As the Observer first reported on Friday, Wilson is the new crew chief of the No. 29 Chevrolet team and driver Kevin Harvick. Wilson spent the past three seasons with RCR's No. 33 team. He replaces Martin, the No. 29's crew chief since May 2009. Martin has been named director of team operations, reporting to director of competition Kent Day.
"Kevin came to me after the Phoenix race a couple weeks ago and asked for a change in the leadership of his team for the 2012 season," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "The expectations at RCR are to win championships so the decision was made to move Shane Wilson to the No. 29.
"Shane did a great job for RCR in the Nationwide Series when he first got here, and built on that success the past three seasons with our No. 33 team, so we feel he will continue do a great job with the No. 29 team."
This is not the first time Wilson and Harvick have worked together. They joined forces in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes on the way to that season's NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. The team's 824-point margin of victory is a series record.
"Shane is a good friend of mine and we had a lot of success together in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," said Harvick. "He has a lot of experience now in the Sprint Cup Series and I look forward to working with him again."
Further personnel changes within RCR's competition department will be announced in the coming weeks.
