NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Future Is Here For Patrick, Others
Danica Patrick is one of the drivers trying to get a head start on next year by changing crew chiefs…
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 31, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Danica Patrick will lead the field to the green for the first Budweiser Duel. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski will spend the next three weekends deciding the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Drivers in points positions three through 12 will spend those three weekends racing for positions, pride and a little larger bonus check at the NASCAR banquet in Las Vegas at the end of November.

For most everyone else, it’s time to prep for the 2013 season. That’s why several teams are changing things up this weekend — having had subpar or disappointing 2012 campaigns, they want to get head starts on bouncing back for next year.

So this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, there will be some significant lineup changes.

One of the most visible will occur at Stewart-Haas Racing.

With no finishes better than 25th and an average finish of 30.3 in eight Cup races, Danica Patrick will race at Texas with Tony Gibson as her new crew chief. Gibson moves over to Patrick’s car after nearly four full seasons as crew chief of the No. 39 SHR Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman.

“Any practice we can get this year is a step ahead for next year because he can get to thinking over the winter about my driving style,” said Patrick, who will race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday and Phoenix International Raceway the following week. “We can then fine-tune the language between each other and he can understand what I mean when I describe how the car is handling. It’s just little things that will make it easier next year for both of us.”

“It’s like a huge test session for us,” said Gibson. “It’s a challenge but, at the same time, it’s exciting for us because we have a driver who is brand new. She’s just so new, she’s like a sponge just absorbing information. But getting two races’ worth of communication will be huge. Her hearing my voice, me hearing her voice, knowing what she wants in the car – it’s all going to help us get ready for next year.”

Newman, meanwhile, was reunited with Matt Borland, his former crew chief at Penske Racing last Sunday at Martinsville and will continue in that role for the remainder of this year and next year.

Asked if the two can return to their glory days, Borland said, “You never know. Obviously that is the goal. We are going to do everything we can to get back to that, but a lot of the teams that is what they are after so it’s a challenge.”

SHR isn’t the only team in transition.

After less than a year at Richard Childress Racing, Drew Blickensderfer is back in the Ford camp, joining Richard Petty Motorsports, where he’s the new crew chief for Marcos Ambrose, starting this weekend in Texas.

With Blickensderfer gone from RCR, Shane Wilson will serve as Jeff Burton’s crew chief for the final three races of this season, with Luke Lambert taking over in 2013. Wilson began the year as Kevin Harvick’s crew chief but then was replaced with Gil Martin, Harvick’s former — and now, current — crew chief. Wilson also served as Paul Menard’s crew chief while “Slugger” Labbe was out on suspension.

Lambert, meanwhile, will depart Elliott Sadler’s No. 2 NASCAR Nationwide Series RCR Chevy next season to return to his old job as Burton’s crew chief.

In the other RPM Ford, Todd Parrott moved to the No. 43 entry driven by Aric Almirola in September, again presumably to get a jump on next season.

Among drivers, Kurt Busch replaced Regan Smith in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevy in mid-October, as that team prepares for next year.

AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevy this weekend, with Smith in the seat in the final two races of the year.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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