No. 31 Pit Crew finishes first at Sears Point

Robby Gordon's Pit Crew wins for second time after outstanding performance in Sonoma

Call it a double win for the No. 31 Cingular Wireless team during Sunday's (June 22) Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Team driver Robby Gordon won the race on the twisting 11-turn road course and his pit crew won the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE.

"It took the entire Cingular Wireless team to win at Sonoma and the pit crew played a huge role in our victory," said Gordon. "Pit strategy and pit stops are huge at Sonoma and the guys came through for me when it counted. They've been awesome all year long and they were really on top of their game Sunday. They helped pull the Cingular car into Victory Lane."

Thanks to fast and accurate work by the Cingular Wireless pit crew, Gordon's car, owned by Richard Childress Racing, spent the least amount of time of pit road during Sunday's 110-lap race on the 1.949-mile road course. The total pit road elapsed time for the No. 31 Chevrolet was 104.101 seconds.

Finishing second was the yellow No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet, driven by Ron Fellows, with a time of 107.361. Michael Waltrip's NAPA Chevrolet was third at 108.861.

It was the second time this season that Gordon's pit crew collected the $20,000 first-place check for winning the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE. The team also won at Texas Motor Speedway (March 30).

Gordon's over-the-wall crew consists of: Josh Yost (jackman), Shane Westerberg (front-tire changer), Mike Barry (front-tire carrier), Ron Otto (rear-tire changer), Jason Fowler (rear-tire carrier) Larry Hartle (gasman) and Rich Burgess (catch can). The team's crew chief is Kevin Hamlin.

The No. 31 Cingular Wireless team is in third place in the McDonald's/POWERADE season pit crew standings. Michael Waltrip's pit crew continues to lead in the point standings and Dale Earnhardt Jr's team is second.

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 season champion of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE will receive a $200,000 bonus.

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 22) Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

1.  Robby Gordon Team           104.101 seconds
2.  Jeff Green Team             107.361   (Ron Fellows drove in Sonoma)
3.  Michael Waltrip Team        108.861
4.  Jerry Nadeau Team           111.141   (Boris Said drove in Sonoma)
5.  Bill Elliott Team           112.457
6.  Elliott Sadler Team         116.581
7.  Sterling Marlin Team        156.095
8.  Jamie McMurray Team         164.438
9.  Toddy Bodine Team           172.354
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team     195.212

Top 10 Point Leaders McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE (following Sonoma 6/22/03)

Pos.     Car#   Team                            Points
1        15     Michael Waltrip Team            598
2        8      Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team         548
3        31     Robby Gordon Team               529
4        18     Bobby Labonte Team              523
5        40     Sterling Marlin Team            510
6        97     Kurt Busch Team                 502
7        16     Greg Biffle Team                473
8        38     Elliott Sadler Team             468
9        42     Jamie McMurray Team             450
10       77     Dave Blaney Team                444

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
Pocono (June 8)                 Todd Bodine Team
Michigan (June 15)              Sterling Marlin Team
Sonoma (June 22)                Robby Gordon Team

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