Hendrick Motorsports recruiting high level athletes for their pit crew

CHARLOTTE, N.C.- – Hendrick Motorsports opened the doors for NBC affiliates on Tuesday for an up close and personal look. 

The pit crews for Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott were prepping for the race in Bristol on Saturday. 

The Wood Brothers invented the modern day pit stop but Hendrick is credited with the recruitment of high level athletes to serve on the pit crews. 

"We need the physical attributes of a football player with the mentality of a golfer," Hendrick Motorsports director of human performance Andy Papathanassiou said. "Every swing, every tenth of a second, every swing of an entire weekend could count to how you finish at the end. Every tenth of a second of what we adds up to make the pit stop." 

Andy became the first ever "pit crew coach" in 1992, and was the first to have pit crews practice frequently and undergo teambuilding exercises as well as stength training.