Richard Petty Motorsports Promote Derek Stamets to Crew Chief

#43 of Bubba Wallace

In a seamless transition, Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) has promoted lead engineer Derek Stamets to crew chief of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team and driver Bubba Wallace. Stamets is a veteran of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and within RPM where he has been a lead engineer since 2012.

Stamets has recorded multiple wins with drivers such as Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan. In addition, Stamets has wins at RPM with Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola. Stamets has been critical in calling the race atop the pit box while also using his experience to lead vehicle set up and in-race performance adjustments. Stamets, who is familiar with Team Chevy and team affiliate, Richard Childress Racing, will bring an engineering-focused approach to the famed No. 43.

Wallace and Stamets

"Derek was a logical decision for us to move up," said Philippe Lopez, Director of Competition. "He spent the full season with Bubba and our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 program last year and has been with our organization for seven seasons. We want to keep the chemistry that Derek and Bubba built together while continuing the experience we built with Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing. We are confident in Derek's leadership of the No. 43 team."

"Derek has a lot of knowledge of our program," said Wallace Jr. "He's not having to learn a new program and I'm not having to learn a new personality. I'm comfortable working with Derek and this makes the most sense for improvement. Derek was working as our lead engineer, and I think he's eager to make more of the decisions and put his footprint on our race team."

Stamets begins his new duties immediately and will lead the team beginning with this week's test sessions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.