The Indianapolis 500 can be decided by the blink of an eye. Six times in the past 10 years, the margin of victory was less than 1 second. In 2023, Josef Newgarden beat Marcus Ericcson in a one-lap shootout by 0.0974 seconds.
While the drivers and team owners get most of the glory, the work by the pit crews is critical in determining the champion. Here's more about what goes into an Indy 500 pit stop. Air Jack Car Lift
There's no set number, but the most common number of pit stops among contenders is six or seven. The number of caution flags, and when they occur, play a role in determining how many stops a driver makes.
An ideal pit stop takes about 7 seconds. A stop includes changing four tires, filling an 18.5-gallon fuel tank and making any desired wing adjustments to create optimum aerodynamics.
The pit stop process takes longer, because the driver must not exceed the 60 mph pit road speed limit when entering pit road and leaving the pit box. The driver also must avoid contact with other cars along pit road and not strike crew members or pit equipment.
Infractions bring penalties, often a "drive-through," which means the driver must bring the car through pit road at the pit speed limit while racing on the track continues.
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Six people comprise the "over-the-wall" members of the pit crew: left front tire changer; left rear tire changer; right front tire changer; right rear tire changer; fueler, and jack operator. They wear fireproof suits and a helmet, just like the driver.
Jack operator: Operates the pneumatic air jack that lifts the car 4 inches off the ground, allowing the tire changers to do their jobs, and disengages the jack after tire work is done but before the driver leaves the pit box.
Fueler: Attaches a hose to the fuel tank, allowing 18.5 gallons of fuel into the car, then disengages the hose without spillage.
4 tire changers: Each carries a tire to be exchanged during the stop. Front tires typically weigh about 13.5 pounds, and rear tires 14.7 pounds. The changer uses a tire gun to remove the wheel nut, removes the tire by hand, puts the new tire on and makes it secure, all in less than 6 seconds.
When the right front tire changer has completed a change, he holds up a hand, then drops it to indicate that it's OK for the driver leave the pit box.
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Pit road is also known as pit row and the pit lane. The pit box is also known as the pit stall.
The IndyCar Series uses an 85%/15% methanol/gasoline blend, also called E85.
Pit road is 40 feet wide and 2,263 feet long (42% of a mile) from the start of the attenuator at pit entrance to the end of the wall at pit exit.
For Post Car Lift Business Insider profiled a pit crew in 2021, showing how tire changers train for the race season.