Wallace names interim crew chief for second car

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing have announced that the team's lead engineer, Dale Ferguson, has been named interim crew chief for its newly founded No. 64 entry in the Nationwide Series. The No. 64 Chevrolet is piloted by David Stremme, Max Papis and Chase Austin.

Ferguson, 36, is a graduate of the West Virginia Institute of Technology and brings more than 10 years of vehicle engineering experience to RWR. He joined the RWR effort in late 2007 after a stint as lead engineer for the JR Motorsports operation. Prior to that, he also spent time as an engineer for Haas CNC Racing's effort in NASCAR's No. 2 series.

Because of these experiences, Ferguson's move to RWR has marked a reunion of sorts, as he is reunited with his former JR Motorsports driver, Shane Huffman, who serves as car chief for the team's No. 66 entry, as well as with former JR car chief, Ricky Cade, who will serve as car chief on the No. 64 beginning this weekend. With his appointment as crew chief, Ferguson is also reunited with another former teammate, No. 66 crew chief Harold Holly, who facilitated Ferguson's entry into racing in late 2002 while with Team Rensi.

"Dale Ferguson is a very knowledgeable individual who has already been an enormous asset to our team as its lead engineer," team owner Rusty Wallace said. "With the great working relationships he already has with Harold Holly, Shane Huffman and the other guys on our No. 66 team, we feel that the communication and information flow between our teams will be stronger and that makes us a stronger team overall."

Ferguson replaces Steve Darne at the helm of the No. 64.

"This decision was definitely very hard to make," Wallace said. "Steve Darne was one of our longest-serving and most loyal team members; besides that, he's just a great individual overall. He always went above and beyond the call of duty for our team.

"At the end of the day, however, this is a performance-based business and competition is fierce."