Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #8 crew collected the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win in Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Kansas Speedway. It was the third win of the season for Earnhard’t over-the-wall crew. On its way to a 10th-place finish, the Budweiser crew spent 230.576 seconds on pit road during the rain-shortened 210-lap event. The win moves Earnhardt’s crew to a tie with Denny Hamlin’s #11 team for second place in the season long standings. Mark Martin’s #01 crew and Jeff Gordon’s #24 crew are currently tied for the lead with four wins each. Checkers/Rally’s will present the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team with an $11,000 check for winning the weekly competition. An additional $111,150 prize will be presented to the over-the-wall crew with the most wins at the completion of the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule. The #8 crew consists of: 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 pit crew coordinator is Walt Smith. 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 $319,000 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)(10-5-2007)
