Allmendinger’s Team Wins Tissot Pit Road Award
It was the first Tissot win of the season for the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports team, which became the 16th different winner of the pit crew competition in the first 25 races of 2009.
Allmendinger’s No. 44 Dodge Charger spent the least amount of time on pit road – 378.165 seconds — during the 325-lap race at the 1.54-mile track. The team will collect $5,000 from Tissot for the pit crew win.
“I just started working with these guys a couple of weeks ago, but I’m happy with the stops," said Allmendinger. “It’s a veteran bunch of guys who have been a part of Richard Petty Motorsports for quite a while. Last year they were the crew for the No. 19 Dodge, earlier this year they were on the No. 43 and now they are with me on the No. 44 – and everywhere they’ve been they’ve done a great job. They’re truly a great team and I can’t thank these guys enough for the work that they do."
The No. 44 over-the-wall crew at Atlanta consisted of: Bryan Jacobson (front tire changer), Brett Morrell (front-tire carrier), Ed Watkins (jackman), Tony Lunders (rear-tire changer), Joel Coronel (rear-tire carrier), Chris Moore (gas man) and James Antonozzi (2nd gas man). The team's crew chief is Mike Shiplett and the pit crew coach is Brett Cumming.
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.