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Changes are coming to Richard Childress Racing

Crew chief swap in the works for Nos. 3 and 33 Sprint Cup teams.

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Action Sports Photography

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Gil Martin before practice
Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Brian Scott, Ty Dillon, Brendan Gaughan, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Richard Childress
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Veteran crew chief Gil Martin, who has been with the company since 2000, was offered the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevy team on Monday according to multiple sources.

Martin has worked with Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing crew since the team's inception in 2014.

Richard “Slugger” Labbe, who has worked with the No. 33 Chevy team and multiple drivers, is expected to move over the to the No. 3 RCR Sprint Cup Chevy on a temporary basis. 

This is Dillon’s second season is the Cup Series but he was struggled to get up to speed. The 2013 XFINITY Series champ has just one top-10 finish all season. Despite picking up the pace in qualifying the last two races — at Michigan and Pocono — his younger brother, Ty Dillon, has out-run Austin in both events. 

Dillon, 25, has improved his average qualifying effort by 3.4 positions over last year. However, his average finishing position has dropped by more than five spots. Although Dillon only posted one top-five finish and four top 10s in his rookie year, he was remarkably consistent as far as running at the finish of every race. 

In 2015, Dillon has already been sidelined twice in the first 15 races — once with an electrical issue and after his engine failed at Talladega Superspeedway. He is currently 23rd in the Sprint Cup point standings. Dillon has enjoyed success on the NXS tour this year under the direction of crew chief Nick Harrison. He’s posted four poles and two wins in 12 starts.

Gil Martin won a Sprint Cup race in his first full season at RCR with Robby Gordon. Martin won 15 additional Cup races with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer behind the wheel and qualified for all but one Chase since 2007 until last year with Dillon. Martin is in a contract year at RCR.

Joe Falk is listed as the owner on the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevrolet but the team has also has run a limited schedule of eight races with driving duties split between Ty Dillon and Brian Scott using RCR equipment. Labbe has five career wins as a crew chief, most recently with Paul Menard in the 2011 Brickyard 400.

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