IndyCar
IRL: Cheever Racing wins Indy Pit Stop Challenge
Indianapolis, May 22, 2003 - Red Bull Cheever Racing won today's Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge competition. Along the way, they defeated Dreyer & Reinbold, Kelley Racing, and - in the final round - Penske Racing. With Buddy Rice at the wheel, ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:32 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Indianapolis, May 22, 2003 - Red Bull Cheever Racing won today's Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge competition. Along the way, they defeated Dreyer & Reinbold, Kelley Racing, and - in the final round - Penske Racing. With Buddy Rice at the wheel, the team completed each round with quicker and quicker times, defeating Helio Castroneves' crew 8.84 seconds to 9.13 seconds. The team's final round time was the second fastest overall within the competition, bested only by Team Penske's 8.70 seconds when they beat Team Rahal in the second round.
Pitstop competition: winners Buddy Rice and Cheever Racing crew.
Photo by Michael C. Johnson.
A share of the credit for the victory went to driver Rice, who performed NHRA-like starts off the line and out of the pit box. Coupled with flawless performance by the pit crew, the team has gained momentum for Sunday's Indianapolis 500. In four prior years, the pit stop champions have gone on to win the race. Two of those double victories were by Team Penske, runner up today.
"Today," said team owner Eddie Cheever, "was a day that the mechanics get to show what they're capable of doing. And it was great to see my team beat the Penske team. It is something we take great pride in because it is a great accomplishment. They are a well trained team. They are a team that misses nothing
"It is all about the crew-- they did a great job."
Cheever took obvious pride in the team's victory over one of the best teams in racing, and looks for long-term momentum. "We have not backed down because we are a little behind with Chevy," he said. "But when the new Chevy engines arrive - and they will arrive - and will be competitive again - we will be ready. When we have an engine capable of beating Penske, or whoever the competition is, we will take that opportunity.
"Will we be able to beat them Sunday because we won the pit stop competition? It's definitely a point in our favor. That is one of the things you have to do to win the 500."
Red Bull Cheever Racing won $30,000 out of a total purse of $80,000. It was the team's first victory in the Challenge, and only the second time the competition has been won with a rookie driver at the wheel.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article IRL: Gordon still searching for answers
Next article IRL: Indy 500: Notebook 2003-05-24
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Helio Castroneves
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
San Diego
Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
More from
Team Penske
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
20 h
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
F1-level excess: How Manuel Reuter won the ITC title with Opel 30 years ago
DTM
DTM DTM 29 min
F1-level excess: How Manuel Reuter won the ITC title with Opel 30 years ago
Toto Wolff dismisses Helmut Marko's Russell theory: "He still has what it takes"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
52 min
Toto Wolff dismisses Helmut Marko's Russell theory: "He still has what it takes"
5 things you never knew about the Automobile Club de l’Ouest
Sponsored
Sponsored 1 h
5 things you never knew about the Automobile Club de l’Ouest
Jorge Martin hopeful of racing in Malaysia after "not complete" fracture diagnosis
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
Jorge Martin hopeful of racing in Malaysia after "not complete" fracture diagnosis
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe