Jimmie Johnson’s team struck again, winning the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday’s Pocono 500 Sprint Cup race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
The Tissot pit crew win was the second of the season for the No. 48 team, which also took top honors at the Bristol, Tenn. Cup race in March.
The win by Johnson’s crew also lifted the Hendrick Motorsports teams to six Tissot pit crew wins in the 14 Sprint Cup races contested in 2009. Other Hendrick crews to claim the Tissot win have been—Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 crew (three wins) and Dale Earnhardt’s No. 88 crew (one win).
The win for the No. 48 crew at Pocono came as a result of Johnson’s Chevrolet Impala SS spending the least amount of time on pit road (188.419 seconds) during the 200-lap, 500-mile race.
“Like always, the team did a great job in the pits at Pocono,” said No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus. “We consistently ran in the top five for most of the race and the guys on pit road really stepped up and helped us maintain that position. Greg (Morin, pit crew coach) and the guys work really hard to stay one of the best teams on pit road and it shows week after week.”
Johnson’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Jeremy West (rear-tire changer), Andy Brown (rear-tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (jackman), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Ron Malec (eighth man). The team’s pit crew coach is Greg Morin.
The No. 48 team will receive $5,000 for the pit road win. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award victories at the completion of the 36-race schedule will earn a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver.
Gordon’s No. 24 crew leads in the Tissot standings with three wins. Johnson’s and Greg Biffle’s crews are tied for second with two wins.
Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.
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