Team owner Michael Waltrip said:

Brian is someone whose been on our radar for a very long time. He brings a strong technical background, along with great leadership and Chase experience. We have high hopes for Brian, Clint and the 5-hour ENERGY team heading into 2012 and we think this is the perfect mix of talent, experience and leadership.

Pattie added:

Michael Waltrip Racing is an up-and-coming team making improvements every day. I know how close it is to joining the upper echelon of the Sprint Cup Series. When I started talking with Michael about opportunities at MWR I really did my research and was impressed by their commitment to getting to the top of the sport. I feel like this is a great opportunity to join a new team with a new driver and start building something special. Clint’s proven how good he is and I know that will get even better in 2012.

Bowyer said:

I’ve known Brian Pattie for a long time and the thing that impresses me the most is how he calls a race and his knowledge of racecars. We both grew up working on dirt cars and have pretty similar backgrounds. We understand each other and I think we speak the same language. I know once we get together and start working we’re going to see great results.

Heroy led Dale Earnhardt Jr to two top 5 finishes in the Nationwide Series as a crew chief.

Team co-owner Chip Ganassi said:

We are very excited to bring Chris into the organization and to have him work with Juan Pablo. We think he will be a great addition to the Target team and believe his combined engineering and crew chief background should help him work well with both our engineers and competition folks to move our program forward. He has a great reputation in the industry and we are happy to bring him into the mix.

Montoya started 2011 with Brian Pattie atop the pit box, and he finished in the top 6 in two out of the first three races. After the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he sat fourth in points. Six races later, he dropped to 12th.

By July, he dropped to 17th in the standings and a change was made. Jim Pohlman took over on an interim basis.

With the news of the addition of Heroy, Pohlman will remain with EGR, but in a different capacity.

Performance is at a stand-still for drivers like Burton, Biffle and Almendinger.  They have a handful of top 10 finishes between them this year and have been flying under the radar all season. Making a crew chief change is a perfect opportunity for these teams to get the improvements they have been looking for. 

All of these teams have the potential to finish well every week, they are just missing a certain spark to get to those finishes.  Hopefully these changes will provide that spark.

For Truex Jr’s team, I feel that communication is one of the major issues.  With only three top 10 finishes and many DNF’s this season, a change had to be made.  Earlier in the year, the team replaced their tire changers in hopes of improving performance.  Unfortunately, their luck never improved.  The No. 56 team now has Chad Johnson as crew chief, formally the lead engineer of Micheal Waltrip Racing.

This team has nothing to lose and everything to gain.  We know that Truex has the potential to win races, he just needs a strong team backing to get there.  I think this change will take time to settle in, but will eventually bring improvement to that MWR team.

Montoya seems to be the roller-coaster driver of this season.  He started off the year well and was as high as fourth in points.  However, in five races out of the last ten, he has finished 20th or worse and has now plummeted to 17th in points.  In my opinion, the crew chief is not the problem. 

We’ve seen Montoya lose his temper with other drivers and his own team countless times throughout the year.  I feel like his temper gets in the way of focusing on his job.  Maybe his new crew chief, Jim Pohlman, can keep the Colombian driver level-headed.  If not, I think Ganassi needs to address the situation and figure out a solution for Montoya.  He is a talented driver, he just needs to focus on his race, rather than focusing on who he’s going to box after the race.

In conclusion, I don’t think this will be the last crew chief changes of the season.  Drivers like, Brian Vickers and Jamie McMurray are used to running well, and aren’t having the finishes they need.  Possible crew chief changes?  I guess we’ll just have to keep watching as this season unfolds.

Team owner Chip Ganassi said:

We are pleased to have someone of Jim’s caliber to be able to place into this role on the No. 42 team. Jim has been with us a number of years and I have confidence in his abilities to move the team forward.

Montoya got off to a great start to the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, finishing in the top 6 in two out of the first three races. After the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Montoya sat fourth in the championship standings. By the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway (six races later) he dropped to 12th place in the standings, and out of the Chase.

He has finished 20th or worse in five out of the last 10 races, and currently sits 17th in points, 59 points out of 10th.

With seven races to go until the Chase, this seems like a popular time for crew chief changes. Thus far, , Greg Biffle and AJ Allmendinger have new crew chiefs. Martin Truex Jr got a new crew chief last month.