Jeff Burton's Richard Childress Racing crew wins NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge
Richard Childress Racing's crew for driver Jeff Burton wins the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
CHARLOTTE – In a battle of who could make the fewest mistakes in the least amount of time, the two fastest teams in NASCAR tossed a pair of penalty-free pit stops when the race was on the line.
But it was Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 team that came out on top, defeating the No. 43 of Richard Petty Motorsports to capture the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge held at Time Warner Cable Arena.
RCR’s group, working with driver Jeff Burton on race day, logged a winning time of 22.115 seconds. The time bettered the previous record of 22.655 set by Red Bull Racing’s No. 83 group a year ago.
The RPM crew, handling the race-day duties for driver Reed Sorenson, took runnerup honors with a final-round time of 23.839 seconds.
The winning team was perfect practically all night when it came to jacking the car, changing tires, filling the gas tank and pushing the car the final 40 yards.
And that was key, according to pit crew coach Matt Clark.
“Honestly, I think we went through every round without a penalty,” Clark said. “The No. 1 goal is to be penalty-free. If you’re penalty-free, you’ve got a shot.
“And these guys are in incredible shape. ... It’s a total team effort.”
Winning crew members included Adam North (jackman), Curt Bowman (gas man), Andrew Childers (catch can), Daniel Blizzard (front tire changer), Jon Wallace (front tire carrier), Terry Spalding (rear tire changer) and Chris Martin (rear tire carrier).
And behind the wheel, Kim Burton, wife of driver Jeff Burton.
“It was actually my idea,” Blizzard said of the driver selection. “The guy that we were going to have drive the car – his 180 pounds to her, maybe, 100 pounds? She won the battle real quick on that deal.”
“I’m just honored that they asked me,” Kim Burton said. “Because I watch them every week. I know how much this means to them. Not just tonight, but every week, every stop. It doesn’t matter if we’re running 38th or running second and battling for the win. Every stop means a lot to them.”
Fuel spillage, loose lug nuts, even a handful of false starts spelled the end for several teams. With family and fans looking on, mistakes were plentiful in the mad rush to advance. In an event where perfection is required, few managed the feat with consistency.
In the semifinals, the RPM team (23.506 sec.) used a clean, penalty-free stop to defeat the Stewart Haas Racing No. 14 group (22.712 sec.) and advance. The SHR outfit was flagged for a right rear tire penalty for an additional 3 seconds.
The RCR/JGR battle came down to a penalty as well, as a front-tire violation negated a 22.274-second stop by JGR, and allowed the Childress group (22.411) to move into the final.
“These guys, they work so hard,” Jeff Burton said of his team. “Ninety-nine percent of the people in the country could not do the fitness program these guys do. ...
“It’s a lot of work. It isn’t just a bunch of mechanics who one day decide to pick up an air wrench or a jack. They train NFL-caliber training.”
• The No. 1 team of Martin Truex Jr. might have fallen by the wayside early in Thursday’s Challenge – losing in the first round – but the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing team reaped several individual honors.
Jeff Kerr (jackman), Preston Cordell (gasman), Eric Hoyle (catchcan), Dennis Kerry (front tire changer) and Shannon Keys (front tire carrier) took the top spots in their respective categories of the skills competition.
Other individual winners included Jake Seminara (rear tire changer) and Kenny Barber (rear tire carrier) of the JGR No. 18 team.
