Chevy teams gear up for pit crew challenge.

The 35th annual Union 76/Rockingham World Pit Crew Competition will be held at North Carolina Speedway this Saturday [2 November], the day before NASCAR's Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400.

Teams will be vying for a $30,000 first-place award from a total purse for the event is $100,000, with a $10,000 bonus going to any team that sets a world record. Each team is timed while filling the race car with two seven-gallon gas cans and changing all four tyres.

Based on current car owner points, 25 teams are selected to compete, with three Chevrolet Monte Carlo Winston Cup teams - Richard Childress Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Inc - among the favourites.

"It's a thing of pride, who's the best for that day, I guess," admitted David R Smith, pit crew manager at Richard Childress Racing, "It's all about pride, it's all about going out there and showing your stuff and showing everybody you're the best.

"I was privileged to be a part of four championships - four consecutive championships - and nobody else has even done it back-to-back. We did that from '85 through '88 with the Junkyard Dogs. It is bragging rights. When you walk down pit-road after winning that thing, everybody looks at you and says 'there go the best guys; they were the best'.

"It's a big thing to the pit crew guys to [be able to] say 'we beat the best of the best on this day'. And it's the only recognised competition in the world for pit-stops, as far as Winston Cup-style racing. Guys still come up to me and remember that I was part of those four consecutive championships."

Even in the midst of an otherwise disappointing season, teams look forward to the pit-stop competition, as Walter Smith of the #1 Pennzoil Dale Earnhardt Inc crew comments:

"It's a big boost - it gives the teams a chance to show what they can do. You're not dealing with two-tyre stops versus four-tyre stops, it's just heads-up competition. Everything is spelled out for them and it's basically whoever is the best wins all the marbles. [The kudos] lasts all year - I was fortunate enough to win it several years ago when I was working at Hendrick Motorsports, and it basically carries you throughout the whole year. It's kind of a good, warm feeling, and you know that you went out there and beat all comers in a heads-up competition."

There is added incentive for the individual crew members, as Smith confirms:

"The guys get the money - they split it up among the seven guys over the wall," he said, "Normally, most teams will throw in some money for their support personnel and so forth. It's definitely an incentive, monetarily speaking."