Roush Fenway Announces Revamped Crew Chief Lineup

Osborne returns to the pit box

Roush Fenway Racing has confirmed its 2015 crew chief lineup in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series.

The lineup features the return of veteran Bob Osborne as crew chief for Trevor Bayne and the No. 6 AdvoCare Sprint Cup Series Ford. Osborne served as a crew chief for Roush Fenway from 2004 until 2012, leading teams to 18 wins, 86 Top-5 and 142 Top-10 finishes, before moving to the team’s engineering department.

Greg Biffle’s No. 16 Ortho Ford tem will again be led by Matt Puccia, who has led Biffle to Chase appearances in each of his three full seasons at the helm. The No. 17 Fastenal team of driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will be led by Nick Sandler, who spent the last four seasons as head engineer for the No. 99 team under Jimmy Fennig.  Mike Kelley, who served as the team’s crew chief last season will serve as car chief in 2015.  Kelley and Stenhouse have a long history, with the pair teaming for back-to-back championships in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2011 and 2012.

“We are excited about our 2015 crew chief lineup,” said team co-owner Jack Roush. “Much like our driver lineup, our crew chief assembly features a quality mix of veteran leadership and youthful insight. We feel this lineup, combined with the addition of Kevin Kidd to oversee our Sprint Cup efforts, is a big step forward in the direction of placing our teams up front and contending week-in and week-out.

“Bob Osborne is a proven commodity, as evidenced by his 18 wins as a Sprint Cup crew chief,” added Roush. “He will bring a strong veteran presence to the No. 6 AdvoCare team, as Trevor Bayne makes the transition to full-time Sprint Cup racing.

“We have seen proven results with Matt Puccia and Greg Biffle and we will look to continue to build on that moving into 2015,” added Roush. “And we are excited about the elevation of Nick Sandler to crew chief on the No. 17. Nick has a strong engineering background with the company and his time working hand-in-hand with Jimmy Fennig over the past few seasons will prove invaluable as he takes the helm of the No. 17. 

“We are also excited to have Mike Kelley continue with the No. 17 team as the car chief,” said Roush.  “Mike has been an integral part of Ricky’s success and in addition to his championships in the NXS, has championship experience as a car chief in the NSCS.”

Fennig has a new role

In addition, Roush Fenway has named Fennig its new research and development coordinator. Fennig, who most recently served as crew chief on the No. 99 Sprint Cup team, amassed 36 career wins as a crew chief  and helped lead the organization to a Sprint Cup championship in 2004 and the team’s historic 300^th win in the 2012 Daytona 500.  He will now play an integral role in the direction of the team’s car builds.

“I am personally excited to have Jimmy in this new role,” said Roush. “Jimmy’s experience is unparalleled in our sport and I anticipate his input in this new role will have a major influence in a positive direction across the board with all of our team’s going forward.”

 On the NASCAR XFINITY Series front, Phil Gould will lead the No. 1 One Main Financial team of driver Elliott Sadler in 2015. Gould previously worked with Brian Scott, guiding the No. 2 team to a fourth-place finish in the final standings last season. Both Seth Barbour and Scott Graves will return atop the boxes of the No. 16 and No. 60 NXS teams. Chad Norris, who served as crew chief for No. 6 NXS team last season, will sit atop the pit box for Bubba Wallace.

“We are pleased to have Phil Gould join the team along with Elliott (Sadler) and the No. 1 One Main Financial team,” said Roush. “In addition, with a year of working together under their belts, we will look forward to the continued progress of Seth Barbour with Ryan Reed and of course the team of Scott Graves and Chris Buescher. In addition, teaming a veteran crew chief like Chad Norris, with a young talented driver like Bubba Wallace should yield exciting results.”