Jerry Baxter has been named crew chief of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Bubba Wallace for the 2020 NASCAR Cup season, Richard Petty Motorsports announced Monday.
It will be a reunion of sorts for Baxter and Wallace, who previously worked together for two seasons during Wallace’s tenure for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
“The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is a crucial year for Richard Petty Motorsports,” Wallace said in a team media release. “As a team, we have made a ton of progress from my debut in 2018, and we are looking to continue that progress with Jerry calling the shots.
“He has been a great mentor, and even better friend, since we were able to work together in 2013 and 2014. I am excited to see him get this opportunity in the NASCAR Cup Series, and use our past success to take this team to new levels.”
This will be Wallace’s third different crew chief in as many seasons with RPM. Drew Blickensderfer was crew chief for the No. 43 in 2018, while Derek Stamets was promoted from Wallace’s engineer to crew chief in 2019. A spokesman for the team said Monday that Stamets “has been offered a position within Richard Petty Motorsports.”
Baxter and Wallace earned five wins, 25 top-10 finishes and three poles in their time together in Trucks with KBM, including Wallace finishing third in the driver standings in 2014.
“During our time together, he trusted what I did as a crew chief, and trusted himself more and more, and we got better and better as we went,” Baxter said in the media release. “This is an incredible opportunity, and change is good.
“Having the confidence of Bubba and everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports means a lot to me. I am excited about working with Bubba again, and the foundation Richard Petty Motorsports has in place with their group of guys.”
Baxter spent the last three seasons at GMS Racing, most recently in 2019 as Brett Moffitt’s crew chief in the Truck Series. Moffitt finished third in the standings this past season with four wins, 13 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes, as well as three poles.
Baxter has worked with a number of notable drivers over his 34-year career in NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Trucks, including Ernie Irvan, Boris Said, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Matt Tifft, Timothy Peters, Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann, Trevor Bayne and Robby Gordon.
The majority of Baxter’s career as a crew chief has been in the Xfinity and Truck Series. This will be his first crew chief role in the Cup Series since 2000 with Robby Gordon.
