Improved pit crew has Vickers Chasing a playoff spot

With a 39-point deficit and two races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, Brian Vickers has a new sense of security entering Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. Vickers was oh-so-close to contending for the win at Atlanta in March — until the final pit stop of the race. Vickers trailed Kurt Busch by just 0.647 of a second when Robby Gordon's spin ignited the 11th caution of the race on Lap 321. He brought the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota into the pits second — but exited in ninth place. Although Vickers rallied back to finish a career-high fifth, the results didn't reflect the car's potential that day. Red Bull GM Jay Frye did not want to experience a repeat performance of Atlanta for his flagship squad. The pit problems that had plagued the No. 83 crew were chronic. If the team was going to contend for a position in NASCAR's playoffs, a call for restructuring was in order. In April, Frye enlisted Lance Munksgard, his former pit crew coach from the MB2 Motorsports days. Munksgard, who earned a master's degree in sports medicine at Western Michigan University, started over the wall as a tire carrier and worked his way into the coach's role with Ultra Motorsports in 2003 to MB2 Motorsports (which then became Ginn Racing) to Ganassi Racing and finally Michael Waltrip Racing before returning "home" with Frye. It didn't take Munksgard long to realize he had inherited a dysfunctional situation. Not only was the No. 83 pit crew overtrained, the squad was disconnected from the rest of the organization and there was a less-than-friendly rivalry between them and the No. 82 crew. "The guys worked out and practiced all day, so they went to bed sore and woke up sore," said Munksgard, a 36-year-old Warren, Pa., native. "There was never any time to recover. That type of program just doesn't work. "There was a lot of pressure on these guys to perform. In order to perform at their potential, we had to relieve the pressure so they could do their jobs. On any pit stop, you're just one lugnut away from a loss or a win." That's what happened in March. One loose lugnut on the right front tire cost Vickers seven positions on the track — and a chance at victory. Munksgard hired Dave Woodhead as his rear tire changer, Josh Houghton to be the tire carrier and recruited car chief Bart Briebach from inside the shop to be the catch can man. Munksgard observed "a lot of confusion from trying to do other plays," so he adopted "a back-to-basics approach" to pit crew training and brought in Ben Cook to be his strength training coach. His focus was to adapt to the pit crew he now had and set up a program that would play to its strengths. And even after Vickers won at Michigan, Munksgard hasn't strayed from his plan. "All these guys worked so hard for the win, these guys are so focused on the Chase that they haven't taken the time to enjoy the win," Munksgard said. "We're just going to keep doing what we're doing. It has been a rebuilding process" On Mondays, the crew begins with yoga to get in the right frame of mind. In the afternoon, the crew reviews film from the previous race. Tuesdays start with 20 to 25 minutes of stretching before working out. Then it's back to practicing a couple live pit stops. Wednesday is a similar routine with a little more dynamic stretching in order to warm up and get to full speed before practicing live stops. On Thursday, the crew has a light workout then moves to five to six pit stops where the drill is set up to anticipate problematic situations that can occur on the track. Munksgard also sets up competition between the Nos. 82 and 83 teams "to pit against each other for added pressure." With the investment the team has made going forward, Munksgard believes Vickers is still a strong candidate for the Chase. "It's a big challenge over the next two weeks," Munksgard said. "Hopefully, we'll hold up our end of it. If they can stay within themselves and handle whatever comes at them we'll be fine. "We have to be able to give our driver the best opportunity to win — and let Brian do the rest."