No. 15 Pit Crew finishes first in Dover

Waltrip's Pit Crew expands lead following win in Dover

By winning the Dover Winston Cup round of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade, the pit crew for Michael Waltrip's team expanded its points lead for the inaugural NASCAR championship, which pays $20,000 to the winning pit crew at each race and $200,000 to the pit crew that accrues the most points during the 36-race season.

Sunday's (June 1) performance was the second pit crew win of the season for Waltrip's team, which won the opening round of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship -- Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway. After 13 point races, Waltrip's crew holds a 43-point lead over the crew of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Waltrip's pit crew claimed the Dover victory due to its car - the No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet - spending the least amount of time on pit road. The total time for Waltrip's car on pit road was 284 seconds, two fewer than the second-place Citgo Ford of Jeff Burton.

Coming in third was the pit crew of Bobby Labonte, whose Interstate Batteries Chevrolet was clocked with 290 seconds on pit road.

During each 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup points event, the participating team whose car spends the least amount of aggregate time off the race track will be named the weekly winner of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE, provided the team's driver takes the green flag at the beginning of the event and the checkered flag at the conclusion of the event. A timing line at the entrance and exit of pit road triggers the car's transponder and records the total time spent off the race track.

The point distribution per race is: 43 points for first place, descending in increments of one.

The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE is the largest monetary contingency program in NASCAR history. <pre> Top 10 Pit Crews For Participating Teams In Sunday's (June 1) Armed Forces Family 400 at Dover

1.  Michael Waltrip Team        284 seconds
2.  Jeff Burton Team            286
3.  Bobby Labonte Team          290
4.  Bill Elliott Team           322
5.  Mike Wallace Team*          332
6.  Jamie McMurray Team         337
7.  Robby Gordon Team           345
8.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team     359
9.  Tony Stewart Team           370
10. Todd Bodine Team            385

*substituting for the injured Jerry Nadeau

2003 Winners of The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE

Race                            Team Winner
Daytona (Feb. 16)               Michael Waltrip Team
Rockingham (Feb. 23)            Dave Blaney Team
Las Vegas (March 2)             Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Atlanta (March 9)               Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Darlington (March 16)           Jeff Green Team (with Richard Childress Racing)
Bristol (March 23)              Bill Elliott Team
Texas (March 30)                Robby Gordon Team
Talladega (April 6)             Bill Elliott Team
Martinsville (April 13)         Bobby Labonte Team
California (April 27)           Bobby Labonte Team
Richmond (May 3)                Jeff Burton Team
Charlotte (May 25)              Dale Jarrett Team
Dover (June 1)                  Michael Waltrip Team

Top 10 Point Leaders McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE (following Dover, 6/1/03)

Pos.    Car#      Team                          Points
1       15        Michael Waltrip Team          484
2        8        Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team       441
3       31        Robby Gordon Team             430
4       18        Bobby Labonte Team            416
5       97        Kurt Busch Team               409
6       16        Greg Biffle Team              398
7       40        Sterling Marlin Team          390
8       77        Dave Blaney Team              365
9       42        Jamie McMurray Team           357
10      38        Elliott Sadler Team           355

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