McLeod joins Team Rensi as Yates' NBS crew chief

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Thirty years of twisting wrenches on NASCAR Modifieds in the Northeast created an itch that veteran mechanic Clyde McLeod will now scratch as the crew chief for Robert Yates' NASCAR Busch Series Channellock Fords.

McLeod, who won a national Modified championship in 1988 with current Busch Series driver Mike McLaughlin, had worked since 1990 with some evolution of the team created in the late 1980s by Frank Cicci.

But McLeod, whose passion was a hands-on involvement with race cars, had become more of a manager in his latest role with Welliver Jesel Motorsports, which became Team Jesel last week when Wayne Jesel bought out the interest of co-owner Scott Welliver.

"I was 12 years with that one company and I enjoyed my whole time there," McLeod said. "Wayne Jesel and all them are great people, just coming into it, but I really wanted to get more hands-on again.

"I was in the management end for the last four-five years. There were no crew chief openings there, because Donnie Richeson and Casey Mears are working well together and so are Gary Showalter and Hank Parker Jr."

	Kasey Kahne

Friday night's Stacker 2/GNC Live Well 250 at Daytona International Speedway will be McLeod's first race working with Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Kasey Kahne, who has driven Yates' No. 98 Taurus in seven of the first 17 races this season.

After beginning the season trying to operate former open wheeler Kahne's Busch program in conjunction with his two Winston Cup teams, Yates recently farmed the operation of it over to Team Rensi Motorsports, which fields the No. 25 U.S. Marines Ford for Bobby Hamilton Jr. with a single crew chief, Fred Wanke.

"I didn't see any opening there (Team Jesel) for a while," McLeod said. "So I talked to Fred Wanke and this was open. I had one conversation with Fred and a couple with Sam (Rensi) and before you knew it, it was done -- I decided I wanted to get back to the race track doing some stuff."

McLeod said he was a Team Rensi employee but that he also answered to Yates -- who was listed as Kahne's crew chief for this weekend until McLeod was hired. After working with several other young drivers he said he was looking forward to working with Kahne, 22.

"I enjoy working with young guys," McLeod said. "When I started down here the first time, Todd (Bodine) was a rookie and we had a great three-four years with him, then Mike (McLaughlin) and Casey Mears was my last one there.

"These kids have got talent, let me tell you. The ones coming up today have really, really got talent -- they just need a little track time to get used to what's going on out there (but) they can drive 'em, believe me."