Gil Martin named “Crew Chief of the Raceâ€�
Some say it was being in the right place at the right time, but cautious instruction from Martin is what empowered Bowyer to drive the No. 07 BB&T Chevy to victory in Saturday night’s race. After starting deep in the field, (31st) Bowyer carved his way up to 16th on lap 129 resulting from a successful pit stop by the Martin-led team. Increasing track position and then maintaining that spot was Martin’s main concern, coaching Bowyer to be patient as he steadily made his way to the front. Bowyer eventually took over the lead following a collision between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch with two laps to go and sailed to the victory.
“He [Martin] kept them in position the whole second half of the race, and it worked out that they were in position when it counted," said Todd Berrier, crew chief of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, and WYPALL Wipers crew chief representative.
The 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge is a season-long contest that will determine the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel will vote to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It isn’t necessarily the crew chief that goes to Victory Lane, but the crew chief that makes the biggest difference for his team.
Representatives from WYPALL Wipers, together with FOX/SPEED television analyst Jeff Hammond, and three of NASCAR’s top crew chiefs who represent WYPALL, including Berrier of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy team, Bob Osborne of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Office Depot Ford team, and Kenny Francis of Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team, make up the panel of judges.
In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead, Fla.