The recent merger of Circle Sport and Leavine Family Racing is starting to pay dividends.
The combined Concord, North Carolina-based team announced Thursday that it has named NASCAR veteran Dave Winston as crew chief for the No. 95 Chevrolet SS driven by Michael McDowell.
In addition, Jeremy Lange has been promoted to Vice President of Race Team Operations. He previously had directed marketing efforts for Leavine Family Racing the past two seasons.
Winston will oversee operation of the No. 95, which plans on racing the entire Sprint Cup schedule this season. Winston has spent 15 years in NASCAR, starting as a team engineer with Roush Fenway Racing.
He’s worked with a number of drivers including Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray. According to a team release, Winston has been a part of 18 wins, seven poles, 51 top-5 and 118 top-10 finishes.
“Dave is a perfect fit for our team having worked at both large and small organizations,” team partner Bob Leavine said in a statement. “He understands the budget constraints of a small team but knows what is required to make the team more competitive.
“I really like his engineering background as that is a key factor in our alliance with RCR (Richard Childress Racing). … Dave is very organized and has already gained the respect of our staff in a short period of time. I’m really proud to have him on our team.”
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