Story By: BRANDON LEE / RFK RACING – CONCORD, NC – It’s no secret that competing at the top level of NASCAR takes a team effort. Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 pit crew exemplified that throughout the 2023 season, earning the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award.
“The No. 6 pit crew has earned the award this season through their drive, determination and hard work,” said Scott Bowen, pit crew coach at RFK. “It’s a pleasure to work alongside such a competitive group of individuals that come together to form an elite team.”
The 2023 MVPC Award was determined by each team’s M-pact score. The M-Pact score is a function of average pit stop time for 4-tire pit stops, with multipliers based on net passes for position under yellow-flag pit stops, the MVPC score also includes a “strength of schedule” (SOS) component to adjust for the level of competition a team is racing on pit road.
The multiplier for net passes on pit road is increased for each car a team passes on pit road and is decreased for each car a team is passed by. The SOS component gives a higher multiplier to those that are pitting in the front of the field compared to those that are pitting in the back of the field and is linearly weighted.
The No. 6 pit crew members include Dustin Lineback (jackman), Telvin McClurkin (tire carrier), Johnny Roberts (front tire changer), Steve Price (rear tire changer) and Brad Robison (fueler). Together, they helped Keselowski and the No. 6 team to seven top five and 16 top-10 finishes and an eighth-place finish in the final NASCAR Cup Series points standings.