Entering the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, Shane van Gisbergen is on the bubble of the Chase, with only 31 points ahead of Ryan Preece.
To address this situation, Trackhouse Racing has opted to replace nearly all members of the pit crew for the Chevrolet number 97. The only exception is the fuel handler, who remains unchanged. This new crew comes from the Chevrolet number 16 of A.J. Allmendinger, which has shown impressive performance throughout the season.
It is worth noting that the change is due to the relationship between the two teams, as Allmendinger’s team rents out its pit crew to Trackhouse, making them the best option for this replacement.
The decision comes after van Gisbergen fell outside the top 10 due to a slow pit stop at the end of stage 1 at New Hampshire, finishing the race in twentieth place.
In addition to this significant change, the jackman and rear tire changer of William Byron will also be replaced by two new additions. This is a consequence of a penalty following an incident where a wheel disconnected during the last race.
If van Gisbergen manages to qualify for the Chase, he will be the only driver from Trackhouse to do so. His situation is precarious, as despite having a 31-point lead in the drivers’ standings, the difference in the team standings is much tighter, with the Ford number 60 from RFK Racing only 6 points behind the Chevrolet number 97.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_9a00b2dd20d5fef6cdd4b73056d82d431ab2685a