Allen Hart – an experienced race engineer with a myriad of experience in the NASCAR industry — has been tapped to join Sam Hunt Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series operation for the 2022 season, serving as both a crew chief and the organization’s Technical Director.
For the first time in his career, the 39-year-old will be inheriting a full-time crew chief role in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, after spending the last five seasons as the lead race engineer for JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro. In fact, the season-opener at Daytona will serve as Hart’s second career outing as a crew chief in the series, after replacing Jason Burdett on the pit box for Justin Allgaier at Darlington earlier this season, bringing the team home sixth.
The Midland, Michigan-native’s experience with other top-tier organizations like Team Penske and Turner Motorsports is something that team owner Sam Hunt sees as vital in the continuance of Sam Hunt Racing’s blossoming growth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
“I’m so proud to add Allen [Hart] to our young, blossoming organization,” said Hunt. “Allen is an experienced, race-winning engineer and leader at the Xfinity level, and he will be a huge asset to our organization for years to come. We are ready to provide him with this opportunity to continue building our program, as well as our working relationship with TRD and the current staff we have. Andrew [Abbott] has done a great job for our program this year, and he is still a large asset to our team.”
In the single-car operation’s first full-time season in the second-tier series, the No. 26 Toyota Supra featured a rotating roster of eight drivers, six of which started the 2021 season with less than 10 career starts. The organization was able to capture their first top-10 finish in the season-opener at Daytona, before recording their best-ever finish later in the season at Hunt’s home track of Richmond Raceway, when John Hunter Nemechek brought the team’s entry home in third.
“I am really looking forward to starting this new chapter with Sam Hunt Racing,” said Hart. “Sam and I have been friends for a long time now, and I’ve really enjoyed watching his team grow from afar. Becoming a crew chief has been a goal of mine since I first came into the sport, and to be able to have that opportunity with this group is extremely special. I can’t thank everyone at JR Motorsports and on the No. 7 team who helped me get to this point over these last eight seasons. Now it’s time to focus on 2022 and get the year started off on a strong note. I am ready to get going.”
More details regarding Sam Hunt Racing’s 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series plans will be released in the upcoming months.
One Response