Sammy Johns has assumed the role of Operations Director and begins immediately
Welcome, N.C. (November 29, 2016) – Sammy Johns has joined Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as the new operations director for the Welcome, North Carolina, racing organization. Johns will report directly to Dr. Eric Warren, director of competition for RCR.
“I have known and worked closely with Sammy since 2001 in a variety of teams and roles,” said Warren. “He is well rounded and understands the sport from multiple perspectives. He has the hands-on experience of a crew chief along with the understanding of what it takes to build a modern, technical racing organization capable of winning races in today’s competitive environment.”
Johns will take on an integral role at RCR managing and coordinating the manufacturing and car assembly processes, along with overseeing the crew chiefs and general execution of the race teams. RCR’s Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, will continue to focus the engineering department on improving the performance of the cars and the ability to create and use data for a competitive advantage.
The Lakeland, Florida, native began his racing career at local short tracks before being named crew chief at Andy Petree Racing. From there, Johns shifted gears and joined Evernham Motorsports as director of competition. He remained a permanent fixture within the organization through 2009 when the company officially became Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). Johns transitioned into a new role of vice president of operations with RPM and resumed his title until earlier this year.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join such an iconic sports organization in Richard Childress Racing,” Johns said. “The level of engineering and technical expertise at RCR is second-to-none, and I look forward to contributing my knowledge and capabilities to helping this team succeed in 2017 and beyond.”
About Richard Childress Racing:Â
Richard Childress Racing (rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. RCR has earned more than 200 victories and 15 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Its 2016 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Dow/American Ethanol/Cheerios/AAA Chevrolet), 2011 Brickyard 400 champion Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet) and 2008 Daytona 500 champion and 2013 Brickyard 400 winner Ryan Newman (No. 31 Caterpillar/Grainger/WIX Filters Chevrolet). Its XFINITY Series program includes a multi-driver lineup with Austin Dillon and Paul Menard (No. 2 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet), 2012 Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Ty Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Rheem/WESCO/Red Kap Chevrolet), Rookie of the Year contender Brandon Jones (No. 33 Menards/Nexteer Chevrolet) and Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino/WIX Filters/U.S. Cellular Chevrolet).
