DEI Hires Sandy Jones to Run No. 16 Team

DEI hires Jones to run 16 team

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 14, 1998) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) announced Monday that Sandy Jones has joined the organization as crew chief for the No. 16 NAPA Brakes Chevrolet driven by Ron Hornaday on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Jones replaces Fred Graves, who left the 16 team to work with his son, Andy, on Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Chevrolet. Jones, who hails from Florence, Ala., comes to DEI from Diamond Ridge Motorsports. As crew chief at Diamond Ridge, he recorded seven NASCAR Busch Series wins, including two this year with driver Elliott Sadler. "This is a great opportunity for me," Jones said. "Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Ron Hornaday are a winning combination and I am excited to be part of the team." Jones, who resides in Terrell, N.C., started his racing career in Alabama, then made a move to North Carolina in the early 1980s to join the team of owner/driver D.K Ulrich. In 1985, he went to work for Junior Johnson and driver Darrell Waltrip. In 1988, he followed Waltrip to Hendrick Motorsports where he was a member of the 1989 Daytona 500 winning team. Jones got his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief job in 1992 with RaDius Racing and driver Ted Musgrave. "We are pleased to have Sandy as part of the NAPA team," said Ty Norris, Director of Motorsports at DEI. "We feel that Sandy will provide the leadership needed to contend for a third truck series championship." "I am looking forward to working with Sandy," said Hornaday, the two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. "We have had a chance to talk and we seem to be on the same page. He brings a lot of experience to the team." Jones' and Hornaday's debut together will come at Daytona International Speedway in February, 1999, in the NASCAR Busch Series NAPA 300. They will begin defense of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title March 20 at Miami-Dade Homestead Motor Sports Complex in South Florida.

Source: NASCAR Online