PIT CREW CHAMPIONSHIP
AND OTHER PIT CREW LINKS
PAST 2005 NEWS
2005 Crew Chief Challenge sponsored by Wypall Wipers
Voted on by the Fans
DATE, RACE, WINNER
2/20/04, Daytona 500, Pete Rondeau [#8]
2/27/05, Auto Club 500, Doug Richert [#16]
3/13/05, Daimler Chrysler 400, Alan Gustafson [#5]
3/20/05, Golden Coral 500, Bob Osborne [#99]
4/3/05, Food City 500, Scott Miller [#29]
4/10/05, Advance Auto Parts 500, Robbie Loomis [#24]
4/17/05, Samsung Radio Shack 500, Doug Richert [#16](2)
4/23/05, Subway Fresh 500, Tony Eruy Jr. [#15]
5/1/2005, Aaron's 499, Robbie Loomis [#24](2)
5/7/05, Dodge Charger 500, Doug Richert [#16](3)
5/14/05, Chevy 400, Tommy Baldwin [#9]
5/29/05, Coca-Cola 600, Steve Addington [#18]
6/5/05, MBNA RacePoints 400, Doug Richert [#16](4)
6/12/05, Pocono 500, Alan Gustafson [#5](2)
6/19/05, Batman Begins 400, Doug Richert [#16](5)
6/26/05, Dodge/Save Mart 350, Fatback McSwain [#21](1)
7/2/05, Pepsi 400, Greg Zipadelli [#20](1)
7/10/05, USG Sheetrock 400, Steve Hmiel [#8](1)
7/17/05 New England 300 Jimmy Fennig [#97](1)
7/24/05 Pennsylvania 500 Bob Osborne [#99](2)
8/7/05, Allstate 400, Greg Zipadelli [#20](2)
8/14/05, Sirius at the Glen Greg Erwin [#7](2)
8/21/05 GFS Marketplace 400 Slugger Labbe [#19](1)
8/28/05 Sharpie 500 Robbie Reiser [#17] (1)
9/4/2005 Sony HD 500 Alan Gustafson [#5] (3)
9/10/2005 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Jimmy Fennig [#97](2)
9/18/05 Sylvania 300 Robbie Reiser [#17] (2)
9/25/2005 MBNA 400 RacePoints 400 Chad Knaus [#48](1)
10/2/05 UAW-Ford 500 Greg Zipadelli [#20](3)
10/9/2005 Banquet 400 Pat Tryson [#6]
10/15/2005 UAW-GM Quality 500 Chad Knaus [#48](2)
10/23/2005 Subway 500 Steve Addington [#18](2)
10/30/05 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Bob Osborne [#99](3)
11/6/05 Dickies 500 Bob Osborne [#99](4)
11/13/05 Checkers Auto Parts 500, Doug Richert [#16](5)
- Richert and Manion Win Crew Chief of the Year Award: After a season of fierce competition, the 2005 Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge has crowned its champions. Doug Richert, of the #16 National Guard Ford, and Kevin "Bono" Manion, of the #8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, were each awarded Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year honors. At the conclusion of each Nextel Cup event this season, a panel of judges including a member of the local media, a Wypall Wipers representative, as well as Tony Eury Sr. and Robbie Reiser, selected the Crew Chief of the Race. The decision was based on who did the most outstanding job. It wasn't necessarily the winner of each race, but was certainly the leader who made the biggest difference for his team. Each Crew Chief of the Race was presented with a check for $1,000.
Richert won the award five times throughout the 2005 season to clinch Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year honors among the Nextel Cup garage. "Its an awesome feeling, but I'm not in this position without everyone on this race team," Richert said, "The team has definitely come full circle, we have all the ingredients; we got the driver, we got the crew, we got the parts and pieces to work with, and the Roush/Yates engine program is second to none." He managed to hold off Bob Osborne of the #99 Ford, who finished the year strong, amounting four Crew Chief of the Race wins. Richert took home a grand prize of $20,000, courtesy of Wypall Wipers, for his efforts.
Beginning at Daytona in July, Wypall extended the Crew Chief Challenge to the Busch Series garage. At each companion event, Reiser and Eury Sr. selected the most impressive crew chief of the day's race. Kevin Manion, Newt Moore, and Brad Parrott were each selected twice by the expert panel. A tie breaker was determined based on the point standings, which earned Manion the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year award for the NASCAR Busch Series. Manion was given a $5,000 grand prize. Wypall will return next year to continue the award, running both a full time Nextel Cup and Busch Series schedule. For more information about Wypall or the
Crew Chief of the Year award go to wypall.com.(SMC 500)(11-18-2005)
- Richert Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Phoenix: Doug Richert and the #16 National Guard/Post-it Ford were able to turn it around after a dismal week at Texas Motor Speedway to finish second at the Checker Auto Parts 500. Biffle led 189 laps, the most in the race, which is the 4th time this season he has done so. For his preparation getting the #16 Ford ready for Phoenix, Doug Richert was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Biffle fought hard in the Arizona sun, dominating most of the race. "Greg had to battle all day so we didn't gamble as far as tires go," said Richert. "We had a really good car; you don't get that too often, so we were hoping to capitalize. Overall, we were pleased with the 2nd place finish," continued Richert. The #16 Ford's turnaround from a lackluster performance could also be attributed to fast pit stops. "The guys have been great all year long; they know every second counts and they performed well today. We had problems in Texas, but we bounced back and put together some great pit stops for Greg."
The panel of voters, including local NBC Sportscasters, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser, unanimously voted for Richert as the crew chief that did the best job.
With his win, Doug Richert clinches the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year, racking up six wins overall. He will receive a check for $20,000 this weekend in Homestead. Bob Osborne is alone at second. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for third-place with three wins. Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus, Steve Addington and Robbie Loomis are tied for fourth-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are tied for fifth-place, each with one win. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(11-15-2005)
- Osborne Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Texas: Bob Osborne, crew chief of the #99 Office Depot
Ford, and Carl Edwards teamed up to capture their second win in a row this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Much like his win in Atlanta, Edwards only got stronger as the race went on. He led five times for 82 laps, most importantly, the final two. For bringing Edwards his fourth win of the season, Osborne was voted the WypallWipers Crew Chief of the Race. Edwards had the car to beat in the final stages of the Dickies 500, but an untimely caution with 15 laps left in the event forced him to work twice as hard for the victory. Osborne called Edwards into the pits under the yellow for a two-tire stop, which moved the #99 Taurus from first-place to sixth. With only 11 green flag laps in the event, Edwards gunned down the five drivers ahead of him and captured his first-ever win at Texas Motor Speedway.
