VALENCIA, Calif., (May 5, 2008) – The No. 18 M&M’s Team for Joe Gibbs Racing recorded one win and has been in the top five of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings through the first eight races of the season. As a result of their outstanding work on the track and in the pits the team has been named the first quarter finalist for the 2008 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award.
The Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award is given quarterly throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. At the end of each quarter, the winning pit crew is determined by a vote of each team’s crew chief. The four quarterly winners are eligible for the year-end Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award and a check for $100,000 awarded at the 2008 NASCAR National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers Media Luncheon in New York City.
The No. 18 M&M’s Team over-the-wall crew for Joe Gibbs Racing has helped driver Kyle Busch record a victory in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and fourth place finishes at Daytona International Speedway and Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. The No. 18 Team also spent four of the first eight weeks atop the championship point standings.
Through the first quarter of the season the No. 18 M&M’s Team has recorded an average finish of 11th place and finished the first quarter in second place, trailing Jeff Burton by 80 points.
“The No. 18 M&M’s Pit Crew has accomplished great things since the start of the season,” said Michael Lepp, pit crew coach for the No. 18 M&M’s Team. “We started the season with a new driver, new sponsor and a lot of unknowns, but we have been able to step up, work as a team and accomplish great work. To be named the first quarter finalist for the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award by our peers is a great feeling and a testament to the hard work of our team to come together over a short period of time.”
“The No. 18 M&M’s Team has been the gold standard over the first quarter of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season,” said Ted Abdon, Mechanix Wear director of racing. “The No. 18 team of Joe Gibbs Racing continuously puts their team and driver in a position to win. Mechanix Wear is proud to honor such an outstanding team as the Most Valuable Pit Crew Award finalist.”