I sat in the grandstand for the second V8 Supercars race last Saturday and noticed this mechanic from the Motorsport Holdings team resting against the barrier towards the end of the race. I suspect his work was over for the race because both his team’s cars had already completed their mandatory pit stop.
The Austin races were reasonably short – 27 laps or 100 miles each – and each car has to make at least one visit to the pits for a tire change during this period. Oddly enough, it seems that there are particular laps that are more popular for the stop than others so the pit lane became rather crowded about half way through the race.
While watching some practice stops on Friday evening, I couldn’t see who was responsible for jacking the car up as the wheels were changed. On closer inspection, I noticed that the cars themselves included integrated pneumatic or hydraulic jacking systems. When the car stops, the driver engages the jack which lifts the car about 6 inches off the ground giving the pit crew the clearance they need to replace the wheels.