Christopher Bell and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing crew were quick on their brains during the Cup Series race in Las Vegas. When the driver left the pit road with his left rear tire not properly tightened, he was instructed immediately to stop in his teammate Chase Briscoe’s pit box to get it screwed on properly. This move attracted a penalty from NASCAR.
But it was nearly not as severe as what would have been given had Bell gone to the race track with a loose wheel. The wise and swift decision-making from Bell’s crew earned the appreciation of many, Dale Earnhardt Jr. one of them.
The popular icon said on his podcast that teammates getting repairs done in each other’s boxes under such dire situations is not a big deal.
He lauded Adam Stevens, the No. 20 team’s crew chief, for the genius call and said, “Absolutely smart. Quick reaction from Adam Stevens.”
Unfortunately, he did not consider how this affects teams with a single entry. Multiple-car teams would have a significant advantage over single-car teams if this is allowed to happen prevalently, and fans pointed this out to Junior.
One fan asked, “Gives the bigger teams an advantage that one-car teams wouldn’t have. Think Penske is going to do that for the 47 team out of the kindness of their hearts?” Another fan declared, “NO! Unfair to Single Car teams.” It is rather surprising that Junior did not consider things from this point of view.
One more comment followed, “No. It’s an advantage since all teams don’t have the ability to do the same.” Finally, a fan stressed, “No, their own individual team should be the only ones to service it.” Regardless of these opinions, there is no denying that the smooth flow of thoughts between the Joe Gibbs Racing teams was nothing less than impressive.
James Small knew what he had to do when Bell came to his pit box
Briscoe’s pit box was near the pit exit in Vegas. This meant one thing: His crew chief, James Small, had to look out for the other cars in the team.
If one of them came rolled to the box in need of repairs, he was expected to do it quickly. He spoke to NBC Sports on Tuesday and revealed that they have had this understanding within the team for years.
He said, “I could see Bell trying to get to our box and I’m like he must have a loose wheel. He came in and he was pointing and I got on our in-car radio and started yelling, ‘Left front! Left front!’” Briscoe was on the track under caution at the moment and was informed about what was going on. A well thought out sequence.
Had Bell gone onto the track with the loose wheel, he would have been penalized two laps and two pit crew members would have been suspended for two weeks.