SHANE van Gisbergen will have a new look over the wall pit crew ahead of this weekend’s crunch NASCAR Cup Series cut-off race at Daytona International Speedway.
Trackhouse Racing has shuffled its existing pit stop team, except for its refueller, with the outfit set to be replaced by AJ Allmendinger’s crew from Kaulig Racing.
Both over-the-wall crews train out of Trackhouse.
It is commonplace in NASCAR, especially with smaller teams, for pit crew resources to be shared, with lead ‘house cars’ regularly taking on board high-performing members from their development pipeline.
This weekend is significant for SVG, who holds 16th in the points standings, with a 31-point advantage over Ryan Preece, and the top 16 in the standings after the weekend advance to the rejuvenated Chase.
Last year, van Gisbergen qualified for the Playoffs by virtue of his four regular-season victories, which saw him ultimately claim 12th in the final rundown and Rookie of the Year honours.
Pit stops at Daytona are seen as all-important, with track position at the end of stages an imperative.
In the past, significant fuel-saving activity has typically resulted in a lack of on-track passing.
This weekend, NASCAR is trialling a new aerodynamic package on the cars, which it hopes will spice up the action.
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