Gil Martin to crew chief for Kevin Harvick at Bristol
What old crew chief is new again for Kevin Harvick. For Bristol, anyway.
Gil Martin will replace Shane Wilson atop Harvick's pit box for Saturday night's race at Bristol. Wilson, who worked last year with Clint Bowyer on Richard Childress Racing's No. 33, moved over to Harvick's car after Bowyer went to Michael Waltrip Racing and RCR slimmed down to three full-time teams. Martin became Harvick's Sprint Cup crew chief in the 10th race of 2009 and held the title until the end of last year.
"We're just trying to turn things around to make sure we get in the Chase, then be competitive once we get into the Chase," Martin told FOXSports.com. "It's not a question of us knowing each other's history, we've worked together before.
"This is a good team. We're just trying to get things turned around."
While the No. 29 teams seems likely to be in the Chase in three weeks, that turnaround primarily means getting to victory lane. Harvick is winless this season, one of two drivers in the top 10 in the Sprint Cup points series without a win. He and Martin won four races last season and three in 2010, including 26 top 10s in 36 races that year. This year, through 23 races, Harvick has nine top 10s.
At the moment, it's unclear if the pairing will be for the rest of the season, or even beyond Bristol. Childress told Fox that it was "definitely a temporary situation."
