by Lee Spencer

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With eight races in the books and Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson 17th and 31st in points, respectively, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced on Tuesday that crew chiefs Donnie Wingo and Jimmy Elledge will swap teams.

"I really feel that these changes can be instrumental in moving Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to the next level," Ganassi said. "I have a lot of respect for both Donnie and Jimmy and the jobs that they do and they both agree that this move can be very beneficial to the entire organization.

"I have said all along that I believe us to be a championship organization and that Felix and I will do whatever we can to make us better. This is toward that end."

Both Ganassi and Sabates were at the shop in Concord for Tuesday's announcement, which came one week following a meeting the week before where Ganassi unleashed his concerns to the organization. The owner feels the switch will allow the two crew chiefs to have the ability to better relate to their new drivers.

Although the announcement came as a shock to Elledge, 37, he said he wholeheartedly agrees that a move had to be made.

"It's a little bit of a shock but something had to be done. We weren't getting results for whatever reason," said Elledge, whose driver had produced just one top-five result all season. "I think we're going in a much better direction, but I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to deliver the results for Target with the relationship they've had with Chip and the personal relationship I've developed with them since coming to Ganassi Racing six years ago. It's been an honor to be associated with them."

Elledge began working with Casey Mears in 2003. The pair scored back-to-back poles at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2005 and posted five top-10 finishes in the final nine races. The following season, Mears finished a career-high 14th in points before moving to Hendrick Motorsports.

Elledge is excited to work with Montoya, who ended Ganassi's five-year losing streak with his victory at the road course in Sonoma last June.

"To have the ability to work with Juan is an honor as well," Elledge said. "Not many crew chiefs get the opportunity to work with a driver of the caliber of Juan or with a sponsor like Havoline that has meant so much to the sport. I think Juan's very passionate about winning. He's not satisfied with losing.

"Making the move couldn't come at a better time with the off week. Swapping crew chiefs has been successful at organizations like Roush and Childress and it has the potential to be positive for Ganassi Racing. If it's a chemistry thing, we'll find out soon enough. It's a lot easier to find chemistry than to find speed in a race car."