Brown steps down as BAM crew chief

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The BAM Racing pot continued boiling Wednesday as young crew chief Teddy Brown resigned after helping to execute a six-month turnaround of the company's new Winston Cup team.

One day after BAM announced Ron Hornaday would replace its regular driver, Shawna Robinson, this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Brown tendered his resignation.

Ron Hornaday will replace Shawna Robinson in the No. 49 car this weekend at Chicagoland. Who will be the team crew chief is now up in the air. Credit: ASP

BAM general manager Eddie Jones wouldn't say what the team will do this weekend to replace Brown, but Jones was formerly Darrell Waltrip's Busch Series crew chief at DarWal Motorsports.

"It is a big frustration," Brown said. "I have built up so much here. We have seven brand new cars (and) we have burned up the wind tunnel trying to get our cars better and we have improved.

"All the guys have been working so hard, cutting off bodies, trying different locations -- whatever it takes to get better. We have put a lot of energy into this team (and) it's tough for me to walk away."

Brown joined the team at the end of last season after BAM had failed to qualify for any of its races with veterans Andy Hillenburg and Rich Bickle driving its cars last season.

With Brown and Robinson the only significant changes to the team, Robinson qualified for the Daytona 500 and the next five races she attempted before missing the Talladega 500.

Following the race at California Speedway, Hornaday replaced Robinson for two events at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May before the team canceled its next race to do some wind-tunnel testing in June.

They executed a test at Daytona with Hornaday at the end of June before Robinson qualified 27th for last weekend's Pepsi 400. The car's rear end broke and Robinson finished 40th.

On Tuesday, BAM offered no public explanation when it said Hornaday would run the Tropicana 400 at the track in Joliet, Ill. The team is scheduled to test immediately after that at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Aug. 4 Brickyard 400.

"With all the work we have done with our Dodges here at BAM, if I had a choice, I would like to continue working with that manufacturer," Brown said. "But in terms of my experience, I need to thank Ron Hornaday, Shawna and Eddie Jones for sharing their experience with me, because I feel like it will be a help to me going down the road."

Brown said the proof of how tough his decision was came when he got a call from Ernie Elliott's engine shop Wednesday afternoon as the team prepared to load its cars for Chicago.

"They said they had an engine with 15 more horsepower than our primary that was in the car, and could we make the change?" Brown said. "The guys took the car down and we changed that engine and didn't even think twice about it -- that's how hard these guys work."

"We wish Teddy the best of luck in the future," Jones said in a statement. "He worked hard and guided the team effectively."