Former #27-Kevin Harvick crew chief Shane Wilson is already back in the Sprint Cup garage. Wilson, who was removed from Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing team prior to last week’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, began working with the RCR team of #27-Paul Menard on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With Menard crew chief Slugger Labbe facing a six-week suspension for an illegal frame on Menard’s car at Michigan, Wilson is preparing for the role as interim crew chief if Labbe’s suspension is upheld on appeal. The outgoing Wilson didn ‘t dwell much Friday on his split with Harvick, who had been critical of Wilson’s changes to the car on the team’s in-car radio. ‘I was glad it ended,’ Wilson said in an interview with Sporting News on Friday. ‘You could hear it (on the radio). I don ‘t mean it in a smart-ass way, but I was relieved just to get it over with and move on to the next thing. It’s hard to find a good job, and that was a good opportunity. If just a few things would have gone a little different, it would have been a lot better. You ‘re upset a little bit but it’s the way it goes in the business and you move on from it,’ Wilson said. ‘It is what it is. & (Our communication) wasn ‘t very good. When it gets like that, you ‘re kind of relieved when it finally happens. You move on and do the next thing.’ Wilson, 43, will spend this weekend learning the routine of Menard’s team. He said he ‘d run that team the way Labbe wants and try to make the transition as smooth as possible. The appeal could come as early as next week [Note: scheduled for Wednesday, September 5], and that could mean Wilson will have a job for six more weeks. He said there could be other opportunities for him as a crew chief at RCR next year. He is ready for another opportunity after the tough 2012. ‘It probably drives me more when you fail sometimes or things don ‘t work out as good as you want to, you learn stuff that you did wrong or what you would do different,’ said Wilson, who has 11 years of experience as a crew chief and worked with RCR’s Clint Bowyer before joining Harvick. ‘It’s all part of it. There’s a lot of good crew chiefs in the business that had to move to a different driver. It takes a little hit on you for a while, but it will be fine. We were still eighth in points. It wasn ‘t like it was a complete failure.’ Harvick has not yet addressed the crew chief change and has been unavailable for comment.(in part from the Sporting News)(8-31-2012)
