Category Archives: Teams

The Motorsports Group is hiring pit crew support and mechanics

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Immediate Release:

(MOORESVILLE, NC) 2/2/2013 – TMG is looking for pit crew members, shop and track mechanics for our Nationwide Series team, 1-3 years racing experience recommended. Chassis team and pit crew leadership experience recommended. Must be willing to start immediately.

Job Description: 

This position performs the required engineering related functions for the race team. In this role, crew members report to the crew chief.

Job Responsibilities:

1. Works with the crew chief to build cars and setups for all racing and testing events.

2. Works with shop personnel, ensuring that they have the required information to assemble racecars in a timely manner.
3. Works with crew chief and the other team mechanics to continually improve cars performance.
4. Race car tear down after races/ building cars and fabrication knowledge is a must.

5. Executes pit stop practices during race weeks. 
6. Accurately enters all of the required information (i.e., vehicle/component information, setup information, run comments, test and race summaries, etc.) pertaining to the running of the racecar in the TMG database.
7. Supports and plays an active role in the crew chief’s and driver’s decision making process to extract maximum performance out of the racecar.
8. Must be able to multi task and work efficient under pressure. 
9. Attends all scheduled race meetings.
10. As required, works on special projects designated by the Crew Chief.
11. Performs any additional tasks, as required by the Crew Chief or Team Owner.
12. Position requires individual to travel to all test and racing events.
13. Must have own tools.

Only absolutely top notch candidates (2/1/13)

Contact: hudson@themotorsportsgroup.com

Evaluation of Social Media practices in NASCAR reveals surprising results

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Circles!…

Picture it!…

NASCAR’s Social Media leaders among drivers, teams and sponsors have been studied during the Christmas vacation with surprising results.

I had always thought Brad Keselowski was the ‘King of Twitter’ – after all, it was his tweeted photo of the drivers on track during the infamous red flag for the fire-rain delayed 2011 Daytona 500 that brought many more followers (even resulted in a new rule of no cell phones, recording devices allowed in the cars)…. remember?

But, apparently not.

This study shows how important the Social Media has become to drivers, teams and sponsors. I found it to be interesting as I hope you will also.

The Social Media study was conducted by Tuckahoe Strategies, a strategic communications firm by scoring drivers, teams and select NASCAR sponsors and partners on a 20-point scale.

To start, Joe Gibbs Racing topped the charts with a Social Media Score of 15 points, while Hendrick Motorsports trailed by only one point – at 14 points.

Graphic by Tuckahoe Strategies

Joe Gibbs Racing‘s online accounts comprise one of the broadest social media strategies for reaching fans of the sport. The team site, www.joegibbsracing.com, is up to date with timely features, and the homepage points to six social media platforms, including a mobile app for iPhone, Blackberry or Droid. The team maintains active social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and FourSquare. Gibbs’ social media score bested Hendrick’s by a single point because of its slightly more effective home page promotion of its social media platforms.

Graphic by Tuckahoe Strategies

Jimmie Johnson is the most comprehensive user of social media among drivers. He reaches his audience on a broad array of platforms including: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Johnson’s social media reach (the sum of all social media followers across platforms) is 1,066,347. This veritable “media machine” has a following larger than the circulation of the Los Angeles Times, which is the fourth largest newspaper in the country.

Graphic by Tuckahoe Strategies

The sport’s largest audience holder and content curator across the board is NASCAR. This actually should come as no surprise as NASCAR had partnered with Twitter to organize the (hashtag) #NASCAR. Every tweet with the #NASCAR appears on their Twitter page, drawing users to go to one place – this has allowed beating out the circulation of the largest U.S.paper, The Wall Street Journal.

Jimmie Johnson, Marcos Ambrose (12 points), Kyle Busch (12), Jeff Gordon (11) and Danica Patrick (11) scored highest among 45 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, while Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Penske Racing (12), Robby Gordon Motorsports (12) and Roush Fenway Racing (12) collected the top scores among 30 team owners. Among industry sponsors and partners, high scores were awarded to Ford Racing (12), NASCAR (11), SpeedTV (10), Toyota (8) and Sunoco (7). (NASCAR was grouped with sponsors and partners.)

