Overheard at Assen

The one thing that makes NASCAR pitstops exciting is that the tire changes are not always done before the fuel is finished going in. Because NASCAR only allows two tire changers during a pit stop, they must change the tires on one side of the car and then run around to the other side. If they trip and fall on the way, the driver loses time. But it mixes things up a bit and makes teamwork that much more important. As it stands today, Champ Car pitstops are rather mundane. The tire change is always done way before the fuel is done so the four tire changers can pretty much sit there and twiddle their thumbs.

The fuel usually takes about 12 seconds and it takes 5 or 6 seconds to change tires on one side of the car. So if the team elects to change all four tires on a stop, the two changers will have to hustle to get around to the other side of the car and complete those two tires. This means that getting the tires done fast will be the critical element of a stop.

We discussed the concept of only allowing two tire changers over the wall with Champ Car competition boss Tony Cotman, and he said, "I like that idea a lot and it is one of many enhancements we will be evaluating for 2008."

On another note, we hear some Champ Car teams will be testing at Sebring later in September since there is now such a huge gap in the schedule to the Lexmark Indy 300, October 19-21, on the temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, Australia.