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Garage buzz: Gillett teams Buskirk with Sadler
A new era for Petty
Although Buskirk, 55, is not a household name, as a team engineer he led Sadler to his last two wins at Robert Yates Racing in 2004 — the only season the driver qualified for the Chase. Buskirk's diligence and leadership earned him employee of the year honors at RYR that season. In fall of 2005, he became interim crew chief for Sadler after Yates moved Todd Parrott to the No. 88 Ford.
Buskirk moved to Richard Childress Racing in March of 2006 to work with Kevin Harvick and crew chief Todd Berrier. After making the commute to Welcome, N.C. — about an hour north of Charlotte — for several months, Buskirk returned to RYR. Most recently, Buskirk was hired by Dale Earnhardt Inc. to oversee the test team after Tony Eury Sr. left for JRMotorsports.
Sadler, 33, finished 24th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings in 2008 with an average finish of 23.7. Sadler scored two top fives, eight top 10s and four DNFs. He led just 21 of a possible 10,726 laps throughout the season and had a completion rate of 92 percent behind the wheel of the No. 19 Dodge.
Buskirk is expected to start with the team on Monday.
EGR number/sponsor swapping?
There have been numerous Bobby Labonte sightings at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, but the latest twist places the 2000 Cup champion in the No. 8 Chevrolet where he would be reunited with his former Petty crew chief Doug Randolph.
Randolph moved to DEI last year to become crew chief for Paul Menard. Labonte worked with Jeff Meendering on the No. 43 Petty Dodge in 2007. Meendering has since left to be the car chief for Tony Stewart.
It's also been rumored that the Target sponsorship will move to the No. 42 Dodge and Juan Pablo Montoya.
In a related EGR note, it appears that the Ganassi engine shop has shut down. More than 20 employees were released at the end of December.
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