Putnum named crew chief for No. 44

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jerry Nadeau will have a new crew chief in Gary Putnum for the No. 44 Dodge of Petty Enterprises.

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Putnum, 32, will assume the position immediately replacing Greg Steadman, who will now be the manager of shop operations. Putnum was previously with MB2 Motorsports as the car chief for Johnny Benson on the No. 10 Pontiac.

"The opportunity to bring a talent like Gary into a leadership position and further organize what we are doing at the race shop at the same time was too good to pass up," said Kyle Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises. "Greg Steadman suggested we look at this kind of setup and when we saw we could add Gary to that mix, we went for it.

"This is the kind of move that might not seem as big as it is. This is a major positive move for Petty Enterprises and one that will help us as we continue to move forward with our organization."

Putnum's background consists of the Featherlite Modified Series and seven years in Winston Cup Series competition.

"The Petty's are tradition, and that tradition is of being winners and being champions," Putnum said. "They have never stopped doing what it takes to make it back to the top and that is what I want to help do with this Georgia-Pacific team. This is a pretty special opportunity to serve as crew chief for Petty Enterprises."