$50,000 and Bragging Rights On Line at TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge

Verizon IndyCar Series teams will compete for a $50,000-first place prize for winning the TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge on Friday, May 22, during Coors Light Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A fan-favorite event since its inception in 1977, the 12-team competition will begin at 2 p.m. on pit lane at IMS featuring four rounds of exciting pit stop action. A total of $100,000 will be awarded, with the runner-up team earning $15,000.

Teams will change four tires and perform a simulated fuel hookup during each round of the competition. The quickest time wins, with time penalties added for various infractions such as loose wheel nuts or running over air hoses. 

NBCSN will televise the TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge live as part of its Coors Light Carb Day coverage from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Scott Dixon and Target Chip Ganassi Racing enter this year’s competition as the defending champions. Dixon’s No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi crew took first place and earned a $50,000 payday after defeating Indianapolis 500 rookie Sage Karam and his Dreyer & Reinbold-Kingdom Racing team by more than half a second (Dixon’s crew posted a time of 11.658 seconds, with Karam’s squad stopping the clock in 12.163 seconds). 

Last year marked the second triumph for Dixon and the No. 9 crew in the TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge. The team captured the top spot in 2012 by defeating Oriol Servia and Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the final.

Team Penske has won a record 14 times, and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves owns the most TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge titles by a driver with six, all with Team Penske.

Challenge brackets:

FIRST ROUND

No. 48 A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Alex Tagliani) vs. No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Jack Hawksworth)

No. 83 Chip Ganassi Racing (Charlie Kimball) vs. No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Takuma Sato)

No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Graham Rahal) vs. No. 3 Team Penske (Helio Castroneves)

No. 7   Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (James Jakes) vs. No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold-Kingdom Racing (Townsend Bell)

QUARTERFINALS

No. 48-No. 41 Winner vs. No. 27 Andretti Autosport (Marco Andretti)

No. 83-No. 14 Winner vs. No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing (Scott Dixon)

No. 15-No. 3 Winner vs. No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (Ryan Briscoe)

No. 7-No. 24 Winner vs. No. 1 Verizon Team Penske (Will Power)