Elliott Sadler's replacement crew chief announced for Homestead

Elliott Sadler will have a familiar face upon his pit box for Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as JR Motorsports race operations manager Mike Bumgarner will serve as his crew chief on the No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet.

Sadler’s regular crew chief, Kevin Meendering, was suspended for the race after NASCAR officials discovered two lug nuts were not tight on Sadler’s car after last Saturday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.

“We let Kevin ultimately make this decision because it’s his team,” said general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller in a statement released by the team Tuesday morning. “Kevin chose Mike to sit in the crew chief’s seat and for good reason – he is experienced atop the pit box and very dependable. We have a great deal of confidence in Mike to give Elliott his best opportunity to win on Saturday.”

Sadler will race JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez for the title on Saturday.

Bumgarner, a native of Huntersville, N.C., is a 22-year veteran in NASCAR, including 18 years at Hendrick Motorsports.