Pit Stop Challenge
Action during the 2014 Pit Stop Challenge
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| Award details | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Indy Car Racing |
| Competition | Pit stop cotest |
| Discipline | Verizon IndyCar Series |
| Given for | Outstanding performance by a pit crew |
| History | |
| First award | 1977 |
| First winner | Jim McElreath (Carillo Racing) |
| Most wins | Team Penske (16) |
| Most recent | Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) |
The TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge is a pit stop contest held during activities leading up to the Indianapolis 500. Since 1977, the event has been held on Carb Day, following the final practice session. As many as twelve top teams in the field compete in a single-elimination, tournament-style competition, two teams at a time. Under the current rules format, during each heat, two cars line up side-by-side in a specially-constructed pit lane, which resembles a drag racing layout. The cars go from a standing start, and race into the pit box. Pit crews must change four tires and hook-up a dummy fuel hose to simulate a refuel. The driver races out of the pit box to cross a finish line, which is a couple hundred feet down the lane. The time is taken from the drop of the green flag to the crossing of the finish line.
Since 2013, the event has been sponsored by TAG Heuer.
The participants for the Pit Stop challenge are selected from the 33 drivers and teams that qualified for that year's Indianapolis 500. The bracket has varied from as few as four teams, to as many as twelve. The current qualifying procedure for the event is based on the following criteria:
In previous years, the selection criteria was based on top qualifiers for the race, top pit crews from the previous IndyCar season, pit stop time trials, and other various criteria. A random draw is usually held to set the tournament bracker and to award some drivers a first-round bye.
Most victories – Team
Most victories – Driver
Most victories – Chief mechanic
Won Pit Stop Challenge and Indianapolis 500 in the Same year
Since its inception, the event has been held on Carb Day, the day in which the final practice session is held for the Indianapolis 500. From 1977-2004, the event was held on the Thursday before the Indy 500. Starting in 2005, Carb Day was moved to Friday, and the event moved to Friday along with the Freedom 100.
In 2008, the event was cancelled due to rain, and the posted prize money was donated to charity.
Previous event sponsors include Miller (1977–1995), Coors (1996–2002), Checkers/Rally's (2003–2007), McDonald's (2008), Izod (2010-2012).
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