Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 11 team is so good even when the car is driven by Denny Hamlin's girlfriend.It was a Hamlin show again as Charlotte Bobcats dancer Jordan Fish, was steering the car and Hamlin was cheering outside of it, the JGR pit crew won the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge at Time Warner Cable Arena, one of the NASCAR's All-Star Race major event and for the JGR team it was a a bit of revenge from 2009 Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, 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.
Denny Hamlin commented:
"I was as nervous as I've ever been. 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 in the event is so much 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.
Heath Cherry commented:
"It's like a family. 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 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.
Crew Chief Mike Ford commented:
"It's very critical to get off pit road quickly. 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.
