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NASCAR WCUP: McGee to Transition to Lowe's Crew Chief Over Balance of Season

11 August 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
WELCOME, N.C.-- Royce McGee will spend the rest of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season transitioning into the role of crew chief for the Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse Racing team in preparation for taking full control in 2001.

"I have every confidence in Royce's abilities to be successful with this Lowe's team," said Richard Childress, president of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises Inc. "He was the first and only choice to take over for Larry McReynolds because he's been such a big part of this team since 1998. We will take advantage of the time we'll have over the rest of the season to ease Royce into his new position."

McGee, 34, has been the Team Lowe's assistant crew chief since he came to RCR at the end of the 1997 season. He was with Roush Racing from 1990 to the middle 1996, in both its sports car and Winston Cup divisions. He was the car chief for Butch Mock Motorsports for the remainder of 1996 and all of 1997 before moving to RCR.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to become the crew chief on such a recognized team," said McGee. "I'm grateful to have Richard Childress, Lowe' s and Mike Skinner know that I'm capable of doing this. The slow transition will allow me to work into the day-to-day things, the business of this sport, that a crew chief needs to look after and will help me in the long-term. We have 15 more races that we get to work me up on top of that pit box on Sunday afternoon."

Current Team Lowe's Racing crew chief Larry McReynolds announced today that he will step down at the conclusion of the 2000 season to become an expert analyst for FOX Sports' NASCAR broadcasts. Plans are being made for McReynolds to maintain a relationship with RCR on a consulting basis.

"I don't think I could go out and handpick a better choice for my replacement than Royce McGee," said McReynolds. "Royce has helped me and been a big part of my support group for the past two years. We're going to work hard on this transition so that, when this race team gets to Daytona in 2001, they hopefully won't realize there's been one. The main focus is going remain to be good runs and hopefully some wins. We've got to get Mike Skinner back up on that stage in New York in December for a second consecutive year."

McGee, is a Jacksonville, Fla., native who resides in Thomasville, N.C., with his wife, Mary and son Bobby.

Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc., has set the standard for modern-era stock car racing teams. Based just south of Winston-Salem in Welcome, N.C., RCR has nearly 200 employees and fields the NASCAR Winston Cup teams of seven-time champion and 1998 Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt and 1997 Rookie-of-the-Year and 1995 Truck Series champion Mike Skinner, as well as NASCAR Busch Series teams with drivers Mike Dillon and Kevin Harvick.

Text provided by David Hart

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