A championship contender is making a change in the middle of a playoff run. CR7 Motorsports will turn the No. 9 team over to a new crew chief.
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According to a press release, veteran crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz will no longer guide the No. 9 team and Grant Enfinger. Michael Shelton will take over as the interim crew chief as the playoffs continue at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
CR7 Motorsports will announce a permanent crew chief at a later date.
Stankiewicz has spent multiple seasons working with Enfinger in multiple series. They won six ARCA Menards Series races and the championship in 2015. They then won their first Truck Series race together the following season at Talladega Superspeedway.
Stankiewicz, who guided Sheldon Creed to the 2020 Truck Series championship, took over as Enfinger's full-time crew chief last season. They celebrated two wins with the No. 9 team and reached the Championship 4. They ultimately ended the season fourth in points.
The No. 9 team returned to the playoffs this season by virtue of points. The team has performed consistently overall but has not visited victory lane. Enfinger's best finishes are a pair of runner-ups at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.
"Jeff and I have shared a lot of success together," Enfinger said in a press release from CR7 Motorsports. "His knowledge, preparation, and commitment were big strengths for our team.
"I'll always be appreciative of the effort he put into helping us compete at a high level."
Shelton, like Stankiewicz, is a veteran of multiple series with a championship on his resume. He guided James Buescher to the Truck Series title back in 2012 after a four-win season. They finished third in the 2013 standings after scoring two more wins.
Shelton's last full season as a crew chief was in 2017 when he guided Cody Coughlin at ThorSport Racing. He currently serves as CR7 Motorsports's general manager while occasionally serving as a crew chief.
Enfinger heads to the Round of 10 finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a favorable position. He is fifth in the Truck Series standings with a 29-point cushion to the cutline. He sits in a tie with Tyler Ankrum in sixth. The other two drivers above the cutline are Kaden Honeycutt (+18) and Rajah Caruth (+14).
