NASCAR: New limitations placed on team crews for 2018

NASCAR will now limit the number of team members on pit road in all three national series in 2018, in additions to new rules for team fuelers.

In recent years, team expenses in NASCAR have grown exponentially as the fight at the front of the field becomes closer and closer. One of the fastest growing expenses for teams has been personnel, but it now appears the sanctioning body is prepared to attack this issue. Multiple sources have reported that NASCAR will put official limits on team members at the track in 2018.

These limitations imposed by the sanctioning body will vary across the three series and depending on the size of the team. In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, one or two-car teams will be allowed 20 total members, while three to four-car teams can have one additional person. Xfinity Series teams will be limited to 13 people, and Camping World Truck Series will have the least at 12.

Personnel will be broken down into three categories under NASCAR’s new rules – organizational members, road crew members, and pit crew members. The first category will include roles such as team managers, technical directors, and IT staff. Road crew members will be those in charge on the pit box, such as crew chiefs and car chiefs. Finally, the pit crew members will be the five over-the-wall crew members standard on NASCAR teams.