By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
November 2, 2002
2:02 PM EST (1902 GMT)
As the morning dawn gave way to a cloudless Carolina-blue sky over Rockingham on Saturday morning, the garage began to bustle with activity.
The air seemed a little different as the crewman readied for practice. The usual banter was pretty much the same, but the tones had a sense of intensity.
It is the day of the World Pit Crew Championship.
On this day, the top 25 teams will wage war against each other for some cash and a trophy. More important is the year-long bragging rights that come with a victory.
The job of a crewman in racing is as thankless as the season is long. Beyond the 38-race schedule, the guys endure testing sessions and long hours to beat 42 other teams on Sunday. The seemingly endless hours of work for one day of glory might not add up for some.
Winning is one thing -- defending is even harder.
Just ask some of the guys from the No. 17 DeWalt Ford of Matt Kenseth.
"It gave us a lot of confidence this year being the Union 76 World Pit Crew Champions," said Phil Drye, front-tire changer for the team. "We proved ourselves time and time again on pit road and it even made a difference in some of the races we won.
"Being the defending champions adds a little pressure to the deal, but I think this team has been under worse pressure before and I think we will overcome it."
Every guy in the garage area has a story of how he came to work on a Winston Cup crew. Nobody goes straight from the garage outback into the elite of NASCAR.
It starts at local tracks all around the country. It was a progressive crawl for many.
Most people don't realize is that many crewmen are champion drivers themselves. They built and worked on their own cars, raced them, wrecked them and rebuilt them.
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That unselfishness is what makes them work together so well with their teammates. They all have one goal -- win the race for their driver at all costs.
Tony Stewart has raced on short tracks of all sizes and surfaces. He's known for his fierce competitive nature when a checkered flag looms at the end of the day. He also knows what the pit crew competition means to the guys on the No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac.
"It seems like this pit crew challenge is kind of like me going to Indianapolis," Stewart said. "They put so much pressure on themselves to perform well for that event. I almost feel like they try too hard at times.
"But, they give it everything they have. I can promise you one thing, I'm probably more nervous for them than I am of myself making a mistake. I'd be devastated if I made a mistake that cost them a shot at winning the pit crew championship.
"To see the intensity on their faces as they gear up for the competition, it's the same kind of intensity you would see of a baseball team getting ready to go into the World Series or a football team getting ready for the Super Bowl."
For one day in November, the crewmen become the stars and the drivers become the secondary focus.
"I always try to go over to the shop that week for pit stop practice and drive the pit stop car," Stewart said. "Just to see the hard work and effort those guys put in, not only the week before the event, but all year.
"These guys would break their arm if that's what it would take to win the deal."
For the trophy and the cash --- no. For the bragging rights -- definitely yes.
Tim Packman's column appears every Saturday on NASCAR.com.
The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.
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