During the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Bubba Wallace’s No. 23X1 Racing crew executed a four‑tire stop in an astonishing 7.86 seconds, shattering the previous NASCAR Cup Series benchmark.
The record had stood at 7.98 seconds, set by Christopher Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing crew, but Wallace’s pit crew—comprising front tire changer Austin Dickey, rear tire changer Adam Hartman, tire carrier Joe Crossen, jackman Nathan Ricketts and fueler Joshua Pech—delivered a performance that trimmed nearly a tenth of a second from the existing mark.
The rapid stop came under caution and instantly propelled Wallace four positions higher on the track, a gain that helped him finish eighth in the event, marking his best result in the opening race of the Chase for the Cup Series.
The feat illustrates the tangible benefits of the Next Gen generation of cars, which replaced the traditional five‑lug‑nut wheels with single‑center‑locking lugs, a change that has accelerated pit‑stop cycles across the series.
Wallace’s eighth‑place finish, combined with teammate Tyler Reddick’s third‑place showing and Christopher Bell’s victory, underscores how precise pit work can directly influence race outcomes in modern NASCAR.