Pit road stats: Speedy stops propelling Ty Gibbs into playoff conversation
A 15th-place finish for Ty Gibbs last weekend at Richmond Raceway — his ninth finish inside the top 15 this season — illustrated the upside the 20-year-old has as he vies for a playoff berth in his first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
RELATED: Playoff Watch | 2023 Cup Series standings
However, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing driver — who currently sits 18 points below the elimination line — didn’t net another top-15 finish on young talent alone. His pit crew of front tire changer Blake Houston, rear tire changer Mike Hicks, tire carrier Jake Holmes, jackman Derrell Edwards and gasman Peyton Moore helped with some fast stops. The No. 54 team delivered two of the fastest pit stops of the year, so Gibbs’ average four-tire pit time improved compared to last week’s mark. Additionally, the No. 54 team’s average four-tire pit stop of 9.764 seconds was one of only two four-tire stops to average less than 10 seconds during a race this season (No. 48 of Alex Bowman in June at St. Louis).
Should Gibbs continue to excel on the track while his crew capitalizes on stops on pit road, the continuous grind could continue to vault the No. 54 Toyota deeper into the postseason conversation.
See below to analyze additional pit-road statistics through Richmond and before Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
TEN FASTEST FOUR-TIRE PIT STOPS IN 2023
Rank | Track | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sonoma | Kyle Busch | 9.185 seconds |
2 | Richmond-2 | Daniel Suárez | 9.260 seconds |
3 | Richmond-2 | Ty Gibbs | 9.276 seconds |
4 | Nashville | Kyle Larson | 9.281 seconds |
5 | Sonoma | Austin Cindric | 9.301 seconds |
6 | Richmond-1 | Corey LaJoie | 9.309 seconds |
7 | Nashville | Daniel Suárez | 9.333 seconds |
8 | Richmond-2 | Ty Gibbs | 9.343 seconds |
9 | Charlotte | William Byron | 9.383 seconds |
10 | Richmond-2 | Denny Hamlin | 9.408 seconds |
BEST AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOP TIMES IN 2023
Rank | Number | Driver | Average stop |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10.991 seconds |
2 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 11.067 seconds |
3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | 11.113 seconds |
4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 11.118 seconds |
5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 11.150 seconds |
6 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 11.270 seconds |
7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 11.271 seconds |
8 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | 11.285 seconds |
9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | 11.285 seconds |
10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | 11.308 seconds |
BEST PIT CREW BY RACE IN 2023
** Pit times are in seconds
Track | Fastest 4 Tire Pit | Average 4 Tire Stop |
|---|---|---|
Daytona | William Byron 11.278 | Kyle Larson 12.763 |
Auto Club | Daniel Suárez 9.777 | Ross Chastain 10.896 |
Las Vegas | Alex Bowman 9.776 | Chase Briscoe 10.259 |
Phoenix | Ty Gibbs 9.643 | Corey LaJoie 10.404 |
Atlanta | Kyle Busch 10.243 | Kyle Busch 11.094 |
COTA | Martin Truex Jr. 9.684 | Austin Dillon 10.668 |
Richmond | Corey LaJoie 9.309 | Alex Bowman 10.388 |
Bristol Dirt | NA | NA |
Martinsville | Kyle Larson 9.677 | Kyle Larson 10.051 |
Talladega | Daniel Suárez 11.011 | Ross Chastain 11.577 |
Dover | Brad Keselowski 9.766 | Brad Keselowski 10.099 |
Kansas | Bubba Wallace 9.509 | Bubba Wallace 10.121 |
Darlington | Kevin Harvick 9.576 | Martin Truex Jr. 10.162 |
Charlotte | William Byron 9.383 | William Byron 10.008 |
Gateway | Ty Gibbs 9.710 | Alex Bowman 9.743 |
Sonoma | Kyle Busch 9.185 | Kyle Busch 10.089 |
Nashville | Kyle Larson 9.281 | Chase Briscoe 10.081 |
Chicago Street | Chase Elliott 11.877 | Kyle Larson 12.799 |
Atlanta | Alex Bowman 10.177 | Daniel Suárez 11.044 |
New Hampshire | Daniel Suárez 9.677 | Denny Hamlin 10.176 |
Pocono | Denny Hamlin 9.810 | Ross Chastain 10.327 |
Richmond | Daniel Suárez 9.260 | Ty Gibbs 9.764 |
Michigan | Daniel Suárez 9.777 | Austin Dillon 10.310 |
Indianapolis RC | Ty Gibbs 11.178 | Ty Dillon 12.279 |
