Letarte wins Crew Chief of the Race Award

Steve Letarte and the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet crew, headed to Lowe’s Motor Speedway with clear direction and strategy. Letarte’s plan was to keep his driver, Jeff Gordon, at the front of the pack to avoid any possible incident. Starting fourth on the grid for the Bank of America 500 enabled Letarte and Gordon to stay with front-runners as planned from the green flag. As other championship contenders changed strategy mid- race in an effort to catch leaders, Letarte and Gordon held strong. Taking the lead in the closing stages of the race, Gordon was able to hold off several late chargers and take the checkered flag for the team’s sixth win of the season. For his calm and precise race strategy Letarte was awarded the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.

Throughout the planned 500-mile race, Letarte maintained his composed strategy throughout several pressure moments. A caution on lap 279 resulted in front-runners hitting pit road for adjustments. The four- tire and full tank of Sunoco fuel pit stop would be Gordon’s last stop of the night. However as the last laps unfolded, Gordon felt his Chevrolet was running out of gas. Letarte kept the race leader calm knowing his fuel mileage calculations were accurate and that Gordon could make it to the end. That he did, not only taking the win but also a 68 points lead in the championship standings.

A panel of judges including a member of the local media, Robbie Reiser, Kenny Francis and a WYPALL* Wipers spokesmen, all agreed Letarte’s strategy was deserving for him to be awarded the crew chief of the race winner. “Steve and the 24 crew just didn’t go away all night," commented Reiser at the conclusion of the race. “They seemed to stay up front most of the night and when they moved to the lead were very fast."