NASCAR Cup Series
Entry List: 2023 NCS Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway
Aug 28, 2023
Penske, Wood Brothers Racing Swap Crew Chiefs For Cindric, Harrison Burton
Effective immediately, Team Penske and Wood Brothers Racing have swapped crew chiefs for the No. 2 and No. 21 NASCAR Cup Series teams. Jeremy Bullins will be paired with Harrison Burton, while Brian Wilson will move to Austin Cindric.
On Monday, Team Penske and Wood Brothers Racing announced that they have swapped crew chiefs for the No. 2 and No. 21 NASCAR Cup Series teams effective immediately.
Starting with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Brian Wilson will move over to the pit box of the No. 2 team with driver Austin Cindric.
The swap is a reunion of sorts for all involved.
The duo of Cindric and Wilson recorded 13 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
Jeremy Bullins, who had been serving as the crew chief for the No. 2 team since the 2020 season, when he was paired with Brad Keselowski, will now serve as the crew chief for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 team.
The historic Wood Brothers Racing team sits one victory away from its milestone 100th victory. Bullins was the crew chief for the organization's last win, which came with Ryan Blaney at Pocono Raceway in 2017.
While Cindric won the season-opening Daytona 500 a season ago, and recorded four top-five finishes, and eight top-10s on his path to a 12th-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings, the performance just hadn't been there in 2023.
Cindric missed the Playoffs, and currently sits 22nd in the championship standings with just three top-10 finishes through the opening 26 races. The No. 2 team will have 10 races to build momentum heading into the 2024 campaign, where Team Penske hopes to once again return all three cars to the Playoffs.
Burton has matched his top-10 total from his rookie campaign a year ago, with two in 2023. But, like the No. 2 team, the No. 21 team just hasn't had nearly the consistency that they had a season ago.
The driver of the No. 21 machine, who finished 27th in the championship standings a season ago, sits 30th in points currently.
Perhaps Bullins can be a better fit with Burton, and help restore the historic Wood Brothers Racing team near the front of the field.
Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade, NKP, Courtesy of Ford Performance
