WELCOME, N.C. (November 28, 2011) --
Richard Childress Racing has named Drew Blickensderfer as the crew
chief for the No. 31 Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing team with driver Jeff
Burton for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Luke
Lambert, interim crew chief during the latter part of the 2011 season
for the No. 31 team, will assume a yet-to-be announced new position at
RCR.
Blickensderfer
begins his RCR career after nearly a decade with Roush Fenway Racing.
He spent the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season leading the No. 6 team
and has been a crew chief, in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series,
since 2007.
"I'm
excited about the move to RCR and the opportunity to help lead Jeff
Burton and the Cat/Wheaties Racing team back into Chase contention,"
said Blickensderfer. "I was around Jeff briefly at RFR and always
admired and liked him. He's a very talented driver and I look forward to
working him and the rest of the No. 31 team in 2012."
Burton
qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup from 2006-2008 and
2010. He finished 20th in the final 2011 driver championship point
standings.
"Drew
is a strong leader and will be a great complement to the
Caterpillar/Wheaties Racing team," said Childress. "He's won some big
races, including the 2009 Daytona 500, his first race as a Sprint Cup
Series crew chief. There's every reason to believe the combination of
Jeff and Drew will be a successful one."
Richard
"Slugger" Labbe will remain as the crew chief for the No. 27 Menards
Racing team in 2012. It was announced previously that crew chief Shane
Wilson will move from the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper/BB&T team
to the same position with the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John's team
and driver Kevin Harvick. Gil 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.
Further personnel changes within RCR's competition department will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information on today's announcement, and all that's happening at RCR, please visit RCRRacing.com.
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About Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com)
has earned more than 200 victories and 14 championships, including six
in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR
was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup
Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011
Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards
Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No.
31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger
Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010
Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and
Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Development Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No
31 RCR Development Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 Chevrolet) will
compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
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