Former JR Motorsports crew chief Chad Walter rejuvenated for Penske job
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Penske Racing's Justin Allgaier (12) passes Jeff Burton during a NASCAR Nationwide Series race last season.
Geoff Burke
Getty Images for NASCAR
Chad Walter, a NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chief for the last few years at Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports, will be atop the pit box this year in the series again – this time with Penske Racing.
Walter, who left JR Motorsports last July, will be the crew chief for Justin Allgaier. He started at Penske in October as an engineer on the Cup side.
A full season for Allgaier was just solidified in the last month when it was decided that Verizon, which bought out Cup sponsor Alltel and was not allowed to change the logos on the Cup car, will be on the hood of the Nationwide car.
“Out of the clear blue they asked me if I would be interested in working with Justin on a full-time deal,” Walter said last week during the Sprint Media Tour. “Personally, I feel very fortunate in this day and age to have moved into this position at this organization.
“It’s a quality organization from top to bottom and one of the few places you want to work.”
Walter, who also has worked at Dale Earnhardt Inc., said he needed a break when he left JR Motorsports.
“It was time for me to make a change, and we did and it was very amicable,” Walter said. “I took a summer off, which is something I haven’t done in 17 years and realized there were actually leaves on trees in the summertime.
“I took a breath and I needed that. Every experience and every opportunity that Hendrick Motorsports gave me paid off with me moving forward with Penske in the same role.”
Having been off the box for about six months, Walter said he is ready to go this season 2009. He also could find himself working on the Nationwide Series car of tomorrow if NASCAR opts to implement it in 2010.
“We haven’t heard a whole lot on that front,” Walter said. “The economy is letting that one float for a little while. With [Chip] Ganassi [Racing] shutting down their Nationwide program – they were the lead developer on the Dodge side for that Nationwide COT – and we’re going to inherit that project.
“But to be honest with you, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time on it. We haven’t had a whole lot of time. We kind of got the 11th hour on the sponsorship, so we’ve been really working hard on this year.”
Popular News
-
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Which Sprint Cup star will snap his long winless streak first?
Comments (186) -
For Dale Earnhardt Jr., life as an Earnhardt is not easy, especially when you're not winning
Comments (139) -
Jeff Owens: Should RCR’s black No. 3 return to NASCAR’s Cup series?
Comments (118) -
Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin more prepared mentally and physically for 2010
Comments (105) -
Dale Earnhardt Inc. plans for Jeffrey Earnhardt still in flux
Comments (96)
Recent Headlines
-
Elliott Sadler, Kyle Busch among 39 entered in Daytona Truck race
Post Comment -
Aric Almirola to drive truck for Billy Ballew Motorsports in 2010
Comments (3) -
Nationwide season-opener has 14 Cup drivers among 53 entrants
Comments (4) -
Joe Nemechek hopes making Daytona 500 sparks full season of racing
Comments (4) -
Food for thought: Bob Jenkins uses restaurant business as model for Front Row Motorsports
Comments (6)
Poll PositionView All
After qualifying and the Budweiser Shootout, who is the favorite to win the Daytona 500?
Promotions
-
Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.
-
Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.
Comments
4 responses to "Former JR Motorsports crew chief Chad Walter rejuvenated for Penske job ". Post a Comment.
Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 7:18 PMOk, I'm not up to speed. Who did he crew chief for at JR Motorsports?
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportBernadette Motherway said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 7:19 PMPockrass never gives the full story/history!
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportK Smith said:
Jan 26, 2009 at 1:12 PMHe was the Nationwide crew chief on the 5 car...pretty sure.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportKasey said:
Jan 26, 2009 at 8:49 PMyea, he was the crew chief for the #5 car. they replaced him with cam strader.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report