It’s a new week so there’s another crew chief change in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This time the No. 31 car of Jeff Burton gets Luke Lambert, as interim crew chief, replacing Todd Berrier at Richard Childress Racing. Berrier has been with RCR since 1994.
Burton, who has made the Chase for the Sprint Cup three-times previously (2006-2008) but is winless this year, stands 25th in the points without any top-ten finishes. Burton now looks to be shutout of the Chase and has the poorest record of the four RCR drivers.
The new wild card seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup makes it imperative for Burton to, possibly, climb into the top 20 in the standings and garner that elusive win.
Todd has been an important part of RCR's success for many years," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing in a team statement. "He is still employed and under contract and his role with RCR will be determined in the near future."
The statement added that it is the 28-year-old Lambert’s first stint as a Cup Series crew chief.
"Luke will be the interim crew chief until further notice," said Childress. "He has a strong grasp of the job requirements and an established line of communication with Jeff (Burton) so we have every confidence that he will do a great job."
"I'm honored that Richard and Jeff have the confidence in me to lead the Cat Racing team," said Lambert. "This is a talented group of guys who know what it takes and has been successful so there's no reason to think we can't be successful moving forward."
In the past few weeks Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger have changed crew chiefs.
Burton, who has made the Chase for the Sprint Cup three-times previously (2006-2008) but is winless this year, stands 25th in the points without any top-ten finishes. Burton now looks to be shutout of the Chase and has the poorest record of the four RCR drivers.
The new wild card seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup makes it imperative for Burton to, possibly, climb into the top 20 in the standings and garner that elusive win.
Todd has been an important part of RCR's success for many years," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing in a team statement. "He is still employed and under contract and his role with RCR will be determined in the near future."
The statement added that it is the 28-year-old Lambert’s first stint as a Cup Series crew chief.
"Luke will be the interim crew chief until further notice," said Childress. "He has a strong grasp of the job requirements and an established line of communication with Jeff (Burton) so we have every confidence that he will do a great job."
"I'm honored that Richard and Jeff have the confidence in me to lead the Cat Racing team," said Lambert. "This is a talented group of guys who know what it takes and has been successful so there's no reason to think we can't be successful moving forward."
In the past few weeks Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger have changed crew chiefs.