Michael Waltrip will have a new Crew Chief this weekend. (Photo: Geoff Burke, Getty Images) » More Photos

SOSPENZO TO MWR Michael Waltrip Racing became the second team to change crew chiefs on Wednesday, when the team announced that Peter Sospenzo will take over as crew chief of the No. 00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry beginning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the remainder of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Bill Pappas, who previously served as Michael McDowell’s crew chief, will become the team’s head of engineering.

“He’s young, ambitious and seems like a really good guy,” Sospenzo said of rookie McDowell. “I can’t wait to get started and move forward with him. Hopefully, we will have some good things ahead of us and we can build a long-lasting relationship.”

STILL SEARCHING Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon is close to locking up another appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he, crew chief Steve Letarte and the rest of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports crew are busily looking for the speed to start converting top-10 finishes to victories.

“I still don’t feel like we’ve really figured out what we need to be battling for wins and leading laps, but we’re working really hard on that,” said Gordon, who won six Sprint Cup races last season but is winless so far in 2008. “In terms of sheer speed, we still need to gain. But we feel like we have until September to make all those gains. We need to secure a spot in the Chase and then start off solid. We have a strong team – one that’s capable of winning races anywhere. One that’s capable of winning a championship.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to