Ryan Newman finished 15th and 23rd in the two races with Mike Nelson as crew chief. Credit: Autostock

Nelson tabbed crew chief for Newman's No. 12

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Mike Nelson has been named crew chief of driver Ryan Newman's No. 12 Dodge.

Nelson, a race engineer for Penske Racing since 2000 who served as the team's interim crew chief for the 2006 season's final two races, assumes his role immediately.

"I am excited and humbled by the opportunity that Penske Racing has provided me and I am looking forward to representing the team when testing begins in Daytona," Nelson said.

Nelson, 33, joined Penske Racing in 1998 as a data acquisition engineer. He attended Newman's first test with the team in April 2000 and was offered the opportunity to be the team's first race engineer. Nelson has worked side-by-side with previous crew chief Matt Borland and the Alltel team ever since.

Borland is believed to be a candidate for a position with one of the new Toyota teams and has most recently been linked with Michael Waltrip Racing though no announcements have been made.

"Matt has been a big part of our success over the years and we wish him the best in his future endeavors," said Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance.

"Mike has big shoes to fill, but Roger [Penske] has always been a big believer in promoting from within and Mike is another example of someone that has worked his way up through our organization, He understands the challenge ahead and we are counting on him to take us to the next level."

Newman noted that due to Nelson's tenure with the team, the two men have a strong working relationship.

"I am very pleased to have Mike serving as my crew chief," Newman said. "We have worked together for many years, and with Mike leading the team the last two races of 2006, we got an early start on 2007."