On Sunday, we witnessed chaos unfold during the Würth 400, when multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe, simultaneously entered the narrow pit lane at the Texas Motor Speedway to get their tires changed. Post-race, winner Chase Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson urged the sport to make changes, considering the safety of everyone involved.

Briscoe and Larson, who simultaneously entered the pit lane, had a near miss when the #19 driver left his box early. Unfortunately, Joey Logano wasn’t so lucky. He slammed into Cole Custer, who had slowed down his Chevrolet to allow another car to exit its stall. The collision damaged his Ford’s front-left fender and broke the wheel, forcing him out of the race.

In moments like these, the pit crews are at the greatest risk, given how quickly the cars are moving. Their speed limit is 45 mph, with a leeway of up to 50 mph. But is that too fast? The Elliott camp thinks so.

“I hate the danger it presents to crew members. I think that makes the case for pit-road speed limiters, personally. But that one caught my eye, because it’s just scary when a bunch of guys are jumping out of the way,” Gustafson said after the race.

However, Elliott’s crew chief also opined that teams and their crew chiefs need to be more vigilant with their strategy choices. They should better coordinate the timing of their pit calls with teams with whom they share strong working relationships.

Only time will tell whether NASCAR makes widespread changes across all tracks, but some venues like Texas certainly need a rethink. The incidents in Sunday’s race were neither coincidental nor isolated. In fact, other drivers were involved in incidents of their own, some triggering chain reactions that spoiled the race for others.

A lot of teams chose two-tire stops, which are usually faster, but it led to cars stacking up in an already crowded lane. Drivers were entering hurriedly and exiting aggressively, only adding to the chaos.

Joey Logano’s nightmare Texas pit-show

Logano’s DNF, thanks to his collision with Custer, was the final nail in his coffin. But he was flirting with a race retirement even before that.

The Team Penske driver started from 24th on the grid, hoping for a memorable drive up the order. But fate had something else planned for him. During the opening pit cycle, he nearly avoided a spinning William Byron. The moment rattled him, as it could have taken him out of the race.

Then, midway through the race, when several cars came in for two-tire stops, there were sudden braking movements on the pit lane, which Logano once again had a near miss with, narrowly avoiding a stack-up. By then, it was clear the outing would be forgettable for him.

In a way, the shunt with Custer put him out of his misery for the night. Pace wasn’t the issue for him. The horror pit-show shenanigans were.