The panel of voters, including Dave Wellham of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a WypallWipers representative and Tony Eury Sr., all voted for Osborne as the crew chief that did the best job. Doug Richert leads the WypallWipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five
wins. This weekend marked Osborne's fourth win, which moved him to second-place. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for third-place with three wins. Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus, Steve Addington and Robbie Loomis are tied for foruth-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are tied for fifth-place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(11-7-2005)
- Osborne Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Atlanta: Bob Osborne, crew chief of the #99 Office Depot
Ford, and Carl Edwards notched their third victory of 2005 this weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This was the duo's second Nextel Cup win of the year at Atlanta, giving them a clean sweep of the season's action at the track. Edwards led the race eight times for 115 laps, including the final 36, before taking the checkered flag of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. For bringing Edwards the win,
Osborne was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
In the early stages of the event, Edwards didn't appear to be as stout as the other cars in the top-five. But as the race went on, the #99 Taurus only got stronger and stronger. "There were a lot of good cars in the race today," said Osborne after the event. "We started out loose. Most of the cars running up front were neutral at first and we couldn't get up to them, but they started to tighten up through the race. We did too, but that's what we needed. The car was its best at the end. This team has worked so hard and this weekend is a
real testament to that." The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative, Robbie Reiser and Tony Eury Sr., all voted for Osborne as the crew chief that did the best job.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne and Greg Zipadelli are tied for second-place with three wins. Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus, Steve Addington and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and
Pete Rondeau are tied for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-31-2005)
- Addington Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Martinsville: #18-Bobby Labonte may have received two speeding tickets in this week's Subway 500, but they never slowed him down. With help from crew chief Steve Addington, Labonte overcame his pit road infractions to land a top-five finish, his best since the Coca-Cola 600. For leading his driver from the back to the front, Addington was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. "We had a really good car today," said Addington after the race. "Bobby (Labonte) knows how important track position is here (Martinsville) and was trying to get as much as he could on pit road. It ended up costing us twice. Fortunately our car was strong enough to get it back. We had the longest green flag run of the day after one of our penalties and that was a huge help. Our car was great on long runs and that allowed us to make up a lot of distance. If we didn't have to start in the back, we probably could have been battling the leader." The panel of voters, including Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser, split their votes on the crew chief of the race. Mulhern cast his vote for Pat Tryson, who overcame a brake problem on the #6 Ford. The Wypall representative and Reiser both voted for Addington.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for second-place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus, Steve Addington and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are tied for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-24-2005)
- Knaus Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Charlotte: Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus did it again.
Together, the duo overcame a last place starting spot, a faulty alternator and a compressed fender in route to their fourth straight win at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Johnson's win marked his fourth of the season and catapulted him into first place in the championship point standings. For leading his driver to Victory Lane, Knaus won the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr., all agreed that Knaus's performance deserved Crew Chief of the Race honors.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for second-place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are
tied for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-17-2005)
- Tryson Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Kansas: Pat Tryson's decision to service the No. 6
Viagra Ford with two tires during the early stages of the Banquet 400 paid dividends. His strategy put Mark Martin up front long enough to lead more than half of the event before he beat teammate Greg Biffle to the checkered flag. Not only did Tryson bring his team a win, but his efforts earned him the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. After starting in 19th place, Tryson improved Martin's track position with a two-tire stop on an early round of pit stops. The move catapulted Martin to the front of the pack, where he stayed for the rest of the day. "It was early enough in the race for us to take two tires and see how they did," said Tryson. "We didn't have a lot of laps on our left-sides and it was a good opportunity for us to do it. I'm surprised more teams didn't try the same thing, but I'm glad they didn't."
The panel of voters, including Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr., all voted for Tryson as the crew chief that did the best job.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for second-place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Chad Knaus, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are tied for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-10-2005)
- Zipadelli Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Talladega: Tony Stewart may not have won the
UAW-Ford 500 this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, but he performed in award-winning fashion. Stewart led the parade 11 times for a race high total of 65 laps before claiming second-place in one of the season's most thrilling finishes. Stewart's big day brought his crew chief Greg Zipadelli the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Although Stewart made his top-five run look easy, but his finish didn't come without a roadblock. The Home Depot Chevrolet seemed to battle overheating problems from the start of the race. Despite pulling all of the tape off the grill of the #20 machine, the temperature continued to climb before finally reaching 275 degrees. Water began to leave the engine, which gave Zipadelli no choice but to sacrifice his driver's track position and attempt fix the problem. The team made an extended stop on pit road to refill the engine and cool the motor. Zipadelli's plan got Stewart back on the track without losing any laps. Stewart battled back to claim second-place. More importantly, his race day comeback put him back on top of the championship point standings. "The Home Depot Chevrolet was pretty good, but we had an overheating problem," said Zipadelli. "We probably had a little too much tape on it and in traffic it got too hot. It pushed some water out, so we had to put some water in it. I think we got an air bubble in it. Once we got that worked out, we went to the front and led a bunch of laps afterwards. Everybody on the team did a great job today and we got the points lead back. That's the most important thing."
The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr., agreed that Zipadelli deserved Wypall Wipers Crew
Chief of the Race honors for his incredible comeback.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Greg Zipadelli are tied for
second-place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Chad Knaus and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-3-2005)
- Knaus Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Dover: Jimmy Johnson's victory at Dover International Speedway this weekend made both him and crew chief Chad Knaus winners. His win in the MBNA 400 moved him to the top point standings, giving him a seven point lead over second place Rusty Wallace, and brought Knaus the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. The most important call of the day came on the final round of pit stops. Knaus elected to change all four tires on the # 48 Lowe's
Chevrolet, despite Mark Martin receiving only two tires on his pit stop. Johnson lost a spot on the track, but his fresh rubber paid dividends. He quickly took the lead on the restart and never looked back. "I wasn't concerned that one person took two tires," said
Knaus. "I was concerned that everyone else was going to take two tires. Fortunately almost everyone took four. We had some good track position to where we had a lead with a couple of seconds gap that we could have taken two tires if we saw everyone else doing that. If we had to pit under green, we would have taken two tires, but under yellow I wanted to take four."
