I suspect you are saying “Caitlin who”? When Josef Newgarden won the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Caitlin Brown also entered the record book as the first woman to serve on the winning team as part of the over-the-wall pit crew. She was the left-front tire changer.
Caitlin grew up in a family which loves auto racing. Her earliest memories are of making mud pies while the family was watching and participating in stock car races at the Kankakee Speedway. A native of Wilmington, Illinois, by the time she was in the eighth grade, she was already working as a mechanic as her family raced at the Kankakee track. She also competed in four-cylinder dirt track racing. When she was about 12 years old, Caitlin told her mother that she was going to work for Team Penske.
In high school, she played golf, softball and basketball. About halfway through her high school career, she learned about the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C. After graduation, she moved to Mooresville and became involved with a local race team. She would go to school from 6:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. after which she would go to her part-time job at ButlerBuilt Racing Seats which offers aluminum racing seats including an integrated head and shoulder support. After work, she worked at making connections in the racing community. While she attended Universal Technical Institute, she logged about 1,300 volunteer hours.
After completing her studies, she landed a job with Team Penske working on the NASCAR side as a shop mechanic. She then transitioned to a fuel cell specialist for the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series Penske cars including 2018 Cup Series champion Joey Logano, 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. On the weekends, she was the front-end mechanic for Simon Pagenaud in IndyCar.
When Caitlin learned about the formation of the Paretta Autosport team, she quickly raised her hand. Headed by Beth Paretta, the team was nearly all women including driver Simona de Silvestro. The team received technical support from Team Penske. During the 2021 Indy 500, Brown was one of three female over-the-wall tire changers for de Silvestro. The team gathered at 5 a.m. to practice the tire changes. In all, four women were part of the team’s over the wall team. De Silvestro qualified 33rd for the race. The team finished 31st in the race.
Throughout the remainder of 2021, Caitlin split her time between Team Penske’s NASCAR and the IndyCar groups. In 2022, Caitlin moved over to Penske’s IndyCar team.
As a tire changer, Caitlin is one of six who go over the wall to work on the car during pit stops. Four are tire changers, one operates the pneumatic jack and the other refills the 18-gallon fuel tank. When Newgarden’s car comes into the pits, Caitlin is prepared at her station on the infield front of the car with a pneumatic impact wrench and a tire. Unlike NASCAR which has five nuts to secure the tire on the wheel, IndyCar uses only one specially designed nut. The nut is extracted, the tire changed, and the nut is reattached. In case a nut is dropped, Caitlin carries extra ones on her belt. It usually takes about four seconds to change a tire. If everything goes correctly, it takes the over-the-wall crew about seven to eight seconds to finish their tasks. Supporting them behind the wall is a larger team.
Made by Firestone, the front wheel tire weighs 18 pounds. It is 10 inches wide and 26 inches in diameter. The back tires are larger. They weigh 22 pounds and are 14.5 inches wide and 27 inches in diameter. The tires are specially made for each track.