The data is conclusive: William Byron’s second-place finish in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 would not have been possible without the work of his pit crew.
The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team had a staggering day on pit road, perhaps the best pitting performance of the season — especially when considering this group maintained its poise and precision on a rain-delayed race that also serves as the longest event of the year.
The facts:
– Byron started on the pole position and therefore had the premium No. 1 pit stall.
– Throughout the race, Byron gained 19 positions on pit road.
– Byron took the lead off pit road six times.
– Three of the six single fastest four-tire pit stops of the season came at the hands of the No. 24 team on Monday, including a blistering 9.383-second pit on Lap 276.
“The car was great tonight, just not quite good enough,” Byron said after finishing runner-up. “Really proud of the effort. The pit crew was phenomenal on pit road. Those guys are just high energy.”
“Those guys” are changers Jeff Cordero and Orane Ossowski, carrier Ryan Patton, jackman Spencer Bishop and fueler Landon Walker.
The No. 24 team’s average four-tire stop time at Charlotte was 10.008 seconds, the fastest showing of all 14 regular-season races so far this year. The team also ranks first on the year in average time on four-tire pit stops (see full table below).
Other pit-road notes:
– The No. 23 pit crew of 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace dropped out of the top 10 ranking for best average time throughout the season. A rough day at Charlotte saw them fall from fifth place on the season to out of the top 10, although Wallace and team still rallied for a top-five finish at Charlotte.
– In addition to the excellence shown by Byron’s team at Charlotte, Ty Gibbs’ crew on the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had the third single-fastest four-tire stop of the season at 9.443 seconds.
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 | Charlotte | William Byron | 9.383 seconds |
| 3 | Charlotte | Ty Gibbs | 9.443 seconds |
| 4 | Charlotte | William Byron | 9.504 seconds |
| 5 | Kansas | Bubba Wallace | 9.509 seconds |
| 6 | Charlotte | William Byron | 9.541 seconds |
| t-7 | Kansas | Ty Dillon | 9.543 seconds |
| t-7 | Kansas | Daniel Suárez | 9.543 seconds |
| t-9 | Darlington | Kevin Harvick | 9.576 seconds |
| t-9 | Kansas | Josh Berry (No. 48) | 9.576 seconds |
BEST AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOP TIMES IN 2023
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 |