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JR Motorsports announces interim crew chief for Elliott Sadler

NASCAR XFINITY Series Ticket Galaxy 200 - Practice

AVONDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 11: Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 OneMain Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 11, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Mike Bumgarner will serve as Elliott Sadler’s crew chief for Saturday’s championship Xfinity race in Miami, JR Motorsports announced Tuesday.

Bumgarner, who is JR Motorsports’ race operations manager, will fill in for Kevin Meendering as Meendering serves a one-race suspension after two lug nuts were found unsecured on Sadler’s car last weekend at Phoenix.

“We let Kevin ultimately make this decision because it’s his team,” said general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller in a statement. “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.”

Bumgarner has spent 22 years in the sport, including 18 at Hendrick Motorsports. In 2007, he was Kyle Busch’s crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports. They won four races and three poles. Bumgarner has been at JR Motorsports since 2013. He served as crew chief for Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet in 2013 and moved to overseeing race operations the following season.

Sadler is competing against JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez for the Xfinity title. That race airs Saturday on NBCSN with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET.