Pit Crew Challenge
Encyclopedia
The Sprint Pit Crew Challenge is an event held by NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Sprint Cup drivers every year at the Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

. This event in its current format was first held in 2005.

History

The event has its roots traced to the annual Unocal 76 World Pit Crew Competition. The competition was sponsored by Conoco Phillips, through its Union 76
Union 76
76 is a chain of gas stations located within the United States. The 76 brand is owned by ConocoPhillips. Union Oil Company of California, dba Unocal, the original owner and creator of the Union 76 brand merged with Chevron Corporation in 2005.In 1997, Unocal sold its western United States refining...

 gasoline brand (which at the time was the official fuel of NASCAR).

The competition was conducted during the weekend of the fall race at Rockingham
North Carolina Speedway
Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina...

, and was only open to a select few teams. The teams competed against each other for time. Each team had to complete a full pit stop (tire change, fuel), and had to complete it clean for their time to stand. Time penalties, usually five seconds, were added for any violations (i.e., loose lugnuts on wheel) found by the officials. The team with the fastest time after penalties won and was declared the world championship pit crew for the year.

The 2003 Unocal 76 World Pit Crew Competition proved to be the final held under that name and at that time of year, for two reasons. The first was that Unocal was pulling out of NASCAR, replaced by Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....

 as the sport's official fuel. The second was that thanks to schedule realignment and the Ferko lawsuit
Ferko lawsuit
The Ferko lawsuit is a common nickname for an American lawsuit that was challenged between plaintiff Francis Ferko, a resident of Plano, Texas and a shareholder of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.'s Texas Motor Speedway, and defendants NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation , which are both owned...

, Rockingham was to lose its fall race date. The Pit Crew Competition was renamed the Pit Crew Challenge and moved to the weekend of the Sprint All-Star Challenge at Charlotte
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...

, where it remains to this day.

Rules

7 pit crew members of each team are allowed. The top 8 seeds of the Sprint Cup point standings are allowed to have a bye into the second round of the event. The remaining eligible teams will be seeded by in order of Sprint Cup owner point standings as positions 9-24 and will compete in a head-to-head format in the opening round of the challenge.

Each pit crew group (fueler and a catch-can man, even though not used in current NASCAR competition as of 2011, in order to measure fuel for competition purposes, as one group, the front tire changer and carrier as another group, the rear tire changer and carrier as another group, and the jackman) at separate stations in the arena. For safety reasons, the fuel cans carry nine gallons of water, about the same weight as an eleven-gallon can of racing fuel. Upon the starting signal, the jackman lifts a car on the right side, then lowers the car. The tire changers change the tires of an already-lifted simulated car on their end (front or rear). Both moves are done on the right side first, then the left. The fueler must unload the 18 gallons of water into a simulated fuel tank with a catch-can man catching any spilled water. When their duties are finished (a NASCAR official will approve) at their time, the crewmen run to the start of a 40-yard (36m) dash where all crewmen must push the car down the length of the arena where the hose of the car reaching the timing beam stops the clock.

Penalties are assessed for improperly tightened lug nuts, a jack not raised high enough, spilled water in the fueling station, or excessive water left in the dump can.

Because of the 40-yard push in the competition, most Sprint Cup drivers will not participate in the competition and usually sit next to the crew chief during the event. Typically, a team engineer, a member of the public relations staff, or a driver's wife will be in the car to steer it during the 40-yard dash. This practice became widespread after the Richard Childress Racing #31 team put driver Jeff Burton
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Brian "Jeff" Burton , also referred to as JB or The Mayor, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver who drives the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing. Burton is the younger brother of Ward Burton, who is a former Sprint Cup driver...

's wife Kim in the car for the push, winning the 2009 challenge (the car even carried her name, not Jeff's name, on the roof).

Past winners

Two-tire change; at Rockingham
  • 1967 Cale Yarborough
    Cale Yarborough
    William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

     (Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. The team was formed in 1950 by the sons of Walter and Ada Wood, thus the Wood Brothers...

    )
  • 1968 Cale Yarborough
    Cale Yarborough
    William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

     (Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. The team was formed in 1950 by the sons of Walter and Ada Wood, thus the Wood Brothers...

    )
  • 1969 LeeRoy Yarbrough
    LeeRoy Yarbrough
    Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough was a NASCAR racer. His best season was 1969 when he won seven races, tallied 21 finishes in the top-ten and earned $193,211...

  • 1970 Bobby Allison
    Bobby Allison
    Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

  • 1971 Cancelled due to rain
  • 1972 Bobby Allison
    Bobby Allison
    Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

  • 1973 Buddy Baker
    Buddy Baker
    Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...

  • 1974 Bobby Allison
    Bobby Allison
    Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

  • 1975 Donnie Allison
    Donnie Allison
    Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...

  • 1976 Richard Petty
    Richard Petty
    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

     (Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises was a NASCAR racing team based in Randleman, North Carolina, USA. The team was owned by Richard Petty, his son Kyle Petty, and Boston Ventures. At the time of its folding the team operated the #43 and #45 Dodge Chargers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Petty Enterprises ran from...

    )
  • 1977 Richard Petty
    Richard Petty
    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

     (Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises was a NASCAR racing team based in Randleman, North Carolina, USA. The team was owned by Richard Petty, his son Kyle Petty, and Boston Ventures. At the time of its folding the team operated the #43 and #45 Dodge Chargers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Petty Enterprises ran from...

    )
  • 1978 Benny Parsons
    Benny Parsons
    Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...

