.

It also means mistakes are much more costly. As teams shift their strategies to keep up, the best thing pit crew members can do is maintain their athleticism and be adaptable. For example, Conklin previously worked as a catch can man before the position was eliminated.

The change in pit stop choreography has turned some crew members away over the years, Gray says. But he welcomes the challenge.

“It has changed dramatically, but it’s fun,” Gray says. “For those of us who were able to adapt and do all of the different types of pit stops and are here now, you kind of have a sense of pride.”

“Thorne is a one-stop shop”

As the rules of the road continue to change, the health and wellness of a team’s pit crew is more vital now than ever before. And it isn’t just about being physically fit; pit crew members also need to stay sharp, too.

“Physically, they need to be prepared for anything thrown at them,” says Miller. “Mentally, they need to be in tune because they have many other duties for preparing for race day.”

Some of these duties include setting up the pit boxes, checking equipment, and setting up the actual pit stall. At the same time, crew members must deal with the same variables as other athletes, such as the weather, travel, high-stakes races, and more – all specifics you can read about in Part 2.

While each pit crew member takes different products, Miller says Team Penske’s top 10 favorite Thorne supplements include Whey Protein Isolate, Creatine, Magnesium Bisglycinate, Amino Complex, SynaQuell®, Pre-Workout Elite, Multi-Vitamin Elite, Super EPA, FloraSport 20B®, and RecoveryPro®.

“They have such a wide variety of clean and trusted supplements, especially their NSF Certified for Sport® product line,” says Miller. “Thorne is a one-stop shop!”

Thorne is thrilled to partner with Team Penske and to bring you more health and wellness content. Stay tuned for Part 2 on Team Penske’s pit crews at Thorne’s Take 5 Daily blog.