the official release today, how's that for advanced notice :P
Labbe, Baldwin out at Robert Yates Racing
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
July 31, 2006
06:33 PM EDT (22:33 GMT)
Robert Yates Racing told its organization on Monday that its two Nextel Cup crew chiefs, Tommy Baldwin and Slugger Labbe, would no longer be with the team.
Baldwin and Labbe were brought to RYR amid great fanfare by team manager Eddie D'Hondt, but D'Hondt was fired on May 23.
On Monday, Bill Davis Racing announced that it had signed Baldwin to be the competition director, overseeing the team's switch to Toyota for 2007. Baldwin had previously worked at BDR for four seasons (1999-2002).
Labbe's plans are unknown.
With Baldwin and Labbe gone, RYR has experienced a complete turnover of its top personnel. Driver Dale Jarrett announced in May that he was leaving the organization after 10 years, and the team's other driver, Elliott Sadler, asked for and was granted his release earlier this month.
Veteran crew chief Butch Hylton, who began working at RYR in June, will be Jarrett's crew chief for this week's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The team said that Hylton would be Jarrett's crew chief on an interim basis.
Sadler's team will be led by Charles "Cully" Barraclough this weekend at Indianapolis. Barraclough previously worked as a crew chief in the Busch Series for Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin.
Barraclough's hiring as crew chief could be yet another sign that Busch Series driver David Gilliland is on his way to being named driver of the No. 38 Ford, possibly before the end of the year. Prior to joining RYR, Barraclough was most recently a consultant for Gilliland's Busch team, Clay Andrews Racing.
Hours after Barraclough was named crew chief at RYR, Clay Andrews Racing shut its doors after fielding Busch rides for Gilliland in seven races this year, including the victory in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky on June 17.
Gilliland, 30, will make his RYR debut this weekend in the Kroger 200 Busch Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.
Stephen Leicht could fill the No. 88 seat next year. Leicht, 19, serves as Yates' Busch Series driver and made his Nextel Cup debut at Pocono two weeks ago, finishing 33rd.
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