(November 2003) Mike Rennie has been crowned as the 2003 DEWALT "King of the Drill."

The 34-year-old drywall contractor from Kirkwood/Seattle, WA won first place in the DEWALT "Million Dollar Challenge" national cordless screwdriving contest, sponsored by Chevy Trucks.

The challenge was to see who could drive five screws into a piece of wood the fastest with a DEWALT cordless drill. Contestants had to start a timer, pick up the drill, drive the screws, and stop the timer with the drill.

Rennie competed against the 13 other fastest "drivers" from the U.S. and Canada during the final contest held November 1-2 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona.

The 14 contestants were seeded tournament-style. A process of elimination determined the final winner. Rennie sank five screws in 7.6 seconds in the 4th round to win the event along with $25,000 and a new Chevy Silverado pick-up truck.

He also had the chance to earn a $1,000,000 grand prize if he could sink five screws under 6.5 seconds during the grand finale. Standing front and center on the start/finish line, Rennie was on pace to beat the clock but got hung up on the fourth screw. He ended the million-dollar round with a time of 8.06 seconds.

A veteran from last year's Million Dollar Challenge, Rennie says he built his own practice station and drove 450,000 screws over the past 10 months getting ready for the 2003 event.

The 13 other contestants won either a Bombardier ATV or a new Chevy Silverado pick-up truck, depending where they placed in the standings.

Here are the final standings.

1. Mike Rennie - Kirkland WA - drywall installer
2. Ben Palmer - Russellville, AR - HVAC technician
3. Jaime Mills - Holland, OH - carpenter
4. Kane Powell - Panora, IA - cabinet installer
5. Tom Holland - Philadelphia, PA - plumbing contractor
6. Mark Martin - Ostrander, OH - general contractor
7. Alex Mealer - Columbus, OH - electrician
8. Mike Fischer - Huntley, IL - carpenter
9. Dan Rancourt - Wilton, NH - commercial contractor
10. Sergio Romero - Tucson, AZ - cabinet installer
11. Eric Howard - Concord, CA - custom gazebo builder
12. James McAnally - Lakewood, FL - ceiling installer
13. Rocky Lane - Loudon, TN - Remodeler
14. Kevin Brunette - Calgary, Alberta (Canada) - contractor

The 2003 DEWALT Million Dollar Challenge was presented by DEWALT Power Tools and Accessories, Chevy Trucks, the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors' Bureau, Bombardier ATV, Richard Petty's Driving Experience, Carhartt contractor clothing, Greenlee storage boxes, and Adrian Steel commercial van and truck equipment.