HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Stewart-Haas Racing filled two key positions on Friday, hiring Bobby Hutchens as director of competition and Tony Gibson as crew chief for Ryan Newman's new No. 39 Chevrolet.
"Bobby Hutchens brings a ton of technical and management experience to SHR, and Tony Gibson has helped a lot of well-known drivers earn their recognition by getting them to Victory Lane," Tony Stewart said. "I'm very proud to have both of these guys as a part of my team."
Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing after Sunday's season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to head up the former Haas CNC Racing team.
Hutchens was formerly vice president of competition at Dale Earnhardt Inc., while Gibson has most recently been crew chief for the No. 8 DEI entry, co-driven this year by Mark Martin and Aric Almirola.
"Stewart-Haas Racing has an incredible amount of potential, and to be an integral part of what we all believe can be a championship-winning organization was an opportunity I could not turn down," Hutchens said. "It's important that a race team's front office is in sync with what's happening on the shop floor, and having lived in both worlds, I'm committed to making Stewart-Haas Racing a strong and efficient operation."
Gibson, a Cup crew chief since 2002, is looking forward to working with Daytona 500 winner Newman and two-time Cup champion Stewart.
"I've known Tony a long time and have always respected him as a racer and as a person," Gibson said. "He understands people, works well with them, and genuinely wants to see them succeed. And he's smart enough to know that their success is also his success.
"He's building an impressive race team, and I'm very happy to be a part of it."