Graphic by Tuckahoe Strategies

The team with the broadest social media reach is Roush Fenway Racing, with an audience of 976,755. The vast majority of this audience engages with the team’s Google+ account, which includes 912,961 “circles.”

Graphic by Tuckahoe Strategies

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored nine 9 points in the study placing him in the middle of the pack. However, NASCAR’s most popular driver holds the single largest audience for a driver at 1,637,697. About 90% of Earnhardt’s audience is concentrated on one platform, his Facebook page, which accounts for 1,470,212 likes. Earnhardt also has a robust YouTube channel with 1,630 subscribers and 610,714 views. Earnhardt maintains a Pinterest account that includes 231 followers and 124 pins, but it is difficult to find without any promotion from the homepage. Earnhardt does have a Twitter account with 165,855 “followers” with zero tweets.

Many in the sport can easily improve their social media scores by making simple updates to their websites and expanding their use of social media platforms. Another common misstep is a lack of shareable content. NASCAR is a photo- and video-rich sport with an avid fan base. Teams, drivers and sponsors would do well to utilize photo-sharing platforms, such as Instagram and Pinterest, and video sharing services such as YouTube or Vimeo. A number of industry websites feature terrific photo and video galleries but they are isolated on the site and not easily shareable.

Goodyear stood out for its lack of any social media presence at all. In fact, one can find virtually no mention of NASCAR at all on its online properties. There is no mention of NASCAR on Goodyear.com and no dedicated Facebook page or Twitter account. Seems kind of odd since they are well known as “the tire of NASCAR.”

NASCAR’s fuel supplier, Sunoco, has an active, racing-related Facebook page with nearly 1.2 million likes and an active Twitter account with over 8,000 followers.

NASCAR title sponsor, Sprint, also is expanding the reach of its corporate brand through its NASCAR-related social media presence. Sprint is active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube via its brand ambassador campaign, Miss Sprint Cup,with a social media reach of more than 1.3 million.

Content supplied by press release from Tuckahoe Strategies

Social Media Scores in the NASCAR Industry Survey data by Tuckahoe Strategies. All rights reserved.

Social Media Score – Based on online presence, number of social platforms activated and timeliness of updates. Highest score possible is 20. Survey data by Tuckahoe Strategies. All rights reserved.

‘Gen-6′ car, Preseason Thunder Fest ready to roll at Daytona International Speedway

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This week’s test sessions will be the only test for the new Gen-6 car at Daytona prior to Speedweeks, which begins with newly renamed Budweiser Shootout – The Sprint Unlimited- on Feb. 16 (SPEED, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio) and concludes with the 55th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 24 (FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio).

After several tests for the new car, including one restrictor plate test at Talladega Superspeedway, the rules package has been set heading into Preseason Thunder.

The rules package for Daytona includes:

· Plate size 29/32″ (same plate size as 2012)

· Spoiler size 4″ high x 53″ wide

· Spoiler angle 70 degrees

· Front Grille size 1-3/4″ high x 23″ wide

· Radiator Relief valve 32 psi

Teams participating include:

Car # Team Name Driver
1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Jamie McMurray
2 Penske Racing Brad Keselowski
5 Hendrick Motorsports Kasey Kahne
9 Richard Petty Motorsports Marcos Ambrose
10 Stewart Haas Racing Danica Patrick
11 Joe Gibbs Racing Denny Hamlin
13 Germain Racing Casey Mears
14 Stewart Haas Racing Tony Stewart
15 Michael Waltrip Racing Clint Bowyer
16 Roush Fenway Racing Greg Biffle
17 Roush Fenway Racing Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18 Joe Gibbs Racing Kyle Busch
20 Joe Gibbs Racing Matt Kenseth
21 Wood Bros Racing Trevor Bayne
22 Penske Racing Joey Logano
24 Hendrick Motorsports Jeff Gordon
27 Richard Childress Racing Paul Menard
29 Richard Childress Racing Kevin Harvick
31 Richard Childress Racing Jeff Burton
33 Circle Sport / Joe Falk Austin Dillon
36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Dave Blaney
38 Front Row Motorsports Josh Wise
39 Stewart Haas Racing Ryan Newman
42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Juan Pablo Montoya
43 Richard Petty Motorsports Aric Almirola
47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Bobby Labonte
48 Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson
51 Phoenix Racing Regan Smith
55 Michael Waltrip Racing Mark Martin
56 Michael Waltrip Racing Martin Truex
78 Furniture Row Racing Kurt Busch
83 BK Racing Travis Kvapil/David Reutimann
88 Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt Jr.
95 Leavine Family Racing Scott Speed
99 Roush Fenway Racing Carl Edwards

In addition to the year’s first on-track testing, the track will also host Preseason Thunder Fan Fest on Thursday night, January 10.

