Pit Crew for Martin Truex Jr Wins All-Star Challenge
Thursday, May 18th, 2006 8:17am CDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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Last night at the Charlotte Bobcat Arena the pit crew of the #1 Bass Pro Shop’s Monte Carlo put themselves in victory lane in the Nextel All-Star Pit Crew Challenge by edging Kasey Kahne’s crew by about a car length.[thumb:125:r:s=1:l=x]
Truex’s crew took the title by about a car length from last year’s champions, the crew of Kasey Kahne’s #9 Dodge, and raised the hands to the ceiling of the arena as if it were Saturday night and Truex Jr had won the All-Star race. To the crew, it was just as sweet of a victory.
[thumb:356:l:s=1:l=x]Truex’s crew changed four tires, from individual stations, filled the car with 18 gallons of gas, and then pushed the car 40 yards. They did it in a time of 25.44 seconds. Kahne’s crew took 26.71 seconds to complete the tasks at hand. Just like any driver can win on any given Sunday, any crew can one-up another as well.
Carl Edwards’ crew was third, and Jeremy Mayfield’s crew came in fourth.
Truex’s gasman Bob Tracey said jokingly, “I just want to thank Martin for matching the $70,000.”
The only thing missing from the victory lane celebration, where the crew collected a cool $70,100 for the win, was Martin Truex himself. Instead, he chose to entertain family at his new home in the area.
“Unfortunately, he did not make it,” crew chief Kevin Manion said. “It’s something we need to beat him up about a little bit. We’ve been on him a little bit to be more involved with the team. “It’s very important for these guys. They like it when the driver comes around.”
Walt Smith, the team’s pit crew coach said that the confidence the crew gained [last night] could come in handy in two weeks when there could be as many as 15 pit stops in the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR has mandated smaller fuel cells to help prevent tire issues on the newly surfaced track, which will inevitably lead to more stops. Of course that’s only if the caution flag fails to fly as many times as it has in the previous two race’s at the speedway.
Filed Under: Nascar, Nextel Cup
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