ANDY PAPATHANASSIOU

Andy Papathanassiou grew up in Emerson, New Jersey and is the son of Greek immigrants who favored education over sports. He played college football at Stanford University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics, as well as a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior. Andy became the first ever, NASCAR “pit crew coach,” when he was hired as a member of NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports team in 1992. His philosophy and views as an outsider ultimately shifted the paradigm of how pit crews select and train their members. Previously, pit crews were composed of mechanics who devoted little time to practicing pit stops - relying instead on their vast knowledge of car building and racing experience. Andy employed an athletic mindset which centered on practice and repetition, coaching and review, innovation and process improvement. Racing teams now recruit and employ many former col- lege athletes, and pit stop times have decreased from 18 or 19 seconds in the early 1990s to 13 seconds today.