Rapisarda Racing has named Keith Stewart as crew chief for the team's Top Fuel dragster driven by Cory McClenathan for a full program in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Stewart, McClenathan and the Rapisarda team will test their Santo's Cranes dragster at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
"It's very flattering to get the nod from the Rapisarda family to become their crew chief," Stewart said. "I am very happy they made the choice to go in their own direction this year, and the situation fits me perfectly because I want to tune my own race car my own way and see how we stack up against the rest of the field."
Rapisarda Racing, owned by Australian businessman Santo Rapisarda, raced part time in 2011. The team plans to merge Australian and American crew members, with Santo's two sons, Santino and Santo Jr., a part of the operation.
Rapisarda Racing will be based in Brownsburg, Ind.
"I'm hoping that with the recent changes made, we will be able to become more competitive by running quicker and faster than we ever have before and hopefully win some rounds in competition," Rapisarda said. "Keith and I have known each other since 2004; we met while I was purchasing a Kalitta car as he was working for that team at the time. He always presented himself as a well-mannered and respectable gentleman, the type of person I can work with.
"Keith seems to have the skills in order to run as I have mentioned and I'm excited to see some great results; also, he has a good ability to gel with our team which has raised the level of morale even before any racing has begun."
Stewart brings many years of experience, including tuning positions for drivers David Baca and Doug Herbert. He most recently assisted crew chiefs Jim Dupuy and Rob Flynn at Bob Vandergriff's Top Fuel operation.
