About The Pits Are Open
The Pits Are Open communicates that there is a time when the pits are closed. Why do the pits close?
The experimentation began following the tragic 1973 Indianapolis 500. Swede Savage got into a fiery crash out of turn four and the yellow flag comes out. His car bursts into a MASSIVE ball of fire. Fire crews are racing down pit line in the wrong direction to get there before Savage burns to death.
Meanwhile the pits are open and cars are ducking into the pits to stop for fuel and tires. That’s when tragedy would strike a second time as a pickup truck carrying emergency equipment would strike a race team’s pit crewmen (Armando Teran), killing him in the chaos.
Swede Savage would ultimately die due to a bad blood transfusion at IU Health a month later. The next year, Indyar’s sanctioning body at the time USAC introduced a new rule closing the pits when the caution came out in order to allow emergency vehicles to move safely down the pit lane without the danger of killing someone. Indycar has had the rule ever since. NASCAR has also adopted a similar practice.
FYI - The host of The Pits Are Open is not a fan of closing the pits and believes the practice is an manufactured attempt to increase competition.
The Host - Will Marotti
Will Marotti is a lifelong racing enthusiast and fan. He was a co-entrant in the 2016 Indy 500 with Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports. He is the founder of Marotti Autosport, which has competed in numerous motorsports competitions.
Marotti has been married for 37 years, is the father of two and has served as a pastor for more than 30 years. But before he was a husband, before he was a pastor, before he was a father, before he was a radio broadcaster, he was an Indy 500 fan since childhood. He listened to his first 500 on the radio in 1969, attended his first 500 in 1982 and has been "hooked" ever since. Will has not missed an Indy 500 since 1969 either by radio, television or in person.
Will is married to Ann, has two grown children and two beagles. He has been the Pastor of New Life Church in Wallingford, CT of twenty-five years. Will and Ann founded the church in 1999.