CONCORD, N.C. -- After Alex Bowman crossed the finish line first at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, he was on the radio lauding his teammates for putting him in the winning position.
“You guys won that race, not me,” Bowman excitedly said over the radio. “I’m so proud of you.”
The history-making win wasn’t lost on the men of the No. 48 pit crew; their speedy 11.8-second pit stop on Lap 304 of the race put Bowman ahead of teammate Kyle Larson on pit road. The jump allowed Bowman to lead the remaining 98 laps of the race and secure his second win of the season.
For rear-tire changer Devin DelRicco, it was a momentous occasion. Hailing from Marlboro, Maryland, he considers Dover his hometown track, making the massive accomplishment even sweeter.
“That was the highlight of my career,” DelRicco said. “The win, just being together with everyone, the team, the morale – it was very special. I’ve never actually stepped foot in victory lane before, so that was cool. I got to do that for the first time.”
Not only did the No. 48 team end up in victory lane, but Bowman led Hendrick Motorsports’ first-ever 1-2-3-4 finish, marking the fourth time in NASCAR Cup Series history a team has swept a race.
“It was really emotional,” tire carrier Allen Stallings said. “It’s great to have everybody excited for you because everybody won at the end of the day. It was a great feeling that you really don’t get in the sport; honestly, in any sport. I’ve been here for nine years, and that was by far the most emotional win I’ve ever had.”
Pit crew coach Jon Carvin watched the pit stop live from Hendrick Motorsports’ campus, and while he was thrilled with the speedy pit stop, he didn’t start celebrating until he saw the drivers officially off pit road.
“I knew the 5 (Larson) would have to do a really good stop as well to compete,” he said. “At that point, you’re just waiting for them to leave pit road to see what happens because, honestly, all four of our teams were doing great pit stops the whole race. Anybody could have knocked out an 11.5-second lead to pass somebody one through four.”
Luckily for Bowman and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, their pit stops were practically flawless, giving the team a distinct edge. While the crews all practice Tuesday through Thursday on perfecting their skills and improving their times, it’s a complete team effort. Crew chief Greg Ives, spotter Kevin Hamlin and Bowman all have to be on point with their decisions.
“A pit stop like that really starts during the week when Greg picks a good pit stall,” fueler Jacob Conley said. “It’s not just us doing that pit stop. It’s the behind-the-wall guys; the hoses guys get thrown right and pulled right, the tires have to get out there and Alex has to get in the box and get out of the box.
“It’s a team effort for that kind of stuff, and to know that our team can come together in that kind of pressure-packed situation and get it done like that gives us a lot of confidence to know the behind-the-wall guys are there for us and it allows Alex to rely on us.”
While the team is relishing in the thrilling win, they also know they can’t stay on Cloud 9 for too long. The crew was back to work on Tuesday practicing pit stops for the Cup Series’ first trip to Circuit of The Americas this weekend.
“It’s not a gravy train, it’s a grind,” jackman Dustin Lineback said. “I think we have five more weeks as a grind and we have a lot of road courses coming up, too. That’s a different beast and a lot of stress of the cars. We’re just going to have to keep working and keep preparing ourselves and our coaches. (Vice president of competition) Chad Knaus did a great job with that.
"We're just really honing in on this is what we got and this is what we need to do. I think if we execute on what we need to do every week, we should be just fine.”