New Crew, New Season, New Outlook for Burton

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (December 19, 2001) - The off season is typically a time for rebuilding in NASCAR, and the No. 99 CITGO Racing Team is no exception. By moving around several key positions and adding new crew members, the No. 99 team hopes to make a run for the top five in 2002.

"We made some changes on the crew to make our pit stops faster and car better," said crew chief Frank Stoddard. He went on to say, "We need to be more competitive from the start this year. We need to be focused and can't afford to spend the first half of the season like we did last year."

Pierre Kuettel, car chief of the No. 99 CITGO team, echoed this thought. "New blood is usually a good thing. They bring new energy and excitement to the team. New people give you the boost you need when you are in a rut."

Kuettel also discussed the pressure put on the new guys when they move to a team that competes in the top-10. "You want to make sure you are not the weakest link and until you get a taste of winning, there is a lot of pressure to perform."

Moving to a winning team can be stressful but Steve Channing, rear tire changer, and Brian Perry, jack man, are taking it all in stride. "I'm excited about winning races, being able to participate in the pit crew competition and racing for a top-10 position in the championship," says Perry. "I've never won a race before and I'm excited to win one." Channing goes on to add, "The team is prepared and going to do real well. We want to make a run for the top-five and improve over last year. It's been great working with all the guys and I'm looking forward to 2002."

Because of last year's hurdles, many people have written off the No. 99 team but Kuettel says that's right where they want to be.

"In some ways we felt cursed last year since everyone shoed us in for a championship win. This year there are no expectations put on us and we have momentum from the second half of 2001 to carry us into our testing in January. This in conjunction with the new additions to the team should give us the kick we need to finish in the top-five in points."

With the rebuilding of a team comes a lot of hard work. Pit stops are practiced five days a week along with many long hours in the garage. With most of the No. 99 testing coming in the first half of the season, this will give the crew time to work out the kinks and be ready for the Daytona 500 on February 17th.