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2020 GIFs of the Year, Part 3: Pit crew capers
By Steve Luvender | Published: December 23, 2020 35
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We're reflecting on some of our favorite moments from 2020, captured in GIFs. This time, we're sharing some of our favorite pit-road moments by everybody's supporting cast members, the daredevil athletes of NASCAR pit crews.
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Buddy, those leg movements aren't undenting the car.
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If you can't fix it with a hammer, kick it!
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When you think about it, pit crew members only work for like 15 seconds at a time. There's plenty of time to complete a workout video when there are no cars on pit road.
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Drama! Emotion! NASCAR!
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A human Lazy Susan.
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When you realize there's still a whole week left in 2020.
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"Aw, nuts! Rats! You've gotta be kidding me! Darn it!" (We had William Byron help us with this caption.)
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Sometimes, you know right away that a mistake was made.
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You have to admire the care taken to neatly tuck the giant piece of tape underneath the hood pin. It's the details that matter.
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One, two, three, kick!
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Working on a NASCAR pit crew is a dangerous job. Yes, of course, for 40 cars driving around you in close proximity, but also for the possibility of taking a teammate's jack to the head during a tire change.
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Don't worry. This is a standard pit-stop practice exercise. I think.
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"Hang on, boss. I've got a 45-minute operating-system update."
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We'll never know what he whispered into the hood flap.
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Sometimes, it's a pit crew member's job to simply PANIC.
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Make your workspace a little more zen by adding some sand to remind you of the beach!
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NASCAR pit crews are experts at coordinating carefully choreographed moves when the pressure's on. Congratulatory high-fives are not one of those moves.
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You're gonna need a bigger blade.
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Working on a NASCAR race car must be a great source of stress relief. Just smash out all the frustration with a large mallet.
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Any dog owner can relate to this scene.
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Chad Knaus is Kn-OUT.
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This might be the smoothest 1-2 we've ever seen. A perfectly placed piece of tape at the last moment, pivoted into a well-formed push-up. Beautiful.
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Stop. Hammer time.
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When your friends are trying to stop you from telling a hilarious joke (well, hilarious in your eyes, at least).
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Everyone, collectively, on Jan. 1, 2021.
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So close. What an effort!
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Dude, it's called a jack. There's a guy whose job it is to lift the car. There's equipment and everything.
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"... so, you just get on the computer and there are these virtual races scheduled to go off every hour, and eventually if you keep winning your iRating will get high enough where you'll make the top split ..."
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Most people couldn't make this leap under normal circumstances, let alone while carrying a car jack. This is an athlete.
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Ah, yes. The split-second decision made by the jack man that saved Chase Elliott's championship season. Well done.
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This tire changer must be a pro at sneaking in between revolving-door partitions.
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It's not a stretch to say that teamwork makes the dream work.
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Tire changers are so good that they can even pit invisible cars. Wow!
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And, finally, our favorite pit-crew moment of the year. It's hard not to watch the slow, clumsy fall dozens of times on loop. We're sort of wondering if somebody positioned the tire behind the fueler as a joke. Regardless, as long as nobody's getting hurt, we love a good fall.