Fan Fest will include autograph sessions, driver fan forums, show cars and displays, music and a photo opportunity with the 2013 Harley J. Earl Daytona 500 trophy.

Tickets for Daytona Preseason Thunder Fan Fest are $20 on Thursday and $10 for Friday and Saturday and are available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. Children 12 and under will receive free admission.

Among the drivers scheduled to appear on Thursday, Jan. 10 during the 5:30–7:30 p.m. session are Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin.

In the 7:30–9:30 p.m. session, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, 2012 Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick, Aric Almirola, Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, David Ragan, David Gilliland, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne and Casey Mears are scheduled to appear.

Daytona International Speedway will also host special driver chat sessions on the speedway’s social media channels following the end of testing Thursday evening from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Fans can submit questions for Twitter chats by including #DaytonaTesting and the driver’s official Twitter handle. NASCAR’s official Twitter feed @NASCAR will also provide updates throughout the three-day session. Fans can also participate in live driver chats hosted on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.

Driver updates for NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series in 2013

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So what has been happening in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series during the off season? Where exactly are the drivers at now? Are drivers staying with their same team?

I’ll bring you up-to-date:


(REMINDER: NNS being cut back from a 43 car field to 40 in 2013)

TRAVIS PASTRANA
Travis Pastrana will make the move to full-time NASCAR racing in 2013, driving Roush Fenway’s historic No. 60 Ford Mustang in all 33 events on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. Pastrana will team up with veteran NASCAR crew chief Chad Norris and will be partnered with a variety of sponsors during the season.

The No. 60 will be one of two full-time RFR Nationwide Series entries in 2013, with Pastrana being paired with Roush Fenway teammate and 2010 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 Ford Mustang.

DANICA PATRICK
Danica Patrick will drive for Turner Motorsports in her 10-race commitment to this year’s Nationwide Series schedule. She will begin her partial campaign in NASCAR’s Nationwide series on Feb. 23 at Daytona International Speedway in conjunction with her first full Sprint Cup season with Stewart-Haas Racing the same weekend. Richard Childress Racing vice president of competition Mike Dillon had discussed the possibility of Patrick driving his team’s #33 Chevy, but the team had already re-signed three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart for the season opener at Daytona. Patrick’s Turner Motorsports car would be sponsored by GoDaddy.com, sources said. Her schedule is expected to include events at Talladega and Watkins Glen.

JR MOTORSPORTS
(Kasey Kahne, Brad Sweet, Regan Smith & Dale Earnhardt, Jr.)
JR Motorsports will field cars for Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet for the 2013 Nationwide Series season. Great Clips has moved its sponsorship from Turner Motorsports to JRM to support the Nationwide Series effort. Kahne and Sweet will split time in the No. 5 Chevrolet for 27 races. Regan Smith will compete full time for a NNS championship in the No. 7, and Earnhardt Jr. will carry his No. 88 in a limited schedule. Earnhardt’s only announced races are Feb. 23 at Daytona International Speedway and March 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both in the #88 TaxSlayer.com Chevy.

PARKER KLIGERMAN
Kyle Busch Motorsports posted a YouTube video announcing Parker Kligerman was joining the team to drive the the No. 77 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the 2013 season. Eric Phillips has been promoted to the position of crew chief for the team. Since joining KBM for its inaugural Truck Series season in 2010, Phillips has guided the #18 team to 17 victories, 8 poles, 2,243 laps led, 38 top-five and 54 top-10 finishes across 72 starts. Kyle Busch will run partial season in team’s No. 54 car in addition to Kligerman’s full season in the No. 77.

