Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(May 19, 2010)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 team is so good, it’s even winning when Denny Hamlin’s girlfriend is driving the car.

With Hamlin’s girlfriend, Jordan Fish, steering the car and Hamlin cheering outside of it, the JGR pit crew won the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Wednesday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

In winning the event, the JGR team got a bit of revenge from last year, when it lost to eventual champion Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 team.

This year, the two teams met in the finals and Hamlin’s team beat Jeff Burton’s crew to the finish line by 0.442 seconds.

“I was as nervous as I’ve ever been,” Hamlin said. “I wanted it so bad for these guys. I wanted them to enjoy their success. I always get all the credit when we win, and this night was about them and it showed how steady and good that they are.”

The competition is different than a normal pit stop. The crews start at four separate stations—jackman, front-tire carrier and changer, the rear-tire carrier and changer, and the gasman and catch-can man—where the crewmen do their normal duties and then have to run to one end of the arena and collectively push their car across the arena floor to the finish line.

Since the teams push the car across the arena floor, it’s best to have a petite person steering. So Hamlin’s girlfriend got that job and the rest of the JGR crew—gas man Scott Wood, catch-can man John Eicher, front-tire changer Mike Hicks, front-tire carrier Brandon Pegram, rear-tire changer Jon Sherman, rear-tire carrier Heath Cherry and jackman Nate Bolling—did their job better than the rest.

Two years ago, Hamlin had been critical of his pit crew, and some changes were made the week of the crew challenge.

“It’s like a family,” Cherry said. “Over the last two years, we’ve gotten stronger and stronger, more confident and more consistent. We take a lot of pride in what we do. We take pride when we advance Denny’s position on pit road.

“We have a good group that works well together and is just a team. We keep that consistency. No one is bigger than the other.”

By winning the pit crew challenge, Hamlin’s team will get the first choice of pit selection for the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford agreed they would take the pit closest to the end of pit road. Drivers will be required to make a pit stop just prior to the final 10-lap segment of the all-star race.

“It’s very critical to get off pit road quickly,” Ford said. “You’re going to need track position in that 10-lap shootout. … That No. 1 pit stall, if we’ve got to make up a couple of spots, is going to help us out.”

The event also crowned the top individuals in their specialties. The winners of the individual awards were Bolling (jackman); Nick Odell (front tire changer) and Brad Donaghy (front tire carrier) from Kyle Busch’s JGR pit crew; RCR’s Dustin Necaise (rear tire changer) and Matt Kreuter (rear tire carrier) from Clint Bowyer’s crew; and Hendrick Motorsports’ Brad Pickens (gas man) and Travis Gordon (catch can) from Mark Martin’s crew.

It wasn’t a surprise that the top jack man—Bolling—was on the winning team as the jackman often is first to the car to give it a push.

“You have to be fast and you have to be strong to be a jackman in this competition and you have to be fast and you have to be strong to be a jackman on pit road,” said Bolding, a former Wake Forest University football player. “It all goes hand in hand.”

Odell has won the individual title three times.

“I was tickled to death when I won one,” Odell said. “To win three is unbelievable to me.”

There are no points to be had, and no reason to settle for anything but first.

The annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, paying a million dollars to the winner, is a showcase for only the best. To be eligible, a driver must have won at least one race in 2009 or 2010, have won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race within the last 10 years, or have been a past series champion within the last 10 years.

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There are four segments in the race. The first is 50 laps, second and third are 20 laps, and the fourth is 10 laps, with only green-flag laps counting in the final segment. There will be a mandatory four-tire pit stop prior to the fourth segment. The order the cars exit pit road will be the order in which they start the final segment.

Tony Stewart won the event last year. It was his first trip to Victory Lane as a driver-owner with his then-new team Stewart-Haas Racing.

