ThatsRacin.com wins Coca-Cola Family Pit Crew Challenge media division, the #20 Home Depot takes prize: The good folks at Coke dangle several thousand dollars in front of a bunch of honest-to-Bobby Allison Winston Cup pit crews to get them to compete. And they do so on the main stage right slap in the middle of Speed Street, a thoroughfare in Charlotte, N.C., better known as Tryon Street the rest of the year. The media thing is just a warm-up act, an under-card kind of thing that pits media folks against the Charlotte mayor, currently Pat McCrory, and a top Food Lion executive. Food Lion, like the Coca-Cola organization, does a ton for racing and helps bring Speed Street to town. ThatsRacin’s team won last year by ripping off a less-than-exemplary 52-second stop, changing only two tires and barely beating Hizzoner and his Food Lion pal. This years team at ThatsRacin, Chad Sitler, ThatsRacin.com’s content manager, and ThatsRacin’s Bob Henry were first out on Friday, with a couple of Charlotte Observer sports department guys and two television personalities from WBTV to follow. The mayor and the grocery chain exec would finish things off. Their ordeal was finally over after an excruciating 45 seconds. And we had to stand by and watch to see if any of the other teams would beat it. Every one of them came really close, and without benefit of the professional help we’d had. But no one did it under 45 seconds – until the real pits crews took the stage. They had two more tires to change and other duties to perform as well. And they did it in a third of the time. No, less than a third of the time. So next time you go to a race and they’re introducing the drivers, applaud as politely as you always do. Or boo, as the case may be. But next time you go to The Winston and they introduce the whole crew, clap until your hands are raw and cheer until you’re hoarse. I’m not saying that the drivers aren’t way good and worthy of your praise. Or your jeers, as the case may be.(see full story at ThatsRacin.com) Pit Crew Challenge winners Bob Henry and Chad Sitler. (Fay Theos Photo) AND The #20 Home Depot team took home a $7,000 paycheck at the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 Festival Friday afternoon. During the Fifth Annual Coca-Cola Racing Family Pit Crew Challenge, NASCAR pit crews received their chance to shine in front of the fans, and the competing teams. The Pit Crew Challenge invited the crews from each of the Coca-Cola Racing Family teams to compete for $7,000 for the fastest pit stop on Speed Street. Each participating pit crew completed one stationary, four-tire stop on a Coca-Cola car, then raced across the finish line to stop the clock. The No. 20 Home Depot crew earned the first-place cash prize with a time of 16.51 seconds. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #8 Budweiser crew finished second with a time of 16.70 seconds, earning a $3,000 cash prize as runners-up. The defending champion, Steve Park’s #1 Pennzoil crew, finished in third place.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-25-2002)
