No. 9 pit crew wins Rockingham II

Elliott's Pit Crew Strikes Again, Claims Eighth Win of Season
Pit Crews For Waltrip, Earnhardt Jr. Tied In $200,000 Points Battle

While Bill Elliott drove to an impressive victory in Sunday's 400-mile race in Rockingham, N.C., his pit crew was just as awesome, claiming top honors in the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade.

It was the eighth win of the season for Elliott's pit crew, which increased its season earnings to $160,000.

Though Elliott's pit crew leads the McDonald's/POWERade series in victories and prize money, it's the DEI crews of Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. that are in contention for the inaugural title and the $200,000 champion's bonus.

Waltrip's and Earnhardt's crews are tied in points with 1,213. With Earnhardt's crew finishing third in Rockingham and Waltrip's crew 25th, the Earnhardt team was able to pick up 22 points and tie the series standings with one race remaining - the Ford 400, Sunday (Nov. 16) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"We're all friends here at DEI, but both of the teams want this really bad," said Walt Smith, DEI pit crew coach. "It's not only the money, but also the bragging rights to win the first McDonald's/POWERade championship. It's a tremendous amount of pressure, but both teams know what they have to do and I know they will handle it very well. No matter what happens, I am very proud of all our teams at DEI."

Elliott's No. 9 Dodge spent the least amount of time on pit road at North Carolina Speedway - 203.760 seconds. Bobby Labonte's Chevrolet was second at 214.373 and Earnhardt's Chevy was third at 252.034.

"The guys were flawless on Sunday," said Elliott's crew chief Mike Ford. "They didn't make any mistakes all day long. They got Bill in and out of the pits without any trouble. In fact, we gained spots on our first stop. Then we were pretty much up front all day and never once lost a spot on pit road. They were very deserving this week. I'm very proud of all of our guys."

Elliott's over-the-wall crew consists of: Todd Colburn (jackman), Nick Bailey (front tire carrier), Jim Pohlman (front tire changer), Eric Wakeland (rear tire carrier), Joe Kruschek (rear tire changer), Rodney Rhodes (gasman) and Steve Lawrence (catch can). The team's pit crew coach is Greg Miller.

How it Works

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. 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.

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 (Nov. 9) race at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham

                                  Time                        Car#      Points
1. Bill Elliott Team              203.760 seconds              9        43
2. Bobby Labonte Team             214.373       "             18        42
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team        252.034       "              8        41
4. Ward Burton Team               255.725       "              0        40
5. Dave Blaney Team               268.023       "             77        39
6. Tony Raines Team               298.371       "             74        38
7. Tony Stewart Team              306.750       "             20        37
8. Steve Park Team                308.418       "             30        36
9. Robby Gordon Team              329.874       "             31        35
10. Jeff Green Team               331.826       "             43        34

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

Daytona (2/16)          Michael Waltrip Team
Rockingham (2/23)       Dave Blaney Team
Las Vegas (3/2)         Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Atlanta (3/9)           Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Darlington (3/16)       Jeff Green Team (RCR)
Bristol (3/23)          Bill Elliott Team
Texas (3/30)            Robby Gordon Team
Talladega (4/6)         Bill Elliott Team
Martinsville (4/13)     Bobby Labonte Team
California (4/27)       Bobby Labonte Team
Richmond (5/3)          Jeff Burton Team
Charlotte (5/25)        Dale Jarrett Team
Dover (6/1)             Michael Waltrip Team
Pocono (6/8)            Todd Bodine Team
Michigan (6/15)         Sterling Marlin Team
Sonoma (6/22)           Robby Gordon Team
Daytona (7/5)           Jeff Burton Team
Chicago (7/13)          Michael Waltrip Team
New Hampshire (7/20)    Bill Elliott Team
Pocono (7/27)           Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Indianapolis (8/3)      Kurt Busch Team
Watkins Glen (8/10)     Elliott Sadler Team
Michigan (8/17)         Greg Biffle Team
Bristol (8/23)          Kurt Busch Team
Darlington (8/31)       Bill Elliott Team
Richmond (9/6)          Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
N. Hampshire (9/14)     Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Dover (9/21)            Bill Elliott Team
Talladega (9/29)        Tony Stewart Team
Kansas (Oct. 5)         Bobby Labonte Team
Charlotte (Oct. 11)     Bill Elliott Team
Martinsville (Oct. 19)  Michael Waltrip Team
Atlanta (Oct. 27)       Bill Elliott Team
Phoenix (Nov. 2)        Michael Waltrip Team
Rockingham (Nov. 9)     Bill Elliott Team

Point Standings For NASCAR Winston Cup Teams Participating in The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE: (Rockingham 11/9/03; pit crew wins in parentheses)

Pos.  Car# Pit Crew of                  Points  Prize Money
T1    15   Michael Waltrip Team (5)     1213    100,000
T1    8    Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team (5)  1213    100,000
3     18   Bobby Labonte Team (3)       1163     60,000
T4    9    Bill Elliott Team (8)        1148    160,000
T4    97   Kurt Busch Team (2)          1148     40,000
6     31   Robby Gordon Team (2)        1121     40,000
7     20   Tony Stewart Team (1)        1103     20,000
8     42   Jamie McMurray Team          1094
9     40   Sterling Marlin Team (1)     1086     20,000
10    99   Jeff Burton Team (2)         1063     40,000
11    38   Elliott Sadler Team (1)      1061     20,000
12    16   Greg Biffle Team (1)         1059     20,000
13    88   Dale Jarrett Team (1)        1047     20,000
14    77   Dave Blaney Team (1)         1046     20,000
15    1    John Andretti Team           1045
16    21   Ricky Rudd Team              1026
17    30   Steve Park Team (1)           991     20,000
18    7    Jimmy Spencer Team            971
19    01   Joe Nemechek Team             964
20    54   Todd Bodine Team (1)          946     20,000
21    41   Casey Mears Team              939
22    74   Tony Raines Team              938
23    0    Ward Burton Team              910
24    45   Kyle Petty Team               855
25    49   Ken Schrader Team             852
26    43   Jeff Green Team               835
27    14   Larry Foyt Team               373
28    09   Mike Wallace Team             242
29    02   Hermie Sadler Team            180
30    37   Derrick Cope Team             146
31    11   Brett Bodine Team             144
32    44   Christian Fittipaldi Team      80
33    57   Kevin Lepage Team              76
34    150  (A.J. Foyt Racing)             64

-mac donalds-