Catchfence

No. 26 crew is 17th different Tissot winner in first 26 Races

Jamie McMurray’s crew claimed its first Tissot Pit Road Precision Award by taking top honors in Saturday night’s (Sept. 12) NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

The Tissot weekly competition, which recognizes the unsung heroes of the sport, has had 17 different winners in the first 26 races of the season.

McMurray’s No. 26 Ford Fusion spent the least amount of time on pit road – 270.639 seconds – during the 400-lap race at the .75-mile short track. The team will collect $5,000 from Tissot for the pit crew win.

“It’s really nice to have this group of guys on our Crown Royal and IRWIN Industrial Tools team get recognized for something good,” said No. 26 crew chief Donnie Wingo. “This weekend’s race at Richmond was a bit of a challenge in regards to our car’s handling, but our team did a great job in the pits, and they’re very deserving of this award. They deserve the recognition because too many times races can be won or lost in the pits, and we have a tremendous crew on our No. 26 team this year.”

The No. 26 over-the-wall crew at Richmond consisted of: Kevin Novak (front tire changer), Brian Huitt (front-tire carrier), Sean Meckelson (jackman), Chris Tompkins (rear-tire changer), Ben Surface (rear-tire carrier), Les Huntley (gas man) and Ben Holm (catch can). The team’s pit crew coach is Jesse Posey.

Greg Biffle’s crew continues to lead the Tissot standings with five wins. The crews for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for second with three wins each.

The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule will receive a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver.

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.

2009 Tissot Pit Road Precision Award Standings

Pos Team No. Pit Crew For Wins Prize Money

1 16 Greg Biffle 5 25,000

T2 24 Jeff Gordon 3 15,000

T2 48 Jimmie Johnson 3 15,000

4 14 Tony Stewart 2 10,000

T5 43 Reed Sorenson 1 5,000

T5 33 Clint Bowyer 1 5,000

T5 39 Ryan Newman 1 5,000

T5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1 5,000

T5 1 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,000

T5 00 David Reutimann 1 5,000

T5 99 Carl Edwards 1 5,000

T5 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 1 5,000

T5 11 Denny Hamlin 1 5,000

T5 9 Kasey Kahne 1 5,000

T5 20 Joey Logano 1 5,000

T5 44 AJ Allmendinger 1 5,000

T5 26 Jamie McMurray 1 5,000

2009 Tissot Pit Road Precision Award Winners

Daytona, 2/15 Reed Sorenson Team

Fontana, 2/22 Tony Stewart Team

Las Vegas, 3/1 Greg Biffle Team

Atlanta 3/8 Clint Bowyer Team

Bristol, 3/22 Jimmie Johnson Team

Martinsville, 3/29 Jeff Gordon Team

Fort Worth, 4/5 Jeff Gordon Team

Phoenix, 4/18 Ryan Newman Team

Talladega, 4/26 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team

Richmond, 5/2 Jeff Gordon Team

Darlington, 5/9 Martin Truex Jr. Team

Charlotte, 5/25 David Reutimann Team

Dover, 5/31 Greg Biffle Team

Pocono, 6/7 Carl Edwards Team

Michigan, 6/14 Greg Biffle Team

Sonoma, 6/21 Juan Pablo Montoya Team

New Hampshire, 6/28 Jimmie Johnson Team

Daytona, 7/4 Tony Stewart Team

Chicagoland, 7/11 Denny Hamlin Team

Indianapolis, 7/26 Greg Biffle Team

Pocono, 8/3 Kasey Kahne Team

Watkins Glen, 8/10 Jimmie Johnson Team

Michigan, 8/16 Joe Logano Team

Bristol, 8/22 Greg Biffle Team

Atlanta, 9/6 AJ Allmendinger Team

Richmond, 9/12 Jamie McMurray Team

- DMF Communications for Tissot Pit Road Precision Awards, Press Release