These days, about 12-13 seconds or so:

http://www.circletrack.com/tipstricks/ctrp_0601_nascar_pit_stop/index.html

When I was a kid, it was more 16-17 seconds.

Imagine you're in a 500 mile race where the drivers average 3 pit stops.

If they are 2 seconds slower than average, that's a loss of six seconds.

Six seconds in a 500 mile race doesn't sound like much... but it's enough to be the difference between first and eigth place in a tight NASCAR race. UI'm sure you've seen races that came down to what are essentially photo finishes. One slow pit stop is the difference between a win and a loss there.

Also, consider that a couple seconds means that the racer will come back out on the track several places behind when they went in. This is more people to pass, and even a 2 second loss can be significantly compounded by needing to pass an additional 5+ cars compared to the quicker pit stop - so one 2 second pit stop difference might even add 20, 30, or 60 seconds for the time that the driver needs to complete the race.

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