The panel of voters; including a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all cast their vote for Knaus as the crew chief that did the best job.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson is in second place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Zipadelli, Robbie Reiser and Robbie Loomis are tied for third place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Chad Knaus and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(9-26-2005)
- Reiser Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at New Hampshire: Matt Kenseth caught a bad break in
this weekend's Sylvania 300, literally. Following a routine stop for service, Kenseth's front brake locked up as he was exiting the pits and the driver of the # 17 DeWalt Ford was forced to plow around the track until he could reenter his stall. With crew chief Robbie Reiser
calling the shots, the crew fixed the problem and put Kenseth back in the hunt for a win. The team's rebound brought Kenseth a third-place finish and moved him ninth to fifth in the championship standings. For orchestrating his team's comeback, Reiser was awarded the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award.
"We got a lug nut caught between the hat and the rotor," said Reiser. "The guys do an awesome job each week and today was no different. They never gave up. They fixed the problem and got him (Kenseth) back in it. We followed that up with a two tire pit stop to get back the track position we lost and everything fell into place from there. The crew had stellar stops all day. Hopefully we can keep this string going over the next nine weeks."
"The DeWalt guys did a great job," said Reiser. "We had great pit stops. Came back from that problem and didn't really tear anything up
and were able to work our way back through there through pit strategy and having a good car. It feels good to come here and get a good
finish and I look forward to going to Dover." The panel of voters; including Chuck Givler of the Easton Express-Times, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; voted for Reiser as the crew chief who did the most outstanding job.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson is in second place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Zipadelli, Robbie Reiser and Robbie Loomis are tied for third place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(9-19-2005)
- Fennig Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Richmond: Kurt Busch and Jimmy Fennig made Richmond International Raceway their personal playground this weekend in the Chevy Rock N Roll 400. Busch drove the #97 Crown Royal Ford
to his third win in 2005, leading the most laps along the way. His victory marked his eighth top-10 and 14th top-five for the season.
The No. 97 team's performance earned Jimmy Fennig the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. "Kurt Busch, he got up on that wheel," said Fennig. "The guys did an awesome job. It was a big team effort. We lost a couple of races this year because of faulty parts or bad things happening, but Kurt was on a mission tonight and got it. We had a good car. Our car was good on short runs and long runs. Now I'm going after that championship." The panel of voters; including John Markon of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all voted for Fennig as the crew chief that did the best job. "He led the most laps and picked up the win," said Eury Sr. "There's really not a lot more that you could ask for. That's the kind of race that every crew chief hopes to have."
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson is in second place with three wins. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for third place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Robbie Reiser and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(9-12-2005)
- Gustafson Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at California: Alan Gustafson helped #5-Kyle Busch set
a new standard in NASCAR racing. At only 20 years of age, Busch became the youngest driver to win a Nextel Cup event, after taking the
checkered flag in the Sony HD TV 500. The duo's record breaking weekend earned Gustafson the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race
award. The pivotal moment of the race came on lap 242 when the drivers came in for their final round of pit stops. Only 12 laps remained in the event, still Gustafson called Busch into the pits for fresh tires. Nearly everyone followed suit. Although he was planning to take four
Goodyears, Gustafson made the last second call for only two tires and sent Busch on his way after the crew changed his right-sides. That put Busch out front for the final restart.
The panel of voters; including Gregg Patton of the Press-Enterprise, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser.; all agreed that
Gustafson deserved crew chief of the race honors.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson is in second place with three
wins. Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for third place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Robbie Reiser and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-29-2005)
- Reiser Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Bristol: Matt Kenseth and Robbie Reiser brought a new meaning to the word dominance this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kenseth not only sat on the pole for the Sharpie 500, but led 415 of 500 laps before the #17 DeWalt Ford took the checkered flag. For sweeping the weekend, Reiser was voted the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Kenseth's victory snapped a 57 week winless streak and put the 2003 champ back in the thick of the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He currently sits 11th the championship standings, only eleven points out of 10th. "This team hasn't run that well this year, but the last couple of weeks it's really been coming around," said Reiser. "These guys have stuck to it and I don't have one guy that has spent the season complaining. They've pretty much just gone to work. The last two months have been real strong for this team and these guys are behind it 100 percent. I think when everybody had written us out of the chase that was more than a challenge than anything else and they wanted to step up to the challenge and turn the thing around. There are a lot of guys on the 17 (team) that have been there a long time and those guys have a lot of pride and they aren't going to go down without a fight."
The panel of voters; including Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal, a WYPALL Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all cast
their vote for Robbie Reiser as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Doug Richert leads the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Robbie Reiser and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-29-2005)
- Labbe Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at MIS: The cost of gas may be at an all-time high, but for Jeremy Mayfield and the #19 team, fuel is priceless. After running outside the top-10 for the majority of the GFS Marketplace 400, crew chief Slugger Labbe called Mayfield into the pits on lap 148 to top off his fuel cell. The move sent Mayfield to the back of the pack, but when all of the leaders ducked into the pits on the ensuing green flag for a final gas and go, Mayfield inherited the lead and never looked back. The #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge assumed the top spot on lap 195 and held on to take the checkered flag. Labbe's fuel mileage gamble not only brought him a victory, but also won him the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award.
"History says this place from lap 150 on goes green," said Labbe. "We took a chance on history and we took a chance on what we did at the test. We ran 52 laps here at the test straight and then ran out of gas coming to 53. We knew we had the car to do it and the engine that could do it and the carburetor that could do it, and Jeremy is really good on saving fuel. We were cautiously nervous. We knew we could make it. It was going to be close of course. Jeremy thought he ran out a couple of times. We did a victory lap, did some burnouts and finally ran out of gas. It's a gamble. Maybe I should go to Vegas tomorrow."
