Tony Gibson, crew chief for Danica Patrick, times a practice run on top of the hauler during practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Gibson will change to be crew chief for Kurt Busch next week. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – When Kurt Busch was eliminated from title contention, it became apparent to both the driver and his owner that any change would need to be done soon.
Stewart-Haas Racing will swap the crew chiefs for Busch and Danica Patrick beginning next week, giving each driver three races to work with their new teams.
NASCAR has issued a ban on testing next season, so SHR believes it is giving its two teams a head-start on 2015.
For Busch, who won at Martinsville Speedway in March and made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, the change was necessary to give team owner Gene Haas the results he wants. Haas hand-picked Busch to drive a new fourth car for SHR, but Busch believe he has underperformed with first-year crew chief Daniel Knost.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.