 | | Credit: Autostock |
August 1, 2005
02:25 PM EDT (18:25 GMT)
With only six races until the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins, pit strategy has had a profound affect on how drivers have both won and lost races this season. Read, review and vote for the most significant Sunoco Pit Move covering the first 20 events of the 2005 Nextel Cup season: Atlanta The final stop, which occurred on Lap 295, set the tone for the final 30 laps. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson each beat Greg Biffle out of the pits. Biffle, who led 151 laps, never challenged again, leaving Johnson and Edwards to duke it out, with Edwards eventually edging out Johnson for the victory. • Complete Sunoco Pit Move: Atlanta Martinsville  |  | ALSO | |
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For the second time this year, Tony Stewart dominated and had nothing to show for it. Stewart's crew left lugnuts loose on Lap 389 at Martinsville, and the wheel gave way less than 20 miles later. Stewart lost the wheel, lost the race and lost a lot of ground to points leader Jimmie Johnson. • Complete Sunoco Pit Move: Martinsville Texas Chip Ganassi Racing has gone from having lackluster, mistake-riddled stops to a near-flawless performance at Texas that sent teammates Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and Sterling Marlin all to top-five finishes. • Complete Sunoco Pit Move: Texas Richmond Kasey Kahne won in large part to his pit crew and his pit stall. After qualifying first, Kahne had the coveted stall at the entrance to Turn 1, and he never lost the lead in the pits through five pit stops, eventually earning his first career Nextel Cup victory. • Complete Sunoco Pit Move: Richmond Chicagoland It was hard to fault Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart for taking four tires at the end of the race. If that last caution hadn't flown, Kenseth probably would have won. Obviously, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole a win with Steve Hmiel's call to take two tires, and all the cars that took two tires were the big winners because that last caution helped solidify their position. • Complete Sunoco Pit Move: Chicagoland | 
