Changes have been made to the pit crews of both Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell in advance of Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. According to a report by Dustin Long of NBC Sports, multiple crew members from both drivers' teams will be switching places.
Houston Stamper and Joe Crossen, both of whom had served on Bell's pit crew, will now serve as the new front tire changer and tire carrier for Wallace. The previous front tire changer and tire carrier for Wallace, Jackson Gibbs and Nick McBeath, will move to Bell's crew.
Bell's team also sees the addition of AJ Rosini as the new rear tire changer.
All changes were made within the pit crew rosters of Joe Gibbs Racing, which leases pit crews to 23XI Racing in addition to servicing their in-house race teams. The changes to Wallace's crew are notable, as the oft-scrutinized unit has performed poorly on pit road throughout the year, which culminated in Wallace losing his temper on the team radio at Nashville after a wheel was left loose while Wallace was running sixth.
However, Wallace's pit crew is not the only one of the Gibbs crews that has struggled in 2022.
Pit road issues have been a problem across the board for the Toyota teams, with Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson recently calling out the inconsistency of the pit crews for the manufacturers' teams. According to NBC, this new slate of changes will mark the sixth different pit crew combination for Bell this year.
"Across the board, other than the 18 team, our execution in pit lane has been all over the place," Wilson recently told Nate Ryan of NBC Sports. "It's been embarrassing at times."
The changes within the Gibbs and Toyota crews come as multiple race teams near the bubble to make the playoffs seek to improve on pit road and address their weak links in that area. Kevin Harvick's team, for instance, recently changed pit crew members after a slow stop cost Harvick a chance at the win at Sonoma.
