How IndyCar Pit Crews Are Trained | What It Takes

To pull off a successful pit stop during an IndyCar race, it takes a team of highly skilled and physically fit crew members including tire technicians, air-jack operators, fuelers, and coaches. During a typical pit stop, the crew changes all four tires and adds 18.5 gallons of fuel in less than seven seconds. In May, Insider followed the Andretti Autosport pit crew as they prepared for the 2021 Indianapolis 500. In the week leading up to the race, the team worked out at PitFit, a fitness center specifically designed to train pit crew members. The team also conducted dozens of pit stop practices at the Andretti Autosport practice facility and tested their state-of-the-art cars at the famed speedway on Carb Day ahead of IndyCar's most famous race.
MORE WHAT IT TAKES VIDEOS:
How Hollywood Stunt Drivers Are Trained
• How Stunt Drivers Are ...
What It Takes To Be A White House Photographer
• What It Takes To Be A ...
What It Takes To Be An NBA Referee
• What It Takes To Be An...
------------------------------------------------------
#PitCrews #WhatItTakes #BusinessInsider
Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business, finance, tech, retail, and more.
Visit us at: www.businessinsider.com
Subscribe: / businessinsider
BI on Facebook: read.bi/2xOcEcj
BI on Instagram: read.bi/2Q2D29T
BI on Twitter: read.bi/2xCnzGF
BI on Amazon Prime: read.bi/PrimeVideo
How IndyCar Pit Crews Are Trained | What It Takes

[@millbean13]

I don’t think anybody looks at a pit stop and says, “that looks so easy.”

[@ZOCCOK]

True, very true

[@shehranazim4784]

I think it's more like they make it look easy. You see the car come in, then a few seconds later, it leaves with a fresh set of tyres and a full tank. A lot of us to to the local garage, and Dave the tubby mechanic is struggling to get the first nut off the wheel.

[@cuzimpoor7785]

It is easy, thats the point. Any able bodied person who can lift a tire and pull a trigger could do it. You would just have to do it a thousand times to do it under 7 seconds. Doesn’t mean it’s difficult.

[@captainchaos4896]

@@cuzimpoor7785 I've come to see the experts' opinion

[@sammyjames3466]

ah yes lifting a tire up so hard

[@nehemyah6986]

“Hopefully less that 7seconds if you’re good” Red Bull: Pathetic Mercedes: Please teach us

[@xanrhind9350]

hahahahaha

[@TONYSTARK-rz7zr]

Red bull is insane at their pit stop should see their training but i think they wont reveal their secret

[@rswolf0]

Bono my tyres are gone

[@SevenHunnid]

I quit my job to smoke weed on my KZbin channel, i thought it was a better choice lmao

[@altanhasbay7357]

LESSS GOOO

[@elscruffomcscruffy8371]

Pit crew, like offensive linemen, they do all the dirty work and no one notices until the driver is delayed or QB sacked

[@TheodoreBrosevelt]

The big uglies in their profession

[@muhammadzidnii2577]

Goalkeepers/Goaltenders as well, no one notices them until they make errors

[@redscorpion781]

F1 pit crew does it harder, plus the driving is much harder than the pit crew job.

[@drawsgaming7094]

If they do their job right, no-one notices.

[@redscorpion781]

@@drawsgaming7094 Nope, I remember going to a formula 1 race and we saw a really fast pit sop because I was on the pit straight watching from the opposite side of the paddock where all the people are and when we saw that Red Bull pit stop, the crowd went wild and so did I

[@FinancialShinanigan]

Trainer: Are you training for American Ninja Warrior? "No, pit crew." Trainer: ...

[@akshat8252]

Trainer ;👁️💧👁️

[@bebo4809]

Trainer: so harder than ninja warrior?

[@cloroxbleach7554]

My boy Guido did it in less than 5 seconds.

[@andriealinsangao613]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[@elgenetiamzon1062]

"Pit stop"

[@caddyrack]

....he did it in the bathroom? wow....

[@JV-pu8kx]

Someone had to mention him.

