No. 8 pit crew finishes first at Richmond II

Dale Jr's Pit Crew Wins in Richmond; Fourth Victory Narrows Point Gap

The pit crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr's Chevrolet scored its fourth victory of the season in the weekly McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade at the recent NASCAR Winston Cup race in Richmond, Va.

The victory, worth $20,000, moved the No. 8 Budweiser team closer to first place in the pit crew season standings. With 10 races remaining, Earnhardt's crew trails DEI teammate - the No. 15 crew for Michael Waltrip by 47 points. The McDonald's/POWERade season pit crew champion will receive a $200,000 bonus.

"We have a rivalry going with the No. 15 team," said Tony Eury Jr., car chief for the No. 8 Chevrolet. "Our guys are really excited about this and feel they can catch the 15 team. The $200,000 bonus gives us something to really shoot for. I think it's great that McDonald's and POWERade stepped up to recognize the crews with this championship."

In Saturday night's (Sept. 6) Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Earnhardt's car spent the least amount of time on pit road for participating teams - 200.796 seconds. Second was Jeff Burton's Citgo Ford - 206.850 and third was Bobby Labonte's Interstate Batteries Chevrolet - 250.575.

Earnhardt's over-the-wall crew consists of: Jeff Clark (gasman), Kevin Pennell (jackman), Phil Drye (front tire changer), Danny Earnhardt (front tire carrier), Jay Guarneri (rear tire changer), Troy Prince (rear tire carrier), Bill Snyder (catch can). The team's crew chief is Tony Eury and the car chief is Tony Eury Jr.

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 for first place, descending in increments of one.

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 Saturday's (Sept. 6) Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway Time Car # 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team 200.796 seconds 8 2. Jeff Burton Team 206.850 99 3. Bobby Labonte Team 250.575 18 4. Ricky Rudd Team 268.110 21 5. Mike Wallace Team 269.851 09 6. Greg Biffle Team 287.845 16 7. Mike Skinner Team 356.976 01 8. Ken Schrader Team 394.266 49 9. Sterling Marlin Team 412.630 40 10. Kurt Busch Team 450.936 97

2003 Winners of The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade: Daytona (2/16) Michael Waltrip Team Rockingham (2/23) Dave Blaney Team Las Vegas (3/2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team Atlanta (3/9) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team Darlington (3/16) Jeff Green Team (RCR) Bristol (3/23) Bill Elliott Team Texas (3/30) Robby Gordon Team Talladega (4/6) Bill Elliott Team Martinsville (4/13) Bobby Labonte Team California (4/27) Bobby Labonte Team Richmond (5/3) Jeff Burton Team Charlotte (5/25) Dale Jarrett Team Dover (6/1) Michael Waltrip Team Pocono (6/8) Todd Bodine Team Michigan (6/15) Sterling Marlin Team Sonoma (6/22) Robby Gordon Team Daytona (7/5) Jeff Burton Team Chicago (7/13) Michael Waltrip Team New Hampshire (7/20) Bill Elliott Team Pocono (7/27) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team Indianapolis (8/3) Kurt Busch Team Watkins Glen (8/10) Elliott Sadler Team Michigan (8/17) Greg Biffle Team Bristol (8/23) Kurt Busch Team Darlington (8/31) Bill Elliott Team Richmond (9/6) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team

Point Standings For NASCAR Winston Cup Teams Participating In The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERADE: (following Richmond 9/6/03; pit crew wins in parentheses) Pos. Car # Pit Crew of Points 1 15 Michael Waltrip Team (3) 939 2 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team (4) 892 3 97 Kurt Busch Team (2) 888 4 18 Bobby Labonte Team (2) 872 5 31 Robby Gordon Team (2) 855 6 16 Greg Biffle Team 824 7 40 Sterling Marlin Team (1) 823 8 38 Elliott Sadler Team (1) 804 9 9 Bill Elliott Team (4) 798 10 42 Jamie McMurray Team 795 11 77 Dave Blaney Team (1) 786 12 99 Jeff Burton (2) 778 13 20 Tony Stewart Team 776 14 88 Dale Jarrett Team (1) 767 15 1 Jeff Green Team 755 16 30 Steve Park Team (1) 754 17 21 Ricky Rudd Team 746 18 54 Todd Bodine Team (1) 729 19 7 Jimmy Spencer Team 721 20 01 Mike Skinner Team 718 21 41 Casey Mears Team 714 22 74 Tony Raines Team 684 23 45 Kyle Petty Team 668 24 0 Jason Leffler Team 656 25 49 Ken Schrader Team 619 26 43 Christian Fittipaldi Team 600 27 14 Larry Foyt Team 306 28 09 Mike Wallace Team 161 29 11 Brett Bodine Team 144 30 02 Hermie Sadler Team 100 31 37 Derrick Cope Team 94 32 57 Kevin Lepage Team 76 33 150 A.J. Foyt Racing 64 T34 66 Hideo Fukuyama Team 46 T34 33 (Andy Petree car owner) 46

*joined program at fifth race of season - Darlington, 3/16

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