Johnson's Crew Claims Tissot Pit Road Award in Martinsville

Martinsville, October 27, 2009: Jimmie Johnson’s crew took top honors at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, winning the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday’s (Oct. 25) NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

It was the fourth Tissot win of the season for the No. 48 crew, which has played a key role in Johnson’s dominating performance in the first six Chase races, including his runner-up finish at Martinsville.

Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy Impala SS spent the least amount of time on pit road (329.445 seconds) during the TUMS Fast Relief 500.

“The No. 48 crew did a good job on pit road all day,” said No. 48 pit crew coach Greg Morin. “They stepped up when they needed to and helped keep the Lowe’s Chevy up front. The guys have worked really hard to get to this point and even though we weren’t able to go to Victory Lane, we expanded our points lead and the crew had an important role in that. I’m proud of this team and the effort they continue to put in to reach our goals.”

Johnson’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Jon Lucas (rear-tire changer), Andy Brown (rear-tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (jackman), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Ron Malec (eighth man). The team’s crew chief is Chad Knaus.

Along with the $5,000 prize money for each weekly Tissot win, the crew with the most wins following the 36-race Cup schedule will collect a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver.

Johnson’s crew along with the crews of Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon are in a close competition for the Tissot season title with four races remaining. Biffle’s crew leads with six wins, Gordon’s crew is second with five wins and Johnson’s crew is in third with four wins.

If there’s a tie in the Tissot competition after the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 22), the team which finishes the highest in the Sprint Cup driver point standings will be awarded the Tissot season title.

Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.