Michael Waltrip Racing announced Tuesday that Chad Johnston has been promoted from the role of lead engineer to crew chief of Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 56 Toyota, starting with this weekend's race at Pocono.
"This is a good opportunity for me since this is the direction I have always wanted to go in my NASCAR career," Johnston said. "Michael Waltrip Racing is a good organization to work with as we have assembled a strong NAPA Racing team and a more than capable driver. My goal is the same goal that this team set at the start of 2011 and that goal is to win races and try to get in the top 10 in points."
Truex is currently 22nd in points, the same position he had at the end of the 2010 season. Pat Tryson, who filled the position since last year, will be "redeployed" within the organization, according to the team.
"Chad's been a great addition to the NAPA team ever since he joined us last season," Truex said. "He jumped in and really helped with the preparation of our cars. He's shown a lot of leadership in his position and has shown me he really understands a racecar. He also understands all of the tools at his disposal here at Michael Waltrip Racing since he's an engineer.
"His personality and mine mesh really well. We get along great, and he really understands what I am saying. He is extremely good at pulling more information from me to get the answers to questions he has when setting up the car. The communication between he and I is impressive, and we just click. I'm looking forward to what all we can accomplish together as a team."