[@wanderingfirbolg6738]

I thought F1 pit crews had it hard with two second pitstops but these crewmembers are doing a lot by themselves, and a lot more times in a race. Hats off to them!

[@Shin-lh9ih]

F1 is still hard, if u mess up and got 7 second pit stop time, u cost the team position and points

[@KoeiNL]

I think the coordination of 3 people per wheel is more impressive.

[@enginesandmore1013]

No one, literally no one: Some pitcrew: "people say a pitstop looks easy"

[@grootwastaken]

Bro pitstop looks easy

[@hejhej1847]

@@grootwastaken no

[@grootwastaken]

@@hejhej1847 jk

[@alieffauzanrizky7202]

@@hejhej1847 But for real it "looks" so easy. You pull the tire and put the tire then go.

[@chrish.60]

@@grootwastaken love to see you do one

[@ericjamesphotography]

My only take away is “going into that first turn at 230 miles an hour.” So insane!

[@wanr5701]

F1: We need dedicated man to become gunner, tyre pusher, tyre puller. Indycar: dedicated gunner? Never heard of it!

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

@@Ami_BK Except IndyCar and F1 were both equally popular and loved in the 90s. Educate yourself, look up on the history of the Split.

[@wahedeenhoorn6444]

only dedicated gunners in the usa are walking into schools

[@dylanportillo2317]

I used to load containers with tires, and to this day i haven’t found a job more physically demanding. But Jessica is out here making that rim and slick look light af. Maybe im just weak

[@motorsportmoments]

This honestly looks fun. I watch races every week and maybe this could be my job.

[@AbdulAziz4CaNaDa]

Wish u the best Justine

[@etto9398]

Goodluck!!

[@oliviao2238]

I was thinking the same thing, Justin. You're quick as hell and super motivated. It would be a shame if you did not try out. Bonus it pays more than what you're making now.

[@oliviao2238]

@@vander9678 Also, the roses are bleak, understanding comes through a tire on the side of a road, and that road is the lincoln canal. The magnitude of a true bbq wordsmith is amazing, with no trampoline in favor of a red flag.

[@newbeginning7829]

Looks boring 😴

[@Fredisaviewer]

I admire how focused these people must be. When watching Indycar, if you've ever seen when things go wrong like when Graham Rahal's tire slipped off right after a pit stop, then you know how wrong things can go. Another thing to realize from this is the gravity of what is at stake with what each of these people do. One slip up could cost someone their life. So I can't help but admire these people.

[@amjan]

IndyCar pitstops are my favourite! There's the perfect number of people working, which makes pitstops perfect in duration, and they feel very meaningful as you see everybody's effort.

[@user-kf5cg6ln3l]

Definitely

[@liam7989]

"hopefully less than 7 seconds" Red Bull: lol

[@themangix357]

Bro, even the woman is SINGLE HANDEDLY taking off the tires! THOSE TIRES are 10+ KG, not too heavy, but the way these guys flick it off, they make it look easy. Respect!

[@kummer45]

These are the videos that literally makes people appreciate this motor sport. Please keep producing them.

[@Lucky8s]

Sometimes I wish Formula 1 still had refueling, but I remind myself that it's probably for the best for safety.

[@I_AM_HYDRAA]

?

[@pemujakufaku2031]

Felipe Massa: [singapore flashback]

[@TheNFSJacob]

They wouldn't need to get rid of refueling if they didn't have a classroom of people changing the tires on the car. If they brought back refueling, they could bring back smaller cars that could actually race on Monaco.

[@Lucky8s]

@@TheNFSJacob I'm not sure what you're talking about. Refueling in Formula 1 was not affected by the pit crew on tires. There were multiple instances of fires and personnel getting injured by hoses that got ripped off because drivers left before they should've

[@TheNFSJacob]

​@@Lucky8s Have you ever wondered if the extremely quick pit stops, combined with refueling made it so the margin for error was too small? When the pitstops are in the 2 - 3 second range, its way more likely someone is going to make a major mistake that will result in injury. It would have made way more sense to simply reduce the amount of crewmembers allowed to work on the car, instead of getting rid of refueling all together. The only time fires happen in Indycar is the rare occasion when some fuel drips its way near the exhaust (and almost all the time, the fire goes out once the car gets going) Besides, less people surrounding the car = less people to get injured in the rare event of a mistake from the fuel man.

