Mike Hembree

Special for USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR pit roads will have a different look next season.

Pit crew numbers in NASCAR’s three national series will be reduced from six to five for 2018, a change primarily designed to improve parity in the sport, NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said Wednesday.

The over-the-wall pit crew reduction is part of a multi-layered change. There also will be limits on workers in two other categories, defined by NASCAR as “organizational” and “road crew.”

The organizational category includes competition directors, team managers, technical directors and similar positions. Teams with one- or two-car operations will be allotted three roster spots for organizational personnel. Teams with three or four cars can have four.

The road crew category includes crew chief, car chief, mechanics, engine tuners, tire specialists and similar jobs. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ limit is 12.

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In an effort to spotlight the work of pit crew members, each over-the-wall team member will be required to wear a uniform number.

Additionally, the team’s refueler will no longer be allowed to perform other duties — such as helping with tires or making chassis adjustments — during pit stops.

"The drive toward parity is to have more teams have the ability to win,” O’Donnell said. “We want everybody to have the same amount of resources at the track. And we want to put focus on other team members, as well.”

In recent seasons, pit stops generally have been in the 11-12-second range. O’Donnell said the reduction in crew size shouldn’t have a big impact on time spent in the pits.

"These teams are experts at what they do,” he said. “I think it will present some different challenges in terms of how teams approach it. That’s one of the beauties of this — we’ll see more innovation. The stops might be a little slower, but I wouldn’t anticipate anything drastic.”