Kyle Busch‘s and Denny Hamlin‘s NASCAR Cup Series pit crews are swapping starting this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass reports.
Busch was eliminated from playoff contention following last Saturday’s (Sept. 17) race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin, meanwhile, moved on to the Round of 12.
Front changer Thomas Hatcher, rear changer CJ Bailey, tire carrier Lee Cunningham, jackman Kellen Mills and fueler Matthew Tyrrell will move from the No. 18 to the No. 11 pit box.
Front changer Blake Houston, tire carrier Jacob Holmes, rear changer Michael Hicks, jackman Derrell Edwards and fueler Justin White switches from Hamlin to Busch’s crew.
Busch announced last week he will compete for Richard Childress Racing starting in 2023 in the No. 8 car. He currently has one win, six top fives and 13 top 10s so far this year.
Hamlin has two wins, seven top fives and 10 top 10s in 2022. He sits sixth in the points standings.
The changes come with seven races left in the season.
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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Makes complete sense. But I can’t help but hope it blows up on Hamlin’s car. Tires falling off, etc.
I don’t agree with teams doing this. Just because a team isn’t in the playoffs doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the best chance to win races and finish the season as high in the points as possible.