Pemberton new crew chief for Vickers' No. 83 Toyota

Ryan Pemberton has been named crew chief for the No. 83 Toyota and driver Brian Vickers, Red Bull Racing Team announced Monday.

Teammate Scott Speed, who will race for rookie of the year honors in 2009, will drive the No. 82 Toyota under the watch of crew chief Jimmy Elledge.

Pemberton

"We're entering our third Sprint Cup season with driver and crew chief pairings that have what it takes to consistently compete at a high level," Red Bull general manager Jay Frye said in a team release.

"Brian and Ryan are each at a point in their respective careers where they can bring home wins and make a run for the championship. Scott earned his Sprint Cup ride by exceeding our expectations in ARCA and trucks. He has a great asset in Jimmy, who has experience working with both rookies and open-wheel drivers."

Pemberton inherits a No. 83 team that earned a pole, three top-five finished and six top-10s as Vickers finished 19th in points. Pemberton, who recently left the No. 44 Toyota, guided driver David Reutimann to four top-10s in 2008.

A longtime crewman, Pemberton became a crew chief in 1995 in the Nationwide Series and took his first Sprint Cup job in 1997 at MB2 Motorsports. Since then, he has crew chiefed for the likes of Derrike Cope, Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin and Aric Almirola.

Pemberton's first victory as a crew chief came when Nemechek won at Kansas Speedway in 2004.

Speed, switching to a silver No. 82, is guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races, including the season-opening Daytona 500. He'll also run a partial Nationwide Series schedule in the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.