[@LowEndMarauder]

The fitness and hand-eye coordination training is very cool. Reminds me of what some elite boxers do like Lomachenko etc.

[@randomdude5083]

These guys are record holders in fruit ninja

[@dennispremoli7950]

While I agree that obvs F1 pit stops are more impressive in terms of times (way shorter) do keep in mind that there is a limit on how many people can work on the car. In f1, for example, you have 3 people per wheel, not 1!!

[@sexy_tanjiro8878]

It's unbelievable that some racing competitions they have restrictions on how many people can work in a pit stop.

[@TheNFSJacob]

@@sexy_tanjiro8878 it's unbelievable that some series ban refueling, and rather have massive cars that create garbage racing.

[@amjan]

@@sexy_tanjiro8878 It's unbelievable that some racing competitions do not have restrictions on how many people can stand around a car during a race. In F1 it's literaly a full crowd.

[@Youthuba]

@@TheNFSJacob your races are mostly in ovals bruh, garbage racing 😂🤡

[@Youthuba]

@@TheNFSJacob and refueling is a fire hazard and is extremely unsafe

[@ionizedmax3114]

Um why not show detailed footage about what the car lifter does and the fueler as well?

[@NoMansSpace]

I'm not sure who looked at this and thought it was easy? the time pressure alone is killer

[@Nightwatcher20]

If nothing else, these guys make me wanna get in shape 😂

[@kk-jm2xl]

Really love how much y’all getting into Motorsport lately

[@aluaikaa8453]

Indycars 6 man crew: gas and tires F1 15 man crew: 4 tires only

[@puntoni]

Super Formula: 3 man crew

[@aluaikaa8453]

@@puntoni Now we're talking here, forget 15 and 6 man crews!

[@Youthuba]

@@aluaikaa8453 in Indy car. 6 men are enough since it takes a while to refuel. It won't make much difference if indy had 14 people just like f1

[@aluaikaa8453]

@@Youthubaim explaining why the difference in pitstop times. Alot of f1 fans like to comment how quicker f1 is compared to indycar pitstops, without saying why they are faster. Plus we cant play the "if" game. Bottom line, f1 is quicker because they don't refuel and have a 15 man pit crew compared to 6 in indycars.

[@Jimbo7]

@@aluaikaa8453 It's not that big of a difference in literal manpower. F1 is just missing a refueler, has an extra person to remove and replace the tire, and one guy who literally just hits the button to signal it's good to go. Indy would be just as fast if they didn't have to refuel though, you're absolutely correct

[@20moonpie]

Much respect I love the speed and techniques 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@RaumBances]

Thank you for producing a video I can show people who say racing shouldn't be a sport. Ignorance is the problem. Having videos like this will help.

[@thatonerandomkid907]

Idk why but this has always been satisfying to watch

[@jengable4888]

That is impressive ! It is a total team effort in order to make sure that the driver's vehicle is ready to go back into the track. Good for Jessica ! It reminds me of the crew that is on a Navy ship, when handling the jets.

[@MrBurgerphone1014]

0:52 That's a funky thrown together looking chassis.

[@coyy9106]

Ikr, and I think there's a electric motor in it too.

[@jazzybeardancer]

You got to appreciate the athleticism and professionalism of the pit crew. The driver is definitely one to show the work but the whole team behind makes it all the more fun. Much more respect for these men and women after watching

[@aravenlunatic9028]

Really cool video. I've never been interested in auto racing but I definitely admire these pit crews. Thanks for showingcasing THEIR talent,training,and determination to help their driver win. Well done. 👍✌

[@ricardougalde9516]

Pit stop looks like its own sport

[@shrijit5254]

I think IndyCar should be a household name just like Formula 1. It's equally exciting and entertaining to watch, and a lot of technological know-how and hard work goes into making it happen.

[@craigkingdon4424]

It would require more money that they unfortunately don't have. I'd honestly love to see it on a more international level, but it just doesn't have the cash flow.

