No 38 pit crew wins at Sears Point

Sadler's Pit Crew Shines Again

Elliott Sadler's pit crew pocketed its second victory in as many weeks by winning the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade in Sunday's Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Sadler's No. 38 pit crew also took top honors the week before at Michigan International Speedway. The back-to-back victories by Sadler's crew not only increased its prize money total to $40,000 ($20,000 for each win), but significantly closed the gap in the McDonald's/POWERade season point standings and the chase for the $200,000 champion's bonus.

Sadler's pit crew gained 16 points on the leading No. 8 crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr. After 16 of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, Sadler's crew has 590 points, only 12 behind Earnhardt's crew. Kurt Busch's crew is third with 553 points.

During Sunday's road-race on the twisting 11-turn, 1.99-mile circuit, Sadler's M&M's Ford spent the least amount of time on pit road 0x2022 104.331 seconds. Jeff Burton's Roush Racing Ford was second with a time of 105.277 and Michael Waltrip's NAPA Chevy was third at 108.526.

"Two-in-a-row is pretty stout," said No. 38 crew chief Todd Parrott. "These guys are working their hardest. I am real excited for this team and I am speaking on behalf of Elliott as well. We would not have the finishes we've had without the help of the pit crew. How cool is that!"

Sadler's over-the-wall crew consists of: Darryl Lockyer (front-tire changer), Kevin Hall (front-tire carrier), Dave Smith (rear-tire changer/car chief), Lance Hanna (rear-tire carrier), Rodney Fetters (jackman), Preston Cordell (gas man) and Jay Thompson (catch can). The team's crew chief is Todd Parrott.

<pre> Top 10 Pit Crews For Participating Teams in Sunday's (June 27) Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway

                                 Time                   Car #      Points
1. Elliott Sadler Team           104.331 seconds         38          43
2. Jeff Burton's Team            105.277      "          99          42
3. Michael Waltrip Team          108.526      "          15          41
4. Casey Mears Team              109.093      "          41          40
5. Jamie McMurray Team           110.640      "          42          39
6. Scott Pruett Team             110.665      "          39          38
7. Klaus Graf Team               110.832      "          59          37
8. Boris Said Team               113.195      "          36          36
9. Ken Schrader Team             116.688      "          49          35
10. Greg Biffle Team             162.252      "          16          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
Martinsville (4/18)     Kurt Busch Team
Talladega (4/25)        Robby Gordon Team
California (5/2)        Robby Gordon Team
Richmond (5/15)         Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Charlotte (May 30)      Jamie McMurray Team
Dover (6/6)             Tony Stewart Team
Pocono (6/13)           Casey Mears Team
Michigan (6/20)         Elliott Sadler Team
Sonona (6/27)           Elliott Sadler Team

Point Standings for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teams Participating In The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE: Following Sonoma (6/27); pit crew wins in parentheses

    Pos.Car #      Pit Crew of                        Points     Prize Money
      1     8     Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team (2)         602        40,000
      2     38    Elliott Sadler Team (2)             590        40,000
      3     97    Kurt Busch Team (2)                 553        40,000
      4     29    Kevin Harvick Team                  546
      5     20    Tony Stewart Team (2)               545        40,000
      6     18    Bobby Labonte Team                  522
      7     15    Michael Waltrip Team (1)            519        20,000
      8     88    Dale Jarrett Team                   517
      9     42    Jamie McMurray Team (1)             516        20,000
      10    30    Richard Childress Racing            513
      11    99    Jeff Burton Team                    508
      T-12  41    Casey Mears Team (1)                500        20,000
     T-12   31    Robby Gordon Team (3)               500        60,000
      14    40    Sterling Marlin Team (1)            499        20,000
      15    21    Ricky Rudd Team                     494
      16    01    Joe Nemechek Team                   486
      17    49    Ken Schrader Team                   478
      18    16    Greg Biffle Team (1)                477        20,000
      19    43    Jeff Green Team                     463
      20    0     Ward Burton Team                    462
      21    45    Kyle Petty Team                     423
      22    50    Derrike Cope Team                   412
      23    09    James Finch Team (owner)            264
      24    198   Todd Bodine Team                    213
      25    89    Morgan Shepherd Team                186

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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