The moment the car comes to a stop, the countdown begins.

It might just be a tire change. Maybe the fuel needs to be topped off. An adjustment might need to be made. Whatever the function, the pit crew has little time and less margin for error.

“You want everything to go right and go smoothly,” said John Randolph, a member of Shawn Martin’s team. “Normally, you can do what you need to do, whether it’s a two-tire change or depending on the track, a four-tire change, without losing a lot. But, it takes one lug nut to jam or to thread or something to drop or an air hose pinch that can make your day go from running in the top 10 to running in the bottom 30. It can happen real quick, and there’s no second chances.”

Every second counts, and any mistake is costly. In the middle of the TD Banknorth 250, pit crews are put to the test in a way they aren’t the rest of the racing season. The reward is great, but so are the consequences for a mistake.

“I think the pressure is there because of the prestige of the 250,” said Randolph, of Greene, who has been with Martin since 2001. “It’s the big race and a good payout. On a normal Saturday night of racing, whether it’s 40 or 50 laps, if you have a flat tire, we still have all the same practices and procedures that go into play on the pit pad versus out in front of the crowd. The pressure is mainly because of the prestige of what the race is and not so much what we have to get done.”

For many of the drivers and pit crews, they’ll face a pitting situation they don’t often see in the course of a season. During the battle of wills and stamina in the 250-lap race, cars will have to pit for fuel and tires.

“This is the only time we have that type of situation,” said Martin, of Turner. “It’s just a matter of getting everyone comfortable, getting them going through the motions that have to be done. That way, they’re not panicking come Sunday.”

It may seem like a routine maneuver, but under the pressure of a competitive and lucrative race, the difference between a successful pit stop and a failed one can be significant.

“This isn’t NASCAR, we don’t have to pull off a 14-second pit stop, but depending on how the race turns out and how the race goes, you could turn into a situation where the top 20 guys are all pitting at the same time,” said defending champion Roger Brown. “In that situation, if your crew can get you out before everyone else, and an experienced crew could do that, you could pick up 10 or 12 positions on pit road.”

A mistake could also prove costly. A recent example was when current Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch raced at Oxford in 2005. He was leading with 60 laps to go and had a car that was improving in performance all day. He was poised to make a run at the win, but a late pit stop proved troublesome. A lug nut wreaked havoc with his handling, and he settled for sixth.

“I think he would have won that race if he wouldn’t have gotten a lug nut stuck between the hub and the wheel,” Randolph said. “That’s the stuff that’s real. Here is the top notch stuff, and it can happen to them. That’s everybody’s fear. That it’s going to happen to me. You have a window of opportunity, and you have to make it work.”

When Brown won last year, he had a collection of friends in his pit crew. They did no preparation in advance of the 250, but still managed a clean pit stop.

“We’d never done it,” Brown said. “We had a game plan. We never practiced it. We were going to take all four tires and stop once. We had everything set up, and it went perfect. It took about 20 seconds to do all four tires and gas. They were all excited.”

Teams hope to be as fortunate. but aren’t taking any chances. They have practiced pit stops in anticipation of that moment Sunday night.

“The 250 only comes once a year,” said Dale Verrill, who finished second to Brown last year. “It’s a whole different ballgame.”

Verrill’s team practices periodically during the season. He’s had the same crew for a few years and makes sure the pit-stop skills stay fresh.

“In a Saturday night race, we’ll practice with four tires,” said Verrill, of Paris. “We’ll come in and change, and then go back out. It gives them a chance to do that. It’s not quite the same pressure, but it gives them a chance to change the tires.”

Verrill’s crew chief, Rob Henderson, says it’s a matter of everyone knowing what their role is and feeling comfortable with the tasks at hand.

“You want to be relaxed and just go through the repetition and make sure you don’t make a mistake,” said Henderson, of Oxford. “The more you do it, the easier that it is. If you do it so much, it just comes naturally.”

Martin’s team held a practice each of the last two weeks. Though he hasn’t practiced the pit stops as much as last year, they’ve tried to make sure they’re ready for Sunday.

“We do an actual mark up run,” said Martin. “I’ll actually sit in the car and pretend like we’ve come in. They’ll jack up the car and change the tires.”

It’s a routine pit crews will refine and hope to master right up until the flag flies Sunday. Randolph estimates a team has 45 seconds to a minute to catch up with the pace car. So their practice focuses on beating that time frame.

“We’re going to see what we can do with four tires and how much fuel we can put in in the car in one stop,” said Randolph. “That’s the main thing. What can we do in that amount of time?”

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