The panel of voters; including Tony Eury Sr., a Wypall Wipers representative and Maureen Fulton of the Toledo Blade; collectivelyvoted for Labbe as the crew chief who did the best job. Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-22-2005)
- Erwin Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Watkins Glen: Robby Gordon and the # 7 Jim Beam
team scored one of the season's best comebacks this weekend at Watkins Glen International. After starting in 39th place, Gordon, with
guidance from crew chief Greg Erwin, hustled through the glen's twists and turns to score a runner-up finish. His second-place run in the
Sirius Satellite at the Glen marked his fifth top-10 in seven races at the 2.45 mile road course and his first top-10 of the 2005 season.
For bringing Gordon through the pack, Erwin was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
"It took everybody at Robby Gordon Motorsports working to give Robby the best car on the track this weekend to bring him from the back to the front," said Erwin after the race. "Robby showed what a great race car driver he really is coming from the back today. We had a
plan we stuck to it and didn't panic. Thankfully for us, things worked out the way they did. We were able to run right there with
(Tony Stewart) at the end of the race, two great road course drivers in two pretty cool road course cars."
"We didn't know what kind of fuel mileage we were going to get, so our first pit stop we stayed out longer than we should have to calculate
our mileage and see if we could make it to the end on one more stop. That bit us a little bit. We basically had to restart in 30th again.
Robby drove through field and our fuel mileage was good enough to get us on cycle and allow us to pit with the leaders. Robby took it from there."
The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser, gave their vote to Erwin as the Crew Chief of the Race
for his tactful comeback. Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-15-2005)
- Zipadelli Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Indy: Greg Zipadelli made Tony Stewart's dream come true this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - he brought the Indiana native a win at the Brickyard 400. Stewart held the lead three times for a total of 44 laps before taking the checkered flag in one of NASCAR's most prestigious events. His victory marked his fourth win this season and his seventh consecutive top-10 finish. For arranging the appointment for his driver to "kiss the bricks," Zipadelli was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Stewart had the car to beat this weekend. But unlike most winning cars that arrive to the track with hours of practice and test sessions
already logged, Stewart's car came fresh to the Brickyard. The original car that Zipadelli planned on using for the race didn't test
well, so he had his Home Depot crew piece together a brand new # 20 machine. "I'm just so proud of this team," said Zipadelli. "I'd like
to thank my fab shop and motor room. This is a brand new car. Everybody worked night and day to get it built. We weren't happy with
the one we tested. We went to the wind tunnel and the car looked good. And we brought it back here even without even taking it to the
race track. So I couldn't be prouder of everybody in our organization."
The panel of voters; including Steve Ballard of the Indianapolis Star, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that
Zipadelli deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-9-2005)
- Osbourne Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at Pocono: Bob Osborne, crew chief of the #99
Taurus, had the unenviable task of bringing Carl Edwards from the back of the pack to the front this Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Knowing it would take more than just a fast race car, Osborne executed a risky pit strategy that landed his driver a top-five finish in the Pennsylvania 500. For moving Edwards through the field, Osborne was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Edwards' double duty obligations made Osborne's day double tough. Edwards' Busch Series responsibilities had him racing in Fountain, Co on Saturday, forcing the team to use a substitute driver for time trials at Pocono. The team was penalized for the driver switch and had to start the Office Depot/Scotts Ford from the rear of the field. Track position comes at a premium at Pocono Raceway and Osborne knew that he had a tough chore ahead.
Osborne overcame his team's track position deficit by making a two-tire pit stop, not just once, but twice over the course of the race. Osborne's strategy moved Edwards into position to end the day with a fourth-place finish.
The panel of voters; including Chuck Givler of the Easton Express-Times, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all gave Osborne the nod as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Greg Zipadelli, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(7-25-2005)
- Fennig Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award at NHIS: After Kurt Busch made an early spin in Sunday's New England 300, nearly everyone considered the defending race champ out of contention. Despite the setback, Busch, with guidance from crew chief Jimmy Fennig, stormed back to finish the race in second
place. Busch's clutch performance marked his fifth top-10 finish in nine races at New Hampshire International Speedway, including four top-fives. For engineering his driver's comeback, Fennig was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Busch qualified his #97 Irwin Industrial Tools Taurus in 5th place, but his track position took a turn for the worse after he spun out in the first forty laps of the event. The incident dropped Busch to the tail-end of the field. To make things worse, Busch overshot his pit stall on the following yellow flag. Once again Busch fell back in the pack, but good pit stops and a strong handling car gave Busch the ammunition he needed to charge through the field.
The panel of voters; including Chuck Givler of the Easton Express-Times, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that Fennig was the crew chief who made the biggest difference in the race.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Fatback McSwain, Greg Zipadelli, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(7-18-2005)
- Hmiel Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not have had the fastest car in the race, but the driver of the #8 Chevrolet, along with crew chief Steve Hmiel, outfoxed the competition and brought their team their first victory in twenty races. Hmiel made the gutsy call to take only two tires on the final round of pit stops, setting up Earnhardt Jr.
to take over the lead on the ensuing green flag run. Hmiel's bold strategy brought the Budweiser team a win and earned him the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Earnhardt Jr. was in fourth place when the caution flag waved on lap 243. After taking only two tires on his pit stop, Earnhardt Jr. was the first car to exit pit road, moving him into the second position. When the race returned to green, Earnhardt Jr. scooted past Scott Wimmer for the lead and held off the quickly ensuing #17 USG machine piloted by
Matt Kenseth. Matt Kenseth held a commanding lead for the majority of the event, staying in the top spot for 176 out of 267 laps. Kenseth's run helped make Hmiel's decision on the final stop. The panel of voters; including Paul Skrbina of the Times of Northwest
Indiana, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all gave the nod to Hmiel as the Crew Chief of the Race.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Fatback McSwain, Greg Zipadelli, Steve Hmiel and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(7-10-2005)
- Zipadelli Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: No one came close to topping Tony Stewart this weekend at the Pepsi 400. Stewart led the parade for a record breaking 151 laps of the 160 lap event. Despite the field ganging up on the #20 Chevrolet, Stewart easily held on to the top spot to pick up his second consecutive win. Stewart's dominant night made his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, the easy pick for the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
The panel of voters; including Buddy Shacklette of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that Zipadelli unquestionably deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. "They (#20 team) came here with the right stuff," said Shacklette. "They were fast off the truck. I don't think Greg (Zipadelli) had to make very many changes all night. Obviously he did his homework. They were solid here in February and were solid here again. Greg is definitely the man of the hour."
