The Buzz: Dec. 19, 2001

December 19, 2001
4:33 PM EST (2133 GMT)

Veteran mechanic John Monsam, who has been a winning crew chief in such diverse divisions as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Busch Series, Busch North Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series, has been hired as crew chief for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports’ No. 46 Chevrolet in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Monsam, whose last victory came in the Truck Series at Richmond International Raceway with Rick Carelli in 2000, has joined the team at its shop in Hennessey, Okla.

With crew chief Danny Gill and first-year driver Dennis Setzer, Morgan-Dollar made huge strides in 2001 after switching from Ford to Chevrolet in the off-season. Setzer scored the team’s first two Bud Poles and its first race victory. At the end of the season, Gill returned home to Nashville, Tenn., to go back to work for Bobby Hamilton Racing.

Monsam went to a Chevrolet test session last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway with L&R Motorsports, where he worked in 2001 after Phelon Motorsports shut down its operation. L&R is also in a sponsor search after backer Aventis Behring left the team at the end of the year and its future is uncertain.