Twenty-four teams to vie for Pit Crew Challenge

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Far more than mere prelude, the third annual Nextel Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman shines a worthy spotlight on some of the Cup Series' most important participants -- team crew members.

On Wednesday, 24 pit crews will battle for team and individual position titles at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. It's the third consecutive pit-crew competition, which spotlights often-unsung personnel.

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"You can't win a championship without a team effort," said crew chief Robbie Reiser, whose driver, Matt Kenseth, won the 2003 series title and the 2004 Nextel All-Star Challenge. "And it takes everybody throughout the year to do that. And not only all of the work they do in the shop but the work they do over the wall is a key ingredient to making that all happen."

This year, crews' work will play a role in Saturday night's 23rd annual Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Teams will pick their pits for the event based on the finishing order of Wednesday's Challenge.

A quick reminder: Seven team members are allowed "over the wall" to service a car on pit road. On Wednesday, this year's 24 eligible pit crews will compete for a grand prize of $70,300. Each individual position champion will receive a $10,000 prize.

Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 Chevrolet pit crew is the defending champion.

"It's just a great weekend for motorsports in general here," said Kevin Manion, crew chief for the No. 1 team. "Being based out of Charlotte, the guys, a lot of their families can come out and see them perform."

This year's Nextel Pit Crew Challenge features two significant format changes -- the addition of a seeding round and a "call-out" round.

Following is the order of competition:

• Seeding round: New this year, all participating teams are seeded based on the series' car-owner standings as of May 13. The top eight teams receive a bye into the second round. They also will compete in the seeding round to determine their ranking for the rest of the competition, with the top seed posting the fastest overall time. Thus, the top seed could receive a lower seed, and vice-versa. (Continued)