NASCAR Cup Series

Changes coming to RCR teams in 2012

Published Nov. 3, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Expect changes to Richard Childress Racing’s crew chief lineup next season.

Shane Wilson, who guided Clint Bowyer to three of his five career Sprint Cup Series wins, will move to the No. 31 team and driver Jeff Burton in 2012, sources have told FOXSports.com.

Wilson joined RCR at the start of 2006 as crew chief of the No. 21 Nationwide Series team. He led that squad to 14 wins and one championship (2006) in three seasons.

Wilson was named crew chief to the No. 33 Chevrolet team with Bowyer at the start of the 2009 season and qualified for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup the following year.

Childress’ decision to scale back to three full-time Cup teams, along with Bowyer’s departure at season’s end, allows Wilson to make the shift to Burton’s crew.

Luke Lambert, who was promoted from team engineer on the No. 31 team to crew chief on July 25, will assume that same role with Elliott Sadler as RCR absorbs the Kevin Harvick Inc. Nationwide Series squads. Ernie Cope will be the crew chief of the No. 33 Nationwide team, which will feature a variety of drivers, including Kevin Harvick.

Danny Stockman Jr. will continue his role as crew chief for Austin Dillon next season. Stockman and Dillon lead the standings in the Camping World Truck Series and have two wins, nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 23 starts.