Sprague gets new crew chief for Atlanta Truck race

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Wyler Racing announced Wednesday that Tony Furr has been released as crew chief of the No. 60 Toyota driven by three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Jack Sprague.

"We are taking the necessary steps to prepare our team for a championship run in the Craftsman Truck Series next year," said team owner, Jeff Wyler. "We appreciate everything that Tony has done for our program since he joined our team and we wish him all the best."

Effective immediately, Rick Gay will take over as crew chief of the No. 60 Toyota. Gay joins Wyler Racing after working as crew chief for the No. 9 Toyota of Germain Racing. Under Gay's leadership, Germain Racing scored six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 21 starts this year. Prior to joining Germain Racing in August of 2006, Gay served as crew chief for ppc Racing with driver's Terry Cook and Kenny Wallace, working in both the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series.

"We are happy to welcome Rick to our team," Wyler said. "We are excited about our plans for 2008 and are thankful that Rick has agreed to be part of our program. His knowledge and experience will be extremely valuable to our team as we finish out the year and begin preparations for next year. We expect to make an announcement soon about our plans for the future and are thankful that Rick will be part of our team as we move into the new year."

Gay hails from Rochester, N.Y., and started his racing career in the 1980s by working in the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series.

Under Gay's guidance, Sprague and the Wyler Racing team will take the No. 60 Toyota to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 on Saturday, Oct. 27. Live television coverage from the 1.54-mile paved oval will be provided by SPEED at 12:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage live from MRN Radio.