“It’s really exciting to team back up with
Mike,” said Stenhouse, the 2013 Sprint Cup rookie of the year and two-time NASCAR
champion. “Obviously we have a great chemistry and we have had a great deal of
success in the past. Scott Graces did a great job of guiding us through our
rookie season this year and we look forward to continuing that growth next
season.”
Kelley and Stenhouse partnered to win NNS
championships in 2011 and 2012. Kelley has been a staple of the RFR
organization for the past decade, serving as the car chief on RFR’s No. 97
Sprint Cup Championship team in 2004. He most recently worked with Trevor
Bayne this season, leading the team to a sixth-place finish in the NNS points,
including 20 top-10 finishes, a pole and a victory at Iowa.
Veteran crew chief Chad Norris will take the
helm of the No. 6 AdvoCare team with Bayne in pursuit of the 2014 NNS title.
Norris boasts an extensive resume as a crew chief, having worked with Mark
Martin, Matt Kenseth, Darrel Waltrip and Carl Edwards. Norris led Bayne to his
first career NNS win at Texas in 2011.
Scott Graves, who helped lead Stenhouse to
the 2013 Sprint Cup rookie of the year award, will crew chief former ARCA
Champion Chris Buescher in RFR’s No. 60 Ford. Seth Barbour, who worked with
Buescher and Ryan Reed in 2013, will sit atop the No. 16 NNS Ford full time
with Reed in 2014.
On the Cup side, veteran crew chief Jimmy
Fennig will again lead the No. 99 Fastenal team with driver Carl Edwards and
Matt Puccia will headman Greg Biffle’s No. 16 3M team.
“As with any season we always sit down at the
end of the year and evaluate where we are, what we have and what we think are
the best options to put our teams in the best position to compete for wins and
championships,” said team owner Jack Roush. “In this case, a reorganization
that realigns Ricky and Mike, allows Scott to work with Chris and reunites Chad
with Trevor, made the most sense.
“Scott will help provide Chris Buescher with
the type of guidance that helped Ricky improve throughout this season and close
out the rookie award,” added Roush. “Chad Norris will bring veteran leadership
and a steady hand to the No. 6 team with Trevor Bayne that we feel will be
beneficial and Seth Barbour and Ryan Reed have exhibited a strong chemistry
that the team is excited to build on in 2014.”
RFR 2014 Driver/Crew Chief Lineup
Sprint CupNo. 16 Cup Team with Greg Biffle – Matt Puccia
No. 17 Cup Team with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Mike Kelley
No. 99 Cup Team with Carl Edwards – Jimmy Fennig
Nationwide
No. 6 NNS Team with Trevor Bayne – Chad NorrisNo. 16 NNS Team with Ryan Reed – Seth Barbour
No. 60 NNS Team with Chris Buescher – Scott Graves
No comments:
Post a Comment