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

It used to be a household name in the 90s... but then the split happened. It's now slowly recovering and thanks to Grosjeans comeback story it's getting the attention it needs :)

[@nella_asian5]

Yes!!! Finally some Indy spotlight baby!!!!

[@ebonystone8890]

Brilliant...they are so skilled.

[@rajj8074]

I like how the scream of joy off a 20 second pitstop

[@MaydayKeeper]

Fun fact: Those tyre changes and refuellers earn about $10,000 a race and upto $350,000 per year, heck even the tyre carrier man gets like $270,000 a year

[@Smokie1523]

Good luck, rookies! Lookin forward to seein some quick stops this year!

[@sashank506]

Business Insiders Never fails thanks for the video 🏎️🏎️

[@Bigheadguyfromsmolmovie]

lel

[@charliemaybe]

Also Mercedes wheel gun only go burr to strip a nut

[@Bigheadguyfromsmolmovie]

Mercedes also has the record for the longest pit stop 43 hours

[@madsnovember1614]

Well since an Indycar mechanic is doing the job of three F1 mechanics they are actually faster than the F1 mechanics as it relates to man hours.

[@pavise6333]

FIA: Technical Directive go brrrr

[@Bigheadguyfromsmolmovie]

@@charliemaybe Bono my wheel nut is gone

[@iceq248]

Me sees that and blinks: 🤨 Also me when they already done: 🤯

[@aaronzhuo909]

Red Bull: *chuckling intensifies*

[@Jordan-xx9ux]

You are a slow ass blinker then.

[@yuzupepperino6376]

Go see the 1.86 sec pitstop from red bull

[@thedeamonmeteor69420]

Huh... For me, anything above 3 seconds is slow

[@TheMec1978]

Es genial! Me encanta esta categoría. Saludos desde Argentina.

[@generic2021]

hearing the cars go by the pit going “nyoooom” never get old

[@DaddychiLL6]

When he said 7 seconds cut that down to 4 second never new a pit stop was that fast

[@livelyosprey]

You should see F1

[@TheNFSJacob]

@AudiR8Fanboy F1 also needs like 4 people to change one tire. Not impressive at all.

[@TheNFSJacob]

@AudiR8Fanboy read what im saying. i wasnt dissing indycar.

[@alinnson3256]

@AudiR8Fanboy F1 has more money to burn

[@MrMaxyield]

Great video...👏 next formula one...!🔥👀

[@aaronzhuo909]

the videos gonna last 2 sec LOL

[@ricbaluya1718]

This is amazing

[@lgrello1214]

Just wen I was ready to give up the KZbin community showed me wat real love felt like dis for you thankyou an I'm nothing without you ASÉ 🎼

[@alexchavez9421]

Shutup

[@abhishekchoudhary1846]

That really looks Simple but actually very hard to do.. 😯

[@joshuasyrtash860]

Good video! Always wonder how that was done!

[@drjones694]

That was so cool to learn about and see

[@bauti46]

amazing job

[@epickimster2255]

Mercedes needs some advice on how to do pit stops

[@pavise6333]

Instead of complaining about the other team's safety

[@xxDxxism]

But they executed a flawless double stop. Your point being?

[@xxDxxism]

@@pavise6333 other teams agreed with the new rule. Your point being?

[@hamentaschen]

"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."

[@daveblevins3322]

Never knew about this. Excellent 👌 Thank you 👍🇺🇸

[@rudram525]

Oh excellent training

[@4bigface]

great video!! can you do one about F1 pit crew too?

[@valantian9673]

Rawr

[@Billy123bobzzz]

Excellent!

[@SnorticusClavicus]

My hand eye coordination is impeccable. Maybe this should be my career path.

[@jmstudios5294]

“You have to hydrate weeks before” What?

[@alaefarmestatesllc]

U think rehydrating happens instantly?

