Martin Truex Jr. Gets New Crew Chief At Michael Waltrip Racing

Michael Waltrip Racing announced Tuesday Chad Johnston would take over the role of crew chief on Martin Truex Jr.‘s No. 56 Toyota. Former crew chief Pat Tryson is still with the team, but has taken on a different role within the organization.

“This is a good opportunity for me since this is the direction I have always wanted to go in my NASCAR career,” Johnston said. “Michael Waltrip Racing is a good organization to work with as we have assembled a strong NAPA Racing team and a more-than-capable driver. My goal is the same goal that this team set at the start of 2011 and that goal is to win races and try to get in the top 10 in points.”

Despite many strong runs in 2011, Truex has struggled to put together solid results following mistakes and poor luck. The disappointing finishes led to frustration, which came to a head at Richmond International Speedway when Truex yelled over the radio the entire crew should be fired.

Looking for changes, Truex now has that in a new crew chief calling the shots.

“Chad’s been a great addition to the NAPA team ever since he joined us last season,” Truex said. “He jumped in and really helped with the preparation of our cars. He’s shown a lot of leadership in his position and has shown me he really understands a race car. He also understands all of the tools at his disposal here at Michael Waltrip Racing since he’s an engineer. His personality and mine mesh really well. We get along great and he really understands what I am saying. He is extremely good at pulling more information from me to get the answers to questions he has when setting up the car. The communication between he and I is impressive and we just click. I’m looking forward to what all we can accomplish together as a team.”

Truex is currently 24th in points with three top 10s and two DNFs.