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Megan Englehart
05/12/2008 - 01:27 PM
Charlotte, N.C.
Crew members for the #24 DuPont Chevrolet compete during last year's Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
SPEED Shines Spotlight on Unsung Heroes with Exclusive Coverage of NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge
There are not many race weekends where the winning team can perform a 24.66-second pit stop, celebrate in Victory Lane and sneak out with the trophy. But such is the case in Thursday's NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge (May 15 at 9 p.m. ET on SPEED) when accuracy is paramount and seven guys pushing a 3,200-pound race car 40 yards up to six separate times is just part of the game.
In virtually the only day during the entire NASCAR season when the spotlight shines on pit crew members instead of drivers, these unsung heroes take center stage in the event during All-Star Week at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Coverage of the event will be part of nearly 90 hours of All-Star Week coverage on SPEED.
“We know the drivers are the stars and they’re the ones that go to driver introductions and fly home on their jets Sunday evening,” said Larry McReynolds, former crew chief and SPEED analyst. “But it’s all because of the guys in the shop and in the trenches. It’s that pit crew. I’ll be on that crusade until God tells me differently. Our drivers are the stars and quarterbacks but without those linemen, they’re not worth a flip.”
With the agility, speed and accuracy necessary to win the coveted Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, teams train a little differently in the weeks leading up to the event.
“We work with the car and practice pushing it instead of doing cardio and running at the end of pit practice,” said Trent Cherry, pit coach for Penske Racing, who trained last year’s winner, the No. 12 team. “We get our legs underneath us and see what it feels like to push the car a long distance. But we don’t really do a separate practice set just for the competition.”
Since teams must push the car 40 yards after servicing it, - numerous times if they continue to win their heats - physical conditioning takes on a more important role than during a typical race weekend.
“When we won last year, we competed in five different heats and it killed us,” said Cherry, who also serves as the rear-tire carrier for the No. 12 team. “We’ve got pretty good athletes on our team and we were all hurting pretty badly. A lot of teams were dropping two and three guys toward the end that couldn’t keep up with the car. We finished pushing the car 40 yards and Jay Howard (event coordinator) was yelling, ‘Back them up, we’re going again.’”
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