INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 25: Michael McDowell, driver of the #95 Thrivent Financial Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Less than a week after announcing it has parted ways with crew chief Wally Rogers, Leavine Family Racing says Kevin Walter will be the crew chief on an interim basis for driver Michael McDowell starting this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.
"Kevin Walter will be the interim crew chief for the No. 95 team while we actively seek a replacement," team owner Bob Leavine said in a statement. "We're thankful to have additional engineering support from Team Penske during this time as we make changes to improve overall performance and prepare for the 2016 season."
McDowell, who for the second consecutive year is running a partial schedule with the organization, is eager to move forward.
"We didn't race at Richmond last year with Leavine Family Racing team, so I'm excited to get back to this track," said McDowell, who has nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond with a best start of 19th and a best finish of 20th. "With the personnel changes, we'll have additional support from Penske on the competition side, and I'm certainly looking forward to having back-to-back race weeks and securing solid finishes for our team."
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