The Next Gen era allows little space for result-altering differences between cars in the Cup Series. This makes the speed and precision of the pit crew a key separating factor in giving drivers the advantage. Talking to Frank Fleming in Martinsville, Denny Hamlin revealed how the members of this crucial element in a race team are picked.
He noted that the crew members are usually athletes from other avenues such as basketball or the NFL who, for some reason, couldn’t continue pursuing their sport. To find a place in professional motorsports, the key requirement for these athletes is to have quick feet and hands. The reason is that pit stops in the Cup Series fall close to the 9-second mark, making it a trying job to do.
Hamlin said, “What we look for in our pit crew members is people with fast feet. Get those fast feet and fast hands too. To do a pit stop in 9 seconds, it’s really hard. Everyone has such a crucial role to a pit stop. So again, the driver, the pit crew, and the crew chief are the three main things that make a team fast or slow on any given weekend.”
Using his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew’s extraordinary performance in the Richmond race as an example, Hamlin reiterated how crucial of a difference the crew can make. “They put me in a position to (win), yes. I won the race but I actually think they won me the race,” he said. The crew had shot him up with an 8.99-second four-tire stop that helped him bypass the grid on pit road late in the race.
The impressive expertise of Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew
Hamlin’s pit crew has easily been amongst the best teams in the 2024 Cup Series season. It topped the Bozi Pit Crew Index at the beginning of April and is poised to remain there heading deeper into the season. The five-man crew includes AJ Rosini (front changer), Deven Youker (rear changer), Dylan Dowell (tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (fueler), and Joel-Alexandre Bouagnon (jackman).
Talking about the reason for the obvious heightened quality of the crew, Hamlin said, “The whole pit crew department really went through a lot of changes over the last couple years. It’s starting to show fruit. I was looking at the average ages of all the pit crews. Mine is definitely on the lower end when you average all the ages up.” With consistency, there’s no telling how far this group can take Hamlin.