[@jmstudios5294]

@@alaefarmestatesllc I am an “athlete” and you can be hydrated in a few hours

[@alaefarmestatesllc]

@@jmstudios5294 lol yeah with IV and IV only

[@jmstudios5294]

@@alaefarmestatesllc not even

[@alaefarmestatesllc]

@@jmstudios5294 ok bro. You sound so silly. Better go do some research on how long it takes to naturally rehydrate after dehydrating yourself

[@chris-hayes]

Damn she's ripping those tires out with ease. That's incredible. Watching that makes me want to bench press.

[@gold9994]

She forced her way, not talk her way.

[@chris-hayes]

@Disguised Dv8ant my comment didn't mention any of that. I just said I was impressed with her strength and I wanted to workout. I understand the point you're trying to make, but this comment thread wasn't the place.

[@chris-hayes]

@Disguised Dv8ant the video is titled "How IndyCar pit crew are trained", nobody asked for your opinions on issues nobody mentioned

[@sammyjr6989]

@Disguised Dv8ant you found the SIMP comment before me. Every video with some B.S like this always has a simp. He watched 5 seconds of her and like 8 minutes of the men training but went straight to talking her up. I always find the simp in these videos.

[@sammyjr6989]

@Rafael Acosta Go ahead educate me please

[@bakerkawesa]

I thank the gods of KZbin for recommending this to me.

[@theairportchauffeur7142]

So Damn Cool!!!

[@ermonnezzasoio]

Happy to see a woman being part of the team!

[@jonathanbravo6544]

"You have to start hydrating weeks before a race" bahahahahaha

[@emmanuelguzman5944]

Never thought so much went into this.

[@usemilter2770]

damn that track is good what a nice left turn

[@christyjohnson9679]

You only have so many busy hours in a day, let others make the money for you!

[@christyjohnson9679]

Never depend on single income. Make investments to create a second source. Diversify your streams of income today by investing in cryptocurrency

[@aurthurlarry9002]

We're always busy and yet we have nothing to show for it. Sad

[@christopherbrain4472]

My wife and I already invested in bitcoin mining with Mrs Kettere Sarah

[@harrysmith5129]

As the economy is shifting, you need to have legitimate and creative sources of extra income. There are opportunities available that people have been using for years now

[@estakim41]

People go into bitcoin mining wrongly and that's why they always complain about loses.

[@vijaysagar330]

If electric vehicles charged at same rate I would definitely buy one

[@killawalez3944]

Damn that was so Interesting!!!! I never thought how complicated it was, feel like I should do some of those brain exercises lol

[@gitban]

“Inside rear tyre changer”, that’s the job and the title in one shot!

[@jamesburger1097]

Literally no one said it was easy

[@devyadav3273]

When you realise these guys are more fit than racers

[@disonwijeratne2532]

wouldn't say so. Their necks are not strong as the racers so they won't be able to pull as much G as a racer in most forms of motorsports.

[@Omar-of5cr]

No

[@leolow2057]

Maybe. But does it matter? For racers their driving skills are priority, not fitness. Vice versa.

[@jamalkamara3835]

This is the video that I never knew that I was wanted always an unconscious question in my head

[@soledieairvideos5974]

I love to see you guys do one on F1 pit crews

[@cartman4885]

Pit crews aren't given enough credit or the hard work they do................

[@TheNFSJacob]

Here comes the F1 kids who get offended whenever they see a Motorsport that isn't F1.

[@disonwijeratne2532]

yeah. every motorsport is unique you can't compare all of them. enjoy their differences.

[@hanadd7034]

Indycar is underrated!!

[@1bwight]

Wish they could change my tires that fast...amazing work

[@jessica1733]

that's what I was thinking oil changes used to take maybe 15 minutes now, it takes like an hour ,,,,why? and the process I believe is the same so why is it so expensive now

[@KevinP32270]

EPIC.

[@szillar3283]

Red bull could do 3 pit stops in this time 😂

[@metrofilmer8894]

True but Red Bull would also have nearly 4x as many crew members who can set up in the pit box before hand

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

@@metrofilmer8894 + RB doesn't refuel like every other F1 team. During the refueling era, F1 stops used to be 6-8 seconds long.

[@IrtiqaAhmad]

Judging from things she said I feel like Jessica Mace is high

[@oliviao2238]

More like high on fumes.

