"We treat injuries at the track differently": JGR physician shares how they treat pit crew injuries at the track vs at the shop

NASCAR's Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) recently shared how the team handles pit crew injuries differently at the race track compared to at the shop during the week.

Pit crew injuries are different for separate job roles but they occur mainly in the forearm and elbow, from handling heavy pit guns. Many pit crew members are also at risk for tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis, which is caused by overuse of the muscles and tendons in the elbow.

On Instagram, one of JGR's athletic trainers, Kendall from Novant Health, pointed out that on the track, the main goal is to help pit crew members perform comfortably during the race. This involves quick fixes like taping, stretching, or using biofreeze.

However, during the week at the shop, the focus shifts to long-term healing and injury prevention. They work on fully rehabbing injuries to help the crew recover and stay healthy for the rest of the season.

"So we definitely treat injuries at the track different than we do during the week when we're here. When we're at the track, we're just trying to get them to a point where they can perform comfortably, whether that be giving them some tape, stretching, biofreeze, anything like that. When we're here during the week, we're going to work more on rehabbing that injury to get it to heal overall and then help them going forward," said Kendall.

According to OrthoCarolina, pit crew members who change tires often get hand injuries, while carriers mostly hurt their fingers.

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JGR's Denny Hamlin on reduced sponsorship by FedEx

FedEx was a full-time sponsor of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 car with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), but now the company only sponsors him part-time. According to rumors, it might stop sponsoring him entirely soon.

Hamlin talked about his nearly 20-year partnership with FedEx.

"It’s been a fantastic partnership that we’ve had nearly 20 years. They’re the ones that really took a risk on me when I was just running the Xfinity Series about fifth to eighth every week. I couldn’t be happier to be aligned with FedEx and certainly I got to do lot of great things off the track as well... It’s made my career, it made a lot easier being aligned with someone for that long and we’re gonna continue to represent on and off the racetrack for the time to come," Hamlin said in September 2024.

FedEx has been an important sponsor for JGR's No. 11 car since 2005. It spent nearly $25 million each year at its peak. However, this season, it has only sponsored 10 races for Denny Hamlin.