Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s over-the-wall crew picked up its second Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season during Sunday night’s Nextel Cup event at California Speedway. On its way to a fifth-place finish, the team spent 302.234 seconds on pit road. Earnhardt’s #8 team, out of the Dale Earnhardt Inc. stable, will be presented with an $11,000 check by Checkers/Rally’s for winning the weekly competition. An additional $111,150 prize will be presented to the pit crew with the most wins at the completion of the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule. The #8 crew includes: Brian “Hootie” Chase (jackman), Shawn Ward (front-tire carrier), D.J. Copp (front-tire changer), Erik Wakeland (rear-tire carrier), Greg Burkhart (rear-tire changer), Jeff Clark (gasman), Craig Lund (catch can) and Jay Guarneri (windshield). The team’s crew chief is Tony Eury Jr. and the pit crew coordinator is Walt Smith. Mark Martin’s #01 crew leads the season-long Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge standings with four wins. To win, teams are required to finish on the lead lap while spending the least amount of time on pit road. Checkers/Rally’s is in its third season as title sponsor for the Pit Crew Challenge. To date, Checkers/Rally’s has paid out $275,000 to Nextel Cup pit crews. Checkers/Rally’s is the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR, more info at checkers.com.(DMF Communications PR)(9-6-2007)
