Sunday’s finish in the Daytona 500 didn’t just set a record for the closest finish. It also set a record for modern-day pit road infractions caused by pit crews, according to PitTalks.com data.
Each week, NASCAR notes penalties on pit road that occurred during the race, identifying if penalties were on drivers, teams or pit crews.
Sunday’s race in Daytona produced 12 penalties caused by pit crews. Since the inception of the camera system in 2015, the most penalties due to pit crews in a single race was nine (Fontana, Martinsville and Las Vegas).
Nine of the 12 pit crew penalties came from a crewman over the wall too soon, as teams seemingly seek to garner any advantage they can find during pit stops. The other three penalties were the result of an uncontrolled tire or as referred to on the infraction as outside half of the pit box tire violation/team member not in contact with the outside tires.
For more pit crew news, visit PitTalks.com.