What is the Pit Road Speed Limit in NASCAR? Everything you need to know

Pit stops are an essential part of NASCAR racing, as it would be impossible to log 400-500 miles on one tank of gas or a single set of tires. With pit stops, however, comes a danger factor with pit crew members jumping over the pit wall before servicing a car that's coming at them at high speed.

That's what pit road speed limits are for, and here, we'll take a look at everything you need to know about them.

NASCAR implemented pit road speed limits after a tragic accident in 1990

During the 1990 Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ricky Rudd came into the pit lane on the race's 300th lap for a pit stop. But in a tragic turn of events, Rudd spun out on pit road and collided with Bill Elliott's car while crew member Mike Rich was changing the right rear tire on Elliott's No. 9 machine.

Rich suffered severe head and chest injuries and later died at the hospital. Because of this tragic accident, it was evident to NASCAR that a change needed to be made as it was unsafe for cars to fly down the pit road at full speed. Thus, NASCAR implemented a pit road speed limit the following year.

NASCAR: Truck Series Clean Harbors 250 - Source: Imagn

Pit road speed limits vary among tracks

There isn't a universally set mile per hour pit road limit for NASCAR as it varies depending on what track they're racing at.

For high-speed superspeedways, such as Daytona and Talladega, the pit road speed limit is 55 mph. For lower-speed short tracks, such as Bristol and Martinsville, the pit road speed is 30 mph. For intermediate 1.5 mile tracks, such as Charlotte and Las Vegas, the pit road speed is 45 mph.

Overall, pit road speed limits are often set based on the track's length or how fast the cars can race on them. However, there's no pit road speed limit higher than 55 mph in NASCAR.

Any driver that exceeds pit road speed will be penalized

The pit road speed limits aren't implemented without consequences. If a driver fails to be below the maximum speed limit when coming down pit road, that driver will be handed a pass-through penalty, which means after they complete their pit stop, they must drive back out on the track, come back down pit road at the speed limit, stop in their pit box and serve the penalty.

There's two yellow lines marked on the track at both ends of the pit road. If a driver is speeding in between those lines at any time, they've committed a pit road speeding penalty.

A pit road speeding penalty can be a major detriment to a driver's race. At most racetracks, it'll often put the driver one lap behind, and even two at some, because of all the time lost for having to make a separate trip down the pit road. That's why drivers must be cautious of their speed when driving down the pit road, because it's not only a safety precaution, but it can have a major effect on the driver's finishing result when the checkered flag is waved at race's end.