[@oliviao2238]

@Disguised Dv8ant In other words, total badass.

[@oliviao2238]

@Disguised Dv8ant She was a guest on CNN, and they showed the scenes segment, where she changed close to 7 tires at a rapid-fire pace. But, unfortunately, certain outlets would not give her the time of day. In fact, everyone's talking about it.

[@Official_Mammoth421]

Imagine breaking down on the side of the road and these guys pull over to help

[@foodleveling]

Thank you for sharing for Indycar pit look interesting I Food Leveling

[@jake6112]

So basically, they have to practise IndyGarage first to learn how to take off and put tyres IndyCar before they're allowed to go IndyPit.

[@lamonticus583]

The comparisons between F1 and Indycar are so cringy and unecessary, In F1 we have like a person for every little task, of course it's gonna be faster

[@afk218]

Very cool.

[@kingmvs2857]

Well done. To safe racing

[@Mocktailmetal]

The training is nightmare for people with cerebral palpsi!

[@jman94]

For all the f1 fanboys saying “2 SeCoNd PiT sToPs”: F1 teams have 3 people per tire and no refueling, of course they’re going to be quicker. Meanwhile in Indycar, Jessica over here is bench pressing and doing what takes 3 dudes to do a in 2 second stop all in a little over 4 seconds

[@lukenikoteen2019]

That's pretty Kool....

[@olenaerhardt7725]

I was amazes to learn about Pit Crews and their work of so high quality, especially there was one lady (Jessica Mace) there. I've recently learned how to replace the tires on the wheels and did 15 already for 3 of our cars (10 usual and 5 w/TPMS sensors). The last car had steel wheels and it was very hard for me to put them on the car. I was so much impressed how the lady from the film was grabbing the tire just with one hand and put new one w/another hand. It would be interesting to know those mechanics who work there are they trained to do just certain type of maintenance work on IndyCars, or they are very professional mechanics who can do any work on the car? Are they the best from Dealerships, or they have very special and different training? Thank you for this great film.

[@kivol.3454]

So all this work and effort would be vanished thanks to the maFIA.

[@mrbloodmuffins]

This is IndyCar and isn't affected by the FIA's change to the F1 pit stop procedure.

[@kivol.3454]

@@mrbloodmuffins HAHA I know, I just didn't mentioned it because I think it was obvious

[@pavise6333]

After a certain team got mad their pit stop costed them the win at the previous race

[@peetukivi2997]

When market conditions are negative, there are endless opportunities and very little time for studies, what advantage of the current conditions in the crypto market should be advised?

[@valentinjean7754]

Salary is the bribe you are given to forget your dreams, family, freedom, self-esteem, academics, social life, and other personal goals. That is why I don't trade, I choose to invest with a professional assigned by a crypto company that trades with the best wins and returns profits weekly for me and you can invest your capital and get weekly Returns of investment (ROI) without any extra fees attached

[@valentinjean7754]

The professional is Mr. Charles Moore

[@dawnkellogg5887]

@@valentinjean7754 Sometimes you have to just try something to see how it’ll work and other times you just have to stop and think. Which one are you more inclined towards because i think the best way is to invest with a professional, at least it saves the trauma of too many losses. This just surprised me because I also invest with Charles moore

[@andresilveira9675]

Wow! I made a lot of money last year trading with Charles Moore

[@andresilveira9675]

Damn......He is really a professional with his new strategies.

[@anthonybrinskey6159]

Wow!

[@haikaladnan8648]

Damn that's insane

[@lookattheworldwme]

I can just see redbull f1 ppl coming out of the shadows

[@lookattheworldwme]

@Unchained podcasts wtf dude I found a pehiphiol

[@grey.seal.]

Pls do F1 pitstop crews

[@buttercookies8439]

Theyre so coooll

[@AUBERGINEize]

So in your next employment you can do exactly the same role or nothing at all. I love the description of I change a tyre , when in actual fact it’s the wheel that’s being changed. That in essence involves undoing some wheel nuts with an impact wrench. When I get new tyres at my local garage , the guys that work there do this hundreds of times a month.