NSCS/NXS: Roush Fenway Racing announces finalized crew chief line-up

On Tuesday, January 6th, Roush-Fenway Racing announced their crew chief lineup for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

“We are excited about our 2015 crew chief lineup,” team co-owner Jack Roush said. “Much like our driver lineup, our crew chief assembly features a quality mix of veteran leadership and youthful insight. We feel this lineup, combined with the addition of Kevin Kidd to oversee our Sprint Cup efforts, is a big step forward in the direction of placing our teams up front and contending week-in and week-out.”

Bob Osborne will be atop the pit box for Trevor Bayne and the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford as he returns to the crew chief seat. Osborne was a Sprint Cup Series crew chief from 2004 to 2012, earning 18 wins, 86 top-fives and 142 top-10s. He has served as part of the team’s engineering efforts for the past two years.

Matt Puccia will once again call the shots for Greg Biffle and the No. 16 Ortho Ford. Puccia has had success with Biffle, leading him to Chase for the Sprint Cup contention over the past three years.

Nick Sandler will take over as crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 Fastenal team. Sandler has spent the past four seasons working as the head engineer on the No. 99 team under Jimmy Fennig, which had Carl Edwards behind the wheel. Edwards made the Chase last year, scoring two victories; however, Edwards will move to Joe Gibbs Racing while Fennig moves to a new role. Mike Kelley, who crew chiefed for Stenhouse last year, shifts to the role of car chief for the new season.

“Bob Osborne is a proven commodity, as evidenced by his 18 wins as a Sprint Cup crew chief,” Roush explained. “He will bring a strong veteran presence to the No. 6 AdvoCare team, as Trevor Bayne makes the transition to full-time Sprint Cup racing. 

“We have seen proven results with Matt Puccia and Greg Biffle and we will look to continue to build on that moving into 2015. And we are excited about the elevation of Nick Sandler to crew chief on the No. 17. Nick has a strong engineering background with the company and his time working hand-in-hand with Jimmy Fennig over the past few seasons will prove invaluable as he takes the helm of the No. 17.  We are also excited to have Mike Kelley continue with the No. 17 team as the car chief. Mike has been an integral part of Ricky’s success and in addition to his championships in the NXS, has championship experience as a car chief in the NSCS.”

Fenning’s new role will see him become the research and development coordinator for RFR. Fennig has scored 36 career wins as a crew chief, highlighted by a Sprint Cup Series Championship in 2004 with Kurt Busch and a victory in the 2012 Daytona 500 with Matt Kenseth.

“I am personally excited to have Jimmy in this new role,” Roush said. “Jimmy’s experience is unparalleled in our sport and I anticipate his input in this new role will have a major influence in a positive direction across the board with all of our team’s going forward.”

In the XFINITY Series, Phil Gould will serve as crew cheif for Elliott Sadler and the No. 1 One Main Financial team. Gould worked with Brian Scott the past two years at Richard Childress Racing, placing them fourth in the season-ending points standings. Seth Barbour and Scott Graves will return as crew chiefs for Ryan Reed and Chris Buescher, while Chad Norris will crew chief for Darrell Wallace Jr. Norris was the crew chief for Trevor Bayne’s XFINITY Series effort in 2014.

 “We are pleased to have Phil Gould join the team along with Elliott (Sadler) and the No. 1 One Main Financial team,” Roush said. “In addition, with a year of working together under their belts, we will look forward to the continued progress of Seth Barbour with Ryan Reed and of course the team of Scott Graves and Chris Buescher. In addition, teaming a veteran crew chief like Chad Norris, with a young talented driver like Bubba Wallace should yield exciting results.”