 

JAMES BUESCHER

Turner Motorsports (TMS) today announced that NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, James Buescher will return to the seat of the No.31 Chevrolet Silverado competing in a full 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule . Much like the 2012 season, Buescher will also continue to hone his skills running select NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) events in 2013. Buescher will aim to become the first back-to-back NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion. Buescher will drive a minimum of fifteen races for new Turner Motorsports sponsor, Rheem Manufacturing Company. In addition, 2012 Champion crew chief, Michael Shelton will return to his previous role serving as Crew Chief for Buescher and the No. 31 Rheem Chevy Silverado in 2013.

JUSTIN LOFTON
Justin Lofton (voted as “Comeback Driver of the Year” in 2012 for the NCWTS) has decided to scale back his NASCAR schedule in 2013, instead focusing his title aspirations towards the newly-formed Stadium Super Trucks Series organized by Robby Gordon. Lofton cited the lack of sponsorship and funding as the primary reasons he couldn’t return full-time in 2013 but believes success in off-road can catapult him back towards NASCAR. Lofton hasn’t finalized his 2013 NASCAR schedule yet but expects to run at least 10 Truck Series races on tracks longer than a mile.

The Stadium Super Truck Series is 10-race rally-style series that will contest events on temporary circuits constructed on some of the largest stadium venues in the United States. Rallies will be contested at University of Phoenix Stadium, Soldier Field, Cowboys Stadium and the Metro Dome just to name a few.

JOEY COULTER
Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that veteran crew chief Harold Holly has joined the organization with Joey Coulter in his quest for the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. Coulter will pilot the team’s No. 18 Tundra, while team owner Kyle Busch will run a partial schedule in the team’s second entry, the No. 51 Tundra.

JOHN WES TOWNLEY
Red Horse Racing (Voted as NCWTS “Top Team” of 2012) has signed John Wes Townley (formerly Parker Kligerman’s seat) to join the team in 2013. Veteran crew chief Mike Beam will join John Wes Townley at Red Horse Racing on the #7 Toyota Tundra.

TODD BODINE
Currently without a sponsor in place for Red Horse Racing to run a third truck in 2013, Bodine is once again scrambling for sponsorship. Bodine confirmed that the Red Horse team has laid off personnel. Bodine struggled in the series in 2012 with eight DNF’s, one win, and five top-five finishes out of 22 events. He ended up a career-low 14th in the final standings.

BRENDAN GAUGHAN
Brendan Gaughan will reunite with crew chief Shane Wilson to run a full season and compete for the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in Richard Childress Racing’s #62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Silverado.

RON HORNADAY / BRENNAN NEWBERRY
Joe Denette Motorsports merged with NTS Motorsports to create a three-truck stable for the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The team will field three full-time NCWTS entries under the NTS Motorsports banner with Ron Hornaday back behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado & Brennan Newberry continuing in the No. 14 Chevrolet Silverado. The team will also field the No. 24 entry full-time with a full driver lineup to be announced at a future date. However, NSCS driver Kevin Harvick will pilot the machine in both Martinsville Speedway events in April and October.

You are now up-to-date. Looking forward to the 2013 racing season. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

Sources:
Team Press Releases (Red Horse Racing, Turner Motorsports, JR Motorsports); ESPN

 

DAY 1: NASCAR’s test session of Sixth Generation car ends at Charlotte Motor Speedway

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Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sixteen cars participated in the last open test session of the year at Charlotte Motor Speedway today. Fans and media were treated to all three manufacturers on the race track at once, including the fully unveiled Chevrolet SS which was debuted in Las Vegas during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week. There was an air of excitement from the drivers and teams in the garage surrounding the looks and performance of the sixth generation car.

While fans were seeing the Chevrolet fully unwrapped without camouflage, several drivers were getting used to new fire suits, car manufacturers and teammates. For the first time in his career, former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth was sporting a new number (20), team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and manufacturer (Toyota). Kenseth was happy with the car; however, his team was forced to make an engine change during today’s morning session.

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

While Kenseth got to know his new team, current NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski learned to work with new Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano.

“I feel like there are a lot of areas that I can improve and be better,” said Keselowski. “I think there are things Joey does right out of the gate that are better than what I do. I think he has the ability to unload at a place like this and just instantly be fast and that’s not my style.”

