Stewart Haas to provide pit crew for TRG, Labonte

Quote :

CONCORD, N.C. – Stewart-Haas Racing may have only two Sprint Cup teams (for now), but it will have three Sprint Cup pit crews in action in 2010.

The organization will have a third pit crew under a contract to provide a crew for TRG Motorsports and driver Bobby Labonte.

After the Stewart-Haas pit crews struggled at times last year, the hope is to have the third crew to add depth, competition director Bobby Hutchens said during the Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour.

Some organizations promote from their Nationwide Series teams, but SHR does not have a Nationwide program. Having an extra crew could allow the team to replace a struggling crewman, or if the organization does add a third team, it will already have a crew that has worked together.

“They’re at the race track every week pitting a good car,” Ryan Newman crew chief Tony Gibson said. “It keeps them out there climbing over the wall and getting better as a group. They’re not just practicing at a shop; they’re at the race track.

“If that [third team] happens, that’s a bonus. You’ve already got a group of guys ready to go.”

The organization could have added a third Cup team this year, Hutchens said.

“We sat down with each opportunity and said, ‘No, that’s not the right fit,’” he said. “There were some fits there that the company could have probably made some money off of, but it didn’t fit the racing environment to be able to go out and win a race or a championship, so we didn’t do it.”

~Scene Daily

I'm hoping this helps the TRG team when it comes to pitstops. Come to think of it, TRG is the only original start-and-park entry I have seen make it up this far in terms of competitiveness. Bobby was running that car in the top-10 almost every week he was in it towards the end of last year.

I still don't think I'd call them "competitive."

Meh, that's true. They're still a top-35 team at best. Honestly, being competitive is more of a hope from me since Bobby's in the car. Maybe I should have used the word " halfway decent" instead of competitive.

w00t!!! they need replacements!!!!! hopefully they can find some good ones for Ryan..........