Front Row makes two crew chief changes

STATESVILLE, N.C. -- The teams of Front Row Motorsports will have new leadership atop the pit boxes beginning with this weekend's race at Fontana. Front Row has named Brian Burns crew chief of Travis Kvapil's No. 34 team, and moved crew chief Greg Conner to lead the No. 37 team, which will have Dave Blaney at the wheel.

Burns has been an integral member of the No. 34 team, serving as its lead engineer since the beginning of the 2009 season. He gained experience calling the shots for Kvapil's car earlier this year when he served as interim crew chief for the June race at Michigan. Before coming to Front Row, Burns spent six years with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, providing engineering support to its three race teams.

Conner moves over to the No. 37 team after serving as crew chief for the No. 34 the past three months. The racing veteran has experience in all three of NASCAR's top series and has called races for drivers including Marcos Ambrose, Ricky Craven and Kevin Lepage. His leadership experience will strengthen the efforts of Front Row's "youngest" team as the organization makes a late-season push to get all three of its cars into the top 35 in owners' points.

"We still have seven races to run and we want to make the most of them," said Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports. "I think the world of both of these guys, and having them in these positions now is going to make us stronger at the end of this season and also help prepare us for next year."

Peter Sospenzo remains the crew chief for the No. 38 team -- Front Row Motorsports' third car -- which is driven by David Gilliland.

With seven races remaining, the No. 37 (Blaney) is 32nd in the owner points and the No. 34 (Kvapil) is 33rd. The No. 38 (Gilliland) is currently 36th in owner points, 63 points behind the No. 7, driven and owned by Robby Gordon.