Furniture Row Racing the small Sprint Cup team based in Denver, Colorado, far from the Charlotte, took another step to get on equal footing with the mega Cup teams with an announcement of hiring seasoned veterans for their crew.
Earlier the team announced a full-season ride for Regan Smith.
Ryan Coniam has been promoted to crew chief while Mark McArdle joins the team as managing director of competition and Pete Rondeau, also new to the team, will serve as car chief for Smith's No. 78 Chevrolet Impala.
“What's exciting about Ryan, Mark and Pete spearheading three essential areas is that it brings a special synergy to Furniture Row Racing," said team general manager Joe Garone. "I worked with Mark back when we helped start PPI Motorsports in the Cup series. Ryan and Regan worked together at Ginn Racing and Mark and Pete were teammates at Richard Petty Motorsports. We have good chemistry which most likely will shorten the all-important learning curve. The addition of these three individuals has generated a new wave of optimism to our team.”
Coniam, 30, a native of Burlington, Ontario (a Toronto suburb) joined Furniture Row Racing in early November following two years as a race engineer at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). During his stint at MWR he was the race engineer for Michael McDowell's entry in 2008, and the past year he was liaison between MWR and Germain Racing while overseeing the race engineering duties for driver Max Papis.
“I am both excited and humbled to have been offered a position that I have dreamed about,” said Coniam, son of Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Warren Coniam. “With the driving talent of Regan plus the resources at Furniture Row Racing, I am full of confidence that we can achieve success in 2010.”
McArdle , previously worked at Richard Petty Motorsports where he served as vice president and managing director of competition. Moving from Penske Racing’s successful Indycar team he was one of the early émigré’s from open wheel to NASCAR in 1999. He was managing director of competition for Evernham Motorsports before it merged with RPM since 2003.
Earlier the team announced a full-season ride for Regan Smith.
Ryan Coniam has been promoted to crew chief while Mark McArdle joins the team as managing director of competition and Pete Rondeau, also new to the team, will serve as car chief for Smith's No. 78 Chevrolet Impala.
“What's exciting about Ryan, Mark and Pete spearheading three essential areas is that it brings a special synergy to Furniture Row Racing," said team general manager Joe Garone. "I worked with Mark back when we helped start PPI Motorsports in the Cup series. Ryan and Regan worked together at Ginn Racing and Mark and Pete were teammates at Richard Petty Motorsports. We have good chemistry which most likely will shorten the all-important learning curve. The addition of these three individuals has generated a new wave of optimism to our team.”
Coniam, 30, a native of Burlington, Ontario (a Toronto suburb) joined Furniture Row Racing in early November following two years as a race engineer at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). During his stint at MWR he was the race engineer for Michael McDowell's entry in 2008, and the past year he was liaison between MWR and Germain Racing while overseeing the race engineering duties for driver Max Papis.
“I am both excited and humbled to have been offered a position that I have dreamed about,” said Coniam, son of Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Warren Coniam. “With the driving talent of Regan plus the resources at Furniture Row Racing, I am full of confidence that we can achieve success in 2010.”
McArdle , previously worked at Richard Petty Motorsports where he served as vice president and managing director of competition. Moving from Penske Racing’s successful Indycar team he was one of the early émigré’s from open wheel to NASCAR in 1999. He was managing director of competition for Evernham Motorsports before it merged with RPM since 2003.