Pit Safety And Organization

Anyone who has ever watched a Sprint Cup race has seen how dangerous the pits can be. Cars are screaming into their pit stalls trying to save every tenth of a second, all the while trying to avoid crewmembers who are changing tires and refueling cars. It can be a very dangerous situation. What is often overlooked, however, is how potentially dangerous the pits can be while racing at your local short track. Not only can it be dangerous for the fans who are walking around, but also for the competitors because tracks pack as many cars as they can in the pits and space becomes a precious commodity.

Safety measures must be put in place to ensure that the pit area you use at your local short track is as safe as it can be for you and your crew.

A few years ago I was working with a Limited Late Model team and was having a blast doing it. A few race weekends had gone by without any problems and our driver was consistently running up front. Well, one particular weekend we were off the pace a bit and everyone was frustrated. Right before the A-main, one crewmember decided to come over to start the car and warm it up, not realizing that another crewmember and I were underneath the car lowering the track bar on the right rear. I actually had my head leaning up on the tire as I was doing the work. The crewmember failed to check to see if the car was in gear when he started it. This particular car was notorious for starting extremely quickly. Even in gear, it fired up, then took off in a straight line, heading for the trailer. It ripped the wrenches right out from my hands and threw my head to the pavement. It was a miracle that the car wasn't in reverse.

The car slammed into our pit buggy, knocking it to the ground, and it tried to jump the pit buggy and load itself back into the trailer. The entire front end of the car was smashed in and the pit buggy had a lot of damage as well. As far as the crew was concerned, injuries were limited to a bump on the head and a few scrapes on the back of the leg as crewmembers tried to avoid the falling pit buggy. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. It could have been disasterous.

It became very evident to me that day that every team has to realize that the pit area can seem very safe and secure, but given a wrong move here or there, it can quickly turn into a dangerous area. There are a few things that you can do to help prevent something from getting out of hand. Fans at the track can help out as well. Just remember, while walking around in the pit area, be on the lookout for cars that might be driving to the scales or ones that might be in a hurry to get on the track. Make sure you give these guys plenty of room.

Responsibility rests on the shoulders of drivers and crewmembers to ensure the pit area is as safe as possible. Much of this can be very simple. For starters, make sure that you pick up your area and put away all the tools. Having a clean pit area can make a huge difference in safety. I know how easy it can be to just leave everything out if you are going to be using it again shortly, but if you take a moment before practice starts and put everything away, it will pay off in the long run.

Also, anytime the car goes up in the air for any reason, it is a must that you take an extra five seconds and put a jackstand underneath it. There is no excuse not to. No matter how big a rush you are in, it is never worth getting hurt or even losing a life over. At most it will take you an extra few pumps on the jack handle and a few seconds to make the underside of your car safer.

Make sure as well that you are keeping the fuel in a safe location and not where multiple fuel containers are directly beside the generator. It is a good practice to keep the fuel in the back of the trailer. Just make sure you have a secure location that keeps it out of the sun and away from any type of spark or heat.