The No. 11 FedEx Toyota team for Joe Gibbs Racing has earned second-quarter honors in the 2010 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award competition for its pit road performance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Hamlin and the No. 11 team have scored a series-leading five wins this season and are currently fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. And while Hamlin is turning fast laps behind the wheel, crew chief Mike Ford’s group has been on its game as well, performing consistent, quick pit stops all year.
The Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award, determined by a vote of each team’s crew chief, is given quarterly to the top-performing pit crew in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The four quarterly winners are eligible for the year-end Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award presented during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas.
The award is part of the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal Program, also referred to as the contingency program, which provides teams prize money and weekly awards based on performance in several categories. Mechanix Wear, the No. 1 glove in racing, is the Official Glove of NASCAR®used by nearly all pit crew members in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Created nine years ago, the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award is one of the most sought-after titles for pit crews.
“We work with pit crews every week to jointly develop products that help them do their job better,” said Ted Abdon, director of racing for Mechanix Wear. “We look at the changes in the cars and the pit stops, and create products that make them safer on the job and help them do it more effectively. We’ve worked hard to reward them for being the best in their sport.”
Members of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota pit crew include: Mike Hicks (front-tire changer), Brandon Pegram (front-tire carrier), Jonathan Sherman (rear-tire changer), Heath Cherry (rear-tire carrier), Nate Bolling (jackman), Scott Wood (gasman) and John Eicher (catch can). The team’s athletic director is Mike Lepp.
“I may be a little biased, but I think the No. 11 guys should win it every quarter,” said crew chief Mike Ford. “Our guys really give it their all every week to make sure we keep the No. 11 FedEx Camry in a position to win. Those guys are on point and very prepared. They are a tight-knit group and they’ve really turned some heads this past quarter and helped us win those five races this year.”
The No. 11 pit crew will be presented the second-quarter Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award Sunday during pre-race ceremonies prior to the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The No. 11 crew also captured this year’s NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge in May.
| 
|