Steve Addington finally came clean with #22-Kurt Busch on Monday. Busch said Addington called him around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon to inform the driver he was “indeed leaving” the team. Addington is expected to join Stewart-Haas Racing.(Fox Sports)(11-22-2011)
UPDATE: Steve Addington will become the new crew chief for 2011 Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, multiple sources close to the situation told ESPN.com. An announcement could come as early as Monday. Darian Grubb, who was Stewart’s crew chief during the title run, said after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he was told midway through the Chase he would not return in 2012. Addington informed Penske Racing last Monday that he would not return as Kurt Busch’s crew chief. This will be the third driver Addington has worked with in the past four seasons. He was with Kyle Busch from 2005 through 2009 and with Kurt Busch the last two seasons.(ESPN)(11-28-2011)
UPDATE 2: Steve Addington, winner of 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races as a crew chief, has been named to the same position for three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team of Stewart-Haas Racing effective immediately. The Spartanburg, S.C., native is only the third crew chief Stewart has had during his 13-year Sprint Cup career, and it comes just a week after Stewart captured the 2011 Sprint Cup title. Addington replaces Darian Grubb, who served as Stewart’s crew chief since the inception of SHR in 2009. “Darian was a very important part of the success we’ve had at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Stewart said. “I’m very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He’s a great person and I know he’ll continue to be successful in this sport.”(TrueSpeed Communications/Stewart-Haas)(11-28-2011)
