KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Sept. 9, 2014) – Stewart-Haas Racing, the championship-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, has swapped the pit crews of it Nos. 4 and 14 teams, effective immediately. Beginning with Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, the No. 14 team’s tire changers, tire carriers and jackmen will switch to the No. 4 team, and vice versa. The new pit crew lineup for the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team is as follows: · Front Tire Changer: Ira Jo Hussey (Manchester, New Hampshire) · Front Tire Carrier: Todd Drakulich (Tucson, Arizona) · Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith (Concord, North Carolina) · Rear Tire Carrier: Mike Morneau (Oxford, Maine) · Jackman: Mike Casto (Proctor, West Virginia) All of the above were members of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series championship-winning team with driver Tony Stewart. The new pit crew lineup for the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team is as follows: · Front Tire Changer: Bryan Jacobsen (Honesdale, Pennsylvania) · Front Tire Carrier: Brett Morrell (Windham, Maine) · Rear Tire Changer: Jonathan Sherman (Monroe, Louisiana) · Rear Tire Carrier: Josh Sobecki (New Kensington, Pennsylvania) · Jackman: Getty Cavitt, Jr. (Owensboro, Kentucky) “We made this change in the best interests of the entire organization,” said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition, Stewart-Haas Racing. “Our primary goal is to win races and championships, and this pit crew swap provides championship experience to the No. 4 team and continued race-winning experience to the No. 14 team.” The No. 4 team and driver Kevin Harvick head into the opening race of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup seeded sixth among the 16 driver/team combinations competing in this year’s Chase. This is Harvick’s fifth consecutive Chase appearance and his eighth since the inception of the Chase in 2004. He finished fourth in his Chase debut in 2006, 10th in 2007, fourth in 2008, third in 2010, third in 2011, eighth in 2012 and third in 2013. Joining Harvick in the Chase is his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch. Busch and the No. 41 Haas Automation team are seeded 10th. This is Busch’s second straight Chase appearance and eighth overall. He won the championship in his Chase debut in 2004, then finished 10th in 2005, seventh in 2007, fourth in 2009, 11th in 2010, 11th in 2011 and 10th in 2013. source – team communications
