Wrenchman Award created to honor crew members

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Craftsman, the Official Tools of NASCAR, and NASCAR have announced the newest NASCAR season-ending award -- the NASCAR Craftsman Wrenchman Award, to recognize a team member from each of the three national NASCAR touring series who best showcases core Craftsman attributes of trust, quality, knowledge and innovation when performing their job with the race team.

The Wrenchman Award is open to all crew members, whether they work at the track or race shop. Teams will nominate one team member with a selection committee choosing the finalists. A fan voting will decide the winner on the Sprint Cup Series side, while the selection committee will choose the winners from the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

The accomplishments and profiles of each of the 12 Cup Series finalists, showcasing how they embody the core Craftsman attributes, will be featured on www.craftsman.com, giving fans a unique opportunity to get a glimpse behind-the-scenes at what it takes to field a NASCAR team and vote for their favorites.

In addition, one lucky fan will win a trip to Champions Week in Las Vegas to make the presentation to the winning crew member. Overall, the program is expected to award approximately $170,000 in cash and Craftsman tools to the winners.

"The NASCAR Craftsman Wrenchman Award will celebrate and reward the everyday heroes of NASCAR who exemplify the attributes of the Craftsman brand both in the garage and at home," said Matt McDonnell, manager of brand development Craftsman. "It's also the perfect opportunity to establish a personal connection for the fans with important crew members who typically don't get to step into the spotlight."

Crew member nominations by participating Cup, Nationwide and Truck series teams will take place this summer. A selection committee will narrow the Cup Series finalists in August. Fan voting will commence in the fall, leading up to the announcement of the Wrenchman Award winners on Nov. 22 at Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.