Marlin's Pit Crew Takes Bristol Win: #40-Sterling Marlin's pit crew won the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade in Sunday's (March 28) Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Marlin's crew earned $20,000 for the victory and became the sixth different winner in the first six races of the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. Kurt Busch's #97 crew, which finished second to Marlin's crew in Bristol, remains in first place in the McDonald's/POWERade standings with 236 points. #38-Elliott Sadler's crew is second (220) and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew is third (219). The season pit crew champion will receive a $200,000 bonus. Marlin's fourth-place finish at Bristol was helped by his Coors Light pit crew. His #40 Dodge spent 250.170 seconds on pit road, six seconds fewer than Busch's Sharpie Ford. Michael Waltrip's NAPA Chevrolet was third with a time of 315.650. "I think it is great that McDonald's and POWERade put on a program that allows the pit crews to compete against other pit crews and show what they do every weekend," said Lee McCall, crew chief for the No. 40 team. "We had some good stops at Bristol and I am really proud of the guys. The Coors Light pit crew works hard every week and this time we were able to get a top-five finish." Marlin's over-the-wall crew consists of Steven Wolfe (front-tire changer), Trent Davis (front-tire carrier), Randy *** (rear-tire changer), Tim Shore (rear-tire carrier), Mark Jacobs (jackman), Randy Hildreth (gasman) and Mike Motil (catch can). The team's pit crew coach is Lorin Ranier.(DMF Communications PR), see the top 10 at Bristol and season standings on my Pit Crew Page.(3-31-2004)

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