Bruce Schlicker, who had served as the crew chief for Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 97 Kaulig Racing team through the opening 20 races of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, has departed the team and will not return following the three-week Xfinity Series break.
While Kaulig Racing would not offer a statement on Schlicker’s departure, “out of respect to Bruce,” the team did confirm to TobyChristie.com that Kevin Walter will take over as the crew chief for Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 97 Kaulig Racing group.
Walter had been serving as the crew chief for Josh Williams and the No. 11 Kaulig Racing team. Kaulig Racing shared that Eddie Pardue will move over to serve as the crew chief for Williams and the No. 11 team moving forward.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise as the pairing of Schlicker and SVG resulted in three wins (Portland, Sonoma, and Chicago Street Course), five top-five finishes, and six top-10s through the opening 20 races of the season. The duo finished fourth in the most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and SVG also recorded a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.
Overall, Schlicker is a 10-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race-winning crew chief. All of his wins have come with Kaulig Racing, and he has reached victory lane with four different drivers in the series.
SVG, despite his lack of experience on ovals, has really started to become a more and more consistent top-10 to top-15 competitor on oval tracks, and as the series marches toward the Playoffs, there is hope that van Gisbergen can potentially make a deep NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff run.
If he does, it’ll be with a new crew chief atop the pit box beginning with next weekend’s Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
