Matt Borland moving from Stewart-Haas to crew chief for Paul Menard in 2017
Matt Borland is returning to the Sprint Cup Series as a crew chief.
Richard Childress Racing said Borland would take over as Paul Menard’s crew chief in 2017. Menard began the season with Justin Alexander as a crew chief, though he was replaced in July by Danny Stockman on an interim basis.
“Matt’s experience as an engineer in both NASCAR and Formula 1 will be critically important to the growth of RCR’s Sprint Cup Series program,” team owner Richard Childress said in a statement. “He has an impressive background and will be a great resource to our racing operations.
The team said Stockman was returning to a yet-to-be-announced role in the Xfinity Series.
Borland has been with Stewart-Haas Racing since Tony Stewart assumed part ownership of the team in 2009. He served as Ryan Newman’s crew chief for three races in 2012 and then the complete 2013 season, Newman’s last at Stewart-Haas. Borland has most recently been working with co-owner Gene Haas’ Formula 1 team in addition to NASCAR as SHR’s vice president of technology.
Borland and Newman won 12 races together at Team Penske from 2000-2006. The duo won eight races together in 2003.
Menard’s lone Sprint Cup Series win came in the 2011 Brickyard 400. He made the Chase in 2015 and finished 14th in the points standings despite two top-five finishes and five top 10s.
But those statistics look fantastic compared to Menard’s 2016. He has just two top-10 finishes and is 25th in the points standings.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
