BILLY SCOTT NAMED CREW CHIEF OF NO. 55 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE

“Billy was the unanimous selection by everyone here at MWR including the crew, drivers, and ownership,” said Waltrip. “We feel like engineering is one of our strongest assets and with that type of talent in house it was easy to promote from within. Billy has earned this opportunity because he has helped develop and refine the engineering tools that we use every day to make our cars faster.”

Scott, 36, began racing motorcycles as a 5-year-old and stock cars when he turned 15. He worked in the truck series as a mechanic before he returned to college to obtain an engineering degree. After graduating in 2005 Scott worked at Robert Yates Racing and began as an engineer at MWR in 2008. He has served exclusively as the No. 55 team’s lead engineer the last two seasons.

“I’m honored, but I also know this is a big responsibility,” said Scott on the announcement. “We have very high expectations for the Aaron’s Dream Machine in 2014. Brian has been incredible to work with and is a winner, so we can’t wait to get 2014 started.”

Scott Miller, MWR’s Executive Vice President of Competition, performed crew chief duties on the No. 55 since Rodney Childers departure in August. Miller will return to overseeing all of MWR’s competition effort, which includes the No. 55, Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota and the No. 66 Toyota shared by Waltrip and Jeff Burton.

Vickers raced the No. 55 on a part-time basis for MWR in 2012 and 2013. He posted his third career victory at New Hampshire on July 14.

“I’ve been around Billy the last two seasons and he’s demonstrated a strong knowledge of what makes these cars go fast,” said Vickers. “I have a lot of faith in Billy. This is one of the strongest teams I’ve had and that’s a great feeling heading into a new season.”

In August, Aaron’s announced a multi-year agreement to sponsor Vickers in the No. 55 beginning at the Feb. 23 Daytona 500. Aaron’s will sponsor each race during the length of the agreement.