SHR teams swap crew chiefs

Gibson has spent 2013-14 as crew chief for Patrick, while Knost was elevated from his role as race engineer to crew chief for Busch before the start of the ’14 season.

While members of the two teams’ pit crews will remain unchanged, road personnel that prep the cars on-site will make the move along with their respective crew chiefs.

Busch, 36, is completing his first season with SHR. The 2004 Sprint Cup champion qualified for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup thanks to a victory at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year, but was eliminated following the first round.

Patrick, 32, has managed three top-10 finishes this season, her second full year in Sprint Cup, and enters this weekend’s race at Martinsville 27th in points.

Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition for SHR, said the move was made “to evaluate our program and to get a head start on 2015.”

“With the ban on testing next year, the last three races of this season take on even great importance,” he said. “For Tony Gibson and Kurt, they’ll get three races together that will provide direction for next year.”

Whether Knost remains paired with Patrick next season is less certain, with Zipadelli saying that it “is an opportunity for them to develop a rapport that could potentially continue into 2015.”

It is the second time this season the organization, which also fields Sprint Cup entries for co-owner/driver Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, has made crew changes. Before the start of the Chase, the pit crews of Stewart and Harvick were swapped.

Harvick, who has three victories this year, remains one of the eight drivers contending for this year’s Chase title.

Stewart, a three-time series champion, failed to qualify for the 10-race Chase for the second consecutive year and the third time since the format debuted in 2004.

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