During the thirty-seventh lap of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in Loudon, New Hampshire, earlier this year, Jimmie Johnson, driving car No. 48, pulled into the pit lane for a new set of tires and a fresh tank of petrol. The six-man pit crew stood on the concrete ledge that outlined their designated stall. Just before Johnson skidded to a stop, the crew leapt off the wall and rushed to the passenger side. The jackman thrusted the car’s ride side up, while two tire changers zipped the wheel’s lug nuts off with an impact wrench.* Just as the tire changers discarded the old rubber, their corresponding tire carriers shoved the replacement in front of the hub. After another round of screeching—tightening five lugs for each wheel—the team jumped up and moved over to the driver’s side, where it was all repeated: car jacked up, old tires off, new ones on. The fueller hoisted the gas can above his head, funnelling the liquid into the car’s tank. He removed the can from the car, the jackman dropped all four tires back onto the pavement, and Johnson shifted into gear and hit the gas pedal, zooming back onto the track. The entire process took less than twelve seconds.
-The New Yorker
