No. 40 Pit Crew finishes first in Michigan

Marlin's Pit Crew wins in Michigan

The pit crew for Sterling Marlin's No. 40 Coors Light team grabbed top honors for the Michigan round of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade.

Marlin's pit crew earned $20,000 for the win and the victory moved the No. 40 crew into a fifth place tie in the overall McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship season point standings.

Marlin's car, owned by Chip Ganassi Racing, spent the least amount of time on pit road during Sunday's Sirius 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The total pit time for the Coors Light Dodge was 188 seconds, four seconds fewer than Kurt Busch's race-winning Ford.

"That's great - these guys really deserve the award," said Marlin, who posted a sixth-place finish in Michigan. "The Coors Light pit crew did a great job on pit road - they never messed up once and kept us out in front all day. I'm just sorry I lost the race for them. Just wait for Daytona, we'll have something for them there."

The over-the-wall Coors Light pit crew consists of: Steven Wolfe (front tire changer), Trent Davis (front tire carrier), Mike Atwell (rear tire changer), Tim Shore (rear tire carrier), Greg Pasi (jackman), Jerry Schweitz (gasman) and Mike Motil (catch can). The crew chief is Lee McCall and the team trainer is Al Shuford.

During each 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup points event, the participating team whose car spends the least amount of aggregate time off the race track will be named the weekly winner of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE, provided the team's driver takes the green flag at the beginning of the event and the checkered flag at the conclusion of the event. A timing line at the entrance and exit of pit road triggers the car's transponder and records the total time spent off the race track.

The point distribution per race is: 43 points for first place, descending in increments of one. The season champion of the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE will receive a $200,000 bonus.

The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE is the largest monetary contingency program in NASCAR history.

<pre> Top 10 Pit Crews For Participating Teams in Sunday's (June 15) Sirius 400 at Michigan International Speedway

1.  Sterling Marlin team        188 seconds
2.  Kurt Busch Team             192
3.  Bobby Labonte Team          193
4.  Tony Stewart Team           202
5.  Jack Sprague Team           217
6.  Bill Elliott Team           228
7.  Michael Waltrip Team        232
8.  Casey Mears Team            256
9.  Jeff Burton Team            267
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team     274

2003 Winners of The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE

Race                            Team Winner
Daytona (Feb. 16)               Michael Waltrip Team
Rockingham (Feb. 23)            Dave Blaney Team
Las Vegas (March 2)             Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Atlanta (March 9)               Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
Darlington (March 16)           Jeff Green Team (with Richard Childress Racing)
Bristol (March 23)              Bill Elliott Team
Texas (March 30)                Robby Gordon Team
Talladega (April 6)             Bill Elliott Team
Martinsville (April 13)         Bobby Labonte Team
California (April 27)           Bobby Labonte Team
Richmond (May 3)                Jeff Burton Team
Charlotte (May 25)              Dale Jarrett Team
Dover (June 1)                  Michael Waltrip Team
Pocono (June 8)                 Todd Bodine Team
Michigan (June 15)              Sterling Marlin Team

Top 10 Point Leaders McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE (following Michigan 6/15/03)

Pos.    Car #     Team                          Points
1       15        Michael Waltrip Team          557
2        8        Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team       514
3       18        Bobby Labonte Team            490
4       31        Robby Gordon Team             486
T5      40        Sterling Marlin Team          473
T5      97        Kurt Busch Team               473
7       16        Greg Biffle Team              447
8       38        Elliott Sadler Team           430
9       77        Dave Blaney Team              419
10      42        Jamie McMurray Team           414

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