Kurt Busch’s #97 team won the National Pit Crew Championship, defeating Jeremy Mayfield’s #19 crew in the final round with a mistake-free stop Monday night. in Mooresville, NC. Busch’s crew, which helped him win the Nextel Cup championship last season, didn’t make a single mistake during the competition and picked up $100,000 for the win. Mayfield’s team earned $25,000 for finishing second. Joe Nemechek’s #01-crew was third — missing out on a spot in the finals because of a two-second penalty for a loose lug nut in the semifinals. The competition was a bracket-style tournament that pitted crews against each other in four rounds. Teams had to change four tires and fill the car with fuel in a race against the stopwatch. Each tire changer had to push a button on the wall to stop the clock, and many teams had a team member pick the changer up and throw him at the wall. Penalties were issued for loose lug nuts, excessive fuel spillage, or not getting enough gas in the car. Mayfield’s crew went up against Busch’s team, which completed its stop in 16.342 seconds. Mayfield’s team clocked in at 16.439, but was penalized four seconds for two loose lug nuts.
An additional $500,000 was up for grabs in a bonus round, open to the top three finishing teams and one wild card, which was Greg Biffle’s #16-crew. The crews had to complete an error-free stop in 14.437 seconds to earn the money. Busch’s crew came close — front tire changer Scott Ward did his part in 14.121 seconds and celebrated by jumping on the hood of his car. But rear changer Kevin Gillman clocked in at 14.900, just short of the bonus.
The winning crew members were: Mark Full (front tire carrier), Scott Ward (front tire changer), Scott Radel (jackman), Doug Newell (fueler), Jim Gaudette (catch can), Kevin Gillman (rear tire changer), Jason Binger (rear tire carrier) and Wayne DeLoria (coach). The four Cup teams from Hendrick Motorsports declined to participate [no idea why].
NASCAR and Nextel will also hold a pit crew competition. That event is scheduled for May 19th at the Charlotte Coliseum, and the Hendrick teams are participating in that one. Because two competitions is one too many, both sides have agreed to try to merge it into one event next season. So all eyes were on this one to see how it would unfold. The temporary bleachers were filled to capacity — roughly 4,000 fans — and several drivers were on hand to support their crews.(ESPN.com/AP)(5-10-2005)