"That was one of the best cars that I've ever seen at Daytona," said Reiser. "No one stood a chance against it. Everyone is going to have to raise the bar on their superspeedway program before we go to Talladega or Tony (Stewart) will have another day like this. Greg (Zipadelli) had an awesome day and no one deserved to be Crew Chief of the Race more than him."
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Fatback McSwain, Greg Zipadelli and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(7-3-2005)
- McSwain Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Ricky Rudd was flying this weekend at Infineon Raceway. In his #21 Air Force Taurus, Rudd drove all the way from his twentieth place starting spot into the top-five. Rudd's biggest move of the race came with thirty-nine laps left in the event, when crew chief Michael "Fatback" McSwain made the gutsy call for his driver not to follow the leaders' pit strategy and had him remain on the track. Despite being close on fuel, Rudd never sputtered and hung on for a second-place finish. McSwain not only picked up his best finish of the season, but was awarded the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Rudd was riding in twenty-fourth place when the caution waved on lap sixty-nine. Even though the leaders all came into the pits for four tires and fuel, Rudd stayed out and took over the fourth position. He took advantage of his newfound track position and muscled his way into the lead. With questionable fuel remaining and a set of worn out Goodyears, Rudd held off a hard charging Tony Stewart for several laps, before eventually succumbing to the #20 machine. This was #21 team's best finish of the 2005 season. The panel of voters; including the San Jose Mercury News, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all cast their vote for McSwain
as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Fatback McSwain and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(6-26-2005)
- Richert Wins 5th Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Greg Biffle put on a heroic display in the Batman Begins 400 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Along with crew chief Doug Richert, Biffle decided not to pit during the last caution period, moving him into the lead for the final green flag run. Even without fresh tires, Biffle pulled away from the competition,
winning the race by 1.675 seconds over second place Tony Stewart. For bringing Biffle his fifth win of the season, Doug Richert won the
Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Tony Stewart relinquished the lead on lap 170 to pit for fresh tires. Unlike his victories at Darlington and Dover earlier this season, Doug Richert didn't call his driver in for tires during the late-race caution period. Biffle, who was running second at the time, inherited the lead and never looked back. "Here we had a car that was really good in the long runs," said Richert. "We thought that if we got good track position we could get a jump on the guys who did take fresh tires, and that's exactly what happened. Mark (Martin) had fresh tires and was coming up through the pack, but we had a good enough lead to keep him and Tony (Stewart) behind us. Now if the caution came out again, Mark Martin probably would have won this race. As it turned out, our strategy worked best." The panel of voters; including Mike Pryson of the Jackson Citizen Patriot, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all cast their vote for Richert as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. With five wins this season, Doug Richert is in first place of the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(6-20-2005)
- Gustafson Wins 2nd Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: #5-Kyle Busch may not have won the Pocono 500, but
he passed more cars during the 200 lap race than any other driver in the forty-three car field. The rookie sensation suffered two setbacks over the course of the event that would have ruined most team's weekend, but with leadership from crew chief Alan Gustafson, Busch rebounded from both incidents and finished his day in the fourth position. For his comeback, Gustafson was elected the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Kyle Busch tagged the outside retaining wall during his qualifying lap, forcing his team to make repairs to the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet. His team's post-impound work moved Busch to the tail-end of the field for the start of the race. Busch moved
up to the third position, but that wouldn't be his only charge through the field. Later in the race, Busch overshot his pit stall. The extra-long stop put Busch in ninth place when he returned to the track. The team made up for their miscue on their final green flag stop. With several teams experiencing tire failures during the race, Gustafson made the gutsy call to change only two tires before sending Busch back out. With the time the team saved by changing only two tires, Busch shot into fourth place.
The panel of voters; including Chuck Givler of the Easton Express Times, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; collectively agreed that Gustafson deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. With four wins, Doug Richert is in first place of the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Alan Gustafson and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the
most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(6-13-2005)
- Richert Wins Fourth Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Not even Miles the Monster could stop the tag team of
Greg Biffle and Doug Richert this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Biffle blistered the intimidating high-banked, concrete oval in his Richert prepared Ford. The #16 Taurus took over the top spot on lap 241 and never looked back. Biffle led 150 of 400 laps before taking the checkered flag. His winning performance earned Richert his fourth Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award in 2005.
Most competitors didn't consider Biffle a threat during the first half of the race, but Richert made several changes over the course of the event to dial in the #16 National Guard Ford. "We made a bunch of changes to loosen up the car," said Richert. "We did a bunch of wedge, probably six or seven rounds; air pressure; track bar; rubbers in; rubbers out. It was a lot. We changed enough to where it would be good at the end and that's all that mattered." On lap 375, Richert had his driver relinquish the lead to make his final green flag pit stop. Despite only 25 laps remaining in the race, and several cars opting for two-tires or fuel only, Richert took the extra time to change all
four Goodyears before sending Biffle back on the track. The panel of voters; including Doug Lesmerises of the Wilmington News-Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all gave their vote to Doug Richert. With his fourth Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award, Richert stays in first place of the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(6-6-2005)
- Addington Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: The Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest and most exhausting race, lived up to the hype this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. On a record setting night of cautions, a seemingly endless streak of wrecks and blown motors finally climaxed with #48-Jimmie Johnson crossing the finish line inches over #18-Bobby Labonte. Although Labonte didn't leave with the victory, his performance earned his crew chief, Steve Addington, the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award.
