Newman gets new crew chief; Borland possibly leaving Penske

By Mark Ashenfelter
Monday, December 04, 2006

Michael Nelson has been appointed Ryan Newman's crew chief at Penske Racing South for the 2007 season, and a source says former crew chief Matt Borland may yet be leaving the organization.

Nelson's appointment hadn't officially been announced as of midday Monday, but a source familiar with the situation said Nelson had the job and David Dembicki would serve as the team's race engineer.

That's the role Nelson held with the team prior to November's race at Phoenix. He served as the team's interim crew chief the last two races as Borland stayed in North Carolina. At the time, Newman said that he'd need a new crew chief as Borland wanted to come off the road to spend more time with his family.

While rumors persisted that Borland was being courted by other race teams, Don Miller, the team's president, insisted Borland had no interest in leaving Penske Racing South. Borland and owner Roger Penske met following the season finale, and Miller confirmed on Nov. 27 that Borland would remain with the team in a role still being defined.

Borland was expected to oversee the competition department for an operation fielding two Cup teams and a part-time Busch Series team, even if the parameters hadn't been finalized. But after a phone conversation with Penske on Saturday, the source said Borland may be leaving.

Once thought to be a leading candidate for a job with Team Red Bull, the source indicated that Michael Waltrip Racing has made Borland a substantial offer for a major position with a team that will field three Nextel Cup teams in 2007.

Nelson has worked with Borland as the team's engineer since the team was constructed around Newman and Borland in 2000. Dembicki was the engineer on Newman's Busch Series team in 2005, when Newman won six of his nine starts in the series.

In 186 starts together, Newman and Borland won 12 races, posted 54 top-fives and 83 top-10s in addition to winning 37 poles. But after an eight-win season in 2003, they won just twice the following year, once in 2005 and didn't reach victory lane this past season.

Newman posted 17 top-fives in 2003 and has had just 21 over the last three seasons.

In a move to further bolster its engineering department, Penske Racing South has also hired longtime engineer Troy Raker to work as a chassis engineer in the engineering group.

Mentioned Drivers: Michael Waltrip

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2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

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