Ask any driver where the best place to pass competitors on the track is and most will say pit road.

So it should come as no surprise the valuable role a well-trained, well-equipped over-the-wall pit crew plays on any given weekend.

NASCAR pit crews are sometimes called the unsung heroes of the sport. That's because they keep the car (and the driver) going, but they often get very little credit. However, NASCAR pit crew members are an integral part of every NASCAR victory and are superb athletes in their own right.

Meet one of those guys -- DJ Copp.

By weekend, he goes over the wall. But last month, Copp packed up his impact wrench and headed west to entertain onlookers at the 2009 AAPEX tradeshow in Las Vegas.

AAPEX (Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo) is the largest automotive aftermarket business-to-business tradeshow in the in the world. Held annually the first week in November in Vegas, the show represents the $405 billion global automotive aftermarket and engages more than 132,000 professionals from around the globe, including many NASCAR Performance partners and personalities.

Copp, a 14-year NASCAR pit crew veteran, currently is the front-tire changer for JTG/ Daugherty Racing's No. 47 Toyota driven by Marcos Ambrose in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This year at AAPEX, Copp was the special guest of Ingersoll-Rand (www.ingersollrand.com) -- a $13 billion global diversified industrial company that provides about 90 percent of NASCAR teams with tire-changing guns.

For three days, Copp went one-on-one against show attendees, educating them on the finer points of 5-off-5-on and the secrets to busting off a quick pit stop.

"I'm out here at the Ingersoll-Rand booth showing people exactly what goes on during a pit stop, how fast it happens on pit road," Copp said.

Copp knows having the right tools is the key to performance on pit road.

NASCAR pit crews depend on the raw, brute force of Ingersoll-Rand`s 232TGSL ThunderGun to get their cars out of the pits and back in the race. Impact air wrenches play such a vital role in helping skilled tire changers dismount and mount a set of tires during a race -- where tenths of a second can mean the difference between Victory Lane and second place.

"When you're changing five lugnuts in 1.3 seconds, you've got to have equipment that's going to hold up," Copp told tradeshow onlookers. "Ingersoll-Rand has a gun that runs 15,000 RPM and just over 100 lbs of pressure."

Copp, a straight-shooter from Ontario, N.Y., began as a fabricator with Ultra Motorsports and has worked for several teams during his career including Roush-Fenway Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Richard Petty Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

In addition to his No. 47 team duties, he also currently pulls double-duty on the weekends. Copp is also the front tire changer for JR Motorsports' No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide Series team.

"I really enjoy it," Copp said. "It's great getting to work with a lot of different people on pit road. Racing is something I really enjoy doing and going over-the-wall is a huge part of it."

If Copp looks familiar, he should.

He's appeared on NASCAR Now, giving TV viewers tips on pit stops. He's even carried a live camera and microphone on pit road during races. Last year, he filled in for Tim Brewer in the ESPN Tech Center.

Next time you're at a NASCAR race, take a peek on pit road at DJ Copp, just one of the many talented pit crew members in NASCAR. Challenge him to a tire change-off perhaps? In Vegas or on pit road, odds are good he'll give it his all.