Labonte, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, started the race in 34th place [fell to the rear due to a transmission change also]. In the initial sages of the event, he didn't appear to have a car capable of climbing into the top-five, but Addington took advantage of the
numerous caution periods to adjust on the car and improve its handling. The panel of voters selecting the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race; including a reporter, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr; all cast their vote for Addington. Addington received $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He now joins Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau in a tie for third place in the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Doug Richert stays in first place with three wins. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(5-31-2005)
- Baldwin Win Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race After finishing runner-up in six Nextel Cup races, #9-Kasey Kahne finally took his first trip to Victory Lane this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Kahne dominated the
event, starting from the pole and leading the most laps before taking the seemingly elusive checkered flag. For bringing his driver his
first career win in racing's top series, Tommy Baldwin won the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. The supporting cast of the Evernham Motorsports Dodge was as much a part of the win as the driver. When the leaders made their final trip down pit road, lap 333, the #9 crew executed a flawless stop, putting Kahne back on the track in the command position. Despite three more caution flags, Kahne stayed on the track and held onto the top spot. "We had a good idea of how long the tires would last in a run," said Baldwin. "We knew with sixty laps to go, that was it. We were done with the pit stops. We were sticking to our plan. If the caution came out anywhere from (lap) 290 and on, we were staying out the whole run. At lap 353, there was no way were coming in."
The panel of voters; including Mike Harris of the Richmond Times Dispatch, a WYPALL Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all
agreed that Baldwin was the top crew chief of the event. With his first WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award, Baldwin joins Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau in a tie for third place in the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Doug Richert stays in first place with three wins. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(5-16-2005)
- Richert Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award, takes the lead: When the caution flag waved with five
laps to go in the Dodge Charger 500, every crew chief was left with a few split seconds to decide what course of action to take for the
ensuing shoot out. In the end, Doug Richert, crew chief of the #16 National Guard/Travel Lodge Ford, proved to have the superior game plan. He sacrificed Greg Biffle's second-place position in the running order to take four fresh tires for the remaining green flag laps. Biffle used his fresh rubber to blitz past the three cars ahead of him on the restart, cruising all the way to Victory Lane. Richert's strategy
brought him his third Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Earlier this season at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richert let a probable win slip away by not pitting for tires after a late-race caution. Just the opposite happened today when the leader, #12-Ryan Newman, elected to stay on the track during the last caution period and watched Biffle and company all dive down pit lane. "Taking four tires for the last green flag seemed like a no brainer, even with only a few laps left," said Richert following the race. "I know exactly what the 12 car was feeling like when we all ducked in behind him. It's just like what happened to us at Bristol, but it was definitely the right thing for us to do. The other right thing was our crew performed how we should all night. We were the first car off pit road that took four tires and that was as critical as anything."
The panel of voters; including John Clayton of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all
thought Richert deserved top honors for executing a winning strategy. With his third Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award, Richert moves into first place of the Crew Chief Challenge standings. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are tied for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fan can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(4-25-2005)
- Loomis Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Jeff Gordon scorched the competition at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. His Robbie Loomis prepared Chevrolet easily weaved its way to the top spot, leading 139 of 190
laps in route to Gordon's second restrictor plate win of the season, his third win in 2005. Loomis' dominant car made him the easy pick
for the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The panel of voters; including Mike Szvetitz of Opelika-Auburn News, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all agreed that Loomis deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. "He (Loomis) got Gordon in first and got him out first," said Szvetitz. "He kept him up front for almost the whole race." Loomis collected $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Collecting his second award in 2005, Loomis is now tied with Doug Richert in the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are tied for second place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.(SMC 500)(4-25-2005)
- Eury Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: PHOENIX, AZ (April 23, 2005) - Michael Waltrip came up just short of winning his first race of the 2005 season. After starting twenty-eighth in the Subway 500 at Phoenix International raceway, Waltrip charged through the field, eventually battling Kurt Busch in thrilling late-race duel to the checkered flag. The #15 team's impressive comeback earned Tony Eury Jr. the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award. Waltrip's car showed promise early, running some of the fastest times in this weekend's practice sessions. Unfortunately, Waltrip didn't back up his practice speeds in qualifying and drove the #15 NAPA Chevrolet to a twenty-eighth place starting spot. The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; elected Eury via a split decision . Gintonio cast his vote for Lance McGrew, crew chief of the #25 GMAC Chevrolet. Reiser and the Wypall Wipers representative voted for Eury. Tony Eury Jr. collected $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He is now tied with Robbie Loomis, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau for second place in the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Doug Richert leads the competition with two wins. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.(SMC 500)(4-25-2005)
- Richert Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: Based on his performance in the Samsung Radio Shack 500, no one would have suspected that Greg Biffle wasn't driving his primary car. Following a crash in Saturday morning's practice session, the #16 team was forced unload their backup car, the same car that Biffle drove to a win in California. Along with crew chief Doug Richert, the team brought the car back to victory Lane in dominant fashion. Richert's day made him the easy choice for the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. For going to his backup car, Biffle was forced to sacrifice his fifth place qualifying position and start the race in forty-first place. Biffle wheeled the Post-It/National Guard Ford into the lead in on lap 88, remaining up front for 219 laps, until cruising to his fifth career Nextel Cup victory. "We went to a backup car and Doug (Richert) and I talked about it until probably 10 o'clock last night - things we ran in California, things that we had in the other car," said Biffle. "This is the car I won with at California and we like to keep it for a flatter race track. It doesn't have as much clearance underneath it for this kind of a banked race track. That's why I brought the
Atlanta car, so it's just a fantastic day. Pit stops were unbelievable. I just couldn't have asked for a better racecar and people working on it. It was phenomenal." The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including David Wellham of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury, Sr; unanimously agreed Richert deserved top honors. "When you start in the back and lead the most laps, that's an impressive day," said Wellham.
Tony Eury, Sr. was impressed with the #16 team's rally. "I can't believe that Doug (Richert) did that good of a job on his backup car,"
said Eury, Sr. "Biffle's crash in practice didn't give the team a whole lot of time to setup the backup car and barely gave them any time to test it out. Doug obviously knew what to do to make it fast. He hit the nail on the head. Biffle was racing in a league of his own
today. I can't imagine what he could have done in his primary car."
