The first three weeks of the 2018 NASCAR season have brought more mentions of pit guns or air guns than ever before. Here’s why.
Pit guns are part of the essential set of tools that every NASCAR pit crew uses every week. Also called air guns, they aren’t something that gets much attention or that fans have much reason to think about. But their importance can’t be overstated, as they are used by tire changers to get the lug nuts off and on as quickly as possible during pit stops.
In 2018, pit guns have suddenly rocketed to fame or infamy, depending on your point of view, getting mentioned on the TV broadcast of every race so far. Why the change and higher profile?
Prior to this year, teams all supplied their own put guns. As racing organizations are wont to do, trying to gain any possible advantage, this led to all of them spending a bunch of money and resources trying to develop faster air guns to shave precious time off pit stops.
To put an end to this de facto pit road arms race, NASCAR mandated that all teams use pit guns issued by NASCAR itself. In theory, this not only saves everyone money but puts the emphasis on the athleticism and coordination of pit crews when it comes to whose stops are the fastest.
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Unfortunately, “in theory” is the operative phrase. Each of the first three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races of the season have featured issues with the guns, even affecting teams running up front like Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 bunch. It’s a bad look that NASCAR has to be scrambling to take care of — they did make some changes to the hoses that connect to the guns for Las Vegas — before faulty standardized equipment help decide the outcome of a race.
Several drivers have spoken out about their displeasure with the rule change, stating that the reason their crews preferred having their own guns was for reliability reasons, not speed. Darrell Waltrip mentioned on the Las Vegas TV broadcast that race organizations constantly put new parts in their pit guns during the week to make sure they wouldn’t fail in the heat of competition.
Whatever the reasons for the early season troubles, believe that people are working hard to figure out a solution. NASCAR would undoubtedly prefer that its air guns go back to their former level of anonymity, and the sooner the better.