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Victory lane is the goal for Park's new crew chief
Charlie Wilson, who guided Scott Lynch to the NASCAR Winston West championship last season, has been named crew chief of the Las Vegas-based Orleans Racing Dodge truck in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Wilson, 48, had served as interim crew chief on the truck, driven by Steve Park, for the past three races after Johnny Allen was released from his duties in May. Park is coming off his best finish of the season, a 10th-place effort last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I am very happy that the team even considered me for the position," Wilson said. "When I joined Orleans Racing, I made it a goal to become the crew chief of the second truck that Scott Lynch drove (in two races last season). Now I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work with Steve Park.
"My main goal is to get Steve Park back to victory lane -- for Steve and for the team. We have spent a lot of time this season focusing on personnel issues. We are ready to put our focus back on the race trucks and to get back to the winning ways of last year."
Brendan Gaughan drove the No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge to six victories and a fourth-place points finish last year. In January, Gaughan and crew chief Shane Wilson left Orleans Racing for the Penske-Jasper Racing team in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
Charlie Wilson had been doubling up the past month as the crew chief for both Lynch's NASCAR West Series car and Park's truck, but said he now would concentrate solely on the Craftsman Truck team, which races Saturday afternoon at Memphis Motorsports Park.
"I still have a special interest in the West team and Scott Lynch, but it is not physically possible for me to crew chief both teams," Wilson said. "We are looking to hire a full-time crew chief for the West team (but) I'll still help them as much as I can."
Lynch is sixth in the West standings, 85 points out of the lead, after four of 13 races.
from the Las Vegas Sun
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