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Hutchens will be moving from Childress' operation to DEI
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Published: August 13, 2008
NASCAR, off the track:
In a surprising move, Bobby Hutchens, the longtime engineering head at Richard Childress Racing, is moving to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to become vice president of competition.
Hutchens, who has been the general manager for Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, a collaborative motor-development operation owned jointly by Childress and Teresa Earnhardt, should shore up the faltering DEI operation. The move should also tighten relations between the Childress and DEI camps.
DEI, until finally signing Martin Truex Jr. last week, had appeared to be on a very rocky road. It lost Dale Earnhardt Jr. last season, and it will be losing Mark Martin at the end of this season.
Childress, because of his long ties with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., has a special role in DEI.
John Story, DEI's head of motorsports operations, said that adding Hutchens "is another piece of the puzzle that we feel will definitely further strengthen our organization.
"He brings two decades of experience and a tremendous amount of knowledge to our race teams."
Hutchens, a Bowman Gray Stadium Modified regular, was key to many of Childress' championships with the late Earnhardt. He joined Childress in 1989 and moved up to the key role as vice president of competition.
Hutchens has been general manager for the engine-development arm since it was created in early 2007.
Hutchens will face the unenviable job of helping rebuild DEI.
"I feel my experience at RCR will be a great benefit and pay big dividends in both the areas of car and engine development," Hutchens said.
Bobby Labonte is shaking off the effects of Sunday's hard crash at Watkins Glen.
"I'm probably as guilty as anyone of not giving NASCAR enough credit for all of the safety initiatives they have introduced to our sport in the last five years," Labonte said. "I'll tell you, all it takes is to be involved in an accident like we had at the end of the race at Watkins Glen to send you a reminder.
"There is no doubt this is the safest race car in the world. We don't think of road courses as places where hard wrecks like that can occur. But everything in the car worked like it was designed to do.
"I appreciate NASCAR bringing safety to the forefront and keeping it there."
Labonte was taken to a local hospital for a checkup after the late race crash, which was triggered when rookie Michael McDowell clipped David Gilliland coming out of the last turn.
The Watkins Glen race, which was red-flagged for more than 40 minutes to clean up that wreckage, was a TV disappointment for ESPN, pulling only a 3.6 final household rating, down from the 4.1 for the 2007 race. That means that 3.4 million homes were tuned into the race, compared to 3.9 million a year ago.
A minor shake-up, with the hint of more, has begun at Michael Waltrip Racing. Veteran Mike Skinner will take over the Toyota that Michael McDowell has been running this season. Skinner will be in the car at Michigan this weekend and at Bristol and California in coming weeks.
Ostensibly the move is to help evaluate that part of the still-struggling Waltrip operation.
With sponsorship problems looming, McDowell's future could be on the line, but he will return to the ride at Richmond, Waltrip said.
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