Have you taken a vacation since the NASCAR season ended the week before Thanksgiving? Perhaps stepped away from your Twitter account for five minutes or enjoyed some time unwrapping Christmas gifts with the family?
2012 NASCAR Driver/Crew Chief Changes: Your Guide To Offseason Moves
David Ragan becomes the latest driver to find a Sprint Cup Series ride for 2012.
Getty Images for NASCAR
If so, you may have missed one of the gazillion personnel changes that took place in NASCAR’s busy “offseason.”
That’s OK, though. We’ve got your back.
First, check out the changes to the Sprint Cup Series’ driver lineup in 2012:
| Driver | Old Team | New Team | Car No. | Announced | ||||
| Kasey Kahne | Red Bull | Hendrick | 5 | Apr. 13, 2010 | ||||
| Danica Patrick | N/A | Stewart-Haas (p/t) | 10 | Aug. 25, 2011 | ||||
| Clint Bowyer | Childress | Waltrip | 15 | Oct. 7, 2011 | ||||
| Mark Martin | Hendrick | Waltrip (p/t) | 55 | Nov. 4, 2011 | ||||
| AJ Allmendinger | Petty | Penske | 22 | Dec. 21, 2011 | ||||
| Kurt Busch | Penske | Phoenix | 51 | Dec. 22, 2011 | ||||
| D. Reutimann | Waltrip | Tommy Baldwin (p/t) | TBA | Jan. 3 | ||||
| Aric Almirola | JRM (N'wide) | Petty | 43 | |||||
| David Ragan | Roush | Front Row | 34 | Jan. 16 |
Got it? Memorized it? Good. Because now comes the really hard part: All the crew chief changes for 2012:
| Driver | Old Crew Chief | New Crew Chief | CC Former Job | Announced | ||||
| Juan Montoya | Jim Pohlman * | Chris Heroy | Martin eng. | Nov. 22 | ||||
| Kevin Harvick | Gil Martin | Shane Wilson | Bowyer CC | Nov. 23 | ||||
| Tony Stewart | Darian Grubb | Steve Addington | Ku.Busch CC | Nov. 29 | ||||
| Jeff Burton | Luke Lambert * | D. Blickensderfer | Ragan CC | Nov. 29 | ||||
| Clint Bowyer | (New team) | Brian Pattie | Montoya CC | Dec. 5 | ||||
| Denny Hamlin | Mike Ford | Darian Grubb | Stewart CC | Dec. 9 | ||||
| AJ 'Dinger | S. Addington (22 car) | Todd Gordon | Penske N'wide CC | Dec. 14 | ||||
| Joey Logano | Greg Zipadelli | Jason Ratcliff | JGR N'wide CC | Dec. 16 | ||||
| Danica Patrick | (New team) | Greg Zipadelli * | Logano CC | Dec. 16 | ||||
| * - Interim |
And which moves are still to come in this crazy game of musical chairs? Here’s a partial list of available Sprint Cup Series drivers who haven’t found rides yet in 2012:
- Brian Vickers
- Landon Cassill
- Travis Kvapil (as of Jan. 16)
NOTE – The following teams which ran full-time in the 2011 season will not be participating in the 2012 season:
- Red Bull No. 83
- Red Bull No. 4
- Richard Childress Racing No. 33
- Roush Fenway Racing No. 6
- TRG Motorsports No. 71
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