THE 2011 NASCAR SPRINT PIT CREW CHALLENGE DELIVERS ALL-STAR CALIBER COMPETITION

HARRISBURG, N.C.(May 4, 2011) – The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew ChallengeTM presented by Craftsman®will usher in the seventh year of all-star caliber, pit crew competition.

The family-friendly event features the top-24 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesTM pit crews and is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 19 at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling Time Warner Cable Arena box office at (800) 745-3000.  SPEED’s broadcast of the event begins at 8 p.m.

The NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman is the only indoor event sanctioned by NASCAR and is part of an all-star lineup of events including NASCAR Rev’d Up on Wednesday, May 18 and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7 p.m., live on SPEED)held Saturday, May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“The NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman has become a true fan favorite as it gives our fans the opportunity to see up close and personal some of the unsung heroes in our sport,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR. “The pit crews train extremely hard and compete at the highest levels. Their performance on pit road oftentimes is the difference between winning and finishing second on race weekends and it’s great that they have this opportunity to showcase their many talents leading into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.”

Competition Format Teams are seeded for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge based on the following:

–        Seeding will be determined by the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings (as of May 18, 2011).

–        The top-eight teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points will receive a bye into the second round of the competition.

–        The remaining eligible teams will be ranked in order of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points as seeds No. 9-24 and will compete in a head-to-head format in the first round of the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge.   Competition Rounds –

Seeding Round: The seeding round will be held at 4:30 p.m. Featuring the top-eight teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points, teams will compete in four head-to-head runs with the quickest time receiving the top, overall seed for the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. The remaining seven teams in the seeding round will be seeded Nos. 2-8 in order of their times (quickest to slowest).

–        Round One:  All teams seeded Nos. 9-24 compete in a head-to-head, single-elimination format with the eight winning teams advancing to the second round of competition.

Additionally, the fastest crew member at each station will be crowned as the individual champion in the following categories: front-tire changer and carrier, rear-tire changer and carrier, jack man and gas man, and second gas can man. Each of the winning individual crew members will receive a $10,000 prize. Teams competing in the seeding round and first round will have individual skills’ times count toward the individual skills’ titles.

–        Round Two:  The eight winning teams from round one advance to challenge the teams seeded Nos. 1-8. Eight heat winners advance to round three.

–     Round Three Quarterfinals: The head-to-head competition continues with the same format as round two. Four heat winners advance to round four.

–        Round Four Semifinals: The winning teams from round four compete head to head with the two winners advancing to the championship round.

–        Round Five Finals: The winning teams from round four compete head to head with the winner crowned as the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Champion.

–        Note: In the event of a tie in any of the rounds, the car owner who is ranked higher in the current 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 18, 2011, will prevail.

–        The finishing order of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman determines the order of pit selection for the race that each competing team is eligible for – Sprint Showdown or NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Eligibility

All teams qualified for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners from 2010 and 2011, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2010 or 2011 season. Also eligible is the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge winner. If there are no new event winners, the remaining unfilled positions will become available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 18, 2011, who are not otherwise eligible for this event.   The following teams are currently eligible: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, No. 4 Red Bull Racing Toyota, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, No. 11 FedEx Toyota, No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet, No. 16 3M Ford, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet,  No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, and No. 99 Aflac Ford.  For more information, visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com