Shell team wins pit-crew shootout.

Kenny Brack's Shell sponsored Team Rahal pit-crew emerged victorious in Saturday afternoon's Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge shootout finale after completing a race-simulation four tyres and fuel pit-stop faster than anyone else to win the season-long competition for the team for the first time.

Team Rahal's Shell pit crew, whose driver Kenny Brack led the CART FedEx Series standings for the majority of 2001, captured the 2001 Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge shootout taking home the $50,000 first prize. The Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge is a season long competition between CART pit crews that culminated in the "shootout finals" on Saturday afternoon at California Speedway in Fontana. The Shell crew turned in a stop of 37.143-seconds top among the five crews that were in the finals winning the competition for the first time in Team Rahal history.

Throughout the year, every CART FedEx pit crew have their pitstops recorded and averaged out and following last Sunday's Honda Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise the fastest five teams through the first 20 races of 2001, went head to head in the winner-take-all competition. Each had two opportunities to make a perfect pit stop that included entering the pit lane, changing four tires and returning to the track.

On the day Team Rahal's No. 8 crew emerged victorious with a come-from-behind pit stop of 37.143 seconds on their second attempt, a mere .047 seconds faster than the runner up team, PacWest No.17 and driver Mauricio Gugelmin.

"The team has had a great year this year. We didn't get all we wanted [in Championship terms], but Craftsman tools helped us get as far as we got," said Rahal crew chief Ricardo Nault. "The Craftsman Pit Stop competition helped propel Shell to second place in the championship. Next year we go for first with Craftsman's help."

"This just validates what these guys have done week after week this season," said Team Rahal owner Bobby Rahal. "Good pit stops are critical to a team's success and the Shell crew has been instrumental in Kenny's [Brack] championship run by consistently turning in great pit stops."

"Winning this competition is a payoff for those countless hours of practice that this group has put in over the year to perfect our stops," added Nault. "This was a new group of mechanics that came together at the start of this season with the goal of becoming one of the top-crews in CART. Today we proved that we are among the best in the series."

The Team Rahal No. 8 crewmembers that participated in the contest included:
Ricardo Nault, 37, Columbus, Ohio - Crew Chief and Right Front Tire Changer
Mike Verhagen, 21, Columbus, Ohio - Left Front Tire Changer
Greg Cates, 32, Gallaway, Ohio - Right Rear Tire Changer
Jim Millar, 25, Columbus, Ohio - Left Rear Tire Changer
Sean Smith, 54, Honesdale, Pa. - Fueler
Eric van Bibber, 37, Bexley, Ohio - Jackman