Michelin Insider: From NASCAR’s Fast Pit Stops to IMSA’s Big Wins

Chris Brook has been around winning. He spent nearly 20 years in NASCAR, including time on Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 pit crew at Roush Racing,  back when five lug nuts were the rule.

“I was lucky to be around a lot of really strong racing people,” said Brook. “We were doing ten- or 11-second stops when it was unheard of. We won a bunch of races with Matt.”

Those lessons came with him when he joined Winward Racing in 2019. And he knew right away this was a different kind of operation.

“The reason I’m still here is the first time I really met them,” said Brook. “It was just me and the two truck drivers hanging out, trying to get loaded after the Roar Before the Rolex 24. And here’s Russell [Ward] and his dad, Bryce, loading the truck with us.”

He’s talking about the owners of the team.

“I mean, you don’t see that,” Brook said. “That’s rare, you know?”

The Houston-based team has racked up ten GTD wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship since 2021, including four victories last year and a championship.

This season, they’ve already won twice and currently lead the GTD standings with three races to go.

“Success comes from the hands-on culture Russell and Bryce have created here,” said Brook. “If you’re not into it, if you’re not a pure racer, you won’t work here.”

Brook is the man in charge of every Michelin tire that hits the track for Winward and he’s right there on the pit crew, too.

“Michelin, this tire for this sport, for what we’re using it for, is an absolutely amazing tire,” said Brook.

His connection to tires started early, at 14 years old.

“There were a few race car drivers around my neighborhood in Florida,” he said. “I started going to a lot of races, whether it was go-karts or three-wheeler racing. I knew a lot about tires. I just kind of picked up on it.”

That knack for understanding tires is part of what makes him so effective in his role now.

“You can look at a tire just coming off the car and I can tell you what that tire is doing,” he said. “You can tell exactly what the car’s doing.”

That same precision will be key this weekend at Virginia International Raceway, a track where fast stops and strategy on pit lane are critical and can lead to a victory.

He credits his pit lane philosophy to Robbie Reiser, the former general manager at Roush Racing: simple design.

“It’s not a bunch of crazy movements,” said Brook. “It’s well-placed movements. It’s taking your time. So, it doesn’t matter the situation. Every pit stop counts, no matter what.”

It’s an approach that’s carried him from NASCAR’s fastest stops to IMSA’s biggest wins.