Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte produced a record number of over-the-wall-too-early penalties, according to calculations by PitTalks.com. A typical race has one or two of these penalties, but Charlotte had seven.
Why so many?
First, it was a rain-delayed race and the start time was different than usual. Many athletes are creatures of habit and value their routine. Breaking routine could have contributed in a small way.
Another idea is that Charlotte is the home track for most of the crew men. Staying focused is much harder at the home track when there are family obligations to attend to during race week.
Another more scientific answer could be that Charlotte has some of the smaller pit stalls for 1.5-mile tracks. Cars get up to crew members more quickly. Timing the jump as close as possible is important, and the different size could have thrown off some teams.
Last but not least is the idea that it was just a bad day. Sounds funny, but it could be that all the stars lined up and it just happened.
Whatever the reason, a lot of good teams were busted. Out of the seven teams with penalties, three of them were Chase contenders (Nos. 2, 18, and 20). All three of those teams rebounded from their pit-road miscues to record top-10 finishes and remained in the thick of the Chase race.
For more pit crew news, got to PitTalks.com.