Tech Tuesday: The pit lane hub

When you rely on technology as much as we do within the Verizon IndyCar Series, it helps to have one central hub close by on pit lane. Whether you call it the pit box, pit stand, pit stall, or perhaps “that shaded area where engineers gather to stare at screens,” it’s a vital part of how we execute a successful race weekend.

Once we roll into a race market, the pit stand is unloaded from the transporter and then set up on pit lane in a series-assigned location. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as just popping out the sides like a camper. You probably have noticed the tall poles shooting out from each pit stand–these hold the antennas for car telemetry and radios, a mini weather station, and typically a camera to record pit stops. The cabinets of pit stalls house our electronics, everything from crew radios to various telemetry tools. All of these electronics require power, of course, so there are also a good deal of cables to unwind and set up on pit lane. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing engineers and crew members do a great job of keeping everything tidy and sorted properly during setup so they can focus on the car once the track is green.

I have two team engineers, one race strategist and one Team Chevy engineer stationed at my pit stand during each on-track session. The engineers can hook up their laptops to the pit stand to receive instant feedback on the car through the telemetry. This allows them to check car data like fuel mileage, steering, tires, and throttle. I have an extra laptop solely for the purpose of checking my blood glucose numbers from pit lane (like I can do from the cockpit). The pit stand also has a couple of stationary monitors installed for timing and scoring, weather forecasts, and live TV feeds.

Everything has its place at the pit stand… just one part of our ever-evolving sport! Click here for a cool graphic and more info on pit boxes via IndyCar.com.