With a goal of improving performance across the board, Stewart-Haas Racing is swapping crew chiefs between two of its four NASCAR Cup Series teams ahead of the 2020 season.
“Our biggest asset at Stewart-Haas Racing is our people, and we strive to put each person in the best position to succeed,” Stewart-Haas Racing Vice President of Competition Greg Zipadelli said. “Our driver/crew chief pairings for next season reflect this ideology, and we believe this lineup provides the best opportunity to win every time we unload our Ford Mustangs at the racetrack.”
John Klausmeier is moving from the #10 SHR Ford team of driver Aric Almirola to the #14 of Clint Bowyer. Meanwhile, Mike Bugarewicz moves from the #14 to the #10. Both Almirola and Bowyer made the 16-driver playoffs in 2019 but were eliminated from championship contention early. Bowyer finished the season ninth in the standings and Almirola 14th.
“We don’t want to be satisfied with just making the playoffs,” Almirola said Wednesday during Champion’s Week festivities in Nashville. “You want to make a run in the playoffs like we did last year [in 2018] and win races. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that.”
The crew chief changes are the first for both drivers since their arrivals at SHR — Bowyer in 2017 and Almirola in 2018.
Driver Cole Custer is being promoted from SHR's NASCAR Xfinity Series program to the Cup Series to replace Daniel Suarez as driver of the #41. He is bringing his Xfinity Series crew chief, Mike Shiplett, with him. Together, they won seven Xfinity races in 2019 and made the championship four in the series playoffs.
The only SHR team in the Cup Series remaining intact is the #4 team of Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers. The #4 team was the only Cup team in the Stewart-Haas stable to win races in 2019. Harvick won four races and was in contention for the Cup Series title in the season-finale at Homestead-Miamo Speedway in November.
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