What Does it Take to Become Champions? Ask the 99 Crew

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. - Roush Racing's No. 99 CITGO SUPERGARD Pit Crew recently accomplished something that no other NASCAR team could do. They won the 2000 Union-76 Rockingham World Pit Crew Challenge with a record speed of 18.355 seconds.

The Union-76 Rockingham World Pit Crew Challenge is something every Winston Cup crew member looks forward to while hoping to gain the envy of all other teams in the garage by taking the title. But along with the glory comes hard work. And for the CITGO SUPERGARD team, the hard work definitely paid off.

Along with pit practice several times weekly, the team worked on different strategies to shave off time for the competition. The pit crew challenge consisted of the teams changing four tires and taking 14 gallons of gas (7 gallons per can), so the team could practice the exact routine that would take place in Rockingham. Here are some thoughts from the CITGO SUPERGARD pit crew on the championship and what they feel enabled them to win the competition:

"We practiced twice that week and at one practice we used the exact car that we would use at the competition instead of the pit car," CITGO SUPERGARD Crew Chief Frank Stoddard said. "Our main focus was to make sure the lugs were tight every time. The last pit stop we practiced was a 17.90 (seconds), and I told the guys if they could do that at the competition, then we would win. There is, for sure, some extra gloating, plus you get to put the decal on your truck. We're all having some fun with it."

"Some of us are on a workout program, and we practice an average of two or three times a week on our stops, so that's what I credit the win to," front tire carrier Mike Brill said. "We've worked extra hard for this and come a long way. We've moved around all season and have had some changes with our team. With 12 races into the season we were still struggling and the fact we still won the championship says a lot. Now, we just need to keep everyone together. This is just as good as winning the overall championship. No matter what else happens, we were the best on that given day."

"We did nothing special for this, just our routine practice and making sure the lugnuts were tight," rear tire changer Todd Foster said. "The lugnuts were the main thing. This is bragging rights for an entire year. Especially for me because I've been changing tires since I was 13. I am so excited and so are my family and friends because they see how far I've come.

Roush Racing is the largest motorsports team in the world with nine teams in NASCAR's three major series: Mark Martin, Jeff Burton (based in Mooresville, N.C.), Kevin Lepage, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth (Concord, N.C.) in the Winston Cup Series; Martin and Burton in the Busch Series; and Greg Biffle and Busch (Livonia, Mich.) in the Craftsman Truck Series.