hearing Fred Graves will become the crew chief for the #44 Hot Wheels team and Kyle Petty. Graves started the year as the crew chief for the #13 Robby Gordon team(7-4-2000) UPDATE: Championship crew chief Fred Graves has been named to head the Hot Wheels Racing Pontiac team of NASCAR Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty. The announcement was made today. Graves had been working with Petty Enterprises as a consultant with the #43 Dodge by Petty driven by Steve Grissom, and will continue that role at New Hampshire this weekend. Sunday’s Thatlook.com 300 will mark Graves’ first stint as the team’s crew chief. Graves, 53, is a native of Oswego, NY, where he became a legend with his chassis in Super Modified racing in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. He moved to North Carolina in 1989, and has established himself as one of the most respected chief mechanics in all of NASCAR. In a variety of divisions, Graves has worked with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Hendrick Motorsports. With Earnhardt, he won a national Truck championship with driver Ron Hornaday in 1998. At Hendrick, he worked closely with champion driver Terry Labonte. Founder of his own company, Graves Racing and Consulting, Graves has spent this year working with Robbie Gordon’s Winston Cup team early in the season, Petty Enterprises’ truck team and part-time truck series driver Brendan Gaughan. Graves will fulfill his obligations, while working full-time with the Hot Wheels Racing Pontiac. Doug Hewitt, who heads Petty Enterprises’ research and development program, will fill in at times for Graves(Williams Company)(7-7-2000)
