CHAMPCAR/CART: Pit Crew Challenge returns

Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge Returns
CART Team Contest to Crown Fastest Crew

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. When the CART FedEx Championship Series launches its 2002 season in Monterrey, Mexico, March 10, the pit crews that service the fastest open-wheel race cars in the world will begin their own quest for a championship in the Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge.

For the fourth year, Craftsman, the Official Tool of CART, will sponsor the year-long contest to determine the best pit crew in CART. The winning team will receive $50,000 in cash and a custom Waterford Crystal Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge championship trophy.

"The Pit Crew Challenge allows Craftsman, the nation's most popular brand of mechanics' tools, to feature the work of some of the best mechanics in the world, the people who service the cars in the CART FedEx Championship," said Tour0x00e9 Claiborne, Sears motorsports marketing manager.

"During the first three years of the Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge, we found great interest in the contest among the teams, media and fans," Claiborne said. "It seems everyone who follows Champ car racing appreciates the skill and hard work of the pit crews who keep their cars on the track and their drivers in the race."

The 2002 Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge will retain the format of the previous years, which awards points to the teams based on their performance in the pits during the season.

Using CART's official timing system, the total amount of time each team spends on pit road during the race is recorded. Points are then awarded using the same formula that determines the series championship; less time in the pits means more points.

At the end of the season, the top four teams in points, plus a "wild card" entry the team that scores the most Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge points during the CART Grand Prix of Chicago on June 30 will meet in a shootout to determine the 2002 champion at California Speedway.

In 2001, Team Rahal No. 8 with driver Kenny Brack laid claim to being the best pit crew in CART as they executed the fastest pit stop in the championship shootout.

The pit crew from Team Kool Green that fields the No. 26 car for driver Paul Tracy won both previous Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge championships after performing lightning-quick pit stops during the 1999 and 2000 shootouts.

"We are very proud of our partnership with Craftsman and their commitment to honor the hard work and dedication of the pit crews in the FedEx Championship Series," said CART VP of Marketing Steve Fusek. "We are grateful the award appreciates the mechanics and individuals behind-the-scenes that work on some of the most competitive race cars in the world."

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