All Star Race (Already locked in by race wins, past All Star wins, & championships)
1 00 David Reutimann Rob Kauffman Rodney Childers 10 Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
2 1 Jamie McMurray Teresa Earnhardt Kevin Manion 10 Chevrolet National Wild Turkey Federation
3 2 Kurt Busch Walter Czarnecki Steve Addington 10 Dodge Miller Lite-Vortex Dodge
4 5 Mark Martin Mary Hendrick Alan Gustafson 10 Chevrolet Delphi-GoDaddy.com
5 9 Kasey Kahne George Gillett Jr Kenny Francis 10 Ford Budweiser
6 11 Denny Hamlin J D Gibbs Michael Ford 10 Toyota FedEx Office
7 12 Brad Keselowski Roger Penske Jay Guy 10 Dodge No. 12 Penske Dodge
8 14 Tony Stewart Margaret Haas Darian Grubb 10 Chevrolet Burger King
9 17 Matt Kenseth John Henry Todd Parrott 10 Ford CROWN ROYAL
10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Dave Rogers 10 Toyota M&M’s
11 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Greg Zipadelli 10 Toyota Home Depot
12 24 Jeff Gordon Rick Hendrick Steve Letarte 10 Chevrolet Dupont
13 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Gil Martin 10 Chevrolet Pennzoil Ultra
14 39 Ryan Newman Tony Stewart Tony Gibson 10 Chevrolet Tornados
15 48 Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon Chad Knaus 10 Chevrolet Lowe’s
16 71 Bobby Labonte Kevin Buckler Doug Randolph 09 Chevrolet Taxslayer.com
17 83 Brian Vickers Dietrich Mateschitz Ryan Pemberton 10 Toyota Red Bull
18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr Rick Hendrick Lance McGrew 10 Chevrolet Dale Jr Foundation / National Guard / Amp Energy

The Sprint Showdown: One Last Chance
Not locked in? Then there are two options. Either win the Sprint Fan Vote, or finish in the top two in the Sprint Showdown.

This year’s Sprint Showdown is filled with some huge names, which should make for a wild event: Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, among others.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 19, 2010) – NASCAR has placed Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 21 car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, on probation until June 16 for a rule violation he committed during the race at Dover International Speedway on May 15. Bowyer was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – aggressive driving) of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rule Book.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 19, 2010) – The temperature hovered near 90 degrees Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway, and there were plenty of drafts in the air.
But not the Atlantic Ocean variety.
Instead, it was drafting among NASCAR Nationwide Series new cars, the second day of a two-day test in preparation for its inaugural points race there on July 2 – the Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by Coca-Cola.
That event is the first of four points races for the new car in 2010. The others are at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 14, Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 10 and Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 15.
When teams return to Daytona in July, they’ll have a full day on track on Wednesday, June 30 prior to the first official practice on Thursday, July 1.
“This afternoon, most of the teams came out to do a large drafting run,” said Joe Balash, NASCAR Nationwide Series director. “We had most of the cars that were here go out and take turns leading the pack, running the inside lane and outside lane, trying to work their way up through the field.”
On Tuesday, teams spent most of the day in single-car runs, making adjustments to prepare for their first drafting opportunity late in the afternoon.
Some cars began Wednesday with single-car runs while others continued to draft. Following the lunch break, Balash and other NASCAR officials on site asked teams to be prepared to draft as a large pack for just over 15 minutes.
“I think we’ve got a lot of adjustments left in the car,” Balash said. “We had differing comments from the drivers as I walked through the garage and talked to them. To some drivers, the cars are loose and to some, they were tight during the drafting session.”
Carl Edwards (No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford) had his first opportunity in the new car at Daytona on Wednesday and agreed with Balash, specific to further adjustments. “If we can get the cars tuned a little better, (get) the balance better and then maybe that practice day on Wednesday before we come and work on the cars a little more, hopefully they’ll be a little bit more predictable,” the 2007 series champion said.
Overall, Balash gave the test a positive review. “I think we’re headed in the right direction with everything we’ve had going on in the test session,” he said. “We’ll be ready when we get back down here in July.”
Reed Sorenson (No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota) posted the fastest lap of the two-day test in the Wednesday afternoon session with a time of 47.919 seconds/187.817 mph. Joey Logano (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) was the fastest in the morning drafting session with a lap of 48.328 seconds/186.227 mph, while Sorenson alsoturned the quickest single-car lap in that session at 49.846 seconds/180.556 mph.
Testing speeds can be found on https://www.NASCARMedia.com.
NASCAR Nationwide Series racing resumes May 29 with the Tech-Net Auto Service 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race will be broadcast on ABC beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Red Bull Racing Team announced today that the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota has requested a driver change and has been cleared by NASCAR to participate in the Sprint All-Star Race Saturday, May 22.

Casey Mears will again pilot the No. 83, due to primary driver Brian Vickers’ diagnosis of blood clots and on-going testing and treatment. “Given the extenuating circumstances we have dealt with this past week regarding Brian’s health, we would like to thank NASCAR for their assistance and understanding of this unique situation by allowing us to compete in the All-Star Race,” said Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing Team General Manager & Vice President.