All-Star: No. 17 pit crew Challenge preview

ROBBIE REISER SIZES UP HIS "KILLER BEES'" CHANCES AT THE NEXTEL ALL-STAR PIT CREW CHALLENGE CONCORD, N.C. - Long considered one of the best pit crews in the NEXTEL Cup Series, the aptly named "Killer Bees," the over-the-wall pit crew for Matt ...

ROBBIE REISER SIZES UP HIS "KILLER BEES'" CHANCES AT THE NEXTEL ALL-STAR PIT CREW CHALLENGE

CONCORD, N.C. - Long considered one of the best pit crews in the NEXTEL Cup Series, the aptly named "Killer Bees," the over-the-wall pit crew for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion team, will be one of the teams competing in the NEXTEL All-Star Pit Crew Challenge Wednesday evening at Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte, N.C.

While the No. 17 pit crew is consistently one of the best on Sundays, they have struggled adapting to the new Pit Crew Challenge format, which started in 2005, which calls for teams to end their round by pushing a 3,400-pound stockcar 40 yards. Robbie Reiser, who was featured on Monday's NASCAR Teleconference, addressed the discrepancy in real pit stops and what is asked of the crews in the Pit Crew Challenge and how he thinks his team, two-time champs under the original format in 2001 and 2002, will stack up.

"The chances at the competition this year are pretty tough for our team," Reiser admitted. "With the structure that they have, the pushing of the car, my guys aren't really structured to push the car real fast, but they do great pit stops, and we'll see how they make out. I think individual-wise they'll be pretty tough, but on the overall competition they're going to have their work cut out for them.

"I think over the years the 17 has been very fortunate with the group we've had, and we've had a lot of long-time loyal members of this team that have put a lot of dedication into this thing. They show it every week they go on the race track. On Sunday, they were second-to-none on pit road, getting five, six spots at a time when they came onto pit road. Actually they were the ones that helped us get a top-10 finish. Our car wasn't all that great at the end of the race, and the job that they could do on pit road and get us some positions and put us in a spot of running decent was a job they were getting done. It was pretty awesome."

THE KILLER BEES

RUSS STRUPP - Jackman
Home: Allenton, Wis.
Age: 44
Height: 5'7
Weight: 195
Years over the wall: 14 - Began in 1994 with Reiser Enterprises' No. 17 NBS team
Years with No. 17 team: Nine - ORIGINAL MEMBER - Began in 1999

JUSTIN NOTTESTAD - Front Tire Changer
Home: Cambridge, Wis.
Age: 30
Height: 5'11
Weight: 180
Years over the wall: Seven - Began in 2001 with Roush Racing's No. 17 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Seven - Began in 2001

CHRIS BROOK - Front Tire Carrier
Home: Davie, Fla.
Age: 36
Height: 6'0
Weight: 265
Years over the wall: Eight - Began in 2000 with Sonntag Racing's No. 73 NCTS team
Years with No. 17 team: Five - Began in 2003

DAVE SMITH - Rear Tire Changer
Home: Millersville, Md.
Age: 33
Height: 6'0
Weight: 180
Years over the wall: Eight - Began in 1999 with Roush Racing's No. 17 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Four - ORIGINAL MEMBER - Began in 1999

GREG EBERT - Gasman
Home: Marshall, Wis.
Age: 29
Height: 5'9
Weight: 215
Years over the wall: Seven - Began in 2001 with Roush Racing's No. 50 NCTS team
Years with No. 17 team: Three - Began in 2005

DAVE MCDONALD - Catch Can Man
Home: Clinton, Mich.
Age: 38
Height: 6'1
Weight: 200
Years over the wall: Four - Began in 2002 with Ganassi Racing's No. 41 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Three - Began in 2005

JASON BINGER - Rear Tire Carrier
Home: San Antonio, Tex.
Age: 36
Height: 5'11
Weight: 205
Years over the wall: Ninth - Began in 1999 with Parker Racing's No. 72 NBS team
Years with No. 17 team: 2007 is his first season with the No. 17 team

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR's largest team operating 14 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O'Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil and Erik Darnell; and one in the ARCA/ReMax Series with Darnell.