Major crew changes at Hendrick.

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick has announced key personnel changes affecting each of his organization's teams going into the 2005 NASCAR campaign in an effort both to bring all four full time teams and Terry Labonte's new team into line and to help replace some of the team members he lost in October's plane crash.

Racing veterans Jim Long, Lance McGrew and Peter Sospenzo will each assume fresh responsibilities next season, while lead engineer Alan Gustafson has been promoted to crew chief. As part of the restructuring effort, team executive Brian Whitesell will also transition into a new role.

"With a new shop opening and drivers moving to different teams, it made sense for us to look at our organizational structure in a different light," Hendrick said. "These changes will create more opportunities for our folks and help us work together more efficiently."

29 year-old Gustafson has been named crew chief of Hendrick's #5 Kellogg's Chevrolets, which next season will feature NASCAR Nextel Cup Series rookie Kyle Busch as driver.

A native of Ormond Beach, Florida, Gustafson cut his racing teeth working as a mechanic at local short tracks in his home state while taking mechanical engineering courses at nearby Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Gustafson moved to North Carolina in 1996 to pursue a career in motor sports, gaining experience with various teams before joining Hendrick's in-house chassis effort in 1999. He was named lead engineer for the #5 Cup Series team the following year.

After leading the #5 Nextel Cup team for the past three years, Long will slide into the crew chief position with the #5 Lowe's-sponsored NASCAR Busch Series operation. The team has earned a championship, eight victories and six pole positions over the past two seasons.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, 47 year-old Long is going into his sixth NASCAR campaign with Hendrick Motorsports, including a two-year stint in the mid-1980s. The 2005 season will mark his 10th as a NASCAR crew chief.

An announcement regarding driving duties for the No. 5 Busch Series team is forthcoming.

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, McGrew has been named crew chief for Brian Vickers' #25 GMAC Nextel Cup team, a move that reunites the driver/crew chief combo that won the 2003 Busch Series Championship for Hendrick.

After joining Hendrick in 1999, McGrew was soon named crew chief of the organization's part-time Busch Series effort, which quickly led to full-time positions in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2001) and Busch Series (2002-04).

A three-time winner on the Nextel Cup circuit, Sospenzo will work exclusively with two-time Cup Series champion Terry Labonte as crew chief of the new #44 Hendrick Motorsports team, which will attempt a 10-race schedule in 2005.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Sospenzo led the #25 Nextel Cup team to one victory, a pair of pole positions and 13 top-10 finishes over the past two-plus seasons. The 47-year-old came to Hendrick from Penske Racing in 2002.

40 year-old Whitesell will take on the newly created position of team manager for the #5, #25 and #44 Nextel Cup teams. From Virginia, Whitesell most recently held an identical post with Hendrick Motorsports' #24 and #48 efforts.

Best known as one of the architects of Hendrick's #24 DuPont team, Whitesell has been with the organization since 1992, following a championship-winning stint with Alan Kulwicki Racing. He was named as Jeff Gordon's team manager in 1999 and was a principal influence in building Jimmie Johnson's #48 squad beginning in 2001.

Shop foreman Mark Thoreson and lead engineer Darian Grubb will share Whitesell's former duties with the "24/48" operation.

The #5, #25 and #44 teams will be housed together in a new facility adjacent to the 24/48 building on the Hendrick Motorsports grounds. The new state-of-the-art shop is scheduled to open before the 2005 season.