Speed was plentiful at Kansas Speedway last weekend, and that wasn’t just for the Next Gen cars alone.
Pit road was popping in the Sunflower State as teams put up some of the fastest times of the year. According to data by Racing Insights, six of the 10 single fastest four-tire pit stops of the year came at Kansas, including spots 2-6 on the list (full top 10 is below).
RELATED: Kansas results
The quickest of those was on Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota for the 23XI Racing team. His stop of 9.509 seconds on Lap 84 was the best of the day and the second-fastest of the entire season among all NASCAR Cup Series teams.
Most teams now display their own pit-stop time in their own pit box, and the data from the Next Gen cars essentially allows teams to see everybody’s times. At least one pit crew member credits that visibility leading to a spirit of competition at Kansas.
“I think when you start seeing faster stops, people start reaching for that,” said Ryan Flores, tire changer on the Team Penske No. 12 team and co-host of the “Stacking Pennies” podcast. “The only way to start reaching for that time is to take a bigger risk. Some guys fall in love with a certain (time) trying to be faster, and pit road is as hard as it’s ever been. The risk matches the reward, but the risk is really high.”
Wallace’s team consistently hit on pit road all day. In addition to having the fastest time on one four-tire stop, the No. 23 team also averaged the best time on all four-tire stops at 10.121 seconds.
Buoyed by the strength of crew Austin Dickey (front changer), Adam Hartman (rear changer), Brad Donaghy (tire carrier), Jorden Paige (jackman) and
Joshua Pech (fueler), Wallace drove to a fourth-place finish at Kansas, tied for his best finish of the year.
That pit-road performance moves the No. 23 team into fifth place on the season-long chart of fastest average four-tire pit stops of the year (see more below). William Byron’s No. 24 crew remains at the top of the rankings following Kansas.
See below to analyze additional pit-road statistics from Racing Insights.
10 FASTEST FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS IN 2023
| Rank | Track | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | Corey LaJoie | 9.309 seconds |
| 2 | Kansas | Bubba Wallace | 9.509 seconds |
| t-3 | Kansas | Ty Dillon | 9.543 seconds |
| t-3 | Kansas | Daniel Suárez | 9.543 seconds |
| t-5 | Kansas | Josh Berry (No. 48) | 9.576 seconds |
| t-5 | Kansas | Kyle Larson | 9.576 seconds |
| 7 | Richmond | Corey LaJoie | 9.615 seconds |
| t-8 | Phoenix | Ty Gibbs | 9.643 seconds |
| t-8 | Kansas | Aric Almirola | 9.643 seconds |
| 10 | Richmond | Chase Briscoe | 9.647 seconds |
BEST AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS TIMES IN 2023
| Rank | Number | Driver | Average stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | 11.227 seconds |
| 2 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 11.237 seconds |
| t-3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 11.253 seconds |
| t-3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 11.253 seconds |
| 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 11.257 seconds |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 11.402 seconds |
| 7 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 11.445 seconds |
| 8 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | 11.447 seconds |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 11.519 seconds |
| 10 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | 11.549 seconds |
BEST PIT CREW BY RACE IN 2023
** Pit Times are in seconds
| Track | Fastest 4 Tire Pit | Average 4 Tire Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Daytona | William Byron 11.278 | Kyle Larson 12.763 |
| Auto Club | Daniel Suárez 9.777 | Ross Chastain 10.896 |
| Las Vegas | Alex Bowman 9.776 | Chase Briscoe 10.259 |
| Phoenix | Ty Gibbs 9.643 | Corey LaJoie 10.404 |
| Atlanta | Kyle Busch 10.243 | Kyle Busch 11.094 |
| COTA | Martin Truex Jr. 9.684 | Austin Dillon 10.668 |
| Richmond | Corey LaJoie 9.309 | Alex Bowman 10.388 |
| Bristol Dirt | NA | NA |
| Martinsville | Kyle Larson 9.677 | Kyle Larson 10.051 |
| Talladega | Daniel Suárez 11.011 | Ross Chastain 11.577 |
| Dover | Brad Keselowski 9.766 | Brad Keselowski 10.099 |
| Kansas | Bubba Wallace 9.509 | Bubba Wallace 10.121 |
| Darlington | Kevin Harvick 9.576 | Martin Truex Jr. 10.162 |
| Charlotte | William Byron 9.383 | William Byron 10.008 |
| Gateway | Ty Gibbs 9.710 | Alex Bowman 9.743 |
| Sonoma | Kyle Busch 9.185 | Kyle Busch 10.089 |
| Nashville | Kyle Larson 9.281 | Chase Briscoe 10.081 |
| Chicago Street | Chase Elliott 11.877 | Kyle Larson 12.799 |
| Atlanta | Alex Bowman 10.177 | Daniel Suárez 11.044 |
| New Hampshire | Daniel Suárez 9.677 | Denny Hamlin 10.176 |
| Pocono | Denny Hamlin 9.810 | Ross Chastain 10.327 |
| Richmond | Daniel Suárez 9.260 | Ty Gibbs 9.764 |
| Michigan | Daniel Suárez 9.777 | Austin Dillon 10.310 |
| Indianapolis RC | Ty Gibbs 11.178 | Ty Dillon 12.279 |
| Watkins Glen | Bubba Wallace 10.942 | Kyle Larson 12.456 |
| Daytona | Erik Jones 10.277 | Erik Jones 11.578 |
| Darlington | Chase Briscoe 9.409 | Austin Dillon 10.134 |