Austin Dillon Gets New Crew-Chief

Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, will get a new crew-chief in his sophmore season in Sprint Cup racing. Veteran crew-chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe has been tabbed to guide the former Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series Champion. Labbe has had 433 starts in the Cup series, winning the 2003 Daytona 500 and the 2011 Brickyard 400 with Micheal Waltrip and Paul Menard. Labbe has also worked with legendary drivers Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip. He guided the late Kenny Irwin Jr. to the 1998 Rookie of the Year award. Dillon has yet to win in the Sprint Cup series and is currently 23rd in the points standings. Dillon’s now former crew-chief Gil Martin will move to an R&D role in the company. Martin, who worked with Kevin Harvick when the team had the #29 on the car following Dale Earnhardt’s death, has 16 wins in his career including the 2003 Brickyard 400 with Harvick.