hearing that Travis Geisler is the new crew chief for #77-Sam Hornish Jr. Geisler was the chief engineer for #12-Ryan Newman. No word on plans for crew chief Chris Carrier.(8-19-2008) UPDATE: Penske Racing announced that Travis Geisler will immediately replace Chris Carrier as the crew chief of the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge, driven by Sam Hornish Jr. A mechanical engineering graduate from Vanderbilt, Geisler, 27, had been the race engineer for the Alltel Dodge, and was an integral part of Penske Racing’s historic 2008 Daytona 500 victory. A Pittsburgh native, in 2006, Geisler was a race engineer for Robert Yates Racing in its Nationwide and Cup Series operations. He joined Penske Racing in November 2006. “We appreciate the effort Chris has put into this role. However, this is a performance oriented business and when the results are not meeting the expectations, we have to make changes,” said Tim Cindric, president, Penske Racing. “Travis is another example of our willingness to promote from within. His depth of knowledge as a racer and engineer, as well as his proven ability to work with both drivers and crews, will be a great addition to the entire Mobil 1 team.” Ben Atkins will replace Geisler as the race engineer on the Alltel Dodge. Atkins, a native of Virginia and Duke University graduate in mechanical engineering, was previously assigned to the Penske Racing test team. Prior to joining Penske Racing, Atkins was with Dale Earnhart Inc. as a race engineer.(Penske Racing PR)(8-20-2008)
