Corvette team wins pitstop competition

Corvette team in action

It was the crew of the No. 4 Corvette C6.R that was the fastest but a penalty resulted in the No. 3 ‘Vette winning the Klein Tools Pit Crew Challenge championship.

The two Corvette Racing C6.Rs challenged the two Dyson Racing Porsche RS Spyders in the final bout of the pit crew battle at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The four teams did six rounds of round-robin competition and the two cars with the top cumulative times competing in the seventh and final round.

The two Corvettes went head-to-head in the final round with winner taking home the championship. The No. 4 Corvette finished in 41:99 seconds and the No. 3 finished just under a second behind in 42:81 seconds. But the crew of the No. 4 was assessed a 10-second penalty because the fueler of the car worked on the car and according to IMSA regulations the fueler is only allowed to fuel, not actually touch the car.

IMSA's Tim Mayer presents the winning check

The end result was the No. 3 Corvette Racing team winning the Klein Tools Pit Crew Championship and the $20,000 check presented today by Tim Mayer, American Le Mans Series and IMSA Chief Operating Officer.

“All the guys on both crews work really hard on their pit stops," said team crew chief Danny Binks after the No. 3 crew won the pit stop crown for the second time in three years. “These guys make me proud, and they should be proud of what they do."

“What could be better than a one-two finish in the Klein Tools Pit Crew Challenge?" said team manager Gary Pratt. “We hoped that it would come down to a match between our two crews in the final. It doesn't make any difference which crew wins when we get a one-two finish. It was a great team effort; the crews practice together and they work together to develop the pit stop process. We think it makes a difference during a race."