No. 15 Pit Crew wins Texas

Waltrip's Pit Crew Wins in Texas

Michael Waltrip's pit crew claimed the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade in Sunday's (April 4) Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The No. 15 NAPA crew edged the No. 38 crew of Elliott Sadler's team for the win and the $20,000 first-place check.

Waltrip's crew finished second in the overall McDonald's/POWERade championship standings in 2003 with five victories and $100,000 in prize money.

In the current McDonald's/POWERade season standings, Kurt Busch's No. 97 crew leads with 269 points. Sadler's crew is second with 262 points and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew is third with 260. The season champion receives a $200,000 bonus.

Waltrip's No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on pit road in Texas -- 218.010 seconds. Sadler's M&M's Ford was clocked at 229.014 seconds to finish second and Earnhardt's Budweiser Chevy was third with a time of 233.636.

"The NAPA crew guys continue to do an excellent job and we're excited about winning the McDonald's/POWERade contest in Texas," said crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe. "We clicked off some excellent pit stops and it's always gratifying to see that our guys are rewarded and recognized for their outstanding effort."

The over-the-wall pit crew for Waltrip's team consists of: Brian Chase (jackman), Jeff Opal (gasman), Chris Crumley (front tire changer), Greg Osborne (rear tire changer), Shawn Ward (front tire carrier), Chad Walter (rear tire carrier) and Pete Rondeau (catch can). The pit crew coach is Walt Smith.

<pre> Top 10 Pit Crews For Participating Teams in Sunday's (April 4) Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

    Team                        Time            Car#  Points
1.  Michael Waltrip Team        218.010 seconds  15   43
2.  Elliott Sadler Team         229.014"         38   42
3.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team     233.636"          8   41
4.  Ken Schrader Team           235.905"         49   40
5   Kevin Harvick Team          238.295"         29   39
6.  Robby Gordon Team           243.955"         31   38
7.  Dale Jarrett Team           262.258"         88   37
8.  Casey Mears Team.           262.576"         41   36
9.  Jamie McMurray Team         279.543"         42   35
10. Johnny Sauter Team          293.087"         30   34

2004 Winners of The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade:

Daytona (2/15)          Tony Stewart Team
Rockingham (2/22)       Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Las Vegas (3/7)         Kurt Busch Team
Atlanta (3/14)          Robby Gordon Team
Darlington (3/21)       Greg Biffle Team
Bristol (3/28)          Sterling Marlin Team
Texas (4/4)             Michael Waltrip Team

Point Standings For NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teams Participating in The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE: Following Texas (4/4); pit crew wins in parentheses

Pos.  Car# Pit Crew of                  Points  Prize Money
1     97   Kurt Busch Team (1)          269     20,000
2     38   Elliott Sadler Team          262
3     8    Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team (1)  260     20,000
4     29   Kevin Harvick Team           247
5     20   Tony Stewart Team (1)        244     20,000
6     30   Johnny Sauter Team           237
7     18   Bobby Labonte Team           231
8     40   Sterling Marlin Team (1)     230     20,000
9     01   Joe Nemechek Team            227
10    16   Greg Biffle Team (1)         218     20,000
T-11  41   Casey Mears Team             212
T-11  88   Dale Jarrett Team            212
13    31   Robby Gordon Team (1)        211     20,000
14    21   Ricky Rudd Team              209
15    49   Ken Schrader Team            207
16    42   Jamie McMurray Team          206
T-17  0    Ward Burton Team             193
T-17  15   Michael Waltrip Team (1)     193     20,000
19    45   Kyle Petty Team              192
20    99   Jeff Burton Team             189
21    43   Jeff Green Team              185
22    50   Derrike Cope Team            175
23    09   Johnny Benson Team           134
24    72   Kirk Shelmerdine Team        104
25    02   Carl Long/Hermie Sadler Team  86
26    280  Andy Hillenburg Team          80
27    198  Todd Bodine Team              73
29    14   Larry Foyt Team               72
30    1    John Andretti Team            59
31    91   Bill Elliott Team             52
30    23   Dave Blaney Team              37
31    89   Morgan Shepherd Team          36
32    33   Mike Skinner Team             33
34    7    Jimmy Spencer Team            30
35    194  Stanton Barrett Team          23
36    84   Kyle Busch Team               16

</pre> How it Works
During each 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL 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. 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 for first place, descending in increments of one.

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