2010 NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge info

The 2010 edition of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman will retain the same exciting format as it did a year ago.

The fan-friendly competition features the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ top pit crews and is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 19 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling Time Warner Cable Arena box office at (800) 495-2295. SPEED’s broadcast of the event begins at 9 p.m.

Now in its sixth year, the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge is the only indoor event sanctioned by NASCAR and precedes an all-star lineup of events including NASCAR Rev’d Up on Thursday, May 20, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7 p.m. ET, Live on SPEED) held Saturday, May 22 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (1 p.m. ET, Live on SPEED) slated for Sunday, May 23.

“The NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge has become extremely popular with our fans and with our teams as it provides an opportunity for the real unsung heroes in our sport to be on center stage and showcase their talents and their outstanding teamwork," said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition at NASCAR. “It’s a great lead-in for the week of activities heading into the all-star race, and it promises to deliver another exceptional experience for the fans and for the competitors."

Competition Format

Teams are seeded for the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge based on the following:

– Seeding will be determined by the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car owner point standings as of May 17, 2010.

– The top-eight teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points will receive a bye into the second round of the competition.

– The remaining eligible teams will be ranked in order of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points seeded as Nos. 9-24 and will compete in a head-to-head format in the first round of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge.

Competition Rounds
– Seeding Round: The seeding round will be held at 4:30 p.m. Featuring the top-eight teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points, teams will compete in four head-to-head runs with the quickest time receiving the top, overall seed for the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. The remaining seven teams in the seeding round will be seeded Nos. 2-8 in order of their times (quickest to slowest).

– Round One: All teams seeded Nos. 9-24 compete in a head-to-head, single-elimination format with the eight winning teams advancing to the second round of competition.

o Additionally, the fastest crew member at each station will be crowned as the individual champion in the following categories: front-tire changer and carrier, rear-tire changer and carrier, jack man and gas man, and catch-can man. Each of the winning individual crew members will receive a $10,000 prize. Teams competing in the seeding round and first round will have individual skills’ times count toward the individual skills’ titles.

– Round Two: The eight winning teams from round one advance to challenge the teams seeded Nos. 1-8. Eight heat winners advance to round three (Quarterfinals).

– Round Three Quarterfinals:

“Name Your Opponent Round" – The highest-remaining team advancing into round three may choose its opponent from any of the other seven teams advancing into round three. The selection process will continue with the next, highest-remaining, non-selected team until the round three line up (four total) is set.
The head-to-head competition continues with the same format as round two. Four heat winners advance to round four (Semifinals).
– Round Four Semifinals: The winning teams from round four compete head to head with the two winners advancing to the championship round.

– Round Five Finals: The winning teams from round four compete head to head with the winner crowned as the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Champion.

– Note: In the event of a tie in any of the rounds, the car owner who is ranked higher in the current 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 17, 2010, will prevail.

– The finishing order of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman determines the order of pit selection for the race that each competing team is eligible for – Sprint Showdown or NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Eligibility

All teams qualified for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners from 2009 and 2010, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2009 or 2010 season. Also eligible is the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge winner. If there are no new event winners, the remaining unfilled positions will become available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 17, 2010, who are not otherwise eligible for this event.

The following teams are currently eligible: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, No. 9 Budweiser Ford, No. 11 FedEx Toyota, No. 12 Penske Dodge, No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, No. 71 Taxslayer.com Chevrolet, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and No. 88 National Guard/AMP Chevrolet.

For more information, visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com.