RCR Announces Personnel Changes to its NASCAR Sprint Cup Program

Wilson, Martin take on new roles for 2012 season

WELCOME, N.C. (November 23, 2011) -- Richard Childress Racing has made organizational changes to its competition department in preparation for the 2012 NASCAR season.

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.

"Kevin (Harvick) came to me after the Phoenix race a couple weeks ago and asked for a change in the leadership of his team for the 2012 season," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "The expectations at RCR are to win championships so the decision was made to move Shane Wilson to the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy Johns program. Shane did a great job for RCR in the Nationwide Series when he first got here, and built on that success the past three seasons with our No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team, so we feel he will continue do a great job with the No. 29 team."

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.

"Shane is a good friend of mine and we had a lot of success together in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," said Harvick. "He has a lot of experience now in the Sprint Cup Series and I look forward to working with him again."

Further personnel changes within RCR's competition department will be announced in the coming weeks.