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Pit road stats: Crews of Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. shine at Darlington

Logan Riely | Getty Images

While both drivers experienced their fair share of late-race adversity, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. reaped the rewards from their quick pit crews last weekend at Darlington Raceway. Harvick's No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing crew dished out the single fastest four-tire pit stop of the Throwback Weekend, completing service on the SunnyD Ford in 9.576 seconds, according to Racing Insights. Their quick work kept Harvick in the hunt all day, and despite receiving damage in the penultimate crash of the afternoon, the team rallied for a season-best second-place finish, its second since Harvick's most recent win (Richmond, August 2022). RELATED: Darlington results The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team behind Truex, however, was unstoppable for most of the afternoon. The crew of front changer Lee Cunningham, carrier CJ Bailey, rear changer Danny Olszowy, jackman Caleb Dirks and fueler Matthew Tyrrell posted the best average four-tire stop of the afternoon, netting out at 10.162 seconds over the course of their afternoon. [caption id="attachment_393231" align="aligncenter" width="640"]David Jensen | Getty Images[/caption] That speedy performance helped keep the No. 19 Toyota out front to lead a race-high 145 of 295 laps after Truex's pole performance in Saturday's qualifying session. Truex's finish, however, didn't match the incredible run. A collision with Joey Logano in Turns 1 and 2 at Lap 281 triggered a multi-car crash, ending the No. 19 team's day and relegating it to a 31st-place finish. Truex's fiercest competitor of the day was none other than Ross Chastain, who he bounced off of in Turns 3 and 4 while fighting for the Stage 2 victory. Chastain was another benefactor of a fast pit crew Sunday afternoon, leading 93 laps of the Goodyear 400 thanks in part to those quick stops. ITR: Was Martin Truex Jr. too aggressive at Darlington? A steady Sunday at Darlington led Chastain's No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team to vault past William Byron's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports crew for the top spot in the year-long best average four-tire pit stop standings, now holding a series-best average of 11.088 seconds. On a downslide, however, is the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing pit crew for driver Chase Briscoe. The crew ranked second in the season average rankings following the April 16 race at 11.282 seconds. In the last month -- a stretch of four races -- the No. 14 team has slid to 14th at 11.577 seconds after Darlington. It all adds up to Friday night's NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear at North Wilkesboro Speedway ahead of Sunday night's All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Each team will perform a four-tire pit stop to determine the starting lineup for Saturday night's heat races and the All-Star Open for the 16 teams not yet locked into the All-Star Race. The winning race team will additionally be awarded a $100,000 bonus for completing the fastest stop Friday night. MORE: Get up to speed on All-Star format | Details on Pit Crew Challenge See below to analyze additional pit-road statistics from Racing Insights.

10 FASTEST FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS IN 2023

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BEST AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS TIMES IN 2023

BEST PIT CREW BY RACE IN 2023

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