| Author | Message | ||
     P47b |
I have my thoughts on where the word pit or pits came from but I am looking for proof. How did the word Pit or Pits get derived in racing? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Back in the day, when men were men, and sporting iron was largely European, garages universally had a so-call grease pit, which allowed the mechanic, as techs used to be called, to work in a pit beneath the car, changing the oil, and greasing the many grease points on the chassis. Thus a garage became to be known as a "pit", a nomenclature that endured even after the pits themselves were replaced by hydraulic lifts, which have the advantage of allowing the mechanic to work on the same level as his tools and supplies. So when race circuits were built in the twenties and later, the garages provided for the competitors where naturally called "the pits", and the name stuck, even if the actual subterranean work places were long gone. OK? | ||
| P47b |
That was my thought. I had no way of proving it. Nothing on the web or in print that I have refers to this. I’m missing it completely. Thank you |