In addition to the off season testing sessions scheduled next month for Daytona and Charlotte, plans call for an extra day of testing before the events at Las Vegas and Texas to provide teams with an opportunity to learn more about the sixth-generation race car early in the season. Extra practice time will also be added to the schedule at Auto Club Speedway in March.

The test continues Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

What are the drivers saying?

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (L), driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, speaks with Regan Smith, driver of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, in the garage area during testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Our test is going pretty well so far. The cars drive really well. I know everybody is probably real curious about how we think the racing is going to go. It’s real early in the game, this is the first time I’ve driven the cars at all. I’m really impressed. I really like the balance of the car, the downforce seems to be relatively good. The car has driven well for us today. We will just move through the next couple of days here and keep tuning. Trying things and see what the car likes and doesn’t like. Hopefully, get some more testing in before the season starts so we can continue to understand. A lot of the rules and decisions that NASCAR is going to make on this car, some are finalized, some are not. It’s still a little bit of a moving target for the teams. I’m real encouraged so far.”

What exactly is different with the Sixth Generation car?

  • There is about 100 to 115 more horsepower under the hood
  • Distinct body lines that match street vehicles
  • The area comprised of the roof, windshields, windows, and decklid is known as the ‘greenhouse’. The “greenhouse” area is the same on every car.(Fans will notice different shapes and sizes of windows depending on the manufacturer represented.)
  • Longer nose and shorter tail to mimic street cars [longer nose (by 2 inches) and shorter tail (by 6 inches)]
  • Carbon fiber hood and decklid (Carbon fiber is very strong, which eliminates the opportunity for flexibility. This should remove the advantage some teams discovered and make it easier for NASCAR to police these parts. Carbon fiber is also light-weight which in turn lowers the center of gravity, helping cars find more mechanical grip and handle better.)
  • New decals on windshield and roof (To improve manufacturer branding, decals will no longer be permitted on the headlights and taillights.)

 

Source: NASCAR Media/Joe Gibbs Racing

Cheat sheet for 2012 NASCAR team changes

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What changed in the Sprint Cup Series’ driver lineup for 2012:

Driver                        Old Team                        New Team                      New Car No.

Kasey Kahne               Red Bull                          Hendrick Motorsports       5

Danica Patrick             N/A                                 Stewart-Haas (p/t)            10

Clint Bowyer               Childress                          M. Waltrip Racing             15

Mark Martin                Hendrick                          M. Waltrip Racing  (p/t)     55

AJ Allmendinger         RPM                                 Penske Racing                 22

Kurt Busch                 Penske                             Phoenix Racing                51

D. Reutimann             Waltrip                              Tommy Baldwin (p/t)         TBA

Aric Almirola              JRM (N’wide)                     RPM                                 43

 

Crew chief changes for 2012:

Driver                     Old Crew Chief            New Crew Chief               CC Former Job

Juan Montoya        Jim Pohlman *                 Chris Heroy                         Martin eng.

Kevin Harvick        Gil Martin                          Shane Wilson                      Bowyer CC

Tony Stewart         Darian Grubb                    Steve Addington                 Ku.Busch CC

Jeff Burton            Luke Lambert *                 D. Blickensderfer                Ragan CC

Clint Bowyer         (New team)                       Brian Pattie                         Montoya CC

Denny Hamlin       Mike Ford                         Darian Grubb                      Stewart CC

AJ ‘Dinger            Steve Addington                Todd Gordon                    Penske N’wide CC

Joey Logano        Greg Zipadelli                    Jason Ratcliff                    JGR N’wide CC

Danica Patrick      (New team)                       Greg Zipadelli *                  Logano CC

* Interim

Series drivers who haven’t found rides yet in 2012:

• Brian Vickers

• David Ragan

• Landon Cassill

The following teams which ran full-time in the 2011 season will not be participating in the 2012 season:

• Red Bull No. 83

• Red Bull No. 4

• Richard Childress Racing No. 33

• Roush Fenway Racing No. 6

• TRG Motorsports No. 71

 

He’s baaack! Zipadelli named Competition Director for Stewart-Haas Racing

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Greg Zipadelli, winner of two championships and 34 victories as a crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been named competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). He will work with Vice President of Competition Matt Borland and oversee the #14 and #39 teams, while also building the #10 team for which Danica Patrick will run a 10-race Sprint Cup schedule with in 2012.

