Crew members for the No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet, compete during the Pit Crew Challenge in 2007 at Bobcats Arena. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Photo) » More Photos

Recognition and trophy aside, pit crew members have the chance to showcase their skills one time a year for their home crowd and oftentimes their families.

“The neat thing about the competition being in Charlotte is looking through the stands and seeing the wives, kids, girlfriends and families,” McReynolds said. “It’s these guys’ night to shine. It’s so neat to see the drivers come out and support those guys. Shame on a driver if he doesn’t come out and support his team. There’s one part of me that says it should be mandatory for every driver with a team there to attend, but shame on them if it has to be mandatory. That’s like saying it should be mandatory to wear a head-and-neck restraint device. It shouldn’t have to be mandatory – you should be smart enough to wear it anyway.”

Winning the competition not only provides the best pit stall selection for the Sprint All-Star Race (May 17 at 7 p.m. ET on SPEED), it gives the teams a mental shot in the arm.

“When we won, it wasn’t about walking into the garage the next morning and pounding on our chests,” McReynolds said. “We didn’t think we were bullet-proof the next day in the race. But it was the self-satisfaction and the recognition of being the best of the best on that given day. That’s what those 24 teams are going for.”

SPEED, now in nearly 78 million homes in North America, is the exclusive home of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Gatorade Duel at Daytona, NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The only network delivering live, at-track programming all season long, SPEED offers the definitive pre- and post-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series programs – NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane, as well as other popular NASCAR programs including Trackside Live, Tradin’ Paint, NASCAR Performance, NASCAR Live!, This Week in NASCAR, NCTS Setup, Go or Go Home and The Chase is On.

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SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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