With his second Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award, Richert assumes first place in the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Robbie Loomis, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are tied for second place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will win $20,000 and be crowned the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(SMC500 PR)(4-18-2005)
- Loomis Leads Gordon to Amazing Comeback, Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: #24-Jeff Gordon recorded one of the most stellar comebacks in NASCAR history this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Along with crew chief Robbie Loomis, Gordon turned a three-lap deficit into a win for the Rainbow Warriors. For leading his team to victory lane, Loomis won Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors.
Most people counted Gordon out after a wheel vibration forced Gordon to make an unscheduled green flag pit stop on lap 46. The #24
Chevrolet was scored three laps down to the leaders, but through solid pit stops, the right chassis adjustments and an amazing driving
display, Gordon collected his second win of the season. "When we ran into trouble, my first thought was that we had 450 laps to get into victory lane," said Loomis following the race. "I knew we had a great car. We all believed in each other and I knew that Jeff (Gordon) could get the job done."
The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal, a Wypall Wipers
representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that Loomis' come from behind victory earned him top accolades. Loomis won $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He joins Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson, Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in a tie for the Crew Chief of the Year award. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(SMC500 PR)(4-11-2005)
- Fill In Crew Chief Takes Harvick to Victory Lane: Nothing was going to deny Kevin Harvick a trip to victory lane this weekend. With Scott Miller filling in as crew chief, Harvick went from worst to first in the Food City 500, collecting his first win in over fifty races. Miller's spectacular day earned him the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Miller led Harvick from the back of the pack not once, but twice. On the morning of the race, the #29 Goodwrench crew found a leak in the power steering system and replaced a faulty pump. For making a change to the car after it had been impounded, Harvick was sent to the back of the field for the start of the race. On top of that, Harvick had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop after two of his lug nuts were left untightened, once again sending him to the tail end of the lead lap. Despite the setbacks, Miller stuck with his game plan and inched Harvick back into the lead. "The last pit stop was one of the biggest factors in our win," said Miller after the race. "We brought Kevin (Harvick) in when the leader stayed out. The crew did an awesome job to get him out of the pits first. That's when our strategy fell into place. He had fresh tires and that's what he needed to take the lead and pull away." The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including Robert Daski of the Lynchburg Daily News, a WYPALL Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all thought Miller was the standout crew chief. Miller was awarded $1,000 for taking home Crew Chief of the Race honors. He is now tied with Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson, Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in the point standings for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(4-4-2005)
- Osborne Wins WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: Carl Edwards didn't think life could get any better after winning the Aaron's 312 on Saturday afternoon. Little did he know that he would eclipse his shining moment the very next day. In stunning fashion, Edwards followed up his Busch Series triumph with a victory in the Golden Coral 500. His team, led by crew chief Bob Osborne, kept Edwards in the hunt all race long, setting the stage for a dramatic last lap pass over Jimmie Johnson for the win. Osborne's performance earned him the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The panel of voters, Rick Minter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a WYPALL Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser, all agreed Osborne outshined the competition. "He (Osborne) made all of the right adjustments during the race," said Minter. "He made the car its best when it mattered the most." Osborne won $1000 for picking up the Crew Chief of the Race award. He is now tied with Alan Gustafson, Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in the point standings for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will
receive $20,000.(WypAll Wipers)(3-22-2005)
- Crew Chief Award Stays: Without a doubt, the greatest thing about NASCAR is its fans. It's their passion and enthusiasm that makes racing the best sport in the world. So we appreciate you sharing thoughts on the Crew Chief Challenge. After all, that's what this contest is all about - settling the hot debate of who really is the best crew chief in the Nextel Cup garage. Kyle Busch's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, was awarded the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Gustafson's car met all specifications before the race, and it was an incident during the event that caused it to exceed the height requirement. WYPALL Wipers certainly does not endorse any kind of dishonesty. The voting panel, including Tony
Eury Sr., the local media and a WYPALL Wipers representative, took into account several factors when picking the winner, including
strategy, pit stop times, improvement throughout the day and overall performance. Given that criteria, the vote for Gustafson still
stands.(SMC 500 PR)(3-21-2005)
- Gustafson Leads Busch to Career Best Wins WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: While so many race teams had a day filled with ups and downs, Kyle Busch was a picture of consistency in the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the # 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet, kept his team in the top-10 for the majority of the race, eventually scoring his driver a second place finish in only his ninth career Nextel Cup start. Gustafson's banner day earned him the WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
A panel of three voters, including a WypAll Wipers representative, Tony Eury Sr. and Todd Dewey of the Las Vegas Review Journal, all
agreed Gustafson was the stand out crew chief of the race. Tony Eury Sr. was equally impressed with Gustafson's performance.
"It's hard for anyone to finish in the top-five, much less a rookie," said Eury Sr. "Alan (Gustafson) gave his driver an awesome car, and
made the right decisions to make it better during the race. This is the first year that (Kyle) Busch and Alan have worked together.
