By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
Martin Truex Jr. was one of three drivers that had issues with the mandatory pit guns sanctioned by NASCAR for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
NASCAR mandated spec pit guns to help increase the parity throughout the field. Despite being relatively quiet, the issue with the pit guns arose during the Daytona 500 las weekend.
For Truex, the concern is about the quality control of the guns. Truex believes that if a pit gun malfunction costs somebody a win or a playoff berth, somebody will be really, really upset. IN previous years, there have been little to no problem with pit guns during the race. In 2018, there is concern about the guns just two races into the season.
“Now, we are getting it from an outside source and we have no control over it. If it costs you a win or a spot in the playoffs, somebody is going to be really upset. There is nothing you can do about it because you can’t go home and say ‘well, it’s your fault. We need to tighten it up here. We need to figure it out to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
“There is none of that. It is a little bit frustrating from that standpoint. At the same time, it is new to everybody. We have to give them a chance to figure it out and to make these things bullet proof.”
Second-place finisher, Brad Keselowski, did not have a comment about the new pit guns, but did mention that he was not asked about the possibility of spec pit guns and that it was a decision by NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance.
Cole Pearn, crew chief of the No. 78, also expressed his frustration about the pit guns after the race. According to Pearn, the tire changer switched directions on the pit gun, but the gun head did not change directions. The team was given a backup gun, which was slower, but ultimately received a gun that was serviceable for the rest of the night.
Race winning crew chief, Rodney Childers, had differing opinions to that of Pearn.
“I have to be honest, the people who have taken that on have really done an outstanding job. There is no way that I can complain about anything they’ve done because I can’t imagine taking that on over the winter and what they did over a two to three-month span of trying to get this stuff ready for the teams, but my opinion is that we are going to go through ups and downs and we need to go through them and learn together. That’s part of it,” Childress stated.
I am reminded of the Formula 1 “countdown clock” qualifying. I’m sure it looked good on the bar napkin but after its dismal debut failure in Australia the next race it was gone. This years pit rules deserve the same fate.
It always amazes me that NASCAR can take something that works just fine and adds an element of excitement to a race and break it. At this point why not just hand the teams a bumper jack and a 4 way.