No. 8 Pit Crew wins Phoenix

Dale Jr.'s Pit Crew Takes Over First Place in Tightly-Contested Points Battle

The pit crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the Phoenix competition of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade. The victory lifted the No. 8 team into first place in the pit crew standings with two races remaining in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule.

It was the fourth McDonald's/POWERade win for the No. 8 crew and in three of those victories Earnhardt also won the race - Richmond (May 15), Talladega (Oct. 3) and Phoenix (Nov. 7).

The McDonald's/POWERade point standings got shuffled following the Phoenix race. Earnhardt's team moved from third to first while Elliott Sadler's team dropped from first to third. Tony Stewart's team remained in second, three points out of the lead.

The top four crews heading into Darlington (Nov. 14) are: Earnhardt's (1194 points), Stewart's (1191), Sadler's (1181) and Kurt Busch's (1179).

Earnhardt's crew is the reigning McDonald's/POWERade champion.

Earnhardt's Budweiser Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on Phoenix International Raceway's pit road with a time of 285.50 seconds. Biffle's National Guard Ford was second at 325.98 and Jeff Burton's AOL Chevy was third at 329.87.

"Great team, great car, great pit stops," said Earnhardt following his Phoenix victory. "What else can you say? I'm really proud of these guys for not giving up this year. We had awesome pit stops all day, and Tony (Eury) Sr. did a great job making the calls from the pits. Whether it was the decision to take four (tires), or the decision to stay out when I was hollerin' on the radio to pit, Tony Sr. and Tony Jr. and the whole team earned their stripes."

The No. 8 over-the-wall crew consists of: Jeff Clarke (gasman), Kevin Pennell (jackman), Phil Drye (front tire changer), Danny Earnhardt (front tire carrier), Greg Burkhart (rear tire changer), Troy Prince (rear tire carrier), Craig Lund (catch can). Tony Eury Sr. is the crew chief and the car chief is Tony Eury Jr. The pit crew coach is Walt Smith.

<pre> Top 10 Pit Crews in Sunday's (Nov. 7) Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway

                                Time               Car#  Points
1.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team     285.50  seconds     8    43
2.  Greg Biffle Team            325.98     "       16    42
3.  Jeff Burton Team            329.87     "       30    41
4.  Bobby Labonte Team          331.26     "       18    40
5.  Tony Stewart Team           370.56     "       20    39
6.  Kyle Petty Team             393.66     "       45    38
7.  Michael Waltrip Team        411.67     "       15    37
8.  Sterling Marlin Team        413.27     "       40    36
9.  Kurt Busch Team             413.55     "       97    35
10. Jeff Green Team             422.76     "       43    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 (5/30)        Jamie McMurray Team
Dover (6/6)             Tony Stewart Team
Pocono (6/13)           Casey Mears Team
Michigan (6/20)         Elliott Sadler Team
Sonoma (6/27)           Elliott Sadler Team
Daytona (7/3)           Michael Waltrip Team
Chicago (7/11)          Elliott Sadler Team
N. Hampshire (7/25)     Kurt Busch Team
Pocono (8/1)            Greg Biffle Team
Indianapolis (8/8)      Elliott Sadler Team
Watkins Glen (8/15)     Tony Stewart Team
Michigan (8/22)         Greg Biffle Team
Bristol (8/28)          Robby Gordon Team
California (9/5)        Elliott Sadler Team
Richmond (9/11)         Michael Waltrip Team
N. Hampshire (9/19)     Sterling Marlin Team
Dover (9/26)            Kurt Busch Team
Talladega (10/3)        Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Kansas (10/10)          Elliott Sadler Team
Charlotte (10/16)       Elliott Sadler Team
Martinsville (10/24)    Kevin Harvick Team
Atlanta (10/31)         Ricky Rudd Team
Phoenix (11/7)          Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team

Point Standings for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teams Competing in The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE: Following Phoenix (11/07); pit crew wins in parentheses

Pos.    Car#    Pit Crew of                     Points  Prize Money
1         8     Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team (4)     1194     80,000
2        20     Tony Stewart Team (3)           1191     60,000
3        38     Elliott Sadler Team (7)         1181    140,000
4        97     Kurt Busch Team (4)             1179     80,000
5        29     Kevin Harvick Team (1)          1157     20,000
T-6      15     Michael Waltrip Team (3)        1150     60,000
T-6      30     Jeff Burton Team                1150
8        42     Jamie McMurray Team (1)         1124     20,000
9        18     Bobby Labonte Team              1108
10       88     Dale Jarrett Team               1105
11       01     Joe Nemechek Team               1093
12       40     Sterling Marlin Team (2)        1088     40,000
13       31     Robby Gordon Team (4)           1085     80,000
14       21     Ricky Rudd Team (1)             1064     20,000
15       16     Greg Biffle Team (3)            1049     60,000
16       99     Carl Edwards Team               1039
17       41     Casey Mears Team (1)            1033     20,000
18       49     Ken Schrader Team                999
19       43     Jeff Green Team                  981
20       45     Kyle Petty Team                  949
21        0     Ward Burton Team                 938
22       50     Arnold Motorsports               748
23       09     James Finch Team (owner)         550
24      198     William Edwards (owner)          491
25       02     Hermie Sadler Team               392
26       89     Morgan Shepherd Team             346
27        1     DEI Team                         243
28       72     Kirk Shelmerdine Team            199
29      280     Andy Hillenburg Team             189
30       91     Bill Elliott Team                128
31      251     Kevin Lepage Team                105
32      194     Stanton Barrett Team             100
33       14     Larry Foyt Team                   99
34       11     J.J.Yeley Team                    78
T-35    100     Kenny Wallace Team                77
T-35    133     Kerry Earnhardt Team              77
37       36     Boris Said Team                   73

-mcdonald's-