Starting with this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Texas, Wood Brothers Racing has decided to make some personnel changes on top of the pit box of the No. 21 Ford Mustang, driven by Matt DiBenedetto.
Greg Erwin, the team’s crew chief for the last three years, has been let go. His replacement will be Team Penske engineer Jonathan Hassler.
Hassler is familiar to the top of the No. 21 pit box, as the engineer served as the temporary crew chief for the team earlier this year at Martinsville Speedway after Erwin was forced to miss the weekend for COVID-19 protocols.
He again served as a crew chief for the No. 2 car driven by Brad Keselowski at Dover International Speedway.
In the first 16 races of the year, DiBenedetto has earned three top-10 finishes, holds an average finish of 18.1 and sits 17th in the playoff standings, 60 points below the cut line.
DiBenedetto is in his last year driving for the team. The Californian will be replaced by Team Penske development driver and 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric at the beginning of the 2022 season.
This weekend’s All-Star Race will be live on Fox Sports 1 on June 13, with coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET. for the All-Star Open, a race the No. 21 team will have to use to qualify for the evening’s main event.
ICYMI: Jonathan Hassler joined @DGodfatherMoody to talk about taking over as the crew chief of the @woodbrothers21 No. 21 Ford. pic.twitter.com/8ZMqHkgo3s
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) June 8, 2021
About the author
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a First Lieutenant in the US Army.
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This is a change that has been needed for a while. Greg has been around nascar for years i think he was greg biffles crew chief at rfr. Just need some new blood. I think the sport has changed and setups have to change with technology.
I wouldn’t bet on Cindric going to the 21 car. Complete speculation.
How can it be “complete speculation” when Penske announced it 8 months ago?
Because things change. IF Brad goes to Rousch who gets the #2 ! Cindric I bet.
Now that IS speculation. It might turn out to be true it’s still 100% speculation at this point.
Now what has been officially announced by the teams is in no way shape or form speculation.
True for sure, guilty. But I’d bet my speculation is right .