Frazier out as Steve Wallace’s crew chief
Steve Wallace will have a new crew chief this weekend after Rusty Wallace Inc. officials decided to replace Bryant Frazier on Monday night as leader of Wallace's No. 66 Busch Series Dodge.
Steve Darne, the team's Busch East Series crew chief, will replace Frazier on an interim basis, the team announced. Darne and Wallace worked together in ARCA in 2006, as Wallace won three races and four poles with Darne as crew chief.
"Bryant has done a good job for our team over the past two years, but it was just time for us to make a change," team owner Rusty Wallace said in a statement. "This is a performance-based business, and unfortunately this year, we just haven't seen the level of performance that we'd like to have."
Wallace has won two poles in his first full season in the Busch Series but hasn't posted a top-10 finish. His best finish was a 12th at Nashville in June, and Wallace has crashed out of three races this year.
"We owe it to our sponsor, HomeLife Communities and its CEO, Jon Been, to our fans and to our driver, Steve Wallace, to put cars on the track every week that are competitive on a consistent basis," Rusty Wallace said.
Wallace said the team is interviewing "several candidates" for the crew chief's job and hopes to have an announcement soon.
"In the meantime, I have complete confidence in the job that Steve Darne will do for our team," Wallace said. "He has stepped in and filled this role before and did a great job. I'm looking forward to improving our team's performance in the second half of the year. I have a lot of respect for Bryant Frazier and wish him nothing but the best."
Steve Wallace will have a new crew chief this weekend after Rusty Wallace Inc. officials decided to replace Bryant Frazier on Monday night as leader of Wallace's No. 66 Busch Series Dodge.
Steve Darne, the team's Busch East Series crew chief, will replace Frazier on an interim basis, the team announced. Darne and Wallace worked together in ARCA in 2006, as Wallace won three races and four poles with Darne as crew chief.
"Bryant has done a good job for our team over the past two years, but it was just time for us to make a change," team owner Rusty Wallace said in a statement. "This is a performance-based business, and unfortunately this year, we just haven't seen the level of performance that we'd like to have."
Wallace has won two poles in his first full season in the Busch Series but hasn't posted a top-10 finish. His best finish was a 12th at Nashville in June, and Wallace has crashed out of three races this year.
"We owe it to our sponsor, HomeLife Communities and its CEO, Jon Been, to our fans and to our driver, Steve Wallace, to put cars on the track every week that are competitive on a consistent basis," Rusty Wallace said.
Wallace said the team is interviewing "several candidates" for the crew chief's job and hopes to have an announcement soon.
"In the meantime, I have complete confidence in the job that Steve Darne will do for our team," Wallace said. "He has stepped in and filled this role before and did a great job. I'm looking forward to improving our team's performance in the second half of the year. I have a lot of respect for Bryant Frazier and wish him nothing but the best."
