CORNELIUS, N.C. -- Steve Boyer will replace Brandon Thomas as crew chief for J.J. Yeley and the No. 96 Hall of Fame team when the Sprint Cup series resumes March 30 at Martinsville Speedway.
Boyer has worked within the engineering department at HoFR since December 2007. He inherits a team that is 31st in points with no finish better than 25th.
"Steve has earned the respect and trust of J.J. and the team in his short tenure here," said Tom Garfinkel, co-owner of Hall of Fame Racing. "He has a tremendous amount of experience that will be valuable to J.J. [and] Hall of Fame Racing."
Boyer is no stranger to the top of the pit box. He was Sterling Marlin's crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates for the last six races of the 2004 season and the entire 2005 campaign. In 2007, he served as crew chief for Ganassi driver Scott Lagasse Jr. in four ARCA/REMAX Series races, where the duo scored three top-five finishes highlighted by a win at Kansas Speedway.
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.