NASCAR announced Wednesday that starting in 2018, the sanctioning body will standardize the number of at-track individuals who work on each race car for all three national series.
Below are quick bullet points.
– How is a team roster determined?
There are three categories that make up a team roster: Organization Level (such as competition director), road crew (such as mechanics) and pit crew. Each level has a standard on how many employees a team can bring to the track each weekend.
– What is that standard?
For the Monster Energy Series, it’s three roster spots at the Organization Level for a one- or two-car organization, and four roster spots for three- to four-car organizations. Twelve roster spots are allotted for the road crew. Five roster spots are for the over-the-wall pit crew.
– Is that one fewer spot for pit crews than this year?
Yes. That number goes from six to five, which means we’ll see some real ingenuity next year as teams adapt.
– Can you give me another example of an “Organization Level” job?
Think of this as the competition directors, team managers, technical directors and IT specialists.
– And how about the road crew?
This is like the crew chief (crew chief doesn’t count as part of the pit crew), car chief, engineers, mechanics, shock specialists, tire specialists, spotters, aero specialists, engine tuner … you get the point.
– Will NASCAR dictate the exact positions in each roster level a team must bring?
Nope. That’s up to the teams. A team can bring one crew chief and 11 mechanics to complete its road crew, if that’s what it wants. Or it can be made up of a crew chief, car chief, five mechanics, two engineers, three specialists. You get the idea.
– What about tracks that typically use multiple spotters?
An additional Road Crew roster spot will be granted for road courses and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
– OK, how is the breakdown different for the other two NASCAR national series?
In the NASCAR XFINITY Series, the rosters include one individual at the Organizational Level, seven at the Road Crew level and five at Pit Crew Level. In addition, for 10 races during the season, a team may bring one additional roster member.
In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the rosters include one individual at the Organizational Level, six at the Road Crew level and five at Pit Crew Level. In addition, for five races during the season, a team may bring one additional roster member.
Series | Organizational | Road Crew | Pit Crew | Misc. |
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup | 3 or 4* | 12 | 5 | Additional road crew spot at road courses, Indianapolis |
XFINITY Series | 1 | 7 | 5 | Additional road crew spot available at 10 races |
Camping World Truck Series | 1 | 6 | 5 | Additional road crew spot available at five races |
* Dependent on how many cars the organization runs.
– Will team members be easily identified?
Yes. Starting in 2018, each roster member will be assigned a number/letter based on position. It must be visible at all times throughout the weekend at the track.
– Will rosters be public?
Yes. Teams must submit them prior to the race weekend.
– Why the change in over-the-wall crew going from six to five?
We’ll let Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Office Steve O’Donnell explain: “First and foremost, it’s safety, and we’ve taken some steps in our own house in reducing the number of officials on pit road. We’ve got some of the best athletes in the world out there on pit road, so we’ll want to showcase them in as safe an environment as we can.
“Everybody obviously wants to see it play out on the track, but everyone kept in mind that our goal is to make the racing even better and to allow the possibility for even more teams to win a race and compete on pit road.”