Joe Gibbs' Team Wins

October 23, 1999 / 10:38 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac of driver Bobby Labonte and crew chief Jimmy Makar set a record Saturday while winning the annual Unocal 76 Pit Crew Championship at North Carolina Speedway.

Labonte's car took two cans of gas and four tires in 19.166 seconds, breaking the record of 19.363 set by Jeff Gordon's team in 1994.

"Week in and week out, these guys make us look good on Sundays because they get us in and out of the pits real fast," said Labonte, second in the Winston Cup points race.

The crew includes pit stop coordinator Jeff Chandler, rear tire carrier Scott Hewitt, front tire carrier Todd Meredith, catch can man Derek Jones, jackman Jason Lee, rear tire changer Barry Cook and gasman Peter Jellen. They will share in the $26,000 first prize.

"They work really hard and work out in the shop trying to get better," Makar said. "They have practice a lot, trying to think of ways to make the pit stop faster. This is just an opportunity for them to showcase to everybody how good they really are."

Joe Nemechek's Sabco Racing crew, headed by Tony Glover, was second at 19.331, followed by Terry Labonte's Hendrick Motorsports crew, directed by Andy Graves, at 19.552, and Bobby Hamilton's Morgan-McClure Racing crew, headed by Gary DeHart, at 19.761. None of the other 36 teams got under 20 seconds.

Gordon's team, with new crew chief Brian Whitesell in charge, was penalized six seconds for two loose lugnuts and wound up 31st at 26.167.

Jimmy Spencer's team, headed by crew chief Donnie Wingo, was disqualified for using illegal lugnuts.