In CSM there is a tool called Easywad, you can open wad files and - in your case - see what's inside anims.wad. The mods have the raw files of the pitcrew textures in the data\Anim folder usually and a new anims.wad is built when you start game (afterwards it's restored of course). Because car shapes are saved in cars.wad the answer to your question is: no, they are not linked to the car shapes.
It would be interesting to know if there are physics data for the pitcrew, I don't believe so. Pitcrew strategy (and its behavior) is set in the Magic Data of any track and can be changed or change it in-game with simple settings in the Car Setup.
Changing RPM: Check if you can do it in the Magic Data for the track (use TSM or IMagic), or you can use the Physics Editor but I don't know what changes are made there, I never used it. I was never able to finish a race in wet conditions with the default values, so I would be a fool trying and mess up the physics
XenonS
Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2016 04:39PM by XenonS.