Alan's really done a good job working with that team. If he keeps this up, it won't be long before they go to Victory Lane." Gustafson won $1000 for picking up the Crew Chief of the Race award. He is now tied with Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in the point standings for the WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(WypAll Wipers PR)(3-15-2005)
- Richert Shines in California, Wins WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: California Speedway stumped several crew chiefs in the Nextel Cup garage. The low-banked, two-mile oval had more than a few teams second guessing their setups and pit strategies. And while the race weekend left most crew chiefs with more questions than answers, Doug Richert, crew chief of the #16 National Guard team, undoubtedly had a handle on the track from the very start. Richert led his driver to Victory Lane in the Auto Club 500 and was voted the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
A panel of three voters, including Tony Eury Sr., a representative from WYPALL Wipers and a member of the local media all cast their
votes for the Crew Chief of the Race following the event. Richert won by a vote of two to one. Anne Marie Brooks of the Lebanon Democrat voted for Jimmy Fennig as the Crew Chief of the Race. The WYPALL Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr. both gave their nod to Richert. Both Pete Rodeau and Doug Richert have each won the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award in 2005. The crew chief with the most weekly wins at the end of the season will be named WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and receive $20,000. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(WypAll PR)(3-1-2005)
- Rondeau Wins WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: Pete Rondeau had the weight of the racing world on his shoulders this weekend. After an unbelievably dominant feat by the #8 Budweiser team in last year's Daytona 500, everyone was
expecting Rondeau's debut as crew chief to bring Dale Earnhardt Jr. a repeat performance. Although it looked bleak for Rondeau in the
beginning stages of the race, he took a car that was barely running in the top-20 and transformed it into a top-five finisher. For his
efforts, Rodeau was voted the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The panel voting for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race consisted of Buddy Shacklette of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Robbie Resier and a WYPALL Wipers Representative. All three members of the panel agreed Rondeau was the top pick. With his win, Pete Rondeau is in first place in the WYPALL Wipers
Crew Chief Challenge. The crew chief with the most weekly wins at the end of the season will be named WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and receive $20,000.00. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(Wypall Wipers PR)(2-22-2005)
- WYPALL Wipers Returns in 05' With Bigger and Better Crew Chief Challenge: After a highly successful 2004 campaign, WYPALL Wipers will return to racing in 2005, once again highlighting crew chiefs in the Nextel Cup garage with their Crew Chief Challenge program. With changes in place for the new season, the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge promises to be one of the most exciting and innovative contests to date. Following each Nextel Cup race, a panel of voters, including Robbie Reiser and Tony Eury Sr., a Wypall Wipers representative and a member of the local media, will cast their vote for the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The elected crew chief will receive $1,000 at the conclusion of the event. At the season's end, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will be awarded $20,000 and bragging rights of being the 2005 Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. Tony Eury Sr. won Wypall Wipers Crew of the Year honors, after being voted Crew Chief of the Race nine times throughout 2004. For more information on the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge, logo onto www.WYPALL.com.(PR)(2-15-2005)
Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge
Past Winners/News
Have not gotten any updates on this award in a while...
- Mears wins Checker-Rally's award: The No. 41Target/Breast Cancer Research Foundation Team with Driver Casey Mears Wins won the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge at the UAW-GM Quality 500 on October 15th at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
As the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR, Checkers/Rally's recognizes the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team with the best pit road performance each week with a $10,000 prize. At the end of the season, Checkers/Rally's will award the $100,000 grand prize to the team that garners the most Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge wins throughout the race season. Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge takes place at all 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point races. To win, teams must finish on the lead lap while spending the least amount of time in pit lane. For details on the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge, visit checkers.com/nascar.(MARC PR)(10-21-2005)
- #38 Pit Crew WIns: For the third time this season the M&M’S Chocolate Thunder Pit Crew won the Checker’s/Rally’s Double Drive Thru Pit Crew Challenge Award. The M&M’S Team spent a total of 191.077 seconds on pit road to beat out their other
competitors. This victory positions the Chocolate Thunder Crew in a three-way tie with the #2 and #12 Penske Teams for the season lead.(M&M's Motorsports)(6-22-2005)
- #24 Crew Wins at Talladega: Hendrick Motorsports' crew for the No. 24 Chevrolet has won $10,000 for the fastest pit work in Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway among teams participating in the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge. No details were announced. The crew with the most weekly wins will collect a $100,000 prize at the end of the season.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(5-3-2005)
- #12 Crew wins at Phoenix: The #12 ALLTEL pit crew earned its second Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge Award at Phoenix International Raceway last weekend. The ALLTEL team is now tied with its teammate, the #2 Miller Lite team, as well as the #38 team for the Checkers/Rally’s Challenge lead.(Penske Racing)(4-28-2005)
- Harvick Crew Wins at Texas: Richard Childress Racing's crew for the #29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick has won the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge for the fastest pit work among participating teams during Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The crew collects $10,000 for the win in a contest that awards $100,000 to the crew with the most weekly wins at the end of the season. No times or other details were announced.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-20-2005)
- Rusty's Crew Takes Checkers/Rally's Pit Award: Penske Racing South's crew for the #2 Dodge of Rusty Wallace won the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge for the fastest pit work in Sunday's Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway. No times or details were reported, but the crew collected the $10,000 weekly prize after Wallace finished fifth. The contest also offers $100,000 at the end of the season for the crew with the most weekly wins during the year.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-13-2005)
- #38 Crew Repeats at Bristol: The M&M’S “Chocolate Thunder” Pit Crew notched their second win of the season in the Checker’s/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The #38 Robert Yates Racing Team posted the best pit road service time out of the over 30 participating NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams. The #38 Team will be recognized for their efforts this weekend prior to the start of the Advance Auto Part 500 at Martinsville Speedway where they will be awarded a $10,000 prize.(M&M's Motorsports)(4-8-2005)
- #38 Crew First at Atlanta: The M&M’S “Chocolate Thunder” Pit Crew picked up their first win of the season in the Checker’s/Rally’s DoubleDrive-Thru Challenge at the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The #38 Robert Yates Racing Team posted the best pit road service time out of the over 30 participating NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams. The #38 Team will be recognized for their efforts this weekend prior to the start of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway where they will be awarded a $10,000 prize.(M&M's Racing PR)(3-30-2005)
- Newman Crew Wins at Las Vegas: Penske Racing South's crew for the #12 Dodge of Ryan Newman has collected the $10,000 prize for the fastest pit work in Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway among teams participating in the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(3-16-2005)
- Rusty's Crew Wins at California: Penske Racing South's crew for the #2 Miller Lite Dodge of Rusty Wallace has won the $10,000 prize for the fastest pit work during Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway among teams participating in the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge competition. Joe Gibbs Racing's crew for the #20 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart was named the winner of the prize for its work in the season-opening Daytona 500.(NASCAR Scene)(3-2-2005)
- Pit-Crew Award to be sponsored by Checkers: Checkers/Rally's says it will award a $10,000 prize to the Nextel Cup
team with the best pit stop each week among those participating in its Double Drive-Thru Challenge and award $100,000 to the team with the most wins throughout the season. Checkers/Rally's this year took over as the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR in place of McDonald's, which had awarded $20,000 to the winning team each week last year and $200,000 at the end of the year to teams that took part in a similar contest last year. The restaurant chain said winning teams must finish on the lead lap and spend the least amount of time in pit lane.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(2-22-2005)
- CHARTS: Jayski's Silly Season Site - Pit Crew Chart Page, the over the wall gangs of the Nextel Cup Teams
