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Denny Hamlin addresses JGR's viral pit stop technology from Daytona 500

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•02/18/25•

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Denny Hamlin (34)
Feb 13, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Denny Hamlin shed some light on the new technology Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) used during the driver’s pit stops during Daytona 500 weekend. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin talked about JGR using tablets for fuel only.

“It’s a way for us to try to quicken up our pit stop time,” Hamlin said. “What happens is that we’re all fighting for tenths of a second. When you go into the pit area and you know you need a certain amount of time, let’s just call it four seconds of fuel, it’s usually the crew chief watches to see when they plug in. He counts to four and then he tells you to go, or he’s waiting to see the bubbles come up in the actual feeling tank. …All that takes time, all that round of communication takes time. JGR is doing it just as a way to streamline that communication.”

Fans first noticed the tablets when Hamlin and Ty Gibbs competed in the Daytona 500 qualifying race on Thursday. NASCAR writer Bozi Tatarevic broke down the new technology in an X/Twitter thread.

NASCAR writer shares more on JGR’s new pit road technology

“When the race starts, engineers calculate how much fuel is needed for the race based on historical numbers,” Tatarevic wrote. “Once the race starts they’re constantly recalculating that figure based on things like whether a driver is out front and the throttle percentage plus any caution time.

“As the race goes along, they are able to calculate the number of gallons required in order to finish the race. They multiply that number with the number of seconds required to flow a gallon of fuel and end up with a figure in seconds of how long the fueler needs to be connected.

After learning about the new technology, several drivers shared their reactions. “It looks really cool,” Daytona 500 winner William Byron said, per NBC Sports. “So, you know, it’s a copycat sport, right? I’m sure you’ll see more of it, if it works well. Right now for us, I think we’ve got a good system, but who knows?”

“The first time I saw it was on the broadcast,” John Hunter Nemechek said. “…I was like dang, that is pretty neat. That is pretty cool.”