 

Zipadelli comes to SHR from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) where he served as crew chief for the #20 team since 1999. It’s where the 44-year-old from Berlin, Conn., began a 10-year tenure with Tony Stewart, the co-owner of SHR along with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. From 1999 through 2008, Zipadelli was Stewart’s crew chief, with the duo winning Sprint Cup titles in 2002 and 2005 while claiming 33 victories and 10 poles. When Stewart left JGR following the 2008 season to form SHR, Zipadelli stayed and spent three years as the crew chief for Joey Logano, where he helped deliver Logano’s first career Sprint Cup victory on June 28, 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

 

“We’re very proud to have Greg Zipadelli join Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Stewart, the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion. “Greg and I have a long and successful history together. I know him and he knows me, and we both know what it takes to build race teams. We took our time in searching for a competition director because it’s an important role with a lot of responsibility. Greg knows all that goes into the job, understands the importance of teamwork and communication across all levels of the organization, and is ultimately someone I have a great deal of trust in.”

 

The addition of Zipadelli to the SHR family is a reunion on two fronts  Stewart, of course, but also with Steve Addington, who spent 2004-2008 at JGR and is now Stewart’s crew chief at SHR with the #14 team. (Tony Gibson serves as crew chief for the #39 team and driver Ryan Newman.)

 

In the meantime, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced that Jason Ratcliff has been named crew chief for its #20 Sprint Cup Series team, replacing Greg Zipadelli. Ratcliff comes from JGR’s Nationwide No. 18 team.

UPDATED 11/28: Cha, cha, cha changes starting with Nationwide, Sprint Cup Series teams

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It was announced today from Stewart-Haas Racing that Steve Addington is the new crew chief for Tony Stewart.

Also: Drew Blickensderfer named crew chief for No. 31 Jeff Burton for the Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing Team at RCR. Luke Lambert to be reassigned to TBD position at RCR. (via Twitter)

STEWART HAAS RACING

Darian Grubb, [former

Steve Addington called Kurt Busch on Monday around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon to inform the driver he was “indeed leaving” the team. According to an article in USA Today, Addington HAS indeed joined Stewart-Haas Racing as Crew Chief of the No. 14 newly crowned three Time Champion. No formal announcement has been made from Stewart Haas Racing.

Busch had lost crew chief Pat Tryson after the 2009 season, when Tryson left Penske to work for Michael Waltrip Racing.

 

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING

Long-time RCR crew chiefs Shane Wilson and Gil Martin have taken new assignments with the 14-time championship-winning organization.

Wilson has been named the crew chief of the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John’s team with driver Kevin Harvick after three seasons in the same position with RCR’s No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team. Martin, the No. 29 team crew chief since May 2009 and a crew chief at RCR since August 2000, has been named director of team operations, reporting to director of competition Kent Day.

This is not the first time Wilson and Harvick have worked together. They joined forces in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes on the way to that season’s NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. The team’s 824-point margin of victory is a series record.

 

EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SEBATES

Juan Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Photo credit: Sandi Goodall/Racingal.com

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced that Chris Heroy has been named crew chief of the #42 Target Chevy with driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Heroy takes over the role effective immediately in preparation for the 2012 season. Heroy joins Earnhardt Ganassi Racing from Hendrick Motorsports where he began in 2004, most recently as lead engineer on the # 5 car for six of the previous seven years. The other year he held the same role on the #88. In addition, he was paired with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson as crew chief in a number or their Nationwide Series races during the 2011 season. Interim crew chief Jim Pohlman, who took over the #42 team at the end of July, will remain with the organization.

 

SIGNIFICANT LAYOFFS AT ROUSH-FENWAY RACING

Multiple sources have confirmed significant layoffs this week at Roush Fenway Racing. According to sources, more than 100 workers were released by the team Monday and Tuesday. One source put the number at 125. Prior to today, the team employed about 440 people.

Roush Fenway is expected to reduce its NASCAR Sprint Cup car count from four cars to three next season, with the #6 driven by David Ragan likely to be shuttered. At last report, the team is also without sponsors for the #17 of Matt Kenseth. The team may also reduce the size of its NASCAR Nationwide Series operations from three cars to one or two.