Mike Rennie has been crowned as the 2003 DEWALT “King of the Drill.” The 34-year-old drywall contractor from Kirkwood/Seattle, WA won first place in the DEWALT “Million Dollar Challenge” national cordless screwdriving contest, sponsored by Chevy Trucks. The challenge was to see who could drive five screws into a piece of wood the fastest with a DEWALT cordless drill. Contestants had to start a timer, pick up the drill, drive the screws, and stop the timer with the drill. Rennie competed against the 13 other fastest “drivers” from the U.S. and Canada during the final contest held November 1-2 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona. The 14 contestants were seeded tournament-style. A process of elimination determined the final winner. Rennie sank five screws in 7.6 seconds in the 4th round to win the event along with $25,000 and a new Chevy Silverado pick-up truck. He also had the chance to earn a $1,000,000 grand prize if he could sink five screws under 6.5 seconds during the grand finale. Standing front and center on the start/finish line, Rennie was on pace to beat the clock but got hung up on the fourth screw. He ended the million-dollar round with a time of 8.06 seconds.( DeWalt Site )(11-6-2003)
