Pit stops are a high-wire act; you blink and chaos erupts. At Pocono Raceway, that chaos struck the No. 88 team of Shane van Gisbergen when a flying tire from an adjacent pit stall turned a routine stop into a dangerous ordeal. What unfolded wasn’t just a test of teamwork but of sheer toughness—one that rear tire changer JP Kealey met head-on.

It was a brutal and gutsy moment, and it occurred during a congested sequence of green flag stops. Everyone’s hearts stopped for a brief second. However, JP became the hero of the night; he finished servicing the car despite his injury. He carried on like a true soldier. However, the post-race scene didn’t look too good for Kealey.

JP Kealey’s grit shines after pit lane chaos at Pocono

Pocono Raceway Pit lane turned into a harrowing scene on Sunday when SVG’s No. 88 crew came within inches of disaster. As former Kaulig Racing Xfinity Series teammate AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 team began their tire change just before SVG rolled in, one of Allmendinger’s tires launched across the pit wall, smashing into JP Kealey, the No. 88’s rear tire changer, and knocking him to the ground.

Despite the violent collision, Kealey got right back up and completed the tire change under intense pressure. His tenacity earned widespread admiration across the NASCAR garage, as fans and insiders alike were stunned by his grit. Taylor Kitchec posted the shocking Club on X: “Wild story from Pocono. JP suffered a partially collapsed lung and two broken ribs from the impact of the wheelgun jamming into his chest.”

Race footage and expert commentary added further insight. According to unseen reports, the heavy tire struck the wheel gun first, driving it into JP’s ribs and collapsing a lung. As one insider on X explained, “while adrenaline might have pushed him through to finish the pitstop, he’ll probably need some time to recover.”

During the live broadcast, Steve Letarte and Dale Jr. reacted in real time. Letarte provides a vivid breakdown, “ Right in the upper torso, the head area of the rear tire changer for the No. 88 JP Kealey. He’s a D1 lacrosse player, so he’s taken some hits before—but this right there, that is a vicious hit. He drops the gun, you see; he grabs the gun and gets up and finishes the stop. You want to talk about tough and athletic. That is a scary situation. It’s so good to see him finish the stop and be checked on right here.”

With minimal official confirmation regarding any long-term consequences, JP was hospitalized and forced to sit out the next race. Trackhouse opted to bring in Noel Bud Merrill Jr., a seasoned crew member leased from Trackhouse’s development pipeline, to fill the rear tire and change roles for the upcoming race at Atlanta. Merrill has previously worked with Truck and Xfinity teams and was recently seen servicing Connor Zilisch’s No. 87 car in Cup events.

SVG himself barely escaped unscathed. After the incident, he continued to struggle on the track. Later in the race, he spun twice and was penalized for pitting prematurely and ultimately finished 31st, a lap down, mirroring his earlier woes in the race weekend. To his credit, the Auckland native remains supportive of Kealey’s toughness.

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SVG’s win sparks debate of NASCAR’s current playoff format

SVG’s dramatic win at Mexico City secured his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but not everyone was celebrating. While SVG’s road course brilliance won him a victory, some fans questioned whether a driver so far down the points standings deserved a playoff berth at all. The debate echoes over past controversies, most notably Harrison Burton’s last-minute entry into the postseason with a Daytona win despite a lackluster regular season.

On the latest episode of The Teardown, NASCAR journalists Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi tackled the controversy head-on. Jeff was surprised by how divided the reaction was. He said, “I want it to be hard to make the playoffs. I want very good teams to have to fight for their livelihood to make the playoffs. I don’t want it to be—I don’t want to say it’s easy, but it’s a little easier because there’s 16.” 

Bianchi was sympathetic to fans who want a more exclusive playoff format, believing that the current rules create moments worth preserving. He refers to the moment when Chase Briscoe advanced to Darlington, one of the toughest and most demanding tracks on the circuit, the Southern 500, and with a great crew, won the race. “I get the super speedway thing can kind of take the oxygen out of the room. Sometimes, we focus on that. But those moments where a driver goes to Darlington and pulls it off, it’s like, ‘No, man, that’s what it’s about.’ I don’t want to lose that, because that adds a specialness to it.”

Bianchi goes on to add, “That guy (Chase Briscoe) had to go and win with his back against the wall in the last regular season race at Darlington, of all places, and he did it. Hell yeah, put him in the playoffs. He deserves it. I don’t want to lose that.” However, the broader question remains: Should NASCAR rethink the playoff entry rules? For now, the system stands as a high-stakes game of opportunity, where a single win can rewrite a season, even if it upsets the status quo.