CONCORD, N.C. - Redemption will be on the mind of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet crew of Alex Bowman as Hendrick Motorsports heads into Friday’s Pit Crew Challenge at North Carolina’s iconic North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Last year’s event didn’t include the 48, as only teams that had qualified for the NASCAR All-Star Race were eligible. It makes this year’s edition … personal. As the leading Cup Series pit crew over the second part of the 2024 season, the Ally team is poised to make some noise on Friday night.
And while bragging rights around the garage are always fun to have, there is more than pride on the line. In addition to pit stall selection, a $100,000 prize awaits the winning team.
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“I definitely feel good about the opportunity to go out there this year and perform – try to win another trophy,” said Allen Holman, jackman for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. “There’s also some money involved and that would be cool too. We’re looking forward to it and we’ll go out and do what we do.”
Bowman’s team excelled the back half of last year, consistently performing at the highest level of the sport. That included the NASCAR playoffs, where the team recorded more pit stops in the eight-second range than the rest of the field combined. It was dominant enough that the team earned the prestigious Mechanix Wear NASCAR Most Valuable Pit Crew of the Year Award at the end of the season.
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“We flew under the radar a little bit last year until we won Mechanix Wear,” said Donnie Tasser, front-tire changer for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. “That’s over the course of however many races the whole season. I know none of us were happy that we didn’t get to participate (in the Pit Crew Challenge) last year. I know I watched it and watched a lot of guys struggle because they were trying to go as fast as possible. It was a short-track setup, so it was difficult to pit. I think we went out in the Open, and our pit stop was as fast, or faster, than the stop that actually won the competition.”
“That kind of fueled us a little bit.” Holman said. “We saw a bigger picture and wanted to know what was more important.”
A contest dating back to 1967, the Pit Crew Challenge has gone through many different formats – and hiatuses – throughout the years. This year brings back pit stops as part of qualifying, which has become a popular format over the years. The Open teams will qualify first, while the All-Star session will set the field for Saturday night’s heat races.
Drivers will each run one lap at speed and make a pit stop coming out of lap number two where the cars will dive onto pit road and pull into one of two designated pit stalls for a four-tire stop (no fuel). Once completed, the cars exit the pits and run back to the checkered flag. Qualifying times are determined via total elapsed time from green to checker, where the overall pole award winner will start the first heat race and the All-Star Race in the top spot.
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The pit crew that grabs the quickest time (without penalties) during All-Star qualifying will be crowned winner of the Pit Crew Challenge. The pit crew results will also determine pit stall picking order for the race.
While it’s important for the teams to qualify well for All-Star, the competition is also a well-deserved spotlight for each race team as a whole.
“I look at it as the pit crew is the 'O' linemen (in football),” said Holman, who played college football for Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. “We don’t get a lot of praise, but when things go wrong, we know about it. For us (the Most Valuable Pit Crew Award) was a big deal. It’s something you can wear on your sleeve and hang your hat on. It’s a pride thing, knowing you are the best pit crew throughout the year.”
“(Crew chief) Blake (Harris) and everyone on our road crew puts a lot of work down here with us every week, to make sure that their jobs are on point,” Tasser said. “We really found our groove probably about this point last season, and we just took a nice, upward trajectory and kind of caught a lot of people off guard.”
The 48 crew hope to continue that momentum this weekend.
Pit Crew Challenge a point of pride for all
While the No. 48 team will look to make up for lost time, Hendrick Motorsports' other three teams aren't any less motivated.
Take Mike Moss, rear-tire changer on the No. 5 team, for instance. This will be his first appearance in the Pit Crew Challenge but he has confidence in his own abilities and the rest of his squad's.
“We’ve been talking about it for the last week now,” Moss said. “We’re ready to compete. We want to be in those moments. It’s an honor to be on that stage and be able to perform and show the world what you can do.”
For others, it's about fine tuning from year's past. That includes the No. 24 team and Ryan Patton, who has his eyes set on the Pit Crew Challenge, sure, but on the bigger picture as well.
“It would be awesome to win that deal, not just the Pit Crew competition but the All-Star Race in general,” Patton said. “But when you put the helmet on, you’ve got to block that stuff out. It’s still the same cadence. You do your routine. To be honest if we can just go do our job on our end and William and the road crew too, collectively, and we’re as clean as possible, I think we’ll be in contention to get that trophy.”
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend
(All times listed in eastern time)
Friday, May 16
- 4 p.m. - Cup Series qualifying entry/exit practice (Open entires), FS2
- 4:30 - Cup Series qualifying entry/exit practice (All-Star entires), FS2
- 5 - Cup Series practice (Open and All-Star entries), FS1
- 6 - Cup Series pit crew challenge, FS1
Saturday, May 17
- 9:35 a.m. - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice, FS1
- 10:35 - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series qualifying, FS1
- 1:30 p.m. - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, FS1
- 5:10 - Cup Series Heat 1, FS2
- 6:15 - Cup Series Heat 2, FS2
Sunday, May 18
- 5 - Cup Series All-Star Open, FS1
- 8 p.m. - Cup Series All-Star race, FS1