  • 1979 Cale Yarborough
    Cale Yarborough
    William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

     (Junior Johnson
    Junior Johnson
    Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...

    )
  • 1980 Richard Petty
    Richard Petty
    Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

     (Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises
    Petty Enterprises was a NASCAR racing team based in Randleman, North Carolina, USA. The team was owned by Richard Petty, his son Kyle Petty, and Boston Ventures. At the time of its folding the team operated the #43 and #45 Dodge Chargers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Petty Enterprises ran from...

    )
  • 1981 Neil Bonnett
    Neil Bonnett
    Lawrence Neil Bonnett was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 35th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder...

     (Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing
    Wood Brothers Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. The team was formed in 1950 by the sons of Walter and Ada Wood, thus the Wood Brothers...

    )
  • 1982 Cale Yarborough
    Cale Yarborough
    William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

  • 1983 Joe Ruttman
    Joe Ruttman
    Joe Ruttman , is an American former racecar driver. He currently lives in Franklin, Tenn. He actively competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series and is a 13 time winner in the Truck Series, the seventh most wins by any driver in the Truck...

  • 1984 Dick Brooks
    Dick Brooks
    Richard "Dick" Brooks was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500...



Four-tire change; at Rockingham
  • 1985 Dale Earnhardt
    Dale Earnhardt
    Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

     (Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

    )
  • 1986 Dale Earnhardt
    Dale Earnhardt
    Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

     (Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

    )
  • 1987 Dale Earnhardt
    Dale Earnhardt
    Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

     (Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

    )
  • 1988 Dale Earnhardt
    Dale Earnhardt
    Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

     (Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

    )
  • 1989 Darrell Waltrip
    Darrell Waltrip
    Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...

      (Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

    )
  • 1990 Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...

     (Melling Racing
    Melling Racing
    Melling Racing was a NASCAR team that ran from 1982 to 2002. The team won the 1988 championship with driver Bill Elliott.-History:Owner Harry Melling first became involved in NASCAR when his company Melling Tool sponsored Benny Parsons in 1979. The team began in 1982 with driver Bill Elliott by...

    )
  • 1991 Morgan Shepherd
    Morgan Shepherd
    Clay Morgan Shepherd has been a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver since 1977. He has also raced in the Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. He is a born again Christian who serves as a lay minister to the racing community...

     (Bud Moore Engineering
    Bud Moore Engineering
    Bud Moore Engineering was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team was a dominant force in the 60s and 80s, the final years were tumultuous due to lack of sponorship and uncompetitive race cars.-...

    )
  • 1992 Ken Schrader
    Ken Schrader
    Kenneth Schrader is a second-generation race car driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while driving part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series for his own Ken Schrader Racing. He also runs part time in the NASCAR Camping...

     (Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

    )
  • 1993 Rusty Wallace
    Rusty Wallace
    Russell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...

     (Penske South Racing
    Penske Racing
    Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...

    )
  • 1994 Jeff Gordon
    Jeff Gordon
    Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...

      (Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

    )
  • 1995 Brett Bodine
    Brett Bodine
    Brett Bodine is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and is the current driver of the pace car in Sprint Cup events. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine and the older brother of 2006 Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine...

      (Junior Johnson
    Junior Johnson
    Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...

    )
  • 1996 Terry Labonte
    Terry Labonte
    Terrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who occasionally drives in the Sprint Cup Series when called upon and is a two-time Winston Cup and IROC champion. He currently drives the #32 U.S. Chrome Ford for FAS Lane Racing. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had...

     (Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports
    Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

    )
  • 1997 Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...

     (Bill Elliott Racing
    Bill Elliott Racing
    Bill Elliott Racing is a former NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned and operated by 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott from 1995 until 2000, when it was sold to Evernham Motorsports.- Winston Cup :...

    )
  • 1998 Mike Skinner (Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

    )
  • 1999 Bobby Labonte
    Bobby Labonte
    Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...

     (Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

    )
  • 2000 Jeff Burton
    Jeff Burton
    Jeffrey Brian "Jeff" Burton , also referred to as JB or The Mayor, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver who drives the #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing. Burton is the younger brother of Ward Burton, who is a former Sprint Cup driver...

     (Roush Racing)
  • 2001 Matt Kenseth
    Matt Kenseth
    Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing...

      (Roush Racing)
  • 2002 Matt Kenseth
    Matt Kenseth
    Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing...

     (Roush Racing)
  • 2003 Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...

     (Evernham Motorsports
    Ray Evernham
    Ray Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...

    )


Event moved to Time Warner Cable Arena 
Four tire change, pushing car 40 yards
NOTE: The driver of the car does not participate in the contest.
  • 2005 Evernham Motorsports
    Evernham Motorsports
    Richard Petty Motorsports is a two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race team owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, Douglas G. Bergeron and financial company Medallion Financial. The team was founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000, was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after...

     #9
  • 2006 Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
    Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
    Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was a NASCAR-related organization located in Mooresville, North Carolina, United States working to continue the legacy of Dale Earnhardt. It was originally formed in 1980 by seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt who died in a crash on the closing lap of the 2001...

     #1
  • 2007 Penske Racing
    Penske Racing
    Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...

     #12
  • 2008 Team Red Bull
    Team Red Bull
    Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, is a NASCAR team owned by Dietrich Mateschitz. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and is managed by Jay Frye...

     #83
  • 2009 Richard Childress Racing
    Richard Childress Racing
    RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

     #31
  • 2010 Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

     #11
  • 2011 Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing
    Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

    #11
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