| | | | | | RELIEF | DEI crew chief Richert looking forward to locked-in spot | |
| | By Bob Pockrass / SceneDaily.com Doug Richert is looking forward to working with Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver Regan Smith in 2008, and he's really looking forward to knowing his car doesn't have to qualify for the first five races.
Richert, crew chief for Brian Vickers at fledgling Red Bull Racing until being released in October, is happy he is with a car that finished in the top 35 in NASCAR Sprint Cup owners points and has one of the guaranteed spots in the field.
Vickers qualified for only three of the first five races in 2007 and missed 13 of 32 events before Richert was released.
"Going into these first five races knowing I'm actually going to be in the race, that's something I took for granted for a long time until this past year," said Richert, who guided driver Greg Biffle to six wins and a second-place points position in 2005 with Roush Racing. "But these first five races will set the tone for the rest of the year. We want to make sure we don't put ourselves in a bad situation that we can't get out of.
"We want to make sure we have the best finishes we can get because when race six comes along, we're on our own."
Richert replaced Ryan Pemberton as a DEI crew chief Dec. 12 and is still getting his personnel situated as far as those who want to stay working with him and the No. 01 team. The team was going to work with Mark Martin and Aric Almirola, but now it will work with Smith. The No. 8 team from last year, now with Tony Gibson as crew chief, will stay with that number and work with Martin and Almirola.
Richert attended one test last month with Smith and the DEI test team.
"I watched him drive and listened to him on the radio with the [research and development] team," Richert said. "He gave really good feedback and obviously it looks like he has the ability to get the job done."
The 47-year-old crew chief is not feeling pressure to perform immediately with the team, which still has not announced a sponsor for 2008. He said the team's goal with Smith, a rookie, should be to finish in the top 20 in every race.
"I'm not going to put that pressure on myself," Richert said. "With, without [sponsorship], I'm always trying to run the best I can and present ourselves with an image the best that we can and the rest of it kind of falls in place.
"They have several things lined up, but there hasn't been any announcements of exactly what sponsor is going where or when."
For Richert, going to DEI brings his career nearly full circle. He was crew chief for team founder Dale Earnhardt when he won his first title, in 1980 title with team owner Rod Osterlund.
"It's a good fit for me," Richert said. "My past history with the Earnhardts and having a chance to work with Teresa [Earnhardt, team owner] and [DEI executives] Max [Siegel] and John Story and them on this level is quite an opportunity for me.
"It's a top-notch race team. We've got all the equipment here."
| | Posted January 02, 2008 , 11:22 pm EST
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