In NASCAR, as much as having a fast car helps in winning a race, so does having a reliable pit crew. The No. 12 Team Penske pit crew of Ryan Blaney has been struggling this season on the pit road, costing him crucial points.

Major issues were first flagged at Phoenix. Even though Blaney eventually won the race, multiple slip-ups in the pits made sure the race wasn't straightforward. Things came to a head during the Bristol race when Blaney was in contention to win.

Unfortunately, similar pit stop issues made him lose multiple positions, and he eventually settled for second place. During his post-race interview, the Team Penske driver said, "We've got to get better, for sure. If we’re going to keep competing and have cars that can win races and stuff, we’ve got to clean that up."

Ryan Blaney’s call for a change has finally been answered. It was initially reported that Team Penske was going to make use of the talent at Wood Brothers Racing to join Blaney's No. 12 crew. Patrick Grey, who previously worked with Josh Berry, was said to replace Blaney’s rookie Cup Series jackman, Landon Honeycutt.

However, as per Motorsport.com, in a new development, Blaney will get Graham Stoddard from Noah Gragson's No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford as his new jackman. Team Penske can do this because it has technical alliances with both Wood Brothers Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

With Ryan Blaney currently second in the standings, the change comes at a critical time. In the 2026 season so far, the 2023 Cup Series champion has lost 88 positions on the pit road. The average pit stop time for the team was clocked at 2.5 seconds slower.

Ryan Blaney's support for his pit crew despite repeated failures

Though Ryan Blaney's pit crew has failed him several times this season, he hasn't openly criticized the ones at fault. Instead, ahead of Bristol, he backed his rookie jackman, Landon Honeycutt, to learn and grow as part of the No. 12 crew.

"We have a new jackman, and it takes a little bit of time to create that bond with everybody and create that rhythm and timing," Blaney said on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "So they’re working on the brink of perfection, and they might just make a mistake every now and then, but I was proud of them for understanding, 'Hey, we have to get better here,' and just continuing to work."

Blaney's new jackman, Graham Stoddard, has previously worked on the No. 12 crew, with links extending over half a decade. He has also worked on Joey Logano's pit crew briefly.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak