Friday 5: Is a Cup crew chief’s place still atop the pit box?

Denny Hamlin sees a day “not far” in the future when a crew chief doesn’t go to the track but calls the race from the team’s race shop. Brad Keselowski says such a moment would just be a part of the sport’s evolution.

As technology improves, teams invest more in remote access and track crew limits remain, the sport is moving closer to a day when a crew chief — or the person assigned to calling a team’s strategy — doesn’t have to be at the track for a race or even a weekend.

The question, some say, is who will be the first to do so. This weekend’s race on the dirt at Bristol would have been a good time to have done so — rain is in the forecast Friday and Sunday’s race features non-competitive pit stops during stage breaks — but no Cup teams plan to purposely keep their crew chiefs at home.

Having a crew chief work from the team’s race shop for even a couple of races would give them extra time to focus on upcoming races, reduce the wear and tear of travel in a 38-weekend schedule and be similar to what teams are doing for road crew members to give them a break.

Rodney Childers, who is in his 19th season as a Cup crew chief, admits that he is not ready to leave the track to work from the shop voluntarily. He had to do so last year when he was suspended four races after the rear deck lid on Kevin Harvick’s car was modified and came away impressed with what can be done remotely.

“It was eye-opening last year,” Childers said of working from the team’s race shop during his suspension. “I could do it from the war room every week and not have a single issue.”

Hamlin said that crew chief Chris Gabehart experienced similar feelings when he served a four-race suspension last year and worked remotely.

“When Gabehart sat out, he said