Driver swap helps No. 31 to 'weighty' pit crew win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When Dan Blizzard, the front tire changer for the No. 31 Chevrolet that usually is driven by Jeff Burton, heard about the rules for Thursday's Sprint Cup Pit Crew Challenge and he immediately hatched what turned out to be a brilliant idea.

Put Jeff's wife, Kim Burton, in the car.

The No. 31 team from Richard Childress Racing thus saved not only on paint by changing just the first name over the driver's side door, but ended up winning the 2009 Challenge in record-breaking fashion at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Record makers

The No. 31 team has set the bar after the fifth annual Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.

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"When they told us what the rules were, as far as the car having to weigh 3,200 pounds for the competition without the driver in it, ding, it goes off in your head -- why not get the lightest driver possible? I mean, she's a tiny lady," Blizzard said. "Who better to put in the car than somebody that weighs 100 pounds -- if she weighs that? That was the idea behind the whole thing."

It wasn't all smooth sailing to the title with Mrs. Burton behind the wheel.

In the second round of the competition, after crossing the finish line, Lil' Kim encountered big trouble in trying to stop the car. It wasn't until after a few folks scrambled out of the way and some team members assisted that she was able to steer it out of harm's way and get it halted.

"I practiced [Wednesday] and I was stopping the car within 10 feet," Kim said afterward, smiling broadly. "The first round we did for the seeding, I stopped it perfect. But the first round didn't mean as much as the second, and going into that round I wanted to make sure I went way past the cones (signifying the finish line) before I tried to stop it. So I did that, but then when I pushed the brake pedal, it wasn't stopping. I just kept pumping and pumping, and I was thinking, 'Oh, Lord, I'm going to crash this car into the wall.'

"Somehow we got it stopped there, and the next two times I was able to stop it right on."

That included in the finals, when the No. 31 team beat out the surprising No. 43 Dodge team fielded by Richard Petty Motorsports that usually is driven by Reed Sorenson. (Continued)